“No,” said Madame d’Ionis with decision, “he is a clever man with a powerful imagination. He began by making fun at our expense, and telling us stories about ghosts. It was easy then, not for our good dowager, but for the rest of us, to see that he was joking. But perhaps we should not jest too much about certain foolish ideas. It was very evident to me, that one night something frightened him, since then nothing could persuade him to enter that room. But let us speak of something else, for I am sure that M. Nivières is already sick of this story, as for myself it bores me inexpressibly, and since you have already shown him the manuscript, I am absolved from giving myself any further concern about it.” “It is strange, madame,” replied Zéphyrine laughing, “one would say that you, in your turn, are beginning to put some faith in this story! I then am the only person in the house who remains incredulous.” We entered the chapel and Madame d’Ionis rapidly sketched its history. She was very cultivated and nothing of a pedant, and exhibited in the course of her explanations all the important rooms, the statues, the paintings and all the rare and precious furniture contained in the castle. She manifested throughout so incomparable a grace and so remarkable a degree of complaisance that I fell in love at first sight, as they say, in love to the extent of being jealous when I reflected that she was perhaps as amiable with every one as with myself. In this manner we at length arrived at the immense and magnificent hall divided into two galleries by a beautiful rotunda. This hall was called the library, although only a portion of it was consecrated to books. The other half was a sort of museum for pictures and works of art. The rotunda contained a fountain surrounded by flowers. Madame d’Ionis called my attention to this valuable monument, that had recently been removed from the gardens and placed here to preserve it from accident, the fall of a large branch on a stormy night having slightly injured it. It was a rock of white marble on which marine monsters were intertwined, and above them, on the most elevated portion, a naiad, regarded as a _chef-d’œuvre_ was gracefully seated. This group was thought to be the work of Jean Goujon or of one of his best pupils.