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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Frédérique; vol. 2, by Charles Paul de Kock
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Frédérique; vol. 2
+
+Author: Charles Paul de Kock
+
+Release Date: December 17, 2011 [EBook #38332]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRÉDÉRIQUE; VOL. 2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: frontispiece (Copyright 1903 by G. Barrie & Sons)]
+
+_DUPONT'S DISCOMFITURE_
+
+_As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment_.
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS
+
+BY
+
+Paul de Kock
+
+VOLUME VI
+
+FRÉDÉRIQUE
+
+VOL. II
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+[Illustration: colophon PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH GEORGE BARRIE'S
+SONS]
+
+THE JEFFERSON PRESS
+
+BOSTON NEW YORK
+
+_Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. & Sons_.
+
+
+
+
+FRÉDÉRIQUE
+
+[CONTINUED]
+
+XXXIII ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE
+
+XXXIV--THE UMBRELLAS.--THE POLKA
+
+XXXV--A HIGH LIVER
+
+XXXVI--A SCENE
+
+XXXVII--ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS
+
+XXXVIII--THE DEALER IN SPONGES
+
+XXXIX--A PARTY OF FOUR
+
+XL--A SICK CHILD
+
+XLI--THE REWARD OF WELLDOING
+
+XLII--A CONSOLATION
+
+XLIII--CONJECTURES
+
+XLIV--LOVE ON ALL SIDES
+
+XLV--SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN
+
+XLVI--FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS
+
+XLVII--THE NEIGHBOR
+
+XLVIII--AT THE OPÉRA
+
+XLIX--A DOUBLE DUEL--
+
+L--A PRESENTATION
+
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+I--THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
+
+II--HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL--
+
+III--MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE
+
+IV--YOUNG COLINET
+
+V--AN INGENUOUS YOUTH
+
+VI--A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM
+
+VII--THE SECOND PETTICOAT
+
+VIII--A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN
+
+IX--THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK
+
+X--A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT
+
+XI--DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY
+
+XII--LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!
+
+XIII--A BROOCH
+
+XIV--COLINET'S SECOND VISIT
+
+XV--A DAINTY BREAKFAST
+
+XVI--TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS
+
+XVII--A PARCEL--
+
+XVIII--A BLASÉ YOUNG MAN
+
+XIX--THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS
+
+XX--THE THIRD PETTICOAT
+
+XXI--AN ATTACK
+
+XXII--TERTIA SOLVET
+
+XXIII--THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS
+
+XXIV--THE MOTIVE
+
+
+
+
+XXXIII
+
+ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE
+
+
+I was conscious of a secret feeling of satisfaction, which I attributed
+to my reconciliation with Frédérique. I was pleased to have her for a
+friend; there was something unique, something that appealed strongly to
+me, in that friendship between a man of thirty and a woman of
+twenty-seven; and I promised myself that I would not again so conduct
+myself as to break off the connection.
+
+But I had not forgotten Saint-Bergame's words, as he passed our
+carriage: "So it's that fellow now! each in his turn!"--It was evident
+that he believed me to be Madame Dauberny's lover. I was not surprised
+that he should have that idea. People will never believe in the
+possibility of an innocent intimacy between a man and woman of our age.
+But Frédérique had been deeply wounded by Saint-Bergame's remark;
+indeed, by what right did the fellow presume to proclaim that from the
+housetops? Was it spite? was it jealousy? Whatever his motive, the man
+was an impertinent knave; and if I had not feared to compromise Madame
+Dauberny even more, I would have gone to him and demanded an explanation
+of his words. But, perhaps an opportunity would present itself; if so, I
+would not let it slip.
+
+Several days had passed since my drive in the Bois, when, as I was
+strolling along the boulevards one morning, I halted, according to my
+custom, in front of one of those pillars upon which posters are
+displayed by permission. Being very fond of the theatre, I have always
+enjoyed reading the various theatrical announcements. I did not carry it
+so far as to read the printer's name; but, had I done so--_that is a
+very harmless diversion!_
+
+But observe how harmless diversions may give birth to diversions that
+are not harmless. A young woman stopped close beside me, also to read
+the announcements; and I was not so absorbed by the titles of dramas and
+vaudevilles that the sight of a pretty face did not distract my thoughts
+from them.
+
+I think that I have told you that certain faces, certain figures,
+possess an indefinable charm and fascination for me at first sight. The
+young girl who stood beside me--for she certainly was a young girl--wore
+a simple, modest costume, denoting a shopgirl on an errand: dark-colored
+dress, shawl,--no, I am mistaken, it was a little alpaca cloak,--and a
+small gray bonnet, without any ornament, placed on her head with no
+pretence of coquetry; it had evidently been put on in a hurry.
+
+But, beneath that unassuming headgear, I saw a refined, attractive,
+piquant face. She was a brunette; her complexion was rather dark, but
+her fresh, brilliant coloring gave her a look of the _Midi_. Her brown
+hair was brushed smoothly over her temples; her eyes were black, or
+blue--or, more accurately, blue bordering on black. They were large, and
+said many things. The mouth was very pretty, and well supplied with
+teeth. I had thus far only caught a glimpse of the latter, but that was
+enough. The nose was straight and well shaped, slightly turned up at
+the end, which always gives a saucy look to the face. Add to all this a
+lovely figure, neither too tall nor too short; a pretty hand--of that I
+was sure, for she wore no gloves; and, lastly, a modest and graceful
+carriage; and you will not be surprised that I forgot the names of the
+plays and performers printed on the posters before me, and devoted my
+whole attention to that young woman.
+
+For her part, she had glanced several times at me, as if
+unintentionally. She scrutinized the posters for a long while; and as I
+was in no hurry, I too remained in front of the pillar. I had assured
+myself at least twelve times that _La Grâce de Dieu_ was to be given at
+the Gaîté, and it seemed to me that my neighbor also kept reading the
+same thing over and over again.
+
+However, she walked away at last along the boulevard. We were then in
+front of the Gymnase. There was nothing to detain me there, for I was
+thoroughly posted concerning the programme at the Gaîté. Furthermore,
+that grisette took my eye. I believed that I could safely classify her
+as a grisette, with liberty to do her justice later, if I had insulted
+her. Why should I not try to make her acquaintance? For some time, my
+behavior had been virtuous to a degree which accorded neither with my
+tastes nor with my habits. Being obliged to eschew sentiment with my
+former acquaintances, I was conscious of a void in my heart which I
+should be very glad to fill.
+
+I walked after the young woman. One is sometimes sadly at a loss to
+begin a conversation in the street; but for some reason or other, I did
+not feel the slightest embarrassment with that girl. She walked so
+slowly that I easily overtook her. She did not precisely look at me;
+but I was fully persuaded that she saw me. Should I begin with the usual
+compliments: "You are adorable! With such pretty eyes, you cannot be
+cruel!" or other remarks of the same sort? No, they were too stupid and
+worn too threadbare; so I addressed her as if we were already
+acquainted, and said:
+
+"Do you like the theatre, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very much!"
+
+She answered without the slightest affectation, and with no indication
+that she was offended by my question. I took that as a good omen, and
+continued:
+
+"Would you like to go to-night?"
+
+"To-night? Oh, dear, no! But I was looking for the Palais-Royal
+advertisement; I wanted to know what they were playing there, and I
+can't ever find it."
+
+"I am sorry I didn't know that sooner, for I would have shown it to
+you."
+
+"After all, it don't make any difference."
+
+"But if you like the theatre, won't you allow me to give you some
+tickets?"
+
+"Tickets! Do you have theatre tickets? for what theatre?"
+
+"It doesn't make any difference: I have some for them all. Perhaps you
+may think that I am lying, that I say this to trap you, when my only
+purpose is to make your acquaintance. But I assure you, mademoiselle,
+that I shall be only too happy to be useful to you. Allow me to send you
+some tickets; that doesn't bind you to anything."
+
+The girl stopped. We were then near Porte Saint-Denis. She hesitated a
+moment, then replied:
+
+"Well! send me some tickets; I'll accept them; but don't send them to my
+house; that'll never do, because I live with my aunts. I have a lot of
+aunts, and I am not free."
+
+She smiled so comically as she said this, that I saw a double row of
+lovely teeth. I ventured to take her hand; that was going ahead rather
+fast, but, for some unknown reason, although I had not been talking with
+her five minutes, I felt as if I knew her well. She let me hold and
+press her hand, which was plump and soft; it did not seem to vex her in
+the least.
+
+"Where shall I send the tickets?"
+
+"To my employer's."
+
+"What is your trade?"
+
+"I mend shawls and fringes. I'm a very good hand at it, I promise you!"
+
+"I don't doubt it, mademoiselle."
+
+"Just now I'm doing an errand for my employer; she always sends me on
+errands, I don't know why; she says that the dealers aren't so strict
+with me! It's a bore sometimes to go out so often; but sometimes it's
+good fun, too."
+
+"Will you tell me your name?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Will you come to a restaurant with me and breakfast?"
+
+"No; in the first place, I haven't got time; they're waiting for me, and
+I must go back. In the second place, I wouldn't go, anyway, like that,
+with someone I don't know."
+
+"That's the way to become acquainted."
+
+"Suppose anyone should see me go into a restaurant with you--one of my
+aunts, for instance! I've got seven aunts!"
+
+"Sapristi! that's worse than Abd-el-Kader! No matter! come and have
+breakfast with me at my rooms, and you will see at once who I am--that
+I am not a mere nobody, a man without means or position."
+
+"Oh! I didn't say you were, monsieur."
+
+"I live on Rue Bleue, No. 14; that isn't very far away. If you will
+trust me, I promise you that I won't even kiss the end of your finger."
+
+"Perhaps not, monsieur; but I tell you, I haven't got time; I must go
+back; I am late already, and I shall be scolded."
+
+"Very well! where shall I send you a ticket, then?"
+
+"At Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay; just give it to the
+concierge. Mark it: _For Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's_."
+
+"And you are Mademoiselle Rosette?"
+
+"Perhaps. When will you send the ticket?"
+
+"Whenever you choose."
+
+"To-morrow, then."
+
+"To-morrow, very good!"
+
+"How many seats?"
+
+"I will send you a box with four seats."
+
+"Ah! splendid! That will be fun."
+
+"But you will go?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And I may speak to you?"
+
+"_Dame!_ I don't know about that. If I am with my employer, you must be
+careful. But I'll go out in the entr'acte."
+
+"Then I will make an opportunity to say a few words to you. And you
+won't come and breakfast with me? An hour passes so quickly!"
+
+"Oh, no! no! Adieu, monsieur! You won't forget--Mademoiselle Rosette, at
+Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay."
+
+"No, mademoiselle, there's no danger of my forgetting."
+
+She walked away, and I did the same. I was enchanted with my new
+acquaintance. Mademoiselle Rosette was altogether charming, and in her
+eyes, in her answers, I saw at once that she was no fool. Suppose that I
+had fallen upon a pearl, a treasure! It was impossible to say. The
+things we find without looking for them are often more valuable than
+those we take a vast amount of trouble to obtain.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIV
+
+THE UMBRELLAS.--THE POLKA
+
+
+Love and poetry--these are what make hours seem like minutes. Be an
+author, a poet, a novelist, or a lover, and for you time will have
+wings. I thought of Mademoiselle Rosette all day, I dreamed of her all
+night, and the next morning I set about fulfilling my promise. There is
+nothing so easy, in Paris, as to obtain theatre tickets; it is not
+necessary to know authors or managers; it is enough to have money. With
+money one can have whatever one desires. I was on the way to a ticket
+broker's, when I found myself face to face with Dumouton, the literary
+man, who was of the dinner party at Deffieux's.
+
+Poor Dumouton had not changed; he was still the same in physique and in
+dress. The yellowish-green or faded apple-green coat; the skin-tight
+trousers of any color you choose. But I noticed that he had two
+umbrellas under his arm, although there were no signs of rain. He
+offered me his hand, as if he were overjoyed to meet me, crying:
+
+"Why, Monsieur Rochebrune! bonjour! how are you? It's a long while since
+I had the pleasure of meeting you."
+
+"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton! indeed, I believe we have not met
+since Dupréval's dinner."
+
+"True. We had a fine time at that dinner; everybody told some little
+anecdote; it was very amusing."
+
+"Are you still writing plays?"
+
+"Still. But one can't find such a market as one would like. There is so
+much intriguing at the theatres! The writing of a play isn't the most
+difficult part, but the getting it acted. Speaking of theatres, you
+don't happen to need an umbrella, do you?"
+
+"No, thanks, I have one. Are you selling umbrellas now?"
+
+"No--but--it happens that I bought one yesterday; and, meanwhile, my
+wife had bought one, too. So you see, we have too many; I would be glad
+of a chance to get rid of one; I would sell it cheap."
+
+"If I hadn't one already, I might make a trade with you; but as I don't
+need it----"
+
+"Still, it's often convenient to have two or three; for you lose one
+sometimes, or lend it to somebody who doesn't return it. That has
+happened to me a hundred times; and then, when you want to go out, it
+rains; you look for your umbrella, and it isn't there. That is very
+annoying; so it's more prudent to have two."
+
+"But you apparently don't think so, as you want to sell one of yours."
+
+"Oh! we have five in the house now."
+
+"That makes a difference; but I don't quite understand why you bought
+another."
+
+Dumouton scratched his nose; I could not help thinking of Rosette's
+seven aunts, and that Dumouton could shelter them from the rain with his
+seven umbrellas.
+
+"What do you suppose I would like to have at this moment?" I asked him,
+as he sadly shifted his umbrellas from his right arm to his left.
+
+"A cane, perhaps? I have one with a crow's beak head that would please
+you."
+
+"No, no! I never carry a cane. What I would like at this moment is a
+theatre ticket for this evening."
+
+Dumouton's face fairly beamed.
+
+"For what theatre?" he cried.
+
+"Faith! that makes no difference; but I would like a whole box."
+
+"I have what you want, I have it right in my pocket. See, a box at the
+Gymnase!"
+
+"The Gymnase it is!"
+
+Dumouton took from his pocket an old notebook, or wallet, or, to speak
+more accurately, two pieces of leather--just what to call it, I do not
+know; but it contained a mass of papers, some old and soiled, others
+clean and new. He produced from it a pink one, which proved to be a
+ticket for a box at the Gymnase. I took the ticket and read at the foot
+of it the name of one of our most popular authors.
+
+Dumouton restored his papers to his pocket, put his umbrellas under his
+left arm once more, and looked at me with an anxious expression,
+murmuring:
+
+"Don't you want it?"
+
+"Yes, indeed! But I was reading the name on it."
+
+"Oh! that's of no consequence; I asked for it for him, but he can't go.
+You'll take it, then, will you?"
+
+"Yes, gladly."
+
+"There's only one thing. I have promised a box to some people to whom I
+am under obligations, and I can't break my word. It's too late to go to
+the theatre to ask for one, so I must buy one of a ticket broker; and I
+don't know whether----"
+
+I did not let him finish the sentence.
+
+"I don't propose that you shall be put to any expense on my account. How
+much will the ticket cost you?"
+
+"Oh! a hundred sous, I suppose."
+
+"Here's the money; and I am your debtor."
+
+Dumouton pocketed the five francs with a radiant air. But he took his
+umbrellas in his hand again and held them out to me.
+
+"I am sorry that you won't take one of these," he said.
+
+I glanced at them, and replied:
+
+"But neither of them is new."
+
+"Oh! that may be; we bought them at second-hand. But they are good ones,
+and not dear. I will give you your choice for ten francs."
+
+It was clear to my mind that poor Dumouton was sadly in need of money.
+Why should I not gratify him by buying an umbrella? That was simply a
+roundabout way of asking a favor. I took one of the umbrellas at random,
+and said:
+
+"Well, if it will relieve you,--and I can understand that these two are
+a luxury, if you have five at home,--give me this one. Here's the ten
+francs."
+
+Dumouton took the money and slipped one of the umbrellas under my arm so
+rapidly that I thought that he had run it into me; and fearing perhaps
+that I would change my mind and go back on my bargain, he left me on the
+instant, saying:
+
+"I am very glad you needed an umbrella. Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune!
+hope to see you again soon!"
+
+He disappeared, running. I examined the article I had purchased: it was
+a very good umbrella, with a laurel-wood stick; the head was a trefoil
+with silver trimmings, and the cover dark green silk. After all, I had
+not made a bad bargain; but I would have been glad not to have it on my
+hands just then, for the weather was fine, and it makes a man look very
+foolish to carry an umbrella under such circumstances.
+
+But I had my ticket. I entered a café and called for paper and ink. I
+put the ticket in an envelope, with this superscription: _For
+Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's_.
+
+I carried the missive myself, for the name Ratapond did not inspire
+confidence. Moreover, I was not sorry to ask a few questions and find
+out a little more about Mademoiselle Rosette.
+
+I arrived at Rue Meslay, and found the designated number. I passed under
+a porte cochère and was walking toward the concierge's lodge, when an
+enormous woman, who reminded me of one of the handsome sappers and
+miners who change their sex during the Carnival, came toward me from the
+farther end of the courtyard.
+
+"Who do you want to see, monsieur?" she demanded.
+
+"Does Madame Ratapond live in this house, madame?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; fifth floor above the entresol, the door opposite the
+stairs."
+
+"I beg your pardon, madame; but what is that lady's business?"
+
+As I asked the question, I felt in my pocket and took out a two-franc
+piece, which I slipped into the hand of the colossus, who instantly
+assumed a coquettish, mincing air and seemed to diminish in size until
+she reached my level.
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she replied, "Madame Ratapond's a very respectable
+woman; she sends shawls into the departments and on the railroads."
+
+"Has she many workgirls?"
+
+"Six, and sometimes more."
+
+"Do you know one of them named Mademoiselle Rosette--a pretty brunette,
+with a shapely, slender figure?"
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur. Mamzelle Rosette! To be sure, I know her; she goes
+up and down twenty times a day. She often does errands. Does monsieur
+happen to have brought her a ticket to the theatre? She told me this
+morning she expected one to-day, but she didn't count much on it."
+
+"That is just what I have brought for her."
+
+"Oh! won't she be glad, though! I tell you, monsieur, you can flatter
+yourself you've given her a lot of pleasure. She'll dance for joy when I
+tell her!"
+
+"She doesn't live in the house, does she?"
+
+"No, monsieur; she comes about eight o'clock or half-past."
+
+"At what time does she go away?"
+
+"Why, when the others do. Usually about eight, unless they're working
+late; then it's as late as ten, sometimes."
+
+"Here is the letter, madame, with the ticket; will you be kind enough to
+hand it to mademoiselle in person?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I understand. You see, I'm sure it won't be long before
+she comes in or goes out, and she always speaks to me when she passes."
+
+"I rely upon you, then, madame."
+
+The colossus cut several capers by way of courtesies; I left her
+standing on one leg, and went my way. I had found that the girl had not
+deceived me in what she told me; that was something. I did not suppose
+that I was dealing with a Jeanne d'Arc, but I did not care to fall into
+the other extreme. I determined to go to the Gymnase, and to have a
+little note in my pocket, appointing a meeting, which I would slip into
+Mademoiselle Rosette's hand if I was unable to talk freely with her.
+
+I was on my way home, when I heard my name called. I turned and
+recognized Monsieur Rouffignard, the stout, chubby-faced party, who also
+was one of the dinner party at Deffieux's.
+
+"Parbleu!" I said, as we shook hands; "this is my day for meetings!"
+
+"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! have you seen our friend Dupréval
+lately?"
+
+"Not for a long while! I have not done right; but I have been told that
+since Dupréval was married he has entirely renounced pleasure and gives
+all his attention to business; so that I have been afraid of disturbing
+him."
+
+"It is true, he has become a regular bear; he thinks of nothing but
+making money. For my part, I make it, but I spend it too!"
+
+"And I spend it, and don't make any. Such is life: everyone follows his
+tastes, or the current that carries him along; if we all did the same
+thing, it would be too monotonous."
+
+"I have just met a man who was at our dinner party at Deffieux's, and
+who can't be very well content with his lot at present; I don't know
+whether that will make him less rigid in the matter of morals."
+
+"Whom do you mean?"
+
+"Monsieur Faisandé, the clerk in the Treasury Department, who was
+shocked when he heard anything a little off color."
+
+"What has happened to him?"
+
+"He has lost his place, that's all."
+
+"Dismissed?"
+
+"Yes, and he certainly hasn't embezzled. I heard all about it from a man
+who is a clerk in the same bureau. Would you believe, Monsieur
+Rochebrune, that that individual, who was so virtuous, so pure in his
+language, sometimes passed a fortnight without showing his face at his
+desk? If it had been on account of sickness, no one would have said a
+word; but, no, the man wasn't even at home; he didn't show himself there
+any more than he did at the bureau; not even at night; and his wife and
+child expecting him all the time! He passed a fortnight away from home!"
+
+"What a cur!"
+
+"You are right: _cur_ is the word. They began, at the bureau, by warning
+him that, if he were not more regular, his conduct would be reported. He
+paid no attention. They cut down his salary; and he kept on in the same
+way. At last, they gave him his walking ticket. And now he's thrown on
+his wife's hands, and she has to work day and night to support her
+family! Poor woman! may heaven soon rid her of the fellow!"
+
+"Cur and hypocrite often go together. I have never had the slightest
+confidence in people who prate about their own virtue, honesty, or
+merit."
+
+While I was speaking, Monsieur Rouffignard happened to glance at my
+umbrella, which he at once began to scrutinize closely.
+
+"You are surprised to see me with an umbrella in my hand, in such
+beautiful weather as this, aren't you?"
+
+"Oh! I am not surprised at that, but---- Will you allow me to touch it?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+I handed the umbrella to my stout friend, who examined the handle,
+opened and closed it, and exclaimed:
+
+"Parbleu! I am sure now that I'm not mistaken."
+
+"Do you happen to recognize my umbrella?"
+
+"Your umbrella? You say it's yours?"
+
+"Why, to be sure! I bought it not two hours ago, and that is why I am
+carrying it now."
+
+"In that case, I should be very glad to know where you bought it."
+
+"You know Dumouton--the literary man?"
+
+"Dumouton! Indeed I know him; he borrows five francs of me every time he
+sees me. But go on!"
+
+"Well! I met him this morning. He had two umbrellas under his arm, and
+he urged me so hard to buy one of them that I finally bought this one."
+
+"Ah! the villain! Upon my word, this is too cool! He actually sold you
+my umbrella, which he borrowed the day before yesterday and was to
+return that evening, and which I am still waiting for! Oh! this is the
+one--a trefoil with silver trimmings. It's my umbrella! Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, what do you say to that performance?"
+
+Poor Dumouton! I was sorry that I had been the means of showing him up;
+but how could I suspect that he had sold me Rouffignard's umbrella? It
+was very wrong; but, perhaps, he needed the money to pay his baker. I
+felt that I must try to arrange the matter.
+
+"You agree with me!" cried the stout man; "you call this a shameful
+trick, don't you?"
+
+"No, Monsieur Rouffignard. I think that there is some misunderstanding
+simply, some mistake; that Dumouton is not guilty----"
+
+"Not guilty! and he sold you my umbrella?"
+
+"Allow me. When I met Dumouton this morning, he had two umbrellas under
+his arm. He offered to sell me one. 'And what about the other?' I asked
+him.--'The other isn't mine,' he said; 'it was lent to me, and I am
+going at once to return it.'--He certainly was speaking of yours, then.
+I made a bargain with him for his umbrella. But we talked some little
+time, and, when he left me, he must have made a mistake and given me the
+wrong one; that's the whole of it."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"I am so sure of it that I will give you your umbrella, and go to
+Dumouton's to get the other."
+
+"Infinitely obliged, Monsieur Rochebrune. But, as Dumouton proposed to
+bring mine back, I may find the other one at my house; in that case, I
+will send it to you at once."
+
+"Do so, pray; au revoir, Monsieur Rouffignard!"
+
+"Your servant, Monsieur Rochebrune!"
+
+The stout man went off with his umbrella; I was quite sure that he would
+find none to send to me. Unfortunate Dumouton! See whither _petits
+verres_ lead, and idling in cafés, and risky collaborations!
+
+My thoughts recurred to the ticket for the box at the Gymnase. Suppose
+that should be claimed at the door, like the umbrella! Suppose my ladies
+should be denied admission, humiliated! That would prove to have been a
+precious gift of mine! And the name that was written on it! Suppose that
+that should mislead Mademoiselle Rosette! Faith! that would be amusing.
+In case of an emergency, as I had given the damsel my address, and had
+forgotten to tell her my name, I determined to instruct my concierge as
+to what he must say if anyone should call and ask for the person whose
+name was on the ticket.
+
+I waited impatiently for the hour at which the play would begin. I was
+convinced that they would be admitted on the ticket I had sent. Dumouton
+had undoubtedly asked for the box under some other name than his own,
+with the intention of selling it; that was very pleasant for the person
+whose name was written out in full on the ticket!
+
+I could not afford to appear at the very beginning of the play; I should
+look like an opéra-comique lover. I waited until eight o'clock, before I
+went to the Gymnase. I had been careful to observe the number of the
+box, which was the best in the second tier. The play had begun; I walked
+along the corridor, found the number in question, and satisfied myself
+by a glance through the glass door that the box was full. That was
+satisfactory; she had come. My next move was to take up a position on
+the opposite side; at a distance, it would be easy for me to keep my
+eyes on the box without attracting attention.
+
+I entered the opposite balcony, where nothing would intercept my view of
+the person on whose account I had come.
+
+But to no purpose did I fix my opera glass on the box in question; to no
+purpose did I rub it with my handkerchief so that I could see more
+distinctly: among all the faces that filled the box I had given my
+pretty grisette, there was not one that resembled or even suggested
+hers. I looked again and again. It was impossible; I thought that my
+eyes deceived me. There were four women in the box, and I examined them
+one after another. It did not take long. In front, there was a rather
+attractive person of thirty or thereabouts; but she did not in the least
+resemble Mademoiselle Rosette: as for the other three, they were all
+between fifty and seventy, and vied with one another in ugliness.
+
+What had they done with my pretty Rosette? where was she? I wanted her,
+I must have her! Deuce take it! It was not for that quartette of women
+that I had bought the box of Monsieur Dumouton, who had seized the
+opportunity to entangle me in the folds of an umbrella! Who were those
+people I was examining? Madame Ratapond? some of my inamorata's aunts? I
+had no idea, but I was horribly annoyed. So she had not come! although
+the ticket was meant for her; although she knew that I would go there
+solely in the hope of seeing her and speaking to her! So she did not
+choose to make my acquaintance, but simply to make sport of me!
+
+I left the balcony and returned to the corridor; I asked the box opener
+if the ladies in such a number had said that they expected anyone.
+
+"No, monsieur; they didn't say anything about it. Anyway, the box is
+full; there's four of 'em."
+
+"I know that. By the way, please show me their ticket."
+
+The box opener showed me the coupon: it was the one I had sent. I was
+completely _done!_ I returned, in an execrable humor, to the balcony,
+but this time nearer the box. From time to time, I glanced at that
+assemblage of the fair sex, every member of which, with one exception,
+was exceedingly ugly. But it seemed to me that they had noticed me.
+Perhaps they fancied that they had made a conquest of me. In any event,
+there was but one of them who could reasonably imagine that. Soon I
+began to think that they whispered and laughed together as they looked
+at me. Perhaps it was my imagination. But, no matter! I had had enough.
+She for whom I had come was not there; why should I remain?
+
+I left the theatre. I was weak enough to pace back and forth on the
+boulevard, in front of the door, hoping that she might come. But the
+clock struck ten. I decided to go away. I went into a café and read the
+papers, and about half-past eleven I went home, depressed and
+shame-faced. Really, that girl was most seductive, and I had fancied
+that there would be no obstacle to our liaison.
+
+My concierge stopped me.
+
+"A young woman has been here asking for you, monsieur. That is to say,
+she didn't ask for you, but for that queer name monsieur told me."
+
+My heart expanded; I became as cheerful as I was melancholy a moment
+before.
+
+"Ah! so the young woman came, did she? A tall, dark girl, with a
+wide-awake look?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; that describes her."
+
+"What time did she come?"
+
+"About half-past eight."
+
+"And she asked if Monsieur--the author whose name I gave you--lived
+here?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"And you answered?"
+
+"I answered _yes_, as you told me to. I told her that you lived on the
+second floor, but that you had gone out."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"Then she said she'd come about noon to-morrow, and told me to tell
+you."
+
+"She will come to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, about noon."
+
+"Very good! very good!"
+
+I was beside myself with joy. I rewarded my concierge, then ran lightly
+up my two flights. Pomponne opened the door. I went in singing, and said
+to him:
+
+"To-morrow, Pomponne, about noon, a young grisette will come here."
+
+"Ah! a grisette--a new one?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"I mean one who has not called on monsieur before."
+
+"Why, yes, of course, you idiot! She will ask for----"
+
+"_Pardi!_ she will ask for monsieur."
+
+"Well, no; that is just what she won't do."
+
+"Will she ask for me, then? But I don't expect anybody, monsieur!"
+
+"Oh! how you annoy me with your reflections, Pomponne! She will ask
+for---- But, no, you would make some infernal blunder; I prefer not to
+have you here. I will send you on some errand, and let her in myself
+when she comes."
+
+"What, monsieur! do you distrust me to that extent?"
+
+"Hush! you bore me."
+
+"But if you want her to ask for me, monsieur, I'm willing, I don't
+refuse."
+
+"Leave me in peace, and go to bed!"
+
+Pomponne went to bed, weeping because I would not allow him to be there
+on the morrow to admit my young grisette. I fell asleep thinking of
+Mademoiselle Rosette. Her visit indicated a very earnest wish to make my
+acquaintance; or was it not due to her having read that name on the
+ticket? Was it not because she believed me to be a famous author that
+she had come to my lodgings? All women love renown; grisettes are as
+susceptible to it as other women. And in that case, when she
+learned----
+
+"Faith!" said I to myself; "we shall see to-morrow; let's go to sleep."
+
+At noon, I was becomingly dressed; I had sent Pomponne away, with orders
+not to return before two o'clock, and I impatiently counted the minutes.
+
+I did not count long. The bell rang; I opened the door instantly: it was
+my grisette, in the same costume as on the day of our first meeting, and
+with a no less affable expression. She entered without ceremony. I
+ushered her into my little salon, and invited her to sit on the divan,
+saying:
+
+"How good of you to come!"
+
+"I came last evening."
+
+"I know it. But why weren't you at the theatre? I was so anxious to meet
+you there! In fact, it was for you that I sent the box, and not for
+those others."
+
+"Yes, but I couldn't go; there was work that had to be done, and at such
+times there's no fun to be had. You saw my employer, Madame Ratapond,
+and a specimen of my aunts."
+
+"Ah! so those were your aunts; the elderly ladies, I presume?"
+
+"Yes. And my mistress, what did you think of her?"
+
+"She is very good-looking. But it was you that I wanted to see! You are
+so pretty, and I love you so dearly!"
+
+At this point, I tried to add action to speech; but Mademoiselle Rosette
+pushed me away and arose, saying:
+
+"In the first place, I want you to let me alone. Stop! stop! you think
+you can go on like that, right away---- Oh, no! Later, I won't say! We'll
+see!"
+
+Good! At all events, she gave me ground for hope. I liked her frankness
+exceedingly.
+
+"In the second place, I must go; yes, I'm in a great hurry. I came here
+on my way to do an errand; but it wasn't far that I had to go, and my
+mistress will say: 'There's that Rosette idling again!'"
+
+"Ah! so it seems that you do that sometimes?"
+
+"Yes, sometimes; I don't deny it. I like to stroll along and look in the
+shop windows."
+
+"Sit down a moment."
+
+She did so, and said, after looking about the room:
+
+"Monsieur--is it really true that it's you?"
+
+"That it's I?--why---- What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, you know, yesterday, when I saw your name on the ticket, I shouted
+for joy, and I said: 'What! that gentleman who spoke to me is the one
+who writes the plays I like so much and go to see so often!'--Oh! I tell
+you, I was pleased then, and that's why I came right here last night: I
+remembered your address, and I asked if it was really you that lived in
+this house; and the concierge said _yes_, and I told him I'd come again
+to-morrow, at noon. Well! does that make you angry? you don't say
+anything."
+
+"No; it doesn't make me angry. But I was thinking."
+
+"I say, monsieur, do you know I'm mad over your plays? If I should go
+mad over you too----"
+
+"There's no danger of that."
+
+"What's that? there's no danger? What makes you say: 'There's no
+danger'? Perhaps you don't know that I take fire very quickly, I do!"
+
+That young woman was decidedly original. She said whatever came into her
+head, without beating about the bush. I liked that frankness, in which
+there was something like artlessness. Mademoiselle Rosette was neither
+stupid, nor pretentious, nor prudish. She was a perfect little
+phoenix, was that grisette. I began by kissing her; she defended
+herself feebly, or, rather, she allowed herself to be kissed without too
+much fuss; but when I attempted to go further, she defended herself very
+stoutly, crying:
+
+"I said: 'Not to-day!'--So, no nonsense; it's a waste of time!"
+
+"Well, when, then?"
+
+"Oh! we'll see; we've got time enough. Do you like me?"
+
+"What a question! Many other men must like you, for you know well enough
+that you're as pretty as a peach."
+
+"Oh, yes! I know that; people tell me so every day."
+
+"Lovers?"
+
+"Lovers and flatterers and chance acquaintances--what do I know? I can't
+go out without being followed, and it's sickening!"
+
+"Come, Mademoiselle Rosette, tell me frankly: have you had
+many--lovers?"
+
+"Lovers! I should think not! No, I've never had but one."
+
+"That's very modest! And you loved him dearly, I suppose?"
+
+"Why, yes."
+
+"Why did you separate?"
+
+She looked down at the floor, heaved a profound sigh, and murmured:
+
+"Alas! he died, my poor Léon!"
+
+"Oh! forgive me for reminding you of so sad a loss."
+
+"Yes; he died--a little more than a year ago."
+
+"How old are you?"
+
+"Twenty. They've wanted to marry me off seventeen times already; but I
+won't have it; I haven't any taste for marriage. I am right, ain't I?"
+
+"If you have no inclination for marriage, you will certainly do quite as
+well to remain free."
+
+"Free, that's it! What fun it is to do just what one wants to do! In the
+first place, I should make a husband very unhappy! And in the second
+place, how can I marry, now? I don't choose to deceive anyone, and I
+certainly wouldn't hold myself out for something that I'm not any more."
+
+"You are right, mademoiselle; you shouldn't have any secrets from the
+man you bind yourself to; but all young ladies aren't like you."
+
+"They're wrong, then. I must go now; I shall get a scolding."
+
+"Just another minute. Tell me; if you hadn't seen that name on the
+theatre ticket, wouldn't you have come to see me?"
+
+"Oh, no!"
+
+"Then it was on account of the name alone that you came, not on my
+account?"
+
+"But it was on your account, as the name's yours."
+
+"But suppose it were not mine? suppose it were a mere accident that that
+name was on the ticket?"
+
+The girl gazed earnestly at me, then exclaimed impatiently:
+
+"Come, go on! what do you mean? I don't like to have anyone hold my nose
+under water."
+
+"I mean, mademoiselle, that, like yourself, I do not choose to deceive
+anyone, or to hold myself out for what I am not. The author of whose
+works you are so fond--I am not he. My name is Charles Rochebrune; and
+I haven't the least little bit of renown to serve as a halo to my name.
+If my concierge lied to you yesterday, it was because I thought that you
+would not come here for poor me; and, as I ardently desired to see you
+again, I ventured upon that little fraud, to obtain the pleasure of
+receiving you here. But I never intended to carry it any further.--That
+is what I wanted to tell you."
+
+Mademoiselle Rosette was silent for a few moments; I heard her mutter in
+a disappointed tone: "It's a pity!" But the next minute she smiled and
+held out her hand, saying:
+
+"I don't care--it was good of you to tell me the truth!"
+
+"Then you are no longer angry with me?"
+
+"What good would that do?"
+
+"And you will love me a little?"
+
+"We shall see. Ah! a piano! Who plays the piano? I love music!"
+
+I sat down at the piano, and played quadrilles, waltzes, and polkas.
+When I reached the last-named dance, she began to polk about the salon
+with fascinating grace.
+
+"Do you like the polka?"
+
+"I adore it! Do you polk?"
+
+"A little."
+
+"Let's try it."
+
+She took my arm, and in a moment we were polking all over the salon to a
+tune which I was obliged to sing while we danced. It was very fatiguing;
+but Mademoiselle Rosette did not weary; she was an intrepid dancer. We
+were making our fifteenth circuit, at least, when the door was suddenly
+thrown open and Frédérique appeared. She stood, speechless with
+amazement, in the doorway; she had not eyes enough to look at us. I
+attempted to stop and go to her; but Mademoiselle Rosette dragged me on
+and compelled me to continue:
+
+"Come on, come on!" she cried. "Do you think of stopping now? My word!
+Why, I can polk two hours without stopping!"
+
+
+
+
+XXXV
+
+A HIGH LIVER
+
+
+Mademoiselle Rosette danced on with undiminished ardor, but I felt that
+mine was rapidly giving out; my voice was dying away, and there were
+moments when I did not make a sound. After watching us for some time,
+Frédérique took her place at the piano and began to play a polka for us.
+
+Then there was no longer any reason why we should stop; I did not need
+to sing, it is true, but I did need the leg of a Hercules to keep pace
+with my partner, who exclaimed when she heard the music:
+
+"Oh! that's fine! How much better we go with the piano!--Not quite so
+fast, madame, please! The polka isn't like the waltz."
+
+But I could do no more; I stopped and threw myself into a chair.
+Mademoiselle Rosette thereupon concluded to sit down; and as she took
+out her handkerchief to wipe her face, she dropped a thimble, two skeins
+of cotton, a piece of cake, two sous, a spool of thread, a card, a lump
+of sugar, a skein of silk, and three plums.
+
+She got down on all fours to pick them up, then glanced at the clock and
+cried:
+
+"Mon Dieu! half-past one! To think that I've been here an hour and a
+half, and I didn't mean to stay five minutes! Oh! what a trouncing I
+shall get! luckily, I don't care a hang! Adieu, Monsieur
+What's-your-name! I'm going."
+
+She had already left the salon; I hurried after her and overtook her in
+the reception room, and, seizing her around the waist, said:
+
+"When shall I see you again?"
+
+"_Dame!_ I don't know; whenever you say."
+
+"Will you dine with me to-morrow?"
+
+"Dine with you? Yes, I'd like to."
+
+"Will you be on Passage Vendôme at five o'clock?"
+
+"No, no! not on Passage Vendôme; that's too near my employer's; someone
+might see me. Better go where we met first, on Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle,
+in front of the Gymnase."
+
+"Very good; at five o'clock?"
+
+"That's too early; half-past five."
+
+"Half-past five it is. Until to-morrow, then!"
+
+"Yes; adieu!"
+
+I kissed her, and she ran down the stairs four at a time. I returned to
+the salon. Frédérique's face wore a singular expression. She pretended
+to laugh, but her merriment seemed forced to me.
+
+"Will you forgive me for leaving you alone a moment while I said a word
+to that young woman?" I said, as I sat down beside her.
+
+"Why, of course! Do friends stand on ceremony with one another?"
+
+"You see, I have taken advantage of the permission you gave me."
+
+"You have done well.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"Why do you laugh?"
+
+"Because you looked so comical, polking with that grisette just now. I
+had so little expectation of finding a ball in progress here!--Ha! ha!
+ha! I was speechless."
+
+"By the way, how did you come in?"
+
+"Through the door, naturally; I rang, and your servant admitted me. But
+you were so hard at work with your dancing that you didn't hear
+me--apparently.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"Oho! my servant admitted you, did he? I sent him on an errand and
+forbade him to return before two o'clock. The rascal! he couldn't
+restrain his curiosity, and he came back before the time."
+
+"I disturbed you--I am very sorry. But it seemed to me that you had had
+enough; you were on your last legs. _Fichtre!_ what a dancer that damsel
+is! You and I dance very well together--they took us for artists from
+the Opéra, you know; but if you had polked with your friend at Monsieur
+Bocal's ball, they would have carried you both in triumph, like
+_Musard_.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"You are in a satirical mood, Frédérique."
+
+"Satirical with you? Bless my soul! it seems to me that that would be
+very unbecoming of me. You amuse yourself, you enjoy life, you know how
+to make the most of your best days--and you are quite right! I may envy
+your happiness, but certainly not laugh at it, I who can no longer do
+anything but bore myself and other people too."
+
+She said these last words in a most melancholy tone, and her eyes were
+wet with tears.
+
+"What's that you say about boring other people, Frédérique?" I said,
+taking her hand. "You didn't make that wicked remark for my benefit, I
+trust; if you did, it is absolutely false."
+
+She hastily withdrew her hand.
+
+"No, no!" she cried; "I don't know what I am saying, or what I am
+thinking about! Come, let us talk, my dear friend; who is this girl that
+I found with you?"
+
+"She--why, she's a grisette; and a very pretty one, too, is she not?"
+
+"Yes, that may be. She lisps when she talks."
+
+"Oh! really now! Once in a while, there's something that makes her voice
+tremble, it is true, but it isn't at all disagreeable; quite the
+contrary."
+
+"That's a matter of taste. Some men like women who lisp, just as some
+like red hair. I have known some who even went so far as to adore women
+with a limp."
+
+"Oh! how caustic you are to-day, Frédérique!"
+
+"And this beauty, with the quivering voice--how long have you known
+her?"
+
+"Since day before yesterday."
+
+"Peste! she's quite new! And the acquaintance is already--complete; you
+have nothing else to wish for?"
+
+"Oh! I beg your pardon. We don't go so fast."
+
+"But I should say that you go at quite a good pace. If the young lady
+should prove cruel, I should be much surprised."
+
+"I trust that she won't be to-morrow."
+
+"Ah! you are to see her again to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, we dine together; we have made the appointment, it's all
+arranged."
+
+Frédérique abruptly sprang to her feet and walked to the window. She
+remained there some time. When she came back to me, I was surprised at
+her pallor.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I asked, hastening to meet her.
+
+"No; I--I--was looking at the weather. Well! so you really have ceased
+entirely to think of Armantine?"
+
+"What has induced you to mention that lady to me? What idea have you in
+your head?"
+
+"A perfectly natural one. I am still surprised to find that you have
+forgotten her. Do you know that she has left Passy?"
+
+"How should I know that? Do you suppose that I have been to Passy?"
+
+"Oh, no! that is true. Well, Armantine has left the neighborhood of the
+Bois. She hasn't told me where she has gone; apparently, she isn't
+anxious to see me again. That's as she pleases: one should never force
+one's self upon anybody. But I see that you are not listening to me! I
+forgive you: you are so engrossed by your new conquest and your blissful
+meeting to-morrow!--But I am forgetting that I have some business to
+attend to."
+
+As she spoke, she put on her bonnet, which she had tossed on a table
+when she took her seat at the piano.
+
+"What! you are going to leave me already?"
+
+"Yes--I, too--somebody's waiting for me--I too have an appointment. Did
+you think that that was impossible?"
+
+"In what a tone you say that! I thought simply that, in that case, you
+would have taken me into your confidence."
+
+"Perhaps so. I can't tell all my sentiments so easily as you can."
+
+"Then you have less confidence in me than I have in you."
+
+"That is possible."
+
+"But that is very unkind!"
+
+"Tell me, how long will this new love of yours last?"
+
+"My relations with Mademoiselle Rosette?--for you mustn't call it love."
+
+"What is it, then?"
+
+"It is a little liaison of no consequence--for amusement."
+
+"Give it whatever name you choose. Well, how long will this little
+liaison of no consequence, for amusement, be likely to last?"
+
+"Why do you ask?"
+
+"Because I want to know."
+
+"It's rather hard for me to answer. How is it possible to say? You see,
+I know nothing of the girl's temperament. Such liaisons sometimes end in
+a week; sometimes they last three months."
+
+"All right. Then I will come again three months hence."
+
+"What does this mean? Why do you leave me so?"
+
+"Because it seems to me that I always arrive most inopportunely and
+disturb you in the midst of your pleasures; and I shall do well not to
+intrude again, so long as you are--infatuated with this grisette."
+
+"Really, Frédérique, I can't understand you! What connection can there
+possibly be between my follies, my amourettes, my momentary pleasures,
+and our delightful friendship?"
+
+"Oh! you are quite right! Of course, there is not the slightest
+connection between me and your pleasures. Ah, me! I certainly do not
+know what I am saying to-day; my wits are all topsy-turvy. But, adieu! I
+repeat, I have an appointment; I must leave you. Adieu!"
+
+"But I shall see you again soon?"
+
+"Yes, soon."
+
+She left the room. There were days when I was utterly at a loss to
+understand that woman's changing moods.
+
+"Ah! here's Monsieur Pomponne! Just come this way, O faithful and, above
+all, obedient servitor!"
+
+Pomponne hung his head and stood in front of me, like a Cossack awaiting
+the knout.
+
+"What did I tell you when I sent you out this morning?"
+
+"You told me, monsieur, that it would take me till two o'clock at least.
+But I hurried and got back earlier. Monsieur tells me sometimes that I
+am slow, and I wanted to prove that I could be quick."
+
+"You have proved that you are a prying rascal--that's what you have
+proved! Another time, if you don't carry out my orders to the letter, I
+will discharge you."
+
+"You didn't give me any letter, monsieur."
+
+"Enough; off with you, or I may give you something else!"
+
+The next day, at half-past five, I was at the place Mademoiselle Rosette
+had appointed; in a few moments, I saw my new conquest approaching; she
+did not keep me waiting, that was another excellent quality.
+
+For this occasion Mademoiselle Rosette had made a toilet; she wore a
+green merino dress, a pretty shawl, a black velvet bonnet, with a tulle
+veil. It was all very becoming to her; moreover, her costume was
+suitable, without being pretentious; that fact denoted good taste.
+
+I offered her my arm, and she smilingly accepted it. We walked toward
+the cab stand. I put her into a little _citadine_, and as we drove away
+I began the conversation with a kiss; that leads at once to intimacy. My
+companion accepted the situation with the best grace imaginable. We were
+very good friends in short order.
+
+"Where are you taking me?" inquired Rosette.
+
+"To a restaurant."
+
+"Is it very far?"
+
+"Near the Jardin des Plantes, opposite the Orléans station--the
+Arc-en-Ciel. It seems to me that if we get away from the crowd, we shall
+be more at liberty, more at home. You're in no hurry, are you?"
+
+"Oh, no! that is to say, provided I'm at home at eleven o'clock."
+
+"Then we have plenty of time before us. By the way, where do you live?"
+
+"Suppose I don't choose to tell you?"
+
+"It shall be exactly as you choose."
+
+"I was joking. I live on Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
+
+"The deuce! that's well up in the faubourg! And you go back there alone,
+at night, when you leave your work?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And you're not afraid?"
+
+"What should I be afraid of? Besides, I always have body-guards, men who
+follow me and protect me. But, speaking of that, monsieur, who was that
+lady who came to see you while we were polking? and who stayed there
+after I went, and looked at me as if she meant to count my eyelashes?"
+
+"That lady is a friend of mine."
+
+"I understand: she's your mistress!"
+
+"I assure you that she is not. If she were, I should have no reason to
+conceal the fact."
+
+"Oh! I don't know. There are some ladies who don't want to be given
+away--when they're married, for instance."
+
+"Once more, I assure you that she is a friend, and nothing more."
+
+"Oh! a friend! I know what that means! So she's an old one, eh?"
+
+"Neither old nor new. Do you suppose that, if that lady were my
+mistress, she would be obliging enough, when she found me dancing with
+you, to sit down at the piano and be our orchestra?"
+
+"Oh! but she played the polka fast enough to spoil our wind in a second.
+It was no use for me to call out: 'A little slower, please, madame!' she
+didn't listen to me, but banged and banged away! It was a sly trick to
+wind us both. Oh! I'm not so stupid as you think!"
+
+"But I have never thought that you were stupid; far from it!"
+
+"Really! tell me, do you think I am bright?"
+
+"I think you are charming."
+
+"That's no answer; I might be charming, and still be stupid. However, I
+don't care; as long as I please you, and you love me a little--I mean
+much; I want to be loved much--that's all I ask."
+
+She said all this with an abandon, a vivacity, which proved, at all
+events, that she did not stop to pick her words.
+
+We arrived at the restaurant; I need not say that I had taken my
+conquest to an establishment where there were cosily furnished private
+dining-rooms. I also think it needless to add that I began by dismissing
+the waiter, who attempted to insist upon serving us at once, by telling
+him that I would prepare my order and ring for him when we wanted to
+dine. I was very glad to have an interview with Mademoiselle Rosette,
+uninterrupted by the constant going and coming of a waiter.
+
+At last we were left alone. I was able to converse at my ease with my
+pretty workgirl, to whom our conversation was equally agreeable and who
+sustained her part excellently. I was enchanted with Mademoiselle
+Rosette! Long live the women who do not make a thousand and one grimaces
+before coming to what they have never intended to refuse! Ah! if only
+one could believe that they did have that intention, and yielded to the
+power of sentiment, to the ascendency of our passion alone! But it is
+impossible to believe that. Whenever a woman agrees to go to a private
+dining-room with a man, it means that she does not propose to be severe.
+
+In due course, we dined; we had the most voracious appetites. We were as
+gay as larks; embarrassment and reserve had vanished. There is nothing
+superior to a little tender conversation for putting us in a good humor
+at once, and putting to flight that indefinable constraint which takes
+wing only when a woman has ceased to keep us at any distance.
+
+Rosette and I were like people who had known each other for six months.
+She ate like an ogre and drank like a porter. She was a model grisette!
+a table companion of the sort that puts you on your mettle and excites
+you! Don't talk to me of the women who never have any appetite, who
+barely nibble at their food, and leave untouched all that you put on
+their plate. They call everything bad, and end by preventing you from
+eating. What depressing companions! With them, you spend quite as
+much--yes, more; for you never know what to order to stir them up, and
+you always dine wretchedly.
+
+But with Rosette how different it was! how we made the oysters
+disappear, and the soup, and the beef-steak; the fish and game and
+vegetables and sweetmeats and dessert! She ate the last dish with as
+much gusto as the first. Oh! fascinating girl, I admired thee! I revered
+thee! I would have erected a column to thee, had I been Lucullus! But
+thou wert as well pleased with a charlotte russe! And thou wert right:
+columns remain, but charlotte russes pass away; and that was what we
+wanted.
+
+We drank chablis, pomard, madeira, and came at last to champagne.
+Rosette confessed that she adored that wine; as for the others, I was
+pleased to see that she had a friendly feeling for them as well. She
+laughingly emptied her glass, saying:
+
+"I'd have you know that I never get tipsy."
+
+A moment later, she cried:
+
+"Oh! but I say, I am drinking too much; I'm beginning to be dizzy!"
+
+In another instant, she assumed a sentimental expression.
+
+"O my friend!" she said; "if I should be drunk, what would you say to
+me? You might not love me any more! That would make me very unhappy!"
+
+But I kissed her and drank with her, and her fears were succeeded by
+bursts of merriment.
+
+The more one drinks, the more one talks, unless one happens to be
+melancholy in one's cups, and my grisette was not so constituted.
+
+While we dined, she told me her whole history; I knew her family as well
+as if I were her cousin. She was an orphan, but her seven aunts took
+care of her. It seemed to me that their watchfulness resembled that of
+the Seven Sleepers. That is one of the inconveniences of having too many
+aunts: each of them probably relied on the others to keep an eye on
+Rosette.
+
+Now her aunts wanted her to marry, and each one had a match in view for
+her; the result being that there were seven aspirants for the hand of my
+friend, who reminded me of the Seven Children of Lara. Thus
+Mademoiselle Rosette had only too many to choose from, to say nothing of
+the fact that she had several young men who were paying court to her,
+for the good motive, without the knowledge of her aunts.
+
+"Perhaps you don't believe me! But I'll show you; I always have letters
+from some of my suitors in my pocket. I want you to read them; they'll
+make you laugh."
+
+And Rosette set about emptying her pockets, which led us to the
+disclosure of a multitude of things, such as scissors, skeins of cotton,
+crusts of bread, visiting cards, copper coins, barley sugar, ribbons,
+braid, chalk, specimens of dry goods, orange peel, etc., etc. I told her
+that she should empty her pockets on the boulevard and shout:
+
+"Here's what's left from the sale! Come, messieurs and mesdames, take
+your choice; this is what's left from the sale!"
+
+Rosette insisted that I should read her letters from her adorers. I
+found in them the following sentiments:
+
+"Ah! mademoiselle, what a sudden spasm I felt throughout my being when I
+saw your shadow on the curtain!"
+
+Or this: "Fatality collects and heaps up like a block of granite on my
+breast the circumstances that compel me to idolize you."
+
+I soon had enough of that; I refused to read any more and returned the
+scrawls to Rosette, saying:
+
+"I'll wager that your lovers have long, flying hair, uncombed beards,
+and artist's hats?"
+
+"That is true! How did you guess that?"
+
+"My dear love, when a man writes in that style, he doesn't dress like
+other people."
+
+The hour arrived when we must think of returning. The time had passed
+very quickly; that is the greatest praise one can give a tête-à-tête.
+
+I put Mademoiselle Rosette in a cab again--she was slightly
+exhilarated--and said:
+
+"I will escort you to Faubourg Saint-Denis."
+
+She seemed to consider.
+
+"Aren't you going home?" I continued.
+
+"How stupid you are! Where do you suppose I'm going? But, you see, I
+have quite a choice; I can go and sleep at another one of my aunts', if
+I choose--it doesn't matter which, I have a bed with each of them; I
+might sleep in the Marais, for I have an aunt on Rue Pont-aux-Choux."
+
+"Pardieu! that's convenient, isn't it? So, when you want to pass the
+night with your lover, you tell one aunt that you've been with another
+one, and so on. Oh! fortunate niece! I have known lots of nieces, but
+very few in so pleasant a position as you occupy."
+
+"Oh! come, don't laugh at me! Let me tell you, monsieur, that my aunts
+see each other very often; and so, if I should lie and say I had passed
+the night with one of them when I hadn't, they'd soon find it out, and I
+shouldn't have a very nice time."
+
+"Forgive me, dear love! I didn't mean to offend you!"
+
+"Kiss me. When shall I see you again?"
+
+"When you are willing."
+
+"I'll come to see you Thursday, about two. Will you wait for me?"
+
+"Most certainly."
+
+"And you'll take care that your friend don't come and disturb us; if she
+does, I'll make a scene with her. I'm very jealous, let me tell you. You
+love me, don't you? Ah! you've made me tipsy, you see, and I don't know
+what I'm saying."
+
+I reassured Rosette and left her on Faubourg Saint-Denis, where she had
+finally decided to go. She was a very attractive girl, her conversation
+was amusing, and her person most alluring. But I was sorry that she had
+a tent pitched in every quarter of Paris; one could never be sure where
+she had gone into camp.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVI
+
+A SCENE
+
+
+I had known Rosette a month, and thus far had had no reason to repent. I
+had observed, to be sure, that the young woman did not always tell me
+the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; but, after all, a
+lover should not act toward his mistress in the capacity of a juryman.
+Moreover, Rosette herself had told me, in a moment of effusiveness, that
+she lied a great deal and lied very well. It seemed to me that, after
+that, I was not justified in losing my temper when she told me a
+falsehood; for she might reply:
+
+"I gave you fair warning!"
+
+I often took Rosette to dine in a private dining-room. Knowing as I did
+what justice she could do to a hearty meal, it would really have been a
+pity not to give her an opportunity for practice; and as I myself am
+endowed with a lusty appetite, our little parties always afforded us
+pleasure: when love went to sleep, the stomach woke, and _vice versa_.
+
+Rosette came to my rooms once or twice a week, and sometimes unheralded.
+When I was absent, she went into my chamber; I had told Pomponne that
+she was to be admitted at any time. When she had come and failed to find
+me, I always discovered it instantly, for she turned everything in the
+apartment topsy-turvy. She tossed about papers, books, combs, brushes,
+and soap; looked through all the drawers, and left nothing in its place;
+even the chairs I always found in the middle of the room.
+
+"Couldn't you have put my room to rights a little?" I would say to
+Pomponne.
+
+And Monsieur Pomponne would reply, with his sly smile:
+
+"It was Mademoiselle Rosette who arranged monsieur's bedroom like that;
+I shouldn't venture to touch anything."
+
+I had not seen Frédérique since the day she played for us to dance. She
+had not called upon me again. I had been several times to see her, but
+had not found her. Could it be that her friendship was really jealous of
+my love for a grisette? That would be absurd. Friendship should be
+indulgent to our weaknesses, and, after all, I had not promised
+Frédérique to be virtuous.
+
+I could not understand her conduct in the least, but I was deeply
+grieved by it. I missed her; my follies with Rosette were simply
+transitory gleams of pleasure, while my delightful interviews with
+Frédérique filled my heart with a joy which had a morrow.
+
+I was sitting one day, absorbed in serious reflections, when Frédérique
+entered my room. I cannot describe my sensation of pleasure. I ran to
+meet her, took her hands, and cried:
+
+"Ah! here you are at last! I am very glad! I thought that you had
+forgotten me altogether."
+
+She looked at me and smiled, as she rejoined:
+
+"So you are glad to see me?"
+
+"Unkind Frédérique! can you ask such a question? Why, I have been to see
+you several times!"
+
+"I know it; my people told me."
+
+"But you are never at home! What sort of life are you leading, pray,
+madame?"
+
+"I go out a good deal, it is true."
+
+"Have you been ill? it seems to me that you are a little pale."
+
+"I am never very red. The women you see are so fresh and rosy, that you
+are struck by the difference."
+
+"Ah! madame, I see no woman whom it gives me so much pleasure to look at
+as you."
+
+"Really?"
+
+She uttered that word with an accent that came from her heart. I made
+her sit down beside me. She looked all about the room, murmuring:
+
+"Are you alone?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And I do not intrude?"
+
+"Once more, I tell you that you never intrude."
+
+"Oh! _never_ is too strong. What if she were with you?"
+
+"Who, pray?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! you know well enough: your dancing damsel--your Rosette."
+
+"Oh! my Rosette!"
+
+"_Dame!_ I think that I may fairly say _your_ Rosette, for she must
+surely have become yours since the day---- To be sure, she may be others'
+also, and in that case the possessive pronoun would be of doubtful
+propriety."
+
+"Call her what you will, Frédérique; I attach little importance to that.
+But I am surprised to find that my liaison with that girl displeases
+you. Why is it so? I can't understand. You are too intelligent to
+believe that such amourettes can impair the pure friendship I have sworn
+to you."
+
+Frédérique put her hand over her eyes and turned her face away.
+
+"But you are mistaken!" she exclaimed. "It is not true! Your liaison
+with this grisette doesn't displease me at all. Upon my word! why should
+it, pray?--But I would have liked you to know five or six at the same
+time; that would be more amusing; I should enjoy that immensely."
+
+At that moment I heard voices outside, and recognized Pomponne's.
+
+"Monsieur is having a consultation with someone," he said.
+
+"I don't care a hang for his consultation; I can go in any time, I can!"
+was the reply.
+
+And an instant later, Mademoiselle Rosette opened the door and appeared
+before us. Frédérique turned pale, but she did not stir. I was annoyed
+that Rosette should have come just then. However, I had no reason for
+letting her see it; so I went to meet her, smiling as usual. But my
+grisette had assumed a furious expression, and she drew back from me,
+crying:
+
+"Don't put yourself out, monsieur, I beg; you were so comfortable with
+madame! You weren't polking, to be sure, but you were engaged in
+something more interesting; anybody could see that."
+
+I saw that Rosette was on the point of saying things most unseemly, and
+perhaps worse than that, to Madame Dauberny, and I felt my blood begin
+to boil. Frédérique, on the contrary, remained quite calm.
+
+"Mademoiselle," I said, "I cannot believe that it is your intention to
+insult those persons whom you may chance to meet on my premises; I tell
+you at once that that does not meet my views at all, and that I will not
+endure it."
+
+"Really? Perhaps I'll have to put on mittens when I speak to the
+princesses I find in monsieur's room! I guess not much! Humbug!"
+
+"O Rosette! Rosette!"
+
+"Let me alone; I propose to shriek all I want to, and get mad too! I
+don't believe in these _friendships_ between ladies and young men. Bah!
+friendship that crawls under your bedclothes!"
+
+"Be careful, mademoiselle!"
+
+"I won't be careful! I'm your mistress, I am, worse luck!--If madame
+don't know it, I'm very glad to tell her of it, so that she'll know it
+now. Yes, I'm your mistress; but I don't propose to have you have others
+at the same time--old ones or new ones;--if you do, I'll raise a deuce
+of a row! Ah! you'll see!"
+
+Frédérique, who seemed rather pleased than angry as she listened to
+Rosette, rose and said to her in a most affable tone:
+
+"I was quite well aware that you were monsieur's mistress, mademoiselle;
+I beg you to believe that I did not doubt it for a moment, when I saw
+you in his room. I assure you that you are wrong, altogether wrong, to
+be jealous of me, who am not and never have been Monsieur Rochebrune's
+mistress. So that I do not deserve your anger--and to prove it, I am
+going to take my leave at once and surrender my place to you--which I
+would not do, I beg you to believe, if monsieur were my lover. Come!
+make your peace; be reconciled! I am distressed to have been the cause
+of this scene.--Adieu, Rochebrune; au revoir, my friend! Be sure that I
+am not at all offended with you for what has happened."
+
+Frédérique left the room, smiling sweetly at me. I did not try to detain
+her, because I did not choose to expose her to fresh abuse from Rosette.
+
+As for my grisette, she threw herself on the divan, crying:
+
+"I don't care! I must admit that she's a good creature, after all. Ah! I
+wouldn't have been the one to go! You might have called up a dozen
+gendarmes, and I'd just have said: _Zut!_"
+
+I paced the floor without a word; I was vexed and angry. After five
+minutes, Rosette exclaimed:
+
+"I say, monsieur, when are you going to stop stalking around your room,
+like the Bear of Berne? Why, you ought to have begged my pardon ten
+times for the tricks you play on me! For it's a perfect outrage, the way
+you treat me!"
+
+"If anyone ought to ask pardon, mademoiselle, you are the one; for,
+without any motive or reason, you have insulted a most estimable lady, a
+person who should be out of reach of your suspicions and your attacks. I
+had told you before that there was nothing in my relations with her to
+arouse your jealousy; and because you find her in my room, where she has
+not been since the day of the polka, you make a scene, and say things to
+her that are worse than unbecoming. It is all wrong, and I am very angry
+with you."
+
+"Hoity-toity! You're angry with me, are you? Ah! you're a nice man, you
+are! You are annoyed because I caught you in--vicious conversation, as
+the bewigged men say! After all, what did I say that was so mortifying
+to your fine lady? Nothing at all! Ah! if I had pulled her hair out or
+torn her dress, then you might say something!"
+
+"That would have been the last straw! Do you suppose I would have
+allowed that?"
+
+"If I'd taken a fancy to do it, you wouldn't have had time to stop
+me--my good friend. I wouldn't have asked your leave."
+
+"Mademoiselle Rosette, you are very wrong-headed."
+
+"That may be; but you can take me or leave me."
+
+I said nothing, but continued to pace the floor. After a considerable
+time, Mademoiselle Rosette sprang to her feet.
+
+"Well! so that's the way it is, eh?--Bonsoir!"
+
+She rushed from the room, and I heard her slam one door after another
+till she was in the hall.
+
+She had gone, and gone in a rage. No matter! I could not allow her to
+insult my visitors without the slightest cause. If I should allow it,
+with her temperament Mademoiselle Rosette would soon pass from words to
+deeds. I said to myself that she would calm down and come back to me. I
+did not believe that she was vixenish at heart. Those people who fly
+into a rage so quickly do not let the sun go down on their wrath.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVII
+
+ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS
+
+
+Several days passed and I heard nothing of my grisette. But I went to
+see Frédérique, whom I found at home, and who greeted me with evident
+pleasure.
+
+I did not mention Rosette; but I saw in her eyes that she was burning to
+know the situation of my amour with her. At last, she could contain
+herself no longer.
+
+"Well, my friend," she said, "you say nothing of your love affairs. I
+trust, however, that I am still your confidante; and you surely must
+have been content with my conduct the last time I came to see you."
+
+"I did not speak of that, to avoid recalling unpleasant things; you were
+most kind, a thousand times too kind; but that did not surprise me, and
+I ask your pardon again for that girl, who didn't know what she was
+saying."
+
+"I assure you that she didn't offend me in the least; far from it! her
+observations were so amusing, and her expressions so classic! But you
+are reconciled, I hope? My departure should have restored peace at
+once."
+
+"No; that is where you are mistaken. We did not make peace. Rosette went
+away in a rage, and I haven't seen her since."
+
+"Really? You surprise me. And haven't you made any attempt to see that
+fascinating grisette again?"
+
+"No, not any."
+
+Frédérique looked at me out of the corner of her eye. To change the
+subject, I asked her if her husband had returned.
+
+"Not yet. You seem greatly interested in my husband's movements. I
+confess that that puzzles me a good deal."
+
+"I beg you to believe that my interest in him has no connection with
+you."
+
+"Oh! I am sure of that."
+
+"Do you know that your husband's friend, he who called himself
+Saint-Germain, has lost his place?"
+
+"I did not know it; but that explains why he comes here almost every day
+to inquire if Monsieur Dauberny has returned; indeed, he asked to see me
+once."
+
+"Do not receive that man, madame; I take the liberty of giving you that
+advice."
+
+"I will follow your advice, monsieur, which, by the by, is in perfect
+accord with my previous intentions. If I dared to give you advice, in my
+turn, I would say----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Oh, no! no! I won't say it! I prefer that you should follow the
+impulses of your heart; and then, too----"
+
+Frédérique began to laugh, and I was somewhat annoyed; but she refused
+to say anything more. I took my leave, almost offended with her; but I
+pressed her hand affectionately.
+
+Several more days passed, and still no news of Rosette. I was hurt by
+her desertion; she was very pretty, and she loved me, or, at all events,
+she pretended to, which often amounts to the same thing. If she was
+jealous, was not that a proof of affection? After all, I had let her go
+without saying a word, without trying to detain her.
+
+"Come, come!" I said to myself; "no false shame! It is my place to make
+advances."
+
+Rosette had said to me:
+
+"If you should happen to have anything important to say to me, go to my
+aunt's--whichever one I am staying with--and ask for me. There's no
+danger; they won't see anything but smoke."
+
+So I determined to hunt up Rosette, at her various aunts' abodes,
+praying that I should have less difficulty than Jason had in his quest
+of the Golden Fleece. Rosette, by the way, had not a golden fleece, and
+was to be congratulated therefor.
