"Monseigneur," said the physician, "you have not been out to-day, and
it is not wise of you."
"And I," replied Etienne, "can _I_ go on the seashore after sundown?"
The double meaning of this speech, full of the gentle playfulness of a
first desire, made the old man smile.
"You have a daughter, Beauvouloir."
"Yes, monseigneur,--the child of my old age; my darling child.
Monseigneur, the duke, your father, charged me so earnestly to watch
your precious health that, not being able to go to Forcalier, where
she was, I have brought her here, to my great regret. In order to
conceal her from all eyes, I have placed her in the house monseigneur
used to occupy. She is so delicate I fear everything, even a sudden
sentiment or emotion. I have never taught her anything; knowledge
would kill her."
"She knows nothing!" cried Etienne, surprised.
"She has all the talents of a good housewife, but she has lived as the
plants live. Ignorance, monseigneur, is as sacred a thing as
knowledge. Knowledge and ignorance are only two ways of living, for
the human creature.
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