Page:The Story of Manon Lescaut and the Chevalier Des Grieux.djvu/21

20 band being also in the room, I di'ew aside the one who was in command, and asked him to g-ive me some account of how this lovely girl had met with such a fate. He could do so only in a very general way. of the Lieutenant-General of Police. She was not shut up there as a reward for good conduct, that is certain. I have questioned her several times on our way here, but she obstinately refuses to reply. I received no orders to treat her more kindly than the others ; but for all that I hav(» shown her some considemtion, because she appears to me a trifle bettei* than her companions. Yonder is a young man," added the archer, who may be able to tell you more than I can concerning the ciiuse of her dis- grace. He has followed her all the wa' from Paris, and has scarcely stopped weeping for a moment. He must be her brother, or her lover. I turned toward the corner of the room where the young man was sitting. He appeared to be buried in deep thought. I never beheld a more striking picture of grief. He was very simply dressed ; but it did not require a second glance to perceive that he was a man of birth and educa- tion. He rose as I approached him, and his features, his expression, and his every movement bore the mark of such i-efinement and nobility that I felt myself instinctively drawn towards him. side him. " Will you be kind enough to gratify the curi- osity which I feel to learn something of the history of that fan* creature, who seems to me little fitted for the sad condition in which I now see her ? " He replied frankly that he could not let me know who she was, without disclosing his own name, which he had strong reasons for desiring to keep a secret.
 * We took her from the -Ho/)?YaZ," said he, *^by order
 * Do not let me disturb you," I said, seating myself be-