+
+I hired a cab by the hour, and went first to Faubourg Saint-Denis,
+corner of Rue Chabrol; that was where Rosette had her legal domicile. I
+knew the house, having taken her there quite often. I went in and asked
+an old tailor, presumably the concierge, if Mademoiselle Rosette was
+with her aunt, Madame Falourdin. I had remembered that aunt's name; as
+for the others, I had heard them named; but that conglomeration of more
+or less queer and unusual names had escaped my memory.
+
+"Mamzelle Rosette?" replied the tailor, eying the seat of an old pair of
+trousers as a cook eyes eggs that are to be served in the shell;
+"Mamzelle Rosette? No, monsieur, I don't think she be to her aunt's, or
+I'd have seen her going out and coming in more'n once this morning. You
+see, monsieur, that girl's just like a worm as has been cut in
+two--always wriggling.--_Bigre!_ that place is pretty nigh worn out!"
+
+I saw that Rosette was recognized everywhere as being constantly in
+motion.
+
+"So you think she isn't at Madame Falourdin's?" I said.
+
+"I'd put my thimble in the fire on it. Ha! ha! To be sure, it wouldn't
+burn, being as it's wrought iron.--Oho! how thin this place is!"
+
+The old fellow was inclined to jest. However, I must find out where to
+go in search of Rosette.
+
+"Can you tell me, monsieur, where I shall find Mademoiselle Rosette?"
+
+I added to my question the obligatory accompaniment of a piece of
+silver; but to my amazement the old tailor pushed my hand away, saying:
+
+"That would be robbery, for I don't know where she is.--They want me to
+make a child's jacket out of this thing, and I couldn't make one
+gaiter!"
+
+"But I must speak to that young woman."
+
+"Well, then, go up to the third, Mame Falourdin; she'd ought to know
+where her niece is."
+
+He was right; that was my only resource. Rosette had said to me:
+
+"When you ask for me at one of my aunts', you must always say that you
+come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon."--I bore that
+in mind.
+
+There was but one door on the third floor, so that it was impossible to
+make a mistake. I rang. A tall, thin woman opened the door.
+
+"Madame Falourdin?"
+
+"That's me, monsieur. What can I do for you?"
+
+"Is Mademoiselle Rosette with you, madame?"
+
+"No, monsieur; what do you want of her?"
+
+"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing----"
+
+"I know, monsieur, I know! About a cashmere shawl, I suppose, that needs
+mending and must be mended right away?"
+
+"I think that that's what it is, madame."
+
+"Then, monsieur, you must be kind enough to go to her Aunt Riflot's, Rue
+du Pont-aux-Choux, No. 17. That's where Rosette is just now."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame; I will go there at once."
+
+"Your servant, monsieur!"
+
+I was not sorry to know that the finisher was supposed to send for
+Rosette to mend shawls; that would give me more self-assurance in my
+embassy.
+
+I was driven to Rue du Pont-aux-Choux. There I did not stop to parley
+with the concierge; I asked for Madame Riflot, and went up at once to
+the fourth floor. I found a very active and wide-awake little old woman,
+who did not keep still an instant, but was constantly on the move from
+the stove to the kitchen table and cupboard while she talked with me.
+
+"I would like to say a word to Mademoiselle Rosette, if possible,
+madame."
+
+"Rosette? my niece Rosette?--Ah! mon Dieu! I believe it's burning! yes,
+I believe it's burning!"
+
+And the old woman ran and turned over the tripe that was frying on the
+stove.
+
+"She is here, is she not, madame?"
+
+"Rosette? my niece Rosette?--Have I got any parsley? have I got any
+parsley? It would be just like me not to have any parsley!"
+
+"Will you kindly tell me if I may speak to her? Will you call her?"
+
+"Who? Rosette? my niece Rosette?--A body don't have a minute to herself!
+It must be after twelve. Is it after twelve?"
+
+I began to lose patience, and, being convinced that Rosette was not far
+away, I shouted at the top of my voice:
+
+"Mademoiselle Rosette, you're wanted!"
+
+At that, the infernal old hag stopped, looked at me, and began to laugh.
+When she had laughed her fill, she said:
+
+"It's no use for you to call and yell, as she ain't here; you might just
+as well sing!"
+
+"She is not here? You should have told me that at once, madame."
+
+"You didn't give me time.--And my fire, my fire----"
+
+"In that case, madame, will you be kind enough to tell me where I can
+find mademoiselle your niece? I wanted to see her about mending a
+shawl--at Madame Berlingot's."
+
+"Rosette told me, the last time I saw her: 'I'm going to work at Aunt
+Piquette's, Rue aux Ours, No. 35.'--Well, have I got any embers, I
+wonder? Let's look and see!"
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame."
+
+That old woman set my nerves on edge! Thank God! I was clear of her at
+last! I made all haste to Aunt Piquette's, Rue aux Ours.
+
+I found no concierge at the number indicated; but a neighbor told me
+that Madame Piquette lived on the fifth floor. _Fichtre!_ the flights
+increased in number! If I should have to visit all Rosette's aunts, how
+high should I have to ascend, at that rate? But I hoped that I should
+find that intangible niece this time.
+
+I rang at Madame Piquette's door. A woman appeared who was fully sixty
+years of age, but who wore a cap overladen with flowers and pink
+ribbons. Where will not coquetry build its nest?
+
+"Madame Piquette?"
+
+"That's me, monsieur; take the trouble to come in."
+
+And she made a formal reverence, as she stood aside to let me pass.
+
+"It is useless for me to disturb you, madame; I have come to----"
+
+"I certainly shall not receive you on the landing, monsieur; please walk
+in."
+
+"But, madame, I have come for Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece, to----"
+
+"You will offend me by staying out here, monsieur."
+
+I had to give way. I went in, hoping to remain in the first room; but
+Madame Piquette pushed me toward a door at the farther end, making
+another reverence. I concluded to enter the second room, which with the
+first seemed to form the whole suite. And no Rosette! Could it be that I
+had made another fruitless journey?
+
+"I come, madame, from----"
+
+"Pray be good enough to sit down, monsieur."
+
+"It is not worth while, madame. I wanted to see Mademoiselle Rosette,
+your niece----"
+
+"You will mortify me by standing, monsieur."
+
+I had no desire to mortify Madame Piquette, but I was inclined to regret
+little Aunt Riflot at that moment. At last we were both seated. Madame
+Piquette put a small rug under my feet. Did she think that I had come to
+pass the day with her? She glanced in the mirror, and rearranged her cap
+strings on her breast. That pantomime alarmed me; I looked about in
+dismay; but for some unknown reason, I did not let my eyes rest on
+Madame Piquette, who had partly unfastened her neckerchief. Mon Dieu!
+what was the woman thinking of? At last, she finished her manoeuvring,
+and I hastened to say, without stopping for breath:
+
+"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon, to ask
+Mademoiselle Rosette to mend a cashmere shawl."
+
+Madame Piquette courtesied again; I glanced in the mirror and thought
+that she was preparing to remove her neckerchief. Great heaven! what was
+I about to see?
+
+But, no; I had taken fright without cause; she rearranged her pink
+ribbons about her neck, and replied:
+
+"It is with the deepest regret, monsieur, that I find myself compelled
+to inform you that Rosette is not here. I believe that she is at her
+Aunt Dumarteau's at this moment."
+
+"Will you kindly give me Madame Dumarteau's address?"
+
+"It's a long way, monsieur, a long way from here!"
+
+"I have a cab, madame."
+
+"In that case, monsieur, take the trouble to go to Rue Verte, Faubourg
+Saint-Honoré, No. 12."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame!"
+
+"But if you would be pleased to rest a moment longer, monsieur, I should
+be charmed to----"
+
+I listened to no more; I rose, left the room, and went down the stairs
+by leaps and bounds; I fancied that I could still see Madame Piquette
+baring her neck before me.
+
+"Rue Verte, No. 12," I said to my cabman.--Oh! Rosette, what a dance you
+were leading me! But, no matter! As I had begun, I would persevere to
+the end.
+
+"Madame Dumarteau?" I said to the concierge.
+
+"Sixth floor, door at the left."
+
+Sixth floor! I would have bet on it! And this was only the fourth aunt!
+What fate was in store for me?
+
+I knocked at Madame Dumarteau's door, as she had no bell. A woman of
+some fifty years, with a morose face, half opened the door, and asked in
+a hoarse voice:
+
+"What do you want?"
+
+"Madame Dumarteau."
+
+"That's me! Well?"
+
+"I have come to see Mademoiselle Rosette, from----"
+
+"Mamzelle Rosette ain't here."
+
+"Where is she, then?"
+
+"At her Aunt Lumignon's, Rue du Petit-Muse, Quartier Saint-Antoine."
+
+"Very good! What number, please?"
+
+But the lady had already closed her door in my face. Should I knock
+again, to find out the number? No; Rue du Petit-Muse was short, I knew,
+and I could inquire. My conversation with Madame Dumarteau was not long;
+she had not an amiable look, but I preferred her ill humor to Madame
+Piquette's coquetries. At all events, I lost no time there.
+
+I started for Rue du Petit-Muse. If I had not known my Paris,
+Mademoiselle Rosette could have undertaken to instruct me. I told the
+cabman to stop at the corner of Rue Saint-Antoine, and went into one of
+the first houses, where I said to the concierge:
+
+"Madame Lumignon?"
+
+"This is the place, monsieur."
+
+Faith! I was in luck. The next step was to inquire which floor; I was
+afraid that I could guess beforehand: I should surely be directed to the
+seventh.
+
+"Which floor, concierge?"
+
+"At the rear of the courtyard, to the left, ground floor."
+
+Ah! I breathed again! The aunts were coming down in the world.
+
+Madame Lumignon was a little hunchback with a bright eye and a shrill
+voice, like most hunchbacks. As soon as I mentioned her niece's name,
+she smiled.
+
+"Ah! you want Rosette," she said; "for Madame Berlingot, I suppose? Yes,
+yes, I'm used to that; it's always the same song! If I was evil-minded,
+I might suspect something! But I wash my hands of her. In the first
+place, Rosette don't pay any attention to us; she's such a wilful
+creature! So much the worse for her! I've warned her!"
+
+"But, madame, she is wanted to mend a cashmere shawl."
+
+"I know! I know! A fine thing, that cashmere shawl is!"
+
+"Well, madame, is mademoiselle your niece with you?"
+
+"With me! oh, yes! of course! When she comes here, she don't stay long
+enough to mould."
+
+"Where can I find her, then?"
+
+"At her Aunt Chamouillet's, perhaps; but I won't swear to it."
+
+"Madame Chamouillet's address, if you please?"
+
+"Rue Madame, No. 4, near the Luxembourg."
+
+I took leave of the hunchbacked aunt, who looked after me with a cunning
+leer. I returned to my cab, and said to the driver:
+
+"Rue Madame, near the Luxembourg."
+
+"I say, monsieur, if you've got many more trips like this to make, my
+horse will leave us on the road."
+
+"No; whatever happens, this is the last but one."
+
+We reached Rue Madame with difficulty; the horse was at his last gasp. I
+unearthed Aunt Chamouillet. I was told to go up to the second floor,
+where I found a woman washing on the landing; and just as I was climbing
+the last stairs, that woman, who, I presume, had not heard me coming,
+turned and emptied a large pail of soapsuds on the staircase. I was
+drenched to the waist.
+
+I swore like a pirate, whereupon the woman calmly observed:
+
+"Why are the gutters all stopped up? It don't do any good to complain,
+they don't clean 'em out; and I must empty my water somewhere."
+
+"But you might at least look before you empty it."
+
+"Did you get any of it?"
+
+"Parbleu! I am drenched!"
+
+"That'll dry, and it don't spot."
+
+"Madame Chamouillet, if you please?"
+
+"That's me. Have you got something you want washed?"
+
+"No, madame; I am sufficiently washed now! I would like to speak with
+Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece."
+
+Madame Chamouillet had returned to her washing; she paid much more
+attention to her linen than to what I said to her.
+
+"I come, madame, on the part of Madame Berlingot, on Rue----"
+
+"All right, monsieur, all right!--How can anyone soil linen like that!
+Look, monsieur, I leave it to you!"
+
+And she took from her tub a shirt, which she started to spread out for
+my inspection. I evaded that demonstration; but, as she put the shirt
+back in the tub, she threw a wet stocking in my face. I tried to take it
+calmly; I wiped my face and continued:
+
+"Will you kindly tell me where Mademoiselle Rosette is?"
+
+"Where Rosette is? How do you suppose I know? Oh, yes! on my word! As if
+anyone ever knows where she is!"
+
+"What, madame! isn't she here?"
+
+"No, monsieur.--It breaks my back to scrub this!"
+
+"But where shall I go to find her?"
+
+"Try at her aunts'."
+
+"I have already seen six of them, counting you, madame. I have called on
+Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon, and yourself.
+Who is the one that's left for me to see?"
+
+"Madame Cavalos, Rue de la Lune, No. 19. But I won't answer----"
+
+As she spoke, Madame Chamouillet let a piece of soap slip out of her
+hands, and my waistcoat had the benefit of it. I had had enough; I fled
+from the laundress; I seemed to be pursued by soapsuds.
+
+"Rue de la Lune, No. 19," I said to my cabman. Luckily, that took us
+back into my own neighborhood, and I was sure that this last quest could
+not be fruitless: Rosette must be there. That was the last of the aunts,
+and she had told me positively that when she was not with one of them I
+would find her with another. What a pity that I had not been sent to Rue
+de la Lune at the outset!
+
+I reached the end of my journeyings. I was directed to Madame Cavalos's
+lodging on the entresol. I found a very stout, thickset, little old
+woman, who greeted me with an affable bow and waited for me to speak.
+
+"Madame Cavalos?"
+
+"Bonjour, monsieur! very well, I thank you."
+
+"I wanted to speak to your niece, Mademoiselle Rosette."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I don't change much; that's what everybody tells me."
+
+"I come from Madame Berlingot."
+
+"You thought I didn't live so low? I used to be higher up, but I've
+moved down."
+
+What did that mean? Madame Cavalos seemed to be stone deaf. I stepped
+nearer to her, and shouted at the top of my lungs:
+
+"I want to see Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece!"
+
+"You say you have come about my lease?"
+
+That was most trying. The woman was a fool. I gave up speaking and made
+a lot of strange gestures, trying to arouse her curiosity at least.
+Motioning to me to wait, she left the room, and returned with an ear
+trumpet, which she held to her ear, saying:
+
+"I ain't deaf; but some days I can't hear so well as others."
+
+Poor old woman! she ought never to have laid aside her trumpet. I
+repeated my question, and that time she replied:
+
+"My niece Rosette? Why, she ain't here, monsieur."
+
+"What, madame! not here? Why, where on earth can I find her, then?"
+
+"Oh! that's easily done, monsieur. She must be with her Aunt Falourdin,
+Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
+
+At that, I gave up all hope of finding my grisette; I had no desire to
+begin the circuit of the aunts anew; I had had quite enough of them. I
+bade my cabman take me home. It was five o'clock, and we had been on the
+road since noon! Ah! Mademoiselle Rosette! Mademoiselle Rosette! you had
+shown me aunts of all colors! What a day! Jason was certainly more
+fortunate than I: after many perils, he obtained the Golden Fleece; I
+had faced seven aunts, and had not obtained Rosette!
+
+
+
+
+XXXVIII
+
+THE DEALER IN SPONGES
+
+
+As I entered my apartment, Pomponne came to meet me with his expression
+that denoted news.
+
+"There's someone waiting for you, monsieur, who's been here quite a long
+while. But I didn't know that monsieur would be away so long; he did not
+tell me."
+
+"Can it be that Rosette has come while I have been running after her?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it ain't Mamzelle Rosette?"
+
+"Is it Madame Dauberny, then?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it's a person of our sex."
+
+"Oh! how you annoy me, Pomponne! I ought to have gone to see who was
+there, instead of listening to you."
+
+I went at once into my salon, and found Ballangier sitting in a corner
+with a book in his hand.
+
+I was agreeably surprised to find that he was neatly dressed. He wore a
+gray blouse, but it was spotlessly clean; his trousers were well
+brushed, his shoes polished; he had a clean white collar and a black
+cravat. It was the costume of a well-behaved mechanic who was a credit
+to his trade.
+
+He came to meet me, with a timid air, saying:
+
+"I ask your pardon, Charles, for waiting for you; I did wrong, perhaps;
+but when I came, about two o'clock, your servant said you would soon be
+back; and so, as I was anxious to see you, I said to myself: 'As long as
+I'm here, I may as well stay.'"
+
+"You did well, Ballangier, very well; I am very glad to see you, too.
+Let me look at you. From your dress, and the expression of self-content
+that I can read in your face, I am sure that you are behaving better
+now."
+
+"That is true; at all events, I am trying to. I am working for a
+manufacturer in Faubourg Saint-Antoine--I had a letter of recommendation
+to him."
+
+"From whom, pray?"
+
+Ballangier twisted his cap about in his hands as he continued:
+
+"From an excellent man I used to work for long ago, and who never
+despaired of me. They took me on trial, at first. The master had heard
+very bad accounts of me, but I worked so well that after a while he got
+to be less strict with me; then he increased my pay, without my asking,
+and now he says everywhere that he's satisfied with me."
+
+"Ah! that is splendid, my friend. And you were glad to tell me all this,
+because you knew that it would give me great pleasure, weren't you?"
+
+"Why, yes, I thought it would."
+
+"Thanks, my friend, for thinking of that. Indeed, you cannot conceive
+how I rejoice to learn of the change that has taken place in you! But
+you will keep on, Ballangier; now that you have started on the right
+path, you won't leave it again, will you? Besides, you must surely be a
+happier man, now that you are earning your living, and can hold your
+head erect boldly, without fear of being arrested by a creditor, or
+assailed by a wife or mother whose husband or son you have led astray;
+without reading on the faces of honest folk the contempt that evil
+livers always inspire! Instead of that, you will be made welcome, made
+much of, courted by respectable families; a father will no longer dread
+to see his daughter, or a brother his sister, on your arm. You will be
+loved, esteemed, highly considered. Yes, highly considered; for there is
+no trade, no career, in which an honest man may not acquire that
+consideration which mere wealth, unaccompanied by probity, cannot
+acquire. Tell me if all this is not preferable to a life of debauchery,
+which makes you either a brute or a madman most of the time; to the
+false friendship of those wretches who know nothing but idleness, and
+sometimes something much worse, who extol all the vices, who try to cast
+ridicule on merit and hard work, because other men's merit gnaws at
+their envy-ridden hearts, and, being unable to attain it, they do their
+utmost to crush it?"
+
+"Oh, yes! you are right, Charles: I am far happier! I reflect now; I
+feel that I am an entirely different man. I read a good deal; I am fond
+of reading, and it used to be impossible for me to read five minutes at
+a time."
+
+"Read, you cannot do better; but select good books; bad writers are
+worse than false friends, for we have them under our hand every minute;
+their treacherous counsels lead feeble or excitable minds astray; there
+is no more dangerous companion for a tête-à-tête than an evil book."
+
+"You must guide me; you must give me a list of authors whose works will
+be profitable reading for me."
+
+"I will do better than that. Come with me."
+
+I led Ballangier to my book shelves, from which I took Racine, Molière,
+Montesquieu, Fénelon, and La Fontaine.
+
+"There, those are for you," I said; "take these books home with you, and
+read them carefully and with profit. Some will seem to you a little
+severe and serious; but the others, while they instruct you, will make
+you laugh. Learn by heart the great, the immortal Molière. He
+castigated the vices and absurdities of his time; but as vices unluckily
+belong to all times, as men are no better to-day than they ever were, as
+we meet in the world every day _tartufes, précieuses ridicules, avares,
+and bourgeois gentilshommes_, Molière, like all authors who depict
+nature, is and will be of all epochs.
+
+    "'Rien n'est beau que le vrai; le vrai seul est aimable.'[A]
+
+That maxim is earnestly denied by those poets who have never succeeded
+in being natural. They put a conventional jargon in the mouths of all
+their characters, and call that style! In their works, the peasant talks
+just like the noble; the man of the people uses as fine phrases as the
+advocate; the maid-servant indulges in metaphors like the _grande dame;_
+and they call that style! Posterity will do justice to all such stuff.
+Bathos sinks and is drowned, while the natural sails smoothly along and
+always rides out the storm."
+
+"What! are all these fine books for me?"
+
+"Yes; make a bundle of them and take them away."
+
+"Oh! thanks, Charles!"
+
+"When you have read them with profit, I will give you more."
+
+"You are too kind! But I mean to make myself worthy of----. Well, you
+will see. Meanwhile, I've brought this back to you."
+
+He took from his pocket a small paper-covered package.
+
+"What is there inside?"
+
+"Twenty-nine francs."
+
+"Why do you want to give me that?"
+
+"Because I saw Piaulard and tried to pay him; but he was already paid;
+a--person had settled with him. You probably know that person, and I
+would like the twenty-nine francs to be returned."
+
+"Well done, my friend! This act of yours proves the return of worthy
+sentiments. But you need not worry; the person in question was paid long
+ago. So, keep the money, and if you need any more to buy anything come
+to me."
+
+"Oh! I am not short of funds now. I have never been so rich. I don't
+know how it happens."
+
+"You don't know? Why, it's very easy to understand; you spend vastly
+less, and earn vastly more; that's the whole secret of living in
+comfort."
+
+Ballangier tied up his books, we shook hands affectionately, and he went
+away content, leaving me very happy. What a contrast to our previous
+interviews!
+
+The next day, I was still resting from my peregrinations of the previous
+afternoon, and stoically making up my mind to wear mourning for
+Mademoiselle Rosette, when the pretty brunette suddenly burst into my
+room, vivacious, sprightly, and gay as always. She came to me and held
+out her hand.
+
+"Bonjour, monsieur! Are you still angry with me?"
+
+"Angry? Why, it wasn't I who was angry; it was yourself."
+
+"Oh! that's all over; let's not say any more about that; I don't bear
+any malice, and I don't know how to sulk. I say, did you go and ask for
+me at Aunt Falourdin's?"
+
+"At Aunt Falourdin's? You put it mildly. If you should say at all seven
+of your aunts', that would be nearer the truth!"
+
+"Oh! that's impossible! You went to the whole seven? you saw the whole
+assortment? Ha! ha! ha! Well, you must have had a merry time!"
+
+Rosette was seized with a paroxysm of frantic laughter, during which she
+could only repeat:
+
+"He saw my seven aunts! Poor, dear boy! he saw my seven aunts!"
+
+"Yes, I saw them all; and all in one day!"
+
+"That was your Waterloo! I am sure that it will remain engraved on your
+memory! I say, I'll bet that you'd rather go up the Marly hill seven
+times in succession than go through that day's work again, eh?"
+
+"I believe you. There is one Dame Piquette, in particular, who lives on
+Rue aux Ours. Sapristi! I didn't feel at all comfortable in my
+tête-à-tête with her!"
+
+"Did she make eyes at you? I'll bet she made eyes at you! She's an old
+coquette, who declares that she can't go out without being besieged. Oh!
+my poor Charles!"
+
+"But all that would have been nothing, mademoiselle, if I had succeeded
+in finding you. It would seem that you accept hospitality elsewhere than
+with your aunts?"
+
+Rosette made a little grimace, which I interpreted as meaning that she
+did not quite know what course to adopt; at last she said:
+
+"I was with one of my friends. My aunts are always at me to get married,
+and that tires me; I shall end by dropping all of 'em."
+
+"I should say that you were doing that already."
+
+"Come, let's not say any more about that. We're not cross any more, are
+we? and you'll take me out to dinner, and we'll have a nice little
+feed--what do you say? Yes, you will, it's all settled; and we'll go
+into the country--it's a fine day--and roll on the grass."
+
+How can one resist a pretty minx who proposes rolling on the grass? I
+was on the point of signing the treaty of peace with Mademoiselle
+Rosette, when the bell rang.
+
+"My dear girl," I said to my grisette, "if it should happen to be the
+lady who was here the other day, I trust that you won't make another
+scene?"
+
+"No, no, don't be afraid; I saw that I was wrong; she left me in
+possession with such a good grace! I don't bear your friend any grudge
+now."
+
+At that moment, we detected a strong odor of essence of rose, and
+Rosette exclaimed:
+
+"_Dame!_ that lady uses plenty of perfumery! what a sachet bag!"
+
+But the door opened, and no lady appeared, but Balloquet, in his best
+clothes and with fresh gloves.
+
+"Oh! I beg pardon, my dear Rochebrune! You are with a lady, and your
+servant didn't tell me! I will go, and come again another day."
+
+"No, stay, Balloquet, stay; mademoiselle will not object.--Isn't that
+so, Rosette? you are willing that my friend should stay?"
+
+"To be sure! I'm no savage; company don't scare me."
+
+And Rosette put her mouth to my ear and whispered:
+
+"Is he a perfumer?"
+
+"No; a doctor."
+
+"A doctor! Does he treat his patients with essences? He gives out such
+an odor--you'd think he was the Grand Turk!"
+
+Balloquet meanwhile said to me in an undertone:
+
+"Good! I don't frighten this one away! She isn't like the little
+blonde."
+
+"Oh, no! she's not the same sort at all."
+
+Balloquet had been with us but a moment, when the bell rang again, and
+this time Frédérique appeared.
+
+"The servant told me that there were three of you," she said, dropping
+carelessly upon a chair; "and that's why I ventured to come in. Did I do
+wrong, Rochebrune?"
+
+"No, madame; you are always welcome. And mademoiselle here will take
+advantage of the opportunity to express her regret for the unseemly
+words she used to you the other day."
+
+"Yes, madame," said Rosette, walking up to Madame Dauberny. "I was
+wrong; I'm hot-headed; but turn your hand over, and I forget all about
+it. Are you still angry with me?"
+
+"Not in the least, mademoiselle," replied Frédérique, trying to smile;
+"I assure you that I had forgotten it entirely. But I trust that I shall
+not arouse your jealousy again."
+
+"Oh! no, madame! Charles has told me that he never loved you, and that's
+all I ask."
+
+Frédérique bit her lips. I, for my part, was conscious of a sensation
+that I cannot describe. I would gladly have horsewhipped Rosette, I
+believe, if it had been possible. Women have a way of adjusting things
+that often produces the contrary effect.
+
+"Madame is acquainted with my sentiments, mademoiselle," I stammered,
+awkwardly enough; "she appreciates them----"
+
+"Enough, my friend!" interposed Frédérique; "sentiments are to be
+proved, not put in words. But, mon Dieu! how sweet your room smells!
+There's an odor of--of rose; yes, it's surely rose;--is it not,
+mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, madame," said Rosette; "that smell has been here ever since
+monsieur le docteur came in.--Do you bathe in essence of rose,
+monsieur?"
+
+Balloquet, who was walking about the room playing the dandy, passed his
+hand through his hair as he replied:
+
+"Not exactly, mademoiselle; but, in truth, I am very fond of the odor of
+rose; I sometimes perfume my linen with an essence that I get from
+Constantinople."
+
+"Well, frankly, monsieur, you use too much of it; you smell too strong!
+I wouldn't like to eat a truffled turkey with you."
+
+"Why not, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Because I should smell nothing but rose, instead of the odor of
+truffles; and a truffled turkey _à la rose_ wouldn't be good, I know."
+
+"I think that I have had the pleasure of meeting madame before," said
+Balloquet, saluting Frédérique.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; on a certain day, or rather night, when my presence was
+useful to both of you gentlemen."
+
+"Ah, yes! the two wedding parties, wasn't it, madame?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I only looked in at yours, but it seemed to be very
+lively."
+
+"It was, indeed, madame; that was the Bocal wedding; it was very hot
+there!"
+
+"The Bocal wedding!" cried Rosette. "Why, I know Bocal; he's a distiller
+on Rue Montmartre, and his daughter married Monsieur Pamphile Girie,
+dealer in sponges."
+
+"That's the man; do you know him?"
+
+"Oh, yes! that is to say, I know Freluchon; it's through him that I know
+all that."
+
+"Freluchon!" said I; "it seems to me that I've heard that name."
+
+"Freluchon was Monsieur Bocal's head clerk, and he was courting
+Mademoiselle Pétronille; and when she married that ass of a Pamphile
+Girie, she worked so well with her feet and hands, that Freluchon left
+Monsieur Bocal and went into the sponge trade; he became first clerk to
+Pétronille--you can guess the sequel! But it seems that Monsieur
+Pamphile has a mother who _sees everything_ and _knows everything_, just
+like the late _Solitaire;_ so Mamma Girie put a flea in her son's ear on
+the subject of Freluchon. Monsieur Pamphile wanted to discharge the
+clerk, but Madame Pétronille said he shouldn't. The husband and wife had
+a row; Monsieur Bocal tried to step in and take his daughter's part;
+Mère Girie pummelled Monsieur Bocal; they sent for the magistrate, the
+police, the neighbors, and the concierge; there was such a row that the
+omnibuses couldn't get through the street. As a result of that row,
+Pétronille left her husband and went back to her father; Pamphile
+neglected his shop to go on sprees; and Freluchon finally bought out his
+sponge business, and would like now to set me up in it with him; for I
+must tell you that my gentleman has forgotten his Pétronille and fallen
+in love with me, and buries me in billets-doux and sponges; on my
+birthday, he sent me one as big as a pumpkin. 'Monsieur,' says I, 'what
+use do you expect me to make of this immense marine plant?'--'Mademoiselle,
+I would like to cover you with it.'--And there you are! With the seven
+suitors favored by my aunts, that makes eight humming-birds who aspire
+to enter into wedlock with me."
+
+
+
+
+XXXIX
+
+A PARTY OF FOUR
+
+
+Rosette rattled all this off almost without drawing a breath. We laughed
+at her story, and she was well pleased with her successful performance.
+
+"But, by the way, Monsieur Charles, all that don't make me forget that
+you're going to take me into the country to dinner. And while we're on
+that subject--I've got an idea, and I'll tell you what it is; I tell all
+my ideas. Suppose we all four go and dine together, as we're in a mood
+for laughing; we'll have some sport and talk nonsense--what do you say?"
+
+Rosette's proposition seemed to me so extraordinary that I had not as
+yet thought of any fitting reply, when, to my amazement, Frédérique
+exclaimed:
+
+"For my part, I agree. I am at liberty, and, on my word, I shall not be
+sorry to have a little sport, especially as I got out of the way of it
+long ago."
+
+"Ah! you're fine, you are! I love you with all my heart, now!" said
+Rosette, slapping Frédérique on the back. "And you, Monsieur Larose, why
+don't you say something?"
+
+"I?" said Balloquet; "if you mean what you say, I'm game; nothing would
+suit me better."
+
+"Do I mean it! I hope you don't think we're going to dine on air, do
+you? Well, my dear friend, don't you think my plan's a good one? you
+don't seem enchanted with it!"
+
+"I? I beg your pardon; I will do whatever you wish."
+
+"But," said Frédérique, "Rochebrune would have preferred to dine alone
+with you, mademoiselle."
+
+"_Ouiche!_" cried Rosette; "as if we hadn't time enough to see each
+other! Come, is it settled?"
+
+"It is settled, agreed, decided."
+
+"Let's start, then; it's after two o'clock already."
+
+"Go and call a cab, Pomponne, and we'll keep it the rest of the day."
+
+"Ah! what _chic!_ There's only one thing that annoys me now; and that
+will spoil my enjoyment at dinner."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"If monsieur le docteur might smell less strong of rose! I should prefer
+I don't know what to that smell. Try going out in the street and walking
+in--no matter what!"
+
+"There is a way of satisfying you, Mademoiselle Rosette," I said,
+walking up to Balloquet.--"Come, Balloquet, we are all friends here;
+don't be stiff about it, but allow me to offer you another pair of
+gloves, and take off those you are wearing. I venture to prefer this
+petition in the name of these ladies' nerves, and in the name of our
+appetites, which would vanish before this odor of rose."
+
+Balloquet had a noble impulse: he took his gloves off and threw them out
+of the window. Rosette laughed till she cried.
+
+"Ah! it was the gloves," she cried, "cleansed gloves, of course, of
+course! But your dealer cheated you; they clean them now so that they
+don't smell of anything."
+
+Pomponne announced that the cab was waiting. While Mademoiselle Rosette
+stood before my mirror, busily engaged in putting on her bonnet, I went
+to Frédérique, and found an opportunity to say in her ear:
+
+"You are not joking--you are really willing to dine with a grisette?"
+
+"Why not? you are going to, yourself."
+
+"But I am a man."
+
+"Well! I am one of your male friends. Don't men sometimes take their
+friends with them on a pleasure party? But if it will annoy you too
+much, I will not go."
+
+"Oh! do not think that, madame! But I was afraid--I thought----"
+
+I had no time to say any more; Rosette came toward us, saying:
+
+"The cab's waiting; shall we go?"
+
+"Let us go," Frédérique replied.
+
+I was embarrassed for a moment; I intended to offer my arm to Madame
+Dauberny, but she had already accepted Balloquet's, and Rosette took
+possession of mine.
+
+"Come on, monsieur! What on earth's the matter with you to-day? Since
+you've seen my aunts, you're very absent-minded!"
+
+We entered the cab. Rosette insisted that I should sit opposite her. I
+obeyed. It seemed strange not to desire that arrangement, but I should
+have preferred to be facing Frédérique.
+
+The cabman asked us where we were going. We looked at each other and
+said:
+
+"Ah! that's so; where are we going?"
+
+"Let the ladies decide."
+
+"It makes absolutely no difference to me," said Frédérique.
+
+"In that case," said Rosette, "I propose Saint-Mandé; if we want to go
+as far as Saint-Maur, I know a delicious little walk; you only have to
+go up a little way and then down."
+
+"Saint-Mandé it is!"
+
+We started. Rosette was in insanely high spirits. According to her
+habit, she said whatever came into her head, and sometimes her
+reflections were very comical. Frédérique also seemed to be in an
+amiable humor. Balloquet rivalled Rosette in gayety; I thought that I
+could detect a purpose on his part to play the gallant with Madame
+Dauberny. I cannot say why I considered that very idiotic of him. Surely
+she was an exceedingly attractive woman! And why should not he, a
+devoted admirer of the sex, try to please her? But Madame Dauberny would
+never listen to Balloquet. While I said that to myself, I was conscious
+of a feeling of irritation. Had I any right to take it amiss that
+Balloquet should make love to Frédérique, to whom I was nothing more
+than a friend?
+
+It followed that I was the only one of the party who was not hilarious.
+Rosette, noticing it, said to me from time to time:
+
+"I say, my dear man, what's the matter with you, anyway? We are all
+talking and laughing--you're the only one who don't say anything. Can it
+be that you are really cracked over one of my aunts?--You must excuse
+him, madame, for he met my seven aunts yesterday, and that's quite
+enough to destroy his peace of mind."
+
+I excused myself as best I could; I tried to laugh, but I made rather a
+failure of it; and the thing that vexed me most of all was that the more
+serious I became, the more Madame Dauberny laughed and jested. She held
+her own with Rosette in nonsense and droll remarks. Balloquet seemed
+enchanted; he became more and more attentive to his vis-à-vis, whose
+witty sallies completed the fascination begun by her beauty. For my
+part, I did not enjoy myself at all.
+
+At last we arrived at Saint-Mandé, and left the cab at the gate leading
+into the wood. We went at once to Grue's, to order our dinner and engage
+a private room; then we strolled away in the direction of Saint-Maur.
+
+Balloquet took possession once more of Frédérique's arm, which she
+laughingly accorded to him. It seemed to me that she laughed very freely
+with him. Rosette took my arm.
+
+"Is it the habit to walk arm in arm in the country?" I asked, in an
+indifferent tone. "I thought that everyone walked--or ran, on his own
+account."
+
+"For my part, I am very happy to be madame's escort," said Balloquet,
+with a smile.
+
+"Do you mean that it's a bore to you to give me your arm?" asked
+Rosette, pinching me till I was black and blue.
+
+"O mademoiselle! the idea!"
+
+"What's that--_mademoiselle?_ Call me _mademoiselle_ again, and see what
+happens!"
+
+"Mon Dieu! Rosette, you get angry about nothing!"
+
+"About nothing! I want you to _thou_ me! Let's not walk so fast."
+
+"But the others are away ahead."
+
+"Well! we shall overtake them in time. Don't be afraid of losing your
+way with me, you ugly monster!"
+
+"When people go out together, it's for the purpose of being together."
+
+"Oh! how mad you make me! I suppose we ought all to tie ourselves
+together, for fear of losing each other, eh? Besides, how do you know
+that they are not just as well pleased not to have us on their heels?"
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"_Why so_ is delicious! If you can't see that your friend's making soft
+eyes at that lady, you must be near-sighted."
+
+"Do you think so? He won't get ahead very fast."
+
+"What do you know about it? Oh! these men! such conceit! Because she
+wouldn't have you, perhaps, you think she won't have anybody!--Let's not
+walk so fast!"
+
+"That lady is very willing to laugh and jest; but with her it isn't safe
+to----"
+
+"Ta! ta! ta! Bless my soul! she's a goddess, perhaps, and we must offer
+sacrifices to her!--Come, kiss me!"
+
+"O Rosette! can you think of such a thing?"
+
+"Yes, I do think of such a thing; kiss me at once!"
+
+"Suppose the others should turn and see us--what should we look like?"
+
+"We should look like two people kissing. What harm is there in that?
+Don't they know that you're my lover and I'm your mistress?"
+
+"That's no reason. There is such a thing as propriety."
+
+"Oh! I have no patience with you! Kiss me quick, or I'll shriek!"
+
+I kissed her. Luckily, the others did not turn. I dropped my companion's
+arm on the pretext of looking for violets, and overtook our friends.
+
+"What makes you walk so fast?" I asked Balloquet; "if you prefer not to
+stay with us, that's a different matter; but it isn't very sociable."
+
+Frédérique burst out laughing, and Balloquet made signs to me which I
+considered foolish.
+
+"See how the kindest intentions are sometimes misinterpreted," said
+Frédérique; "we thought that we were doing you a favor, by arranging a
+tête-à-tête for you with your pretty brunette."
+
+"Oh! madame, you carry your kindness too far."
+
+"So far as I am concerned," said Balloquet, "you needn't thank me; in
+remaining with madame, I acted entirely in my own interest."
+
+Then he came close to me and whispered:
+
+"My friend, she is adorable! Wit to the tips of her finger-nails; fine
+figure, lovely eyes, distinguished face, original disposition! I can't
+understand why you've never been in love with her. For my part, I'm
+caught; I'm in for it!"
+
+"You are making a mistake; you'll waste your time."
+
+"Why so? nobody knows! She laughs heartily at what I say."
+
+"Well! what about that bunch of violets?" asked Rosette, as she joined
+us.
+
+"I didn't find anything but dandelions and coltsfoot."
+
+"Thanks! then you can keep your bouquet; I don't want it."
+
+"Suppose we stroll back in the direction of our dinner?" said
+Frédérique.
+
+"Yes, madame is right," said Rosette; "especially as walking's very
+monotonous. I have a lover who's in such low spirits to-day! Imagine,
+madame, that he's never suggested rolling on the grass with me!"
+
+Frédérique cast a mocking glance in my direction.
+
+"If my companion had made such a proposition to me," murmured Balloquet,
+puffing himself up, "I should have accepted with thanks; I would have
+rolled like an ass."
+
+"Oh! but you're a gallant _à la rose_, you are! Why, I almost had to
+force monsieur to kiss me!"
+
+"Oh! what things you say, Rosette!"
+
+"What's that? Don't lovers always kiss? Do you suppose madame thinks
+that we pass our time whispering in each other's ears?"
+
+Madame Dauberny turned her face away to laugh. I wished that I were
+heaven knows where. I should certainly remember that excursion to the
+country.
+
+We returned to the restaurant. There I tried to recover my good humor.
+In the first place, as the table was round, I was naturally seated
+between Frédérique and Rosette--no more with one than with the other.
+They served us a delicious dinner, with choice wines.
+
+"Good!" said Rosette; "this was well ordered! These gentlemen have
+distinguished themselves! I give this pomard my esteem."
+
+"Never fear," said Balloquet; "we shall have some ladies' wines too."
+
+"What do you mean by ladies' wines? sweet ones, I suppose?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I warn you that I can't endure your sweet wines, except champagne; and
+unless madame cares for them----"
+
+"Not at all," said Frédérique.
+
+"Strike off your sweet wines, then. Bah! they make me sick; I can't
+drink 'em! But these--just ask Charles how I punish 'em!"
+
+"I should say that it isn't necessary to ask me," I said; "it's
+self-evident."
+
+"Does that make you cross, my dear boy? Don't you like to have your
+Rosette hold her own with you to-day? Are you going to be in the sulks
+at table too? Ah! madame, my aunts have spoiled him, and no mistake; he
+was much nicer before he went the rounds of them."
+
+Madame Dauberny nudged my knee and whispered:
+
+"Be more agreeable, or she will make a scene with you."
+
+I strove to put myself in harmony with the general merriment. Rosette
+chattered incessantly; Balloquet sang, with his eyes fixed on
+Frédérique; she laughed at my grisette's sallies, and from time to time
+told us some very amusing anecdotes.
+
+"Ah! if I could tell stories like madame," cried Rosette, "I know what
+I'd do!"
+
+"What would you do?" asked Balloquet.
+
+"I wouldn't do anything else. I'd tell stories all day, and make them up
+all night.--Kiss me, Charles!"
+
+"Sapristi! Rosette, are we going to begin that again?"
+
+"Do you hear him, madame? He refuses to kiss me, the villain!"
+
+"Mademoiselle," I said, in a serious tone, "I am sorry to be obliged to
+inform you that there are occasions when such liberties are permissible,
+and others when we must abstain from them; you should understand that."
+
+Rosette pushed her chair away from the table, muttering:
+
+"It wasn't worth while to bring me with you, just to say such things as
+that to me."
+
+With that, she put her hand over her eyes and began to weep. The devil!
+That was the climax! I was in torment.
+
+Frédérique tried to console Rosette, and said to me:
+
+"Come, come, monsieur, don't make mademoiselle unhappy; she is right;
+you choose a very inopportune time to lecture her. Kiss her at once, and
+make peace with her."
+
+I obeyed; whereupon Balloquet exclaimed:
+
+"Mon Dieu! I would not wait to be asked twice, if someone would allow me
+to kiss her."
+
+It was extraordinary what an ass the fellow seemed to me to make of
+himself!
+
+Luckily, with Rosette laughter always followed tears. She speedily
+forgot her grievance, and thought of nothing but doing honor to the
+champagne, which made its appearance just then. Frédérique held her own
+with her, but did not lose her head. Balloquet, who was deeply impressed
+by the way in which those two bore themselves at table, tried to surpass
+them, got very tipsy, and nearly strangled himself pouring down
+champagne.
+
+"Well done!" said Rosette; "that'll teach you to try to pour down wine
+like that; it seems to me such a stupid way! What's the use of drinking
+anything good, if you don't taste it, if you don't get the flavor of it?
+You throw it down your neck, as if it was a medicine you were afraid of
+smelling! How sensible that is! You might as well drink cheap claret; it
+would have the same effect as champagne."
+
+Balloquet succeeded in ceasing to cough, and a moment later, when we
+were a little quieter than usual, he said to me:
+
+"By the way, Charles, have you had any news of the man of the ring?"
+
+"No, no, I haven't--found him yet. Why don't you drink, Balloquet?"
+
+I was afraid that the young doctor would be guilty of some indiscretion,
+and I tried to change the subject. But Rosette chimed in:
+
+"What's that? He said something about a ring. There must be a woman in
+that story, and I want to hear it."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle, yes; it is a story about a woman."
+
+"But a very sad one," said I, interrupting Balloquet; "this is not at
+all a fitting time to tell it."
+
+"Why not? I like sad things too; I like plays that make you cry. Oh!
+Monsieur Larose, do tell us the story."
+
+"With pleasure, mademoiselle!"
+
+I trembled lest Balloquet should disclose what I had concealed from
+Frédérique. He did not know that the man of the ring was Monsieur
+Dauberny; but if he should mention the name Bouqueton, Frédérique would
+know at once that the man was her husband. I tried to make signs to
+Balloquet to hold his peace; but he did not look at me, and began his
+tale.
+
+Frédérique said nothing; but she watched us closely and did not lose a
+word of what the young doctor said. Stammering and hesitating a little,
+he told poor Annette's story; but he did not mention the assassin's
+name.
+
+"What a ghastly story!" exclaimed Frédérique, with a shudder.
+
+"It's horrible!" cried Rosette. "Oh! what an abominable man! But didn't
+the poor girl tell you his name?"
+
+"Yes, yes," replied Balloquet, "she told us. The devil take the name!
+Would you believe that I can't remember it?--But you know it,
+Rochebrune, as you know the man."
+
+"You know that villain, Charles? Oh! but you must have had him arrested,
+then?"
+
+"No, I could not; we have no evidence."
+
+"But what about that ring that he gave the poor girl?"
+
+"That ring I have at home. I am keeping it carefully; some day, I hope
+that it will help me--to avenge the poor girl."
+
+"And you won't tell us the man's name?"
+
+"What good would it do? The whole thing is too shocking. The criminal's
+name had better remain a secret until the victim is avenged."
+
+Frédérique did not say a word, but she kept her eyes fastened upon me
+all the while. The time for returning to Paris arrived, and I was not
+sorry. The story of Annette had saddened Rosette and made Frédérique
+very thoughtful. We returned to our cab. Balloquet continued to do the
+amiable with Madame Dauberny; I verily believe that he asked her
+permission to call to pay his respects. What a self-sufficient puppy! I
+did not hear her reply. Rosette pinched me, probably because I was not
+listening to what she said.
+
+I wanted to take Frédérique home; Balloquet insisted, on the contrary,
+that Rosette and I should be set down first. We were on the point of
+quarrelling. Rosette said nothing, and I thought that she had fallen
+asleep. Madame Dauberny put an end to our discussion by calling to the
+cabman to stop on the boulevard. She hastily alighted, bade us adieu,
+and hurried away. But Balloquet instantly opened the door, crying:
+
+"I won't allow that lady to go away alone; the idea! I am going to
+escort her!"
+
+I tried to hold him back by seizing his coat tails. I told him that
+Madame Dauberny did not want his escort, that she preferred to go alone.
+
+He would not listen to me. He leaped out of the cab, tearing off one
+whole skirt of his coat, and disappeared.
+
+"What's the matter with you to-night, my friend?" said Rosette; "you
+interfere with everybody; you find fault with whatever we do, and tear
+people's coats!"
+
+"That doesn't concern you."
+
+"How polite my lover is to-day!"
+
+"To which aunt shall I take you this evening, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Faubourg Saint-Denis, as usual."
+
+"By the way, you haven't told me yet where you were perching yesterday,
+when I had the kindness--I might well say, the folly--to look for you at
+all your aunts' lodgings."
+
+"Do you want to make me unhappy?"
+
+"Answer me!"
+
+"I told you that I was with a friend."
+
+"Oh, yes! at the sponge dealer's, perhaps?"
+
+"What an outrage! Instead of saying such things, you would do well to
+kiss me. It seems that we don't get beyond compliments to-day!"
+
+In truth, she was right; I had rebuked her enough all day; the least I
+could do was to compensate her at that moment.
+
+
+
+
+XL
+
+A SICK CHILD
+
+
+I passed a wretched night. I was eager to know if Madame Dauberny had
+allowed Balloquet to escort her, and if he had made any progress in my
+friend's good graces. Why was I so eager to know that? I myself could
+not understand. As I was not that lady's lover, as I had never thought
+of mentioning the subject of love to her, ought I to take it amiss that
+others should mention it? I began to believe that one could be jealous
+in friendship as well as in love. If Frédérique should have a lover,
+that would lessen the attachment that she seemed to entertain for me;
+doubtless that was the reason why it pained me to think that she should
+allow anyone to make love to her. That was selfishness, I admit; but
+what was I to do?
+
+I arose early. I was strongly inclined to call on Balloquet, but I had
+forgotten his address. I had an idea that it was Cité Vindé; but what
+should I ask him. Should I not cut a very absurd figure, going there to
+question him? No, I would not go. Still, I would have liked to know
+whether he walked home with Frédérique.
+
+While I was hesitating, uncertain as to what I should do, Pomponne
+opened my door and announced with emphasis:
+
+"Madame Potrelle, concierge or portress!"
+
+The good woman came in, bowing and apologizing for disturbing me. I
+asked her what brought her there.
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I have come again about that poor woman--Madame
+Landernoy. I wanted to know if monsieur's intentions were still the
+same."
+
+"What do you mean? what intentions?"
+
+"About the work--about her taking care of monsieur's linen."
+
+"What difference does it make whether my intentions are the same, as
+that young woman is convinced that I have none but evil ones? as she
+believes that I am laying a trap for her, in concert with those
+scoundrels who deceived her? Faith! Madame Potrelle, one gets tired of
+being constantly suspected. If it is pleasant to do good, it is painful
+to come in contact with ingrates. In fact, I confess that your tenant
+had gone wholly out of my mind, and I assure you that you would not have
+heard from me again."
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! monsieur, I can understand that. But still, if you knew
+how miserable that young woman is at this minute! For near a month her
+child has been sick--suffering all the time; the little creature needs
+the fresh air; so the mother takes her child out to walk, and meanwhile
+she don't do any work; but her little Marie's health before everything!
+She was a sweet little thing. She's fourteen months old already--how
+time flies! Madame Landernoy goes without everything herself on the
+child's account; and now she hasn't got any work--or what little she
+does get is such poor stuff--eight sous a day! Think of taking care of a
+child with that! So I happened to think of you, monsieur, because you
+were always so kind to that young woman; and I've always judged you
+right, I have! And I says to Mignonne: 'I'm going to see Monsieur
+Rochebrune and ask him for some work.'--And this time she says: 'Yes,
+go! go!' For she looked at her little girl, who seemed to be in pain;
+and what wouldn't she do to get the means of helping her!"
+
+"And she will go so far as to accept work from me?"
+
+"Oh! you mustn't blame her, monsieur; misfortune makes people unjust so
+often! Does monsieur refuse?"
+
+"No, certainly not. Look over my commode and my closets, and take
+whatever you choose."
+
+The good woman made haste to examine my effects. She made up a large
+bundle of linen, hastily, as if she were afraid I would change my mind;
+then she rolled it all up in her apron, saying:
+
+"Will monsieur take an account of what I've got?"
+
+"No, Madame Potrelle, that is quite unnecessary; I know with whom I am
+dealing, and I am not suspicious myself."
+
+The concierge thanked me, bowed again, and took her leave, saying that
+the work would be attended to immediately.
+
+Is it conceivable that during all the time that Madame Potrelle was
+talking about her tenant, I thought of nothing but Frédérique and
+Balloquet? Ah! how small a thing it takes to give a new turn to our
+thoughts! We are kind or cruel to others only as it gratifies our
+caprices. That truth is most discreditable to mankind!
+
+I had not fully determined what course to pursue, but I decided to go
+out; and at my door I found myself face to face with Balloquet, who was
+coming to see me.
+
+"Ah! I am delighted to find you, my dear Rochebrune!"
+
+"And I to see you. Shall we go upstairs?"
+
+"It isn't worth while; we can talk as well, walking."
+
+"Very good. What have you to tell me?"
+
+"I was coming to talk to you about Madame Dauberny. Ah! my friend, what
+a woman! what a physique--to arouse passions!"
+
+"I see that you are in love with her already. Well! did you overtake her
+yesterday?"
+
+"Yes, I overtook her on the street. She didn't want to accept my arm,
+but I insisted, and she yielded."
+
+"Ah! she took it, did she? And you escorted her home?"
+
+"Naturally."
+
+"And--and--how does your passion progress?"
+
+"It's all over! oh! it's all over, absolutely!"
+
+I made such a sudden movement that Balloquet cried:
+
+"What struck you then? cramp in the leg? a twist in the tendon, perhaps?
+That catches you sometimes in walking."
+
+"No, I--I turned my foot. But you said: 'It's all over!'--What is it
+that's all over? Do you mean that you are already the fortunate
+vanquisher of that lady?"
+
+"No, no! not at all! just the opposite! I said it was all over, because
+she gave me my walking ticket, I mean my dismissal. Oh! but she did it
+in the most amiable, the most courteous way--impossible to take offence.
+You were quite right when you told me that I should waste my time."
+
+I was conscious of a thrill of satisfaction, of happiness, that I could
+not describe. Poor Balloquet! I pitied him then. I pressed his arm
+affectionately, and said:
+
+"Come, tell me the whole story, my friend."
+
+"Oh! it didn't last long. I offered my arm, as I say, and she accepted
+it at last. On my way, I resumed my rôle of gallant--I believe that I
+even ventured upon a declaration of love. We drank quite a lot at
+dinner, you know.--Your Rosette would do well to marry a dealer in
+sponges!--In short, I was very animated, my words flowed like running
+water. She made no reply whatever.--'It's because she is moved,' I said
+to myself. We reached her door, and I asked permission to go upstairs
+for a moment. That was a little abrupt, I agree; but when one has heated
+the iron so hot----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"At that, the lady halted in front of me and said, in a tone at once
+ironical and imposing: 'Monsieur Balloquet, the day is at an end; all
+that you have said to me thus far I have listened to as a sort of
+continuation of the impromptu excursion to the country which made us
+acquainted. During a day of follies, it is not against the law to say
+foolish things. To-morrow, it would be unbecoming. You are very
+agreeable, monsieur, and you are Rochebrune's friend; in that capacity,
+I shall always be glad to see you when chance brings us together. But
+let there be no more talk of love between us, monsieur; that is a
+passion to which I have said adieu. And if I should have a fancy to
+renew my acquaintance with it, I tell you frankly that I should not
+apply to you for that purpose. So, au revoir, and no ill feeling!'--With
+that, she held out her hand, pressed mine warmly, and shut her door in
+my face. Well, my friend, on my word of honor, I am not in the least
+offended with her; for she's no coquette; she doesn't lure you on with
+false hopes, but says to you at once: 'It's like this and like
+that!'--You know what to expect. I will be true to Satiné. Poor Satiné!
+But I'll tell her to put less rose on her gloves. Never mind; she's a
+fine woman, is Madame Dauberny; I can't understand why you've never
+thought of making love to her."
+
+Did he propose to set up as an echo of Baron von Brunzbrack?
+
+When Balloquet left me, I squeezed his hand so hard that I made him cry
+out. Really, he was a very good fellow, was Balloquet, and I was very
+fond of him! How in the devil could I ever have dreamed that Frédérique
+would listen to him? There was not the slightest bond of sympathy
+between them.
+
+Now that I was no longer tormented by that business, I remembered
+Mignonne and Madame Potrelle, and how coldly and absent-mindedly I had
+listened to what that good woman told me. Mignonne's child was ill, and
+the poor mother was in need of a thousand things to nurse her properly!
+Suppose I should go to see her, to encourage her? She would receive me
+ill, perhaps; but, no matter! I no longer felt in the mood to take
+offence.
+
+I started for Rue Ménilmontant. Madame Potrelle uttered a cry of
+surprise when she saw me; then she said:
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, have you come to take back the work that young
+woman needs so much?"
+
+"No, no, far from it! But this morning I was--preoccupied, and I paid
+little attention to what you told me."
+
+"That's so; monsieur wasn't like what he usually is; but, _dame!_
+everyone has his own troubles."
+
+"I would like to see Mignonne, Madame Potrelle, and see for myself what
+her child's condition is. Do you think she will receive me?"
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur. She receives anybody now, if they say they know
+anything about children's health."
+
+I ran quickly up the five flights. I stopped to take breath before
+mounting the last narrow, dark staircase. When I reached the top, I
+heard a sweet, melancholy voice singing:
+
+    "'Veille, veille, pauvre Marie,
+      Pour secourir le prisonnier.'"
+
+Mignonne's door was thrown wide open, for it was summer, and in that way
+she admitted a little air and light to her chamber, which, as we know,
+had no window but the round hole in the ceiling.
+
+I stepped forward; Mignonne's back was turned toward the door; she was
+on her knees beside a cradle placed on two chairs. The cradle was
+covered with a pretty piece of flowered chintz; a flounce of the same
+material about the base concealed the little straw mattress on which
+children usually lie. It had almost a luxurious look, in striking
+contrast with the other contents of that poor chamber; but the most
+poverty-stricken mother always finds a way to adorn her child's cradle.
+
+At that moment, Mignonne was trying to put the child to sleep by singing
+to her and rocking her.
+
+I stopped in the doorway; she did not turn. She did not hear me; she had
+no eyes or ears for anything but her daughter. She was speaking to her:
+
+"Well! don't we propose to go to sleep to-day, Mademoiselle Marie? Don't
+we propose to shut our lovely eyes? Oh, yes! we have very lovely eyes,
+but we must sleep, all the same; that will do us good! And then, mamma
+wants you to. Do you hear, dear child? mamma wants you to. Oh, yes! you
+hear me; you smile at me. Ah! she holds out her little arms, she wants
+me to take her! Mon Dieu! but it would do her so much good to sleep! But
+I must do what you want me to, mustn't I?"
+
+She bent over the cradle and took up the child; then she stood up, and
+saw me. She cast a sad glance at me, in which I no longer saw any trace
+of alarm.
+
+"Excuse me, madame," I said, stepping forward; "I ventured to come to
+see you, because Madame Potrelle told me this morning that your little
+Marie was ill. I studied medicine a little, long ago; I shall be happy
+if I can assist you with advice, which you may follow if you think it
+good!--Ah! she is very pretty, dear child!"
+
+"Isn't she, monsieur?"
+
+And Mignonne smiled when she saw me gazing at her daughter, who was
+really beautiful and already bore much resemblance to her mother. But
+her pretty features were drawn and worn, and denoted some internal
+trouble; her eyes too were sad, and it is with the eyes that children
+express their feelings before they have learned to talk.
+
+"How old is she, madame?"
+
+"Almost fifteen months, monsieur."
+
+"She seems very big for that age, and I have no doubt that it is her
+precocious growth that makes her ill."
+
+"Do you think so, monsieur? Yes, that must be one of the causes. She is
+very large for fifteen months; and yet she isn't stout, she isn't too
+big, like the children that are abnormal!"
+
+"Allow me to feel her pulse."
+
+I took the child's hand; the skin was dry and burning. Mignonne read in
+my face that I was not satisfied with that examination.
+
+"She's feverish, isn't she, monsieur?"
+
+"A little; growing fever; that ought not to alarm you."
+
+"Oh! do you think she will get well, monsieur?"
+
+"Certainly I do, madame. Her condition doesn't even seem to me serious
+enough for you to be worried about her."
+
+"But, monsieur, it's more than a month that she's been like this;
+sometimes she's better for a day or two; then she laughs and sings--yes,
+monsieur, I give you my word that she sings, poor dear! To be sure, I
+don't suppose anybody but her mother can understand her. But then she
+falls back into this sort of prostration, the fever comes back, and she
+refuses everything. Mon Dieu! then I don't know what to do to bring a
+smile back to her lips. Do you suppose that she's in pain? The poor
+little things can't tell us where they feel sick. But she will get well,
+won't she, monsieur?"
+
+"I have always believed, madame, whenever I have stood beside a man or
+woman whom the doctors had given over, that they might still recover,
+for I believe more in God than in man; I have more faith in divine
+Providence than in human skill, and I do not think that we know as yet
+all the resources of nature. But when the sufferer is a child, a
+creature so fresh and new in life, to despair of its recovery seems to
+me rank blasphemy; because in that young plant, just born, there must be
+the sap of youth and strength and maturity. Children become very ill in
+a very short time, and recover their health as quickly; their eyes, sad
+and haggard to-night, will laugh again to-morrow; often nothing more
+than a ray of sunshine is needed to effect that happy change."
+
+"Ah! monsieur, you restore my courage!"
+
+"You must never lose it when you are nursing a sick person. I suppose
+that you have a doctor?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; but he doesn't come often. He doesn't say much of
+anything. But I hope he'll come to-day; I expect him."
+
+"Would you like me to send another one?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; I have confidence enough in this one."
+
+"Adieu, madame! Don't grieve, don't fatigue yourself too much; remember
+that you must retain your own health in order to nurse your child. With
+your permission, I will call again to inquire for little Marie."
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+I stepped forward and kissed the child on the forehead; her eyes
+fastened upon me in evident amazement. Mignonne, too, looked closely at
+me when I kissed her little one. But she made no objection, and
+responded sadly to my salutation as I left the room.
+
+I went downstairs, and found the concierge watching for me, combing one
+of her cats the while.
+
+"Well, monsieur, did you see my tenant and her little sick girl?"
+
+"Yes, madame; I did my best to revive hope in Mignonne's heart. Her
+child is not well, still I think she isn't in danger. What does the
+doctor say?"
+
+"_Dame!_ the doctor shakes his head; he always says when he goes away:
+'We shall see.'"
+
+"He doesn't compromise himself. Meanwhile, take this money, Madame
+Potrelle, and see to it that the young woman and her child want
+nothing."
+
+"Oh! how kind you are, monsieur! But all this money---- Why, how much
+have you given me? A hundred and fifty francs!"
+
+"That's an advance on the work Mignonne is going to do for me."
+
+"An advance! But she'll never take such a sum of money, monsieur!"
+
+"That is why I give it to you. Pay for the medicines; there's no need of
+Mignonne's knowing anything about it."
+
+"But, monsieur, suppose she should ask me how I got it?"
+
+"Arrange it to suit yourself, Madame Potrelle; say that the druggist
+doesn't charge anything for medicines furnished to sick people who live
+under the eaves; lie, if necessary: there are cases where lying is no
+sin. And when this is gone, come to me at once and get more--without
+saying anything to Mignonne."
+
+"Ah! monsieur, what you're doing---- Well! if anyone should ever speak
+ill of you in my presence, he'd get Brisquet in his face. This is
+Brisquet I'm combing."
+
+"Au revoir, Madame Potrelle! I'll come again in a few days to hear about
+little Marie."
+
+
+
+
+XLI
+
+THE REWARD OF WELLDOING
+
+
+Several days passed, and I had not been again to see Mignonne. Rosette
+had called upon me several times; but my pretty grisette talked too much
+about Monsieur Freluchon, the dealer in sponges; which led me to think
+that our relations would not last much longer.
+
+Madame Dauberny was slightly indisposed; she sent for me to come to her,
+and I lost no time in complying. She seemed touched by my zeal. She was
+charming with me; she asked me about Rosette, but laughingly and without
+irony, as before; then she said, shaking her head:
+
+"I am no longer afraid that that girl will make you lose your common
+sense and forget our friendship."
+
+"Have you ever been afraid of that?"
+
+"Why, yes. My friendship is too selfish. It is wrong, I realize that;
+but I am jealous, which a friend has no right to be. Scold me,
+monsieur."
+
+"On the contrary, I forgive you--the more freely because I seem to have
+the same conception of friendship that you do; for----"
+
+"For what? Go on!"
+
+"Well! I too am jealous of the affection you bestow on others. And on
+that trip to the country, when Balloquet made love to you--that vexed me
+terribly."
+
+"Really? Did you suppose for a moment that I would listen to that man?"
+
+"Why not--if he had pleased you?"
+
+"If he had pleased me--very good; but you know perfectly well that he
+could not please me--seriously. And so your friendship is jealous, too?"
+
+She lowered her eyes as she asked that question. I took her hand and
+pressed it affectionately. At that moment, her maid entered and said:
+
+"Monsieur Dauberny, who has just arrived, wishes to know if he may come
+to inquire for madame's health."
+
+Frédérique was thunderstruck. She glanced at me, murmuring:
+
+"He has come back! What a misfortune! I had flattered myself that he
+would never come back. But, after all, we must submit to our fate. After
+five months' absence, I dare not refuse to receive him; for his visit is
+solely one of politeness, no doubt. Remain, my friend; your presence
+will give me strength to endure Monsieur Dauberny's. Will you do me this
+favor?"
+
+"If you authorize me to do so, madame, I will remain."
+
+Frédérique told her maid that she might admit Monsieur Dauberny. I was
+intensely agitated by the thought that I should soon be in that man's
+presence; but I strove to conceal my agitation beneath a calm and
+indifferent air.
+
+Monsieur Dauberny appeared in a moment. He was rather tall, but had
+grown too stout for his height. His face, the features of which were,
+generally speaking, regular, wore nevertheless an expression of brutal
+libertinage, and when his eyes tried to express merriment they became
+sea-green, watery, like those of a wild beast. He appeared to be about
+fifty years of age; his hair was thick and curly. He was neatly dressed,
+but seemed to have difficulty in carrying his great weight.
+
+He was apparently surprised to find a man in his wife's apartment.
+However, he gave me a rather curt nod, to which I replied by an almost
+imperceptible inclination of the head and a manner so frigid that he was
+impressed by it and immediately bowed again much lower.
+
+I confess that I felt incapable of bending my head before that monster.
+At that instant, the fate of poor Annette recurred to my memory; I
+remembered her bruises, her horrible suffering! I remembered that
+shocking scene on the outer boulevards! I felt that I could not remain
+longer in that man's presence. The blood rushed to my face; I was on the
+point of giving way to my wrath and hurling myself upon the villain!
+While I was still master of myself, I took my hat and left the salon.
+
+"Are you going, Rochebrune?" said Frédérique.
+
+"Yes, madame, yes; I beg pardon--but an important engagement--pray
+excuse me!"
+
+I said no more, but went away, turning my head to avoid bowing to
+Monsieur Dauberny.
+
+What would Frédérique think of my behavior toward her husband--of that
+abrupt departure? I did not know; but if I had stayed longer, I should
+have broken out; and before her, in her apartment, that would have been
+a mistake.
+
+Pomponne was watching for my return; he came to meet me, crying:
+
+"Monsieur, the old concierge--I know now that she's a concierge--from
+Rue Ménilmontant has been here, not with the young woman who came once
+and ran off as if someone was going to assault her--a very pretty
+blonde----"
+
+"Well, Pomponne, well! What did Madame Potrelle say?"
+
+"Ah! yes, that's the concierge's name; it had escaped me. She said: 'Be
+good enough to ask Monsieur Rochebrune to come as soon as
+possible--to-day, if he has a minute--to my young tenant; for she's in
+great trouble.'--I was going to ask her why the young woman was in
+trouble, but she didn't give me time; she went away again, saying: 'I'm
+in a hurry, I ran all the way.'--To be sure, if she had run all the way
+from Rue Ménilmontant----"
+
+I listened to no more from Pomponne. I left the house at once and
+hurried to Mignonne's abode. I found the concierge below.
+
+"What is there new, Madame Potrelle? Do you want money?"
+
+"Oh, no! it ain't that, monsieur; but that poor mother--her child's much
+sicker. The doctor told me there wasn't any hope, but I haven't told
+Madame Landernoy that, for it would kill her too, she's so unhappy
+already! I don't know what to do to encourage her, and I thought of you,
+monsieur."
+
+I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. My heart was very
+heavy; still, I felt that I must try to bring back a little hope to her
+heart.
+
+I arrived under the eaves. The door was still open and Mignonne was
+kneeling by the cradle, as at my previous visit; but she was not
+singing; everything was perfectly still. The young mother, with her eyes
+fixed on her child, seemed to be watching for some gleam of hope on her
+face or in her breathing.
