The son had been a little dissipated, perhaps; they said he was ruined, but in any case, one of his uncles, who was a great landowner, was bound to leave him his fortune.

The ladies, however, shook their heads, while Mme Hugon, herself somewhat embarrassed, kept harking back to the extreme respectability of his family.

She was very much fatigued and complained of her feet.

For some months she had been occupying her house in the Rue Richelieu, having, as she said, a whole lot of things on hand.

A look of sorrow overshadowed her smiling, motherly face.
"Never mind," Mme Chantereau concluded.