She had been counting upon chance of late. The disband-
ing of the Imperial troops and the reconstruction of the
King's army was sending a tide of military men back to their
native places, some of them on half-pay, some with pensions,
some without, and all of them anxious to find some way of
amending their bad fortune, and of finishing their days in a
fashion which would mean the beginning of happiness
for Mile. Cormon. It would be hard indeed if she could
not find a single brave and honorable man among all those
who were coming back to the neighborhood. He must have a
sound constitution in the first place, he must be of suitable
age, and a man whose personal character would serve as a
passport to his Bonapartist opinions ; perhaps he might even
be willing to turn Eoyalist for the sake of gaining a lost
social position.
Supported by these mental calculations, Mile. Cormon
maintained the severity of her attitude for the first few
months of the year; but the men that came back to the town
were all either too old or too young, or their characters were



58 THE JEALOUSIES OF A COUNTRY TOWN.
too bad, or their opinions too Bonapartist, or their station in
life was incompatible with her position, fortune, and habits.
The case grew more and more desperate every day. Officers
high in the service had used their advantages under Napoleon
to marry, and these gentlemen now became Eoyalists for the
sake of their families. In vain had she put up prayers to
heaven to send her a husband that she might be happy in
Christian fashion; it was written, no doubt, that she should
die virgin and martyr, for not a single likely-looking man
presented himself.