+
+I stepped into the room; Mignonne did not even turn her head.
+
+"Excuse me, madame," I said, approaching the cradle; "will you allow me
+to examine your little girl?"
+
+The young woman glanced at me, with eyes dim with tears, and murmured:
+
+"Oh! monsieur! just see how she has changed, poor child, in the ten days
+since you saw her! Just look at her!"
+
+Poor little one! My heart sank and my chest heaved when I saw the
+shocking ravages that disease had wrought in so short a time. When I saw
+her, ten days before, she was pale and thin; but her pretty features had
+not changed. Now, her little face was all wasted away; her head, like
+her body, seemed shrunken; her mouth, which she kept tightly closed, her
+little features, constantly distorted by nervous contractions--everything
+indicated great suffering; and yet she was still sweet and pretty. Ought
+such angels to suffer? What crime can they have committed?
+
+I took the child's hand; it was still burning. The mother gazed
+anxiously at my face and said:
+
+"Monsieur, do you still hope?"
+
+"I told you that I should always hope."
+
+"Oh, yes! you are right; but for that, I should die."
+
+"Does she complain? Can you guess where she feels pain?"
+
+"Alas! she doesn't complain, poor child! But she groans and cries, and I
+can't soothe her any more. Oh! monsieur! I can't soothe her any more!"
+
+Mignonne paused a moment to weep. I did not try to check her tears. They
+do much more harm when stored up than when they are freely shed.
+
+In a moment she continued, pointing to the child:
+
+"Look! see how she keeps her teeth clenched all the time. Oh! that is
+what frightens me!"
+
+"What does the doctor say?"
+
+"He ordered her some medicine. But she won't take anything, she won't
+drink. That is the hardest part of it!"
+
+"Yes, for if she drank a little of it, it would probably allay the fire
+that is consuming her."
+
+"But what am I to do if she won't drink it--when she cries if I insist?
+I can't force her, can I, the dear little pet?"
+
+"Will you let me try, madame?"
+
+"You, monsieur! Do you think you can succeed any better than I?"
+
+"I shall go about it differently."
+
+"With her teeth always clenched--I'm afraid she'll break the cup when I
+hold it to her mouth."
+
+"For that reason, I do not mean to try with a cup. Have you a small
+spoon?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Please let me have it, madame."
+
+Mignonne gave me a small iron spoon, and a cup containing the sedative
+draught ordered by the doctor. I filled the spoon and offered it to the
+child, who refused to take it; but I succeeded in partly opening her
+gums for an instant with my left hand, and poured the contents of the
+spoon into her mouth. The little one cried bitterly; but she had
+swallowed a few drops of the potion, and that was all I wanted.
+
+Mignonne watched me in amazement, almost in terror; for a moment she was
+afraid that I would hurt the child. But she soon calmed down, and seemed
+pleased with the result I had obtained.
+
+"You saw how I did it," I said; "you must act in the same way, when you
+want her to take a little of the medicine."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, I don't know whether I can; I don't know whether I can be
+as quick as you; and then I shall be afraid of hurting the dear angel."
+
+"I did not hurt her."
+
+"That is true. And see, look at her, monsieur; it seems as if she were
+breathing better! Oh! if that really has done her good!"
+
+"It is more than likely."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, if you would stay a little longer, and give her some more
+by and by?"
+
+"I will gladly do it, madame."
+
+"I am abusing your good nature, monsieur; but I'm afraid I can't do it
+as well as you."
+
+"I am in no hurry, madame; my time is at my own disposal. I have often
+made a bad use of it, and I will try to atone partly, here with you."
+
+The child seemed to be dozing, and I did not disturb her. But, after
+half an hour or more, when she began to be uneasy again, I repeated my
+manoeuvre and made her swallow another half-spoonful of the potion.
+
+I remained some time longer talking with Mignonne, doing my utmost to
+restore her courage and hope. Then I went away, saying:
+
+"Until to-morrow!"
+
+The next day, I went again to see the little invalid, and passed a large
+part of the day with Mignonne; for my conversation served to revive her
+courage, and she thought that no one could succeed so well as I in
+making the child drink. Little Marie's condition showed a slight change
+for the better. The doctor was greatly surprised, and the mother's hopes
+revived. It seemed to me that I too loved the poor little girl. One
+becomes attached to children so easily!
+
+A week elapsed; I had not allowed a day to go by without passing several
+hours in Mignonne's room. I thought that she still retained some
+suspicion of my intentions; but, as she considered that I understood
+taking care of children, she said to me each day when I left her:
+
+"It would be so kind of you, if you would come to-morrow!"
+
+I had not called on Frédérique again, nor had I seen Rosette. What must
+they think of me? But on returning home one afternoon, about four
+o'clock, I found both my friend and my mistress established in my salon.
+
+I saw at once, by the expression of their faces, that they were angry
+with me.
+
+"Ah! here you are, are you, monsieur?" said Rosette. "You're getting to
+be very rare--very hard to find, for this is the third time I've been
+here--so help me! I don't know whether your Jocrisse told you?"
+
+"My Jocrisse did not tell me."
+
+"And madame here has been as many times as I have, it seems, and hasn't
+had any better luck."
+
+"What, Frédérique! you have taken the trouble to come here? I am
+terribly sorry."
+
+Frédérique smiled, but with the mocking expression that I knew so well,
+saying:
+
+"What does it matter that I have been here? You weren't very solicitous
+about my health, I judge, as you haven't been to inquire about it since
+the day you left so abruptly. I understand that there is nothing very
+agreeable in my husband's presence; still, from regard for me, you might
+have put up with it a little longer."
+
+"You see, madame," said Rosette, "monsieur has other intrigues, new
+passions, beside which my love and your friendship are nothing at all!
+He hasn't a minute now to sacrifice to us; he passes all his time, all
+his days, with his new flame on Rue Ménilmontant. She can't be anything
+very distinguished, living in that quarter; but we must know a little of
+everything!"
+
+I saw that Pomponne had been chattering and inventing fables.
+
+"Ah! so you have been told that I go every day to Rue Ménilmontant?" I
+said, with a tranquillity that seemed to add to their irritation.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; to see a young and pretty blonde. You like blondes now,
+it seems! You like 'em of all colors, don't you?"
+
+"And this blonde whom I go to see is my mistress, is she?"
+
+"Oh, no! she may be your laundress, who knows? And you go there to watch
+her iron your shirts! Ha! ha! ha! Why don't you tell us that? it would
+be more amusing."
+
+"I won't tell you that, because I have no reason to lie."
+
+"Oh! of course not! To be sure, you're your own master, you can do what
+you think best. It seems that she came here one day--your blonde--and
+ran away as if the devil was after her. Oh! how sorry I am I wasn't here
+that day, when she honored you with a visit! I'd have led her a pretty
+dance! I'd have sent her mazurking down the stairs! But, who knows?
+perhaps I shall meet her one of these days. As you pass all your time
+with her now, it's probable that it will soon be her turn to come here.
+Just let me meet her! You see, I'm not very gentle when I'm jealous!
+I'll box that woman's ears; yes, monsieur, yes, I'll box her ears!"
+
+I listened to Rosette without winking. Frédérique said nothing, but kept
+her eyes on me.
+
+"You're not so wicked as you try to make people think, Rosette," said I,
+trying to take her hand, which she snatched away. "If you should find
+the young woman you speak of here, you would not insult her, I trust;
+for it would be as absurd as your insulting madame."
+
+"What do you say? Do you want to make us believe that the blonde is just
+a friend of yours? Oh! my boy, that may do for once. Madame Frédérique
+here is your friend, but you don't pass all your time with her, I
+believe.--Does he, madame?"
+
+"Oh! I see very little of monsieur!" rejoined Frédérique, with a gesture
+of annoyance; "and when by chance he does condescend to pay me a visit,
+he seizes the first pretext to retire. I know that friends ought not to
+stand on ceremony; but it would be possible to be more frank and
+outspoken."
+
+This was said in a tone which indicated that she was seriously offended.
+Suddenly Rosette darted at me, as if she meant to claw my eyes out,
+crying:
+
+"Come, monsieur, who is this woman that you pass all your time with? How
+long have you known her? what do you do at her house? Answer! answer!
+Answer, I say! I am not your friend, and I want you to stand on ceremony
+with me!"
+
+"First of all, mademoiselle, I might refuse to answer questions asked in
+such a way. You want to know all that I do? Are you entitled to? Do I
+know all that you are doing, when I am looking vainly for you at your
+seven aunts'? But, nevertheless, I propose to gratify your curiosity,
+because I shall be very glad to justify myself at the same time in the
+eyes of my friend Frédérique, who thinks that she no longer has my full
+confidence."
+
+"That is to say, you condescend to answer me on madame's account? That's
+very polite to me! But, no matter! go on, monsieur."
+
+"This girl, to whose room I have, in fact, been going regularly for some
+days, and who lives on Rue Ménilmontant, is not my mistress. Your
+conjectures with regard to her are altogether false; she is a poor girl,
+who was virtuous, and who was seduced----"
+
+"How clever! As if all girls weren't virtuous before they're seduced!"
+
+"But I know what I am talking about; I mean that she had not the taste
+for pleasure or idleness which sooner or later leads a girl on to her
+ruin."
+
+"Ah! very good; I understand! She'd have been a saint, if she hadn't
+sinned."
+
+"If you don't mean to let me speak, Rosette, it is useless to question
+me."
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I'll hold my tongue."
+
+"This girl became a mother. Her seducer had deserted her."
+
+"Indeed! but what has all this rigmarole to do with you? Is it any of
+your business, if you're not the seducer?"
+
+"I learned indirectly of this young woman's misfortunes; I became
+interested in her, I gave her work, and tried, so far as was in my
+power, to relieve her distress. What is there so surprising in that,
+mesdames? Why do you look at me with such a peculiar expression?"
+
+"Go on, my dear boy, continue your touching story. And now you pass your
+time with this young woman; because she's teaching you to knit,
+perhaps."
+
+I could not restrain a gesture of impatience. It is disheartening, when
+one has tried to do a little good, to be incessantly suspected of the
+opposite. I sprang to my feet and exclaimed:
+
+"I go to see that young woman every day now, because she is in despair;
+because she would lose her reason, in all probability, if she had no
+one to keep up her courage; because this is no time to abandon her!
+Believe me or not, as you choose, mesdames; but so much the worse for
+you, if you believe me incapable of doing a kind action from
+disinterested motives!"
+
+"I have never believed that of you, Charles," said Frédérique, coming to
+my side; "but it seems to me that one who believed that she had your
+full confidence may well be surprised to learn that your attention is
+engrossed by a young woman whom you had never mentioned to her."
+
+"As for me," cried Rosette, "I'm not so gullible as madame; I don't take
+any stock in your innocent, unfortunate, persecuted woman! All you need
+is the credulous and cruel husband! I saw a play like that once. I don't
+say that you don't help this lovely blonde of yours; on the contrary, I
+believe you help her too much. No doubt you were touched by her woes;
+but why? Because you're in love with her."
+
+"That is not true, Rosette; I tell you once more, you are all wrong."
+
+"I beg your pardon--one more question, and answer it honestly: is this
+woman pretty?"
+
+"She is very good-looking."
+
+"There! I was sure of it!--Take notice, Madame Frédérique, that these
+benevolent gentlemen never protect any women that aren't good-looking.
+As for the ugly ones, I don't know how it happens, but they never
+unearth them. They can groan in corners as much as they choose, there's
+no danger that anyone will hunt them up.--Total result: I don't take any
+stock in your story, and I believe I shall do well to yield to
+Freluchon's entreaties and couple up with him.--You've seen his sponge
+shop on Rue du Petit-Carreau, haven't you, madame? Don't you think it's
+rather neat?"
+
+"Very," replied Frédérique; "the counting-room especially struck me as
+remarkably elegant."
+
+"Ah! how fine I'll look in it!--Adieu, Charles! You've been playing
+tricks on me, and I'm going to get married!"
+
+Rosette departed, and I confess that I did not try to detain her; what
+she had said had stung me to the quick. As for Frédérique, I saw that in
+the bottom of her heart she shared the grisette's unjust suspicions. She
+stayed a moment longer with me, but said almost nothing; then she too
+left me, and when I pressed her hand it hardly responded to the
+pressure. So that is how we are believed when we tell the truth! If I
+had lied, I am very certain that they would not have been so
+incredulous.
+
+
+
+
+XLII
+
+A CONSOLATION
+
+
+I did not recover at once from the sensations caused by the two visits I
+had received. I knew that my liaison with Rosette would not last long;
+and when a thing is bound to end a little sooner or a little later, one
+is prepared for it. Moreover, since my peregrinations among the aunts, I
+had not had the slightest confidence in Rosette.
+
+But Frédérique! That she should look coldly on me because I had busied
+myself in behalf of a young woman who was in trouble surprised me, I
+admit. She was kind-hearted herself; why was she unwilling that other
+people should have that good quality?
+
+I was tempted for a moment to go to her; but I reflected that it would
+be almost equivalent to asking her forgiveness for doing a kind action
+without her leave. I felt that I must retain my dignity. So much the
+worse for those who see evil everywhere and in everything!
+
+All this reflection and hesitation detained me at home much later than
+usual, and the day was far advanced when I arrived at Rue Ménilmontant.
+Madame Potrelle was not in her lodge, which was deserted. I hastened
+upstairs; but my heart was oppressed by a melancholy presentiment: was
+the poor child worse?
+
+When I reached Mignonne's room, I found there, besides the unhappy
+mother, the doctor, the concierge, and a neighbor.
+
+Mignonne was weeping and calling her daughter; at last she fell back on
+her chair, speechless and motionless.
+
+"Little Marie is no more," said the doctor, in a low voice; "she died
+only a minute ago, after a slight convulsion. The child could not
+recover; I knew it all along; but the poor mother will not have it that
+she is dead. Still, we must take her away."
+
+Poor mother! poor child! I had arrived too late! I could not have
+prevented that catastrophe, and yet I was deeply grieved that I had
+delayed so long. The old concierge leaned over Mignonne and burst into
+tears; the other woman did the same. I walked to the cradle and looked
+in. Poor little girl! the last struggle had gone gently with her, for
+her face was not changed; on the contrary, it seemed that with death she
+had found peace and rest, that she was happy in having ceased to suffer.
+Her sweet face seemed to smile; I stooped to kiss the forehead of that
+angel who had made so brief a sojourn on earth.
+
+Mignonne, who was apparently absorbed by her grief, when she saw me,
+sprang to her feet, pushed the doctor away, and came to me, crying:
+
+"Here you are! here you are! How late you have come! But you will make
+her drink, won't you? You will bring the dear child back to life; for
+she isn't dead! oh, no! God has not taken my daughter away from me!
+Here, here, take her; why don't you make her drink? Open her lips; you
+see that she doesn't cry, that she doesn't refuse!"
+
+And she stooped over to lift the child, covering her with tears and
+kisses. Then she suddenly uttered a loud shriek and pressed her to her
+heart.
+
+"Cold! cold!" she cried. "Why is that? Warm her, monsieur, warm her, I
+say! You can see that she is dying!"
+
+It was a heartrending scene. Even the doctor could not restrain his
+tears. But luckily Mignonne lost consciousness. We took advantage of
+that moment to carry her away, the doctor and I. The neighbor who was
+present lived on the same street, two houses away; she offered to take
+the young mother in and keep her as long as her condition required.
+
+We placed Mignonne in a large armchair; several obliging people lent a
+hand, and we carried Mignonne to the neighbor's house before she
+recovered consciousness. The doctor accompanied her, and said that he
+would not leave her. Madame Potrelle remained, to pray beside the dead
+child. I left the house, as sad and gloomy as a stormy day. I sought a
+solitary quarter, for the sight of the world oppressed me.
+
+"What had that young mother done," I said to myself, "that she should be
+deprived of her child, who was her only comfort and joy on earth?"
+
+A fortnight had passed since little Marie's death. I had not as yet had
+the courage to go to see Mignonne; I was afraid that the sight of me
+would make her unhappy, for it would inevitably remind her of her
+daughter.
+
+But did not she think of her always, poor woman? Not by striving to
+banish a memory from the heart do we succeed in resigning ourselves to
+it with less bitterness; on the contrary, grief is pacified and soothed
+by speaking freely and often of those we have lost.
+
+I had called at Madame Dauberny's, but was told that she had gone into
+the country for a few days. Of Rosette I heard nothing at all.
+
+One hot summer's day, I decided to go to see Mignonne. I had left her in
+charge of decent people who were deeply interested in her. The doctor
+had promised to see her constantly, and that was why I had postponed my
+visit. We often have courage to bear our own troubles, but find it
+wanting when we must face those of other people.
+
+When I arrived at Madame Potrelle's lodge, I found the good woman there.
+I hardly dared to question her. She divined my hesitation and
+anticipated my wishes.
+
+"Madame Landernoy has been very sick, monsieur; for five days, we
+thought she would die; but she has finally recovered her health, or at
+least the consciousness of her misfortunes; for I don't call it health
+myself, when she cries all the time and only eats so as to keep up her
+strength. At last, about four days ago, she insisted on coming back to
+her own little room upstairs. The neighbor didn't want her to; but the
+doctor said: 'She mustn't be thwarted, it will make her worse.'--So
+she's come back. Oh! monsieur, if you could have heard her sobs when
+she saw the child's cradle; and now she keeps her head bent over it all
+the time, as if she was looking for her; and she says: 'It's all I've
+got left of her. I can't cry anywhere but over her cradle, for I don't
+know where she is--I haven't got anything of hers. Nobody can find the
+poor woman's child, and I can't go and kneel by her grave!'--Ah!
+monsieur, it is very painful to hear that, and to see that poor young
+thing crushed under the weight of her grief, and refusing, sometimes for
+whole days, to budge from her little one's cradle!"
+
+I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. I found her door
+closed. I could hear nothing; profound silence reigned. I knocked gently
+on the door. After a moment, I heard Mignonne's sweet voice:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"It is I, madame; pray let me come in."
+
+She evidently recognized my voice, for she opened the door at once. She
+looked earnestly at me, and said, pointing to the cradle with a
+heartrending expression:
+
+"Why do you come now? She isn't here any longer; you can't do anything
+more for her; and I--oh! I don't need anything now."
+
+She fell, exhausted, on a chair. But I stood in front of her and said,
+in a respectful and firm tone:
+
+"I have one more duty to perform. Be good enough to come with me,
+madame; take your bonnet and shawl, and come with me, I beg. I ask it in
+your daughter's name."
+
+Mignonne gazed at me in surprise; but I had no sooner mentioned her
+daughter, than she rose, hastily put on what she needed, and was ready
+in a moment.
+
+I went downstairs first, and she followed me. Mère Potrelle stared when
+she saw us pass her door; but I did not stop. I had come in a cab,
+which was waiting at the door. I asked Mignonne to get in, and she
+complied without asking any questions. I took my seat beside her; the
+cabman knew where to take us, and we drove away.
+
+Mignonne did not open her lips, and I respected her silence. Thus we
+traversed the distance that separated us from the cemetery of
+Père-Lachaise. Our cab stopped at the gate of that place of repose. I
+alighted first, and gave my hand to Mignonne. When she recognized the
+place where we were, she seemed to feel a sudden shock; her eyes
+brightened, she looked into my face, then eagerly seized my hand and
+walked beside me, never relaxing her grasp; I felt her hand tremble in
+mine.
+
+I led her for some time through the paths between the graves. At last, I
+stopped on the summit of a hill where there was a sort of enclosure
+formed by a number of cypresses. I led her into that enclosure, where
+there was a monument as simple as the body beneath it. It was a flat
+stone, lying on the ground, with a white marble column standing at its
+head. On that column was an angel flying away from a cradle, and at the
+base these words only:
+
+    HERE RESTS MARIE LANDERNOY
+
+That modest monument was surrounded by newly planted flowers, and the
+whole was enclosed by a low iron fence. I opened the gate, of which I
+had the key, and pointed to the stone, saying simply:
+
+"Your daughter is there."
+
+The young woman, who had followed me in silence, but trembling nervously
+for a reason which I could well understand, gazed vacantly at the little
+cenotaph at first; but when she read her daughter's name on the marble,
+she uttered a cry, fell on her knees as if to thank heaven, then rose
+again, weeping, threw herself into my arms, and pressed me to her heart,
+murmuring:
+
+"My friend! my friend! And I was suspicious of you! Oh! forgive me! I
+love you dearly, now! My daughter is lying there; I can come now and
+pray upon her grave, and tend and renew the flowers that surround it.
+Ah! I breathe more freely now; you have given me courage to keep on
+living."
+
+"I have something else here," I said, taking from my pocket a carefully
+folded paper, which I handed to Mignonne.
+
+The young woman took the paper, and a flush of joy overspread her face;
+she covered her daughter's hair with kisses, then threw herself into my
+arms once more.
+
+"Oh! thanks! thanks, my friend! I have not lost everything; I have
+something of her! Her soft, fine hair--I have it all, and it will never
+leave me! Ah! you have almost made me happy! Let me thank you again."
+
+She laid her head on my shoulder and wept profusely; but the tears were
+soothing and assuaged her grief.
+
+Then she knelt beside the gravestone. I walked away in order not to
+disturb her meditation and her prayers.
+
+At last, after spending a long time beside her daughter, Mignonne
+returned to me; but she was no longer the same woman as when she left
+her room. Her sombre grief, her wild glance, had given place to an
+expression of pious melancholy and placid resignation.
+
+I took her back to her home; on the way, I tried, not to combat her
+regrets, but to make her understand that the most unhappy of mankind are
+not those who are taken away from this world.
+
+When we returned, Madame Potrelle looked at us, and was surprised beyond
+words at the change that had taken place in her tenant; but she dared
+not question us. Mignonne ran to the good woman and kissed her.
+
+"Oh! I am no longer so wretched as I was! I have just been praying at my
+daughter's grave; I've got the key; there are flowers all around it; I
+am going to take care of them. Marie will be glad. See, I have all her
+hair; and it's to him, to monsieur, my best friend, that I owe it all!
+Ah! you were quite right when you told me that I made a mistake to
+distrust him!"
+
+I bade Mignonne adieu, in order to escape Madame Potrelle's eulogium.
+The young woman offered me her hand, saying:
+
+"Now I will come myself to get the work you are good enough to give me.
+You will allow me to do it, won't you?"
+
+"I do more than that, I beg you to; and, in the interest of your health,
+I urge you to look carefully after all my linen; for there is nothing
+like work to distract one's thoughts."
+
+Mignonne speedily fulfilled her promise; she appeared one morning,
+alone; she desired to show me that she no longer had any suspicion of
+me. I talked a few minutes with her. We spoke of her daughter, the
+subject in which she was most deeply interested. The people who are
+afraid to speak of those they have lost are the ones who wish to forget
+them at once. When one does not wish to forget the dear ones who are no
+more, why should one shrink from speaking of them?
+
+Then I went out, after saying to her:
+
+"The keys are in all the drawers. Look over everything, and take away
+what you choose. That is your affair; and my servant has orders to obey
+you like myself, if you need anything."
+
+Several weeks passed thus. At first Mignonne came every four or five
+days, then a little oftener, then every other day; and I frequently
+found her established in my quarters, and working there; for she had
+said to me one day:
+
+"When there isn't much to mend, perhaps one shirt, or one waistcoat, it
+is hardly worth while to carry it home, if it doesn't annoy you to have
+me do it here."
+
+And as it did not annoy me in the least to have her work in my rooms, as
+I observed with delight that her grief was more calm, more resigned, and
+that when she was busily employed there she had much more distraction
+than in her own chamber, I urged her to work there whenever it was
+convenient for her to do so.
+
+Pomponne alone seemed very much puzzled because that young woman did her
+sewing in my apartment when I was not there; especially as Mignonne was
+not talkative, and as I had forbidden him to presume to ask her any
+questions.
+
+
+
+
+XLIII
+
+CONJECTURES
+
+
+I called again to see Frédérique, but she had not returned from the
+country. Did she propose to spend the summer there? It seemed to me that
+she might have told me where she was going, and have asked me to pass
+some time with her.
+
+I was unhappy over Frédérique's absence; but, above all, I was hurt by
+her manifest indifference. I would have liked to scold her; I would have
+liked to tell her that I was very angry with her. Where was she? what
+was she doing? whom did she see now? Madame insisted upon my telling her
+everything, but she told me nothing.
+
+One day when Mignonne was working in my salon, and I, contrary to my
+custom, had not gone out, the doorbell announced a visitor. Mignonne
+rose at once, saying:
+
+"I will go, monsieur."
+
+"Why so, Mignonne? Stay, I beg you; you are not in my way; and if my
+visitor has anything to say to me in private, I will take him into my
+bedroom, that's all. There is not the least reason why you should go."
+
+Mignonne resumed her seat, and Ballangier entered the room. He was still
+in cap and blouse, but his dress was irreproachably neat, and his hands
+very white. When he saw a young woman installed in my apartment, he
+started back in surprise, and would have gone away.
+
+"I beg pardon! I didn't know that you had company. Pomponne told me I
+might come in."
+
+"Why, of course; come in, come in! You mustn't let madame frighten you
+away. Take a seat, and let us talk."
+
+Ballangier decided to sit down. Mignonne went on sewing and kept her
+eyes over her work.
+
+"Well! have you still plenty to do? are they still satisfied with you? I
+am sure that they are; I can read it in your eyes."
+
+"Yes; my employer is perfectly satisfied with me. If you knew how rich I
+am now! I am actually saving money! Can you believe that I have
+seventy-five francs put by?"
+
+"Well done, my friend! As soon as a man has succeeded in saving
+something, it's like a snowball. It isn't so hard as people think to
+become well to do. Often nothing is necessary but determination; but it
+must be constant and immovable."
+
+"Oh! that's the way it is with me now; there's no danger of my
+stumbling. Why, when I see a drunken man, it makes me blush for shame,
+and I say to myself: 'How could I ever take any pleasure in making a
+beast of myself like that!'"
+
+"And your reading?"
+
+"That gives me a great deal of entertainment, too. But there are some
+things I have to read over two or three times, because I don't
+understand them right away."
+
+"Would you like me to give you some more books?"
+
+"Thanks, not to-day. I am doing an errand for my employer, and I had to
+pass your door; that's why I took the liberty of coming up."
+
+"You did well, for it's a pleasure to me to see you now."
+
+Ballangier smiled, then glanced furtively at Mignonne. We talked for
+some time; then he rose, saying that he must hurry, because his employer
+was waiting for him. I walked into the reception room with him, and
+there, after bidding me adieu, Ballangier murmured:
+
+"She's mighty pretty, that little woman sewing in there!"
+
+"Yes, she is pretty; and, what's better still, she's respectable."
+
+"Ah, yes! Is she a lady?"
+
+"I'll tell you another time who she is."
+
+When Ballangier had gone, I returned to Mignonne, who went on with her
+work and said nothing. Still, I would have bet that she was surprised to
+hear me, a young man of fashion, addressed thus familiarly by a man in
+cap and blouse.
+
+Pomponne handed me a huge envelope which the concierge had just brought
+upstairs. The enclosure was printed; evidently a wedding invitation. I
+read:
+
+     "Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon,
+     Chamouillet, and Cavalos have the honor to announce the marriage of
+     their niece, Mademoiselle Rosette Gribiche, to Monsieur
+     Jules-César-Octave Freluchon, dealer in sponges."
+
+Ah! it was very amiable on Rosette's part to send me an announcement of
+her wedding. But something was written at the foot of the sheet:
+
+     "You are requested to attend the ball, which will take place at
+     Chapart's, Rue d'Angoulême; I rely on you for the polka."
+
+Ah! there I recognized my saucy grisette. She was quite capable of
+insisting on dancing all night with me; and I was not at all certain
+that she would not demand something else. But I would not accept her
+invitation, I would not go to her wedding feast. I would be more
+sensible than she was. I would not swear that, later on, I might not do
+myself the pleasure of buying a sponge of her. Meanwhile, I wished
+Monsieur Freluchon all happiness, and I was convinced beforehand that it
+would be his.
+
+One evening, when I went home, Pomponne said to me, rubbing his hands
+gleefully:
+
+"Monsieur had another visitor to-day. Mon Dieu! monsieur had only just
+gone out, when Madame Dauberny came."
+
+"Madame Dauberny? Oh! how sorry I am that I didn't see her!"
+
+"She came in; in fact, she waited for monsieur quite a long time,
+talking with your seamstress."
+
+"What do you mean by my seamstress? In heaven's name, can't you say
+Madame Landernoy?"
+
+"As that lady sews for monsieur, I thought she was his seamstress."
+
+"No matter! what did Frédérique say when she went away? Will she come
+again to-morrow?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; she won't come again to-morrow nor any other day; for
+she said to me when she went away: 'You will tell your master that I
+shan't come again.'"
+
+"She said that she wouldn't come again! That's impossible, Pomponne; you
+are mistaken; Frédérique could not have said that."
+
+"Beg pardon, monsieur; I'm sure she said it, because it surprised me;
+and I said to her: 'Why! is madame angry with monsieur?'"
+
+"Oh! I recognize you there! Always inquisitive and chattering! Well,
+what did she say to that?"
+
+"She said: 'That's none of your business!'--I didn't say any more."
+
+I could not understand why Frédérique should have said what Pomponne had
+reported to me. If she had come often to see me without finding me, it
+might be conceivable; but, on the contrary, I had been more than ten
+times to inquire for her while she was in the country.
+
+"No matter!" I thought; "I will go to see her to-morrow, and obtain an
+explanation of all this, I hope."
+
+The next day, as soon as I had finished breakfast, I hastened to Madame
+Dauberny's. At last, she was at home! Her maid ushered me into her room.
+
+I found Frédérique enveloped in a morning gown. Her lovely hair, falling
+in long curls on each side of her face, was without ornament. She was
+very pale, and her manner was cold and constrained; she greeted me with
+a smile that was not sincere, and said:
+
+"Ah! is it you, Charles?"
+
+"Yes, it is I. You came to see me yesterday, and I am extremely sorry
+that I was absent. But that fact does not seem to me a sufficient
+explanation of your saying to my servant that you would not come again.
+What did that mean? I have been here ten or fifteen times to see you
+since you went into the country, where it never once occurred to you to
+write me, to tell me where you were. I could not write to you, for I had
+no idea in what direction you had gone. But I came, nevertheless, again
+and again; for I could not tire of coming, when I hoped to see
+you!--Tell me, what is the matter? what have I done? Why are you
+offended? for you are offended, I can see by the cold way in which you
+receive me."
+
+Frédérique listened to me attentively. She forced herself to smile and
+offered me her hand, saying in a faltering tone:
+
+"All that you say is true--I have no right to be angry--and I am not any
+longer."
+
+"But you are!"
+
+"No, I am not."
+
+"Why did you tell Pomponne that you would not come again?"
+
+"Why--because--as you have a woman installed in your rooms now--I
+thought that my visits could only----"
+
+"Upon my word, I can't understand you! Because a person comes to my
+rooms, a person who looks after my linen, takes it away and brings it
+back!--What has that to do with our friendship?"
+
+"Is she the--the young woman in whom you took such a deep interest?"
+
+"Yes, madame. She has lost her child, her little girl, who was her only
+joy! It seems to me that that is an additional reason for trying to
+lighten her sorrow."
+
+"Oh! most assuredly! It seems, too, that you have done wonders for her,
+for she says everything good of you! she extols you to the skies! Never
+fear, my friend, she is truly grateful!"
+
+"But that ought not to seem extraordinary to you, who maintain that
+ingratitude is the most shocking of vices."
+
+"No, no! I see nothing at all unusual in all that."
+
+"Mon Dieu! Frédérique, you drive me mad! Do you know that, to hear you,
+one would think you were unkind and unfeeling, and yet I know that you
+are not."
+
+"She is very pretty, that young woman!"
+
+"I told you that before. And because she is pretty--is that a reason for
+not doing anything for her?"
+
+"Oh! quite the contrary! That is a reason for being deeply interested in
+her, for having her come to work in one's own rooms, and pass her days
+there.--Ha! ha! ha! Really, Rosette wasn't so foolish as I: she guessed
+the truth at once."
+
+"What do you mean by that, Frédérique?"
+
+"I mean that you love that young woman, that you are in love with her,
+that you mean to make her your mistress! Oh! mon Dieu! it's all simple
+and natural enough, and I don't blame you. You are free, and so is she;
+you are perfectly entitled to--to live with her, if it suits you to do
+so! But what I don't like, what pains me, is that you always make a
+mystery to me of your sentiments and your intrigues; that I never learn
+your secrets except from others; that you haven't confidence enough in
+me to tell me of your new amours. That is what angers me. For, you see,
+being neither your mistress nor your friend, I am nothing at all to you!
+So I cannot see the necessity of continuing our acquaintance."
+
+My heart sank; I felt, not anger, but sorrow, genuine sorrow, to find
+that I was unjustly judged by a woman to whom I would have been glad to
+lay bare my whole heart, to whom I longed to tell my most secret
+thoughts, hoping to read her heart as she would read mine. That reproach
+of a lack of confidence in her touched and wounded me; as I was not
+guilty, I would not even try to justify myself.
+
+I took my hat and prepared to go.
+
+"Are you going already?" exclaimed Frédérique.
+
+"Yes, madame. I consider it useless to remain longer with a person who
+believes neither in my words nor in my affection. I thought that you
+were able to judge me fairly, to appreciate my feelings. I was mistaken.
+Some day, I doubt not, you will realize your error. Then, madame,
+perhaps you will come to me and offer me again that friendship of which
+you now think me unworthy; and you will find me, as always, happy to
+deserve such a favor."
+
+Frédérique looked at me; I believe that she was on the point of rushing
+toward me; but she repressed that impulse, which came from her heart,
+and I went away, determined to make no attempt to see her again. I had
+learned that one can no more rely on a woman's friendship than on her
+love; that there must inevitably be a strain of inconstancy or caprice
+in all their affections.
+
+On the day following my visit to Madame Dauberny, Mignonne came as usual
+to bring back my linen; but, contrary to her custom, she took another
+package and prepared to go away again at once.
+
+"Don't you propose to stay and work a while to-day?" I asked her. She
+seemed embarrassed, and hesitated before replying; at last she faltered,
+lowering her eyes:
+
+"Monsieur--it is--I am--I am afraid that staying here so often to
+work--I am afraid I am in your way."
+
+"What is the source of that fear to-day? Haven't I told you that I could
+receive in my bedroom anybody with whom I wished to be alone?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Why this fear, then? What new idea have you got into your head?"
+
+"It didn't come into my head."
+
+"Whose, then, pray?"
+
+"Monsieur--the fact is--that--it was day before yesterday that a lady
+came to see you. Didn't your servant tell you?"
+
+"Certainly he did."
+
+"That lady sat down; she stayed a long time with me, and examined me
+very closely. She had a strange way about her. When she mentioned you,
+she said just _Rochebrune_, or _Charles_. She is very intimate with you,
+it seems."
+
+"Well! what then?"
+
+"After looking at me so hard that I didn't know which way to turn, she
+began to talk to me. She asked a lot of questions about the beginning of
+our acquaintance. She asked me how long I'd known you, and--and--oh! a
+lot of things I don't dare tell you. I just told her the truth--all you
+had done for me, and all I had to be grateful to you for. You are not
+angry, are you, monsieur, because I told her all that?"
+
+"Why should it make me angry?"
+
+"The strange part of it was that the lady didn't seem pleased to hear me
+say all--all the good of you that you deserve! She kept shrugging her
+shoulders--I saw it plainly enough! And at last she cried: 'This is all
+very noble, it's magnificent; but it's easy to see what the end of it
+will be. When a young woman installs herself in a young man's bachelor
+apartment, there must be in the bottom of her heart a sentiment stronger
+than her care for her reputation; it must be that she isn't afraid to be
+looked upon by the world as that young man's mistress.'"
+
+"She said that?"
+
+"Yes, and then she went away, saying: 'I don't want to make you unhappy,
+mademoiselle; I simply mean to give you a little advice.'--Oh! but she
+did make me awfully unhappy!"
+
+"And is that the reason why you don't propose to work here to-day?"
+
+"Oh! it isn't on my own account, monsieur; it's on yours. That lady says
+it will keep all your friends from coming to see you. I wouldn't for the
+world have you quarrel with anyone."
+
+"You cannot believe anything so absurd, Mignonne! Say, rather, that you
+are afraid to be looked upon as my mistress--that it has occurred to you
+that----"
+
+"O monsieur! for heaven's sake, do not finish! After all you have done
+for me, the memory of my daughter alone would be enough to make me
+worship you. What do I care for anything the world can say? Do I know
+the world? Have I any reputation to preserve? Would life have any charm
+for me, were it not for you, who attached me to it by giving my daughter
+a last resting place? You, and the memory of Marie, that is all the
+world means to me! What do I care for all the rest? Oh! if it does not
+displease you to have me stay, tell me so again, monsieur, and I swear
+to you that I will obey you with happiness and joy."
+
+"In that case, stay, Mignonne."
+
+The young woman hastily unrolled the work she was about to take away;
+she took her needle and set to work in her usual seat, after looking at
+me with a smile.
+
+She at least showed undiminished confidence in me.
+
+
+
+
+XLIV
+
+LOVE ON ALL SIDES
+
+
+Mignonne continued to come to my rooms. I found already that my living
+expenses had diminished materially. I asked her to have an eye to a
+thousand and one details of housekeeping, to which I never paid any
+attention; she did it with a zeal and an intelligence that astonished
+me. I was like Ballangier, I was becoming too rich; and yet, nothing was
+ever lacking; on the contrary, I was as comfortable as I could wish. I
+discovered that a woman is very useful in a house.
+
+Mignonne's health was fully restored, and she had recovered her fresh
+color; she never laughed, but a sweet smile sometimes played about her
+lips. I was delighted with the change and congratulated her on it.
+
+"It is your work," she said.
+
+When we talked together, she always spoke of her daughter; she went to
+see her almost every day, and I often saw in her belt a flower which she
+constantly covered with kisses. I guessed where she had plucked that
+flower.
+
+Ballangier came to see me, and did not find me; but he found Mignonne,
+and Monsieur Pomponne told me that he sat in front of her more than an
+hour, without opening his mouth.
+
+"How do you know that?" I demanded, pulling Pomponne's ear; "did you
+listen at the door?"
+
+"I couldn't listen, monsieur, as they didn't say anything."
+
+Oh! these servants! Is there no way of finding one who is neither
+inquisitive, talkative, a liar, nor a gossip? When they are not all of
+these together, they are phoenixes!
+
+"You received a visitor for me, did you?" I asked Mignonne.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, that young mechanic; for he seems to be a mechanic."
+
+"Yes; he's a cabinetmaker. What did he say to you?"
+
+"He talks very little. But he told me enough for me to understand that
+you are his benefactor, too; that he owes you a great deal."
+
+"No, I am in no sense his benefactor. What I did for him was a duty. But
+he behaved very badly at one time; for a long while he led a life of
+idleness and dissipation. He was deaf to my entreaties and
+remonstrances. In those days, his presence was as distasteful to me as
+it is agreeable now. He has turned over a new leaf, become a respectable
+man once more, and a good workman; I have given him all my friendship
+again, and some day I hope--I hope that he will make a good husband.
+Then, if Ballangier could fall in with a woman like you, Mignonne,
+gentle and virtuous and hard-working, and if he could win her love, he
+would be altogether happy."
+
+Mignonne had become serious. She looked at the floor, murmuring:
+
+"Oh! as for me, monsieur, you know very well that I can never think of
+marriage! You know that I have been a mother!"
+
+"If you concealed nothing from the man who loved you, you would still be
+worthy of an honest man's love and esteem. Ought anyone to be so severe
+as that, Mignonne? Who has not sinned--more or less?"
+
+"However, monsieur, I shall never have any occasion to tell my story,
+for I shall never marry."
+
+"We cannot foresee the future."
+
+"Oh! I can safely take my oath to that!"
+
+I insisted no further, for it seemed to be a painful subject to the
+young woman. Probably, engrossed as she was by her daughter's memory,
+she did not choose to admit that anyone could divert her thoughts from
+her, even in the future.
+
+Nothing from Frédérique. She did not come to see me, and I certainly
+should not go again to her. So it was all over; we had quarrelled--and
+for what? More than once, unconsciously perhaps, I had walked in the
+direction of her house and found myself in front of it; but at such
+times I made haste to retrace my steps. I would have been glad, however,
+to know if she were in Paris, or if she had gone away again. If chance
+should bring us together, surely we could not pass on the street without
+speaking. But I did not meet her.
+
+By way of compensation, I did meet Ballangier near my own house. He was
+on his way to see me; but as he had met me, he said that he would not go
+upstairs. Something made me think that he would have preferred to go up.
+I noticed a certain constraint in his manner. He asked about Mignonne,
+but he did it with the air of one who dared not reveal all of the
+interest he took in that young woman. Poor Ballangier! it was not
+difficult to divine what was going on in his heart; he was not an expert
+dissembler.
+
+Another day, I met him again near my abode, and he made haste to tell me
+that he had not come out without the permission of his employer, who was
+still content with him, because he always worked two hours later at
+night when he left his work in the morning. I looked him squarely in the
+eye, and said:
+
+"You don't tell me everything, my friend. You are concealing something
+from me at this moment!"
+
+He blushed, became confused, and stammered:
+
+"Concealing something? I? Why, I don't think so!"
+
+"You are not very sure, are you? But I'll tell you straight away what it
+is: you're in love!"
+
+This time he turned pale.
+
+"In love? with whom, pray?"
+
+"With whom? Why, with that young woman whom you have seen several times
+at my rooms, and whom I call Madame Landernoy--or Mignonne."
+
+"Oh! nonsense, Charles! you are mistaken. I consider her very
+good-looking, to be sure; and then, her manner is so sweet and so
+modest! But I certainly shouldn't presume to fall in love with her,
+especially as--as you might not like it! For, you see, you have a right
+to love her, you have done so much for her, and you give her work to
+do."
+
+"My friend, if that is all that prevents you, you may fall in love with
+Mignonne at your pleasure; for, so far as I am concerned, I look upon
+her as a sister; I have never dreamed of loving her in any other way;
+and for the very reason that I have been of some service to her and that
+she has enough confidence in me to come to my rooms to work, I should
+feel bound in honor not to love her otherwise than as a sister."
+
+Ballangier's face became radiant. He seized both my hands and squeezed
+them hard; he would have cut capers in the street, if I had not
+prevented him.
+
+"Is it possible?" he cried. "You don't love her! you don't think of
+loving her! Oh! if you knew what a weight you have taken off my
+breast!--For I do love her, Charles; yes, I do love that young woman!
+love her, do I say? why, I idolize her, I am mad over her! It took me
+all of a sudden when I first saw her, it struck me here! Since then,
+it's impossible for me to think of anything else. But I wouldn't ever
+have told you; I wouldn't ever have told her, either. You'll forgive me;
+for I thought that, with her always in your rooms--I thought you
+couldn't help loving her--but nothing of the sort! You see, I've never
+been in love before; I've known a lot of street walkers--but as to love,
+not a bit of it! And now, what a difference! And how proud I am to be a
+decent, hard-working man again! Perhaps I might take her fancy. Do you
+think she'll ever love me, Charles? Oh! if she could love me!"
+
+I strove to calm him; then I began by telling him Mignonne's whole
+story. He listened attentively, muttering from time to time:
+
+"Poor girl! the villains!"
+
+When he knew all, I asked him if he still deemed Mignonne worthy to be
+his wife.
+
+"Do I think her worthy? Yes, indeed, poor girl! The least she's entitled
+to is to find a man who'll make up for all the injury others have done
+her. But suppose I should begin by killing this Fouvenard? by smashing
+this Rambertin?"
+
+"No, no, Ballangier; we must forget those wretches. If an opportunity
+should offer, I don't say----"
+
+"Ah! how quickly we'd seize it! how we'd trounce those fellows!"
+
+"Now, all that you have to do is to try to please Mignonne; but even in
+that you must act with great circumspection, and, above all, with
+patience! That young woman, engrossed as she is with thoughts of her
+daughter, would take fright at a single word of love. You will need time
+to touch her heart. You must gain her confidence. In short, I cannot
+undertake to say that you will win her love; that is your affair; for
+you understand that I cannot intervene. I know enough of Mignonne's
+temperament to be sure that that would be no way to succeed with her."
+
+"Oh! never fear, Charles; I am very reserved, very shy. I will wait, I
+will wait as long as it's necessary. The hope of winning her some day
+will give me courage. I am going to read a lot; to try to educate
+myself, and to be less awkward in my talk; for she talks mighty well,
+and she has a very distinguished air. You'll see, Charles, you'll see!
+You will be better satisfied than ever with me!"
+
+Ballangier left me, drunk with joy. I prayed that he might be happy in
+his love, and determined that I would do all that lay in my power to
+help him.
+
+I had just left him, and was walking along, musing upon what he had said
+to me, when someone halted in front of me. It was Dumouton, the
+debt-ridden man of letters. He had no umbrellas this time, but he
+carried under his left arm an oval box, of bronzed tin, which seemed to
+be carefully fastened.
+
+"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! I recognized you at a distance. You
+didn't see me, for you were lost in thought. Are you pretty well?"
+
+"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton."
+
+"Were you thinking out the plot of a play? You seemed very much
+preoccupied."
+
+"Oh, no! I don't write plays, myself."
+
+"You are very wise! It's a wretched trade since so many people have
+begun to dabble in it."
+
+I attempted to salute Monsieur Dumouton and leave him; but he detained
+me, saying with an embarrassed air:
+
+"I beg pardon! I would like to say another word to you, as I have
+happened to meet you. It's like this. First of all, you must know that
+one of my children is sick; he's been--out of sorts for a week. And
+then, we were without a certain household utensil--mon Dieu! why not say
+it at once--a syringe! We needn't be more prudish than Molière, need
+we?"
+
+"Surely not; you are perfectly justified in saying a syringe."
+
+"So I said to my wife: 'We must have a syringe!'--'Buy one,' said she.
+Very good! that's what I did this morning. I bought a _clyso-pompe_ with
+a constant flow--a new invention. It's exceedingly convenient; it comes
+in a box; this is it that I have under my arm. Who'd ever suspect there
+was a syringe in it? It might be lace, or prunes."
+
+"Or even a pie."
+
+"You are right; there are pies of this shape. And it's so easy to use;
+no one has any idea what it is. Why, you can even use it at the theatre,
+in a box. I know a lady who made a bet that she'd do it at the opera,
+during a ballet; she won her bet."
+
+"Did she have witnesses?"
+
+"Probably."
+
+"I must confess that I should have cried off."
+
+"In a word, I bought this delightful _clyso-pompe_. Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, would you believe that our child, whom his grandmother had
+accustomed to the old method, positively refused to adopt the new?
+Impossible to make him try the _clyso-pompe!_ Children are so obstinate!
+And as my wife spoils him, she bought him an old-fashioned syringe. The
+dealer who sold me this box refuses to take it back, and I am trying to
+dispose of it--at a loss, of course. If you happened to want such a
+thing----"
+
+"No, Monsieur Dumouton, I am sorry that I cannot oblige you as I did in
+the matter of the umbrella, but I won't buy your _clyso-pompe_."
+
+"You are making a mistake. It's always useful."
+
+"It is of no use for you to insist. But go and see our mutual friend,
+Monsieur Rouffignard. Who knows? perhaps he will be very glad to relieve
+you of this instrument."
+
+At the name Rouffignard, Dumouton's face lengthened, and, without
+another word, he bowed and disappeared. I was sure that he would not try
+to sell me anything more.
+
+
+
+
+XLV
+
+SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN
+
+
+It was three days after I had received Ballangier's confidence, and in
+the morning when I was still alone, that Pomponne announced Madame
+Dauberny.
+
+I could not believe my ears; but at the same instant Frédérique hurried
+into the room, with the amiable, fascinating expression, the proud yet
+sweet glance, that always attracted and vanquished me; and, before I had
+recovered from my surprise, she ran to me, took my hand, then threw her
+arms about me and kissed me two or three times.
+
+I began by letting her do as she chose, because I found it very
+pleasant; but I gazed into her face, my eyes questioned her. She met
+them fearlessly and said:
+
+"Yes, Charles, I was wrong! Reproach me all you choose, overwhelm me
+with the harshest words--I deserve it, yes, I deserve it! you could not
+say too much. But here I am! I have come back to you, to ask your
+forgiveness, to swear to you that hereafter I will have no more
+caprices, that I will believe all that you say--all, do you hear? That I
+will approve of everything you do, that my friendship will no longer be
+selfish or exacting, and that it will be unchangeable! Indeed, do you
+suppose that it really ceased even for a moment? Oh! no, you never
+thought so, did you, Charles? You hadn't such a bad opinion of me, had
+you?"
+
+I was bewildered by what I heard. I would have liked to ask her why she
+had been angry, and why she was so no longer, but she put her hand over
+my mouth, crying:
+
+"No reproaches, my friend, since I agree that I was wrong and beg your
+pardon! Are you not willing now to throw a veil over the past?"
+
+"Oh, yes! I am, indeed! Besides, you have come back, and I am so happy
+to find you once more as you used to be, that I don't care to seek for
+the explanation of my good fortune. But we, or rather you, are no longer
+angry, are you, Frédérique?"
+
+"I have sworn it, my friend. Tell me, what are you going to do to-day?
+Would you like to pass the day with me?"
+
+"Would I like it! You anticipate my dearest wish."
+
+"The weather is magnificent; what do you say to a ride? We can go and
+hire some horses at the riding school, where I usually hire; they have
+some very good ones."
+
+"A ride? delightful!"
+
+"Then get ready quickly, monsieur. I will wait for you in your salon."
+
+She left the room. I hastily finished dressing, and joined her in the
+salon.
+
+"Your young seamstress doesn't seem to be here to-day," said Frédérique,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, she came yesterday. She doesn't come regularly, every day, but just
+when she pleases."
+
+"My friend, I was most unjust to that young woman. Such things as I said
+to her! Really, I don't know what had got into my head that day!"
+
+"As you're sorry for it, you mustn't think any more about it."
+
+"Oh! I shall try to make my peace with her, all the same. Let us go and
+have our ride, my friend."
+
+We were soon in the saddle, and started off at a gallop. Frédérique rode
+with all the grace, assurance, and fearlessness of a circus rider. We
+went in the direction of the forest of Meudon, and Fleury. In that
+region one is more alone than in the Bois de Boulogne; the country is
+more rural, the landscape more diversified, and you can draw rein from
+time to time and indulge in pleasant converse.
+
+We passed a delightful day. At night we dined together at a restaurant,
+like two bachelors--that is to say, we dined in the main dining-room.
+And when we parted, Frédérique said:
+
+"Not for long!"
+
+The next day, when I returned home after doing several errands, I found
+Mignonne in her usual place.
+
+She bade me good-morning as usual, but her glance seemed less frank than
+it usually was. We all have days when we are inclined to melancholy;
+perhaps she had just come from her child's grave.
+
+I chatted with Mignonne as usual. I fancied that I could see that she
+was waiting for Pomponne to leave us alone. But when I had company, that
+servant of mine always found some excuse for constantly going in and out
+and appearing every minute or two in the room where we were. I have
+known him to leave a pin on the mantel, as a pretext for returning, and,
+when he came for it, to leave another in its place. I had to call to him
+sternly: "When will you have done with that nonsense?"--He realized that
+I was losing patience, and he came no more to fetch his pins.
+
+At last, Mignonne decided to speak.
+
+"Has that lady who was here the other day been to see you again,
+monsieur?" she asked hesitatingly.
+
+"Yes, Mignonne, she has. We had had a little dispute, but we are
+reconciled now. She has a hot head, but an excellent heart."
+
+"Did she tell you that it was wrong of you to let me work here?"
+
+"On the contrary, she said several times that she was very sorry that
+she had said things to you that might have hurt you, and that she hoped
+to make her peace with you."
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! that isn't worth while, monsieur."
+
+Mignonne said that in a peculiar tone; then she returned to her work and
+did not utter another word. Soon the door opened and Frédérique
+appeared, as affable, smiling, and fascinating as on the day before. She
+shook hands with me and nodded pleasantly to Mignonne, who returned her
+salutation much less graciously.
+
+I was sitting at the piano, jotting down an air that had come into my
+head. Frédérique insisted that she would not disturb me; and while I was
+trying to pick out an accompaniment for my air, I saw that she went to
+Mignonne and tried to talk with her.
+
+I played a little for Frédérique, who sang very well when she chose to
+take the trouble. Mignonne, perhaps because she was not fond of music,
+seemed to take little pleasure in listening to us.
+
+Frédérique passed a large part of the day with me, and Mignonne went
+away earlier than usual.
+
+A fortnight passed. Frédérique continued to come frequently to see me.
+Her mood with me never changed, her glance was always sweet; the most
+perfect harmony reigned between us.
+
+As for Mignonne, I was disturbed to see that her features had resumed
+their expression of gloomy melancholy, that the roses which had
+reappeared for a time on her cheeks had again given place to pallor. And
+I was distressed by that change, of which I could not guess the cause.
+
+Ballangier came twice. I urged him to remain, and gave him a seat near
+the pretty seamstress. Then I easily made an excuse for leaving them
+together, in the hope that they would become better acquainted. But both
+times Ballangier said to me, when he went away:
+
+"It will be a long job; she's still just as sad as ever, and she doesn't
+look at me at all; in fact, I'm not sure that she listens when I am
+talking to her. But, never mind, I'll be patient, and I'll have love
+enough for two, if necessary."
+
+One evening, when Frédérique had come during the day, and, not finding
+me, had passed several hours with Mignonne, I was much surprised to
+receive a note from her containing these words only:
+
+"I have something to say to you, my friend, something important. I shall
+expect you."
+
+What could she have to say to me, of such urgency? However, I knew
+Frédérique well enough to know that when she had anything to say, it was
+perfect torture to her to have to wait till the next day; so I went to
+her at once.
+
+My friend was in a very dainty négligé, which reminded me of the night I
+had supped with her. She smiled sweetly, as I entered the room, and gave
+me her hand, saying:
+
+"I was sure that you would come at once. You realized that I don't like
+to wait! Come, sit here by my side, and we will talk like two good
+friends."
+
+I did as she bade me. She began by putting her hand on mine.
+
+"My friend," she said, "it is rather embarrassing for me to tell you
+what I have to tell. I trust that you will not take my words in ill
+part, that you will not be angry, as I was. But, above all things, be
+persuaded that I am perfectly sure that I am not mistaken."
+
+"What a preamble! I thought that you and I could afford to go straight
+to the point; I have never liked the circumlocutions with which
+advocates confuse their arguments instead of stating them simply."
+
+"You are right; I will come to the point. To-day, my friend, I went to
+your rooms; you were absent, but that young woman, Mignonne, was there,
+working hard as usual."
+
+"Ah! so Mignonne is your subject, eh?"
+
+"Yes, Mignonne. I sat down beside her, although my presence was by no
+means agreeable to her. It did not require much discernment to see that.
+Haven't you noticed it, too, Charles? Haven't you noticed that when I
+appear her face changes and her eyes become sad? that she hardly replies
+to what I say to her?"
+
+"Yes, I have noticed all that. But I have seen nothing more in it than a
+bit of spite because of what you said to her one day."
+
+"Oh! there's something besides her remembrance of that. To-day, I
+determined to have it out with her. I succeeded, by several adroit
+questions, in making her betray the secret of her heart, which, by the
+way, had been no secret to me for a long time."
+
+"Well! what is this secret?"
+
+"You won't be angry, Charles? At all events, you are not in the least to
+blame for it. So I begin by telling you that I am not offended with you
+for it."
+
+"Oh! how cruel you are with your reflections, Frédérique!"
+
+"Well! Mignonne loves you dearly. That is the secret that makes her
+melancholy and embarrassed--especially when I am there; because she has
+imagined, foolishly of course, but still she has imagined that you love
+me, that I am--your mistress! If she had heard Mademoiselle Rosette
+repeat your remark--that you would never love me--she wouldn't entertain
+that absurd idea."
+
+"Ah! Frédérique, you know very well that----"
+
+"Don't interrupt me, my friend; besides, we are not talking about that,
+but about Mignonne. When she sees me come in, when I am with you, her
+eyes fill with tears, and she looks at the floor so that we may not see
+them. Yes, my friend, you can believe my extensive experience, believe
+my heart, which is never mistaken--that young woman has a profound
+affection for you. That which was only gratitude at first has become
+love! She is accustomed to see you almost every day. Perhaps she does
+not herself realize the strength of the sentiment that draws her toward
+you; but she yields to the fascination she feels; and that love will
+acquire greater force in her heart, if you yourself do not try to uproot
+it."
+
+Mignonne in love with me! It seemed improbable to me at first; but as I
+recalled a multitude of trivial circumstances, I became less
+incredulous.
+
+"Why, I have never lisped a word of love to her; nothing in my conduct
+can have given her any reason to think that I was in love with her."
+
+"I know that, my friend; oh! I am certain of that!" cried Frédérique,
+pressing my hand. "But probably that is just why she loves you! Women
+are made that way; it's a congenital defect in them. If you had spoken
+of love to Mignonne, it is very probable that she would have taken
+offence at it, and would have ceased to come to your rooms. But when she
+found that you always treated her like a sister, confidence
+returned--she reproached herself for her distrust; well, at all events,
+she loves you, that is certain! We all know that that sentiment is not
+governed by reason."
+
+"Well, Frédérique, if you have guessed right, if that young woman does
+love me--which would distress me greatly, I confess--what do you advise
+me to do? Of course, you do not want me to cease to help the unfortunate
+creature, to abandon her?"
+
+"Why, no; of course not!"
+
+"If I tell her not to come to my rooms any more--she is very sensitive,
+like all unfortunate people, and she will go away forever."
+
+"Are you willing to rely on me, my friend?"
+
+"I ask nothing better."
+
+"I will tell you what, it seems to me, would cure the whole trouble--but
+I am afraid you will not like my plan."
+
+"Oh! how terrible you are to-day with your reticences!"
+
+"Listen! While I was absent from Paris, you didn't know where I was, did
+you?"
+
+"No; you didn't tell me."
+
+"As you didn't ask me, I thought that you were not interested. Well,
+monsieur, I was at a charming country house that I had hired--and it is
+still mine, because I took it for a year, all furnished and equipped. I
+had nothing to do but to go there, and that was not much trouble; for
+the house is at Fontenay-sous-Bois, close to Vincennes--only two leagues
+and a half from Paris. I was not very far away, monsieur, as you see. So
+that I came often to Paris, and knew everything that happened here."
+
+"And you propose to send Mignonne to your country house?"
+
+"No, not that. In the first place, she would probably refuse to go to
+any house of mine. You must do the opposite of that--you must--that is,
+if it won't be too much of a bore to you--pass some time yourself in
+that retreat. It is only the last of July, and the weather is fine. But
+perhaps country life is tedious to you?"
+
+"Not at all! But you will go with me, of course; you will keep me
+company?"
+
+"Most assuredly! Must I not do the honors of my house?"
+
+"Your plan is delightful, Frédérique, and I accept with the greatest
+pleasure!"
+
+"Really! you are really willing to go into the country with me? The
+prospect doesn't alarm you--you're not afraid of being bored?"
+
+"Is that possible, with you?"
+
+"Oh! how good you are, and how happy I am! But, never fear, my friend; I
+will try to arrange it so that the time won't seem too long to you. In
+the first place, it is a lovely spot, the whole neighborhood is
+charming; you would think that you were a hundred leagues from the
+capital. However, it is no desert, for there are several pretty estates
+in the neighborhood; but I don't care much for visiting neighbors,
+myself, especially in the country; for when you have once allowed your
+neighbors to call, they are always at your door, and that gets to be
+horribly tiresome. But wait till you see my house--it's an immense
+place, like a little château. The garden is very large and well shaded;
+there's a lake in which I have the right to fish--only there are no fish
+in it. There's a billiard room, and all sorts of games. And then, when
+you are bored beyond endurance, or when you have any business in Paris,
+we are so near--you can be here in an hour."
+
+"I am at your orders, Frédérique. Let us start! let us start as soon as
+possible! I look forward with delight to living in the country with
+you."
+
+Madame Dauberny pressed my hand with all her strength and kissed me on
+the forehead.
+
+"Listen! listen!--Oh! mon Dieu! here I am beginning to address you
+familiarly again, as I used to."
+
+"Oh! I am very willing."
+
+"No, no! I won't do it! Listen, my friend: you must tell Mignonne that
+you are going to pass some time in the country; that is a perfectly
+natural thing for you to do; ask her to continue to come to your rooms
+as usual, to superintend your household; you might even give her to
+understand that you rely on her friendship to look carefully after your
+interests. She will be flattered by that mark of confidence. You need
+not tell her how long you expect to be away--nor whom you are going to
+visit. You are not accountable to her, after all. But, my friend, you
+mustn't come to Paris too often to see her; for that would destroy the
+effect of your sojourn in the country."
+
+"I understand that perfectly."
+
+"Then we must hope that absence--common sense---- That young woman will
+realize sooner or later that she does wrong to love you with love."
+
+"Surely she will! And then, if another man calls to see her, now and
+then----"
+
+"Ah, yes! That's the very thing! Perhaps he will succeed in winning her
+love!"
+
+I stared at Frédérique in amazement, for I had never mentioned
+Ballangier's passion for Mignonne to her. She blushed and began to
+arrange her hair; that was her usual resource when she did not want to
+be examined.
+
+"Who do you think may succeed in winning Mignonne's love, pray?"
+
+"Why, the man who is paying court to her--that young man who comes to
+see you sometimes."
+
+"How do you know that, Frédérique?"
+
+"Wonderful cleverness on my part! Did I not meet him one day when he was
+going to see you?"
+
+"And you guessed that he was in love with Mignonne, simply from seeing
+him come to my rooms?"
+
+"He has changed greatly, and to his advantage, that young man."
+
+"Ah! you recognized him, did you?"
+
+I watched Frédérique closely, for a multitude of ideas had suddenly
+rushed into my mind; something told me that Madame Dauberny knew more
+about Ballangier than she chose to tell me. I think that she must have
+divined my thoughts, for she rose hastily and said:
+
+"It is getting late, my friend. We start to-morrow--is that settled?"
+
+"I ask nothing better."
+
+"Bring your servant; we have room enough for him. I have only a gardener
+and my maid there. Will Mignonne come to you to-morrow?"
+
+"I think so, as she didn't come to-day."
+
+"Wait for her and tell her that you are going to the country; then come
+to me, and we will start together."
+
+"Very good. I will go home to make my preparations, and to-morrow I will
+call for you. _O rus! quando te aspiciam?_"
+
+"I can guess what that means. You will see the fields to-morrow, my
+friend."
+
+On reaching home, I gave orders to Pomponne to prepare for our
+departure. I might take very few things to Fontenay, and send him to
+Paris whenever I needed anything. But that was just what I wanted to
+avoid, because I was acquainted with Monsieur Pomponne's loquacity.
+
+It was ten o'clock when Mignonne arrived. Since Frédérique had opened my
+eyes to the young woman's secret sentiments, I had dreaded that
+interview; I was deeply moved, and it grieved me to think of causing her
+pain. Poor child! from whom I was fleeing because she loved me! We run
+after so many women who do not love us!
+
+Mignonne seemed to me even paler and more depressed than usual. However,
+she smiled when she saw me. I went to meet her and held out my hand.
+
+"Mignonne, I was waiting to say good-bye to you."
+
+She looked anxiously at me, did not take the hand I offered her, and
+faltered:
+
+"What! to say good-bye? Are you going on a journey?"
+
+"Oh, no! I am just going into the country--not very far away. I am not
+leaving you for long."
+
+"Ah! you are going to the country? You have never said anything about
+it. Is it something you have just thought of?"
+
+"I have been thinking of it for several days. I am in the habit of going
+into the country every year for a time; it does me good."
+
+"If it's for your health, you are wise. I will go away, then, and come
+again when you return--when you send me word."
+
+"No; on the contrary, if you wish to please me, to do me a favor, you
+will continue to come here. I am taking my servant with me, but I will
+leave you my keys, which you will hand to the concierge when you go
+away. I intrust the care of my establishment to you! There are many
+things to be done here. I would like to have my curtains renovated, and
+the furniture of my salon and bedroom covered. You will find money in
+the desk. Be good enough to attend to all these details. I take the
+liberty of looking upon you as if you were my sister; does that offend
+you?"
+
+"Offend me! no, indeed! You are too kind to me! you always find pretexts
+for keeping me busy, for heaping kindnesses on me. Oh! I see it plainly
+enough!"
+
+"Don't say that. On the contrary, it is due to you that my house has
+assumed an orderly, comfortable aspect that it never had before."
+
+"Will it be long before you return to Paris?"
+
+"I don't think so. But sometimes, when one has no business to attend
+to----"
+
+"Of course, and when one is enjoying one's self. Are you going to
+visit--friends?"
+
+"Yes, I am going to see several friends--to make a round of visits. By
+the way, Mignonne, I wanted to say---- That young man whom you have seen
+here several times--Ballangier--will probably come while I am away."
+
+"I will tell the concierge not to let anyone come up, as you won't be
+here."
+
+"That is all right, so far as most people are concerned; but I want
+Ballangier to be excepted from that prohibition. I take a very deep
+interest in that young man. He used to have none but evil acquaintances
+in Paris; he must not find a house closed to him where he can learn only
+profitable lessons. And then, too, my library is at his disposal; he may
+take whatever books he chooses. So you will please be kind enough to
+admit him. He's a fine fellow, and I am sure that he will do his utmost
+to deserve your esteem."
+
+"Very good, monsieur," Mignonne replied, in a cold and constrained tone;
+"your orders shall be followed."
+
+"But I am not giving you orders; I am simply expressing a wish, that's
+all!"
+
+"And if any letters should come for you, monsieur, where shall I send
+them?"
+
+"I don't expect any. At all events, my servant will call and get them
+from the concierge."
+
+"Oh! you will send your servant to Paris, but you won't come yourself?"
+
+She hastily lowered her eyes, but I saw that they were full of tears. I
+made haste to grasp her hand, which she did not withdraw, and pressed it
+affectionately.
+
+"I shall see you soon, Mignonne," I said. "Keep a sharp eye on my
+house!"
+
+And I hurried away, driving Monsieur Pomponne before me, for he seemed
+determined to return to the room where Mignonne was, probably to pick up
+a pin.
+
+
+
+
+XLVI
+
+FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS
+
+
+We arrived at Fontenay about three in the afternoon. Frédérique's
+country house was a little beyond the village; it was not isolated, for
+there were several pretty villas in the neighborhood; but it was far
+enough from the centre of population for us not to be annoyed by the
+singing of drunken men, the noise of children, and the barking of dogs.
