_Mad. V._ And who _should_ know if I don't? Havn't I attended him since he was an infant? _Des._ Well, and havn't _I_ attended him since he was an infant? _Mad. V._ Wasn't I with him during every sickness? _Des._ Wasn't I with him too? _Mad. V._ Didn't I nurse him? _Des._ Didn't I cure him? _Mad. V._ Wouldn't I follow him through the world? _Des._ Didn't I bring him _into_ it? _Mad. V._ Yes, and if things go on at this rate, he won't have much to thank you for. _Des._ How do _you_ know? How do _you_ know, you foolish old woman you. _MANUEL appears._ _Man._ Heyday! the only two friends I have in the world at high words? What can have caused this? _Mad. V._ My lord, the Doctor says you-- _Man._ Me! my dear Doctor, you never were quarrelling about so unimportant a person, surely? _Des._ No matter for that. But I have some business with the Marquis, if this very positive old lady will allow me the luxury of an interview with him--a _private_ interview. Pray, ma'am, _may_ I trespass on your indulgence? _Mad. V._ Truly, Doctor, your campaign in the Crimea has improved neither your manners, or your beauty. [_Exit L. H._ _Des._ Confound her impudence! The attack on my manners I could forgive, but my beauty--that's a tender point. _Man._ Ah, Doctor, you must pardon her brusque manner. If she's poor in courtesy, she's rich in a rarer gift--fidelity. _Des._ Oh! hang her! let her go. And now to your affairs. Your father's death occurred while I was with the army, in the Crimea. Rumors reached me there, but I have never heard the full particulars. I would not willingly revive a painful theme, but as an old friend-- _Man._ Nay, I shall be more satisfied when you know the facts. When you left France you know what our position was, and what our style of living. _Des._ All the luxuries that money could procure--a mansion in Paris, an ancestral chateau, and a stable that could boast the best blood in France. _Man._ Two months after the death of my dear mother, I went to Italy, by my father's desire, and for several years I traveled through Europe, at my pleasure. During this time his letters to me were affectionate, but brief, and never expressed any desire for my return. Two months ago, on arriving at Marseilles, I found several letters from him awaiting me, each of them begging me to return home with all possible haste. _Des._ I remember, it was some time previous to that, that I heard his name mentioned in connection with some unfortunate speculations in the stocks.