The notary's nose;

UNCLE AND NEPHEW. 229
sex takes naturally to heroism. You may
say that the two ladies saw in their patient
a son-in-law and a husband. But I think
that if he had been a stranger, he would
have scarcely lost anything. St. Vincent
de Paul invented only a uniform, for in
every woman, of any rank, or any age,
exists the essential material of a sister of
charity.
Seated night and day in this chamber,
filled with fever, mother and daughter
employed their moments of repose in telling over their souvenirs and their hopes.
They could not explain Franrois' long
silence, his sudden return, or the circumstances that had led him to the Avenue
Montaigne. If he loved Claire, why had
he forced himself to wait three months?
Did he need his uncle's illness to bring
him to M. Auvray's? If his love had
worn out, why did he not take his uncle to
some other doctor? There are enough of