+An iron fence surrounded a beautiful lawn bordered by flowers in front
+of the house. At the left was a small building, entirely separate from
+the main house, and Frédérique said to me as we passed it:
+
+"That is where you are to sleep, my friend; there's a very nice little
+chamber over the billiard room, and you will be absolutely at home
+there, free to go in and out without disturbing anyone."
+
+"But I didn't come here to live alone! And you?"
+
+"I live in this huge structure. I will show you my apartments. But,
+never fear, my friend, I didn't bring you here to banish you from my
+presence. You will not be compelled to return to your own quarters
+except to sleep.--Adèle, take Pomponne to the pavilion at once, with his
+master's traps."
+
+Adèle was the lady's-maid. She was an excellent girl, who deigned to
+assume the functions of cook in addition to her own, in the country.
+Monsieur Pomponne followed her, peering inquisitively into every clump
+of bushes.
+
+Frédérique showed me the house, which consisted of two stories, with six
+sleeping-rooms. It was furnished with taste, and would easily
+accommodate a large family.
+
+"What are you going to do with so much room, all alone as you are?" I
+inquired.
+
+"In the country, my friend, I find that one needs plenty of space. I saw
+this house, and it took my fancy; the rent was not high, so I hired it.
+I could not make it smaller; besides, you see that I am not alone now."
+
+"You will still be alone in your great caravansary, since you relegate
+me to a separate building!"
+
+"Ah! my friend, what about the proprieties? Is it not a very bold step
+at the best for me, a married woman, to bring a young man to stay at my
+house in the country? The world doesn't know that we are only Orestes
+and Pylades, Damon and Pythias. But I don't care a snap of my finger for
+what people may say!"
+
+"And your husband?"
+
+"My husband! I fancy that he doesn't even know that I am in the
+country.--You have seen the house, now come and see the garden. But wait
+a minute! wait! my rustic cap! Oh! it is so nice to be comfortable!"
+
+She substituted for her city bonnet a little straw cap with a visor,
+which she wore a little on one side; she was captivating so. I found in
+the hall several hats for the country, of different shapes.
+
+"Take your choice," said my hostess.
+
+"What! are these part of the furniture?"
+
+"No, I brought them all for my own use--to try--you know, I dress like a
+man sometimes."
+
+"So you told me; but I have never seen you in masculine costume."
+
+"I'll put it on some morning, to stroll about the fields with you. Oh! I
+look like a scamp then, I tell you! Come, monsieur, choose a hat."
+
+I donned a gray felt, with a pointed crown and a broad brim, in which I
+must have resembled an Italian bandit; all I needed was the ribbons.
+Frédérique escorted me to the garden. It contained nearly two acres, and
+was laid out in an original fashion. There were none of the customary,
+broad, straight paths; on the contrary, they wound and twisted about in
+all directions--a veritable labyrinth. Shade trees, shrubbery, and
+thickets combined to make the garden a fascinating spot, which appeared
+four times larger than it really was.
+
+Our first day passed very quickly. I was installed in the small
+pavilion, and was very comfortable there; but it seemed to me that I
+should prefer to be in the main house, under the same roof with
+Frédérique. My friendship for her developed so rapidly that when I was
+fifteen minutes without seeing her I felt that something was missing: I
+had never loved a mistress as I loved that friend.
+
+When I woke for the first time in that house to which I had come so
+unexpectedly, I was conscious of a feeling of contentment, of secret
+happiness, which I could not describe. Was it pleasure because I was in
+the country with a person who manifested such sincere friendship for me?
+Was it satisfaction because I had acted wisely in going away from
+Mignonne and being careful not to take an unfair advantage of the
+sentiment I had inspired? Or was it simply the change of air?
+
+I went to a window that looked on the garden, and I heard a voice
+calling me a sluggard. Frédérique was already up. She wore a white
+dress, cut like a blouse, with a blue sash. I had noticed that blue was
+her favorite color. Her little straw cap was on her head, and her
+beautiful glossy black hair fell in dense curls on both sides of her
+face.
+
+It seemed to me that I had never seen her so lovely, so alluring. Ah! it
+is a fact that in the country, amid the green fields and trees,
+everything that appeals to our senses moves and excites us more keenly
+than elsewhere.
+
+Frédérique put her arm through mine and we strolled about the garden.
+For the first time, I was conscious of a peculiar sensation at the
+contact of her arm with mine. Was it really the first time that I had
+experienced that sensation? No. But that morning it seemed sweeter to
+me; and yet, for some unknown reason, I was no longer so light-hearted,
+so at my ease with her; I was almost afraid to look at her. What
+thoughts were these that came into my head? I dared not heed them.
+
+Madame Dauberny had never been so amiable, so gay, so kind, so
+sparkling. I thought that I knew her; but to be able to appreciate fully
+all the resources of her wit, all the charm of her society, and all the
+seductiveness of her beauty, I found that it was necessary to be alone
+with her in that charming retreat.
+
+The time passed with extraordinary rapidity; and yet there were but we
+two. We made frequent trips in the saddle or on foot about the
+surrounding country. The horses that we hired were very ugly--but what
+did we care? We did not go out to exhibit ourselves. When the weather
+was bad, we played and sang, or I drew some landscape that I had
+sketched, while she read aloud to me. Every morning she said:
+
+"My friend, if you want to take a trip to Paris, don't hesitate; you can
+come back this evening; but don't go to your own rooms, if Mignonne is
+there. As we have undertaken to cure that young woman, we must not cause
+a relapse."
+
+"Do you mean that you are tired of me?" I would say; "would you like to
+be rid of me for to-day?"
+
+Her only reply was to give me a light tap on the cheek, and nothing more
+would be said about Paris.
+
+A fortnight passed. Suppose that in seeking to cure Mignonne I had made
+myself ill? That is what I was beginning to ask myself; for the more I
+saw of Frédérique, the more strongly I felt that it would be impossible
+for me to renounce the pure and unalloyed happiness that I enjoyed with
+her. I was no longer the same man; in the midst of my pleasures, I had
+attacks of melancholy. When Frédérique fixed her eyes on me, I became
+embarrassed, almost timid; but when she was not looking at me, with what
+joy I gazed at her! with what bliss my eyes feasted themselves upon
+every detail of her person! Was it love that I felt for her? I dared not
+confess it positively to myself, but I was terribly afraid that it was.
+Yes, I was afraid; for if I loved her with love, and she loved me with
+friendship only, I must constantly endure the torments of Tantalus in
+her presence; if I loved her with love, I should not always be able to
+control myself; and my feelings since I had been with her in the
+country, the perturbation that I felt when she put her arm through mine,
+the flush that rose to my face when I happened to place my hand on her
+knee--everything warned me that a time would come--and perhaps
+soon--when I should forget respect and social conventions--when the
+friend would vanish and be succeeded by the lover! How many times, when
+we were walking together along a narrow path, had I been tempted to
+press her to my heart! to steal a kiss from her lips! But I remembered
+the night that I had supped with her, when we had agreed to be good
+friends, when she adopted the familiar form of address, and granted me
+the same privilege.--Excited by the fumes of wine,--or perhaps already
+assailed by the first flames of the passion that was destined later to
+consume me,--I had kissed her passionately. She had taken offence; that
+kiss was the signal for our rupture; she forbade me to enter her doors
+again. Suppose that she should do the same now! She manifested the
+utmost confidence in me, because she believed me to be simply her
+friend, because she was persuaded that I would never have any other
+feeling than friendship for her. Suppose that upon learning that I
+really loved her she should take offence anew, leave me, deprive me of
+her presence! That thought froze the blood in my veins, and was
+sufficient to recall me to my senses whenever Frédérique's lovely eyes
+were on the point of making me forget myself.
+
+Two old bachelors who lived in the nearest house were the only guests
+she had received thus far; the brothers Ramonet were very pleasant, and
+played billiards or whist with us when the rain compelled us to stay
+indoors.
+
+Several times I had had occasion to send Pomponne to Paris. I told him
+to say to Mignonne that I was visiting my friend Balloquet, at Fontenay;
+I did not know whether he had obeyed my orders strictly, but I doubted
+it.
+
+One evening, when the bad weather compelled us to resort to
+cards,--which, by the way, I would have been glad to dispense with, but
+Frédérique, whether because she was afraid that I would be bored, or
+from pure coquetry, took care that our tête-à-têtes should not be too
+frequent,--the elder Monsieur Ramonet observed, as he was dealing:
+
+"We have a new neighbor. The small house close by--on the right."
+
+"With the terraces, in the Italian style?"
+
+"Yes. It has been let."
+
+"It must be very recently," said Frédérique, "for all the shutters have
+always been closed until now."
+
+"It was only three days ago. A lady has hired it."
+
+"Is she alone?"
+
+"Alone, except for a maid. But it's a very small house, almost no room
+at all. It's very pretty, though; I went over it once?"
+
+"Have you seen the new neighbor yet?"
+
+"No, but my brother has.--Haven't you, Jules, seen the lady who has
+hired the little house?"
+
+"Yes, when I passed there this morning, she was at the window on the
+ground floor; I bowed, and she returned my bow most affably. She's very
+pretty--a young woman, with an air of distinction."
+
+"Ah! did you see all that at a glance, Monsieur Jules?"
+
+"Why, yes, madame! Oh! one glance is all I need; however, I bestowed
+more than one on her."
+
+"And, of course, you know already who she is, what she does, what her
+name is?"
+
+"No, not yet; but I shall know all those things to-morrow. She must be a
+widow; for the house would be too small for a lady with a husband and
+family. Being neighbors, we will call on her one of these days--eh,
+brother?"
+
+"To be sure."
+
+"You have that privilege, messieurs. As for myself, as I pay very few
+visits, I think that I shall not make this lady's acquaintance."
+
+After the brothers Ramonet had gone, Frédérique, who seemed more
+thoughtful than usual, suddenly said to me:
+
+"You are not bored here, are you, my friend?"
+
+"How many times must I tell you that I am enjoying myself immensely;
+that I have never known such happy days as those that have just passed?"
+
+"And you don't regret Paris?"
+
+"I regret nothing."
+
+"And you don't care about making the acquaintance of new neighbors?"
+
+"Certainly not; indeed, I think sometimes that the brothers Ramonet are
+in the way."
+
+"Ah! how good you are to be so happy with your friend! Good-night,
+Charles; until to-morrow!"
+
+She gave me her hand, and looked at me with such a charming expression
+that I was ready to cover her hand with kisses. Ah! if I dared confess
+what was taking place in my heart! But she would have had no choice but
+to be angry and order me to go. I preferred to hold my peace and remain
+with her.
+
+
+
+
+XLVII
+
+THE NEIGHBOR
+
+
+On the following morning, Frédérique and I were in the salon on the
+ground floor; I was trying to extort some melody from a wretched piano,
+and she was laughing at my impatience, when her servant appeared and
+informed her that a lady desired to see her.
+
+"A lady!" exclaimed Frédérique, in surprise; "but I don't expect any
+lady. Where does she come from?"
+
+"It seems that she is the person who has hired the little house near
+by."
+
+"And she thinks that, being a neighbor, she owes me a visit. Well, I
+will receive her, if it must be; but I propose to show her in short
+order that I don't choose to be intimate with my neighbors. Admit this
+lady who is in such a hurry to see me!"
+
+The maid retired. I turned toward the door, curious to see the neighbor,
+who was said to be pretty; Frédérique continued to sit nonchalantly on
+the couch. A lady appeared; I made a gesture of surprise, and Madame
+Dauberny uttered a cry; we recognized Madame Sordeville.
+
+Armantine seemed amazed to find me there; but she recovered herself at
+once and ran toward Frédérique, saying:
+
+"It is I! You didn't expect to see me, did you? You had no idea that I
+had become your neighbor?"
+
+"Why, no, surely not; I had not the slightest suspicion of it!" replied
+Frédérique, in a tone that was not precisely affectionate; "but who
+told you--how did you know that I lived in this house, where, by the
+way, I have been only a short time?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! servants, you know, find out instantly who one's neighbors
+are, and, in the country especially, that is the first thing one thinks
+about."
+
+"I promise you that I think very little about it."
+
+"My maid said to me this morning: 'Madame, this fine house next to us is
+let to Madame Dauberny.'--I needn't tell you that, when I heard your
+name, I asked for other particulars; I soon concluded that it must be
+you, so I lost no time in coming to see you and embrace you. Did I do
+wrong?"
+
+"No, indeed! certainly not!"
+
+The ladies embraced. I was not fully persuaded that their kisses were
+sincere. Frédérique was much disturbed; she changed color every second.
+Madame Sordeville was still pretty and as great a coquette as ever; I
+saw that instantly. She soon turned to me and said:
+
+"When I came to see my friend, I did not expect, I must say, to find
+Monsieur Rochebrune here. That is an additional pleasure!"
+
+I contented myself with bowing coldly. Frédérique, who was watching me,
+said:
+
+"Yes, Monsieur Rochebrune consented to pass some time with me here. I
+thought at first that he would not make a long visit, but he said to me
+lately that he did not regret Paris at all."
+
+"That is the truth, madame; you have made me love the country."
+
+Armantine bit her lips, and continued:
+
+"You receive a great deal of company here, no doubt? It's so near
+Paris!"
+
+"Why, no; on the contrary, I receive no one. Except for two gentlemen
+who live near,--and them we see only once or twice a week,--we are
+always alone, Charles and I."
+
+Armantine frowned slightly with vexation, but instantly tried to change
+the frown into a smile. It was the first time that she had heard
+Frédérique call me Charles, and that evidence of familiarity did not
+seem to cause her the keenest pleasure.
+
+"So you have left your place of retirement at Passy?" said Madame
+Dauberny, after a pause.
+
+"Oh! a long while ago--I was bored to death there. One sees too many
+people in that region, and I prefer solitude now. I came here to take a
+house, because I thought it would be quieter, more like the country."
+
+"But, still, if you are bored----"
+
+"It is sometimes unwelcome visitors who bore one. One is happier alone
+with one's memories."
+
+As she said this, Armantine cast a melancholy glance in my direction.
+Frédérique noticed it, and she at once rose, saying:
+
+"Come, inspect my house and garden.--Will you come with us, Charles?"
+
+"No, madame; I have some letters to write."
+
+I bowed, and returned to my pavilion. I had an idea that Frédérique was
+quite willing that I should not attend them; besides, those two old
+friends might have innumerable things to say to each other after so long
+a separation, and I did not wish to intrude.
+
+The presence of that woman, with whom I had been deeply in love, had
+caused some disturbance in my mind, I admit; but it was of very brief
+duration; it was surprise, the emotion due to the evocation of the past,
+and there was nothing in my heart that at all resembled love for her.
+Armantine was still very pretty, there was no denying that; but her
+eyes, sometimes so expressive, and her seductive smile, could not efface
+from my memory the disdainful, insolent air with which she left me that
+day on the Champs-Élysées.
+
+I remained in my room all day. When I returned to the salon, Frédérique
+was alone. I sat down beside her.
+
+"Has your friend left you?"
+
+"Yes. Did you hope to find her here?"
+
+"I? Why do you ask me that?"
+
+"You answer my question with another; that is very convenient. But do
+you think that I should regard it as a crime if it gave you great
+pleasure to meet a woman whom--whom you once adored--whom you still
+love, probably?"
+
+"Oho! so you think that I still love her, do you?"
+
+"What would there be extraordinary in that? When a passion has not
+been--satisfied--there is no reason why it should end."
+
+"And you think, do you, that it should end as soon as it is satisfied?"
+
+"I think--that I am only your friend, whereas Armantine----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! I don't know what I am saying! That unexpected visit, the
+idea of having her for a neighbor----"
+
+"You must have been glad to see your friend again?"
+
+"Oh, yes! of course, I am delighted! She will probably come every day;
+as she knows that you are here, she certainly won't miss a day."
+
+"Ah! you think that she will come on my account?"
+
+"On yours--or mine--I'm sure I don't know. However, we shall see."
+
+Frédérique sighed. All the rest of the evening, she was sad and pensive;
+for my part, I too was preoccupied. We parted earlier than usual, and
+she did not look at me as she did the night before, when she said:
+
+"Until to-morrow!"
+
+On the following day, I proposed to Frédérique that we should take a
+long walk; she assented, and we started. We had not walked fifty yards,
+when we saw Armantine coming toward us. I noticed that she was dressed
+more coquettishly than on the day before. Frédérique could not restrain
+an angry gesture as she muttered:
+
+"Ah! it seems that she was watching us! This bids fair to be amusing!"
+
+"Are you going to walk?" asked Armantine, looking at me.
+
+"It looks rather like it," replied Frédérique.
+
+"Will you allow me to go with you? As I don't know the country at all, I
+am very glad to find guides."
+
+"You have the right to come with us. But I warn you that I am a good
+walker, and Charles and I take very long walks."
+
+"Oh! I can walk very well!--Besides, if I get tired, I fancy that
+monsieur will kindly give me his arm."
+
+"It will be at your service, madame," I replied, with cold courtesy.
+
+But Frédérique, who had my arm at that moment, instantly dropped it,
+saying:
+
+"In the country, people walk singly; that's the most convenient way."
+
+I looked at her in surprise, for we were not accustomed to walk so.
+
+We started again. Armantine went into ecstasies over the scenery; she
+kept exclaiming every minute:
+
+"Why, it is perfectly lovely here! I am delighted that I came; I am
+immensely pleased already!"
+
+Frédérique said nothing, or replied only by a few curt phrases. I
+carried on the conversation with Madame Sordeville, who constantly asked
+me for information about the region, and was never at a loss for
+questions which enabled her to talk with me. I fancied that I could see
+that Frédérique was irritated by it; but I could not be discourteous to
+the other, who talked to me incessantly.
+
+Our walk was gloomy enough. Frédérique was the first to suggest
+returning. Thereupon Armantine complained of being tired. It was
+impossible to avoid offering her my arm, which she eagerly accepted. I
+offered the other to Frédérique, but she refused it. I wondered what the
+matter was.
+
+Armantine left us at her door, having informed her friend that she would
+pass the evening with her.
+
+Frédérique was pale and excited; I asked her the cause of her anger, and
+why she had refused my arm.
+
+"In order to leave you alone with the object of your love!" she replied,
+with a piercing glance that seemed to seek to read my inmost thoughts.
+That glance gave birth to a hope so delicious that a thrill of joy ran
+through my whole being; but I dared not dwell upon that thought. I
+should be too happy if I had guessed aright.
+
+Armantine passed the whole evening with her friend. She worked, while we
+played and sang. Frédérique asked me to sing a ballad; I complied, and
+apparently acquitted myself creditably, for I saw that Armantine
+listened to me with amazement; and when I had finished, Frédérique
+said:
+
+"That was very good, Charles; you were more successful than at
+Armantine's reception."
+
+I laughed at the remembrance of my false note; but Madame Sordeville
+lowered her eyes and did not laugh.
+
+She came the next day and the next; nor was there an evening that she
+did not pay her friend a visit. Frédérique received her with formal
+rather than affectionate courtesy; she had altogether lost the
+playfulness and spirit that made our tête-à-têtes so delightful. When I
+was alone with her, she said little; when Armantine was there, she said
+nothing at all. But Armantine pretended to pay no heed to the melancholy
+or capricious humor of her friend; she was fond of talking, and she
+often sustained practically the whole burden of what could hardly be
+called conversation.
+
+Very often she bestowed a melting glance on me, but I pretended not to
+notice. She always seated herself near me. If we walked in the garden,
+she walked by my side and talked to me in undertones, as if she had
+something to say to me that she did not wish Frédérique to hear.
+Frédérique observed all her manoeuvring, and sometimes I saw her
+expression change two or three times in a minute. At such times, my
+heart beat violently, and I was tempted to throw myself at her feet and
+say:
+
+"It is you, you alone, whom I love!"
+
+But suppose that all that was nothing more than what she called the
+selfishness of friendship! She was such a peculiar creature! I should be
+so confused if I had misinterpreted her feelings! What would she think
+of me? That my self-esteem led me to see on all sides women who adored
+me!
+
+One morning, after passing an hour with us, Armantine remembered that
+she had something to do at home, and left us. I rejoiced to be left
+alone with Frédérique, which had come to be a rare occurrence of late. I
+proposed a walk in the fields, but she refused on the ground of
+indisposition, a sick headache, and left me abruptly, to go to her room.
+
+Why that ill temper with me? If her friend's constant presence irritated
+her, was I responsible for it? Had I sought Madame Sordeville's company?
+On the contrary, she must have seen that in my intercourse with that
+lady I kept strictly within the limits of the most rigid courtesy. As I
+said this to myself, I left the salon and the house, hoping to find a
+solution of my conjectures while walking.
+
+I paid no attention to the direction I took. What did it matter, as I
+had no definite goal in view? But chance willed that I should turn to
+the right instead of the left; and to reach the woods I had to pass
+Armantine's house.
+
+I did not notice it, but was walking on, musing deeply, when suddenly I
+heard my name called. I raised my eyes and found myself in front of
+Madame Sordeville's house. She was at a window on the ground floor; it
+was she who had called me, and, as I looked up, she bowed affably to me.
+
+I returned her salutation, and was going on; but she called out:
+
+"Won't you do me the favor to come in a moment, Monsieur Rochebrune? I
+have long wanted to have a moment's conversation with you; but at Madame
+Dauberny's it is impossible; for she doesn't leave you for an instant.
+As chance has brought you to my door, will you not grant me this favor?"
+
+To refuse would have been discourteous and in wretched taste. Although
+one has ceased to be in love with a woman, one must still be polite to
+her, unless one is a wild Indian; and I had no desire to be looked upon
+as such.
+
+So I went into Madame Sordeville's house; I continued to give her that
+name in my mind. She came to meet me, ushered me into the room, sat
+down, and pointed to a chair near hers. I took it and waited to hear
+what she had to say to me. She hesitated and seemed embarrassed; but she
+looked at me often, and her flashing eyes seemed to try to force me to
+speak first. Despite the fire of her glance, despite the dangerous play
+of her eyes, I remained dumb. At last, Armantine decided to begin the
+interview:
+
+"When I went to call upon Frédérique, monsieur, I did not expect, I
+confess, to find you there, and especially to find you established there
+as if you were at home."
+
+"What do you mean by that, madame?"
+
+"You must understand me. The familiarity now existing between you and my
+friend is evident enough; indeed, she makes no attempt to hide it! But,
+I repeat, I did not expect that--not that I presume to reproach you, for
+I have no right to do so. You love--you do not love--that happens every
+day. As for my friend"--Armantine dwelt significantly on the last
+word--"as for my friend, it seems to me that I might be a little
+offended with her without laying myself too much open to blame. Her
+conduct toward me is hardly that of a really sincere friend. In leading
+you on to make love to her, to become her--her lover, in short, she has
+not acted with delicacy, and----"
+
+At this point, I interrupted her.
+
+"I don't quite know what you mean, madame," I said; "I begin by
+informing you that I am not Madame Dauberny's lover, that I am simply
+her friend. But even if I were in love with that lady, and she should
+do me the honor to reciprocate my feeling for her, wherein, I pray to
+know, could it offend you, or even interest you in the least, madame?"
+
+Armantine was silent for a moment; she sighed, and murmured at last:
+
+"I see that you have not forgotten the way I left you one day on the
+Champs-Élysées. I was wrong, monsieur, very wrong; I have often
+regretted it since. But do you not know that women sometimes have
+caprices, moments of irritation, which they themselves cannot
+understand? It may be that I am more subject than other women to such
+freaks. But, when I confess my sins, will you continue to bear malice?"
+
+Armantine was really very fascinating; while "confessing her sins," she
+indulged in a thousand coquettish little manoeuvres which would have
+turned many a man's head. But I was in love with another woman, and that
+love must have been most sincere, for Armantine's tender glances had no
+effect whatever on my heart.
+
+"I bear you no ill will at all, madame," I said, with a smile. "That
+episode faded from my memory long ago, and I supposed that it was the
+same with you. You owe me no apology; indeed, as you know, time changes
+the aspect of many things. To-day, it seems to me that that old story
+does not deserve a moment's thought from either of us. Au revoir,
+madame! With your permission, I will continue my walk."
+
+I rose and bowed. Armantine was speechless, utterly crushed; she did not
+look at me, she did not even respond to my salutation.
+
+I had just left the house, and was about to resume my walk, when I saw
+Frédérique standing a few steps away, with her eyes fixed upon me. I
+walked hastily toward her. Her pallor terrified me; the fixed stare of
+her eyes cut me to the heart. I tried to take her hand; she snatched it
+away.
+
+"What is the matter?" I asked.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"What were you doing here?"
+
+"I wanted to see you come out of her house. I was certain that you were
+there."
+
+"At Madame Sordeville's? It was the merest chance, my going in. I was
+passing, and----"
+
+"You have no need to apologize, or to try to invent excuses. I have told
+you a hundred times that you were your own master, that you might have
+ten mistresses if you chose, that I did not claim any right to interfere
+with your affections. But I do not like to have people lie to me,
+deceive me, disguise their thoughts."
+
+"I have done none of those things, Frédérique; and if you will listen to
+me----"
+
+"Later--not now. Adieu!"
+
+"Are you going to leave me? Won't you come to walk with me?"
+
+"No! I have something to do, I am going home."
+
+"I am going home, too."
+
+"No; continue your walk, I beg you. It would annoy me if you should go
+home with me. You see that my nerves are all on edge, that a trifle
+upsets me. Leave me, my friend; au revoir!"
+
+She hurried away; I feared to vex her by following her. She was there in
+the road, watching for me; she wanted to see if I was with Armantine.
+And that sadness that I read in her eyes, and that she tried in vain to
+dissemble--was not that jealousy? If she had no warmer feeling than
+friendship for me, would she be jealous of Armantine? Even though I were
+mistaken, even though the result were to break off our relations again,
+I determined that I would no longer make a secret of my sentiments, of
+my consuming love for her. I resolved that I would tell her all, that
+very day. It was no longer possible for me to be content with the rôle
+of a friend.
+
+I wandered about the country a long while, recalling every trivial
+circumstance in Frédérique's conduct that could possibly encourage my
+hope that she had something more than friendship for me. The dinner hour
+had arrived, when I returned to the house.
+
+I found nobody in the salon. I went into the garden, but Frédérique was
+not there. I called Pomponne, who came with a letter in his hand.
+
+"Monsieur called me, and I was looking for monsieur; what a
+coincidence!"
+
+"Where is Madame Dauberny?"
+
+"She has gone, monsieur."
+
+"Gone! What do you say, idiot?"
+
+"I say, monsieur, that we're the masters of the house. Madame Dauberny
+has gone away with Adèle, and here's a letter she left for monsieur."
+
+I took the letter, hastily tore it open, and read what follows:
+
+     "MY FRIEND:
+
+     "I am going away from this house, which has lost all its charm for
+     me since Armantine has been my neighbor and has passed all her time
+     with us. I say with us--I imagined that it was still that happy
+     time when there were only we two! That time passed too swiftly. I
+     realize that I am a selfish creature, and that it is natural that
+     you should be happy in having found again a woman whom you once
+     loved dearly, and whose presence has rekindled the fire which was
+     not extinct. So, be happy with her. Remain at my house, my friend;
+     remain there as long as you please, and believe that I go away
+     without murmuring, but not without regret."
+
+I had hardly finished reading the letter, when I called my servant.
+
+"Pack my valise, Pomponne, and your own things; we are going back to
+Paris."
+
+"Going back to Paris! When, monsieur?"
+
+"Instantly! make haste!"
+
+"What about dinner, monsieur? We haven't dined, and I know it's all
+ready; Adèle told me so when she went away."
+
+"We will dine in Paris. I do not propose to remain another half-hour in
+this house. Come! you should have had everything ready before now."
+
+Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to Paris in the first _coucou_
+I could find; for there are still _coucous_ at Fontenay.
+
+
+
+
+XLVIII
+
+AT THE OPÉRA
+
+
+I reached Paris about seven in the evening. As I entered my house, the
+first person I saw was Ballangier, in a neat brown frock-coat and a
+round hat; his attire was noticeable for a sort of coquetry which
+indicated that the desire to please was still his first thought.
+
+He grasped my hand, crying:
+
+"Ah! here you are at last! I am so glad to see you! I have so much to
+tell you about all that has happened in the six weeks since you went
+away! For it is six weeks since you left Paris."
+
+"Is Mignonne in my room now?"
+
+"No; but she sometimes passes the whole day there and a large part of
+the evening. She enjoys being in your room."
+
+"Come up with me and tell me all about it."
+
+Ballangier accompanied me to my apartment; I got rid of Pomponne by
+telling him to get his dinner wherever he chose; and when I was alone
+with my friend, I asked how his love affairs were progressing.
+
+"In the first place, my dear Charles, when I came here, three days after
+you went away, I was very much surprised to learn that you were in the
+country; I was going away, sadly enough, when the concierge said to me:
+'There's somebody upstairs, and my orders are to let you go up.' I
+didn't wait to be informed twice; something told me that I should find
+Mignonne here. Sure enough, she was here; she was working, but she was
+very sad--indeed, I believe she was crying. She received me coldly. I
+sat a long while looking at her, without saying a word, and she didn't
+speak, either. At last I began to talk about you, of all that I owed
+you, of my affection for you. Then she listened to me and answered. On
+my next visit, I talked again about you; I saw that that was the only
+way of making her talk a little. I asked her if she knew where you were;
+she said, with a sigh, that she knew perfectly well, but, as you had
+made a secret of it, she didn't think that she ought to tell. I
+continued to come from time to time; and when I couldn't call during the
+day, on account of my work, I made up for it by waiting for her in the
+evening at the corner of the street. I watched for her to come away from
+your house; I didn't dare to speak to her, for fear of displeasing her,
+but I followed her at a distance till she was safely at home; and as she
+lives on Rue Ménilmontant, my pleasure lasted some time. You will see,
+Charles, what an excellent idea it was of mine to act as her escort. For
+several days I had noticed a middle-aged man prowling about the street,
+a well-dressed man, but very fat; and I fancied that he too was on the
+watch for Mignonne; for he walked very near her--when he could keep up
+with her, that is, for she quickened her pace at his approach.--'Parbleu!'
+I said to myself, about a week ago; 'I must find out about this matter.
+I'll just keep out of sight and see what this fellow's intentions are.'
+The weather happened to be bad that night, and there were few people in
+the street. I waited; my man soon appeared, and he waited too. After a
+few minutes, Mignonne came out of the house. Then I saw my man, who was
+lurking in the darkest part of the street, speak to Mignonne, put his
+arm round her waist, insult her, in short, in spite of her entreaties
+and her shrieks. I tell you, his punishment wasn't long in coming! In
+three seconds I was on the fellow; I had grabbed him by the throat,
+thrown him into the gutter, and hammered him with feet and hands. I
+believe that I should be punching him yet, if Mignonne hadn't begged me
+to let him alone. You can imagine that I offered her my arm then to take
+her home, and she didn't refuse it. The poor child was so frightened!
+She thanked me a hundred times more than I deserved; and since then, I'm
+not sure, but it seems to me that she's more friendly with me."
+
+"Well done, Ballangier! that incident ought surely to have helped on
+your prospects. You have rendered Mignonne a great service, and she is
+grateful."
+
+"A great thing that was! to punch an impertinent blackguard's head!
+Anybody would do as much for a poor little woman who's being
+insulted--unless he has no blood in his veins! How is it with you,
+Charles, are you all right? Have you left the country for good?"
+
+"I don't know; that depends. Look you, my friend, I too am in love, and
+I don't know yet whether my love is returned."
+
+"Oho! Do you mean it? you are in love, too? Oh! she'll love you, I'll
+answer for that; it is impossible for anyone not to love you!"
+
+"God grant it! Meanwhile, I will admit that I haven't dined; and as it's
+the fashion in our day for lovers to dine, because dieting would not
+advance their affairs, I propose to regale myself. Have you dined?"
+
+"Oh! long ago. I came here to wait for Mignonne, but she must have gone
+away earlier than usual."
+
+I was in a hurry to dine, because I intended to go immediately after to
+Madame Dauberny's; as she had returned only a few hours ahead of me, it
+was impossible that she should not be at home.
+
+Ballangier went out with me; he would have left me when we reached the
+street, but I asked him to walk with me as far as the boulevard; and on
+the way I learned with pleasure that his conduct was still all that
+could be desired, that his love did not cause him to neglect his work,
+and that he had become one of his employer's head workmen.
+
+We had almost reached the boulevard, when, as we passed a brightly
+lighted shop, Ballangier started back, touched my arm, and said,
+pointing to a man who had just passed us:
+
+"There he is! That's the man! He didn't see me, but I recognized him."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"The man I thrashed so soundly for taking liberties with Mignonne."
+
+I looked at the person whom Ballangier pointed out to me; his figure
+impressed me, it reminded me of someone. I ran back and overtook him,
+then turned about and faced him. I was not mistaken: it was Monsieur
+Dauberny.
+
+I do not know whether he recognized me. He must have been surprised by
+the way I stared at him; but he simply frowned and went his way,
+quickening his pace. I let him go, and returned to Ballangier, who had
+stopped and was waiting for me a few steps away.
+
+"Well, Charles, you wanted to see that man; you succeeded, didn't you?"
+
+"Yes, and I recognized him perfectly."
+
+"Recognized? The deuce! do you know the old reprobate?"
+
+"Ah! if he were no worse than that! But he's an infernal villain! You
+did well, I assure you, to deliver Mignonne from his persecutions. Poor
+girl! If you knew of what that man is capable!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Continue to watch. The sight of that man makes me tremble for her! But
+the day of reckoning must come some time!"
+
+"Explain yourself! Do you want me to run after the fellow and arrest
+him?"
+
+"No, no! that's not the way I must deal with him. But we will watch him,
+and an opportunity will soon come--with that man they must come
+frequently--and then----"
+
+"Then we will annihilate him, won't we?"
+
+"Au revoir, Ballangier! I must dine. But, I repeat, watch over Mignonne
+more carefully than ever."
+
+"Oh! you have no need to urge that on me."
+
+I entered a restaurant, dined in hot haste, and went to Madame
+Dauberny's house.
+
+"Madame is not in," said the concierge.
+
+"You mean that she is not receiving, for she must be at home; did she
+not return from the country to-day?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; madame returned to-day. But I assure you that she went
+out this evening, not very long ago; and I believe I heard someone say
+that she was going to the Opéra."
+
+"To the Opéra?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; Mamzelle Adèle told us that her mistress was going to
+the Opéra."
+
+I was determined to find her. If I allowed that evening to pass without
+having an explanation with her, she would be quite capable of leaving
+Paris on the morrow; she would escape me again, and for a long time
+perhaps. I decided to go to the Opéra. Frédérique was not one of those
+women who are afraid to go to the theatre alone; more than once I had
+heard her say:
+
+"Why do I need a companion? When the fancy takes me to go to the
+theatre, I send and hire a box, and I go. In my box, I am alone, I am at
+home, and no one has the right to come there to annoy me."
+
+I arrived at the Opéra; I went into the orchestra and stood at the
+entrance, from which I examined one side of the auditorium. I did not
+see Frédérique. I walked to the other side of the orchestra; there was a
+large audience, and several men were already standing at that entrance.
+I slipped in behind them and began my inspection. That time my search
+was short: I saw her, alone, in a _baignoire_, leaning back a little.
+Was she listening attentively to the performance, or was she absorbed by
+her thoughts? Before joining her, I gave myself the pleasure of gazing
+at her for several minutes.
+
+Suddenly one of the men in front of me began to speak, so loudly that I
+did not lose a single word; indeed, I was speedily convinced that he
+intended that I should hear.
+
+"I say, do you see that lady yonder, in one of the _baignoires_--all
+alone in her box?"
+
+"In a pearl-gray dress, with black hair, and long cork-screw curls?"
+
+"Exactly. What do you think of her?"
+
+"Not bad--a Spanish type of face; but a little pale."
+
+"Perhaps that may be grief at losing me."
+
+"Oho! is she----?"
+
+"Yes, my dear fellow, she's an old flame of mine; she's still a----"
+
+I did not allow Saint-Bergame to complete his sentence; if I had not
+recognized his voice, I should have guessed his identity from his
+language. I grasped his arm, and said to him in an undertone:
+
+"Monsieur, the man who has been a woman's lover and tells of it is a
+conceited ass; the man who insults her in public is a coward!"
+
+Saint-Bergame turned, eyed me from head to foot with an insolent air,
+and rejoined in a loud voice:
+
+"Ah! you constitute yourself that lady's champion, do you? To be sure,
+it's your turn now."
+
+I could not contain my wrath; I struck him in the face. Saint-Bergame
+tried to rush at me; but our quarrel had attracted general attention;
+someone threw himself between us, and I noticed then for the first time
+that Saint-Bergame's companion was Fouvenard.
+
+We left the hall; several persons tried to adjust our difficulty, but I
+satisfied them that their mediation was useless, and that we knew
+perfectly well how the affair must end. I joined Saint-Bergame, who,
+with Fouvenard, awaited me in a corner of the vestibule. The latter
+stared at me in amazement, murmuring:
+
+"What! is it you? What is this quarrel about?"
+
+"There are no explanations to be given, messieurs. At what hour
+to-morrow?"
+
+"At nine o'clock--no, ten o'clock, at Porte Maillot," said
+Saint-Bergame, who was trembling with anger. "I don't like to rise
+early. I shall have time enough to kill you."
+
+"Very good, monsieur! Your weapon?"
+
+"The sword."
+
+"That is all."
+
+"I shall have monsieur and another second with me."
+
+"It seems to me that monsieur would suffice."
+
+"You evidently do not fight often, monsieur, and are not familiar with
+the customs of duelling."
+
+I did not consider it necessary to reply to this new insult.
+
+"Very good; I will have two witnesses," I said, and walked away.
+
+I returned to the hall and was going toward Madame Dauberny's box, when
+a lady rushed up to me. It was Frédérique. She took my arm and led me
+away, saying:
+
+"Come! let us go! let us go!"
+
+I followed her from the building. She almost made me run; she squeezed
+my arm convulsively; I spoke to her, and she did not reply; but she
+wept, and hid her face in her handkerchief. At last we arrived at her
+house. Then she threw herself into a chair and her sobs burst forth
+anew. I knelt at her feet; I took her hand and begged her to tell me the
+cause of her grief.
+
+"The cause? the cause? You ask me that when you are to fight
+to-morrow--for me?"
+
+"I am to fight?"
+
+"Oh! no falsehoods! I recognized you at the entrance to the orchestra.
+You struck Saint-Bergame."
+
+"Yes, for he insulted you."
+
+She took my head in her hands and kissed me again and again, crying:
+
+"Ah! that was well done! Thanks, my friend! I expected nothing less from
+you."
+
+"Well! in that case, why these tears, this grief, when I am going to
+punish a man who had insulted you once before? I found this evening an
+opportunity that I have been looking for ever since our drive in the
+Bois de Boulogne."
+
+"Oh! of course, this duel would be an everyday affair, if---- Mon Dieu!
+it is my fault! always my fault! Why did I leave the country? why did I
+come back to Paris? All this would not have happened, if I had stayed at
+Fontenay. But you, my friend--why did you come back--why did you follow
+me? Why didn't you stay with that woman whom you love--and who has no
+idea of spurning you now?"
+
+"You are all astray, Frédérique: it was to stay with the woman I love
+that I returned to Paris; it was to be with her that I followed you; for
+the woman I love--not with friendship, but with love--the most sincere,
+the most passionate love--with a love that will end only with my
+life--is you--you! Yes! though you banish me from your presence again, I
+can no longer content myself with the title of friend, beneath which I
+have with difficulty concealed all that I felt for you!"
+
+"He loves me! he loves me!" murmured Frédérique, gazing at me with an
+expression of the purest ecstasy in her lovely eyes. Then, giving way to
+her emotion, lacking strength to say more, she fell into my arms. I will
+not try to describe my bliss. One cannot describe what one feels so
+keenly.
+
+When we had recovered the faculty of speech, Frédérique said to me, with
+her head resting on my shoulder:
+
+"The least that I can do is to reveal all my secrets to you now; there
+must be no more secrets between us. I felt drawn toward you the first
+moment that I knew you. There are, I have no question, certain bonds of
+sympathy which we cannot understand, but which draw us toward those whom
+we are destined to love. But at that time you were engrossed by
+Armantine. Remember that I refused to allow you to call on me. I had no
+idea that you would fall in love with me, but I felt that your presence
+would be dangerous to me. I saw you again at Armantine's, depressed and
+disheartened by her coquetry; I determined to console you by offering
+you my friendship; I was acting in perfect good faith then, I proposed
+to be your friend and nothing more--when that kiss that you gave me
+while I was pretending to doze, that kiss which set my whole being on
+fire, proved to me that I had other sentiments for you than those of a
+friend. But you loved Armantine; I did not choose to be simply a passing
+caprice to you, so it was necessary to break off our relations
+altogether. And that is what I did, without ceasing for an instant to
+think of you. Later, I learned what Monsieur Sordeville was, and I lost
+no time in urging you not to go again to his house; you did not follow
+my advice, being still in love with Armantine.--Then came the scene on
+the Champs-Élysées; I had had nothing to do with bringing it about; but
+I am too honest not to confess that her treatment of you gave me some
+little hope. We met again, and again I offered you my friendship; but I
+had much difficulty in concealing the true state of my heart. Your
+liaison with Rosette made me unhappy, but I soon realized that it was
+not love. When I saw that other attractive and interesting young woman
+in your rooms, fresh torments assailed me, and I was very happy when you
+consented to go away from Mignonne. Finally, at Fontenay my secret was
+at my tongue's end every day; for I fancied that your eyes expressed
+something different from friendship. Then we fell in with Armantine
+again, and she recommenced her coquetries with you. Ah! that was too
+much! I no longer had the strength to carry on the struggle; I came
+away, fully determined to part from you forever. But you would not have
+it so; it is I whom you love. Ah! my friend, my bliss at this moment
+more than makes up for all the torture I have endured!"
+
+For more than an hour we abandoned ourselves to the ecstatic joy of two
+hearts which for the first time have declared their mutual love. But
+suddenly Frédérique's brow darkened, and she looked sadly into my face,
+crying:
+
+"Mon Dieu! my happiness has made me forget. It is not a dream--you are
+to fight to-morrow!"
+
+"Yes, I am to fight to-morrow, at ten o'clock. But that fact cannot
+prevent my being the happiest of men to-night."
+
+"Is there no way of enjoying perfect happiness on earth? I was so happy,
+so happy! And you are to fight to-morrow!"
+
+"I shall be the victor, and I shall have avenged you! My happiness will
+be even greater--if that is possible!"
+
+"Oh! yes, yes, we must hope so! With what weapons do you fight?"
+
+"Swords."
+
+"Ah! Saint-Bergame chose that weapon, of course. I have often heard him
+boast of his fine swordsmanship."
+
+"I struck him, so he had the choice of weapons."
+
+"True; but are you a good fencer?"
+
+"I know how to defend myself."
+
+"We will see about that."
+
+She left me and went into her dressing-room, whence she soon returned
+with a pair of buttoned foils and handed one to me.
+
+"Let us see, my friend, if you really know how to defend yourself," she
+said.
+
+"What! can you handle a sword?"
+
+"Very well, according to Grisier, who was my teacher. Didn't I tell you
+that I received a man's education? Come, monsieur, on guard, and look
+out for yourself!"
+
+I took the foil. I thought, at first, that all I needed to do was to
+parry carelessly a thrust or two. But Frédérique soon undeceived me; she
+was sharp and persistent in attack, quick in parrying. Twice I was
+touched, and she exclaimed:
+
+"Ah! so that's how you defend yourself, is it? Why, poor fellow, you
+will let him kill you! Attack--attack, I say!"
+
+These words recalled me to myself; my self-esteem was aroused. We
+continued for some time, and at last I touched her. She dropped her foil
+and embraced me, saying:
+
+"That's all right! that will do! But you must be careful; you must not
+be taken unawares. Whom shall you have with you to-morrow?"
+
+"You remind me. I shall get Balloquet. I can rely upon him, and I must
+go this evening and leave a letter for him. But I must have another
+second. Those fellows insist on having three on a side. Whom in the
+devil shall I get?"
+
+"Don't cudgel your brains, my friend. Your other second will be at your
+rooms at nine o'clock to-morrow."
+
+"Do you know of someone?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Ah! I'll wager that you are thinking of Baron von Brunzbrack?"
+
+"Perhaps so. However, I'll be responsible for your second. Now, write to
+Balloquet at once. Do you know the long-bearded individual who was with
+Saint-Bergame?"
+
+"Oh! yes, I know him! And if I could fight with him too, it would be an
+additional gratification."
+
+"Why, what has he done to you?"
+
+"Nothing to me. But I told you, did I not, that Mignonne was vilely
+insulted and then abandoned by her seducer? Well, it was that dastard,
+that low-lived scoundrel, that Fouvenard, in short, who was with
+Saint-Bergame at the Opéra this evening."
+
+"Go, my friend, and carry the note to Balloquet; make sure of him, and I
+will answer for the other second. Then go home and rest. Until
+to-morrow!"
+
+"You will come to my rooms to learn the result of the duel?"
+
+"Yes, you will see me. Until to-morrow!"
+
+I pressed her to my heart. I was proud of her courage. She continued to
+smile as she looked after me. I found Balloquet's abode, not without
+difficulty, gave my letter to the concierge, and went home to bed. She
+loved me! I was so happy, that I had not a thought to spare for my
+duel.
+
+
+
+
+XLIX
+
+A DOUBLE DUEL
+
+
+I woke early. It seemed to me that the events of the preceding night
+were a dream. But, no--she loved me, she was mine, and I was to fight a
+duel!
+
+At half-past eight, Balloquet arrived, all out of breath.
+
+"What's up, my dear Rochebrune?" he cried. "You wrote me not to fail
+you, to drop everything--and here I am! Is there a duel on the carpet,
+by any chance?"
+
+"Just that! I have a duel on hand for this morning, at ten o'clock, at
+Porte Maillot. I tell you beforehand, my dear Balloquet, that the affair
+cannot be adjusted; I struck my opponent at the Opéra last night."
+
+"The devil! it's a serious business, then. What caused the quarrel?"
+
+"It is about a lady, my friend."
+
+"A lady! I understand! that is to say, it's for her lovely eyes."
+
+"If I should tell you her name, I'll be bound that you also would fight
+for her."
+
+"Oho! do I know her, pray?"
+
+"Madame Dauberny."
+
+"Madame Dauberny! _Fichtre!_ But, tell me, are you in love with her
+now?"
+
+"I have always been, my dear Balloquet; but I dared not confess it to
+myself, or tell her, for fear I should be repulsed."
+
+"Like me! But it would seem that you haven't been repulsed. I was in
+love with her for a moment, after a good dinner. She sent me about my
+business, and I haven't given her a thought for a long time. But I am
+none the less enchanted that you have chosen me for your second. She's a
+charming woman, and, although she didn't listen to my nonsense, 'pon my
+honor! I'd be very glad to fight for her."
+
+"Give me your hand, Balloquet. I expected nothing less from you."
+
+"What is the weapon?"
+
+"The sword."
+
+"Have you one?"
+
+"Yes; here it is."
+
+"Are there to be only we two?"
+
+"I am expecting my other second."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"Frédérique has undertaken to send him to me. I fancy that it will be a
+certain Prussian baron, an excellent and honorable man."
+
+I had finished dressing just as the clock struck nine. I was already
+beginning to fret over the baron's non-appearance, when my door opened
+and a slender, graceful young man, of most attractive aspect, stood
+before us. I looked at him several times, before I exclaimed:
+
+"Frédérique!"
+
+"Myself, my friend."
+
+"What's that? Why, yes, on my word, it's Madame Dauberny!"
+
+"Why are you in this disguise?"
+
+"What! can't you guess? I am your other second."
+
+"You! Can you think of such a thing, Frédérique?"
+
+"I thought of it instantly, when I knew that you were going to fight for
+me."
+
+"But it's impossible! A woman cannot act as second. I cannot consent to
+it.--Isn't that so, Balloquet?"
+
+"It certainly isn't customary, and----"
+
+"Listen, messieurs: I have but one reply to make--I propose to do it! If
+you don't take me with you, I will follow you and be there, all the
+same. All argument is useless. I propose to be your second."
+
+"But my adversary's seconds will laugh when they see a woman."
+
+"Never fear, they won't laugh long. But let us go, messieurs; we must
+not keep them waiting. I have a cab below."
+
+I saw that it was useless for me to try to change Frédérique's
+resolution. We started. I took my sword; but I found a pair of foils
+without buttons in the cab. Frédérique had thought of everything. We
+talked little on the way. However brave we may be, we are always
+assailed by a multitude of reflections when about to fight a duel.
+
+We reached the rendezvous. Saint-Bergame was already there, with
+Fouvenard and a little man who did not seem to enjoy the occasion at
+all. I went forward first, apologizing for my delay. Balloquet was
+behind me, and Frédérique a little farther back.
+
+Saint-Bergame simply bowed and walked away, saying:
+
+"Let us look for a suitable spot."
+
+The little man suggested that we might fight behind the restaurant.
+
+Fouvenard recognized Balloquet, and they exchanged a formal bow. We went
+into the woods, and in a few moments came to a small cleared space. I
+removed my coat, and Saint-Bergame did the same. Then Frédérique came
+forward with the foils, and my opponent at once exclaimed:
+
+"What is this? Is Madame Dauberny one of your seconds?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," replied Frédérique, with dignity; "for if Charles and
+his friend do not avenge me, then I will avenge myself."
+
+Saint-Bergame indulged in mocking laughter, and Monsieur Fouvenard
+deemed it fitting to join him.
+
+"Ha! ha!" he said; "a woman for second! Why, this is charming! I would
+be glad to cross swords with the lady myself."
+
+"Well! so you shall, if you're not a coward," retorted Frédérique,
+offering him one of her foils.
+
+He was still pleased to jest and draw back, saying:
+
+"Nonsense! I would with pleasure, if it were a fan; but a foil--my dear
+lady, you wouldn't know how to handle that!"
+
+"Indeed! I shouldn't know how to handle it?"
+
+As she spoke, Frédérique laid her foil across Fouvenard's face, leaving
+a red mark which seemed to cut it in two. The bearded man flew into a
+rage; he seized the weapon she offered him, exclaiming:
+
+"I no longer recognize your sex, and I will not spare you."
+
+"And I will avenge my sex, and poor Mignonne!"
+
+At the name of Mignonne, Fouvenard turned pale; but he prepared for the
+combat. Balloquet proposed to the little man that they should imitate
+us; he declined, saying that he considered it ridiculous for seconds to
+fight.
+
+When I saw Frédérique cross swords with Fouvenard, I shuddered; I
+trembled for her safety.
+
+"Come on, monsieur," said Saint-Bergame; "I didn't come here to admire
+madame's prowess; on guard!"
+
+His words recalled me to myself. We began to fight. Saint-Bergame
+attacked me with violence. While defending myself, I listened to the
+other combatants. I fancied that Fouvenard uttered a cry of triumph. My
+adversary made the most of my distraction; I received a thrust which
+passed through the upper part of my left arm. That wound irritated,
+exasperated me; I attacked Saint-Bergame fiercely, and he soon fell at
+my feet; my sword had entered his breast.
+
+I turned and looked for Frédérique. She had not been fighting for some
+time; in a few seconds, she had knocked Fouvenard's sword from his hand
+and wounded him in the side. He fell on the turf, and although his wound
+was trifling he had declined to fight any more.
+
+The little man went to call one of the cabs. Balloquet assisted in
+placing Saint-Bergame inside, and he was so seriously wounded that the
+young doctor thought it best to accompany him and his seconds. I
+returned to Paris alone with Frédérique, who twisted a handkerchief
+round my arm and begged Balloquet to come to us as soon as possible.
+
+In the cab, she put her arm around my neck, and insisted that I should
+rest my head on her shoulder. She gazed at me, gazed at me incessantly.
+Dear Frédérique! it seemed to me that we loved each other all the more
+dearly from having just escaped a great danger.
+
+When we reached my lodgings, we found no one there but Pomponne, who
+wept when he saw that I was wounded. I had much difficulty in making him
+understand that it amounted to nothing. I lay on a couch; Frédérique
+seated herself beside me and made lint, expressing surprise at
+Mignonne's absence; for she relied upon her to nurse me zealously when
+she should be obliged to leave me. In about three-quarters of an hour
+Balloquet arrived.
+
+"Monsieur Saint-Bergame is in for a long siege," he said, "if he escapes
+at all. He has his own surgeon, so I left him. As for Fouvenard, he will
+be all right in a fortnight; but what irritates him most is that blow
+across the face with the flat of the foil. That was so well laid on,
+that it is probable that our seducer will carry the mark of it all his
+life. _Fichtre!_ madame, there's some strength in your hand!"
+
+"Now, Monsieur Balloquet, please examine Charles."
+
+Balloquet looked at my wound and dressed it, declared that there was not
+the slightest danger to be apprehended, but that it would be as well for
+me to keep my bed for a few days. I was about to obey my doctor, albeit
+with regret, when the doorbell rang violently. I supposed that it was
+Mignonne; but Ballangier appeared, pale as death and so excited that he
+could hardly speak.
+
+"In heaven's name, what's the matter?" I asked; "what has happened?"
+
+"Ah! a terrible misfortune, a---- Mon Dieu! are you wounded?"
+
+"It's almost nothing. Pray go on."
+
+"You urged me yesterday to watch over Mignonne. When I left you, as I
+was still disturbed by what you had said, I walked in the direction of
+her home. When I reached Rue Ménilmontant, although I was persuaded that
+Mignonne had not gone out, as she had not been at your rooms at all that
+day, something impelled me to go and ask the concierge. 'Madame
+Landernoy isn't in,' she said; 'she went out this morning to go and work
+at Monsieur Rochebrune's, on Rue Bleue, as usual.'--I knew that she
+hadn't been here, so you can imagine my anxiety. I told that to the
+concierge. She shared my uneasiness. We waited. The evening passed, and
+the night, and Mignonne did not return. This morning I went to
+Père-Lachaise, where Mignonne often goes to visit her little girl's
+grave. I inquired there. The gate-keeper said that he did see her
+yesterday morning; he knows her well, she has such a gentle, courteous
+way! After passing half an hour, as usual, at her daughter's grave, she
+went away--to come here, no doubt. But since then she hasn't been seen."
+
+"Mon Dieu!" cried Frédérique; "what can have happened to her?"
+
+"What has happened to her!" cried Ballangier, clenching his fists
+frantically; "ah! I suspect, and so does Charles! There's a man--a vile
+scoundrel--who looks respectable, unfortunately; he's been watching
+Mignonne a long while. I thrashed him some time ago, but it seems that
+that didn't sicken him. I ought to have killed him then and there! When
+you come away from Père-Lachaise toward Paris, there are some deserted
+streets, nothing more than alleyways, where you don't meet anyone even
+in broad daylight. We don't know which streets Mignonne usually took,
+but he knew, no doubt; he must have been on the watch for her and
+abducted her, forced her into a cab. Here in Paris, with a little money
+one can always find a hundred vagabonds, miserable wretches, who are
+ready to do any rascally thing. It must be the man we met last night who
+has carried Mignonne off--it can't be anyone else; and you remember,
+Charles, when I pointed him out to you, how he was sneaking along,
+looking furtively on all sides, as if to see whether anyone was
+following him. And when he saw that you were looking at him, he scuttled
+away fast Oh! to think that if I had followed him then, I should know
+where Mignonne is! For he was going to her, I am sure of it! But you
+know the man, Charles; you told me last night that you knew him; you
+said: 'The day of reckoning must come some time.'--So tell me who he is,
+tell me where I can find him and kill him if he doesn't give Mignonne
+back to me!"
+
+Frédérique and Balloquet gazed anxiously at me. Should I name that man?
+name him before her? Why should I spare the monster? Why should not his
+wife, as well as I, have the right to despise him utterly?
+
+"The man who was watching Mignonne," I said, at last, "was your husband,
+Frédérique; it was Monsieur Dauberny."
+
+Ballangier was stupefied. Balloquet was no less surprised. Frédérique,
+on the contrary, simply nodded her head, muttering: "I suspected as
+much!"--Then she said:
+
+"But it isn't enough to be convinced, to know that it was he? How are we
+to prove it? How can we discover in what place, in what out-of-the-way
+corner of Paris, he has concealed Mignonne? If you should ask him, he
+would deny having had any hand in the young woman's disappearance."
+
+"Just let me find your husband," I said; "tell me where I can see him
+and speak to him, and I am sure that he will deny nothing to me."
+
+Frédérique looked at me in surprise; then she rose hurriedly, saying:
+
+"I will go home at once; my presence will not rouse his suspicions. I
+will find out what he did yesterday and to-day; I will find out whether
+he is at home. If he is, I will send word to you instantly; and to
+prevent his going out, I will go to his apartment, I will ask for an
+interview on business--in short, I will keep him at home."
+
+She said no more, but left the room at once. Then I said to Balloquet:
+
+"You remember Annette--and that Bouqueton?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Well?"
+
+"Well, that Bouqueton was Monsieur Dauberny."
+
+"What! the villain who----"
+
+I put my finger on my lips and pointed to Ballangier, who was sitting
+with his head in his hands; it would have been cruel to add to his
+suffering. Balloquet understood me; but he could not sit still; he paced
+the floor excitedly, muttering:
+
+"Ah! mon Dieu! but, in that case, we must make haste; we mustn't lose an
+instant! Poor young woman! Oh! it is ghastly to know that she is with
+him!"
+
+We counted the seconds. Ballangier went again and again to the window.
+At last he cried:
+
+"Here she is; she's coming back!"
+
+"What a pity!" said Balloquet; "that means that her husband isn't at
+home."
+
+Frédérique entered and dropped into a chair, exhausted and gasping for
+breath.
+
+"Monsieur Dauberny isn't at home," she said; "but he passed the night
+there."
+
+"He passed the night at home?" cried Ballangier.
+
+"Yes; the concierge is certain of it; he saw him go in last evening,
+before dark, quite early in fact, and he is perfectly positive that he
+didn't go out again."
+
+"His meeting with us must have made him uneasy," said I; "if he was
+going to where he is detaining Mignonne, he was afraid of being watched
+and followed; so he probably went home."
+
+"That is probable. But he went out early this morning, saying that he
+was going to pass some time in the country, and might be away three
+weeks. Where shall we look for him? Where can we hope to find him now?"
+
+We were in despair. Ballangier, who was in a most desperate frame of
+mind, was still ignorant of all that Balloquet and I feared for
+Mignonne, who, I was sure, would not yield to Monsieur Dauberny's
+desires.
+
+For a long while we were silent, each cudgelling his brains to think how
+we could find Monsieur Dauberny's trail. Suddenly Frédérique cried:
+
+"Ah! there is one hope!"
+
+We all looked anxiously at her.
+
+"During that trip of Monsieur Dauberny's, some time ago, one of his
+intimate friends, Monsieur Faisandé, came often to inquire for him. One
+day, he found only Adèle at home, and he said to her: 'If Dauberny
+returns soon, tell him to come at once to Monsieur Saint-Germain's, at
+Montmartre--a small house, with a green door, on the left-hand side of
+the square.'"
+
+"At Montmartre!" cried Ballangier; "he was going in that direction last
+night."
+
+I rose and held out my arm to Balloquet, telling him to bind it up with
+a handkerchief.
+
+"Come, messieurs, come," I cried; "this is a dispensation of Providence,
+let us not lose a minute!--You cannot go with us, Frédérique, but you
+will soon see us again, and something tells me that we shall bring
+Mignonne back with us."
+
+Ballangier threw his arms about my neck and kissed me. Frédérique bound
+up my arm, whispering:
+
+"You are wounded, and you are going out--when you need rest!"
+
+"Oh! if my recovery is a little slower, that makes no difference. I want
+all those whom I love to be as happy as I am!"
+
+"You are right, my friend. Go, but remember that I am waiting for you."
+
+I took from my desk the ring that came from poor Annette; on it I rested
+all my hopes. I pressed Frédérique's hand, and we started. We took the
+first cab we saw, and I said to the driver:
+
+"Montmartre, the public square. Take us there quickly, and you shall
+have five francs an hour."
+
+We went like the wind, but the road seemed very long. At last we reached
+the square. I told the cabman to stop, and we all three alighted and
+turned to the left.
+
+"That must be the place!" cried Ballangier, pointing to a small house of
+poor aspect, with a narrow green door.
+
+"Stay in the square," I said to him, "and keep your eye on the house. If
+anyone comes out, run after him. You and I, Balloquet, will go in."
+
+I knocked at the little green door; it was opened and we entered a
+narrow passageway, at the end of which was a small yard. A
+shrewish-looking woman, who was sitting in a dark corner, called out to
+us:
+
+"Who do you want?"
+
+"Monsieur Saint-Germain."
+
+"He ain't in; he went away this morning, and won't be back to-day."
+
+"Monsieur Bouqueton must be here, then, and what we have to say to his
+friend Saint-Germain, we can say to him just as well."
+
+The woman looked at us distrustfully, then said:
+
+"Yes, Monsieur Bouqueton's here--since this morning. Wait, while I go
+and call him. Go into that room; I'll tell him some friends of Monsieur
+Saint-Germain want to see him."
+
+We entered a room on the ground floor, taking care not to go near the
+window, so that we might not be seen from outside.
+
+After a few minutes, we heard heavy steps coming downstairs; they
+stopped at the door of the room in which we were, and Monsieur Dauberny
+appeared.
+
+He gazed at us for several seconds in amazement; but, on scrutinizing me
+more closely, he seemed disturbed. However, he tried to recover himself,
+and said:
+
+"What can I do for you, messieurs?"
+
+"We have come in search of Mignonne Landernoy, a young woman whom you
+caused to be kidnapped yesterday morning as she was coming away from
+Père-Lachaise."
+
+Dauberny could not control a sudden start; but he affected an air of
+tranquillity, and replied:
+
+"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, monsieur. I suppose that you
+mistake me for somebody else."
+
+"No, I know you quite well. Search your memory. You saw me once at your
+house in Paris; you are Monsieur Dauberny; Bouqueton is the name you
+assume in your love intrigues! I know you perfectly, monsieur, as you
+see!"
+
+Frédérique's husband looked at me for some instants, then assumed a
+mocking expression, and rejoined:
+
+"And you are my wife's lover--the man who lives with her at
+Fontenay-sous-Bois. You see that I know you too."
+
+"If your wife has a liaison in which her heart is engaged, monsieur,
+your abominable conduct makes her only too excusable."
+
+"Monsieur!"
+
+"Let us have done with this! Where is Mignonne? Give that young woman up
+to us; we will not leave this house without her."
+
+"I don't know what you mean, and I order you to leave the house."
+
+Instead of complying, Balloquet and I walked up to Monsieur Dauberny,
+and I held before his eyes the hand in which was Annette's ring.
+
+"What about this--do you know what this means?" I said.
+
+At sight of the ring, Dauberny turned a greenish white and fell into a
+chair. Balloquet seized his arm.
+
+"It was I," he said, "who attended the unhappy Annette, the woman you
+murdered! She is dead; but I received her full confidence, and we are
+familiar with your crime to its smallest details."
+
+Dauberny could not speak. Great drops of sweat rolled down his forehead;
+he took a key from his bosom and held it out to us with a trembling
+hand, stammering almost inaudibly:
+
+"On the second floor. Mignonne is on the second floor."
+
+I motioned to Balloquet to stay with Dauberny, while I flew upstairs to
+the second floor. I found two doors; the one at the rear was locked. I
+opened it and found Mignonne on her knees, praying, in a corner of the
+room. When she heard the door open, she gave a shriek and ran toward the
+window; but I called her by name; she recognized my voice, and fell
+unconscious to the floor. Poor girl! joy sometimes kills. I took her in
+my arms and carried her downstairs. The air revived her; when we reached
+the yard, she opened her eyes and smiled at me.
+
+"You have saved me again!" she cried.
+
+Balloquet heard our voices and joined us. I told him to take Mignonne to
+the cab; then I returned to Dauberny, who was still in the lower room,
+pale and trembling, like a criminal awaiting his doom.
+
+"Monsieur," said I, "we will hold our peace concerning your crime; but
+you must go away, leave France, and never let your wife see you again."
+
+He motioned that he would obey me, and I made haste to join my friends.
+
+Ballangier was like one mad with joy; he seized Mignonne's hands and
+kissed them, and I made haste to tell the young woman that but for
+Ballangier we should have known absolutely nothing of her abduction, and
+that he was her savior.
+
+Thereupon she gave Ballangier her hand.
+
+"Poor boy!" she said.
+
+She told us that the night before, in a narrow, lonely street, two men,
+who doubtless were watching for her, had suddenly seized her and taken
+her to a cab which was waiting a few yards away. To prevent her crying
+out, one of them held a handkerchief over her mouth; but that precaution
+was unnecessary in the carriage, as terror had deprived her of the use
+of her senses.
+
+On recovering consciousness, she found herself in the little house at
+Montmartre. A man, whom from her description I identified as Faisandé,
+was with her, and tried to allay her fears.
+
+"You will see my friend Bouqueton to-night," he said. "You will come to
+an understanding with him, for he's a good fellow; he seems to be in
+love with you."
+
+Mignonne threw herself at his feet, imploring him to set her free. He
+contented himself with locking her in a room, where the shockingly ugly
+old hag brought her food. The evening passed, and no one came. Mignonne
+did not close her eyes during the night. At last, about eight in the
+morning, another man, whom she recognized as the one who had insulted
+her on the street, appeared before her and informed her that she must be
+his mistress. Mignonne repulsed him with horror, and he left her,
+saying:
+
+"Weep, shriek--it will do no good; you will be much wiser to make the
+best of it; we will dine together this evening, and I will pass the
+night with you."
+
+Mignonne, alone once more, had determined to die rather than yield to
+that man; having no weapon, she had resolved to jump out of the window
+when he returned to her room. Then she prayed--and it was at that moment
+that I arrived. It was time.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At last we were at my rooms once more. Frédérique was awaiting us; she
+embraced Mignonne, then insisted that I should tell her all. I had not
+the strength to speak. The intensely exciting scenes that I had passed
+through had inflamed my wound; I was in terrible pain, and I swooned.
+
+
+
+
+L
+
+A PRESENTATION
+
+
+It seems that I was ill a week; my wound threw me into a fever; then, I
+was delirious, and a scratch that should have amounted to nothing became
+a serious matter as a result of the events following my duel.
+
+But I became convalescent at last, I was restored to health and
+happiness; for Frédérique was there, beside my bed, watching for my
+first glance. Tears fell from her eyes when I held out my hand to her.
+
+"Saved!" she cried; "saved! Ah! Balloquet was right when he said that
+you were cured; but I dared not believe him!"
+
+I saw two other persons stealing softly toward the bed; they were
+Mignonne and Ballangier. I shook their hands; I tried to thank them; but
+Frédérique begged me not to speak yet. I could smile at them, and that
+was something.
