Page:The Czar, A Tale of the Time of the First Napleon.djvu/393

Rh secret of holding truth dearer than life, and yet being gentle and patient with those who do not see it through their eyes?"

"Some secrets are only learned in 'the secret place of the Most High,'" Ivan answered softly.

Neither he nor Clémence was at all aware that they themselves were slipping unconsciously from the moorings of their own ancestral creeds, and that their study of the Scriptures was bringing them nearer day by day to the present standpoint of Henri.

Not long after this sorrow, joy came to the household. When the first days of the short Russian summer smiled upon Nicolofsky, a little guest was sent to the old castle. Very proud was Ivan of his first-born child; and to Clémence it seemed as if no one since the beginning of the world had ever been so happy as she. It was agreed that the babe should bear the name of Madame de Talmont; so a little "Rose" budded soft and fair amidst the snows of Russia, giving promise of one day unfolding its petals in full beauty and fragrance.