human
Pardon me, said Graham, after the first conventional salutation,
gpt
Nay, answered the Count,
human
I think, M. le Comte, that you once received in your household, as teacher or governess, a French lady, Madame Marigny.
gpt
Yes, I remember her well--a very handsome woman. My wife and daughter took great interest in her. She was married out of my house.
human
Exactly--and to whom?
gpt
An Italian of good birth, who was then employed by the Austrian Government in some minor post, and subsequently promoted to a better one in the Italian dominion, which then belonged to the house of Hapsburg, after which we lost sight of him and his wife.
human
An Italian--what was his name?
gpt
Ludovico Cicogna.
human
Cicogna! exclaimed Graham, turning very pale.
gpt
Are you sure that was the name?
human
Certainly. He was a cadet of a very noble house, and disowned by relations too patriotic to forgive him for accepting employment under the Austrian Government.
gpt
Can you not give me the address of the place in Italy to which he was transferred on leaving Austria?
human
No; but if the information be necessary to you, it can be obtained easily at Milan, where the head of the family resides, or indeed in Vienna, through any ministerial bureau.
gpt
Pardon me one or two questions more. Had Madame Marigny any children by a former husband?
human
Not that I know of: I never heard so. Signor Cicogna was a widower, and had, if I remember right, children by his first wife, who was also a Frenchwoman. Before he obtained office in Austria, he resided, I believe, in France. I do not remember how many children he had by his first wife. I never saw them. Our acquaintance began at the baths of Toplitz, where he saw and fell violently in love with Madame Marigny. After their marriage, they went to his post, which was somewhere, I think, in the Tyrol. We saw no more of them; but my wife and daughter kept up a correspondence with the Signora Cicogna for a short time. It ceased altogether when she removed into Italy.
gpt
You do not even know if the Signora is still living?
human
No.
gpt
Her husband, I am told, is dead.
human
Indeed! I am concerned to hear it. A good-looking, lively, clever man. I fear he must have lost all income when the Austrian dominions passed to the house of Savoy.
gpt
Many thanks for your information. I can detain you no longer,
human
Nay, I am not very busy at this moment; but I fear we Germans have plenty of work on our hands.
gpt
I had hoped that, now the French Emperor, against whom your king made war, was set aside, his Prussian majesty would make peace with the French people.
human
Most willingly would he do so if the French people would let him. But it must be through a French Government legally chosen by the people. And they have chosen none! A mob at Paris sets up a provisional administration, that commences by declaring that it will not give up 'an inch of its territory nor a stone of its fortresses.' No terms of peace can be made with such men holding such talk.