"It will scarcely astonish you," resumed the Baroness, in a calmer voice, "to learn that I, brought up, as I have been, amongst the men whom I have mentioned to you, have become a sharer both in their ideas and their enthusiasm. Neither will it surprise you, I am sure, that I should have given my love to one of my father's most frequent guests. The Baron de Guéran was a Frenchman, and was descended from that fearless René Caillet, the first European who attempted the perilous journey from Sierra-Leone to Tangier, and, it may be, effected an entrance into Timbuctoo. Although he had not reached his thirtieth year when I saw him for the first time, M. de Guéran had already journeyed in central Africa, and had there made some important discoveries. If his name is not familiar to you as a geographer or an explorer, it is simply because he would not publish any of his notes until all were complete. Alas! he has not been able to finish his work.
"My father raised many objections to my union with the Baron. As a colleague, he both loved and esteemed him—as a son-in-law he had his doubts. So soon as I had to enter into his calculations, his admiration for travels and travellers cooled down considerably. He was never tired of saying to me—'Take care; the love of remote exploration and discovery—I speak from experience—absorbs all other love, and would make the best of men utterly oblivious of his family duties. Be not too confident; your husband, whilst adoring you, may still accustom himself to worship you from a distance. You will be proud to belong to him, but you will rarely be happy at his side, for your life will wear away in fear and apprehension.' And then I would reply—'Have no fear; I will answer for M. de Guéran.' 'What? You imagine that he will sacrifice all his ideas for your sake, and will live ever by your side?' 'Nothing of the sort, my dear father; I should not wish it for a moment, but I will go with him. I am determined to share all his dangers, and I will say to him, as our friend Lady Baker did to her husband—whither thou goest I will go; where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried.'
"However, he had to give way and consent to the marriage, and I came to reside in Paris with M. de Guéran. For two years the fears of my father appeared groundless; the Baron did not seem to be troubled with any desire to travel. He wandered in Elysian fields only, and I was only too happy in wandering there with him. The awakening was terrible. 'I am off to Africa,' said he to me one day. For two years I had forgotten Africa, the slave-trade, slavery, science, everything but love. And you might well suppose that, starting up thus suddenly, as it were, out of my sleep, I called to mind, and whispered in the ear of my husband Lady Baker's, or, to speak more correctly, Ruth's touching words. Nothing of the kind! Thenceforth, I had but one thought—and that was to preserve my mode of life unaltered, not to risk my happiness in any one way, to leave nothing to chance or contingency. I devoted all my energy to the task of trying to persuade M. de Guéran that the tribes of Africa had no claim whatsoever on him, that the Geographical Society could well dispense with any information from him, and that science would still march onward without his aid. My efforts were unavailing, and I failed to convince him, so that, taking advantage of my absence in England on a visit, he rushed off to Marseilles, and embarked without even letting me know the exact destination of his fresh expedition. 'You would be wanting to follow me,' he wrote. 'I cannot take advantage of your devotion; but, take courage, my absence will be of but short duration.' At first, I waited, for where was I to go? And I always hoped that he would not delay his return, but would keep his promise to me. Tired of waiting, at last I made up my mind to start, when the French Consul, at Cairo, sent me word that the Baron de Guéran was dead.