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THE CONFERENCE.
While Ursula was playing variations on Weber's "Last Thought" to her godfather, a plot was hatching in the Minoret-Levraults' dining-room which was destined to have a lasting effect on the events of this drama.
The breakfast, noisy as all provincial breakfasts are, and enlivened by excellent wines brought to Nemours by the canal either from Burgundy or Touraine, lasted more than two hours.

Zelie had sent for oysters, salt-water fish, and other gastronomical delicacies to do honor to Desire's return.

The dining-room, in the center of which a round table offered a most appetizing sight, was like the hall of an inn.

Content with the size of her kitchens and offices, Zelie had built a pavilion for the family between the vast courtyard and a garden planted with vegetables and full of fruit-trees.