her folly. Clémence is unfortunate in that she has been forced into marriage with d’Harville by her mother-in-law, for she does not love her husband. Because he and their daughter are subject to epileptic seizures, her life is an unhappy one. By chance, d’Harville learns of his wife’s unhappiness and contrives to commit suicide in such a way that everyone thinks his death accidental. By this act, he saves Clémence from greater unhappiness and atones for the evil he had committed in marrying her.

While staying at the lodging house, Rodolph learns of the numerous evil deeds of the hypocritical lawyer, Jacques Ferrand. When Rodolph learns that Ferrand is planning the murder of Clémence’s father, he and Sir Walter Murphy succeed in thwarting the lawyer’s evil scheme. Ferrand is also responsible for the imprisonment of Rigolette’s lover. To get to the bottom of Ferrand’s plans, Rodolph remembers Cecily, a beautiful woman who had once been married to his private doctor, but who later became a depraved creature. Rodolph secures her release from prison and has her introduced into Ferrand’s household, where she can spy on his activities and learn his secrets.

Meanwhile, Sarah asks Ferrand to find a young girl whom she could claim is really her child by Rodolph, for she hopes that if she can produce the dead girl she could effect a reconciliation, now that Rodolph is the reigning duke of Gerolstein. Ferrand, learning the whereabouts of Fleur-de-Marie, hires La Chouette, an ugly one-eyed woman, and a criminal called the Schoolmaster to kidnap the girl from the farm of Madame Georges. When the Schoolmaster arrives at the farm, he discovers that Madame Georges is his wife, the woman he had deserted. He does not succeed in getting Fleur-de-Marie. Instead, she is put in jail for failing to give testimony concerning a crime she had witnessed before Rodolph had saved her from the slums. By chance, Clémence finds the girl while on a charitable errand. Not knowing that Fleur-de-Marie knows Rodolph, she tries to make the girl’s life more pleasant in prison.

When Sarah learns that Fleur-de-Marie has been under the care of Rodolph’s friends, she gets jealous and makes arrangements to have Fleur-de-Marie killed as soon as she is released from the prison. Ferrand, entrusted with plans for her death, has her released from prison by an accomplice who pretended to be an agent of Clémence d’Harville. On leaving the prison, Fleur-de-Marie meets Rigolette and tells her old friend of her fortune. Rigolette, who knows Clémence through Rodolph, is pleased. After they part, Fleur-de-Marie is seized by Ferrand’s hirelings and taken into the country, where she is thrown into the river. Some passersby, however, see her in the water and pull her ashore in time to save her life.

Meanwhile, La Chouette, learning that Fleur-de-Marie is really the daughter of Rodolph and Sarah, hurries to Sarah with her information. Sarah is shocked at the discovery. La Chouette, seeing a chance to make more money by killing Sarah and stealing her jewels, stabs her protector. The attacker escapes with the jewels and returns to the Schoolmaster to taunt him with her success. The two get into a fight, and the Schoolmaster kills La Chouette. He is captured and put into prison.

Through Cecily, Rodolph also learns that his daughter is not really dead. Cecily had had little difficulty in uncovering Ferrand’s past. As soon as he finds out what Sarah has done, Rodolph sees her; despite her terrible wound, he accuses her violently of the shameful and criminal neglect of her daughter.

Returning home, Rodolph is surprised to hear that Clémence had visited him. Clémence had had the fortune to find Fleur-de-Marie in the home where she had been cared for after her escape from drowning, and she had brought the girl to Rodolph. Clémence does not know that events had proved that Fleur-de-Marie is Rodolph’s daughter, so the reunion of father and child is not without pain as well as pleasure, for Clémence and Rodolph had long secretly known that they love each other. Rodolph begs Clémence to marry him and to be a mother to his child. He feels sure that Sarah will die and the way will thus be clear for their happy life together.

Rodolph remarries Sarah on her deathbed so that their daughter can be called truly legitimate. Information that Rodolph receives from Cecily also makes it possible for him to free Rigolette’s lover from prison, and it turns out that he is the long-lost son of Madame Georges. With these problems solved, Rodolph plans to return to Germany. First, however, he uses his knowledge of Ferrand’s activities to force the lawyer to establish many worthy charities. His money gone, Ferrand goes into a decline and dies soon afterward. Rigolette’s lover becomes administrator for one of the charities and, after their marriage, he and Rigolette live happily with Madame Georges.

Rodolph returns to Germany with Fleur-de-Marie as his legitimate daughter and Clémence as his wife. For a time the three live together with great happiness. Then Rodolph notices that Fleur-de-Marie seems to have moods of depression. One day, weeping, she explains that his goodness to her is without compare but that the evil life that she had led before he had rescued her from the slums preyed constantly on her mind. She begs to be allowed to enter a convent. Rodolph, realizing that nothing he could say will change her mind, gives his permission.

While serving as a novice at the convent. Fleur-de-Marie’s conduct is so perfect that when she is admitted to the order, she immediately becomes the abbess. This honor is too much for her gentle soul to bear, or for her weak, sick body to withstand, and that very night she dies. Rodolph, noting that the day of her death is the anniversary of the day on which he had tried to kill his father, feels that the ways of fate are strange.