+
+Madame Dauberny had learned from Balloquet how we had succeeded in
+rescuing Mignonne. He had not concealed from her that Monsieur Bouqueton
+was poor Annette's murderer. Frédérique had taken an oath never again to
+live under the same roof with that man. For my part, I did not believe
+that he would ever venture to reappear in society.
+
+Health returns quickly when the heart is at peace. A few days later, I
+was walking on the boulevards, leaning on Frédérique's arm.
+
+"My dear," she said, "Balloquet insists that the country air will
+complete your cure. To-morrow, if you feel strong enough to endure the
+journey, we will go to Fontenay and pass the rest of the season there."
+
+"To Fontenay?" I said, looking her in the face. "Why, aren't you afraid
+of meeting people there whose presence annoys you?"
+
+"Oh, no, no!" she said, fixing her lovely eyes on mine; "I am not afraid
+of anything now, for I am sure of your love."
+
+The next day, we went to Fontenay, and Frédérique absolutely insisted
+upon taking Mignonne with us; she had become very fond of her; to be
+sure, Mignonne was much more amiable to Ballangier.
+
+Mignonne lived in the pavilion which I had previously occupied, and I
+was under the same roof with Frédérique; a convalescent requires so much
+attention!
+
+Armantine came to see us soon after our arrival. Frédérique received her
+with vastly more cordiality than before, notwithstanding which, Madame
+Sordeville came much less frequently; women have a tact which enables
+them to divine instantly when they have lost the game beyond recall.
+
+I went to Paris and made inquiries about Ballangier; all that I learned
+was in his favor. I went to see him at his employer's, and invited him
+to dine at Fontenay on the next day but one. At first he declined what
+he called an honor; but I did not leave him until I had made him promise
+to come. The poor fellow asked nothing better, for I told him that he
+would see Mignonne.
+
+I invited Balloquet to come into the country on the same day. On my
+return to Fontenay, I told Frédérique of the invitations I had ventured
+to extend without asking her permission; she closed my mouth by
+informing me that I need not ask her permission for anything. Then,
+after a moment's reflection, she said:
+
+"I too propose to invite some people for that day. Will it annoy you if
+I have other company?"
+
+"On the contrary, on that day it will give me great pleasure."
+
+The next day, I went to Paris again; I had various purchases to make of
+gifts which I had in mind. As I passed through Rue du Petit-Carreau, I
+noticed a sponge shop. I thought of Rosette and stopped. Someone called
+me; it was my pretty brunette, enthroned at the desk.
+
+"Are you afraid to come into my shop, monsieur?" asked Rosette, who was
+as lively and alluring as ever. "You were going by without deigning to
+say good-day to an old acquaintance."
+
+And she began to sing:
+
+    "'Eh quoi! vous ne dites rien!
+      Mon ami, ce n'est pas bien!
+      Jadis c'était différent,
+      Souvenez-vous-en!'"[B]
+
+"Still as merry as ever, Rosette?"
+
+"Faith, yes! sponges ain't such a dismal trade as I thought; and then,
+my husband's such a good fellow! He's like putty in my hands!"
+
+"You are happy, are you?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very happy. Are you sorry for that?"
+
+"On the contrary, I am very glad."
+
+"And your lovely friend--does she still pretend to be nothing but a
+friend?"
+
+"Faith, no! we are on better terms than that now; we were both mistaken
+in thinking that our feeling for each other was only friendship."
+
+"Bah! I saw what was coming a long way off! It was a long time coming,
+that love!"
+
+"Adieu, Rosette!"
+
+"You will give me your custom, I hope? Send me your doctor _à la rose_
+too, with or without his gloves."
+
+"I will send all my acquaintances to you."
+
+"Oh! I haven't told you--on Sundays, I have my seven aunts in the shop,
+and people come in just from curiosity; we make a lot of money that
+day."
+
+I left Rosette and returned to Fontenay. I showed Frédérique all that I
+had bought for Mignonne; I proposed that the young woman should wear a
+costume which would enhance the charms of her person, and I suggested
+that Frédérique should superintend her toilet. She approved all that I
+had done; I fancy that she also divined a great part of what I intended
+to do.
+
+The reception day came in due time. The Ramonet brothers and several
+other neighbors arrived before dinner. Armantine was among those
+invited. I was very glad of it; I should have regretted her not being
+there on that day. Balloquet soon appeared, and then our old friend the
+Baron von Brunzbrack, who wrung my hand with great force, saying:
+
+"I vould like to pe your frent no more, but I vas, all te same."
+
+"Why should you not be my friend, monsieur le baron?"
+
+"Because, ven she haf sent me a letter of invitation, Montame Dauberny,
+she haf told me dat she loafe you, but dat she offer to me her
+frentship."
+
+"Well, baron, isn't it something to be her friend?"
+
+"Ja, ja; but I vas right, ven I haf susbect dat you pe in loafe mit
+her."
+
+"You had second-sight, baron."
+
+Mignonne appeared at last, in a lovely costume, which became her to
+admiration, and which she seemed ashamed to wear. It was Frédérique
+herself who led her into the salon; she blushed when she came in,
+although Frédérique whispered to her:
+
+"Don't be afraid, Mignonne; the men admire you and the women envy you;
+that is the most delightful part that one can play in society."
+
+Madame Sordeville bit her lips when she saw Mignonne; that was a tacit
+homage to her charms.
+
+Everybody had arrived, except Ballangier. He came at last, dressed
+without pretension, but very suitably for the occasion.
+
+The whole company was assembled in the salon on the ground floor. I took
+Ballangier's hand and led him to Madame Dauberny, saying:
+
+"Pray permit me, madame, to present my brother."
+
+Everybody loudly expressed surprise, except Frédérique, who whispered to
+me:
+
+"I knew it."
+
+But the one upon whom my words produced the greatest effect was
+Ballangier himself. He stood as if rooted to the floor, trembling like a
+leaf; tears gathered in his eyes, and he said under his breath:
+
+"O Charles! why tell it? there was no need."
+
+"No need to acknowledge you as my brother?" I said, raising my voice.
+"Oh! be sure that this is a very happy moment to me! If I did for a long
+time conceal the ties that united us, do you suppose that it was because
+our positions were different, because you were only a workman, while I,
+more favored by fortune, chose to be an artist, a poet, a financier? No,
+my dear fellow; I forbade you to call me your brother, when, led astray
+by vicious men, you lived a life of idleness, drunkenness, and
+debauchery. Yes, I blushed to be the brother of a lazy vagabond! But now
+that you have reformed, now that you possess the esteem of your fellow
+workmen and your employers, I am proud to call you my brother; for one
+should always be proud to be related to an honest man, whatever rank he
+may hold in society."
+
+Balloquet shook hands with me, saying:
+
+"What you said was very fine, Rochebrune!"
+
+The baron complimented me too, but I fancy that he did not understand.
+
+I continued, addressing Frédérique:
+
+"Yes, madame, Ballangier is my brother; not on the father's side--our
+names are not the same--but on the mother's side. My mother was a widow
+with one son when she married Monsieur Rochebrune, my father.--And now,"
+I added, turning to Mignonne, "allow me to solicit your hand for my
+brother, who loves you sincerely and who will devote his life to making
+you happy."
+
+Mignonne timidly gave her hand to Ballangier, saying to me with her
+customary gentleness:
+
+"I shall be very happy to be your sister."
+
+While all this was taking place, Armantine cut a peculiar figure. She
+left us early in the evening. The next day, she left Fontenay.
+
+"How did you know that Ballangier was my brother?" I asked Frédérique,
+when we were alone.
+
+"My dear, have you forgotten that day on the Champs-Élysées? The poor
+fellow was tipsy, and, while I was trying to quiet him, he involuntarily
+told me the secret, although I asked him no questions."
+
+A few days after that festivity, Frédérique received a letter, which she
+read with evident emotion. Then she handed it to me, murmuring:
+
+"See, my dear! you began the work, and Providence has done the rest."
+
+The letter was from Zurich, Switzerland, and contained these words:
+
+     "MADAME:
+
+     "Monsieur François Dauberny, travelling for pleasure, met his death
+     three days ago on one of our glaciers. The sad event occurred, it
+     is said, while he was pursuing a young Swiss girl, who had refused
+     to listen to him. The papers found upon him give the information
+     that he was your husband."
+
+"Well!" said I, taking Frédérique's hand; "nothing can part us
+henceforth!"
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
+
+
+At first glance, you will think that this is a paradox, you have so
+often heard it said that: "There is nothing so good as sleep"; or:
+"Sleep is so beneficial"; or: "Sleep is the greatest of restorers"; or:
+"He who sleeps, dines."--I ask your pardon for this last quotation. I am
+persuaded that you have never experienced its truth.
+
+To all this I might reply that the best things have their bad side, and
+that we must never abuse them. But I will content myself with simply
+giving you some figures; you are aware that there is nothing so
+convincing as figures.
+
+I take people who go to bed at midnight; many, it is true, go to bed
+much later; but as there are vast numbers who go to bed earlier, the
+balance is preserved. You retire at midnight, then, and you get up at
+eight in the morning; you have slept eight hours, or one-third of your
+day. Consequently, if you live sixty years, you will have devoted twenty
+years to sleep. Frankly, doesn't that seem to you too much? Ah! but I
+can hear you retort:
+
+"But, monsieur, one doesn't sleep all night without waking; I never have
+eight hours' sleep!"
+
+Very good; I agree. Instead of twenty years, then, I will charge you
+with only fifteen; is not even that a good deal of time wasted?
+
+"Sleep," says Montaigne, "stifles and suppresses the faculties of our
+mind."
+
+You will say: "Rest is indispensable to mankind"--and to womankind, too,
+the ladies are so charming when they are asleep!--That is true; but
+habit is everything in a man's life; with four hours' sleep a day, or a
+night, you might be in as robust health as Æsculapius. I love to believe
+that the god of medicine was in robust health; however, I will not take
+my oath to it. But, to reach that result, you must get into the habit of
+not sacrificing more than four hours to oblivion of your surroundings.
+Now, as you adopt a contrary course, the result is that the more you
+sleep, the more you feel the need of sleep, which, by deadening your
+faculties, thickens your blood, deprives you of a part of your normal
+activity, and sometimes makes your mind indolent--that is to say, if you
+have one; but I am sure that you have.
+
+Sleep has another great disadvantage; it tends to produce obesity; and
+you will agree that you do not wish to be obese. That is a burden with
+no corresponding benefit. In general, nothing ages a man so quickly as a
+big paunch. Find me a man who desires one; I am inclined to think that
+you would search in vain. On the other hand, you will find men by the
+hundred who do their utmost to compress and abolish what stomach they
+have; to that end, they often employ means which impede their
+respiration; they wear corsets, like women; there are some who even go
+so far as to refrain from satisfying their appetites, who do not eat as
+their stomach demands, always in the fear that that organ will protrude
+unduly.
+
+Alexander the Great, or the great Alexander--no, I think it better to
+say Alexander the Great, because he stands by himself, and great
+Alexanders are very numerous--Alexander the Great often desired, even
+when he was in bed, to resist the attacks of sleep, for fear that it
+would make him forget the plans and projects that he had in mind.
+Perhaps you will ask me why he went to bed, that being the case. He went
+to bed to rest, but not to sleep. To that end, he caused a large copper
+basin to be placed on the floor beside his bed; he kept his arm extended
+over the basin, and held in his hand a big copper ball. If sleep
+overcame him, his fingers would relax, and naturally the ball would drop
+and make such a splash when it struck the water that it woke him
+instantly.
+
+You have the right to do as Alexander the Great did, when you wish to
+avoid going to sleep; but perhaps you will find it rather tiresome to
+hold your arm over a basin, with a heavy copper ball in your hand. I
+admit that one must needs be Alexander the Great, or Alexander Dumas, to
+do such things.
+
+There are other ways of keeping awake: sleep rarely assails you when you
+are enjoying yourself; therefore, you need only enjoy yourself, but that
+is not always so easy as one might think.
+
+A gentleman, whom I will call Dupont, with your permission, and who
+lived in the pretty little town of Brives-la-Gaillarde, had the
+unfortunate habit of sleeping too much. He was married, but it seems
+that that fact did not amuse him enough; there are some men who are
+capable of hinting that it was more likely to increase his infirmity.
+
+This much is certain: that Madame Dupont herself often said to her
+husband:
+
+"You sleep a great deal too much, monsieur; it's perfectly ridiculous!
+You're only forty years old; what in heaven's name will you do when
+you're fifty? You fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow,
+and don't wake up during the night; in the morning, I can hardly make
+you open your eyes. You're not a man any longer, you're a marmot. Let me
+tell you that when I married you I didn't think I was marrying a marmot!
+But never mind about me; this sleeping all the time will be the death of
+you; you're getting to be terribly fat, and you'll soon have a stomach
+like Punchinello."
+
+Monsieur Dupont was impressed by his wife's harangue; perhaps he would
+not have cared so much about the resemblance to a marmot, but he was not
+anxious to have a stomach like Punchinello.
+
+He did not hesitate, but went at once to his physician and said to him:
+
+"Doctor, I sleep a great deal too much; my wife complains about it, and
+I feel myself that it's making me lazy. What must I do to sleep less?"
+
+The doctor, who was very fond of smoking, shook his head and rolled a
+cigarette, as he asked:
+
+"Do you smoke?"
+
+"Yes, doctor, I smoke all the time; but I fall asleep even when I'm
+smoking."
+
+"That's a pity! because I was going to advise you to smoke."
+
+"Advise something else."
+
+"Do you take snuff?"
+
+"Yes, doctor; I have a collection of snuffboxes; but I don't take much
+pleasure in it."
+
+"That's too bad! for I would have advised you to take snuff."
+
+"Try something else."
+
+"Do you play cards?"
+
+"I know all the games, but I don't care for any of them; cards put me to
+sleep at once."
+
+"So much the worse! I would have advised you to play cards. For, after
+all, to avoid going to sleep, you must amuse yourself. Have you ever
+been to Paris?"
+
+"Yes, doctor, twice; but it was a long while ago, when I was in
+business. It was before my marriage. I have an idea that I rather
+enjoyed myself in Paris."
+
+"Well, then, go there again; spend a few weeks in Paris; that will wake
+you up, invigorate you, and amuse you. But be sure to go alone; don't
+take your wife."
+
+Dupont heartily approved this last injunction; he hastily made the
+necessary preparations, told his wife of the doctor's prescription, and
+started; nor did madame seem greatly distressed by his departure. But
+one does not care much for the society of a marmot, unless one is a
+marmot also.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL
+
+
+It was the year 1860, and it was the carnival season, which unluckily
+was very brief that year. We say unluckily, for we admit that we do not
+agree with the people who say:
+
+"Masks have gone out of fashion; it isn't the thing to disguise yourself
+now to drive or walk on the boulevards. No, no! That's all gone by,
+forgotten, bad form! Before long, there won't be any carnival."
+
+In the first place, we do not understand why such people frown upon
+something that tends to amuse and rejoice the common people. It may not
+make you laugh, monsieur, who seem always to be in a bad humor, and
+whose nerves are unstrung when you see other people enjoying themselves.
+I am very sorry for you! But I assure you that, in the old days, when,
+during the pre-Lenten season, a triple row of carriages filled with
+masks formed an immense Longchamp in the centre of Paris, the
+promenaders and idlers did not complain because they were furnished with
+that spectacle gratis.
+
+Everybody could not afford to go to the Opéra ball, or even to the Salle
+Barthélemy; and the modest annuitant, as he strolled about the streets
+with his wife during the carnival days, returned home in high glee when
+he had rubbed elbows with Harlequins or Punchinellos; and if a Bear said
+to his wife: "I know you!" the delighted couple could not contain
+themselves; and madame would say proudly to her concierge: "A Bear said
+to me: 'I know you!'"
+
+You must see, you pessimists, who want to abolish the carnival, that by
+abolishing it you would grieve a great many people. I know that that is
+a matter of indifference to you; but, despite your efforts, so long as
+the world exists, there will be masks. Some people would tell you that
+there are masks all the year round; that you need not wait for carnival
+time to see them. But, as you hear that very often, I will not say it.
+
+The carnival is the season of intrigues and of mad pranks. Again, we
+might say that there are intrigues all the year round; but that has been
+said before, and we will not repeat it. We will take the liberty, in
+passing, of calling your attention to the fact that we say only novel
+things; that is very considerate on our part, and we are persuaded that
+we shall receive due credit therefor.
+
+Monsieur Dupont was, as we have said, a man of forty years; that is the
+age of passions, when one is destined to have any; but thus far the
+gentleman in question had not manifested the slightest symptom of
+anything of the sort. He smoked, took snuff, gambled, and drank, but
+without enthusiasm, and, we might say, without enjoyment. As for the
+women, you have seen that he slept most of the time beside his wife.
+Nevertheless, Monsieur Dupont was not insensible to the charms of
+beauty; what attracted him more than anything else in a woman was
+figure, shape, carriage; in short, he preferred a well-proportioned body
+to a pretty face; and unluckily for Madame Dupont, she was rather pretty
+than well made. Perhaps that was what had made her husband such a heavy
+sleeper.
+
+As for Dupont himself, he was neither handsome nor ugly, neither short
+nor tall, neither clever nor stupid; he was one of those men of whom
+nothing is said. He had rather a good figure, however, with a shapely
+foot and a small white hand. He was very proud of these advantages,
+considered himself a little Apollo, and was absolutely determined not to
+take on flesh; the fear of that catastrophe was mainly responsible for
+his decision to go to Paris; and since the doctor had recommended that
+he should go without his wife, it was evident that he wished him to lead
+the life of a bachelor there. Now, what is the life of a bachelor, if
+not to be constantly on the look-out for intrigues, amourettes, _bonnes
+fortunes;_ in a word, to pass one's time running after women--society
+women when opportunity offers, and grisettes when one can do no better?
+
+Speaking of grisettes, there are some writers who try to make us believe
+that there are none now; that they have gone out of fashion, like pug
+dogs; that the mould is broken. With due deference to those gentlemen,
+we maintain that the grisette still exists and always will exist in
+Paris. For, if you please, what are all the flowermakers, seamstresses,
+burnishers, illuminators, laundresses, waistcoatmakers, shirtmakers,
+trousermakers, etc., etc.?--They are neither coquettes, nor those
+exceedingly free and easy beauties who are always in evidence in the
+proscenium boxes of the smaller theatres, and are called, I do not just
+know why, lorettes; nor are they kept women, for it very often happens
+that their lovers can give them nothing but love; lastly, they are not
+virtuous bourgeois women, who never go out except on the arm of a father
+or brother. They are grisettes, genuine grisettes! Pray let us not
+demonetize them, they are such pretty coins! Why insist that they shall
+cease to be current?
+
+I wish that you gentlemen, who will have it that there are none left in
+Paris, would go now and then, during the summer, to the Closerie des
+Lilas, the favorite ball of the students who love dancing and love; you
+will see there grisettes of all categories, you will see them laughing,
+capering, fooling, dancing a cancan as graceful and much less indecent
+than the Spanish dances which are allowed at the theatres; you will hear
+them talk, making fun of one another, envying this one her lover,
+ridiculing that one's lover; and amid the brief sentences and bursts of
+laughter that fill the air on all sides, you will catch some piquant,
+clever remarks, original expressions, which you hear nowhere else, and
+which make it impossible for you to keep a serious face--unless, that is
+to say, you belong to that school which insists that no one shall laugh,
+and which dares to say that "laughter is a grimace"! What a pitiful
+school, good Lord! Take my advice and never send your children to it!
+You must surely see that the results are not desirable.
+
+Dupont, arriving in Paris during the carnival, began his bachelor life
+by betaking himself to the Opéra ball.
+
+"The doctor ordered me to enjoy myself, and I can't fail of it in the
+midst of that crowd, largely composed of pretty women who are not
+absolute Lucretias, who ask nothing better than to make acquaintances,
+who, in fact, go to the ball for that sole purpose. I will take my
+choice, I will try to find a woman shaped like a Venus--yes, a Bacchante
+even, for all the Bacchantes I ever saw in pictures were of perfect
+shape; I will play the agreeable, the gallant; I have wit enough when I
+am started; to be sure, I have some difficulty in getting started, but
+with perseverance and punch I shall succeed; and I won't go to bed at
+ten o'clock, for I won't go to the ball till midnight."
+
+Dupont carried his plan into execution; he had some trouble to avoid
+falling asleep in his chair when the clock struck ten. Several times he
+was on the point of getting into bed instead of putting on his dress
+coat; but, luckily, just as he was about to yield to his old habit, he
+glanced at his stomach and remembered that he could no longer button the
+last button of his waistcoat; whereupon he sprang to his feet and
+dressed in haste, muttering:
+
+"You poor devil, do you want to turn into a Punchinello? I shan't have a
+hump behind, to be sure, but one in front is just as laughable and much
+more inconvenient. I'll go to the ball, cut capers, and have a jolly
+time! Sapristi! this isn't a joking matter, it's a matter of remaining
+young!"
+
+Behold, therefore, our friend at the ball, gliding amid the throng that
+walked back and forth around the dancing enclosure, because from there
+one can look at the women at close quarters; one can even speak to them,
+joke with them, and offer them an arm when they are without an escort;
+all that is permissible at a masquerade ball. Indeed, what is not
+permissible there?--Dupont saw divers pretty creatures dressed as
+boatmen, sailors, jockeys, and postilions. As a general rule, ladies who
+dress in masculine costume wear no masks and are very glad to show their
+faces. They also disclose their shoulders and breasts; sometimes,
+indeed, there is too much abandon in their attire; they do not
+understand that the eye likes to have something to divine, and that a
+man is especially enamored of what he does not see.
+
+Dupont selected a very attractive little blonde dressed as a Columbine.
+To become better acquainted, he invited her to polk; but our worthy
+friend from Brives-la-Gaillarde did not know what a risk he was taking;
+he fancied that the polka was danced at the Opéra ball as it was danced
+in his province; above all, he was unaware that it always ended in a
+galop--and such a galop! it must be seen to be appreciated. It is a
+whirlwind; it is as if a sort of insane frenzy had taken possession of
+all the dancers, under the inspiration of the lively, rapid, deafening
+music that electrifies you and takes you off your feet; you no longer
+galop, you fly, you whirl madly about, you push and jostle everyone you
+meet! Be fearless and do not lose your head, or you will infallibly be
+thrown down.
+
+That is what happened to Dupont; he was not agile enough to hold his own
+in that bacchanalian dance; he fell and dragged his partner to the floor
+with him; she sprang quickly to her feet, and said in an angry tone:
+
+"When you don't know how to galop, my boy, you shouldn't ask a lady to
+dance."
+
+And the Columbine seized the arm of a Harlequin, and began to dance with
+him; while poor Dupont, who had not risen quickly enough, was struck by
+the feet of several dancers, and finally got up covered with bruises.
+
+As he was very lame in the knees, shoulders, and back, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying:
+
+"That's enough amusement for to-night!"
+
+But Dupont would not admit that he was beaten, although he really had
+been. A few days later, he tried his luck again at a ball; but this time
+he went to the Casino, which he had been told was the rendezvous of the
+women most in vogue. In truth, our provincial was agreeably impressed by
+the fine costumes and by the elegance of those ladies, most of whom were
+in party dresses instead of masks.
+
+"It is impossible," he said to himself, "that they dance such a
+dangerous galop here as they do at the Opéra. However, I will be prudent
+and not galop; I will confine myself to taking a partner for a
+contra-dance; that's the wiser way, because the figures are always the
+same; I know them all, and it isn't possible that I can be thrown down
+doing the English chain or the _pastourelle_."
+
+And Dupont, after walking about the hall for some time in search of a
+particularly shapely partner, invited at last a rather attractive person
+whose languorous eyes gazed into his with infinite good humor.
+
+They stood up to dance; but Dupont had for vis-à-vis a _gaillarde_ who
+had been a pupil of the famous Rigolboche, and whose bold and eccentric
+dancing was so renowned that people fought for places to watch her.
+
+When Dupont executed his _avant-deux_ before that lady, he suddenly
+received a superb kick full in the face, amid the applause and roars of
+laughter of the spectators.
+
+Dupont alone did not laugh; his nose was crushed, and he attempted to
+complain; but the tall _gaillarde_ said to him:
+
+"It's your own fault! You're a donkey, my dear friend; you ought to have
+known that that was the time when I lift my leg! If you don't know my
+steps, you shouldn't dance opposite me! Bribri would never have let my
+foot hit him!"
+
+As Dupont's nose was bleeding and pained him severely, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying to himself:
+
+"I've amused myself enough for to-day."
+
+Several days passed, and, Dupont's nose having healed, he said to
+himself:
+
+"I'll go to the ball again; I'll stick to it; but this time I won't
+dance."
+
+Attracted by the length of a poster which almost covered a whole pillar
+on the boulevards, he went to the ball in the Salle Barthélemy. There
+the crowd was almost as great as at the Opéra, but the company was
+infinitely less refined, and the tobacco smoke and the dust raised by
+the dancing, blended with the odor of the refreshments which were being
+served, gave to that ball a distinction peculiarly its own.
+
+Dupont discovered a pretty little brunette, whose dress resembled that
+of a grisette. She was alone; he offered his arm and a glass of punch.
+The girl hesitated, then replied:
+
+"You are very kind! I am very fond of punch, and I'd like to take a
+glass; but I'm afraid of Ronfland."
+
+"Who's Ronfland?"
+
+"He's--he's my friend, a cabinetmaker, a good fellow--but he gets drunk
+too often. I came to the ball with him, and he was to dance with me; but
+he didn't, and he left me here. That ain't a nice way to treat me!"
+
+"As Monsieur Ronfland left you, it seems to me that you're at liberty to
+do what you choose, and to accept my arm and a glass of punch; you can't
+stay alone in this crowd, you need an escort."
+
+"It ain't very good fun to be alone, that's true. I don't understand
+Ronfland; he left me near the orchestra, and he says: 'Stay here, and
+I'll come right back.'--That was more than an hour ago, and he hasn't
+come back."
+
+"He's forgotten you."
+
+"Oh! I'm sure he's gone to get a drink."
+
+"Without you? That isn't polite. Of course, you have the right to do the
+same."
+
+"Faith! yes, so I have. So much the worse for Ronfland! After all, it's
+his own fault!"
+
+Dupont put the little brunette's arm through his and took her to the
+café; he ordered punch and filled a glass for his new acquaintance, who
+drank it readily, but kept repeating:
+
+"After this you'll dance with me, won't you, monsieur? For one don't
+come to a ball to go without dancing."
+
+And Dupont, who was not at all anxious to dance, continued to pour out
+the punch, as he replied:
+
+"Yes, by and by; we have time enough. There are too many people here
+now; we should be too warm; it's better to drink punch."
+
+But suddenly a young man, with a cap cocked over one ear, rushed up like
+a bomb, brought his fist down on the table, upset the punch bowl and
+glasses, and boxed the little brunette's ears, crying:
+
+"Ah! that's how you behave, Joséphine! I've caught you at it! I bring
+you to the ball, and you play tricks on me with other men! I'll bring
+you to the right-about, you vile street walker!"
+
+Mademoiselle Joséphine began to weep.
+
+"You're still drunk, Ronfland," she cried. "I don't play tricks on you;
+you ought not to leave me; you're a drunkard; I don't love you any
+more!"
+
+But Dupont was not of a temper to allow a woman who was in his company
+to be maltreated; he rose, picked up the empty bowl, which was rolling
+about the table, and with it struck Ronfland on the nose.
+
+"Parbleu!" he said; "my nose was smashed the other day, and I'm not
+sorry to have my revenge."
+
+But the young man in the cap, infuriated by the blow, leaped upon
+Dupont, who lost his balance, and they rolled together on the floor,
+still striking each other.
+
+The police appeared and separated them. Ronfland and his companion were
+turned out of doors, and Dupont was obliged to pay for what was broken.
+As he had cut himself severely in the face while rolling about on the
+broken glass, he lost no time in taking a cab and returning to his
+hotel.
+
+"I've got what I deserve!" he said to himself; "I have gone about it the
+wrong way. I certainly shall not go to any more balls in search of
+amusement!"
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE
+
+
+Dupont was obliged to keep his room a week. He had taken rooms in an
+unpretentious hotel on Rue de Seine. To pass the time, which seemed very
+long, our provincial spent most of the day at his window. As his rooms
+were on the third floor, and as the opposite house was not high, Dupont
+was able to look into the chamber of a neighbor who lived opposite,
+under the eaves.
+
+"I haven't had any luck in Paris yet," thought Dupont, as he paced the
+floor slowly, with his head swathed in bandages. "I have done what I
+could to amuse myself, but I have had poor success; however, I must
+admit that I sleep less--especially since I received this wound in the
+face. I won't go to balls any more in search of _bonnes fortunes_. But
+sometimes one goes far afield in search of what one has close at hand.
+In one of those attic chambers opposite, I have noticed a young
+woman--very pretty she is, on my word! and, above all, well built. I am
+the better able to judge, because I see her in négligé costume--a
+morning jacket, and a short fustian skirt, as well as I can see from
+here. But how alluring that simple négligé is! It enables one to admire
+a shapely, flexible figure, and hips! oh! such well-rounded hips! She
+has a fine shape! It is impossible not to fall in love with such a
+shape!"
+
+And Dupont, opening his window, although it was quite cold, leaned
+bravely out, and fastened his eyes on his neighbor's window. It was
+closed, but the curtains were not drawn, and he could easily see the
+young woman who lived there, and who was at that moment engaged in
+arranging her hair before a mirror fastened to the window shutter.
+
+"Her face is captivating," said Dupont to himself; "wide-awake brown
+eyes, a turned-up nose--_à la_ Roxelane, as they say--and a mouth--hum!
+the mouth isn't small, but it's well furnished; and then, she has a very
+pleasant smile. But, on the whole, there's nothing extraordinary about
+the face, and I prefer the figure. Ah! good! now she's walking about the
+room--still in that charming costume, tight-fitting white jacket, and
+the little striped skirt that hangs so well over her rounded hips. I
+can't see her foot or leg, but they must be beautiful; a tall, graceful
+figure almost always means a good leg. I certainly am dead in love with
+that figure; I must make that girl's acquaintance. She must have noticed
+my assiduity in watching her. It doesn't seem to displease her; there's
+nothing savage in her manner; on the contrary, there's a merry, aye, a
+mischievous look about her face, which seems to be intended to encourage
+one to make her acquaintance. She is probably a seamstress. As soon as I
+can go out, I'll ask the concierge opposite; I know how to make those
+fellows talk."
+
+Meanwhile, being engrossed by his neighbor, Dupont slept much less, and
+sometimes even passed the night without sleep. That was good progress,
+and he said to himself:
+
+"What a change my wife will see in me when I go back to
+Brives-la-Gaillarde! All I'm afraid of is that there the desire to sleep
+will return."
+
+His wound being healed, Dupont was able to get rid of all the bandages
+in which his head was swathed. He made haste to leave the house,
+crossed the street to the house in which the girl with the striped skirt
+lived, and entered the concierge's lodge. In Paris, the porters have all
+become concierges; just as the shops have become _magasins_; the wine
+shops, _maisons de commerce_; the hair dressers' establishments, salons
+where one is rejuvenated; the groceries, dépôts for colonial produce;
+the bakers, pastry cooks; the _marchands de confection_, tailors; the
+book shops, _cabinets de lecture_; the cafés, restaurants; soup houses,
+_traiteurs_; indeed, even those gentry who haul refuse at night have
+assumed the title of _employés à la poudrette_.
+
+Dupont accosted the concierge most affably, and slipped his irresistible
+argument into the hand of that functionary, who, happening to be a
+woman, asked nothing better than to talk, and instantly laid aside her
+one-sou illustrated paper, and answered without stopping for breath:
+
+"The girl who lives on the third, second door at the left, is named
+Georgette; she embroiders for a living, and she has lots of talent; she
+embroiders like a fairy, so they say! She's twenty years old, I believe,
+and she hasn't been in Paris long. She's a Lorrainer, and she's full of
+fun, always ready to talk; and yet I think she's straight. Still, I
+wouldn't put my hand in the fire to prove it! it's never safe to put
+your hand in the fire about such things; you'd get burned too often! But
+I don't see any men go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's. Does she meet any
+of 'em outside? That's something I can't tell you. You see, when that
+girl goes out, I don't follow her. But she leads a regular life all the
+same, and never goes to balls, although I don't think it's the wish to
+go that's lacking, for I've heard her say more'n once: 'How lucky people
+are who can afford to enjoy themselves! When shall I have twenty
+thousand francs a year?'--But, although she hasn't got it, that don't
+seem to make her sad; for she sings all the time. That's all I can tell
+you about her, seeing that it's all I know."
+
+"Twenty thousand francs a year!" muttered Dupont, scratching his head.
+"The devil! it's not I who'll give it to her!--So she embroiders, you
+say?" he continued.
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"What?"
+
+"What do you mean by _what_?"
+
+"I mean, what does she embroider?"
+
+"Oh! collars, handkerchiefs, caps, whatever anyone wants her to
+embroider."
+
+"Then I might ask her to do something for me?"
+
+"That's your right."
+
+"Very good. I'll go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's."
+
+"Third floor, monsieur."
+
+"Oh! I know."
+
+"Yes, but there's two or three doors; it's the one where you see a
+toothbrush instead of a tassel on the bell cord."
+
+"I'll remember."
+
+As he mounted the stairs, Dupont said to himself:
+
+"What in the devil can I have her embroider? Ah! a cravat! I believe
+they're not in fashion, men don't wear embroidered cravats now; but, no
+matter, I'll tell her it's the fashion at Brives-la-Gaillarde; and,
+after all, what does she care, so long as I give her work?"
+
+He reached the third landing, where there were several doors; but he
+discovered the little toothbrush hanging at the end of a bell cord, and
+he boldly pulled it.
+
+The door was opened by Mademoiselle Georgette herself, who smiled
+mischievously when she saw who her visitor was. She was still dressed in
+the white jacket and short fustian skirt; that costume was very
+becoming to her, it showed off all her good points. If we dared, we
+would say that that costume is becoming to all women--but we should add:
+provided they are well built.
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette--embroiderer?" inquired Dupont, assuming rather
+a patronizing air.
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Mademoiselle, I came--I should like--I was told----"
+
+"Pray come in, monsieur; I don't receive my visitors on the landing."
+
+Dupont asked nothing better than to accept the invitation. He entered a
+room of which he had only caught a glimpse from his window. It was
+simply furnished, but extremely neat and clean; the floor was scrubbed
+and waxed; there was not a speck of dust on the furniture; the bed was
+very white and smooth; all of which spoke loudly in favor of the
+occupant. Demosthenes, being asked what constituted an orator, replied:
+"Elocution, elocution, elocution!" A philosophical king, being asked
+what occasioned the fall of the ramparts of a city, replied: "Money,
+money, money!" And Ninon, being asked what was the most beautiful
+ornament of womankind, replied: "Cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness!"
+
+The girl offered Dupont a chair; she did the honors of her domicile with
+infinite ease, and seemed in no wise intimidated by her visitor. He, on
+the other hand, while he tried to assume an imposing manner, became
+exceedingly awkward, and had much difficulty in finding words,
+especially as Mademoiselle Georgette waited for him to speak, with an
+expression which seemed to indicate a powerful desire to laugh.
+
+"I came, mademoiselle, for----"
+
+"For something, I presume, monsieur."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle; I have been told--that you embroider."
+
+"You were told the truth. Have you something you wish to have
+embroidered?"
+
+"Yes--that is to say--I don't know whether embroidered cravats are worn
+in Paris?"
+
+"No, monsieur; they are not in style now."
+
+"Indeed! and cuffs?"
+
+"Nor cuffs either."
+
+"And--handkerchiefs?"
+
+"For ladies; oh! yes, monsieur, some beautiful embroidery is done on
+handkerchiefs."
+
+"Ah! very good! You do embroider handkerchiefs!"
+
+While they conversed, Dupont cast frequent glances at the young woman's
+feet, which were small and well arched; the lower part of the leg was
+very shapely; so that his thoughts were diverted, and he murmured again
+and again:
+
+"Ah! you embroider handkerchiefs!"
+
+In a moment Mademoiselle Georgette laughed heartily, and thereby
+completely disconcerted her visitor, who gazed at her in amazement,
+saying:
+
+"You are very merry, I see, mademoiselle."
+
+"It is true, monsieur, that I do not engender melancholy."
+
+"And might I ask what has aroused your merriment at this moment?"
+
+"Why, you, monsieur!"
+
+"I! Ah! it is I who make you laugh! Do you find me so very amusing,
+pray, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Amusing is not the word, monsieur; but, to speak frankly, you are far
+from clever in inventing a pretext."
+
+"A pretext! What do you mean? I don't understand."
+
+"Still, it's easy enough to understand. You wanted to have an excuse, a
+reason, for coming to my room--for you have nothing to be embroidered."
+
+"What makes you think that, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Do you suppose that I do not recognize you, monsieur?"
+
+"Ah! you recognize me, do you?"
+
+"To be sure; you live at the small hotel opposite, where you pass your
+time staring at me, making eyes at me----"
+
+"Ah! you have noticed that?"
+
+And Dupont puffed himself out like a turkey-cock; he was gratified to
+have been observed, and drew a favorable augury from that fact.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I have noticed that," the young embroiderer continued.
+"How could I have helped seeing it, unless I was blind? Why, the other
+day, when you came to the window, it was horribly cold, and your nose
+was all blue! I was strongly tempted to make faces at you."
+
+At this point, Dupont bit his lips and did not puff himself out.
+
+"I didn't do it, because I presumed, seeing your head all bandaged, that
+you were either sick or hurt; and one should always take pity on those
+who suffer; but you are cured now, it seems."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle; I fought a duel, and was wounded in the head."
+
+"Ah! you fought a duel, did you, monsieur? May a body, without being too
+inquisitive, ask what was the cause of your duel?"
+
+"It was a lady, of great distinction, with whom I happened to be, and at
+whom an insolent knave presumed to look too closely."
+
+"You fought for a lady! That was very well done, and leads me to forget
+your glances at me; but tell me, monsieur, why you have come here
+to-day?"
+
+"Since you are so good at divination, mademoiselle, you ought to have no
+difficulty in guessing. I saw you from my window, I found you charming,
+and I desired to make your acquaintance."
+
+"Good! that is plain speaking! And with what purpose do you wish to make
+my acquaintance? Perhaps you hope to make me your mistress?"
+
+"I do not say that, mademoiselle."
+
+"No, but you think it! As if that wasn't always what men aim at, when
+they fall in with a poor girl who is weak and foolish enough to believe
+them! But I am generous enough to warn you that you will waste your time
+with me."
+
+"In any case, mademoiselle, it would be difficult to waste it more
+agreeably than in your company."
+
+"That is very prettily said. But, monsieur, I will confess that I have a
+fancy for knowing the people whom I receive. Now, I don't know you."
+
+"That is true, mademoiselle, that is very true; one must know with whom
+one is dealing."
+
+And Dupont, who had prepared his little story in advance, straightened
+himself up in his chair and continued:
+
+"I am an--an American; I was in business, but I have retired; I have
+money enough to be happy; I am a widower, without children, and
+therefore at liberty to do exactly as I please."
+
+"Very good, monsieur. And your name?"
+
+"My name is--Dupont."
+
+"Dupont--that is quite a French name; I thought Americans had names more
+like the English."
+
+"That depends on their origin; my family was French. Now that you know
+who I am, mademoiselle, will you allow me to pay court to you?"
+
+"I see no objection--provided that you haven't lied to me; for, I give
+you fair warning, I hate liars!"
+
+Dupont bowed, scratched his head, and rejoined:
+
+"You wished to know who I was, mademoiselle, and I have gratified your
+wish. In my turn, may I be permitted----"
+
+"To know who I am! Oh! that is soon told: you already know that my name
+is Georgette, and that I am an embroiderer. I was born at Toul, a pretty
+village in Lorraine, near Nancy. My parents are not rich, and I have two
+sisters, both older than I. My two sisters came to Paris in the hope of
+being better off here and of being able to help our parents, but they
+didn't succeed. Poor sisters! Then they came back again to us."
+
+"And you have come to Paris in your turn. I am surprised that your
+parents consented to let you leave them. They might well have been
+afraid that you would be no more fortunate than your sisters."
+
+"Oh! but I was determined to come to Paris; I had made up my mind to do
+it; and when I make up my mind to do a thing, it's got to be done."
+
+"That indicates a strong will."
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I have a very strong one."
+
+"And since you have been in Paris, have you found it pleasant?"
+
+"So-so; not too pleasant! Certainly there are plenty of means of
+enjoyment in Paris, one has such a choice of pleasures! Plays, balls,
+promenades, concerts--all of them are delightful to those who can afford
+such diversions. But when you stay in your chamber all day long, and
+pass your evening working or reading, you hardly enjoy life in Paris."
+
+"That is very true. But what prevents you from enjoying all these
+amusements that tempt you?"
+
+"Can a woman who is all alone go about to plays and promenades?"
+
+"No, certainly not; but you can have had no lack of cavaliers ready to
+offer you their arms."
+
+"True; but I don't go with everybody, monsieur; I don't accept the arm
+of the first comer! Certainly, if I had chosen to listen to all the
+young men who have followed at my heels and overwhelmed me with their
+silly declarations of love,--love that seized them all of a sudden when
+they saw me walk along the street,--I should have had plenty of
+opportunities! But that isn't what I want!"
+
+Dupont caressed his chin, saying to himself:
+
+"She is exacting; she doesn't choose to go about with every _gamin!_ She
+wants to make the acquaintance of a _comme il faut_ man. All the chances
+are in my favor."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette had resumed her embroidery, looking out of the
+corner of her eye to see how her visitor bore himself. He looked at her
+work and exclaimed:
+
+"Mademoiselle, you embroider superbly."
+
+"Do you think so, monsieur? Are you a connoisseur?"
+
+"Yes, my wi--my sister used to embroider."
+
+"Is she in America?"
+
+"Yes, she remained there."
+
+"It's not surprising, monsieur, that I know how to embroider well, for I
+come from a province renowned for its embroideries. The very best of
+that sort of work is done at Nancy."
+
+"And you are from Nancy?"
+
+"No; but Toul is quite near. Well! do you really want some handkerchiefs
+embroidered?"
+
+Dupont began to laugh, and replied:
+
+"Faith! no; and since you have so shrewdly guessed that I came here
+solely in the hope of making your acquaintance, shall I be so fortunate,
+mademoiselle, as to have your permission to cultivate it--to come again
+to see you--and perhaps to offer you my arm sometimes and take you to
+the play or to walk?"
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette reflected a few moments, gazed earnestly at
+Dupont, and said at last:
+
+"You have not lied to me in what you have told me about yourself? You
+are really a widower and free?"
+
+"No, mademoiselle, I have not lied to you," Dupont replied
+unhesitatingly.
+
+"In that case, monsieur, come to see me; I am willing."
+
+"Ah! mademoiselle, you make me the happiest of men!"
+
+"But you must not make your visits too long; that might compromise me."
+
+Dupont rose, bowed to the young woman, and took his leave, saying to
+himself:
+
+"She is mine! It may perhaps take longer than I should have liked, but
+it's only a question of time now. She is mine! and I haven't the
+slightest desire to sleep."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+YOUNG COLINET
+
+
+A fortnight had passed. Dupont called very frequently on his neighbor,
+of whom he was more enamored than ever; for to the charms of her person
+Mademoiselle Georgette added wit, high spirits, and entertaining
+conversation. Less than these were enough to turn the head of our
+provincial, who lost his appetite, and slept no more than two hours in
+succession during the night, because his love was in no degree
+satisfied, and his desires augmented with the presence of her who gave
+birth to them. But he was no further advanced in that direction than on
+the first day. If he took the girl's hand, she laughingly withdrew it;
+if he tried to kiss her, she pushed him away without ceremony; if he
+ventured to place his hand on her knee, or tried to put his arm about
+her waist, she assumed a severe expression and said to him in a very
+decided tone:
+
+"If you don't stop that, I'll turn you out and never admit you again!"
+
+Thereupon Dupont was fain to cease his audacious experiments, and said
+to himself again as he went away:
+
+"It will take a long time! it will take much longer than I thought!
+However, I shall certainly gain my end; for if the girl hadn't found me
+to her liking, she wouldn't have consented to receive my visits, she
+wouldn't go out with me and accept presents from me. She plays the
+cruel, to give greater value to her conquest. That is coquetry, yes,
+immodesty--but it can't last forever."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette did, in fact, accept Dupont's escort readily
+enough to the play, to concerts, and to go out to walk. As for balls,
+Dupont did not offer to take her to any, nor did she seem to desire it.
+One thing she had always refused: that was, to dine in a private
+dining-room at a restaurant.
+
+"I am willing to dine with you at a restaurant," she said; "but we will
+dine in the main dining-room, with other people."
+
+In vain did Dupont say:
+
+"The service isn't so good in the main dining-room; and then, too, it's
+bad form--ladies who dine at restaurants never go to the public room."
+
+Georgette was inflexible; she would not give way. As a general rule, she
+seemed to go with Dupont, not for the pleasure of being with him, but to
+see the people and to be seen herself.
+
+She dressed very modestly. Dupont had said to himself: "The way to
+capture a woman is by giving her things to wear, by encouraging her
+coquetry;" and he had sent the young embroiderer a pretty shawl, a silk
+dress, and a stylish bonnet. She had accepted his gifts without
+argument, and had arrayed herself in them that same day to go to the
+Opéra-Comique with him. But when, after escorting her home at the close
+of the performance, he had asked permission to go up to her room for a
+moment, she had shut the door in his face, saying:
+
+"I should think not! it's quite enough to receive you in the daytime."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette made frequent conquests when she was on Dupont's
+arm; then our provincial became jealous, for it seemed to him that his
+companion was distraught at times, and that she paid too much attention
+to the men who ogled her, and not enough to him.
+
+Then, too, the young woman was very curious; at the play, she would call
+his attention to a stylishly dressed young dandy and say:
+
+"Do you know the gentleman in that box, just opposite us, with an opera
+glass in his hand?"
+
+"No; I haven't an idea who he is," Dupont would reply sourly; "I don't
+know anyone in Paris."
+
+"Ah! to be sure; I forgot that you had just come from America. It's a
+pity!"
+
+"Why is it a pity?"
+
+"Because you don't know anyone in Paris."
+
+"And even if I did know the young man you refer to, how would that help
+you?"
+
+"Oh! not at all. I simply wanted to know."
+
+Another time, it was a middle-aged man, but dressed in the height of
+fashion, and mimicking all the manners of a young dandy, whom
+Mademoiselle Georgette noticed on one of the public promenades and
+pointed out to her faithful attendant.
+
+"Do you know who that man is?"
+
+"How in the devil do you suppose that I know who he is?"
+
+"Ah! to be sure! you are just from America--I forgot that."
+
+On returning to his room, Dupont would say to himself:
+
+"Why does she question me about the men we meet walking, or at the
+theatre? That doesn't amuse me at all! She is a great flirt, is that
+girl; she doesn't lower her eyes when a man looks at her; she acts as if
+she was delighted to make conquests. And yet she's virtuous, perfectly
+virtuous! I know that better than anybody; but all she wants is to go
+out, to show herself. Ah! she has such a fine figure! When she's on my
+arm, everybody admires her carriage, her figure above all! and her foot,
+and her leg! How can a man help falling in love with all that? I can't
+eat or drink on account of it; and I lost the power to sleep long ago;
+I'm growing thin; to be sure, I'm not sorry for that, but I'm growing
+perceptibly thinner. If this goes on, I shall look like a Pierrot
+instead of a Punchinello."
+
+One day, Dupont had been in his pretty neighbor's room for several
+minutes; he was watching her work, and was doing his utmost to persuade
+her that he adored her, while the girl listened with manifest
+indifference, like one who was thinking of something other than what was
+being said to her, when there came two light taps at her door.
+
+"Someone is knocking," said Dupont, with an air of surprise.
+
+"Yes, I thought that I heard a knock."
+
+"Are you expecting company?"
+
+"No; but why shouldn't people come to see me? You came, whom I certainly
+did not expect."
+
+"Listen--they're knocking again. It is certainly at your door."
+
+"Come in!" cried Georgette; "the door isn't locked."
+
+In fact, the young woman was always careful to leave the key in the lock
+outside when Dupont was with her, in order to give less occasion for
+gossip.
+
+The door opened and a young man appeared and stopped on the threshold.
+He may have been about twenty years old, although he looked younger. His
+fresh, ingenuous face was exceedingly youthful; his great blue eyes,
+gentle and tender, had almost the charm of a woman's eyes; his chin was
+covered with an almost imperceptible down; his forehead was without a
+wrinkle, and his light chestnut hair grew naturally and at will, having
+never known the hand of a hairdresser. Take him for all in all, he was a
+very pretty fellow; of medium height, but slender and graceful.
+
+His dress was neither that of a peasant nor that of a Parisian youth. He
+wore broadcloth trousers, almost skin-tight, with long leather gaiters
+reaching to the knee, a velvet waistcoat with metal buttons, and a
+rough, long-haired hunting jacket. Lastly, he held in his hand a felt
+hat, with a round crown and broad brim, and a stout knotted stick.
+
+"Mamzelle Georgette, if you please?" said the young man, still standing
+in the doorway.
+
+At the sound of that voice, the young woman sprang to her feet, crying:
+
+"Colinet! it's Colinet!"
+
+And she ran to the new-comer, seized his hands, then his face, and
+kissed him again and again, with every indication of the keenest
+delight.
+
+"Dear Colinet!" she said. "Oh! how glad I am to see you!"
+
+"And I am very glad to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" the young man
+replied. "For they told me Paris was so big, I was afraid I wouldn't
+find you!"
+
+Dupont meanwhile looked on with a strange expression on his face, saying
+to himself:
+
+"It seems that she lets some people kiss her! More than that, she kissed
+him first! The devil! the devil! I wonder if I'm nothing better than an
+old fool! That would be humiliating!"
+
+Georgette took the young man's hand, and leading him into the room
+presented him to Monsieur Dupont, saying:
+
+"This is a friend of my childhood. We used to play together when we were
+children--didn't we, Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette."
+
+"Let us pray that they won't continue to play together, now they're
+grown up!" thought Dupont, who was forced to admit that the young man
+was very comely.--"Is monsieur from your province?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, to be sure, and he's just come from there.--Isn't that so,
+Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, mamzelle; I arrived last night at the Plat d'Étain, where I'm
+staying, on Carré Saint-Martin."
+
+"And my mother and father and sisters--do tell me about them."
+
+"They are all well, thank heaven! and they all told me to be sure and
+kiss you for them."
+
+"Well! kiss me for each of them."
+
+Young Colinet lost no time in kissing Georgette again; while Dupont's
+face became a yard long, and he said to himself:
+
+"Are they going to pass all their time kissing? That fellow has obtained
+more in two minutes than I have in a month. I simply must change my
+batteries."
+
+When young Colinet had delivered all his kisses, Georgette bade him sit
+down and said:
+
+"Didn't my sisters give you anything for me?"
+
+"Oh! yes, excuse me; Mamzelle Aimée, the oldest one, gave me a letter,
+which I've got here in my pocket."
+
+"Oh! give it to me, quick!"
+
+Monsieur Colinet handed a letter to Georgette, who eagerly seized it,
+broke the seal, and walked to the window to read it, regardless of her
+visitors. Thereupon Dupont turned to the new-comer and asked:
+
+"Have you been in Paris before?"
+
+"No, monsieur; this is the first time."
+
+"Do you mean to settle here?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur. In fact, I promised mother not to stay more than four
+days. I'm going home Saturday."
+
+This reply caused Dupont most intense satisfaction, for he had begun to
+fear that he should find the young man at his compatriot's every day. He
+continued, with a more amiable air:
+
+"Are you in business?"
+
+"I raise sheep, and my father calves."
+
+"That's a very fine trade! Our first parents raised cattle, more or
+less; we content ourselves nowadays with eating them, and that is all
+the more reprehensible because it's not the way to multiply the races."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette finished reading her letter, which seemed to have
+interested her deeply; as she folded it, she uttered an "at last!" which
+seemed to say many things.
+
+Dupont, content to know that young Colinet was to remain only a short
+time in Paris, took his hat and said to his neighbor:
+
+"I leave you with your old friend. You must have many things to say to
+each other."
+
+"I will not keep you," Georgette replied, with a smile.
+
+"She won't keep me! parbleu! I can see that for myself!" said Dupont, as
+he took his leave. "She never does keep me! Oh! this is too long a job!
+I am drying up! That young Colinet kissed her more than ten times! It's
+high time that my turn should come!"
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+AN INGENUOUS YOUTH
+
+
+The next afternoon, when Dupont called upon his neighbor, he found
+Colinet there, apparently no less shy and embarrassed than before,
+sitting in front of Georgette and watching her work, without a word; but
+with the air of being perfectly happy simply to look at her.
+
+"Well, Monsieur Colinet," said Dupont, "have you been enjoying yourself?
+have you got a little acquainted with Paris?"
+
+"I've been to see the animals in the Jardin des Plantes, monsieur; but I
+like my sheep better than the lions and tigers. I wonder why they give
+them such fine cages, when my sheep often don't have any house even."
+
+"Tigers are kept in cages, Monsieur Colinet, because they are vicious
+and people are afraid of 'em. As for your sheep, as they never injure
+anybody, nobody worries about them, and they're allowed to feed where
+they will. That's worth something in itself."
+
+"My sheep don't always find enough to eat in the fields; but I saw them
+give great big chunks of meat to your ugly tigers."
+
+"For the very same reason! They're afraid of 'em, so they must keep 'em
+well fed."
+
+"You must go to the play while you're in Paris, Colinet."
+
+"With you, Mamzelle Georgette?"
+
+"Yes. Monsieur Dupont here will take us both."
+
+"The devil! it seems that I must amuse Monsieur Colinet too," thought
+Dupont. "But, after all, I prefer that to having her go alone with him."
+
+"Will you take us to the theatre to-night?" Georgette asked Dupont.
+
+"Why, certainly, mademoiselle, with the greatest pleasure! Am I not
+always at your service, and too happy if I can do anything to please
+you?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I know that you are extremely obliging; but I should
+dislike to abuse your good nature."
+
+"You cannot put it to the test too often. You know my sentiments for
+you, for I make no mystery of them; I am your loyal knight!"
+
+Young Colinet stared first at Dupont, then at Georgette, as if he were
+trying to fathom their meaning. The pretty embroiderer laughed heartily,
+as she said:
+
+"Then we'll go to the Cirque-National. They give fairy plays there, with
+transformation scenes;--you'll like that, Colinet."
+
+"I'll go wherever you say, Mamzelle Georgette."
+
+"It's strange," thought Dupont, "that she addresses this young man
+_thou_, while he uses _you_. After all, that's better than if it was the
+other way."
+
+That evening, he escorted Mademoiselle Georgette and young Colinet to
+the theatre of the Circus on Boulevard du Temple. I do not need to tell
+you that the numerous theatres that imparted so much animation to that
+boulevard were not then demolished. The play was a fairy extravaganza, a
+mixture of dancing and marvellous exploits, with frequent changes of
+scenery. The rather scant costumes of the female dancers made Colinet
+lower his eyes; sometimes he even turned his head away just when most
+of the spectators had their opera glasses fastened on the forms of those
+ladies.
+
+"Well, well! what are you thinking about?" Dupont would exclaim, nudging
+the young man; "you look away at the most delicious moment!"
+
+"I'm afraid of offending those ladies, if I look at them when they lift
+their legs in our direction," Colinet would reply, with a blush.
+
+"Poor fellow! he certainly isn't dangerous!" was Dupont's conclusion.
+"Still, my pretty embroiderer pays no attention to anyone else. When I
+speak to her, she hardly answers me, she doesn't seem to listen. I long
+for the time when her childhood's friend will return to his sheep."
+
+Dupont's wishes were soon gratified. On the Saturday Colinet said
+farewell to Georgette, who gave him two letters for her sisters and
+kisses for her parents. The young man took charge of them all, and went
+away sadly enough.
+
+"Why don't you come back with me?" he asked Georgette. "I should be so
+happy to take you back to the province! Do you enjoy yourself so very
+much in Paris, mamzelle?"
+
+"It isn't that I enjoy myself so much, Colinet; but I must stay here--I
+must!"
+
+"And will you have to stay long?"
+
+"I don't know; we will hope not. But I promise you, Colinet, that the
+day that takes me back to my parents will be the happiest day in my
+life."
+
+"And in mine too, mamzelle."
+
+"Really, Colinet? then you have much--friendship for me?"
+
+"I don't know what I have; but I would like never to leave you again."
+
+"We shall meet again, Colinet; don't forget me. I promise not to forget
+you."
+
+"Ah! Mamzelle Georgette, that promise makes me very happy!"
+
+And to prove his joy the poor boy burst into tears; then he kissed
+Georgette and ran away as fast as his legs would carry him, because he
+felt that if he delayed any longer he would not have the courage to go
+at all.
+
+Dupont called on his neighbor in the afternoon; he found her sad and
+thoughtful.
+
+"I opine that the young shepherd has gone," he said.
+
+"Yes, monsieur. He is very lucky: he is going to see my father and
+mother!"
+
+"No doubt. But it must be very monotonous to look at sheep all the time.
+You see, charming Georgette, there's nothing like Paris! It is the home
+of all pleasures; it is the place to which all the great talents, all
+the people of renown, come to be applauded! In a word, one really lives
+in Paris; elsewhere, one only vegetates!"
+
+"If that were true, monsieur, it would be most unfortunate for a great
+many people, for Paris isn't big enough to hold the whole world. But I
+think myself that one can be very happy elsewhere, when one is with
+those whom one loves and is able to confine one's desires within
+reasonable limits."
+
+"That is true, charming Georgette; you talk like Virgil, or Delille. It
+was the latter, I believe, who said:
+
+    "'Les vrais plaisirs aux champs ont fixé leur séjour;
+      On y craint plus les dieux, on y fait mieux l'amour!'[C]
+
+But as for making love, with all deference to Delille, that can be done
+very well in Paris; indeed, the art is carried to perfection here; and
+if you would only be less cruel to me---- But you are distraught! You
+don't seem to be listening!"
+
+"What did you say, monsieur?"
+
+"There! I was sure of it; you weren't listening to me! But I forgive
+you; the departure of your childhood's friend has saddened you. Come,
+you absolutely must have some diversion! To-morrow will be Sunday, and
+we must enjoy the day. Will you dine with me?"
+
+"With pleasure."
+
+"I will call for you at five o'clock; be ready then. We will dine at
+Bonvalet's, on the boulevard."
+
+"Wherever you choose; it's all the same to me."
+
+"Well, then, at Bonvalet's; they treat one very well there. Then we will
+go to one of the theatres opposite. It's all settled; and until then I
+leave you with your memories. Au revoir, dear neighbor, until
+to-morrow!"
+
+Dupont took his leave, rubbing his hands and saying to himself:
+
+"To-morrow will see my triumph! Between now and then, I will go to
+Bonvalet's, I will speak to one of the waiters, I will suborn him in my
+interest, and I will engage a private dining-room in advance, even
+though I have to pay its weight in gold!"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM
+
+
+The next day, punctually at five o'clock, Dupont appeared. He found
+Georgette dressed in her best clothes, but still pensive and careworn.
+
+"Decidedly, you regret your childhood's friend too much," said Dupont,
+with a smile. "You were always so light-hearted, singing all the time--I
+should hardly recognize you now!"
+
+"It isn't Colinet's going away that makes me thoughtful."
+
+"Oho! it isn't that? Then there's something else, is there?"
+
+"Perhaps so."
+
+"Something which you will confide to me?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"In that case, let us go to dinner."
+
+They went to the restaurant on Boulevard du Temple. As they were about
+to ascend the flight of stairs leading to the first floor, three
+gentlemen who seemed to have dined very well came down. One of them,
+finding himself face to face with Dupont, uttered an exclamation of
+surprise as he looked at him, and slapped him on the back.
+
+"Well, upon my word!" he cried; "this is an unexpected meeting! It's
+Dupont, dear old Dupont! What does this mean? You are in Paris, and
+haven't been to see me?"
+
+Dupont turned scarlet, he hung his head, and stammered:
+
+"Ah! is it you, Jolibois? Bonjour! How are you? Adieu!"
+
+And he tried to pass with Georgette, who had his arm.
+
+But Monsieur Jolibois caught him by the sleeve, and continued:
+
+"Well! do you hurry away like this when you meet a friend? When did you
+leave Brives-la-Gaillarde? Is your wife with you? Don't run away, I say;
+I'm very glad to see you. Poor Dupont! Do you still sleep like a marmot?
+For that's all you did when I was at Brives-la-Gaillarde, and your wife
+complained of it. Ha! ha! she complained bitterly, did your dear
+spouse!"
+
+Dupont was on the rack; if he had dared, he would have struck his friend
+Jolibois, to make him relax his hold, at the risk of knocking him
+downstairs. He tried to release his arm, muttering:
+
+"You have been dining, Jolibois, and dining very well, I should judge.
+But madame and I have not dined, and we would like to join our friends,
+who are waiting for us upstairs. I'll call on you; but let me go now,
+Jolibois; I promise you that I'll call to see you.--Come, my dear
+madame, they are waiting for us."
+
+With another jerk, Dupont succeeded in shaking off his persecutor. He
+hurried Georgette upstairs, leaving his friend Jolibois, who looked
+after them, crying:
+
+"Ah! you rascal! you think you can fool me! But I can guess--I see
+what's up! You're a rascal, Dupont! But don't be afraid: I won't tell
+your wife."
+
+Georgette did not say a word; she took pity on her escort's pitiable
+state. They reached the landing on the first floor. Dupont recognized
+his waiter and said to him:
+
+"Waiter, we would like a table in one of the public rooms."
+
+"There isn't one, monsieur; they're all taken. It's very hard to get one
+on Sunday, unless you come much earlier than this. But I happen to have
+a private room, just vacated; I will give you that."
+
+Dupont glanced at Georgette, who replied:
+
+"We wish to dine in a public room. Let us take a turn on the boulevard;
+we will come back in a little while, and probably we shall find a table
+then."
+
+"As you please, my dear friend," replied Dupont, who dared not insist,
+because the meeting with his friend Jolibois had made him very sheepish;
+but as they went away he made a sign to the waiter.
+
+They returned to the boulevard; it was a dull, damp day, and there was
+some mud on the pavement; but, as it was a Sunday, there was a great
+throng on the boulevards, for there are multitudes of people in Paris
+who are determined to walk out on Sunday, whatever the weather, and who,
+when the rain begins to fall in torrents, vanish only to reappear a
+moment later, armed with umbrellas, and stroll along, looking in the
+shop windows, as if the sun were shining.
+
+Dupont offered Georgette his arm; he did not know how to begin the
+conversation, being sadly embarrassed. The girl enjoyed his confusion
+for some minutes, then began:
+
+"Well, Monsieur l'Américain from Brives-la-Gaillarde, has your meeting
+with your friend Jolibois made you dumb? Really, that would be a pity,
+you say such pretty things sometimes!"
+
+Dupont tried to recover his self-possession, and replied:
+
+"My charming neighbor, I confess that that meeting was not very
+agreeable to me!"
+
+"Oh! I believe you there!"
+
+"In the first place, Jolibois was drunk; it was easy enough to see that
+he'd been drinking too much, for he didn't know what he was saying. He
+recognized me--and then he took me for somebody else."
+
+Georgette stopped, looked her escort squarely in the face, and said in a
+very sharp tone:
+
+"Monsieur Dupont, do you take me for a fool?"
+
+"I, mademoiselle? God forbid! On the contrary, I have every reason to
+know that you have a very keen intellect, that you reason perfectly, and
+that you are also exceedingly shrewd and satirical."
+
+"In that case, monsieur, don't try to go on with the lies you have told
+me, in which, by the way, I never placed much faith: for you are much
+more like a Limousin than an American. You were never an American. You
+came to Paris from Brives-la-Gaillarde, as your friend Jolibois has just
+told you. But what I am least able to forgive is your passing yourself
+off as a widower while your wife is still living! Fie, monsieur! to deny
+your wife is a shameful thing!"
+
+Dupont saw that he must abandon falsehood.
+
+"Mademoiselle," he faltered. "Well, yes--it is true--I admit it. But I
+was so anxious to make your acquaintance! And if I had told you I was
+married, you wouldn't have consented to receive me."
+
+"Why not? On the contrary, it would have given me more confidence in
+you. I would have said: 'Here's a man who doesn't try to deceive
+me.'--But to pretend to be a widower--to attempt to play the bachelor
+here, while your poor wife is lamenting your absence, no doubt!"
+
+"Oh, no! you may be quite easy in your mind as to that! My wife doesn't
+lament my absence in the least. She was one of the first to urge me to
+come to Paris, and to come without her."
+
+"And to pretend to be a bachelor?"
+
+"I don't say that she went so far as that; but when a woman allows her
+husband to travel without her, that means that she is willing he should
+play the bachelor; for, after all, my dear little neighbor, men aren't
+nuns, and you understand----"
+
+"Enough, monsieur, enough! not another word on that subject!"
+
+"Very good; I ask nothing better.--But I think I felt a drop of rain."
+
+"Yes, it's raining. Let's go back to the restaurant; there will probably
+be room now."
+
+They returned to Bonvalet's, where the waiter made the same reply:
+
+"Everything's taken in the public room; but I happen to have a private
+room; I advise you to take it quick, or somebody else will get
+possession."
+
+Dupont looked at Georgette, who replied:
+
+"All right! let's take the private room, as we can't do anything else."
+
+Our gallant was overjoyed. The waiter escorted them into a warm,
+comfortable, well-closed room, where a table was already laid for two.
+
+"Really, one would think that they expected us!" said Georgette,
+removing her bonnet and shawl.
+
+"Guests are always expected at a restaurant."
+
+"Of course; but these two covers all laid!"
+
+"It is probably a room in which they never put more than two."
+
+"No matter. Give your order quickly, monsieur, for I am awfully hungry."
+
+"I would like to know what you prefer."
+
+"Oh! I like everything."
+
+"And there is nothing that I don't like; so the matter can be easily
+arranged."
+
+Dupont ordered a choice, toothsome dinner, with a great variety of
+wines. He attempted to sit on a sofa beside Georgette; but she compelled
+him to sit opposite her, on the other side of the table.
+
+"You would be in my way at dinner," she said; "and I don't like to be
+hampered when I am eating."
+
+"I must not annoy her," said Dupont to himself. "I must go softly, for I
+have much to be forgiven for. Let's wait till the generous wines
+arrive."
+
+Georgette did honor to the dinner; but she drank very little, although
+her companion did his utmost to induce her to, crying, as he filled her
+glass with beaune première:
+
+"Above all things, don't put water in this wine; it would be downright
+murder! It's the most delicious beaune there is."
+
+"That makes absolutely no difference to me," replied the girl. "I never
+drink pure wine. I prefer it with water."
+
+"That's all right with common wines. But this, which costs four francs a
+bottle--it's sacrilege to put water in it!"
