CHAPTER VII.
In Provence "Autant d'amoureux, autant d'amours; chacun aime comme il est." The chateau of La Pauline stands at the head of the valley of the Nartubie in the department of Var, and looks down upon Draguignan, the capital of that division of France.

La Pauline, and its surrounding lands formed the _dot_ of the Vicomtesse de Clericy, and the products of its rich terraces were of no small account in the family revenues.
It was to this spot that Lucille and her mother repaired in the month of December.

Not far away the Baron Giraud had his estate--the modern castle of "Mon Plaisir," with its little white turret, its porcelain bas-reliefs in brilliant colours let into the walls, its artificial gardens ornamented with gold and silver balls, and summer-houses of which the windows were glazed with playful fancy that outdid nature in clothing the prospect in the respective hues of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Very different from this was the ancient chateau of La Pauline, perched half-way up the mountain on a table-land--its grey stone face showing grimly against a sombre background of cypress trees.

The house was built, as the antiquarians of Draguignan avow, of stone that was hewn by the Romans for less peaceful purposes.

That an ancient building must have stood here would, indeed, be to some extent credible, from the fact that in front of the house lies a lawn of that weedless turf which is only found in this country in such places as the Arena at Frejus.