"Of what age are those M'selles?" asked the Comte.
"M'selle de Close is eighteen; M'selle le Blanc one year more. They are young, but they are finished--ah, to the most complete!"
"And what knowledge can they impart?" asked M. le Comte.
"They'll teach her all those things that a young M'selle should know. They will keep her mind, mark you, M. le Comte, as white as a white marguerite, and they will impart to her those graces of society which are essential to _le bon mari_ by-and-bye. They can come here day about, at two of the clock, and spend until four with _la petite_."
"Send them to me one at a time," said the Comte, "and let me interview them alone."
Accordingly Madame la Comtesse went that very day to a unique and charming little flat in a unique and charming part of Arles. It was called "_Le Cabinet de Beauté_. The lady who entered the room on the arrival of Madame called herself Félicité. She held up her hands, arched her brows and said:
"Ah, Madame, have you come to me indeed? Have you come at last, that I may perform on you my art? Behold how little it is, and how much. It finishes never, see, Madame? Behold, I will mark out to you your day! You must have the _chocolat_, you must rise never later than eight o'clock, and promenade on foot for _les douches_. This exercise preserves the form. Then, behold, the masseuse appears and makes miracles of the hands. Afterwards you rest as is necessary, and M'selle Blanc does the rest. Ah, but she is a veritable artist is M'selle Blanc. You want us; you have come. I am at your feet, beautiful Madame!"
"I want you not at all," said Madame la Comtesse. "The good God himself has given unto me the cheeks of roses and the eyes so bright and the figure so straight. But behold, listen! There is _ma petite_, the idol of her grandfather, the adored of her _belle_ grand'mère. M. le Comte knows nothing of my _établissement_, and he must never know, never, never! There are things which all women of fashion learn, and I want you, M'selle Close, and that other gracious lady, M'selle Blanc, to come day about to the château in order to instruct _la petite_, but you must not touch on the make up, _comprenez-vous_? It would be fatal. _L'enfant toujours_; that mind so white must be kept white; but you must teach her, M'selle Close, such things as the English and the French and the German and the _géographie_ for two hours every other day, and on the other days, M'selle Blanc shall teach her. You must be at the château for two hours each day, but before anything is firmly established, you must go to the château and acquaint M. le Comte with the fact that you are a poor _gouvernante_, one of the high nobility. You must present yourself to him as M'selle de Close, and your friend must be M'selle de Blanc; and I will pay you well, ah well; that is, if you keep strictly to your post; keep firmly to the lessons which I have set you--the white heart to be kept white; the holy things to be instructed to _la petite_, _comprenez-vous_?"