+
+"In that case, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you shouldn't have ordered
+anything but common wines; then you wouldn't have exposed me to the risk
+of committing crimes."
+
+Dupont was vexed; but, to compensate himself for his disappointment, he
+was very careful to drink his own beaune pure, and he resorted to it
+frequently, to keep up his courage and his gayety. He was beginning to
+risk an affectionate word or two, when Georgette abruptly interposed,
+saying:
+
+"Is madame your wife pretty?"
+
+Dupont frowned, as he replied:
+
+"Quite--but not so well built as you--far from it! Ah! if she had your
+enchanting figure!"
+
+"Are her eyes black or blue?"
+
+"They are--they are green, like a cat's."
+
+"Oh! what a misfortune! You say that your wife has eyes like a cat's?"
+
+"What do I care?--And your mouth is so lovely! Your smile charms me
+beyond words!"
+
+"And her teeth--are they fine?"
+
+"Whose teeth?"
+
+"Your wife's."
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, don't you propose to talk about anything but my
+wife? I will confess that I didn't ask you to dine with me in order to
+hear you talk about her."
+
+"That may be; but the subject is very interesting to me."
+
+"Must I tell you again, my lovely Georgette, that in Paris I have no
+wife, that I am a bachelor again?"
+
+"True; I know perfectly well that you would like to make people think
+so. But, after all, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you may be quite sure of
+one thing, and that is that it's a matter of indifference to me whether
+you are married or single."
+
+Dupont wondered how he ought to take that. He concluded to look upon it
+as an omen favorable to his love, and filled his neighbor's glass with
+grenache, saying:
+
+"This is a lady's wine, very sweet, which won't stand water. Taste it, I
+beg you."
+
+Georgette took one swallow of grenache, then put her glass on the table.
+
+"I don't like sweetened wines," she said.
+
+"Sapristi! what in heaven's name does she like?" thought Dupont; and to
+console himself, he emptied his own glass at a draught.
+
+But by dint of trying to maintain his aplomb, he became as red as his
+friend Jolibois; and when the champagne was brought, he left his chair
+and proposed to Georgette to dance the polka with him. She laughed in
+his face and sent him back to his seat. He filled a glass with champagne
+and offered it to the girl.
+
+"Don't you like champagne either?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, no! it has an effervescence, a sparkle, that arouses---- Does your
+wife like it?"
+
+Dupont brought his fist down on the table, drank a glass of champagne,
+and cried:
+
+"Upon my word, you're laughing at me! But you shall pay me for it! That
+calls for revenge, and I propose to avenge myself by kissing you."
+
+As he spoke, he rose and rushed toward Georgette, and tried to put his
+arms about her. But she checked him with a firm hand.
+
+"None of this nonsense, Monsieur Dupont," she said, "or I shall be
+seriously angry."
+
+"What, dear angel! do you really mean to refuse me this?"
+
+"I shall refuse you everything; you may be sure of that."
+
+"Oho! why, then you have been laughing at me, making a fool of me!"
+
+"In what way have I made a fool of you, monsieur?"
+
+"In what way? Why, in every way! When a woman accepts a man's
+attentions, when she consents to receive presents from him,--a shawl, a
+bonnet, and heaven knows what!--she doesn't send him about his business
+afterward, do you understand, mademoiselle?"
+
+"I understand, monsieur, that you are as foolish as you are impertinent.
+Did I ever give you the slightest hope that I would be your mistress?
+You taunt me for accepting a few paltry presents. I have made you some
+much more valuable ones, by consenting to receive your visits, to go to
+walk and to the theatre with you, to put my arm in yours. Do you count
+all that as nothing, monsieur?"
+
+"I don't say that. But you consented to dine with me in a private room;
+and when a woman goes to a private dining-room with a gentleman--it
+isn't for the purpose of being cruel. Everybody knows that."
+
+"Oh! I could well afford to dine tête-à-tête with you, monsieur, for you
+have never been at all dangerous to me."
+
+"Then why have you always refused until to-day?"
+
+"Because I didn't choose to give you hopes that could not be realized."
+
+"And why did you accept to-day?"
+
+"Because it bored me to walk about in the rain with you. But, never
+fear, monsieur, I shall not be caught again."
+
+Dupont was terribly put out; but self-esteem, the wine he had drunk, and
+the mocking glances of the girl, who seemed to defy him--all these
+excited him beyond measure, and he determined to face even Mademoiselle
+Georgette's wrath. He said to himself that he was nothing but a
+simpleton, that the girl was laughing at him, that he would never have
+so favorable an opportunity again, and that he would be a fool not to
+take advantage of it. All these reflections passed through his mind like
+a flash of lightning; having failed in his attempt to kiss his intended
+victim, he ventured to attack her in a different fashion. Instantly he
+received a smart blow as the reward of his audacity.
+
+"Leave me, monsieur," said Georgette, rising from her seat; "you are an
+insolent fellow, and I will not remain with you another minute."
+
+"Oh! I am very sorry, my lovely neighbor, but I will not leave you,"
+replied Dupont, who had lost his head completely; and he succeeded in
+seizing the short striped petticoat that Georgette had on. "No, no; I
+have got hold of that charming little skirt which is so becoming to you,
+and which I have gazed at and admired so often! I've got it, and I won't
+let it go."
+
+"All right! then keep it, monsieur, for it's all you will ever have of
+mine!"
+
+As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SECOND PETTICOAT
+
+
+On the day following that dinner, Mademoiselle Georgette left her modest
+little chamber on Rue de Seine very early in the morning; for she had
+taken care to give notice in the middle of the quarter.
+
+This time she hired lodgings in the Marais, on Boulevard Beaumarchais,
+where rows of handsome houses, solidly constructed, now replace the
+paths, shaded by secular trees, which used often to serve as places of
+assignation for lovelorn couples.
+
+The young embroiderer exchanged her attic room for a small apartment,
+still very modest, but indicating a less precarious financial condition.
+The furniture, too, was more pretentious; it was not that of a
+_petite-maîtresse_, but it was no longer that of a grisette.
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette changed her business also; she abandoned
+embroidery to become a shirtmaker; and as she sewed as well as she
+embroidered, she did not lack work.
+
+Lastly, the short fustian skirt gave place to a petticoat of black silk,
+which fell gracefully over her alluring figure and reached only halfway
+to her ankle, so that it disclosed the lower part of a very shapely leg
+and the beginning of a plump calf.
+
+In her own room, the pretty shirtmaker affected the costume that she
+wore in the attic on Rue de Seine, a tight-fitting white jacket, and the
+short skirt that was so becoming to her. Add to these, spotlessly clean
+white stockings, and a tiny foot neatly shod, and she was quite certain
+to turn the heads of all who saw her in that charming négligé.
+
+Georgette lived now at the rear of a courtyard; but that courtyard was
+spacious, airy, and well kept; it was square in shape, and the tenants
+of the building in front looked on the boulevard and on the courtyard,
+while those in the building at the rear had the latter view only; and
+when they sat at their windows, they could see nothing but one another.
+
+Georgette occupied two small rooms on the entresol. But above her was an
+elderly female annuitant, with her servant; their combined ages exceeded
+a century. On the next floor above, a family of honest bourgeois, who
+were always in bed at half-past ten. On the upper floor, a lady who gave
+lessons on the piano. In the building at her right lived an unmarried
+government clerk, who had a maid of all work. Above him, a lady of
+uncertain age, who had once been very pretty, and was still a great
+coquette; who covered her face with rice powder, cold cream, and red,
+blue, and black paint; who regretted the _mouches_ with which ladies
+used to spot their faces, but who had made, with the aid of a red-hot
+pin, two beauty spots--one on the left cheek, the other on a spot which
+is not seen. But, you will say, if it is not seen, why make the beauty
+spot there? Ah! you are too inquisitive! Pray, do not those persons who
+are gifted with second-sight see everything, even the most carefully
+hidden things? The second beauty spot was for them; magnetism is an
+invaluable science.
+
+Above this lady, whose name was Madame Picotée, were two young men who
+devoted themselves to literature, which did not prevent them from
+ogling their neighbors, when they were attractive.
+
+In the building at the left, on the first floor, was a dressmaker's
+establishment; on the second, a painter of miniatures; on the third, a
+photographer. In all the buildings, the rooms under the eaves were
+reserved for servants.
+
+The building that looked on the boulevard contained the handsomest
+apartments, and, consequently, the most important tenants of the house.
+
+On the first floor was a very rich gentleman with two servants: a maid
+and a valet. On the second, a young couple; the husband was engaged in
+business, the wife in coquetry; she was pretty and a flirt, he was ugly
+and a rake; they had a soubrette with a very wide-awake air, and a cook
+who drank too much.
+
+On the third floor was a young man who had just received his degree as a
+physician and who lacked nothing but patients; he looked for them and
+solicited them everywhere; he would have made some, if it had been
+possible, but only for the pleasure of taking care of them and the glory
+of curing them.
+
+After Mademoiselle Georgette took up her abode in the entresol at the
+rear of the courtyard, all eyes were fastened upon her, and the feminine
+glances were foremost in seeking to scrutinize and pass judgment on the
+new-comer; for women are more curious than men--that is a recognized
+fact.
+
+It was easy to obtain a sight of the latest arrival; it was April; the
+weather was very fine, the sun deigned to show his face frequently; and
+Mademoiselle Georgette, who was very glad to admit him to her little
+entresol, left her windows open almost all day, and, as her custom was,
+sat at her window working. You know what her costume was: the white
+jacket fitting close to her figure, and the skirt clinging about her
+hips.
+
+So that they could look at her and examine her at their ease; and as she
+was very attractive, very alluring in her simple costume, the women did
+not fail to discover that it was very unseemly, and that it was most
+unbecoming to her. They decided that the little shirtmaker did not know
+how to dress, and that she had no other beauty than her youth.
+
+The lady who painted her cheeks even went so far as to say that the
+girl's skirt was indecent, because it outlined her figure too plainly.
+To be sure, the lady in question no longer had any figure that could
+possibly be outlined by her garments; but, on the other hand, she was
+very fond of going to the Circus, where men perform daring feats on
+horseback, and she had never found any fault with the exceedingly tight
+nether garments worn by most of the riders.
+
+The men who lived in the house disagreed entirely with the opinion of
+the ladies. To a man, they voted the girl most attractive and
+exceedingly well built; and they rivalled one another in passing
+encomiums upon the grace with which she wore her modest costume. The
+short black petticoat was declared to be enchanting; and from the first
+to the topmost floor, the male tenants said to one another:
+
+"Have you seen the girl on the entresol, with her little short skirt?"
+
+"Yes, she's very piquant, is that young woman; she has such a
+well-set-up figure, and such well-rounded hips! She reminds me of the
+famous Spanish dancer, Camera Petra."
+
+"Yes, yes, there's a resemblance in her skirt. I saw her in the yard,
+drawing water at the pump."
+
+"Still in her simple négligé?"
+
+"Yes. Ah! messieurs, if you could have seen her pump! She was so
+graceful, and her skirt followed her motions so perfectly! It was enough
+to drive a man mad!"
+
+"She has a very pretty leg too, and a tiny foot."
+
+"She's a mighty pretty girl! I must try to make a conquest of her."
+
+"And I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"And I," said the photographer to himself; "I'll do it quicker than any
+of 'em, as I'll go to her and suggest taking her picture on a card; for
+all these young girls are delighted to have their picture."
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN
+
+
+There was one man in the house who said nothing; to be sure, he was too
+lofty a personage to gossip with his neighbors! It was the man who
+occupied the first-floor suite in the building on the boulevard. His
+name was Monsieur de Mardeille; was he of noble birth, or was he not?
+that is of little consequence to us; but this much is certain: he had
+about twenty-five thousand francs a year and he never spent the whole of
+his income.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was at this time about fifty years of age, but he
+looked hardly forty-four. He had been a very comely person, and was
+still far from ill-looking. He was of commanding stature, well built,
+and had had the good fortune not to grow stout as he grew older; thus he
+was still capable of making conquests, his physical advantages being
+reinforced by those due to the possession of wealth. Always dressed in
+the height of fashion, but wise enough to avoid those extreme styles
+which, while they are endurable in a young man, are ridiculous in middle
+age, Monsieur de Mardeille had a distinguished bearing and the manners
+of the best society; and lastly, while he was no eagle, he had that
+social cleverness which often consists only in a good memory, and is
+infinitely more common than natural cleverness. With all the rest, he
+was exceedingly presumptuous, and believed himself to be very shrewd.
+
+It is almost superfluous to say that Monsieur de Mardeille took the
+greatest care of his health, for he was most solicitous to retain his
+good looks, and, consequently, his youth; which last is a decidedly
+difficult thing to do, as we grow older every day. But still, so long as
+a man has a youthful look he tries to persuade himself that he is really
+young; to be sure, there is always something in our inmost being that
+reminds us how old we are; but so long as that something does not let
+itself be seen, we are entitled to forget it.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, then, took the greatest care of his person; he
+took medicinal baths twice a week; he took all the laxatives that keep
+the complexion fresh; he indulged in no excess, either at the table or
+in love. In fact, as he was a man who thought of nothing but himself, he
+had never allowed himself to undergo the slightest annoyance because of
+a woman, for egotists never love. Moreover, this gentleman prided
+himself upon never having spent money on a mistress. We do not call it
+spending money when we take a lady to dine at a restaurant, or to the
+play, or to the Bois in a calèche; for, in such cases, as we have our
+share of the pleasure, and as we gratify our vanity by parading our
+conquest, the money is spent for our own behoof. So that Monsieur de
+Mardeille, having thus far succeeded in having _bonnes fortunes_ that
+cost him nothing, laughed at his friends, most of whom ruined
+themselves, or at least ran into debt, to satisfy the whims of the fair
+ones for whom they sighed.
+
+"What the devil!" he would say, looking at himself in a mirror; "do as I
+do, messieurs! No woman ever resisted me, and yet I never gave them
+diamonds or cashmere shawls--still less, money, egad! And I have always
+taken good care not to pay their milliner's bills; whenever it has
+happened that a lady who had been kind to me has taken it into her head
+to send one of her purveyors to me with a little note begging me to help
+her out of a scrape by paying his bill, I have always begun by turning
+the man out of doors; and then I have ceased visiting my fair one, to
+whom I have written: 'I found it impossible to accommodate you, and I
+dare not see you again.'--Then my mistress was certain to come running
+after me, overwhelming me with tokens of affection, and crying: 'Can it
+be that you thought that I loved you from selfish motives? Why, it is
+you, you alone, whom I love! Oh! come back, come back!'--I have
+generally let them pull my ear for a while, and then gone back, amid
+transports of love on their part. For you may be perfectly sure,
+messieurs, that a woman will never love a man more because he is very
+gallant and very generous with her. She will take more pains about
+deceiving him, that's all; for she will hate to lose his gifts and his
+bounty; but what pleasure is there in possessing a woman who clings to
+you only from motives of self-interest?"
+
+"But," some of his friends would reply, "have you never felt the
+pleasure of giving? Are you insensible to the delight one feels in
+gratifying a woman's desires, in humoring her fancies, her caprices, and
+in the sweet smile with which she thanks you when you take her a
+present, whether it be some pretty trifle, or a magnificent jewel?"
+
+"Pardieu! I can readily believe that she smiles at you then; you
+wouldn't have her make a face at you, would you? But that gracious
+smile, which transports and intoxicates you, is not bestowed on you, but
+on the jewel or the shawl that you bring her. And perhaps you think that
+she loves you the more for it? Why, not at all; she will deceive you the
+next minute, making fun of you with the friend of her heart, to whom she
+will laughingly show the present you have just given her. No, messieurs,
+I do not know, nor have I any desire to know, what you choose to call
+the pleasure of giving. For that pleasure would deprive me of all
+confidence in my mistress; and if I am deceived, I can, at all events,
+say that it has cost me nothing.--And then," De Mardeille would add, "I
+must say that I have always chosen my conquests in good society, and
+that, consequently, my mistresses did not need to have me treat them
+generously."
+
+"That proves nothing. Whatever a woman's rank, she is always flattered
+to receive a handsome present."
+
+"Perhaps so; but, on the other hand, I am much more flattered when she
+loves me without any presents."
+
+Now you know the gentleman who lived directly opposite Georgette, and
+whose windows, being on the first floor, enabled him to look directly
+into the apartments in the entresol opposite; which entresol was
+occupied by the pretty shirtmaker, who, as we have already had the
+privilege of informing you, often left her windows open to enjoy the
+balmy spring air, and perhaps also to allow her neighbors to see her.
+When a woman is pretty, she does not hide herself, unless she is under
+the sway of a jealous tyrant. And even then she finds a way to let some
+portion of her person be seen, which may kindle a desire to see the
+rest.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille condescended occasionally to sit at a window in
+his dining-room, which looked on the courtyard; and there, in a stylish
+négligé, enveloped in a handsome dressing-gown, of velvet or dimity
+according to the season, his head covered with a dainty cap, the tassel
+of which fell gracefully over his right ear, and from beneath which
+escaped some stray brown locks, which were sternly forbidden to turn
+gray, my gentleman would bestow a glance or two on those of his
+neighbors who were worth the trouble of looking at. But thus far he had
+discovered nobody in the house who deserved to be scrutinized for more
+than an instant.
+
+When Georgette moved in, Monsieur de Mardeille's valet lost no time in
+informing his master that he had a new neighbor opposite, and added:
+
+"I thought she seemed to be very good-looking."
+
+"Ah! she seemed to you to be good-looking?" replied the old dandy, with
+a smile. "What sort of woman is this new tenant?"
+
+"She's an unmarried woman, so it seems, monsieur, and she makes men's
+shirts."
+
+"A shirtmaker! What! do you presume to praise a shirtmaker to me,
+Frontin?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille had insisted that his valet should consent to be
+called Frontin, although his real name was Eustache; for the name
+Frontin, which used to be employed in all comic operas, reminded our
+elegant seducer of a multitude of interesting and diverting love
+intrigues, wherein Frontin's master was always triumphant; and it was
+probably with a view to reproducing in actual life those scenes of the
+stage that Monsieur de Mardeille had dubbed his servant Frontin. If he
+had dared, he would have called him Figaro; but he himself was beginning
+to be a little mature to play Almaviva.
+
+Frontin, a great clown who deemed himself very shrewd, smiled as he
+answered:
+
+"Faith! monsieur, I thought that a pretty girl was a pretty girl, even
+if she was a shirtmaker!"
+
+"There may be some little truth in what you say, Frontin; but so far as
+I am concerned, you must understand that I look at women with other eyes
+than yours; that is to say, to appear pretty to me, a young woman, even
+a grisette,--for I do not absolutely debar grisettes,--must have
+something more than the commonplace beauties which charm you other men
+on the instant. She must have a--I don't know what--a certain peculiar
+fascination which we connoisseurs readily recognize, and to which the
+common herd of martyrs pay no heed. Tell me, Frontin, what you noticed
+especially alluring in this girl? I shall see at once whether you're an
+expert."
+
+"What I noticed, monsieur?"
+
+"Yes. And, first of all, where did you see her?"
+
+"I saw her pass this morning, monsieur, crossing the courtyard; I was in
+the concierge's lodge, and he said to me: 'See, there's the new tenant
+of the little entresol! That's Mamzelle Georgette; she's a shirtmaker,
+and she sews like a fairy, so they say.'--Naturally, I looked at her. I
+should say that she's about twenty, very well built, with very pleasant,
+attractive eyes; eyes of the sort that--that----"
+
+"Enough, Frontin, I understand. What else?"
+
+"_Dame!_ monsieur, her nose is a little turned up, and she has a very
+large mouth; I saw her teeth when she spoke to the concierge; there
+isn't one missing, monsieur."
+
+"Pardieu! if her teeth were decaying at twenty, that would be
+unfortunate!"
+
+"But I mean that her teeth are very white and even; and her cheeks are
+rosy and fresh."
+
+"I see! a simple, country beauty! she's probably just from the country."
+
+"Oh, no! she doesn't look in the least like a peasant; she carries
+herself too easily for that."
+
+"Well, I will see, I will examine her, I will run my eye over her. But I
+will wager--a toothpick--that your pretty neighbor is a mere ordinary
+beauty. Does she ever sit at her window?"
+
+"Oh! better than that, monsieur: she leaves all her windows wide open,
+and from ours we can look right into her room; we can even see her
+little bed in the rear!"
+
+"Ah! we can even see her bed? And she leaves her windows open?"
+
+"I presume that she shuts them when she goes to bed. And she has
+curtains."
+
+"Ah! Frontin, you knave, you have noticed all that! she has curtains!
+Parbleu! it would be a pretty state of things if she hadn't! Morals,
+Frontin, morals! However, I will take a look at this young woman whom
+you think pretty, and tell you if you know what you're talking about."
+
+"Oh! I am sure that monsieur will agree with me."
+
+A few moments later, Frontin ran to his master and said:
+
+"Monsieur, our young neighbor's windows opposite are wide open, and
+she's sewing at one of them; you can see her at your ease."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille arose, saying:
+
+"This devil of a Frontin! he insists that I must see his little
+shirtmaker. But beware! if you have disturbed me just to show me some
+commonplace face, I shall withdraw my confidence in your taste."
+
+Although he pretended that he went to look at his new neighbor solely to
+oblige his servant, he was not at all sorry to assure himself whether
+she was in fact as attractive as Frontin said; for Monsieur de Mardeille
+had always been very fond of the fair sex; to seek to attract women had
+been almost the sole occupation of his life; and for the last few years
+that occupation had been much more laborious, and had demanded much more
+time and trouble. It is useless to appear only forty-four years old when
+one is fifty; there are women who think forty-four too old--usually
+those who are about that age themselves. A middle-aged man finds it
+easier to make the conquest of a mere girl than of a woman who has known
+life. Why is it? Probably because the former lacks the experience of the
+other.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille took up his position at one of his dining-room
+windows; he assumed a graceful attitude, leaning on the window sill; he
+pushed his cap a little farther over his right ear, then turned his eyes
+to this side and that, not choosing to let anyone suppose that he had
+come there to look at the new tenant of the entresol.
+
+Soon, however, he carelessly cast a glance in that direction. Georgette
+was sitting at the window, sewing, and from time to time she too glanced
+into the courtyard; there is no law against a young woman's desiring to
+become acquainted with the faces of her neighbors.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille therefore was able to scrutinize the young
+shirtmaker's features at his leisure. She, when she raised her eyes from
+her work, saw plainly enough that her opposite neighbor was examining
+her; but that fact seemed not to embarrass her in the least, for she
+raised her head as often as before to look out of her window.
+
+"Not bad! not bad!" muttered Monsieur de Mardeille; "a little nose _à
+la_ Roxelane, fresh cheeks, eyes that look bright enough and saucy
+enough! But nothing extraordinary; I have seen all that a hundred times.
+She's rather a pretty girl, but nothing more. She doesn't deserve all
+your high-flown praise, my poor Frontin."
+
+But thus far he had only seen Georgette seated, so that he had no
+opportunity to admire the shapeliness of her figure or the grace of her
+carriage. Luckily, chance willed---- But was it really chance? We will
+not take our oath to it; women are so quick at divining what is
+calculated to seduce us! But, no matter! let us charge it to the account
+of chance that it occurred to the girl to leave her seat to water a
+small pot of violets that stood on the other window sill.
+
+Thereupon her opposite neighbor had an opportunity to watch her walk
+about her room; for one does not find on the instant all that one
+requires to water flowers, especially when one has no watering pot. So
+he saw Mademoiselle Georgette in her jacket and short petticoat; he
+could even see her foot and the lower part of her leg; for the
+girl--still by chance--went several times to the rear of the room,
+walking back and forth, after she had watered her flowers; and Monsieur
+de Mardeille, who was about to turn away from the window, remained
+there, and did not stir.
+
+"Ah! the devil!" he was muttering now; "ah! that's very pretty, that is!
+_Fichtre!_ what a figure! what hips! what a foot! what a leg! This is
+infinitely superior to all the rest. What a brisk walk! She reminds me
+of Béranger's ballad."
+
+And he began to hum:
+
+    "'Ma Frétillon! ma Frétillon!
+              Cette fille
+              Qui frétille,
+      N'a pourtant qu'un cotillon!'"
+
+Amazed to hear his master sing, Frontin said, with a downcast
+expression:
+
+"So, monsieur doesn't think that the little one opposite deserves all I
+said in her praise?"
+
+"Hush! hush! hold your tongue, Frontin!" replied Monsieur de Mardeille,
+without leaving the window or taking his eyes off his neighbor; "I said
+that, but I hadn't then seen her graceful, willowy form, or the little
+black skirt that outlines her voluptuous hips so perfectly. It is
+adorable! Indeed, it is well deserving of one's attention! And her foot!
+she has a charming foot! and the leg promises----"
+
+"Ah! I am very glad that monsieur sees that I was right, and----"
+
+"Hush, Frontin, hush! She's looking in this direction."
+
+Georgette had, in fact, raised her head at that moment, and her eyes had
+met her neighbor's of the first floor. Monsieur de Mardeille eagerly
+seized the opportunity to bestow a gracious salutation upon the new
+tenant, who replied with a courtesy and a very amiable smile.
+
+Thereupon Monsieur de Mardeille left his window, saying:
+
+"We must not be too lavish of our attentions at once! But from the way
+the little one smiled at me, I see that this conquest will not cost me
+much trouble."
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK
+
+
+While Monsieur de Mardeille deemed himself certain of triumphing over
+the young shirtmaker, almost all the other tenants of the house were
+trying to make a favorable impression on her. Georgette's little skirt
+had turned all their heads. The young men of letters were pleased to
+write verses in her honor, to commemorate her seductive figure in a
+ballad; they proposed to immortalize Georgette as Béranger immortalized
+Lisette, as all lovelorn poets have tried to immortalize their
+mistresses and their love affairs. Each of them believed himself to be a
+Virgil, a Catullus, a Tibullus, a Petrarch. There is no harm in that: we
+ought always to believe ourselves to be something; it affords one so
+much pleasure and costs so little!
+
+The miniature painter determined to propose to paint the girl's
+portrait. The photographer hoped that she would allow him to photograph
+her in all sizes and in different attitudes.
+
+The young doctor was bent upon attending her, and prayed heaven to
+inflict some trifling indisposition upon his pretty neighbor which would
+compel her to have recourse to his skill. The married man, who was very
+ugly and had a pretty wife, naturally considered the shirtmaker much
+better-looking than his wife. As he lived above Monsieur de Mardeille,
+he too had an excellent view of Georgette's apartment. So he frequently
+stationed himself at one of the windows in his dining-room; and from
+thence, not content with staring at his neighbor, he had no scruple
+about making signs and throwing kisses to her--in a word, indulging in a
+pantomime most discreditable to a married man. The truth was that he
+knew that his wife was not jealous, and that she paid little heed to his
+acts and gestures.
+
+In fact, even the old bachelor, who had a maid of all work, ventured to
+make eyes at the pretty shirtmaker, despite his fifty-five years; and as
+his windows were not opposite hers, in order to see her he was obliged
+to lean very far out of his window.
+
+Thereupon the maid of all work never failed to cry out:
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, it's perfectly ridiculous to lean out like that!
+What is it you're trying to see, anyway? Is monsieur trying to throw
+himself out of the window on account of the little shirtmaker on the
+entresol? On my word, she isn't worth the trouble! She's no great
+wonder; and then, monsieur won't have anything to show for the crick in
+his neck, for the girl never looks in this direction."
+
+And the bachelor, irritated, but desirous none the less to deal gently
+with his maid, would reply:
+
+"You don't know what you are talking about, Arthémise! I don't look in
+one direction more than another. I stand at the window because it does
+me good to breathe the fresh air. I don't pay any attention to my
+neighbors; I didn't even know that there was a shirtmaker on the
+entresol."
+
+"Oh, yes! tell that to the marines! you can't fool me! Why, all the men
+in the house are getting cracked over that girl! It's easy enough to see
+that, for they pass about all their time at their windows, now."
+
+In truth, as soon as Georgette's window was open and she sat down by it
+to work, you would see a head appear on the fourth floor, then another
+on the second; and sometimes they all appeared at the same moment. It
+seemed to amuse Georgette, who would respond affably with a little nod
+to the salutations addressed to her from every floor.
+
+The female contingent was horrified by the conduct of the gentlemen; for
+no one of them had ever shown the slightest desire to gaze at one of the
+beauties of the establishment; to be sure, there were none, save the
+ugly man's wife, and she never appeared at any of the windows looking on
+the courtyard. Her bedroom faced the boulevard, and she would have
+considered that she compromised her reputation by showing herself at one
+of the rear windows.
+
+By way of compensation, her husband was one of the most enterprising,
+one of those who tried most frequently to see Georgette, and who
+indulged in telegraphic signals to which the young shirtmaker paid no
+attention whatever. But that did not discourage Monsieur Bistelle,--that
+was the gentleman's name,--who continued to throw kisses to the girl,
+which she pretended not to see; it scandalized all the neighbors,
+however.
+
+The young dressmakers amused themselves at Monsieur Bistelle's expense,
+and pointed him out to one another as soon as he appeared at his window.
+The lady of the beauty spot, Madame Picotée, always stationed herself
+at her window as soon as her neighbor came to his, and burst into roars
+of laughter, a little forced. At every kiss that Monsieur Bistelle threw
+to Georgette, she cried:
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! what fools some men are! but I never saw one quite so bad
+as this fellow! And a married man, too! why, it's shocking! The Bastille
+ought to be rebuilt on purpose for such people."
+
+Monsieur Bistelle heard it all; but it made no impression on him, and he
+often said to himself, in an undertone:
+
+"Bah! if I had chosen to send her a kiss, she wouldn't have thought it
+so shocking!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to act so foolishly as his
+neighbor on the second floor. He also stood at his window to look at
+Georgette; but, far from making signs and throwing kisses to her, he
+contented himself with a low bow, to which the girl never failed to
+respond with a pleasant smile. But as Bistelle was often looking out
+just as Georgette nodded and smiled, he took for himself the salutation
+addressed to the floor below; so that his hopes gained strength; he was
+enchanted; he would rub his hands in glee and sometimes go down to walk
+in the courtyard, where he would stop under the shirtmaker's windows,
+humming:
+
+    "''Tis here that Rose doth dwell!'"
+
+or:
+
+    "'When one knows how to love and please,
+      What other blessing doth he lack?'"
+
+And the young dressmakers never failed to clap their hands and demand an
+encore. One day, Madame Picotée had the bright idea of tossing him two
+sous, which he laughingly picked up and put in his pocket, saying:
+"This will buy me some rouge and rice powder."--Which remark maddened
+the lady of the beauty spot, who ran for her slop jar and would have
+emptied it on her neighbor, but for the presence of the concierge, who
+was sweeping the courtyard.
+
+Meanwhile Frontin, who soon discovered that his master was enamored of
+the damsel of the entresol, told him all that happened in the house, and
+all the foolish freaks to which Monsieur Bistelle resorted in his
+endeavors to commend himself to Mademoiselle Georgette.
+
+"What do you say? that ugly creature hopes to make a conquest of that
+pretty grisette?" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "didn't he ever look at
+himself in the glass?"
+
+"I don't know whether he knows how ugly he is," replied Frontin; "but I
+assure you, monsieur, that he flatters himself that he has made an
+impression on Mademoiselle Georgette; he declares that she smiles
+sweetly at him when he's at his window."
+
+"Smiles! Why, it's at me that the girl smiles, not at him! It's
+impossible that it should be at him! The conceited ass! the monkey! for
+the fellow looks very much like a monkey, doesn't he, Frontin?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; and he makes gestures like one, too."
+
+"What! do you mean to say that he presumes to do what monkeys do?"
+
+"Faith! monsieur, he goes through some very curious performances;
+they're very much like it! But that isn't all."
+
+"What else is there, Frontin?"
+
+"I know that Monsieur Bistelle sent a very fine bouquet to Mademoiselle
+Georgette this morning."
+
+"A bouquet! The popinjay! He had the assurance! And did the little one
+accept his bouquet?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; indeed, it's on her window sill now."
+
+"Can it be possible? I must look."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in going where he could see the
+shirtmaker's window; he not only saw a huge bouquet on the sill, but he
+saw Monsieur Bistelle walking in the courtyard and humming:
+
+    "And if I am not there,
+     At least my flowers will be."
+
+"Well, well! I must act, that is plain!" said the elderly dandy to
+himself; "I must declare myself in some other way than by standing at
+the window. Still, I can't make a straight dash for that grisette's
+rooms; that might compromise me. Ah! I have an idea! It's as simple as
+can be. She makes shirts. There's a pretext right at my hand.--Look you,
+Frontin."
+
+"Here I am, monsieur."
+
+"I want you to go to Mademoiselle Georgette's."
+
+"The pretty neighbor's?"
+
+"Yes; you will present yourself in my name, and most politely. You will
+say to her that, as I have heard that she is a shirtmaker and as I have
+some very fine shirts to be made up---- That isn't true; I don't need
+any, but they are always useful and I can safely order a dozen.--You
+will say to her then, that, as I have some work for her, I shall be much
+obliged if she will take the trouble to come to my rooms. You
+understand: in this way, I don't compromise myself, and I shall be able
+to talk to her much more freely than in her apartment."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes; I will go and do your errand."
+
+"Be perfectly courteous and respectful; that flatters these little
+girls."
+
+"Yes, monsieur; and you don't want me to take her a bouquet too?"
+
+"Nonsense! what good do bouquets do? There's nothing so commonplace! Do
+you suppose that I intend to copy Monsieur Bistelle? No, no, never a
+bouquet; I don't need that sort of thing to succeed. Go, Frontin; if the
+young shirtmaker asks you at what time I can receive her, say that she
+is entirely at liberty to choose the hour that is most convenient to
+her, and that she will always be welcome. I think that's rather pretty,
+eh? That's worth more than a bouquet."
+
+Frontin departed, to perform the mission with which his master had
+intrusted him. But the bouquet sent to Georgette by Bistelle had been
+seen by the whole house. Instantly, as if he had lighted a train of
+powder, all the aspirants to the girl's favor had determined that they
+must not lag behind, and that the moment had come to try to make her
+acquaintance.
+
+The young literary man who dabbled in poetry purchased a small bunch of
+violets for two sous--we are all gallant according to our means;--but he
+wrapped it in a sheet of note paper, whereon he had written this
+quatrain:
+
+    "Je vous ai vue, agissant à la pompe;
+     En vous tout est charmant, tout est vrai, rien ne trompe;
+     Vous déployez alors des mouvements si doux,
+     Que l'on se damnerait pour pomper avec vous!"[D]
+
+The young poet gave his bouquet and his verses to the concierge, to be
+delivered, instructing him to say to the girl that she must read what
+was written on the paper. A little later, the poet's confrère also
+appeared with a modest bouquet; but his forte was vaudevilles rather
+than poetry, so that the offering which accompanied his flowers was a
+ballad, and he laid the same injunction on the concierge.
+
+Next came the photographer, who sent a package of photographs of the
+most popular actors. It is well known that young working girls, as a
+general rule, have a pronounced penchant for actors. Our photographer
+had no doubt that his gift would be most acceptable, and he told the
+concierge to say to Mademoiselle Georgette that he would be highly
+flattered if he might be permitted to photograph her.
+
+Next came the miniature painter, who sent a dainty pasteboard box on
+which he had painted a swarm of little cupids in exceedingly graceful
+attitudes. As he handed his box to the concierge, he said:
+
+"You will not fail to assure Mademoiselle Georgette that the artist who
+executed all these cupids would esteem himself very fortunate if he
+might paint his neighbor's portrait free of charge, and in whatever
+costume may be most agreeable to her."
+
+A few moments after the miniature painter, the young doctor appeared and
+handed the concierge a package, saying:
+
+"Be kind enough to hand this to Mademoiselle Georgette, with my
+compliments; it contains mauve, linden leaves, and poppy seeds; they are
+all excellent to take when one has a cold, and it rarely happens that a
+person goes a whole year without a cold. You will say to the young lady
+that I solicit her permission to attend her."
+
+Lastly, the old bachelor himself had purchased a box of candied fruit,
+without his maid-servant's knowledge. But he took care not to intrust
+his gift to the concierge, for if he did he knew that his servant would
+certainly be told of it. So he went out on the boulevard and found a
+little bootblack, to whom he handed his box and gave instructions where
+to deliver it; and as he did not choose to remain incognito, lest his
+pretty neighbor should attribute his gift to somebody else, he
+instructed his messenger to say to her:
+
+"Your neighbor, Monsieur Renardin, sends you this box, with his
+compliments.--Above all things," he added, "don't stop at the
+concierge's lodge, and don't speak to him; go straight to Mademoiselle
+Georgette's room on the entresol. You are paid, so take nothing from
+her."
+
+Affairs were in this condition when Monsieur de Mardeille sent his valet
+Frontin to Georgette's room. From early morning, the concierge, having
+received the presents one after another, had passed all his time going
+back and forth from his lodge to the entresol, where the young
+shirtmaker accepted without hesitation everything that was sent to her,
+simply saying to the concierge:
+
+"Say to monsieur that I thank him."
+
+"Don't forget to read the verses, mademoiselle; there's verses written
+on the paper," said the concierge, when he delivered the bunches of
+violets.
+
+"All right; I'll read everything, but I shall not answer anything."
+
+Georgette had read the quatrain, and was humming the vaudevillist's
+ballad, which was written to the tune of _La Boulangère_, laughing
+heartily at the words:
+
+    "Vous avez un minois fripon,
+     Une taille tres-fine;
+     L'oeil assassin, le pied mignon,
+     La tournure mutine;
+     J'admire enfin votre jupon
+     Et tout ce qu'on devine
+             De rond,
+     Et tout ce qu'on devine!"[E]
+
+when the concierge appeared once more, with the package of photographs
+of actors; and a few moments later with the box adorned with cupids.
+
+"What! more?" said Georgette. "Why, these gentlemen seem to have passed
+the word around to-day to pay compliments to me!"
+
+"Faith! yes, mademoiselle, they're standing in line at my door. But I
+don't complain; to tell you the truth, all these young men are well
+intentioned; all they want is to pay their respects to you; that's what
+they told me to tell you."
+
+"I accept the little gifts, monsieur; they serve to keep up--pleasant
+relations; but be good enough to say to these gentlemen that I do not
+want their respects, and beg them not to take the trouble of coming to
+offer them to me."
+
+"The devil!" muttered the concierge, as he went away; "the young
+shirtmaker is one of the virtuous kind, it seems; and these gentlemen
+won't have anything to show for their presents! But in spite of that,
+she accepts everything that comes!"
+
+Georgette had just received the package of simples presented by the
+young doctor and had repeated her previous reply to the concierge, when
+Monsieur de Mardeille's valet presented himself at her door.
+
+He saluted her with the unceremonious air commonly assumed by servants
+who think that their appearance is most welcome; and when Georgette
+asked him what he wanted, he replied in an almost patronizing tone:
+
+"I come, mademoiselle, from my master, Monsieur de Mardeille--the
+gentleman who lives opposite, on the first floor--an apartment that
+rents for three thousand francs. My master is very rich; he has more
+than twenty-five thousand francs a year; he might have a carriage if he
+chose; he has money enough. The only reason that he hasn't one is that
+he doesn't want it."
+
+Georgette laughed in the servant's face.
+
+"Well! what of it?" she retorted. "What do you suppose I care whether
+your master has a carriage or not, or how much he pays for his
+apartment? Did he send you here to tell me that? Oh! that would be too
+stupid!"
+
+Monsieur Frontin was a little disconcerted to find that he had not
+produced more effect. He continued, in a less lofty tone:
+
+"No, mademoiselle, no; my master didn't send me here to tell you that.
+But I thought--I supposed you would be glad to be informed. One likes to
+know with whom one is dealing."
+
+"Do your errand; that will be better than your long speeches."
+
+This time Frontin was altogether disconcerted; he expected to find a
+young seamstress only too delighted to receive a message from his
+master, and he found that he had to do with a young woman who seemed
+strongly inclined to laugh at him. So he decided to be very polite, and
+said in a respectful tone:
+
+"My master, mademoiselle, having occasion to have some shirts made, and
+knowing that you work in that line, requests you to be kind enough to
+call at his apartment, so that he may give you his order and be
+measured."
+
+"Monsieur," replied Georgette, in a very decided tone, "you will say to
+your master that I am not in the habit of calling upon unmarried men. If
+he were married, if his wife were with him, why, I would gladly comply
+with his request, there would be no difficulty about it; but as he is
+alone----"
+
+"He has a maid, mademoiselle, and myself."
+
+"Servants don't count, monsieur. I shall not go to your master's
+apartment; if he has an order to give me, he can take the trouble to
+come here; I will receive him and his twenty-five thousand francs a
+year, with or without a carriage!"
+
+Frontin was piqued; in the first place, because the young woman had said
+that servants did not count; and secondly, because she seemed to make
+very little account of his master's exalted position. He replied, with
+evident irritation:
+
+"Why, where would be the harm, mademoiselle? Suppose you should come to
+Monsieur de Mardeille's rooms; you wouldn't be the first one to do it!
+He receives ladies--a great many ladies! And they _are_ ladies, too, who
+don't work for everybody."
+
+"Monsieur le valet de chambre, you are a donkey! You talk nothing but
+nonsense!"
+
+"What's that? I am a donkey! Allow me----"
+
+"I don't doubt that your master receives many ladies, and for that very
+reason I don't propose to add to the number."
+
+"But----"
+
+"Enough of this! You have my answer; go and repeat it to Monsieur de
+Mardeille."
+
+Frontin was on the point of making some retort, when a great uproar in
+the courtyard attracted the attention of all the tenants of the house.
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT
+
+
+The reader will remember that Monsieur Renardin, one of Georgette's
+neighbors, who had a maid of all work, had purchased a box of candied
+fruit and had employed a little bootblack to deliver it to Georgette,
+and had told him that she lived on the entresol at the rear of the
+courtyard.
+
+But the young fellow, who was a messenger as well as a bootblack, was a
+child of Auvergne, and had just as much intelligence as he required to
+black boots or to carry a pail of water; almost all water carriers are
+Auvergnats. He put the box of candied fruit under his arm; it was
+carefully wrapped in white paper and tied with pink ribbon. He entered
+the designated house, and, passing the concierge's door with his head in
+the air, started across the courtyard; but the concierge, who had seen
+him pass, ran out of his lodge and stopped him, saying:
+
+"Where in the devil are you going, you young scamp? What do you mean by
+marching by my door without a word? That's no way to go into a house, do
+you hear, Savoyard?"
+
+"I ain't no Savoyard, I'm an Auvergnat."
+
+"Savoyard or Auvergnat! I don't care which, they're the same thing!
+Where are you going, I say?"
+
+"I'm not speaking to you! I'm going straight ahead."
+
+"I see that you don't speak to me; but I speak to you; I'm the
+concierge, and I have a right to question you, and you must answer."
+
+"I'm not to speak to the concierge, that's my orders. I'm going straight
+ahead."
+
+"What an obstinate little beggar! I tell you, you shan't pass till I
+know where you're going!"
+
+"But I tell you I'm going straight ahead to take this box."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"I won't tell you."
+
+"I'll make you tell me! What's in the box? explosive stuff, perhaps? If
+you won't answer, I'll take you and your box before the magistrate."
+
+The concierge seized the boy's arm; he struggled and wept, and shouted
+at the top of his lungs:
+
+"Let me be--you big thief! Monsieur Renardin, your neighbor, sent me
+here, and I'll tell him that you wouldn't let me do my errand!"
+
+Mademoiselle Arthémise, the old bachelor's servant, crossed the
+courtyard at that moment. Hearing her master's name, she stopped short,
+then ran to the messenger.
+
+"Monsieur Renardin!" she cried; "who wants Monsieur Renardin? This
+little fellow?--What do you want of him?"
+
+"Why, no, he doesn't want him; he says that he comes here from him,"
+said the concierge; "if the little donkey had only said that at first,
+I'd have let him pass."
+
+"From him--he comes from him? Then it's me he wants. Monsieur Renardin
+must have sent him to me. What do you want of me, my boy?"
+
+The little Auvergnat looked at Mademoiselle Arthémise, who was a
+strapping, red-faced wench of about thirty, with stray hairs on her chin
+and upper lip that made her look like a man disguised as a woman.
+
+"Be you Mademoiselle Georgette?" he asked.
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette!" replied the stout servant, with a savage
+glare. "Yes, yes, that's me."
+
+"And you live in the entresol yonder?"
+
+"Yes, yes, it's me, I tell you! Did Monsieur Renardin send you to bring
+that box to Mademoiselle Georgette, on the entresol?"
+
+"Yes; it's from your neighbor, with all his compliments, mademoiselle."
+
+"Ah! we'll just look and see what he sends to that hussy!"
+
+And Mademoiselle Arthémise seized the box and was beginning to tear off
+the wrapper, when the concierge called to her:
+
+"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle; you take that box when you know
+perfectly well it isn't for you."
+
+"What business is it of yours? What do you want to meddle in it for, you
+low-lived porter? Does the shirtmaker pay you to look after her lovers'
+presents?"
+
+"No, mademoiselle, the shirtmaker doesn't pay me, but I'm bound to do my
+duty; if that Auvergnat Savoyard had said what he wanted, I'd have let
+him pass and carry to Mademoiselle Georgette what he had for her."
+
+"Oh, yes! everybody knows that you look after the lovers; that's your
+business, you know."
+
+"My business is to see that the tenants get what's addressed to them.
+Give me that box, which isn't for you."
+
+"Not if I know it! Candied fruits! apricots! Look at this, will you! He
+gives candied fruits to that slut, and he says there's no need of my
+putting mushrooms in the chicken fricassee! that I spend too much money!
+that I ain't economical! Just wait! just wait! I'll give you candied
+prunes and cherries packed in straw!"
+
+"But I tell you again to give me that box, Mademoiselle Arthémise; you
+are not Mademoiselle Georgette!"
+
+The little Auvergnat, who was just beginning to understand that he had
+made a botch of his errand, interposed at that point.
+
+"What! ain't you the lady on the entresol?" he asked.
+
+"Bah! hold your tongue, you brat, it's none of your business! Here,
+here's an orange; put that down and show me your heels!"
+
+And Mademoiselle Arthémise stuffed a piece of candied orange into the
+bootblack's mouth. He accepted and ate it; but he was none the less
+determined to recover the box. He tried to take it away from Monsieur
+Renardin's maid, and the concierge seconded his efforts. But the stout
+Arthémise was a muscular wench, able to contend with more formidable
+antagonists. She began by throwing a slice of quince in the boy's face;
+then she planted a candied apricot on the concierge's left eye, whereat
+he cried out like an ass whose eye has been put out; then she dealt
+blows indiscriminately to right and left.
+
+It was the outcries of the concierge and the little Auvergnat, blended
+with roars of laughter from Mademoiselle Arthémise, that had brought all
+the tenants to their windows. To add to the uproar, Monsieur Renardin
+appeared at that moment, uneasy because his messenger had not returned,
+and curious to know how the pretty shirtmaker had received his gift.
+
+The bachelor was horrified when he saw the little Auvergnat on all
+fours, looking for the piece of quince, which had fallen to the ground;
+the concierge yelling and cursing as he removed the apricot from his
+eye, piece by piece; and lastly, the maid of all work, stuffing herself
+with candied fruit and saying:
+
+"It's mighty good, all the same! I never tasted it before, but I'll make
+him give me some now."
+
+"What does this mean, Arthémise? What are you doing here in the
+courtyard, instead of attending to your dinner?" inquired Monsieur
+Renardin, with a frown.
+
+"My dinner! Deuce take the dinner! it can take care of itself. I'm
+having a treat, I am! I'm eating candied cherries and pears! I say,
+monsieur, when you go about it, you send nice presents to young ladies!
+But you'd better choose a page who ain't quite so stupid as this one; he
+took me for the hussy of the entresol. Oh, my! I didn't say anything; I
+just took the box."
+
+"What's that? you little rascal! is this the way you do errands?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it wasn't my fault. Why wouldn't the concierge let me
+in?"
+
+"I did my duty; this Savoyard's a fool, and I was just going to send him
+to the entresol when Mademoiselle Arthémise told him she was
+Mademoiselle Georgette, and that the box was for her."
+
+"What, Arthémise! you dared----"
+
+"Hoity-toity! why should I have hesitated? This little brat brings a box
+from you--of course, I thought it was for me. As if I could suppose
+that a man of your age would pay court to young girls! that he'd lay out
+money for the first pert-faced minx that perches in the house! that he'd
+send boxes of candied fruit to a new-comer, a shirtmaker, when he growls
+every day because, as he says, I put too much butter in a sauce
+that----"
+
+"Enough, mademoiselle! that will do; come with me, and we will have an
+explanation upstairs. I don't choose to have the whole house know what
+goes on in my establishment."
+
+And Monsieur Renardin walked hastily toward the stairs, not daring to
+look at the windows of the entresol. Mademoiselle Arthémise followed her
+master, making faces behind his back; she still had the box of candied
+fruit in her hand, and she called out to the concierge, laughing in his
+face:
+
+"I don't care a snap of my finger! I always get the good things. As for
+monsieur, as he don't like bread soup, he can make up his mind to eat
+nothing else for a week!"
+
+"If my eye is injured, mademoiselle," said the concierge, "you'll have
+to pay the doctor!"
+
+"Count on it, my dear man; apply to Monsieur Renardin; he's the cause of
+it all! He's an old rake, and nothing else!"
+
+Georgette had overheard all this from her room, and it had amused her
+immensely. Monsieur Frontin, who was on the landing, had stopped there,
+in order not to lose a word of the altercation and to be able to report
+it faithfully to his master. When there was no one left in the
+courtyard, the little Auvergnat having decamped after picking up the
+piece of quince, the valet returned to the front building and to his
+master's apartment. He began by attempting to tell him what had just
+taken place in the courtyard; but Monsieur de Mardeille interrupted him:
+
+"I know all about that; I was at my window. I know that Monsieur
+Renardin sent a box of candied fruit to the little shirtmaker, and that
+Arthémise, his maid, got possession of the box and ate what was in it.
+That Arthémise is a bad one, and her master ought to discharge her at
+once. But when a man submits to be domineered over by his servant, he
+deserves to have her make a fool of him. However, that doesn't interest
+me much; this Monsieur Renardin is not a rival to worry about. You have
+been to see the little one? Well! She was flattered, enchanted by my
+proposition, of course? When is she coming?"
+
+Frontin drew himself up, assumed a solemn expression, and replied:
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette did not seem at all flattered by monsieur's
+proposition; on the contrary, she put on an air--well, an air as if she
+was a great swell!"
+
+"Cut it short, Frontin!"
+
+"Well, monsieur, this shirtmaker doesn't choose to measure you for
+shirts; do you understand that?"
+
+"I understand that you're an idiot, if that's the way you did my errand!
+I never said a word to you about taking my measure!"
+
+"But I supposed that was necessary, monsieur. When a tailor makes you a
+coat, he takes your measure first."
+
+"Enough! What did the girl say? She didn't refuse without giving any
+reasons, did she?"
+
+"She thought it was strange, monsieur, that you are not married. She
+said: 'Oh! if your master was married, if he had a wife, that would make
+a difference; I'd go and measure him right away; but I don't go to see
+bachelors. If he chooses to come to my rooms, I will receive him.'"
+
+"Aha! she wants me to go to her! You ought to have begun by telling me
+that, you clown! I understand--that flatters my young lady's vanity!
+These girls have so much self-esteem! She wants the whole house to know
+that Monsieur de Mardeille is paying court to her! Well, I don't care,
+after all; I will go; but I will go in the evening, because the
+neighbors aren't at their windows after dark."
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY
+
+
+That same evening, Monsieur de Mardeille left his apartment about eight
+o'clock. It was quite dark, everything was quiet in the house, and he
+stole noiselessly downstairs and passed the concierge's lodge on tiptoe,
+unnoticed. Then he walked rapidly across the courtyard and went up to
+the entresol, where he could see a light.
+
+"No one will see me go to the little shirtmaker's," he said to himself,
+"and perhaps she will be quite as well pleased to receive me after dark.
+That saves appearances."
+
+He stopped at Georgette's door and knocked softly. In a moment, a sweet
+voice said:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"Open, if you please, Mademoiselle Georgette; it is someone who wishes
+to speak to you."
+
+"I don't receive visits at night. Come back to-morrow morning."
+
+"I am your opposite neighbor, mademoiselle--Monsieur de Mardeille; I
+sent my servant to you this morning. You know what it is that brings me;
+so be kind enough to open the door, I beg."
+
+"I am very sorry, monsieur; but I never let anybody in at night. Come
+back to-morrow. It will be light then."
+
+"What, mademoiselle! you leave me outside your door--me, Monsieur de
+Mardeille! You are quite certain, I presume, that I am not a robber?"
+
+"Perhaps you might be a more dangerous character! Good-night, monsieur!
+Until to-morrow, by daylight!"
+
+"It's because she considers me too dangerous that she won't let me in
+now!" said Monsieur de Mardeille to himself, as he returned to his own
+lodgings.
+
+That idea, by flattering his self-esteem, consoled him a little for
+having put himself out to no purpose.
+
+"It's plain," he thought, "that she wants the whole house to know that I
+am paying court to her.--Well! since it must be, mademoiselle, you shall
+receive a visit from me at midday."
+
+And the next day, after passing more than an hour at his toilet, because
+he was determined to be irresistible, Monsieur de Mardeille decided to
+defy the prying glances of the neighbors. He went downstairs as if he
+were going out; but as he passed the concierge, who was standing at his
+door, he said:
+
+"By the way, that girl who lives on the entresol makes shirts, doesn't
+she?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; she works for a linen draper; her sewing is perfect, so
+they say."
+
+"In that case, I am inclined to order some shirts of her. One ought
+always to employ one's neighbors, as far as possible."
+
+And our dandified friend turned on his heel, crossed the courtyard, and
+in an instant stood before Georgette's door, which was always unlocked
+during the day.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille tapped softly twice.
+
+"Come in, the door is unlocked," replied the same voice that he had
+heard the night before.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille entered with the ease of manner born of
+familiarity with society, and the nonchalance which a rich man always
+affects when he calls upon poor people--unless, that is to say, he is
+possessed of intelligence or tact; in which case, far from seeking to
+make his superiority felt, his endeavor will rather be to keep it out of
+sight. But men of tact and intelligence are rare, and Georgette's caller
+was deficient in both those qualities.
+
+However, he abated something of his lordly manner when he saw how
+unconcernedly the young woman received him. She seemed in no wise
+perturbed by his visit, but gracefully motioned him to a chair and
+coolly resumed her own, which was near the window, saying:
+
+"May I know, monsieur, to what I am indebted for the honor of your
+visit?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille settled himself comfortably in his chair, and
+replied:
+
+"Mademoiselle, I sent my valet to you yesterday; I ventured to request
+you to come to my apartment; it is not very far; I live just opposite."
+
+"Oh! I know it, monsieur; I recognize you perfectly. But your servant
+must have told you----"
+
+"That you would not call upon unmarried men--yes, he told me that. But,
+bless my soul! why do bachelors cause you such alarm? Have you had much
+reason to complain of them? Ha! ha! ha! Do you know that that might give
+rise to many conjectures?"
+
+And he laughed again, because he had fine teeth which he was very glad
+to exhibit, and because, moreover, he thought it quite clever to laugh
+like that. But Georgette remained unmoved, and replied:
+
+"I don't know what conjectures one might form, monsieur; but I act thus
+because it suits me, and I worry very little about what people may
+think."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, surprised at the girl's serious tone, smiled
+rather sheepishly and decided not to laugh any more. He moved uneasily
+in his chair as he rejoined:
+
+"I had no intention to offend you. The deuce! mademoiselle, it seems
+that one cannot safely jest with you."
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I am very ready to jest, when I know my
+man."
+
+"Ah! to be sure, and you know me only by sight as yet. I consider myself
+fortunate, mademoiselle, to have so charming a person as you are for my
+opposite neighbor; and it made me anxious at once to--to--to become
+better acquainted with you."
+
+"I thank you, monsieur; but there is too great a difference of rank
+between us."
+
+"Differences may be lessened; in fact, they very soon disappear between
+a lovely woman and a man who is fascinated by her charms."
+
+Georgette smiled and murmured:
+
+"Was it to tell me that that you came here, monsieur?"
+
+"Faith, yes! Look you! I won't beat about the bush; I prefer to go
+straight to the point. Indeed, why should I conceal the impression that
+your charms, your beauty, have made on my heart? Is it a crime to love
+you? especially as I am a bachelor, which certainly is no reason for
+spurning my homage. Yes, my lovely neighbor, you turned my head the very
+first time I saw you--in this charming négligé which is so becoming to
+you! I have not had a moment's repose since, I think of nothing but you!
+I used the pretext of wanting shirts made to try to lure you to my
+apartment; but what I wanted, what I want now, before everything, is to
+tell you that I adore you, and to beg you not to be insensible to my
+love!"
+
+It was Georgette's turn to laugh; and she did it so frankly, so
+unreservedly, that the old beau, who had leaned over toward her,
+straightened himself up and seemed completely taken back. As the pretty
+shirtmaker continued to laugh, he decided to say:
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, I am delighted to have afforded you so much
+amusement; but may I not know what it is that makes you laugh so
+heartily? It cannot be my avowal of my sentiments? You must be
+accustomed to receive such declarations, are you not? So far as I have
+been able to see, almost all the men in the house have told you or would
+like to tell you the same thing."
+
+"Ah! you know that, do you, monsieur?"
+
+"Did I not see the concierge pass the whole of yesterday bringing you
+bouquets, photographs, and heaven knows what? I even heard something of
+a box of candied fruit.--Ha! ha! ha! that was too absurd!"
+
+"It is quite true that all the gentlemen in the house have been most
+polite to me."
+
+"Faith! mademoiselle, I don't send bouquets myself; I consider it so
+commonplace, so vulgar, that I am not tempted to imitate these gentry. I
+speak out, I say frankly what I feel. Don't you consider that the
+better way?"
+
+"Why, it seems to me that it is very pleasant to receive bouquets and
+other presents."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lips and said to himself:
+
+"She likes her little presents; she's selfish; that's a pity!"
+
+But that did not prevent him from moving his chair nearer to
+Georgette's, and trying to assume a very affectionate, touching tone, as
+he murmured:
+
+"You have made no reply to my declaration, charming girl."
+
+"I beg your pardon; didn't you hear me laugh?"
+
+"What! is that the way you reply? What am I to conclude from that?"
+
+"That I took your declaration of love for what it was worth--that is to
+say, for a joke."
+
+"A joke! Oh! don't think it! I spoke most seriously. I love you! I adore
+you!"
+
+"On the instant, just from seeing me at my window?"
+
+"Does it take weeks or months to fall in love? We see a woman; she
+attracts us, fascinates us at once, or never. Love--what is it but
+electricity?"
+
+"Oh! I didn't know!"
+
+"Why, it is nothing else; a pretty woman's eyes contain the fluid that
+electrifies us. The moment that we feel the shock, it's all up with us;
+we are electrified."
+
+"Really! and the women, what electrifies them?"
+
+"Why, that is done by the same process; our glances do the business!"
+
+As he spoke, he tried to electrify the girl by fixing his eyes upon her,
+full of fire, and attempted to move his chair still nearer. But
+Georgette moved hers away, saying in a very sharp tone:
+
+"Don't sit so near me, monsieur, I beg you! it makes it hard for me to
+work, and, besides, it isn't proper."
+
+The old beau was speechless with surprise; he concluded that his eyes
+had not emitted enough of the magnetic fluid, and tried to make them
+still more inflammable as he exclaimed:
+
+"May not one venture to approach you, pray, in order to admire that
+divine figure at closer quarters?"
+
+"No, monsieur, one may not. What would the neighbors think if they
+should see you sitting so near me?"
+
+"The neighbors! the neighbors! Why do you leave your window wide open?
+It makes it very inconvenient to talk with you. I will close it, with
+your permission."
+
+"No, monsieur, no; I wish it to remain open; it does not interfere at
+all with my talking; and if the neighbors know that you are calling on
+me,--which they probably do, for everything that goes on in this house
+is seen,--why, they will see that nothing has happened that I need to
+conceal."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille frowned slightly; he shifted about in his chair,
+and said, after a brief pause:
+
+"What a strange idea it is, to subject yourself like this to the
+inspection of other people, to whose opinion you ought to be
+indifferent, in any event!"
+
+"Ah! so you think that one can afford to be indifferent to other
+people's opinion?"
+
+"I think--I think that you treat me very cruelly!"
+
+"And I, monsieur, think that I have conferred a great favor on you by
+consenting to receive you in my room--where I never receive any man. It
+seems that you are not at all grateful."
+
+"Oh! pardon me, my lovely neighbor; certainly I am very grateful; but I
+thought--I hoped---- By the way, you have not told me yet whether my
+sentiments are offensive to you?"
+
+"Why, monsieur, I hardly know you! And I don't allow myself to be
+electrified as easily as you do, I presume."
+
+"Cruel girl! you make sport of my torments."
+
+"You say that you love me, do you, monsieur? But why should I believe in
+your love? What proofs of it have you given me?"
+
+"What proofs? Do you mean to say, mademoiselle, that you must have
+proofs before you believe in it?"
+
+"Most certainly! Oh! I am very incredulous, monsieur, and I don't
+believe in anything until I have had proofs of it."
+
+"But it seems to me, mademoiselle, that the step I am taking at this
+moment ought to satisfy you that I am telling you the truth. When a man
+of my rank, a man accustomed to frequent only the best society, pays a
+visit to a--a simple working girl, he must be impelled thereto by a very
+powerful sentiment!"
+
+"That is to say, monsieur, that you think you do me great honor by
+calling on me?"
+
+"Why, no, I don't say that! You are cruel, and no mistake! you put a bad
+construction on everything I say!"
+
+Georgette made no reply, but continued to sew. Monsieur de Mardeille,
+sorely annoyed because he had failed to make such rapid progress as he
+hoped, said to himself:
+
+"Let us try changing the subject. The little one must like pleasure. All
+women want to be amused. Let us see if we can't dazzle her."
+
+After a moment, he added, aloud:
+
+"Have you been working long at this trade--for a linen draper?"
+
+"No, monsieur. Indeed, I have not been long in Paris."
+
+"Ah! then you are not a Parisienne? You surprise me! You have all the
+grace of one. May I, without being impertinent, ask you from what
+province you come?"
+
+Georgette hesitated a moment before she replied:
+
+"I come from a small village near Rouen."
+
+"Ah! you are a Norman! That is strange, for you haven't the Norman
+accent. How long have you been in Paris?"
+
+"Nearly five months."
+
+"Did you come alone?"
+
+"Yes, all alone. I said to my parents: 'I want to go to Paris; I will
+work hard there, and perhaps I may make my fortune--who knows?'"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille scratched his head as he repeated:
+
+"Fortune! hum! that's not so easy. Women don't often make their fortunes
+in Paris, when they have no other means of earning money than their
+needle. But, when you came to Paris, you probably knew that you would
+find a friend here, a wealthy protector, who could start you at once on
+the road to the fortune to which you aspire?"
+
+"No, monsieur," Georgette replied coldly; "I did not come to Paris to
+meet anyone, and I shall find a way myself to reach the end I have in
+view."
+
+Once more the old beau bit his lips and glanced about the room.
+
+"It's impossible to tell how to take the girl; she's always on her
+guard!" he said to himself. "I shall not succeed with her so quickly as
+I thought. But, it doesn't make much difference, I have plenty of time.
+I must find her sensitive spot.--Are you fond of the play,
+mademoiselle?" he asked.
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur, very!"
+
+"Do you go often?"
+
+"Most rarely, monsieur. In the first place, I have no acquaintances in
+Paris; and for a young girl to go to the theatre alone is hardly
+proper."
+
+"I have found the weak point in the shield," thought Mardeille; and he
+rejoined:
+
+"Well, my charming neighbor, I will escort you to the theatre, with your
+permission. We will have a little screened box; it will be very
+comfortable, like being at home."
+
+"I don't know what your little screened boxes are, monsieur; but when I
+go to the play, I don't go to hide myself; I want to see and be seen."
+
+"Ah! you want to be seen! What a coquette!"
+
+"It is not from coquetry. But, monsieur, you cannot think that I would
+go to the play with such an elegant person as you, in the modest costume
+that I wear."
+
+"I presume that you would not go in this jacket and this short skirt,
+although the costume is divinely becoming to you! On my word, you are
+bewitching so!"
+
+"No, of course, I would not go out in a jacket; but my best costume is
+very modest: a cotton gown, a little cap, a knitted fichu--that's my
+attire!"
+
+"What! haven't you a bonnet--a tiny bonnet?"
+
+"No, monsieur, I haven't."
+
+The elderly dandy moved about in his chair, seemed to reflect, and said,
+at last:
+
+"After all, you must be fascinating in a cap. Besides, we can take a
+cab. Is it settled? I will take you to-night, if you agree."
+
+"What, monsieur! do you mean to say that you would take to the theatre a
+woman in a cotton dress, cap, and a fichu instead of a shawl?"
+
+"I do; I am entirely free from prejudices. I would like to take you in
+the costume you have on, if it were possible."
+
+"Well, upon my word! I wouldn't have believed that!"
+
+"That proves how dearly I love you, I hope."
+
+Georgette shook her head as she replied:
+
+"Why, no, it doesn't prove it at all. However, monsieur, I have more
+self-esteem than you. I have enough respect for your exalted rank to
+avoid compromising it. Fie, monsieur! what would people think of you if
+they saw you with a woman in a cap on your arm?"
+
+"But we shall take a cab."
+
+"We shall not go into the theatre in a cab! Ha! ha! And as I don't
+propose to hide myself in a screened box, when I am once in the theatre
+everyone will have plenty of time to admire my costume."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille rose and paced the floor, and for some time he did
+not speak; at last he said:
+
+"What do you need to go to the theatre with me, my lovely child?"
+
+"Why, almost everything: a silk dress; they have such nice things
+ready-made now, that it will be easy enough to find one that will fit
+me. And a pretty bonnet, and a fine shawl--cashmere, or something like
+it,--and gloves--nice kid gloves."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille began to pace the floor again, dissembling with
+difficulty the grimace that had replaced his amiable air. Suddenly he
+looked into the courtyard and exclaimed:
+
+"Ah! I believe I have visitors! Yes, they have come to see me. Au
+revoir, my charming neighbor; a thousand pardons for leaving you so
+abruptly!"
+
+"Oh! pray don't mind me, monsieur!"
+
+Our dandy was already at the door; he returned hurriedly to his own
+apartment, with an exceedingly ill-humored expression; and when Frontin
+inquired:
+
+"Did the shirtmaker take monsieur's measure?" he angrily replied:
+
+"Hold your tongue, you imbecile! I forbid you ever to mention that
+grisette to me."
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!
+
+
+A week passed. Monsieur de Mardeille had not called again upon
+Georgette; he had not stationed himself at his rear windows; but he had
+stolen many a glance through the glass, by raising a corner of the
+curtain. He had seen his young neighbor, as alert and alluring and
+graceful as ever, going to and fro in her modest apartment; then sitting
+down to work at her window; then rising and sitting down again; and
+every movement of the pretty shirtmaker made his heart beat fast. He had
+given Frontin a kick in the hind quarters, when that worthy ventured to
+laugh inanely because his master raised the curtain.
+
+He was somewhat flattered by the fact that, although Georgette responded
+affably enough to the salutations of her other neighbors, he had never
+seen one of them in her room; so that she had really done him a favor
+by consenting to receive him.
+
+At the end of a week, he said to himself:
+
+"After all, it was on my account, it was in my interest, to avoid
+compromising me, that the girl insisted upon being well dressed before
+she would go out on my arm. I can't be angry with her for that: it was a
+very excusable motive. But then I must send her all that she lacks.
+Pardieu! I am well able to do it! That is not the question--no--but it
+isn't my custom; I have never spent money on women. I know that once
+doesn't make a custom; but, for all that, I don't like it. But that girl
+is obstinate and strong-willed; if I don't send her what she wants, I
+shall have to abandon the pursuit. And I don't want to abandon it! I
+dream of her every night. I see her slender figure, her rounded hips,
+which her little black skirt hugs so closely. Well! I must buy her this
+finery. I won't go so far as the cashmere--no, indeed, I'm not such a
+fool! But when a man goes so far as to play the gallant, he must do
+things properly. At my age, it's very unpleasant to change one's habits.
+Why in the devil did that provoking grisette take up her abode in my
+house? right opposite me? under my nose? It's a fatality!"
+
+Love, and self-esteem, which is quite as strong as its brother, carried
+the day at last. One morning Georgette received the shawl, the bonnet,
+the dress, and even the kid gloves, with this brief note written by her
+stylish neighbor:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Now will you go to the theatre with me to-night?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And Georgette replied, to the messenger:
+
+"Yes, I will go."
+
+For Monsieur de Mardeille, who did not wish that anyone should know that
+he was spending money to gratify the shirtmaker, had not sent his gifts
+by Frontin.
+
+That evening, about seven o'clock, the dandy presented himself at
+Georgette's door. She was all dressed and ready, and probably less
+seductive in that guise than in her jacket and short skirt; but she was
+still very comely, because a young and pretty woman never becomes ugly
+in a stylish bonnet. Indeed, Monsieur de Mardeille was surprised at the
+ease with which his little neighbor wore her new costume.
+
+"On my honor!" he cried; "you are charming thus! You wear these clothes
+with such grace!"
+
+"Does that surprise you, monsieur?"
+
+"Nothing surprises me in you; I believe you to be adapted for any
+station."
+
+"I am ready; let us go."
+
+"Oh! we have plenty of time. Pray let me admire you a moment."
+
+"You may admire me all you please at the theatre; but as I don't often
+go, I want to see everything. Let us be off!"
+
+Georgette was already on the landing. Monsieur de Mardeille followed
+her, saying to himself:
+
+"She has a little will of her own that can't be resisted! But to-night,
+when we return from the theatre, I flatter myself that she won't dismiss
+me so quickly."
+
+It was still broad daylight when Georgette left her room, handsomely
+dressed and on Monsieur de Mardeille's arm. All the neighbors were at
+their windows; it is unnecessary to say that their tongues were in
+motion.
+
+"The ex-beau carries the day!" said the photographer; "he is rich and
+fashionable, and such advantages seduce these little girls, who are
+immensely flattered by hanging on a dandy's arm."
+
+"And then, he's very good-looking still," said the miniature painter. "I
+can understand that he may have taken the little one's fancy. These
+girls have a surprising taste for mature men."
+
+"The Lovelace of the first floor must have put out some money," said the
+two men of letters; "he's dressed the little neighbor from top to toe.
+Women can always be caught by flattering their coquetry."
+
+"And we couldn't offer her all that!"
+
+"It's very strange! this Mardeille has the reputation of being a stingy
+curmudgeon with women."
+
+"That's a report that he spreads himself, so as to get all the more
+credit."
+
+The young doctor said nothing; he simply sighed, as he thought:
+
+"She hasn't even had a cold!"
+
+Monsieur Bistelle was furious, for she had received his bouquets and had
+not received him, and had met all his propositions with a refusal,
+although they were most alluring. And so, when he saw Georgette pass in
+her new attire, he cried:
+
+"Bah! cheap stuff! Why, that shawl isn't a cashmere, nor even a Lyon;
+that dress isn't silk; that bonnet didn't come from one of our leading
+milliners! It's all trumpery; anyone can see that at a glance. I'd have
+dressed the girl a hundred times better; she's a fool to prefer that
+Mardeille, who never knew what it was to be generous to a woman!"
+
+This gentleman did not reflect that he himself was very ugly, whereas
+his rival was still very comely; but that is one of the things that one
+never considers. Moreover, we are so accustomed to our own faces that
+we never deem ourselves unattractive.
+
+Even Monsieur Renardin, the old bachelor, made a very pronounced grimace
+when he saw Georgette pass; especially as Mademoiselle Arthémise, his
+maid-servant, did not fail to say, with a sneer:
+
+"See, there goes your flame on the arm of the Joconde of the first
+floor! I advise you to send boxes of candied fruits to such hussies! The
+shirtmaker snaps her fingers at you."
+
+"In the first place, Arthémise, you're talking nonsense; that young
+woman didn't receive any candied fruit from me, as you ate it all."
+
+"Thank God! I was on hand to stop it as it passed--or else she would
+have got it. It's very lucky that I ate it, you see. I suppose you think
+that mincing thing would have put the box on her head to go out with
+you, don't you? Oh! she's a sly one! She's bleeding the ex-young man of
+the first floor; she's quite right, for he's a skinflint with women,
+they say; he's getting what he deserves."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille escorted Georgette to the Ambigu-Comique. He tried
+to take her to a small, dark box, but she refused to enter it, and he
+was obliged to take a seat in the balcony with her. There it was
+impossible to take the slightest liberty! As some consolation, our
+gallant kept trying to whisper words of love in the girl's ear, but she
+soon said to him impatiently:
+
+"Please be kind enough not to keep talking to me! You prevent me from
+hearing the play, and I suppose that is what people go to the theatre
+for."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lip and said to himself:
+
+"There's nothing so idiotic as these girls who have never been to the
+theatre! I won't bring you very often, I can tell you!"
+
+The play amused Georgette immensely, but was exceedingly tedious to her
+escort, who was overjoyed when it came to an end. He suggested returning
+home in a cab; but the girl refused, she was absolutely determined to go
+on foot.
+
+"But it's beginning to rain!" said Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Well, it will cool us off!"
+
+"But your new bonnet--won't the rain fade it and ruin it?"
+
+"What a terrible misfortune, if it is spoiled! There are other bonnets
+in the milliners' shops!"
+
+"I wonder if she thinks I am going to buy her one every day!" thought
+her companion, with difficulty restraining an outburst of temper; for he
+was obliged to return on foot, while Georgette, leaning on his arm,
+talked of nothing but the play and the actors she had seen.
+
+They reached home at last. Monsieur de Mardeille had impatiently awaited
+that moment. He flattered himself that it would mark his final triumph.
+They entered the house in which they both lived. In front of the
+concierge's lodge, which was at the foot of Monsieur de Mardeille's
+staircase, Georgette stopped and said, with a graceful courtesy:
+
+"Bonsoir, monsieur! a thousand thanks for the pleasure you have given me
+by taking me to the play."
+
+"What's that? Bonsoir?" cried Mardeille, with a smile. "But I am not
+going to bed yet; and you will allow me to come up and chat a moment
+with you, will you not?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur! for I am going to bed, and this is no time for
+conversation."
+
+"Going to bed? What difference does that make? I won't prevent you;
+indeed, I shall be too happy to assist you in making your _toilette de
+nuit_."
+
+"I don't need anyone to assist me. If I did, I wouldn't resort to a man
+for that purpose. Bonsoir, monsieur!"
+
+"Oh! I say--this is a jest! Surely, my charming neighbor, you don't mean
+that you won't receive me in your room a moment?"
+
+"To-morrow, monsieur, to-morrow during the day, I shall be greatly
+flattered to receive a call from you, if you choose to come; but at this
+time of night it would be very improper."
+
+With that, Georgette nodded and ran across the courtyard to her own
+staircase, leaving Monsieur de Mardeille, utterly taken aback, in front
+of the concierge's door. He was nonplussed by the girl's conduct.
+
+"This is too much!" he said to himself; "she accepts my presents--a
+whole toilette, which cost me a pretty penny--and she's just as cruel as
+she was before! So the young lady is making sport of me, is she?"
+
+But suddenly, the courtyard and staircase being still lighted, he saw
+the concierge in his lodge watching what was going on; whereupon our
+dandy struck his forehead, saying to himself:
+
+"What an idiot I am not to understand! That child has a hundred times
+more tact than I have! She doesn't want the concierge to see me go up to
+her room at midnight; for that would inevitably spread a report through
+the whole house that I had passed the night there! Yes, of course that's
+it; she's quite right; she has pointed out to me clearly enough what I
+have to do: go up to my room and pretend to go to bed; then, when
+everybody's asleep, and the gas is all out, go downstairs and steal up
+to her room, where I'll wager that I shall find the door unlocked as
+usual. There is my path all marked out for me: now I must follow it."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille went upstairs, purposely making a great noise. He
+entered his room, slammed the door, ordered Frontin to undress him, and
+then dismissed him with strict injunctions to go to bed at once. Half an
+hour passed, the gas was extinguished, there was no light to be seen in
+any of the neighbors' rooms, not even Georgette's.
+
+"That girl thinks of everything!" thought Monsieur de Mardeille. "She is
+prudence personified: she has put out her light. Very good! Darkness
+makes one more daring. I must make haste; the propitious moment is
+here!"
+
+And the gentleman stole from his room on tiptoe, enveloped in an ample
+robe de chambre, and with his jaunty cap on his head. He went
+downstairs, taking every precaution not to make any noise; he passed the
+concierge's lodge, where there was no light; darkness reigned on all
+sides, and as our seducer was feeling his way across the courtyard he
+ran against the pump; but that told him where he was; the door leading
+to the narrow stairway was close at hand; he found it and went upstairs,
+muttering:
+
+"Here I am, at last!"
+
+He soon stood in front of Georgette's door. He felt about on all sides;
+the key was not in the lock, and the door was securely fastened.
+
+"She didn't think of leaving the key outside!" thought Monsieur de
+Mardeille; "that was an oversight. Perhaps it was from modesty, so that
+she might not seem to be expecting me. However, I must let her know that
+I am here. I'll knock softly; she can't be asleep."
+
+And he gave two very soft taps, then a louder one, muttering:
+
+"She doesn't hear! Can she have gone to sleep already? It's very
+strange; there's not a sound anywhere in the house, and she ought to
+hear! Damn the odds! I must wake her up! If other people hear, it will
+be her own fault."
+
+And he knocked louder, then louder still, and shouted through the
+keyhole:
+
+"Little neighbor! it's I! open the door a minute; I left something in
+your room. Come, charming Georgette, you've teased me enough; you must
+let me in; I have some very interesting things to tell you. For heaven's
+sake! just long enough to say two words to you, and then I'll leave
+you."
+
+His trouble and entreaties were wasted; she made no reply, and the door
+did not open. After spending nearly three-quarters of an hour on
+Georgette's landing, the discomfited gallant angrily pulled his cap over
+his eyes and left the entresol, bumping against the walls.
+
+To augment his rage, when he was in the courtyard he heard roars of
+laughter from several windows; and he recognized Mademoiselle
+Arthémise's voice, saying in a very loud tone:
+
+"Ah! that's well done! The scented dandy's sold again! The little one
+makes fools of her lovers; that reconciles me to her! Ha! ha! now's the
+time to sing:
+
+    "'Ma chandelle est morte,
+      Je n'ai plus de feu;
+      Ouvre-moi ta porte,
+      Pour l'amour de Dieu!'"[F]
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+A BROOCH
+
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not close his eyes that night. He was terribly
+vexed, and he awaited the morrow with extreme impatience, in order to
+have an explanation with the little shirtmaker, whom he proposed to
+reproach in no measured terms. He firmly believed himself to be in the
+right, because he maintained that in love one gives nothing without some
+equivalent.
+
+At last the morning came; people began to stir in the house. Our dandy
+rose and looked at himself in the mirror. He found that he was horribly
+pale, that his eyes were red, and that he had a worn, jaded look. As he
+desired, before all else, to be handsome and fascinating, he passed more
+than an hour at his toilet, changing his cravat and waistcoat again and
+again; but he did not succeed in restoring his usual freshness of
+aspect. At last, weary of the struggle, he said to himself:
+
+"A little pallor makes one more interesting; women like a melancholy
+air. That cruel girl will be touched by my evident suffering. Decidedly,
+it is much better for me to be pale; it gives me the advantage at the
+outset."
+
+He betook himself to his little neighbor's apartment, crossing the
+courtyard as rapidly as possible to avoid the glances of the other
+tenants. This time the door was unlocked. Monsieur de Mardeille
+unceremoniously entered Georgette's room and found her already at work.
+She looked up at him with a sly smile, and said:
+
+"Good-morning, monsieur! it's very good of you to come to see me. Pray
+sit down, and we will talk about the play."
+
+But Monsieur de Mardeille did not sit down; he paced the floor
+excitedly, and rejoined in an angry tone:
+
+"I didn't come here to talk about the play, mademoiselle!"
+
+"Indeed? Very well, then we'll talk about something else."
+
+"Mademoiselle--you sleep very soundly!"
+
+"I? Oh! you are mistaken, monsieur; on the contrary, my sleep is very
+light; the slightest noise wakes me."
+
+"The slightest noise? How did it happen, then, that you didn't hear the
+noise I made last night, when I knocked on your door for half an hour,
+and you did not deign to reply?"
+
+"Last night? Why, I heard you distinctly, monsieur; much too distinctly,
+in fact!"
+
+"Then, mademoiselle, why didn't you let me in?"
+
+"Why? Because I didn't choose to; because I don't receive visits at
+midnight; because I considered the uproar you made at my door most
+unseemly!"
+
+"Uproar? But if you had opened your door at once, I wouldn't have made
+any uproar!"
+
+"True; but as I didn't choose to open it, you shouldn't have kept on
+knocking."
+
+"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I had the right to come to your
+room, that I might fairly expect to be admitted! When a woman accepts
+gifts from a man, it means that she consents--at all events, she
+shouldn't leave him at the door when he comes to see her."
+
+"The right! the right!" cried Georgette, rising, and casting such an
+angry glance at Monsieur de Mardeille that he was thoroughly abashed.
+"Let me tell you, monsieur, that you are most impertinent, and that I
+ought to turn you out of my room at once and forbid you ever to put your
+foot inside my door again. The right! What do you mean, monsieur? Is it
+because you have sent me a few paltry rags that you presume to speak to
+me in this tone? Understand, monsieur, that I did you much honor by
+receiving your superb gifts! If you had not wanted to go out with me,
+you wouldn't have given them to me, I presume. So that you did it much
+more to gratify your own vanity than to please me. And monsieur imagines
+that, because of those gifts, I will open my door to him at midnight!
+and perhaps give myself to him and esteem myself too happy to be his
+mistress!--Why, you are mad, monsieur! Here are your presents. I don't
+want them; you may take them back! Look, this will show you how much I
+care for them!"
+
+As she spoke, Georgette ran to her closet, took down the gown, shawl,
+and bonnet, threw them on the floor, and kicked them toward Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who was horrified and dared not move.
+
+Having done this, the girl returned to her chair by the window, which
+was open as usual, and resumed her work, paying no further heed to her
+neighbor, who stood in the same spot as motionless as a statue.
+
+Several minutes passed thus. The ex-beau had had time to reflect. He
+began by picking up the gown, the shawl, and the bonnet, and laid them
+all carefully on a table; then he went to Georgette and stammered
+confusedly:
+
+"Mademoiselle--I was wrong--I was very wrong--I admit it!"
+
+"It's very fortunate that you realize it, monsieur!"
+
+"I should not have believed--or rather, I should not have hoped----
+Certainly I do not attach any value to these gewgaws that I sent you; it
+wasn't on account of them that I knocked at your door last night; but I
+thought that you were touched by my passion for you, that you no longer
+doubted it--that was what led me to come here and knock last night,
+after the theatre. Forgive me, I beseech you, my dear neighbor; don't be
+angry with me; it would make me too unhappy."
+
+"As you admit your wrongdoing," Georgette answered, with a smile, "I
+forgive you. Oh! I am not one who bears malice! I say at once what I
+have on my heart; then it's all over and I think no more about it."
+
+The old beau took the girl's hand and respectfully put it to his lips.
+She withdrew it and pointed to a chair, saying:
+
+"Now sit down, and let us talk about something else."
+
+"Something else!" murmured Monsieur de Mardeille as he sat down. "When I
+am with you, it is hard for me to refrain from telling you of my love.
+Does it make you angry?"
+
+"No; but have you forgotten what I said to you?"
+
+"Faith! it's quite possible, my dear neighbor; what did you say to me on
+that subject?"
+
+"I told you that I did not believe in any man's love until he had given
+me proofs of it."
+
+Her neighbor frowned, and faltered:
+
+"Ah! yes--to be sure--I remember now--proofs. But I don't feel quite
+sure what you mean by that."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, I should consider that I insulted you if I explained my
+meaning any further!" retorted Georgette, satirically. "If you don't
+understand me, so much the worse for you!"
+
+"Did you enjoy the play last night?" hastily inquired Monsieur de
+Mardeille, anxious to change the subject.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very much. I would go very often, if I had the means."
+
+"But if someone takes you, it's the same thing, isn't it?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it isn't the same thing to be able to give one's self
+pleasure when one chooses, as to take it only when it pleases others to
+offer it."
+
+"At all events, my pretty neighbor, when it is your pleasure to go
+again, I shall be at your service and delighted to escort you."
+
+"You are too kind, monsieur.--Did you notice that lady in pink who was
+in a box on the stage last night?"
+
+"In a proscenium box, do you mean?"
+
+"I don't know whether you call it a proscenium box, but the lady I mean
+had a sort of crown of flowers on her head--and she was very pretty,
+too."
+
+"Oh! yes, I remember--a lovely blonde. That was Irma, one of the women
+most in vogue at this moment."
+
+"Do you know her?"
+
+"Oh! as one knows a great many of the women one meets at all the balls
+at the Casino, at all the first performances--in short, at all the
+functions to which one can gain admission by paying for it."
+
+"Is she married?"
+
+"Married? the deuce! never!--As if those creatures ever married! She's a
+kept woman, that's the whole story."
+
+"Ah! she's a kept woman. At all events, she is kept handsomely. She had
+a magnificent diamond necklace and brooch. For they were diamonds,
+weren't they, monsieur?"
+
+"They were--or, at all events, they looked like it; but they may have
+been false. Nowadays, they make false gems that resemble real ones so
+closely that it's very hard to distinguish them. They're quite as
+handsome; indeed, they are often more effective, on account of the way
+they're mounted."
+
+"False diamonds! how horrible! I should never be willing to wear
+anything false, myself!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille looked at his watch, then rose, and said:
+
+"How the time flies with you, charming Georgette! But I have some
+business at my broker's, and I have only just time to go there. So, au
+revoir, my lovely neighbor! You are not angry any longer, are you?"
+
+"No, monsieur, no; I have entirely forgotten the past."
+
+The ex-beau bowed and left her, saying to himself:
+
+"She has forgotten the past! Therefore she has entirely forgotten that I
+gave her a complete toilette. She looks upon that as such a trifling
+matter! And now she's beginning to talk about diamonds! Oh! that is
+going too far! The little one has extravagant ideas! I wonder if she
+would like me to keep her like Irma? It's incredible! a shirtmaker
+wanting diamonds! The deuce! I didn't expect to encounter so many
+obstacles with a grisette; it never happened to me before! She talked
+with self-assurance! She's no fool, that's clear! And the worst of it is
+that, when she gets excited, her eyes have such fire and expression! She
+is enchanting! She's a little demon! But give her diamonds! never!
+never! I'd rather eat them!"
+
+Several weeks passed. Monsieur de Mardeille continued his visits in the
+daytime to Georgette, who always had her windows open, whatever the
+weather. But he did not make the slightest progress in his love affair.
+When he tried to move nearer to the girl, she compelled him to remove
+his chair; if he tried to take her hand, she withdrew it; if he tried
+to place his hand on the little skirt, at which he gazed with covetous
+eyes, she pushed him away roughly, and exclaimed in her sternest tone:
+
+"I won't have you touch my skirt; that is forbidden!"
+
+Thereupon our gallant heaved profound sighs, to which she replied by
+laughing heartily, and by mischievous glances which made her prettier
+than ever; for, while confining her neighbor strictly within the limits
+of respect, Mademoiselle Georgette did not hesitate to employ all the
+little coquettish arts that make a man more enamored than ever and put
+the finishing touch to his distraction.
+
+The result was that one day, on leaving Georgette, who had done nothing
+but walk about the room in her simple morning costume, Monsieur de
+Mardeille exclaimed:
+
+"Well! I can't do anything else! I'll send her a little brooch--in
+diamonds--rose ones--something not too expensive; and yet it must be
+pretty; for if it isn't, I know her well enough to know that she is
+quite capable of making a fool of me again. Oh! these women! to think
+that I never spent a sou on them! And this little hussy has made me
+depart from my custom, and now I'm as big a fool as other men."
+
+The next day, when he presented himself at his neighbor's door, Monsieur
+de Mardeille was amiable and lively and in high spirits; one would have
+taken him for a boy of twenty. Having taken a seat beside Georgette, he
+took a little pasteboard box from his pocket and handed it to her,
+saying:
+
+"Allow me, my charming friend, to offer you this token, this proof, of
+my affection; and be assured that in offering it to you I do not
+consider that it gives me the slightest claim to your love; I desire to
+owe that to your heart alone."
+
+"Good! that is very well said," replied Georgette, hastily opening the
+box, in which she found a little brooch, worth eight or nine hundred
+francs, and very effective.
+
+"Oh! this is most gallant of you!" she cried. "Really, monsieur, you are
+coming on!"
+
+"What's that? I am coming on?" thought Mardeille; "what does she mean by
+that? No matter! I won't ask any questions. This will touch her, and I
+am sure that to-morrow she will be the one to say: 'I expect you
+to-night.'"
+
+"This is a lovely brooch," said Georgette.
+
+"And you will deign to accept it?"
+
+"Will I accept it? Most assuredly, monsieur, and I am very grateful to
+you."
+
+"She is grateful for it; that's good!" said our seducer to himself; "the
+rest will go of itself. I won't commit the blunder of seeking payment
+now for my present; I'll go away, that will be more adroit.--I am
+obliged to leave you, my dear neighbor," he said, rising.
+
+"Already, monsieur?"
+
+"That word is very pleasant in your mouth!--Yes--I have some urgent
+business to attend to. I leave you so soon with the greatest regret, but
+to-morrow, I hope, I shall be more fortunate."
+
+"I hope so, too, monsieur."
+
+Mardeille bowed most respectfully to the young woman; without even
+taking her hand. He took his leave, enchanted with what he had done.
+
+"I have taken the right way," he thought. "Women are stubborn, as a
+general rule; to refrain from asking them for anything is enough to
+induce them to grant you everything. The little one is mine now!"
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+COLINET'S SECOND VISIT
+
+
+On the day following the gift of the brooch, Monsieur de Mardeille,
+buoyed up by the sweetest hopes, left his couch with this thought in his
+mind:
+
+"I will make a careful toilet, but I won't go to see my young friend too
+early; I must let her wish for my coming. After breakfast I will go to
+my window, and I am sure that Georgette will beckon me to come to her.
+Yes, that is the more adroit way."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille breakfasted slowly; he enjoyed his coffee as, in
+anticipation, he enjoyed his coming triumph; at last, after glancing
+over several newspapers, he went to one of the windows looking on the
+courtyard, thinking that he had given her time enough to wish for his
+coming and that he would do well to show himself.
+
+On opening his window he looked at once toward his little neighbor's,
+and saw a young man seated beside Georgette, holding both her hands and
+gazing at her most affectionately. Thereupon our gallant frowned,
+compressed his lips, and stared in dismay.
+
+"Sapristi!" he exclaimed; "with a young man! She's with a young man, and
+she pretends to receive visits from no man but me! And this is her
+gratitude for my brooch! Ah! we'll see about this! I won't allow myself
+to be fooled in this way! I must find out who this young man is who
+holds both her hands, when I can hardly induce her to let me hold one."
+
+The man whom he had discovered in his neighbor's apartment was young
+Colinet, whom we already know. His dress was almost exactly the same as
+he had worn on the occasion of his first visit to Georgette, except that
+his broadcloth trousers were replaced by linen ones, and that he carried
+a light switch instead of his stout stick. A much greater change had
+taken place on his face, however; in the intervening three months, his
+innocent, shy air had given place to one more sedate and thoughtful; it
+was still frank and open, but the artless expression had disappeared.
+
+"Oh! how glad I am to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" said Colinet, taking
+the girl's hands.
+
+"And I to see you, Colinet! It makes me very happy, I can tell you! And
+you say that everybody at home is well--my father and mother and
+sisters?"
+
+"Yes, mamzelle, I left them all in good health; and here's a letter that
+Mamzelle Suzanne, your second sister, gave me for you."
+
+"Oh! give it to me, give it to me quick, Colinet!"
+
+Georgette eagerly seized the letter that the young man had brought her;
+she broke the seal and read it to herself inaudibly; the expression of
+her face betrayed her deep interest in its contents. While Georgette was
+reading, Colinet looked about, apparently making an inspection of the
+room.
+
+"It's very nice here," he muttered; "much finer than it was in the other
+place."
+
+Having finished reading the letter, Georgette put it in her bosom, then
+smiled anew at Colinet, who said:
+
+"Will that letter bring you back to the province?"
+
+"Not yet, Colinet."
+
+"Do you still enjoy yourself more in Paris?"
+
+"It is not that, my friend; but I came here for a certain purpose; and I
+shall not leave Paris until I have finished what I have begun."
+
+"Ah! you're doing some work here, are you?"
+
+"Yes, my friend."
+
+"And you won't tell me what it is? Perhaps I could help you."
+
+"No, you couldn't help me; and it's better that I shouldn't tell you now
+what I am trying to do; but you shall know some day; yes, I promise you
+that some day you shall know everything; and you won't blame me,
+Colinet; on the contrary, I am sure that you will approve of what I have
+done."
+
+"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, I shan't blame you; for I know you, I do, and I
+know that you ain't capable of doing anything wrong. But, dear me! your
+head's a little--what do they call it down home?--a little solid; and
+when you've made up your mind to do something, why, you've got to do
+it."
+
+"Mayn't one have a strong will, as long as it doesn't lead one to do
+wrong?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Oh! you can have anything; but you used to _thou_ me, and now
+I'm sorry to find that you've stopped doing it."
+
+Georgette blushed as she replied:
+
+"That is true, Colinet; but it ought not to hurt your feelings--far from
+it--for I don't like you any the less on that account. But it seems to
+me that I ought not to speak to you so familiarly as I used to when we
+were children."
+
+"If you like me just as much, I ought not to complain; but I love you
+more and more every day, Georgette."
+
+"Oh! so much the better! that's just what I want! Above all things,
+don't you ever change; for I count on your love, Colinet!"
+
+"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, can a man ever change when he loves you?"
+
+"Kiss me, Colinet."
+
+"With all my heart!"
+
+The opposite neighbor did not see the kiss, because all this had taken
+place before he went to the window.
+
+"What about that Monsieur Dupont I saw in your room so often when I was
+here before?" queried Colinet; "do you still see him?"
+
+"No, Colinet, I don't see Monsieur Dupont any more."
+
+The young man smiled. He seemed delighted to hear that; but his brow
+grew dark when Georgette added:
+
+"No, I never see him now, but I do see another man."
+
+"Ah! you have made the acquaintance of another man?"
+
+"Yes, a very stylish gentleman who lives in this house; he comes to see
+me very often."
+
+"Very often?"
+
+"You'll probably see him very soon. Then, as I shall tell him, which is
+perfectly true, that you are an old playfellow of mine, don't forget
+that I am supposed to be a Norman."
+
+"A Norman! But that isn't true; you are from Toul, in Lorraine."
+
+"I know that very well, Colinet; but that is just what this gentleman
+mustn't find out; and, above all things, don't mention my parents' name
+before him--remember that."
+
+"Why on earth do you make all this mystery with this man? You haven't
+ever done anything wrong, I know; so why do you conceal your family
+name, mamzelle?"
+
+"You told me that you had confidence in me, Colinet."
+
+"To be sure--I have it still."
+
+"In that case, my friend, don't ask me questions that I can't answer
+now. I have told you that it will all be explained some day, and that
+ought to be enough for you."
+
+"That's true, mamzelle; I was wrong to ask you questions; I won't say
+any more about it.--So you're a Norman, are you?"
+
+"Yes; from a little village near Rouen."
+
+"What's the name of the village?"
+
+"The name? I haven't an idea; what difference does it make? any name
+will do. That man doesn't know all the suburbs of Rouen. Call it
+Belair--there are Belairs in every province."
+
+"All right; and I'm a Norman, too, I suppose?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And may I still raise calves?"
+
+"Why not? cattle are raised everywhere. Hush! I hear my neighbor coming
+upstairs."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille had crossed the courtyard like a rocket; he ran up
+the stairs without stopping for breath, entered Georgette's room like a
+shot out of a catapult, and, without even acknowledging the salutation
+of Colinet, who rose as he entered, he took his stand in front of the
+young woman and exclaimed in a hoarse voice:
+
+"It is I, mademoiselle!"
+
+"So I see, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile.
+
+"You didn't expect me--that is to say, not at this moment, I fancy."
+
+"Why not, pray, monsieur? I never expect you. You come when you please;
+neighbors don't stand on ceremony."
+
+"Yes--but I thought--I didn't expect to find you with company, as you
+said you never received anybody but me."
+
+The girl's face became grave and stern; she looked at Monsieur de
+Mardeille with a wrathful expression, exclaiming:
+
+"Let me tell you, monsieur, that I consider that what you have just said
+is in the worst possible taste. If, up to the present time, it has
+suited me to receive no other visits than yours, you may be perfectly
+sure that it hasn't been from any desire to be agreeable to you."
+
+"Mademoiselle, I----"
+
+"Upon my word, to hear you, anyone would think that I am dependent on
+you, that you have some claim over me! You make me blush for you,
+monsieur!"
+
+The ex-beau turned as red as a gobbler; he shuffled his feet about and
+tore his gloves, but did not know what to reply.
+
+"To-day," continued Georgette, "my old playfellow, the friend of my
+childhood, who has just come from our province to bring me news of my
+relatives, has called on me. He will always be welcome in my home. I was
+about to introduce him to you, monsieur, when you began to say such
+nonsensical things! You were not polite enough to acknowledge the bow my
+friend Colinet gave you when you came in. You know so well what is
+customary and proper, monsieur, that you will allow me to believe that
+you are not in your ordinary frame of mind this morning, and that
+something has happened to upset you.--Sit down again, Colinet, my
+friend."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not know where he was; Georgette's haughty
+glance had rooted him to the floor. At last, he turned to Colinet and
+made him a low bow; then he concluded to take a chair, muttering, as he
+did so:
+
+"Yes, it is true, I have a sick headache this morning, a very bad one;
+it makes me feel wretched."
+
+"All right! tell us that, and we will excuse you for being in an ill
+humor.--Colinet, my friend, are you in Paris for long?"
+
+"Oh! no, Mamzelle Georgette; I can only stay one day; I must go back
+to-morrow afternoon."
+
+The neighbor's face became amiable once more; he straightened himself up
+in his chair.
+
+"What makes you in such a hurry, Colinet?"
+
+"I have several places to stop at on my way back--to collect the price
+of cattle we've sold."
+
+"Monsieur is a cattle raiser?" Mardeille inquired.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I deal in horned cattle mostly, because there's always a
+market for them."
+
+"Yes, yes, it's an excellent business," said Monsieur de
+Mardeille.--Then he leaned toward Georgette and said to her, almost
+timidly:
+
+"You're not wearing your brooch?"
+
+"Well, I should think not--with my jacket!" laughed Georgette. "Is it
+customary to put on a brooch so early in the morning?"
+
+"Have you got a chicken to roast?"[G] queried Colinet. "I'll help you,
+if you want; I know all about chickens."
+
+Georgette laughed aloud, and Monsieur de Mardeille tried to do the same;
+but his laughter was not sincere.
+
+"We're not talking about chickens, my dear Colinet, nor of the kind of
+_broche_ you have in mind," said the young shirtmaker, when her
+merriment had somewhat abated. "Oh! I don't live so magnificently as
+that; my repasts are more modest. Still, my friend, if you will
+breakfast with me to-morrow, before you go away, I will have a sausage
+and a meat pie; with those and a good appetite, one can breakfast
+perfectly--isn't that so?"
+
+"To be sure, mamzelle; I won't fail to be here."
+
+"If Monsieur de Mardeille would like to join us, and doesn't consider
+our breakfast unworthy of him, he would give us great pleasure by
+accepting my invitation."
+
+Our dandy's face became radiant. He bowed and said:
+
+"Unworthy of me! A repast over which you preside! Why, on the contrary,
+it will seem delicious to me, and I accept your kind invitation with all
+my heart. But I will ask your permission to bring a few bottles of wine
+from my cellar; that will do no harm."
+
+"Oh! bring whatever you choose; we are not proud; we accept whatever
+anyone offers us."
+
+"In that case, my charming neighbor, it's a bargain; I will breakfast
+with you to-morrow. Meanwhile, I will leave you, for you may have a
+thousand messages to give monsieur for your relations and friends,
+commissions to intrust to him, and I should be very sorry to incommode
+you. Au revoir, my dear neighbor!--Bonjour, monsieur, until
+to-morrow!--At what hour do you breakfast, neighbor?"
+
+"At ten o'clock, monsieur."
+
+"Very good; I will be on time."
+
+And the ex-beau retired, as well pleased as he had been furious when he
+arrived; a few words from Georgette had sufficed to effect this
+revolution in his humor; to be sure, she had a way of saying them which
+precluded the possibility of a reply.
+
+After Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet seemed to be reflecting
+profoundly, and Georgette asked him:
+
+"What are you thinking about, my friend?"
+
+"About that gentleman who was here just now. How he spoke to you when he
+came in!"
+
+"And you heard how I answered him."
+
+"Oh! that did my heart good! Is that old beau making love to you?"
+
+"Yes; but don't be alarmed, Colinet; he's no more dangerous to me than
+Monsieur Dupont was."
+
+"I believe you, as you say so. But what made you ask him to breakfast
+with us to-morrow? I should have liked it better to be with you alone."
+
+"And so should I, my friend; but I did what I thought it best to do, for
+I don't want to break with my neighbor yet, and that is what would have
+happened if I hadn't invited him. I am going to answer my sister
+Suzanne's letter now, and then write to Aimée. I'll give you the letters
+to-morrow."
+
+"Then, I'll go out and do some errands; for you know how it is in the
+country: when anyone comes to Paris, people try to see who can give him
+the most errands to do. I promised to dine with some friends; so I
+shan't see you again till to-morrow."
+
+"Come early, then, so that we can have time to talk a little before
+breakfast."
+
+"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette. Oh! what a pity that we two aren't going to
+breakfast all alone together!"
+
+"A time will come, Colinet, when we two shall often be alone; but
+perhaps you won't be so anxious for it then."
+
+"Ah! Georgette! you don't think that!"
+
+The girl's only reply was to hold out her hand to her old playfellow. He
+squeezed it, then covered it with kisses; and Georgette was obliged to
+remind him of all his commissions before he could make up his mind to
+leave her.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+A DAINTY BREAKFAST
+
+
+At nine o'clock the following morning, Frontin carried to Georgette's
+apartment a _terrine_ de foie gras, a small Reims ham, cakes, some
+superb fruit, bordeaux, madeira, and champagne. The valet, remembering
+the tone in which the shirtmaker had spoken to him, was as polite to her
+now as he had formerly been impertinent.
+
+Georgette received all these supplies with no indication of surprise,
+whereas Colinet, who had already arrived at his compatriot's rooms,
+opened his eyes in amazement and exclaimed:
+
+"What! are we going to eat all that? Why, what a feast, Mamzelle
+Georgette! what a feast! That gentleman must be head over heels in love
+with you to send you so many good things!"
+
+"Do you think that that proves his love, Colinet?"
+
+"Well! it must prove something, anyway!"
+
+"Yes, it proves that he would like to seduce me; for there are women who
+allow themselves to be seduced through their appetite."
+
+"Oh, yes! there are lots of 'em. Why, at home, there's Manette, who went
+into the woods with Blaise for a plum tart! But you ain't one of that
+kind, Georgette!"
+
+"Not I! I will eat all these things, and my neighbor won't be any
+further ahead. You won't forget to give my sisters the letters I gave
+you, will you, Colinet?"
+
+"I should think not! Do I ever forget anything you tell me? Especially
+as Suzanne and Aimée are always terribly impatient to get your letters."
+
+"I can believe it. Poor sisters!"
+
+"Have you told them that you're coming home soon?"
+
+"Not yet, my friend, not yet."
+
+"Are you going to stay in Paris much longer?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! I haven't any idea."
+
+"And your mother, dear Maman Granery! Oh! she longs so for you!"
+
+"My mother! Oh! Colinet, please tell her that I love her as dearly as
+ever, that she will never have to blush for me, and that I---- But,
+hush! I hear Monsieur de Mardeille."
+
+The neighbor from the first floor entered the room, all smiles and
+amiability and merriment. He presented his respects to Georgette and
+slapped Colinet familiarly on the shoulder.
+
+"Really, monsieur, you are very kind to us," said Georgette; "you have
+sent us so many things! My poor little pie won't dare to appear beside
+your gifts!"
+
+"You are jesting, my dear neighbor! We will punish your pie with the
+rest--eh, Monsieur Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I ask nothing better."
+
+"In that case, messieurs, let us begin."
+
+They took their seats at a table which was not elegantly furnished, but
+was exquisitely neat. Flowers took the place of the wonderful _surtouts_
+which adorn the tables of the wealthy; and women have the art of
+arranging flowers with so much taste, that they always achieve lovely
+decorative effects with them. And then, too, Georgette did the honors of
+the table without embarrassment or awkwardness; and lastly, she still
+wore her little silk petticoat and her jacket, which made her
+altogether fascinating.
+
+"You will excuse me, monsieur, for not dressing for the occasion," she
+said to her neighbor; "but I am more comfortable this way; and then I
+should have been afraid of spoiling my beautiful gown."
+
+"You are enchanting in this costume, my little neighbor; I should have
+been terribly distressed if you had made your toilet.--Don't you agree
+with me, Monsieur Colinet? don't you think that Mademoiselle Georgette
+is very seductive in this charming négligé?"
+
+Colinet was busy eating; however, he replied, shaking his head:
+
+"I am used to seeing mamzelle like this! At home, we never dress up,
+except for the church festivals."
+
+"Where is your home, Monsieur Colinet?"
+
+The young man glanced at Georgette, who guessed that he had forgotten
+the name she had told him; so she replied for him:
+
+"Belair, monsieur."
+
+"Belair! I don't know of any town of that name in Normandie."
+
+"It isn't a town; it's a village."
+
+"Oh! if it's only a village, that makes a difference. Drink, Monsieur
+Colinet. Are you fond of wine?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; especially when it's as good as this."
+
+"And then, you don't drink much of anything but cider in your province,
+I suppose?"
+
+"Cider?"--And Colinet looked surprised; but Georgette kicked him, under
+the table, saying:
+
+"Why, yes! cider, of course. Cider is much more common at home--in
+Normandie--than wine. So I advise you not to drink too much of this,
+Colinet, for it would soon make you tipsy!"
+
+"Oh! no, you need have no fear," rejoined Monsieur de Mardeille;
+"natural wines never do any harm."
+
+"Well! that's his business. But if you make him tipsy, he won't be able
+to start for home to-day."
+
+This suggestion from Georgette checked the ex-dandy, who was about to
+fill the young man's glass, but reflected that it would be very foolish
+to prevent the old playfellow from going away from Paris.
+
+The breakfast lasted a long while; Colinet succeeded in retaining his
+reason, while doing honor to the neighbor's wines. Georgette was careful
+to change the subject when Monsieur de Mardeille mentioned Normandie.
+When the clock struck one, the latter rose and said:
+
+"I must go to the Bourse."
+
+"And I," said Colinet, "must think about starting for home."
+
+"A pleasant journey, Monsieur Colinet! We shall meet again, I hope."
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Georgette; "you will certainly see him again."
+
+When Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet said, with a sigh:
+
+"He's luckier than I am, that man is; for he stays with you, and I am
+going to leave you again!"
+
+"No, Colinet, he isn't luckier than you, for I love you, and I shall
+never have either love or friendship for that man."
+
+"Ah! if that's so, you're right, I am luckier than he is! His breakfast
+was mighty good! But, for all that, I'd rather have nothing but
+potatoes, with nobody but you!"
+
+"So would I, my friend."
+
+"Then you ought not to have invited him!"
+
+"Are you going to begin your questions again, Colinet?"
+
+"Oh! no, no! forgive me; I'm done."
+
+"Then kiss me and go; and kiss my father and mother and sisters for me."
+
+"Oh! never you fear; I won't fail."
+
+Colinet kissed Georgette and went away, weeping as bitterly as on the
+previous occasion.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS
+
+
+About five o'clock in the afternoon, Monsieur de Mardeille returned to
+Georgette's room, having seen her sitting at the window, alone.
+
+"Well, so your young compatriot has gone?" he said, taking a seat by her
+side.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, a long while ago; almost as soon as you went."
+
+"That young man seems to be very fond of you."
+
+"Yes; he's a true friend."
+
+"But isn't he your lover?"
+
+"I have told you, monsieur, that I have no lover; and I can add, without
+lying, that I have never had one."
+
+"I believe you, my dear neighbor, I believe you; although it's a rare
+thing to find in Paris a girl of twenty--for you are twenty, are you
+not?"
+
+"And six months, monsieur."
+
+"And six months! that makes it all the more remarkable! A girl who is
+virtuous and always has been. Oh! that is very pretty! But, after all,
+I suppose that you do not intend to retain your--heart always?"
+
+"I don't know, monsieur; one cannot tell what may happen."
+
+"Bravo! very well answered!"
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille moved his chair nearer to Georgette's, and
+murmured:
+
+"And suppose circumstances should bring you in contact with a man who
+adores you, whose happiness consists in making you happy,--like myself,
+for instance,--then would you yield to him?"
+
+"But women are so weak!"
+
+"Ah! fascinating girl, I am the happiest of men! you fill my cup to the
+brim!"
+
+As he spoke, Monsieur de Mardeille extended his hand toward the little
+black petticoat; but Georgette quickly moved her chair away and struck
+him a smart blow on the fingers, saying in a very serious tone:
+
+"Well! monsieur, what sort of manners are these? I have told you before
+that I did not like that!"
+
+The ex-beau stamped on the floor in a rage, crying:
+
+"Sapristi! mademoiselle, so you propose to make a fool of me to the end!
+You give me reason to hope that you will cease to be cruel, and then you
+forbid me the slightest liberty! What does it all mean? Where do we
+stand? I would like very much to know what to expect."
+
+"I am not making a fool of you, monsieur; but what led you to think that
+I was about to yield to you already?"
+
+"Already! _already_ is very pretty, on my word! When I have been making
+love to mademoiselle more than two months! when I have made great
+sacrifices for her! I am not talking about the dress--that was a trifle;
+but you seemed to want a diamond brooch, and I sent it to you
+instantly. That was no trifle, allow me to tell you; and when a woman
+accepts such presents----"
+
+"She immediately becomes the mistress of the man who gives them; is that
+it, monsieur?"
+
+"Faith, yes! at least, that's the general rule."
+
+"Well, monsieur, it isn't according to my ideas!"
+
+"In that case, mademoiselle, what are your ideas, or rather your
+demands? for, really, I don't understand you."
+
+"Look you, Monsieur de Mardeille, do you wish me to explain myself
+frankly? do you wish me to tell you what I have resolved upon?"
+
+"Oh, yes! pray explain yourself! that will give me great pleasure!
+Speak! I am impatient to hear you."
+
+"Listen to me, then, monsieur. If I, being touched and flattered by your
+present of a brooch, should yield to you to-day, as you claim that I
+ought to do, what would happen, monsieur? This: that when your love, or
+rather your caprice, was once satisfied--for, with most men of your
+stamp, this ardent love is only a caprice----"
+
+"Oh! can you believe----"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes, I do believe it; indeed, I haven't the least doubt
+of it; but let me finish, I beg.--Well! if I were weak enough, foolish
+enough--let us not mince words--to cease to resist, then, in a month, or
+two months, say three months, if you choose, you would have had enough
+of your little grisette; she would bore you, and you would cease to see
+her; more than that, you would avoid her as zealously as you now seek
+her. So the girl is abandoned by the man to whom she sacrificed
+everything, whose oaths she believed! And that man, after making her
+unaccustomed to work by a life of idleness and dissipation, leaves her,
+in most cases, with no resource against destitution! But even that is
+not all! If the girl alone were unhappy, that would be much, no doubt,
+but still she alone would be punished for her fault. It is not always
+so. Often, too often, a wretched child is born of that passing
+connection. Then the poor girl, who can hardly support herself by her
+labor, has no means of supporting her child! Isn't that horrible? Ought
+not one to shrink in dismay from such a terrible future?"
+
+"Oh! mademoiselle, you are imagining chimeras! You are romancing!"
+
+"No, monsieur, I am not romancing; I am simply stating what is seen,
+what happens every day! And you yourself, monsieur, who claim that I am
+inventing chimeras, be frank, if such a thing is possible, and tell me
+if you never seduced and then abandoned a girl in the situation I have
+just sketched? Think over your life, your love affairs, your numerous
+conquests, and tell me, monsieur, if you are quite sure that such a
+thing never happened to you?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille changed color; he rose, with a sullen expression
+on his face, and paced the floor, muttering:
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, my numerous conquests, my adventures, aren't in
+question here. I can't go over everything that has happened to me; it
+would take too long. Besides, I don't remember."
+
+"Say, rather, that you don't choose to remember."
+
+"In heaven's name, let us drop this and return to you. According to what
+you have said, if I understand you, you will not yield to anyone----"
+
+"Until he has placed me in such a position that I need have no fear of
+poverty, and that I can support and educate my child--if I should have
+one. Yes, monsieur, that is my firm and irrevocable resolution, and I
+promise you that I shall not change."
+
+The dandified neighbor made a horrible grimace, and continued to pace
+the floor, mumbling:
+
+"The devil! the devil! you look ahead, mademoiselle; you take your
+precautions."
+
+"Is that forbidden, monsieur?"
+
+"No; but it's very uncommon--luckily. For you, love, sentiment, a man's
+attractions--everything that ordinarily captivates a young girl glides
+over your heart without stirring it. Sensibility is not your strong
+point."
+
+"Do you think so? And are you yourself so very sensitive, monsieur?"
+
+"I am--to your charms, most assuredly. But my love does not touch you;
+you are very cruel to me."
+
+"I am less stupid than other women, that's all!"
+
+"However, mademoiselle, if one must settle a fortune on you in order to
+obtain your favors, you must understand that everybody can't afford to
+indulge in such a passion."
+
+"A fortune! Oh! no, monsieur, I am not so ambitious as all that; a
+fortune is not what I ask, but simply the means to bring up the child
+that is so often the result of a woman's fault."
+
+"Ah! you have in mind only the result! But suppose there isn't any
+result?"
+
+"Why, then it will be for the poor girl herself, who will at least be
+secure against want."
+
+"Ah! it will be for the girl, if it isn't needed for the child! Very
+good! You think of everything! You would make an excellent cashier for a
+broker!"
+
+"Why, I should not object to that. As a general rule, men earn more with
+the pen than women do with the needle."
+
+"That is why women don't look to their needle to satisfy their
+coquetry."
+
+"They have no choice, since they are forced to it."
+
+"Nobody forces them to be coquettes."
+
+"But you would be very sorry if they were not!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille continued to pace the floor, humming between his
+teeth:
+
+  "'When one knows how to love and please, what other boon can one desire?'
+
+No, no! that song isn't appropriate!--
+
+    'A bandage covers the eyes of the god that makes men love!'
+
+That is nearer the truth.--
+
+    'Come, lady fair, I await thee, I await thee, I await thee!"
+
+Georgette went on with her work, as if he were not there. When he was
+tired of singing, he went to the shirtmaker's side and said to her
+abruptly:
+
+"What ought it to cost for a child's porridge?"
+
+Georgette replied, with a smile:
+
+"Seek and ye shall find."
+
+"Ah! now you are quoting the Gospel at me! But Saint Peter was scoffing
+at us when he said that; for there's one thing that I have constantly
+sought and have never found. I won't tell you what it is, out of respect
+for your sex, but any man will guess my meaning. But I return to what I
+asked you just now. It seems to me that with two or three thousand
+francs one ought to be able to provide porridge in large quantities and
+for a long time!"
+
+"Do you expect a child to live on nothing but porridge?"
+
+"That or something like it. A child eats so little!"
+
+"But food isn't the only thing it needs. When it grows up, its education
+must be attended to, mustn't it? and then, it must be apprenticed and
+taught a trade. It must know how to earn its living, so that it can help
+its mother when the time comes."
+
+"Oh! tra la la! there's no reason why you shouldn't go on! Why don't you
+ask me at once to buy a substitute for him if it's a boy, or to give her
+a dowry if it's a girl?"
+
+"Why, that would be no more than right!"
+
+"Didn't I tell you, mademoiselle, that you demanded a fortune?"
+
+"No, monsieur, you exaggerate. For it seems to me--yes, let us suppose
+that there's a boy to be brought up--I am inclined to think that with
+twelve thousand francs it might be done."
+
+"Twelve thousand francs!"--And Monsieur de Mardeille jumped so high that
+his head nearly struck the ceiling.--"Twelve thousand francs!" he
+repeated. "Do you think that that is nothing, mademoiselle?"
+
+"I think that it is no more than is necessary to make a child into a
+man. Why, by putting that sum in the savings bank at once, one would
+have a little income, which would keep increasing. Oh! you may be sure,
+monsieur, that the mother would keep nothing for herself; but she would
+at least be at ease with respect to her child's future."
+
+"And as she would use none of that little income for herself, she would
+still have to be supported, I suppose?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur! That sum, once given, would be the whole; she would
+accept nothing more."
+
+The elderly beau began once more to stride back and forth, ejaculating
+from time to time:
+
+"The world is getting to be a curious place; it's a good school; one
+learns something every day!--But women are becoming sharper and sharper!
+We're nothing but children beside them! Twelve thousand francs! Why, not
+long ago, a man might have had more than a hundred mistresses with that
+money! I am not speaking for myself, for God knows I never ruined myself
+for women! I always triumphed without untying my purse strings. I prefer
+that way; at all events, I was sure that I was loved on my own account.
+They didn't offer to break the bargain!"
+
+"Do you know, monsieur, that these reflections of yours are not very
+polite!" said Georgette, annoyed by his soliloquies.
+
+"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I might at least be permitted to
+complain!"
+
+"No, monsieur, you may not. You criticise my conduct! But if I choose,
+monsieur, I should have to say but a word to make you blush for yours;
+to force you to lower your crest before me and ask my pardon for all
+your impertinence."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille stared at her and stammered:
+
+"I don't understand a word of what you say, mademoiselle. If you would
+explain yourself a little more clearly----"
+
+"It doesn't suit me to do so at this moment; but, never fear, you won't
+lose anything by waiting."
+
+The neighbor took his hat to go, saying to himself:
+
+"I won't lose anything? That's a question. I am very much afraid I shall
+have nothing to show for my brooch. If I dared, I'd ask her to give it
+back; but I don't dare, especially as I have an idea that she wouldn't
+do it. This little vixen holds me in awe; she has such a way of
+speaking, such a decided tone! What an idiot I have been! This will
+teach me to make sacrifices for women!"
+
+He turned to Georgette, and with a curt nod to her left the room,
+infinitely less radiant than he had been in the morning, and muttering
+between his teeth:
+
+"Twelve thousand francs! a little shirtmaker! What are we coming to?
+Great God! what are we coming to?"
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+A PARCEL
+
+
+For a week following this interview, the tenant of the first floor front
+was in an unapproachable humor. He went in and out at all hours of the
+day, scolded his servant, ate hardly anything, slept badly, and did not
+once go to the windows looking on the courtyard. One day Frontin
+attempted to speak of the young tenant of the entresol; but his master
+abruptly interposed, saying:
+
+"If you so much as refer to the shirtmaker, if you venture to repeat a
+single word relating to her, I'll put you out of doors with a kick--you
+know where!"
+
+But at the end of the week, Monsieur de Mardeille, alarmed by his loss
+of appetite and his inability to sleep, and observing in dismay that his
+rosy, smiling face was assuming the semblance of a baked apple, that his
+brow was becoming wrinkled and his cheeks sunken, and that, if that sort
+of thing continued, he would soon appear at least as old as he really
+was, said to himself:
+
+"Things can't go on like this! I try to divert my thoughts, and I can't
+do it! I pay court to other women, they welcome me with open arms, yet
+I don't go back to them! The image of that little Georgette is always
+before my eyes! I see her going back and forth in her chamber, in her
+jacket and short skirt. Her voluptuous shape turns my head! Decidedly I
+am mad over that girl. And after all, I should be a great fool to pine
+away with longing, when it is in my power to be that girl's happy lover!
+I know what it will cost me. But, still, twelve thousand francs won't
+ruin me; especially as she said in so many words that she would not ask
+for anything more after that. And there are women who ask all the time.
+You don't give them so much at one time, but it amounts to the same
+thing, indeed it costs more in the end!"
+
+While making these reflections, Monsieur de Mardeille walked about the
+room, and finally said to Frontin:
+
+"Frontin, is it long since you met our little neighbor?"
+
+The valet, recalling his master's prohibition, stared at him in
+amazement, and then replied:
+
+"Madame Picotée? No; I met her in the courtyard no longer ago than this
+morning."
+
+"What's that? who said anything about Madame Picotée, you idiot? Didn't
+I say our little neighbor? What do you suppose I care for that old
+party? I am talking about the girl on the entresol, the charming
+Georgette."
+
+When he heard the pretty shirtmaker's name, Frontin said to himself:
+
+"This is a test; monsieur forbade me to speak of her; he is trying to
+test me."
+
+Whereupon he put a finger to his lip and turned to his master, shaking
+his head and laughing, as if to say:
+
+"Not such a fool as you think!"
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille, thoroughly out of patience, shook his
+servant's arm, crying:
+
+"Will you answer me, you clown?"
+
+"You forbade me to mention the young girl on the entresol, monsieur."
+
+"I retract that order, numskull!"
+
+"Oh! I couldn't guess that!"
+
+"I want you to mention her now, and to tell me everything you know about
+her. And you must know something, for you're always in the concierge's
+lodge."
+
+"Bless me! monsieur, it's the same old story: Monsieur Bistelle keeps
+sending Mamzelle Georgette bouquets and billets-doux, begging her to
+receive him; but, _nisco!_ she won't receive him, and she sends back his
+billets-doux."
+
+"Really? Georgette refuses to receive that fellow? That's good! She
+received me; and my neighbor is rich and must have made her handsome
+offers! So she gave me the preference; therefore she must have a
+penchant for me! She resists me only because she's got that wretched
+notion of dread of possible results in her head. But I am preferred;
+therefore she loves me; it's just the same thing. Is that all you know,
+Frontin?"
+
+"Oh! the gentleman--the old bachelor, Monsieur Renardin, has been trying
+to send something else to our little neighbor. He ordered a superb Savoy
+biscuit. I don't know how Mademoiselle Arthémise found out about it, but
+she did. So then she did sentry duty in the concierge's lodge, and
+stopped the pastry cook's boy as he passed, got possession of the Savoy
+biscuit, hollowed it out, and put it on her head, so that she looked
+like a Turk. She went all over the house with the biscuit on her head,
+and waited on her master at dinner that way. He happened to have
+company, too!"
+
+"That was well done! Think of that man flattering himself that he could
+seduce her with biscuits! What a jackass!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille went to the window and raised the curtain.
+Georgette was in her usual place, and seemed to him even more seductive
+than ever. He feared that she might be offended with him; however, he
+could not resist the desire to open the window and seat himself at it;
+then he watched for a glance from her. It was not long before she raised
+her eyes in his direction; whereupon he made her a low bow, to which she
+replied by a most affable smile. He was enchanted, radiant; he passed an
+hour at the window; and Georgette looked at him and smiled several
+times.
+
+"She isn't angry; she will receive me kindly--I saw that in her eyes,"
+he said to himself. "Yes, I can call on her without fear. True; but if I
+don't follow out her suggestion, I shall not make any progress."
+
+The day passed, and Monsieur de Mardeille had been unable to decide what
+course to pursue. He went to his desk several times, looked through his
+cashbox, counted the banknotes, gazed at them with a sigh, then restored
+them to their place. Love and avarice were fighting a battle to the
+death in his heart, and his long-standing habits were being subjected to
+a cruel shock.
+
+The next day he was still wavering, hesitating, unable to decide upon
+any plan, when Frontin suddenly came to him and said:
+
+"Do come and look out of the window, monsieur; Mamzelle Georgette is in
+the courtyard, pumping; if you could see how gracefully she pumps!"
+
+"Yes, yes, let's see that!"
+
+Our lover hastened to take his place at a window that overlooked the
+pump. Georgette was there, in the little petticoat that clung about her
+hips; and the exercise of pumping developed all her good points most
+happily. Did the girl suspect it? Probably, for she seemed to take
+pleasure in what is to most people tiresome labor.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, having gazed for several minutes at the animated
+picture before him, hurried to his cashbox and took out a bundle of
+banknotes. His hesitation was at an end; he stuffed them hastily into a
+wallet, which he put in his pocket; then, making a rapid toilet, he left
+his room and betook himself to Georgette's apartment, saying to himself,
+like Cæsar as he passed the Rubicon: "_Alea jacta est!_"
+
+The young shirtmaker had hardly time enough to leave the pump, reach her
+room, and resume her work, ere she saw Monsieur de Mardeille enter,
+eager, agitated, and throbbing with hope. He rushed toward Georgette,
+took a seat near her, and said:
+
+"My dear little neighbor, I have come to ask your pardon----"
+
+"My pardon! Why, I have no recollection that you have offended me,
+monsieur."
+
+"Oh! yes, yes! The last time that I was here I said things to you that I
+shouldn't have said."
+
+"If you did, monsieur, I have forgotten them."
+
+"Ah! that is well done! how amiable of you! But I could not live away
+from you, charming Georgette; I was too unhappy!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+"It is so true, that to prove my love I have decided to submit to every
+sacrifice--which I never did before for any woman. But what would one
+not do to touch that bewitching petticoat, which always flies when I
+try to catch it! See, fascinating girl; take this wallet; it contains
+twelve thousand francs in banknotes! Will this put an end to your
+rigorous treatment of me?"
+
+Georgette's cheeks flushed; a gleam of joy, of triumph, shone in her
+eyes; she took the portfolio, looked at it without opening it, and said
+in an uncertain voice:
+
+"As you have done this, I must needs yield to you. But I ask you for a
+respite of one more day. I want to think of my family to-day, to recall
+my childish memories; but to-morrow, oh! to-morrow, you will no longer
+find me cruel!"
+
+"I cannot refuse anything to her who promises me perfect bliss! So
+to-morrow you will not be wild and shy any more--you will let me touch
+that little villain of a skirt that puts my heart in a flutter?"
+
+"Oh! I promise you that you shall touch it all you choose to-morrow, and
+that I shall not object!"
+
+"Enough, enough, my divinity! I do not care to hear any more, and I
+leave you until to-morrow; for if I should stay with you, I would not
+answer for my self-restraint. Until to-morrow! We will breakfast
+together, and your windows will be closed, won't they?"
+
+"They will be, you will see."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille took his leave; he was in raptures, and said to
+himself:
+
+"She put me off till to-morrow. I have an idea that, before yielding to
+me, she wanted to know by count if there really was the amount I
+mentioned in the wallet. She's a cautious damsel; she won't allow
+herself to be caught very easily! But what difference does it make to
+me? She will find that I haven't deceived her; and this time she will
+keep her promise, I am sure."
+
+An afternoon and evening are interminable when the next day is to
+witness the fulfilment of all one's hopes. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+what he could to kill the time: he called on some friends, dined at a
+restaurant, looked in at several theatres, went home very late, went to
+bed, and fell asleep at last, dreaming of Georgette.
+
+The so ardently desired day broke at last. Our gallant awoke rather
+late, and rang for Frontin, who came in on tiptoe.
+
+"What time is it, Frontin?"
+
+"Nearly ten o'clock, monsieur."
+
+"What! you let me sleep so late as this without waking me?"
+
+"Wake monsieur! He did not tell me to, and I should never think of
+taking the liberty!"
+
+"No matter! prepare everything for my toilet. You must curl my hair, and
+take pains with it; I want to be very handsome this morning."
+
+"Oh! monsieur always is that!"
+
+"Not bad, for a numskull!"
+
+"I mean that when a man is rich he is always handsome."
+
+"You are talking nonsense now. By the way, Frontin, look out of the
+dining-room window and tell me if my little neighbor Georgette is at her
+window."
+
+Frontin obeyed; in a moment he returned and said:
+
+"It's very extraordinary, monsieur; all the windows are closed in
+Mamzelle Georgette's rooms, and usually they're all wide open!"
+
+"Closed!" repeated Monsieur de Mardeille, with a smile. "Oh! I remember;
+that's what I asked her to do, yesterday; that proves that she is
+expecting me. Stupid of me to sleep so late!--Come, Frontin, be quick
+about my hair."
+
+The servant dressed his master's hair in haste. When he had put the
+finishing touches to it, Monsieur de Mardeille said to him:
+
+"Now, go to the sideboard and get some madeira, bordeaux, and champagne,
+which you will carry to my little neighbor, and tell her that I am at
+your heels. I will be at her room in five minutes."
+
+Frontin disappeared; but he returned before his master had finished
+dressing; he had two bottles under his arms and the third in his hand,
+and his face wore a more inane expression than usual.
+
+"How is this, imbecile? Haven't you done yet what I told you? Why don't
+you carry those bottles to Georgette's?" shouted Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I've been there, but I couldn't find
+anyone. That's why I've come back with my bottles."
+
+"Couldn't find anyone! She has gone out to buy something, no
+doubt.--Couldn't you wait on her landing a minute?"
+
+"That is what I thought of doing at first, monsieur; but it was just as
+well I didn't, for it seems that I should have wasted my time."
+
+"Wasted your time? What do you mean? Come, come! explain yourself!"
+
+"When I was coming back, monsieur, I met the concierge.--'Has Mamzelle
+Georgette gone out already?' I said. 'Do you know whether she'll be back
+soon?'--At that he began to laugh, and he said: 'Pardi! if you wait for
+her, you'll waste your time; she went away last night.'"
+
+"Went away last night? Nonsense! you don't know what you're saying; you
+misunderstood! Went away! where did she go?"
+
+"That's what I asked, monsieur. It seems that the girl has moved. She
+paid the concierge last night; she sent for an upholsterer, and sold him
+all her furniture; then she took a cab, and off she went without saying
+where she was going."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille turned green, red, and ash-colored in turn.
+
+"A glass of water, Frontin! a glass of water!" he stammered, dropping on
+a chair. "I think I am going to faint."
+
+The servant hastily gave his master a glass of water, saying:
+
+"Was monsieur so very much in love with our little neighbor?"
+
+At that, Monsieur de Mardeille threw the water in Frontin's face.
+
+"Hold your tongue, you brute! I am robbed, that's what I am! Fetch the
+concierge; I must speak to him."
+
+"He has something for you from Mamzelle Georgette, monsieur; for he said
+to me: 'Is your master awake? I've got something to give him in person
+from this young woman, who gave me the parcel before she went away.'"
+
+"And you didn't tell me that, you idiot! Go, run, and tell him to come
+up instantly!"
+
+"Hark! monsieur, someone's ringing; that must be him. I'll go and let
+him in."
+
+The old beau was still wavering between hope and fear.
+
+"This package--why, she must have returned me my banknotes," he thought.
+"She has probably reflected, and concluded to remain virtuous. If that's
+how it is, I must make the best of it."
+
+The concierge entered his tenant's apartment, bringing a rather large
+parcel, carefully wrapped in paper; he carried it on his outstretched
+arms, as if he were delivering the keys of a city on a salver, and
+handed it to Monsieur de Mardeille, who looked at it, scrutinized it,
+and at once said to himself:
+
+"I didn't give her enough banknotes to make so large a parcel as this!"
+
+"This is what the young woman on the entresol told me to give you,
+monsieur, when she went away."
+
+"Went away! But why did you let the girl go away? Did you give her
+notice to quit?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but she paid in full and one quarter ahead, so I couldn't
+prevent her from going, especially as she seemed in a great hurry."
+
+"And you didn't ask her where she was going?"
+
+"I beg your pardon; she told me that she was going back to her province,
+but that she should come to Paris again in a week."
+
+"And she didn't leave you her address?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but she left me this little note for you."
+
+"Give it to me! you should have begun with that! Leave me now.--You go,
+too, Frontin."
+
+The concierge and the valet left the room together, agreeing that it was
+too bad that he had not opened the parcel in their presence.
+
+"I should have liked to know what it was the little shirtmaker sent
+him," said the concierge.
+
+"You had it in your hands; couldn't you feel what there was inside the
+paper?"
+
+"Faith, no!"
+
+"Was it hard?"
+
+"No; it was soft."
+
+"Then it's probably a cheese that she had sent to her from her
+province."
+
+When he was alone, Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in opening the
+parcel; it contained the little black petticoat that Georgette usually
+wore.
+
+"Her petticoat! She sends me her petticoat!" cried Monsieur de
+Mardeille. "What bitter mockery!"
+
+Then he unsealed the letter and read these words:
+
+"I told you that to-day you would be able to hold and fondle my little
+petticoat at your leisure. You see that I keep my word; here it is. You
+will think very badly of me, will you not, monsieur? Before you condemn
+me, wait until you have seen me again, which will be as soon as I can
+possibly arrange it. Yes, have no fear; you shall hear from me."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was speechless; the letter dropped from his hands.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+A BLASÉ YOUNG MAN
+
+
+It was a fortnight after the events we have narrated.
+
+In a very handsome apartment on Rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, a young man
+attired in a superb robe de chambre was strolling listlessly from one
+room to another, smoking a cigarette.
+
+This young man was the Vicomte de Sommerston. The descendant of a very
+wealthy Irish family, Edward de Sommerston was born in France and had
+never chosen to visit the home of his ancestors. He had come into
+possession of an income of eighty thousand francs at the age of
+twenty-one, and had immediately plunged into the life of pleasure,
+dissipation, and debauchery which ages men so rapidly.
+
+He was tall, well built, handsome, and rich--this was twice more than
+enough to kill in ten years a man who was unable to resist his passions.
+The viscount was now twenty-nine; he was not dead yet, but he was not
+much better than that; he had not only used, but abused everything. The
+list of his mistresses was enormously long, especially as there were
+many of them whom he had known no more than a week, as he was an
+essentially fickle and capricious youth. The woman he adored to-day was
+an object of indifference to him to-morrow. Unluckily for him, he had
+never fallen in with any cruel charmers, his reputation as a rake and
+_mauvais sujet_ being, on the contrary, a powerful recommendation with
+the ladies to whom he addressed his homage.
+
+Edward had run through the half of his fortune; he had enough remaining
+to enable him to live comfortably, if he had known how to make a wise
+use of it; but he did not know how to do anything, even to amuse
+himself: everything was a burden and a bore to him. He was no longer
+capable of loving; he had ruined his stomach by flooding it with
+champagne and malvoisie; he still gambled from time to time, but without
+enjoyment unless luck was exceedingly unfavorable to him; when he lost
+heavily, he experienced a sort of excitement which brought a little life
+to his pallid, wasted face.
+
+A single passion retained its power over him: he still smoked. It was
+impossible to meet him without a cigarette in his mouth; and that was
+followed by another and another and another; wherever he might be, at
+home or elsewhere, he smoked continually; he could not do without it,
+he said. He owed that lamentable habit to the foolish good nature of
+those ladies who allowed him to smoke in their rooms, and sometimes
+smoked with him. What do you think about the fair sex smoking?
+
+To no purpose had the doctors told the viscount:
+
+"You make a mistake to smoke so much; it's injuring your health; you
+cough constantly, your lungs are weak, and you'll dry them up completely
+by smoking as you do; you'll go into a consumption."
+
+These warnings, instead of being acted upon, had produced the opposite
+effect on the young man, who insisted that he knew better than the
+doctors.
+
+"Bah!" he said to himself; "they tell me not to smoke. Well! I'll smoke
+more than ever, to let them see how much I think of their advice."
+
+In fact, the number of cigarettes he smoked in a day reached such a
+fabulous figure, that his valet's sole occupation was to make them for
+his master.
+
+From time to time, Edward had travelled, hoping to find new sensations
+amid new scenes. He had visited Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and England;
+but, unluckily, the man who can scatter gold along his path meets with
+no obstacles to his desires in any country; women are coquettish, men
+are selfish, innkeepers have an eye to the main chance, servants are
+flatterers, everywhere. In Spain, thanks to the national jealousy, the
+viscount had fought several duels; but as he handled both sword and
+pistol with skill, he was always victorious, which fact afforded him no
+pleasure at all.
+
+Once, as he was travelling in Switzerland, and trying to climb some
+glacier, he fell over a precipice, and lay there nearly six hours before
+he was rescued by guides, by means of rope ladders. He was half frozen,
+but well content, and he remembered that day as one of the pleasantest
+during his travels.
+
+He had returned to Paris, after a trip to Italy, only three weeks before
+we first meet him strolling about his apartments, smoking cigarettes,
+which he rarely finished, and followed at a distance by his valet,
+Lépinette, preparing others. Suddenly he halted in the middle of his
+salon, and asked:
+
+"What time is it, Lépinette?"
+
+"Nearly three o'clock, monsieur le vicomte."
+
+"Really? Give me a cigarette."
+
+"Here it is, monsieur."
+
+"I will finish dressing.--What in the devil am I going to do to-day,
+Lépinette? Do you know?"
+
+"I think that monsieur told three of his friends, Messieurs Florville,
+Dumarsey, and Lamberlong, to call for him to ride in the Bois."
+
+"Ah, yes! you are right. Yes, those gentlemen were to call for me.--This
+one isn't well made; give me another."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"To ride in the Bois--always the same thing; it's horribly
+monotonous.--Lépinette, you must find something to amuse me."
+
+"I should like nothing better; but monsieur le vicomte is so exacting!
+Things that would delight other gentlemen are indifferent to him, or
+displease him."
+
+"That is true; I am hard to amuse. I resemble Louis XIV in that. I hoped
+to find something new when I came back to Paris.--This one draws badly;
+give me another."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"But no--nothing new or exciting!"
+
+"There are some very pretty women in the quarter, monsieur."
+
+"Bah! according to your taste, not mine!--But don't I hear horses in the
+courtyard?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; they are your friends, who have called for monsieur le
+vicomte, no doubt."
+
+"Bigre! and I am not dressed! Never mind! they can wait.--Give me a
+cigarette."
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS
+
+
+The viscount's friends entered his salon in riding costume, hunting crop
+in hand.
+
+The first was a tall youth of nearly six feet, and so slender and frail
+that he seemed in danger of breaking in two when he stooped; especially
+as he was always dressed in the latest style, and squeezed and pinched
+himself so that not the slightest crease could be detected in his
+clothes. Many ladies envied that young man his figure. His name was
+Florville, and his face was not unattractive.
+
+The second was a young man of medium stature, whose hair was bright red,
+as were the rims of his eyes; which did not prevent him from esteeming
+himself a very good-looking fellow; he dared not turn his head, for fear
+of rumpling his collar or disarranging the knot of his cravat. He was an
+habitué of the Théàtre-Italien; he never missed a performance, insisted
+on posing as a great connoisseur in music, and declared that he could
+easily have reached high C, if his voice had been cultivated; but it had
+not been. This individual, so laughable by reason of his manners and
+his pretensions, was Monsieur Lamberlong.
+
+The third of the viscount's visitors was a man of about thirty,
+remarkable neither for beauty nor ugliness, rather stout than thin, with
+a good-humored, smiling face, and all the manners of a high liver. His
+name was Dumarsey.
+
+Florville and Dumarsey had enormous cigars in their mouths. The young
+man with the red hair did not smoke; by way of compensation, he had a
+little square glass over his right eye, and kept it in place almost all
+the time; his kind friends declared that he ought to wear one on the
+left eye as well, in order to conceal both his albino-like lids.
+
+"Here we are! here we are, Edward!--The deuce! he's not ready!"
+
+"I was sure he wouldn't be; I'd have bet on it."
+
+"Well! what's your hurry, messieurs? In the first place, it's too early
+to go to the Bois. We have time enough. I will finish dressing.--Lépinette,
+give me a cigarette."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"Will you allow me to complete my toilet in your presence?"
+
+"Go on, go on, take all the time you want!" said Dumarsey; "I have a
+good londres; that's enough for me."
+
+"For my part," said Florville, "I am not satisfied with this so-called
+Havana."
+
+"If you would like a cigar, Monsieur Lamberlong, you'll find a box on
+the console yonder. I smoke nothing but cigarettes myself, but I always
+keep a few cigars for my friends."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, dear viscount; but I don't care about smoking;
+there was a man at the Bouffes last night who smelt very strongly of
+tobacco; it made a number of ladies ill."
+
+"As there is no performance at the Bouffes to-night, you have nothing to
+fear."
+
+"Oh! but I am going to a concert to-night, at which Alboni is to sing."
+
+"You stick to music, don't you?"
+
+"It's my element."
+
+"You know, Edward," laughed Dumarsey, "Lamberlong would have been able
+to reach high _C_, if his natural faculties had been cultivated. What a
+pity to have neglected them!"
+
+"Is there any chance of catching the lost note, if we should take an
+express train?"
+
+"You are pleased to jest, messieurs. None the less, it is true that a
+gentleman in the balcony at the Bouffes said to me not long ago: 'This
+is where you ought to be!'"
+
+"In the balcony?"
+
+"No; but at the Bouffes, with a salary of sixty thousand francs!"
+
+"Had he heard your high _C_?"
+
+"Yes; just as I left school."
+
+"It can't be denied that there are some very fortunate mortals. There
+was a man who had heard Lamberlong's high _C!_ And we poor devils might
+pay fabulous prices, yes, hire the whole auditorium of the Bouffes, and
+not hear it! It's heartrending!"
+
+The red-haired young man rose impatiently, and began to inspect the
+pictures that adorned the salon.
+
+"What do you hear that's new, messieurs?" said Edward, tying his cravat.
+
+"Oh! nothing piquant or interesting. There's been a great scarcity
+lately of scandalous intrigues in which we know the leading parties."
+
+"Who is the woman most in vogue? Remember that I am just from Italy,
+messieurs, and that I am not at all posted as to what is going on in
+Paris."
+
+"There are five or six in high favor; but you must have seen them, for
+you were at Saint-Phar the banker's great crush night before last."
+
+"I saw nothing wonderful. If that's all you have to offer me, why----"
+
+"There was a dazzling blonde at the Bouffes last night. She attracted
+every eye."
+
+"Well! of course, you made inquiries about her, Lamberlong?"
+
+"Yes; she's the wife of a rich Spaniard, who is taking her to Brazil."
+
+"If he's taking her to Brazil, that's too far to follow her. But you
+must have had some romantic adventures in Italy, viscount? The women
+there are very revengeful, they say."
+
+"No more so than in France! I saw two or three little stilettos glisten
+in the girdle or the garter, but I didn't feel the point of one."
+
+"No great passions, then?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing! it's maddening! Love is vanishing, messieurs."
+
+"That isn't what says a young man who is always in the orchestra chairs
+at the Bouffes; he's in a fair way of dying of love for an actress; he
+won't say who she is."
+
+"Oh! but one must be an habitué of the Bouffes to do that sort of
+thing!--A cigarette, Lépinette."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"How many do you smoke a day, Edward?"
+
+"I don't know; I never counted them."
+
+"I'll bet that it's two dozen!"
+
+"I'll bet it's three!"
+
+"Pardieu! all you have to do is to ask my valet; he can give you more
+accurate information than anyone else on that subject."
+
+"Lépinette, how many cigarettes does your master smoke in a day--about?"
+
+Lépinette reflected a moment, then replied:
+
+"I have sometimes given monsieur le vicomte as many as sixty, messieurs;
+but it's never less than forty."
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! that is magnificent! sixty cigarettes a day! You deserve a
+prize, Edward. We'll order a wreath of cigarettes for you!"
+
+"Well, messieurs, what would you have? a man must do something; and when
+one has no other amusement----"
+
+"Oh! viscount, you can't make us believe that you haven't some beauty to
+whom you are devoted."
+
+"No, Florville, at this moment I love nobody. I am so utterly blasé on
+the subject of love! It is all over; my heart has lost the power of
+taking fire; the incendiary glances of my fair friends leave it as cold
+as ice. And then, when one knows women, one knows how much reliance may
+be placed on their oaths."
+
+"Oh! there are exceptions," said Dumarsey. "I remember, Edward, when you
+had a pretty young girl for a mistress--I think you had abducted her,
+found her at a linen draper's. She came from Lorraine. She was almost a
+peasant, and you sophisticated her."
+
+"Oh! yes, I remember! You mean Suzanne, don't you?"
+
+"Suzanne, yes, that was what you called her. She seemed to be very fond
+of you."
+
+"In other words, she loved me too much; it got to be insufferable. She
+was far too sentimental."
+
+"What did you do with the girl?"
+
+"What did I do with her? Faith, nothing! What do you expect a man to do
+with a girl of that sort, when she has once been his mistress, and he
+has had enough of her? I don't see that there's anything for him to do
+with her."
+
+"Then you don't know what became of her?"
+
+"No, indeed; and I should be very sorry to know. I had enough trouble to
+rid myself of the little one's importunities.--Give me a cigarette,
+Lépinette."
+
+And the viscount, with a testy exclamation, threw on the floor the
+cigarette he had in his mouth, which he had smoked only a few seconds.
+Since the mention of the young woman named Suzanne, his brow had
+clouded, and his face had assumed an ill-humored expression. But young
+Lamberlong brought back a smile to his lips by exclaiming:
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! I have entirely forgotten what they give at the Bouffes
+to-morrow. Can you tell me, messieurs?"
+
+"Oh! give us a moment's peace with your Bouffes, Lamberlong!--Can you
+understand, messieurs, how a man can attend every blessed performance at
+the Italiens, when he doesn't know a word of that language?"
+
+"Who told you that I don't know a word of Italian? It's false; I
+understand it quite well."
+
+"You understand it, but you don't comprehend it."[H]
+
+"You say you understand it; very well! answer this: _Pone nos recede_."
+
+The young man with red hair scratched his head, looked at the ceiling,
+and muttered:
+
+"I never heard those words at the Bouffes."
+
+Thereupon the dandy laughed heartily, and Florville exclaimed:
+
+"Didn't you know that Dumarsey was talking Latin to you?"
+
+"Latin! How do you suppose I could understand him, then? What do I know
+about Latin--a dead language! They don't sing in Latin at the Bouffes."
+
+"Monsieur le vicomte's horse is saddled," said a little groom, putting
+his nose in at the door.
+
+"All right!--Let us go, messieurs.--By the way, Lépinette, have you
+filled my pockets with cigarettes?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I have put some everywhere, even in your fob."
+
+"That's right.--To horse, messieurs!"
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE THIRD PETTICOAT
+
+
+Two days after this riding party, Edward de Sommerston was in his
+smoking room, stretched out on a divan, smoking and intensely bored, as
+usual, and watching the puffs of smoke ascend and float about the room
+until they formed a fog so dense that one could hardly see from one side
+to the other. Suddenly the door was softly opened; Lépinette appeared,
+and, trying to distinguish his master through the clouds that filled the
+room, said in an undertone:
+
+"Is monsieur le vicomte asleep?"
+
+"What! No, I'm not asleep! I wish I were, but smoking never puts me to
+sleep! What do you want of me?"
+
+"I came to tell monsieur that I have just made a find."
+
+"A find! Have you found a treasure? So much the better for you; keep
+it!"
+
+"Oh! monsieur, it isn't a treasure in money; it's something of another
+sort, which will be much more to monsieur's taste."
+
+The viscount half rose, saying:
+
+"What in the deuce is it?"
+
+"It's a woman, monsieur; or rather, an enchanting girl!"
+
+The viscount fell back on the couch, muttering:
+
+"And you came here and disturbed me for that, did you? That's what you
+call a treasure!"
+
+"I thought that monsieur would not be sorry to learn that there is in
+the house a young woman who is really deserving of a moment's
+attention."
+
+"Aha! so this beauty lives in the house, does she?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur. The concierge, who represents the owner, has several
+rooms at the top of the house which he furnishes neatly and rents on his
+own account."
+
+"Oh, yes! his little perquisites; I understand. Well?"
+
+"Well, it's one of those rooms that he has rented to Mademoiselle
+Georgette, an exceedingly virtuous person, so it seems, who rarely goes
+out and receives no visitors."
+
+"Ah! very good! So it's a real model of virtue, is it? Did the concierge
+undertake to swear to that?"
+
+"No, monsieur, the concierge didn't say positively that it was so; I
+simply repeat what I heard."
+
+"And what does this chaste creature do?"
+
+"She makes small articles in embroidery, monsieur; charming little
+things, such as mats for candlesticks, little rugs to put under your
+feet, and cigar cases--oh! lovely cigar cases!"
+
+"How do you know? Have you bought something of the girl already?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but the concierge showed me one that his new tenant made
+for a present to him; it is exceedingly pretty."
+
+"The concierge smokes, does he?"
+
+"Oh! like a porter, monsieur."
+
+"Those knaves take every conceivable liberty!--Well! how does all this
+concern me?"
+
+"I thought that monsieur might be curious to see the little one from
+upstairs."
+
+"Just an ordinary face, I am sure; one of those affected little
+minxes--the grisette who wants to be followed; I know all about it."
+
+"Oh, no! this one has no ordinary face. I will not say that she is
+precisely a beauty; that would not be true; but it is the whole aspect
+of her that attracts--and, above all, a figure so well set up--superb
+outlines--a shapely leg and such a tiny foot!"
+
+"Really! has she all those things? You have examined her very closely,
+haven't you?"
+
+"I was on the landing just now, monsieur, as she came upstairs, in a
+jacket and a short petticoat, both white; and the petticoat has an
+embroidered hem. Oh! she doesn't seem to be at all hard up! And she was
+humming between her teeth as she came up. I stood aside to let her pass;
+at that, she gave me a very pleasant bow; and as she was going on, I
+said: 'Are we to have the good fortune to have you for a neighbor,
+mademoiselle?'"
+
+"This devil of a Lépinette doesn't waste any time; he makes
+acquaintances at once!"
+
+"When one has the honor of being in monsieur le vicomte's service, one
+should understand how to deal with the fair sex."
+
+"That's not bad. Go on!"
+
+"The young woman stopped, and answered very pleasantly: 'Yes, monsieur,
+I live in the house.'--Then she bowed again and went on upstairs."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"No, monsieur. As that meeting was very agreeable to me, I went out on
+the landing several times. It was a happy thought. A moment ago, the
+young woman came downstairs very fast."
+
+"It seems to me that she spends a good deal of time on the stairs for a
+girl who never goes out!"
+
+"She had forgotten to buy some coffee, monsieur; coffee is her passion,
+it seems; she can't do without it!"
+
+"Did she tell you that?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; but she didn't stop; she went on downstairs. She'll
+probably come back very soon; if monsieur chooses, I will keep watch on
+the landing, and as soon as I see Mademoiselle Georgette in the hall
+below I will let him know."
+
+"Nonsense! Do you suppose I am going to put myself out to see this
+grisette? You are crazy, Lépinette!"
+
+"I would just like to have monsieur see her in her jacket and short
+petticoat; they're so becoming to her!"
+
+"Pardieu! there's a very simple way for me to see this girl without
+disturbing myself. She embroiders cigar cases, you say? I'll order one
+of her. Go out and watch for her, and, when she comes, ask her to step
+into my apartment a moment. You may tell her why."
+
+"Very good, monsieur; I will go on sentry duty, in order to give her
+your message."
+
+"If you don't see her pass, you may as well go up to her room; there's
+no need of standing on ceremony with a mere working girl."
+
+"Very well, monsieur; if she has already come in, I will go up and do
+your errand."
+
+Lépinette left the room, and Edward de Sommerston surrendered anew to
+the charms of the cigarette; but five minutes had not passed when the
+valet reappeared and said to him:
+
+"The young person is here, monsieur."
+
+"Whom do you mean?"
+
+"The girl from upstairs who makes cigar cases."
+
+"Oh! I had already forgotten your protégée. Well! show her in."
+
+"Here, monsieur?"
+
+"To be sure; you don't suppose I am going to put myself out to go into
+the salon to receive this grisette, do you?"
+
+"Then I will show her in here."
+
+The servant went out, returned in a moment, and announced: "Mademoiselle
+Georgette!"--And the Georgette with whom we are already acquainted,
+having seen her on Rue de Seine and Boulevard Beaumarchais, entered the
+smoking room in her morning costume; but this time there was something
+in the simple négligé that denoted more thought, more coquetry: the
+jacket was trimmed with lace, the white petticoat had an embroidered
+hem; and the hair was arranged according to the prevailing style;
+plainly, she realized that she was now in the Chaussée d'Antin.
+
+Georgette advanced three steps and retreated two, crying:
+
+"Mon Dieu! what a horrible smell!"
+
+Thereupon the viscount turned over on his couch, and said:
+
+"So you don't like the smell of tobacco, my girl?"
+
+"Hallo! there's someone here. But I can't see anything; it's like being
+in the clouds! Well! I won't stay here! I don't propose to have people
+think that I've been in barracks!"
+
+And Georgette walked quickly from the smoking room, followed a corridor,
+opened the first door she saw, and found herself in a charming salon,
+where she paused a moment.
+
+"This is better! one can at least see something here, and it isn't
+reeking with tobacco smoke!"
+
+Meanwhile, the young man, surprised by his visitor's abrupt exit, rose
+from his couch, laughing, and saying to himself:
+
+"This is a most amusing creature! But, after all, I couldn't have seen
+her here. Where in the devil has she gone! Let's look for her, let's
+play hide-and-seek; it will remind me of my boyhood!"
+
+Passing from one room to another, the young dandy arrived at last in
+that one in which Mademoiselle Georgette had taken refuge; he discovered
+her seated in an easy-chair and turning the leaves of an album that lay
+on a table near by. The girl's utter lack of ceremony, and her perfect
+ease of manner in that elegant salon, astonished Edward, who gazed at
+her for several seconds, then said:
+
+"It seems to amuse you to look at caricatures?"
+
+Georgette rose and courtesied gracefully, as she replied:
+
+"I was waiting for you to come, monsieur, and I thought there was no
+harm in looking through this album."
+
+"No, indeed! you have done nothing wrong, except running away from my
+smoking room, as if it were a bear's den."
+
+"Faith! monsieur, I am not sure that I should not prefer a bear's den to
+a room where the smoke is so thick that you can't see, and makes your
+eyes smart and your head ache, to say nothing of the insufferable odor!"
+
+While Georgette was speaking, Edward examined her from head to foot; and
+his examination was evidently favorable to her, for he muttered from
+time to time:
+
+"Very good, on my word! very seductive! That devil of a Lépinette didn't
+deceive me!"
+
+Then the viscount began to walk around the girl, who was standing in the
+middle of the salon; and he smiled as he observed the little white
+petticoat that outlined her hips so perfectly; until at last, vexed by
+this inspection, she exclaimed:
+
+"Haven't you nearly finished staring at me, monsieur?"
+
+"Why, you are exceedingly pleasant to look at!"
+
+"Is that why you sent for me?"
+
+"Well! suppose it were? My valet had praised your face and figure, and I
+wanted to see if he told the truth."
+
+"If I had known that, I certainly would not have come into your
+apartment. Adieu, monsieur!"
+
+"One moment, I pray! What a hurry you're in, Mademoiselle
+Georgette!--for Georgette is your name, I believe?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"From what part of the country do you come?"
+
+"From Bordeaux, monsieur."
+
+"From the South. I'd have bet on it."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because you seem to have a little head that is very quick to take
+offence."
+
+"Oh! I have a very good head."
+
+"Do you live alone upstairs?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"How many lovers have you, Mademoiselle Georgette?"
+
+The girl stared at the viscount with an impertinent expression, and
+finally answered:
+
+"I have none, monsieur."
+
+"What! not one? not the least little bit of a one?"
+
+"No, monsieur."
+
+"That is very strange."
+
+"What is there strange about it, monsieur? Do you think that a girl
+cannot remain virtuous, and live without a lover?"
+
+"It seems to me to be very difficult, to say no more, in Paris."
+
+"No more difficult in Paris than elsewhere; a woman always does just
+what she chooses."
+
+"Oh! not always! There is the desire to please, the instinct of
+coquetry, which is inborn in woman. She wants to have pretty gowns, and
+she can't buy them with what she earns. She wants to wear silk dresses
+and cashmere shawls! You are fascinating in this déshabillé; still, you
+wouldn't go to Mabille's in such a costume."
+
+"Oh! I have no desire to go to Mabille's."
+
+"You don't mean what you say."
+
+"Yes, I do, monsieur."
+
+"No lover! what a phenomenon! Surely, with that figure, that dainty
+foot, you must have made many conquests?"
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"And you have never listened to any man?"
+
+"Never."
+
+"Then you must have a lover in your province--some secret passion that
+fills your heart?"
+
+"No, monsieur; I have no secret passion."
+
+"In that case, I say again, you are a phenomenon, and I am very proud to
+have such a rarity for a neighbor. Are you afraid of loving, pray?
+afraid of love?"
+
+"I! I am not afraid of anything."
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! you are very amusing!"
+
+"You think me amusing, monsieur? How lucky for me!"
+
+"I think you provoking, alluring, fascinating!"
+
+And the young man tried to take Georgette in his arms; but she quickly
+extricated herself and pushed him away, saying in a very decided tone:
+
+"I don't like such manners, monsieur; and they will never succeed with
+me, I warn you."
+
+"Pardon, mademoiselle, pardon! I forgot that I was dealing with a
+Lucretia."
+
+"Is this all you have to say to me, monsieur?"
+
+"Why, no; I wanted to order an embroidered cigar case; my servant tells
+me that you make lovely ones."
+
+"I do my best, at all events. Would you like one?"
+
+"If you will make it for me."
+
+"What color do you want?"
+
+"Oh! I leave all those details to you."
+
+"Very good, monsieur! I charge fifteen francs."
+
+"Whatever you choose! The price is of little consequence to me."
+
+"Very well, monsieur; in three days, you shall have your cigar case."
+
+"All right. Will you be kind enough to bring it yourself?"
+
+"Certainly, monsieur."
+
+"Don't be afraid; I won't receive you in my smoking room."
+
+"So much the better! for, really, that smell of tobacco makes my head
+ache. I have the honor to salute you, monsieur!"
+
+Georgette executed a bewitching little reverence, and the viscount said
+to himself as he looked after her:
+
+"Pardieu! that little brunette must be mine, for she is really a most
+original creature!"
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+AN ATTACK
+
+
+Edward de Sommerston did not believe what Georgette had told him on the
+subject of lovers; he was sceptical concerning the virtue of a girl who
+lived alone and worked for a living.
+
+"This girl," he said to himself, "tries to pass herself off for a model
+of virtue so as to secure more generous treatment; that's a trick that
+doesn't fool me. She will submit like the others; for she's a woman, so
+she must love finery; that's the bait to catch them with."
+
+During the three days that elapsed before she brought him what he had
+ordered, the young man asked his servant several times if he had
+happened to meet on the stairs the young woman who lived at the top of
+the house; but Lépinette had not seen Georgette, which fact seemed to
+vex him; he flattered himself, perhaps, that he could make a conquest of
+the girl more easily than his master could.
+
+On the day that Georgette had appointed, Edward, attired in a coquettish
+morning négligé, awaited the young woman in a pretty little salon which
+might at need have passed for a boudoir. He was smoking cigarettes, but
+had ordered them made of a very mild tobacco, in which there was a touch
+of perfume.
+
+About noon, Lépinette announced: "Mademoiselle Georgette!" and the young
+woman appeared, still in her little morning costume.
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur," she said, as she courtesied to the
+viscount, "for presenting myself in this négligé; but I have none too
+much time to work, and I never dress when I expect to stay at home."
+
+"The hussy knows perfectly well that she is more alluring in this
+dress," thought Edward, "and that is why she comes in her short
+petticoat. If she weren't so well built, she'd be all bundled up in
+clothes. We know all about that. Mademoiselle Georgette desires me to
+admire her good points; therefore, she desires to please me."
+
+And the young man, without stirring from his couch, pointed to a chair
+and said:
+
+"Take a seat, I beg! You are very attractive thus. Besides, one doesn't
+dress to call on a neighbor. Will it annoy you if I continue to smoke?"
+
+"Oh! I didn't come here to interfere with your pleasures, monsieur."
+
+"This tobacco is very mild, and the odor is not disagreeable, even to
+people who don't like tobacco."
+
+"That is true; it smells like patchouli."
+
+"Have you been good enough to remember my cigar case?"
+
+"Here it is, monsieur."
+
+And Georgette handed him a lovely little affair, lined with silk.
+
+"Why, this is delicious! it's an admirable piece of work!" cried Edward.
+
+"Do you like it? So much the better!"
+
+"I should be very exacting if I did not like it. The colors of the
+little diamonds are blended perfectly. You have no less taste than
+talent. And it took you only three days to make it?"
+
+"That was quite long enough."
+
+"It should be worth fifty francs, at least."
+
+"No, that would be too much; I am content with the price I told you."
+
+"But in that case you earn less than five francs a day, for you have to
+buy your wool and your silk."
+
+"Oh! if I earned five francs a day, that would be too fine; I should be
+too rich!"
+
+"So you are not ambitious, eh? You have no desire to change your
+position?"
+
+"Hum! that depends. To change it for a short time would hardly be worth
+while. Sometimes I have had dreams: at such times, I see myself in a
+superb apartment; I have diamonds and handsome dresses, a carriage, and
+servants to wait on me; oh! it's magnificent!"
+
+"I understand the moral!" said Edward to himself. "We would like to
+obtain all those things! The damsel seems to be decidedly calculating!"
+
+While making these reflections, the young man left his couch and planted
+himself in front of the chair occupied by Georgette; and there, with his
+head thrown back and one hand on his hip, he eyed her coolly and
+laughed in her face, saying:
+
+"Do you know that you're nobody's fool, my dear?"
+
+Georgette supported his stare and his question without the slightest
+trace of emotion; she simply rose from her chair and said:
+
+"I am very glad that you have so good an opinion of me, monsieur."
+
+"Pray keep your seat; do you think of running away already?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; for I don't pass my time doing nothing, myself; I can't
+afford it."
+
+"One moment--let us talk a little. In the first place, you can't go away
+till I have paid you."
+
+"Oh! I am not worried! I'll trust you."
+
+"You might make a mistake.--Do give me a few seconds. It affords me much
+pleasure to talk with you."
+
+Edward took her hand, and she consented to resume her chair; whereupon
+he seated himself very close to her, saying:
+
+"Shall I tell you something?"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"I am in love with you!"
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! what folly!"
+
+"It may perhaps be folly! But, whatever it is, it's the truth all the
+same! Yes, I am in love with you. That rather surprises me; for I
+haven't been able to fall in love for some time past. It must be that
+there is in you something--I don't know what--more enticing than in
+other women. Look you! I verily believe, God forgive me! that it's your
+little petticoat that has turned my head!"
+
+"Then, monsieur, I will run upstairs and send you the petticoat, so that
+you may have nothing more to wish for."
+
+"Hum! you scamp! No, that would not be enough for me! I want the
+petticoat and all it contains!--What a sweet little hand!"
+
+"Oh! monsieur, don't touch me, I beg! I have told you before that I
+don't like such manners."
+
+"That is true; I keep forgetting that you are a vestal! I am so
+unaccustomed to meeting such!"
+
+"Oh! you have a very bad opinion of women! Surely you must have met some
+virtuous ones, whom you seduced and then deserted, like the others!"
+
+"It is possible; I don't remember. With me the past is always in the
+wrong."
+
+"Oh! I am sure of that! That is why it is necessary to take precautions
+for the future."
+
+"What an amusing creature! Do you [_tu_] know that you [_tu_] are most
+amusing?"
+
+"I forbid you to _thou_ me, monsieur. You have no excuse for doing it."
+
+"Because you are not my mistress yet? That is true; but you will be
+before long; it amounts to the same thing."
+
+"No, monsieur, I shall not be your mistress. I tell you again not to
+talk to me in that way; if you do, I shall go away and not come again."
+
+"Come, come, be calm, Mademoiselle Georgette! you shall be treated
+respectfully. Tell me, darling, you will take me for your lover, won't
+you?"
+
+"No, monsieur."
+
+"What! Am I so very disagreeable to you?"
+
+"Oh, no! it isn't that."
+
+"Oho! as long as it isn't that, then you will listen to me."
+
+"No, I will not listen to you; because I know that you are too fickle,
+that you never keep a mistress more than a month at the longest; and I
+don't choose to be cast aside like that."
+
+"Somebody has been telling you fairy tales. I won't say that I love
+forever. Pardieu! my fair, if we did not leave them, they would leave
+us. Someone must begin, and I prefer that I should be the one."
+
+"You have a way of settling matters which doesn't cause me to change my
+opinion about you. You are too much run after, too popular in good
+society, to attach yourself to a grisette!"
+
+"There's some truth in what you say! You argue well, my charming friend;
+but allow me to tell you that I've had my fill and more of great ladies,
+and that I am absolutely indifferent to what people may say and think of
+me."
+
+"I don't believe you.--Adieu, monsieur! I must go home."
+
+"Oh! I don't let you go until I have an answer from you."
+
+"Later--we will see."
+
+"Then you will come again to see me? By the way, I must have two more
+cigar cases; I want them to give to my friends. Meanwhile, let me pay
+you for this one."
+
+And the young man took a purse full of gold from his pocket and tossed
+it into Georgette's lap. She looked at it for a moment, then weighed it
+in her hand, and said:
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"It's what I owe you."
+
+The pretty creature opened the purse and amused herself by counting its
+contents.
+
+"Almost five hundred francs! Really, that's a high price for a cigar
+case!"
+
+"But you are going to make me two more; that will pay for them all."
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; I can't accept so much; I will take what is due me,
+but no more."
+
+As she spoke, Georgette took fifteen francs in gold from the purse,
+which she proceeded to place on the table. Then she ran from the room,
+crying:
+
+"Adieu, monsieur le vicomte! I will come again when your cigar cases are
+done."
+
+Edward was so surprised by the girl's abrupt departure, that he did not
+even think of detaining her.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+TERTIA SOLVET
+
+
+As may be imagined, Georgette's refusal to accept the purse of gold had
+not diminished in the least degree the rich young man's caprice for the
+maiden; on the contrary, it was certain to intensify it, as she who had
+adopted that course of action well knew. The desires that are quickly
+satisfied last but a short time; our passions do not increase in force
+and deprive us of repose altogether, unless they encounter obstacles in
+their path. Good fortune that comes of itself--bah! no one cares for
+that! It is an unseasoned dish.
+
+But, thanks to this new fancy, which rapidly became tyrannical in its
+demands, the viscount ceased to be bored, and smoked a few less
+cigarettes; which proves that love is always of some benefit. His
+friends noticed the change.
+
+"My dear fellow, you have some new passion on the brain," said
+Florville; "I would stake my head on it!"
+
+"Oh! that is visible to the naked eye," added Dumarsey. "We have a new
+intrigue on hand, which is waxing warm."
+
+"Faith! messieurs, you have guessed right!" replied Edward. "Yes, I have
+a very violent fancy. Deuce take me! I believe I am really in love!"
+
+"Really! Is she so very pretty?"
+
+"She's better than pretty; she is piquant--enchanting!"
+
+"Did you see her at the Bouffes?" inquired the simpering Lamberlong.
+
+"At the Bouffes? Oh! she never goes there, I can promise you that!"
+
+The red-haired worthy made a wry face.
+
+"A woman who never goes to the Bouffes!" he murmured; "mon Dieu! what
+sort of a creature can she be?"
+
+"I say, Edward, what style of woman is your new passion?"
+
+"What style? Oh! the most modest that you can imagine; but I adapt
+Boileau's verse to women:
+
+"'Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre ennuyeux.'"[I]
+
+"When will you show us your charmer?"
+
+"Oh! messieurs, I'll show her to you when I am her fortunate
+vanquisher."
+
+"Then it isn't a finished affair?"
+
+"No; and I shall be careful not to let you see her now; for I know
+you--you would try to steal her from me."
+
+"To be sure; that is done among friends."
+
+"Do you expect to sigh for long?" asked the tall Florville; "you, my
+dear viscount, who ordinarily put a love affair through at railroad
+speed?"
+
+"Ah! this time I have to do with a little minx who is not so easily
+brought to terms."
+
+"Well! Edward, tell us when you will show her to us, as a proof that you
+have triumphed? I'll give you three days; is that enough?"
+
+"Hum! I am not sure."
+
+"Come, messieurs, let's do the square thing; we'll give him a week; and
+if, within a week, he doesn't invite us to dinner with his new conquest,
+why, we will assign him a place among the gulls.--Is it a bargain,
+Edward?"
+
+"Yes, messieurs, within a week. I accept that proposition."
+
+"If you bring your lady, we are to pay for the dinner; if you don't, you
+are to treat us."
+
+"Agreed--within a week!--Oh! I hope to be on firm ground before that."
+
+This agreement was made two days after the conversation which had
+resulted in Georgette's refusal of the purse containing five hundred
+francs.
+
+When his friends had gone, the viscount said to himself:
+
+"Now I must act. The little one refused gold--but gold doesn't take the
+eye like fine clothes. She had a magnificent outburst of pride. But this
+time I'll send her some things that she won't be able to resist."
+
+The young man ordered his carriage and drove to the most fashionable
+shops. He bought a handsome shawl, silks and velvets for dresses, and
+even a pretty little bonnet which he considered well adapted to the face
+he desired to seduce. He returned home with his purchases, and said to
+Lépinette:
+
+"Take all this to the girl upstairs, Mademoiselle Georgette. Give her my
+compliments, and tell her I would like to have the cigar cases I ordered
+from her; that I shall expect her to-morrow, during the morning, even
+if she has only one finished."
+
+Lépinette took the handsome gifts in his arms with great care, and went
+to do his master's errand, while the latter sallied forth again to go to
+the races.
+
+On returning home at night, the viscount's first thought was to ask his
+servant how his presents had been received. Lépinette replied, assuming
+a serious expression:
+
+"Monsieur, I saw something to-day that I never saw before!"
+
+"What did you see? You remind me of a sibyl."
+
+"Well, monsieur, I saw a young girl, a mere working girl, who lives in
+an attic, refuse a cashmere shawl, velvets, silks--in a word, a
+magnificent outfit!"
+
+"What! you saw that? Do you mean to say that Georgette----"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; Mademoiselle Georgette refused your presents."
+
+"Impossible!"
+
+"It is true, monsieur."
+
+"Then you must have gone about it awkwardly."
+
+"No; monsieur is well aware that I am accustomed to such commissions. I
+spread the things out--the shawl on a table before that amazing
+creature's eyes; she let me go on at first, and watched me without
+saying a word; but finally she exclaimed: 'What am I to do with all
+this, monsieur?'--'Whatever you please, mademoiselle,' I replied; 'my
+master begs you to accept it all, and he presents his compliments and
+requests you to bring him the cigar cases to-morrow, even if they are
+not done!'"
+
+"That's very clever of you! Go on."
+
+"Then Mademoiselle Georgette walked to where I had put the presents, and
+said: 'All these things are very pretty, very elegant, but I don't want
+them. You may thank monsieur le vicomte for me, take all these beautiful
+things back to him, and tell him that I will bring what he ordered
+to-morrow.'--'But I can't take them back, mademoiselle,' I said; 'my
+master told me to leave them with you.'--'Because your master thought it
+would make me very happy to receive such beautiful things; but, as he
+has made a mistake, you must take them back.'--'Mademoiselle,' I added,
+with a supplicating expression, 'you may do whatever you choose with
+these garments and materials; but for heaven's sake keep them, or my
+master will scold me.'--'I am very sorry, but I will not keep
+them.'--And with that, the young woman, who struck me as being
+exceedingly obstinate, piled them all on my arms: the shawl, the
+fabrics, and the bonnet box, and pushed me gently toward the door, which
+she closed behind me. That is just what happened."
+
+"So that you brought back my presents?"
+
+"I had to do it, monsieur."
+
+"No, you weren't obliged to; you're a fool! You ought to have thrown
+them all on the floor and run away."
+
+"I am sure that she'd have thrown them out on the landing."
+
+"Well, suppose she had? we should have seen whether she would or not.
+However, she said that she would come to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Very good!"
+
+Edward was surprised beyond words by the girl's behavior. He paced the
+floor of his apartment in great agitation. At times he was tempted to go
+up to Georgette's room himself; but she might refuse to admit him, and
+he did not choose to make an exhibition of himself before the other
+tenants; so he went to bed at last, saying to himself:
+
+"She will come to-morrow; I shall see her and find out why she refused
+my presents; for I had not as yet asked her for anything in exchange. To
+be sure, the request may be foreseen. Ah! Mademoiselle Georgette, you
+will not resist me forever! I believe that I am really in love with her!
+At all events, my honor is involved in the affair now. I must not be the
+one to pay for that dinner with my friends."
+
+All night the viscount was haunted by the image of the girl who had
+refused his splendid gifts. He rose early, attempted to smoke, and threw
+away several cigarettes as soon as he lighted them. The things he had
+sent to Georgette, he ordered taken into the small salon; and as he
+gazed at the rich fabrics spread out on a couch, he said to himself:
+
+"Perhaps she doesn't like these colors! But the shawl is lovely! No,
+that cannot be her reason. Can it be that she really means to remain
+virtuous? But there was that dream of hers, in which she imagined that
+she was very rich. The little minx has something in her head, and she
+will have to tell me what it is."
+
+At last, about noon, Mademoiselle Georgette arrived. Lépinette ushered
+her at once into the small salon, where the viscount was impatiently
+awaiting her. She bowed to him, with a charming smile; while he, on the
+contrary, pretended to be sulky. He pointed to a chair, saying:
+
+"Be seated, mademoiselle."
+
+"Your cigar cases are finished, monsieur; here they are."
+
+"Very well! but I am not thinking about them."
+
+"Your servant told me that you wanted them."
+
+"My servant is an ass!--However, you are well aware that the cigar cases
+are only a pretext for seeing you. What is the use of beating about the
+bush, when one can speak frankly?"
+
+"Why, no, monsieur, I didn't know----"
+
+Edward pointed to the objects spread out on the couch, and asked
+abruptly:
+
+"Why did you refuse those?"
+
+"Why did you send them to me?" she rejoined, in the same tone.
+
+The young man did not know what reply to make; he began to laugh, and
+finally exclaimed:
+
+"Gad! one can never get the last word with you! Come, charming girl, let
+us play with our cards exposed--what do you say?"
+
+"I don't know how to play cards."
+
+"Oh! you know perfectly well what I mean by that. However, I will
+explain my meaning literally. I adore you."
+
+"So you told me before."
+
+"In love, one may be allowed to repeat one's self; indeed, that is one
+of its great charms. I was saying, then, that I adore you."
+
+"And I say that I don't believe you."
+
+"I will compel you to believe me. You don't expect to pass your whole
+youth without knowing what love is, do you?"
+
+"I can't say, monsieur; but I have always heard that it isn't safe to
+swear to anything."
+
+"Now you're talking reasonably. Very well! let me be the fortunate
+mortal to make love known to you. I am in a position to make you happy,
+to make your lot an enviable one."
+
+"A man always says that to the poor girl he is trying to seduce--but
+afterward----"
+
+"I always keep my promises. In the first place, I will give you a pretty
+apartment, which I will furnish with taste. You shall have handsome
+clothes and jewels. I will take you to the play and to drive; you shall
+have a carriage at your disposal. I will pay all your tradesmen's bills,
+and in addition you shall have a thousand francs a month to spend.--Tell
+me, isn't that attractive?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, most attractive! But how long will it last?"
+
+"So long as you love me."
+
+"You mean, so long as _you_ love _me_; and you gentlemen who are able to
+gratify all your whims--your love affairs never last long."
+
+"I have but one whim henceforth, and that is to please you. Well,
+Georgette, you have heard what I have to offer; you consent to make me
+happy, do you not?"
+
+And the viscount tried to seize the girl's hand; but she hastily pulled
+it away.
+
+"No, monsieur, no!" she replied.
+
+"What! you refuse my offers?"
+
+"I refuse them."
+
+"In heaven's name, have you some ground for hating me? Do you detest
+me?"
+
+"Not at all, I assure you!"
+
+"Then it must be that what I offer doesn't satisfy you, eh? Well! tell
+me what you want--what you desire. In short, explain yourself, I entreat
+you!"
+
+Georgette was silent for a moment, then said in a low tone:
+
+"If I should tell you what I want, you would think me very ridiculous, I
+am sure."
+
+"Oh! no, no! tell me; women are entitled to have caprices without
+number."
+
+"Oh! this is no caprice; it is simply forethought for the
+future.--Monsieur le vicomte, how much do you think it would cost to
+bring up a little girl, from the cradle till she was about sixteen years
+old--that is to say, to make a woman of her?"
+
+The young man stared blankly at her, as he replied:
+
+"What in the devil does that question mean? what connection has it with
+my offers?"
+
+"Much, I assure you. At all events, be good enough to answer; what is
+the probable cost of a girl's education, and her support--everything?"
+
+"As if I knew! As if I ever paid any attention to such things!"
+
+"No, I suppose you never have paid any attention to them; but, no
+matter! make a guess at it."
+
+"Well! about three or four thousand francs, I suppose."
+
+"No, monsieur, you're a long way off. I reckon that it would cost fully
+twenty thousand francs."
+
+"Twenty thousand francs! Nonsense! that isn't possible! Twenty thousand
+francs for a child?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, when that child is a daughter; when one wishes to give
+her a good education, and to cultivate her talents until she is a woman
+grown. Really, monsieur, I should have said that you were more generous!
+Forty thousand francs a year is too little for your pleasures, and you
+think that twenty thousand is too much for bringing up and educating a
+woman, and assuring her of a bare existence! Ah! that's just like you
+men!"
+
+"No, no, you are right: twenty thousand francs is none too much. But,
+for God's sake, let us drop this subject and return to you--to you, who
+will not always be so cruel to me, I trust. What do you want? you
+haven't told me yet."
+
+"Well, monsieur le vicomte, if I should yield to your solicitations, as
+I might have a little girl, I want the means of bringing her up, of
+giving her an education; and as I have no faith in a seducer's promises,
+I want it--before I give myself to him.--Do you understand me now?"
+
+The viscount was speechless with surprise; he frowned, moved his chair
+away from Georgette's, and muttered at last:
+
+"Hum! all this means that you want twenty thousand francs before you
+surrender?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, that's it exactly."
+
+"That's a little expensive, mademoiselle."
+
+"It's not I who am expensive, monsieur," retorted the girl, with a
+glance of disdain, almost of contempt; "it's the little girl--the
+child."
+
+"The little girl! the little girl! but you haven't one yet! Wait at
+least until you have it, before you make such a demand!"
+
+"No, no! for it would be too late then, and I should be very sure of
+being refused."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"I don't think so; I am certain of it."
+
+As she spoke, Georgette fixed her eyes on the young man's face with such
+a meaning expression that he could not support it but lowered his eyes
+and faltered:
+
+"In truth--it is possible."
+
+After a brief pause, Georgette rose, saying:
+
+"Adieu, monsieur!"
+
+"What! are you going, mademoiselle?"
+
+"To be sure; I believe that we have nothing more to say to each other."
+
+"I beg your pardon, but we have; only, your _ultimatum_ requires
+reflection. Will you allow me to consider it a little?"
+
+"Oh! as much as you please! You have compelled me to put my thoughts
+into words. It is a foolish idea; let us think no more about it."
+
+"Why so? Unless you said it as a joke."
+
+"No, I spoke most seriously; but I am fully persuaded that you will not
+make a sacrifice for me--of which I am not worthy."
+
+"But I don't say that. Only, one hasn't such a large sum always at his
+disposal."
+
+"There is no hurry, monsieur; we shall see each other again. Excuse me;
+I cannot stay any longer, I have work to do. Au revoir, monsieur le
+vicomte!"
+
+Georgette eluded the grasp of the young man, who tried to detain her,
+and who exclaimed when she had gone:
+
+"I suspected as much; she's a sly little fox, as cunning as a demon! As
+bright as she is mischievous! But, twenty thousand francs--all at one
+stroke! No, no! I won't make such a fool of myself for a grisette; that
+would be too absurd! With her talk about a little girl, she reminded me
+of that poor Suzanne, who had one, I believe. But what the devil am I
+mooning about? I'll go to the club and forget it all!"
+
+The viscount went to his club, then to a friend's house, where there was
+sure to be high play. He tried to divert his thoughts, took a hand at
+baccarat, lost ten thousand francs at the outset, then wound up by
+winning three thousand.
+
+"I might have lost twenty thousand," he said to himself, as he left the
+game, "and I should have had to pay it within twenty-four hours. Oh! I
+can obtain the money easily enough--it isn't that; I have only to sell a
+few railroad shares. But, no, no! it would be too asinine! I am sure
+that I should be sorry afterward!"
+
+Two days passed, during which the viscount did his utmost to avoid
+thinking about Georgette; but on the third day, being still haunted by
+her image, he rose early, saying to himself:
+
+"Pardieu! I am a great fool to torment myself like this, when it rests
+entirely with me to obtain the pleasure I crave! After all, what do a
+few banknotes more or less amount to? I'll save money in some other
+direction. I may as well go to my broker and settle the matter. Besides,
+I am to dine with those fellows the day after to-morrow; it shall not be
+said that I had to pay for the dinner."
+
+Edward called at his broker's and procured the sum that he needed by
+selling certain securities. He returned home, placed the twenty thousand
+francs in a dainty pocketbook, and, having ordered Lépinette to burden
+himself anew with all the things that he had previously sent to
+Georgette, said to him:
+
+"Go up to that young lady's room; give her first this pocketbook, then
+all this finery, and ask her when I shall see her. Go; I propose to
+watch you from the hall; so no stupid blunders this time!"
+
+The valet went up the two flights of stairs, and the viscount
+impatiently awaited his return. Lépinette's face was fairly radiant when
+he appeared.
+
+"Well?" said Edward.
+
+"The young woman opened the pocketbook. I was not inquisitive enough to
+look at what she was counting, but I think it was banknotes."
+
+"Idiot! What next?"
+
+"She seemed delighted, and she said to me, with a most amiable
+expression: 'Please inform your master that if he can come up to-night,
+between eleven o'clock and twelve, it will give me great pleasure. I
+wish to thank him in person.'"
+
+"Bravo! at last! _tandem! denique tandem felix!_ Ah! I knew that I
+should attain my ends! And those fellows won't have the laugh on me!"
+
+The young man was insanely hilarious. He instantly demanded cigarettes,
+which he had neglected utterly since he had had something to occupy his
+mind; then he went out to try to kill time.
+
+He returned to his apartment at eleven o'clock, but had the patience to
+wait until midnight, so that he might not meet anyone in the hall. Then
+he took a candle, and ran quickly up the two flights. He had learned
+from Lépinette which was Georgette's door: it was the last on the right;
+there was no possibility of a mistake. The viscount soon found the door,
+and saw that the key was in the lock.
+
+"She thinks of everything!" he said to himself; "there is no need of
+knocking, and I don't have to wait on the landing; it's well done of
+her."
+
+He softly opened the door and entered the room, where it was absolutely
+dark.
+
+"So she has gone to bed already!" thought the viscount, walking toward
+the bed, which was at the back of the room. He put forward his light: no
+one; the bed was empty and had not been slept in. Utterly at sea, the
+young man looked in all directions; at last, he discovered on a table
+near the fireplace all the dry goods he had sent to Georgette a second
+time; nothing was missing, not even the bonnet; but the little white
+petticoat was laid on a piece of material, and on the petticoat was a
+letter addressed to Monsieur le Vicomte Edward de Sommerston.
+
+Our lover seized the letter and hurriedly ran his eye over it.
+
+     "MONSIEUR LE VICOMTE:
+
+     "I have gone away; do not look for me. I carry with me your
+     pocketbook and its contents; I need only that, so I leave you all
+     the rest. I leave you, in addition, my little white petticoat,
+     which seemed to please you immensely; but some day I shall ask you
+     to return it to me; for I expect to see you again, in order to
+     explain my conduct; then, perhaps, you will consider that it was
+     perfectly natural, rather than blamable."
+
+The viscount stood for some time, lost in amazement, gazing alternately
+at the letter and the petticoat; but suddenly he burst into a laugh,
+saying to himself:
+
+"Gad! she's a most amusing little hussy! And it has been a racy
+adventure. I will regale my friends with it when I give them that
+dinner, the day after to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS
+
+
+Toward the close of the month of September following, one fine day,
+about two o'clock in the afternoon, a gentleman was walking back and
+forth along the path in front of the monkey house at the Jardin des
+Plantes.
+
+This gentleman was no other than our old acquaintance Monsieur Dupont,
+of whom we lost sight some time ago. We left him in the private
+dining-room, where he had dined with Georgette, who quitted him abruptly
+because he thought that he could easily triumph over a girl who had
+consented to dine with him alone at a restaurant; so that his _bonne
+fortune_ was limited to the possession of a little striped petticoat
+which had been left in his hands.
+
+Dupont had returned to his wife at Brives-la-Gaillarde. He had carried
+the little petticoat with him, but had been careful not to show it to
+his wife, who might have thought it strange that her husband should
+bring nothing back from Paris save a second-hand petticoat. However,
+Dupont had been much less inclined to sleep since his return; that was
+something in favor of the capital. From time to time, when he was alone,
+he took the grisette's little petticoat from its hiding place and gazed
+fondly at it, sighing as he remembered her who had worn it and to whom
+it was so becoming. On those days, Dupont was even less sleepy than
+usual, and his wife would say to him:
+
+"My dear, it was an excellent idea for you to pass a few weeks in Paris;
+you came back much more wide awake; it did you good."
+
+Finally, about the middle of September, Dupont received a letter thus
+conceived:
+
+     "If you desire to see Mademoiselle Georgette again, whose
+     acquaintance you made during your stay in Paris last spring,
+     monsieur, be good enough to be at the Jardin des Plantes, on the
+     path facing the monkey house, about two o'clock in the afternoon of
+     the 25th of this month; she will join you there. You will confer a
+     great favor by bringing with you the little striped petticoat that
+     Mademoiselle Georgette left in your hands."
+
+Dupont quivered with joy when he read this letter:
+
+"The charming girl wants to see me again!" he thought "The petticoat is
+only a pretext; she regrets her ill treatment of me and means to reward
+my love at last. Yes, indeed; I will certainly keep the appointment she
+gives me."
+
+He went to his wife, and said to her:
+
+"My dear love, I must make another little trip to Paris. It is necessary
+for me to see Jolibois, and I believe that it will be good for my health
+too. I could hardly wake up this morning."
+
+"Yes, my dear, yes, go to Paris," replied madame; "it can't help doing
+you good; but don't stay so long as you did the last time."
+
+That is why our old acquaintance was walking in the Jardin des Plantes,
+on the designated avenue, on the 25th of September, feeling from time to
+time in the pocket of his full-skirted coat, in which he had bestowed
+the little striped petticoat he was requested to return.
+
+Ere long Dupont noticed that he kept passing a person of mature years,
+but dressed with much elegance; this was no other than Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who had received the following note a few days before:
+
+     "If Monsieur de Mardeille will take the trouble to be at the Jardin
+     des Plantes, on the path in front of the monkey house, on the 25th
+     of this month, about two o'clock in the afternoon, he will find
+     there Mademoiselle Georgette, who will explain her conduct toward
+     him. It would be very obliging on his part if he would bring with
+     him her little black petticoat."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to miss that appointment, for
+he was consumed by a longing to see Georgette once more.
+
+"Perhaps she means to return the twelve thousand francs I was stupid
+enough to give her," he said to himself.
+
+And having made a neat parcel of the little black petticoat, he put it
+in his overcoat pocket and betook himself to the place indicated in the
+note.
+
+After a little time, a third personage appeared on the same path; this
+was the young Vicomte Edward de Sommerston, who had received a letter of
+precisely the same tenor as Monsieur de Mardeille's, except that he was
+requested to bring with him a _white_ petticoat. As our young dandy was
+not inclined to carry a petticoat in his pocket, he was accompanied by a
+very diminutive groom, who carried the garment in question under his arm
+and had an abundant supply of cigarettes in his hand.
+
+As these three gentlemen were walking back and forth along the same
+path, they soon noticed one another.
+
+"Anyone would say that those two dandies also have appointments here,"
+said Dupont to himself.
+
+"Those two fellows are evidently waiting here for someone," thought the
+viscount, as he puffed at his cigarette.
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille made a similar reflection as he passed the
+other two.
+
+Before long there was a smart shower. Instantly all the promenaders and
+monkey fanciers disappeared, except the three gentlemen with the
+petticoats. They continued to walk to and fro on the same path; and as
+there was no one else left there save themselves and the little groom,
+they could not doubt that they were all there by appointment. They began
+to smile as they passed one another; it was easy to see that they
+divined one another's motives for being there, and that they had at
+their tongue's end some such words as:
+
+"How tedious this waiting is! Gad! if it weren't for a charming woman,
+I'd have gone away long ago!"
+
+Dupont had been tempted more than once to enter into conversation with
+his fellow promenaders, but he had not dared.
+
+"The time wouldn't seem so long, if I were talking with these
+gentlemen," he said to himself; "that would divert my thoughts and make
+it easier to be patient; but perhaps they are not in a mood for
+talking."
+
+Suddenly Edward stopped and drew his watch. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+the same; whereupon Monsieur Dupont walked up to them, drew his own
+watch, and ventured to say:
+
+"I beg pardon, messieurs, but will you allow me to ask what time you
+make it? My watch may be a little fast, and I should like to be certain
+of the time. I say twenty-two minutes past two."
+
+"Two twenty-two; that's my time, too," said Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Faith! messieurs, we go better than Charles the Fifth's clocks," said
+the viscount, after consulting his watch; "I agree with you exactly."
+
+"Didn't Charles the Fifth's clocks go well?" inquired Dupont.
+
+"Don't you know that that monarch, after abdicating, cultivated a
+passion for clockmaking? He amused himself mending and improving clocks;
+he had an enormous number of them, and they went so well together that
+sometimes, as a reward of his labors, he had the pleasure of hearing
+them strike twelve for a whole hour!"
+
+They laughed heartily over Charles the Fifth's clocks; then Dupont
+observed:
+
+"I had a rendezvous for two o'clock, here in this path."
+
+"So had I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"But women are never on time!"
+
+"No, never!"
+
+"Especially when they are young and pretty; they know that we'll wait
+for them."
+
+"Yes, they are too anxious to make us long for them to come."
+
+"As for myself," said Edward, "I propose to wait just five minutes more;
+but if Mademoiselle Georgette hasn't arrived at the half-hour, I am
+going away!"
+
+"Georgette!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Georgette!" muttered Monsieur Dupont. "On my word! this is strange;
+it's a Georgette I am waiting for, too!"
+
+"And I."
+
+"Pardieu! this is rather unique! A dark girl, medium height, but built
+like a Venus! And such a foot! and a leg! altogether enchanting!"
+
+"That is the exact portrait of the person I am waiting for."
+
+"It is the exact portrait of the Georgette who wrote to me."
+
+"This becomes decidedly interesting!" said the viscount. "I have her
+letter here."
+
+"So have I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"Let us compare them. Yes, it certainly is the same writing! Well,
+messieurs, I have a petticoat of hers here, which she left in my hands
+and asked me to bring back to her.--Tom! come here and show what you
+have under your arm."
+
+The little groom drew near and unfolded the white petticoat; Monsieur de
+Mardeille and Dupont instantly took the petticoats out of their pockets,
+and exhibited them, saying:
+
+"I also have brought her a petticoat."
+
+"And so have I, as you see."
+
+Thereupon the three gentlemen laughed so uproariously that the monkeys
+tried to imitate them. When their outburst of hilarity had subsided, the
+viscount said:
+
+"Don't you believe that the girl has made fools of us by writing to us
+all to meet her at the same place?"
+
+"I begin to think so," said Mardeille.
+
+"And she made us come in front of the monkeys!" exclaimed Dupont. "She
+selected this place purposely."
+
+"She certainly won't come; it is past the half-hour. I am going away."
+
+"Wait a moment, monsieur; there's a lady coming in this direction."
+
+"But she is with a gentleman."
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette didn't write us that she would come alone."
+
+"I can't distinguish her features yet, for she has on a bonnet. But it
+isn't her figure at all. This one has an enormous funnel-shaped skirt."
+
+"That's a hoopskirt--the latest fashion."
+
+"Great God! how ugly she is! The Georgette I am expecting used to dress
+in such excellent taste! One could see how she was built."
+
+"Still, the nearer she comes, the more I think that I recognize her."
+
+"Why, yes, that's so! I would swear that it is she."
+
+"It is she! it certainly is, messieurs. See, she's coming toward us!
+There's no doubt about it now."
+
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+THE MOTIVE
+
+
+It was, in fact, Georgette, dressed in good taste, but very simply, and
+wearing one of the skirts then in fashion, which transformed a woman
+into a sugar loaf. She was arm in arm with Colinet, who had entirely
+laid aside his artless, timid manner.
+
+Georgette and her escort walked up to the three gentlemen, and the young
+woman bowed pleasantly to them, saying:
+
+"Excuse me, messieurs, for having kept you waiting. It was our driver's
+fault, for his horses hardly crawled. Allow me, first of all, to present
+my husband, Monsieur Colinet."
+
+Colinet gravely saluted the three men, who returned his salutation.
+
+"Did she send for us to introduce her husband?" they said to themselves.
+"That was hardly worth while!"
+
+"I asked you to meet me in this garden, messieurs," continued Georgette,
+"because I know that there are paths here where very few people pass,
+and where we can talk as if we were at home. I see one on the other side
+of these flower beds, where we shall be very comfortable; will you have
+the kindness to go there with me?"
+
+The three gentlemen bowed, and the whole party walked to a path, usually
+quite deserted, where there were benches. Georgette and her husband
+having seated themselves, the others did the same, and the little groom
+stood at some distance. Then the young woman turned to Messieurs de
+Sommerston and de Mardeille, and addressed them thus:
+
+"A few words will suffice to inform you why I acted as I did with
+respect to you. In the first place, messieurs, I am neither from
+Normandie nor from Bordeaux; I am a Lorrainer; Toul is my native place;
+my parents, who are poor but honorable farmers, are named Granery; I am
+the sister of Aimée and Suzanne."
+
+The viscount and Monsieur de Mardeille made a gesture of surprise and
+their brows grew dark when they heard those names; while Dupont thought:
+
+"What has this to do with me?"
+
+"Yes," continued Georgette, addressing Mardeille, "I am the sister of
+that poor Aimée, who came to Paris, where she hoped, by means of her
+skill in embroidery, to be able to help her parents. As ill luck would
+have it, she fell in with you. Aimée was beautiful, and she caught your
+fancy; being innocent and inexperienced, she believed your fine
+speeches, your promises, your oaths--in short, she allowed herself to
+be seduced. A child, a son, was the result of her misstep. But you had
+already begun to act differently toward her, your visits became more
+rare; and when she asked you for the means to support and bring up her
+child, then you ceased entirely to see her. Ah! monsieur, a man must be
+very hard-hearted to behave like that. To stop loving a person is
+possible, I admit; but to spurn a mother who asks you for bread for her
+child! Oh! that is shameful!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille hung his head and made no reply. Thereupon
+Georgette turned to the viscount:
+
+"Do I need to remind you, monsieur, that your treatment of my sister
+Suzanne was exactly the same as this gentleman's treatment of Aimée? You
+seduced a poor girl who was innocence itself--you cannot deny it; then,
+after making her the mother of a daughter, you abandoned her, and, to
+avoid seeing her tears and hearing her complaints, you went away, you
+left Paris. My sisters returned to the province, in utter despair. They
+threw themselves at our parents' feet, with the children they were
+nursing; and, instead of cursing them, my parents wept with them and
+tried to comfort them; for with us, people don't curse their children
+when they are unfortunate. Isn't it more natural to forgive them? But I,
+seeing my sisters weep every day over their children's cradles, said to
+myself: 'I will go to Paris, too, but I will go to avenge them!'--I was
+twenty years old, I was well and strong, and I was especially noted for
+a resolute will. My parents tried in vain to oppose my determination. I
+started for Paris. Unfortunately, Aimée did not know Monsieur de
+Mardeille's address, and Suzanne did not know whether Monsieur de
+Sommerston had returned to Paris. But nothing could deter me.--'I shall
+succeed in finding them,' I said to myself; 'and something leads me to
+hope that my enterprise will be successful.'--I flattered myself that I
+should be able to make your acquaintance, messieurs. You know whether I
+succeeded.--Now, Monsieur de Mardeille, is it necessary for me to tell
+you that the twelve thousand francs I asked of you was for your son,
+that it has been invested in his name, and will be used to bring him
+up?--And you, monsieur le vicomte, whom I asked for twenty thousand
+francs, because I knew that you were a richer man, and because a girl's
+education costs more than a boy's--you know now that that sum will be
+used to bring up Suzanne's daughter, and to provide her with a
+dowry.--Well, messieurs, do you consider now that my conduct was so
+blamable? That money, with which you intended to seduce and ruin me, as
+you ruined my sisters, I have put to a good use. It will make it
+possible to bring up your children carefully; and what you would have
+employed in an evil action will accomplish a result that will do you
+honor. Tell me, messieurs, do you bear me a grudge now?"
+
+"Faith! no," cried the viscount; "the play was well acted! You performed
+your part perfectly! Accept my congratulations, madame, together with
+this petticoat, which I hasten to restore to you.--Here, Tom! hand that
+garment to madame."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not seem to have accepted the inevitable so
+gracefully as the viscount; however, he realized that he must resign
+himself, and at least pretend to repent of his wrongdoing. Consequently,
+he said to Georgette:
+
+"Madame, I judged you ill, that is true. I did treat your sister Aimée
+somewhat inconsiderately, and you have repaired my neglect, my fault.
+We men are drawn on by the current of business and pleasure, and are
+sometimes at fault when we do not mean to be. Present my compliments to
+your sister. Here is the little petticoat that became you so well!"
+
+"But why am I mixed up in this affair, madame, I who never seduced any
+of your sisters?"
+
+"You, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile--"I took you at first
+for an honorable, loyal man, whose arm I could accept without fear, for
+I was alone in Paris. I did not then know the addresses of these
+gentlemen, which my sisters succeeded in obtaining for me later. I
+wanted to go to the play and to the fashionable promenades, hoping to
+discover, to meet there, the persons I was absolutely determined to
+find."
+
+"I understand; you used me as an escort."
+
+"Something like it, monsieur. As for your love, that didn't frighten me.
+When I learned that you had lied to me, that you were married, as it was
+a matter of perfect indifference to me, I might have forgiven you; but
+you attempted to take most unbecoming liberties with me! So then,
+monsieur, I left you without ceremony, abandoning in your hands a little
+petticoat--which you have brought to me, I hope?"
+
+"Yes, madame, here it is."
+
+And Dupont, hanging his head rather sheepishly, produced his little
+parcel and handed it to Georgette. She took it and gave it to her
+husband; then she rose, and, with a graceful courtesy to the three men
+who had been in love with her, said:
+
+"Now that I am rehabilitated in your eyes, messieurs, it remains for me
+only to wish you whatever may be most agreeable to you."
+
+And, after bowing once more, Georgette took her husband's arm and walked
+away with him.
+
+Her three ex-lovers looked after her, and the viscount exclaimed:
+
+"Sapristi! what a difference between that huge funnel and the little
+petticoat that outlined her form so perfectly! Ah! if I had seen her
+dressed as she is to-day, all this wouldn't have happened!"
+
+"Indeed, it wouldn't!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "indeed, it wouldn't
+have happened; I should still have my twelve thousand francs."
+
+"I agree with you entirely, messieurs," said Dupont; "what a difference
+in her shape! And the change is not to her advantage! The idea of
+getting into that sugar-loaf affair, instead of letting us see her
+graceful outlines! Ah! madame! what a scurvy trick to play on us!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] Naught save the true is beautiful or lovable.
+
+[B]
+
+    How now! you say nothing!
+    My friend, 'tis not nice of you!
+    Once it was different,
+    Remember, I pray you!
+
+
+[C] True joys have fixed their abiding place in the fields; We fear the
+gods more there, and there make love more at our ease.
+
+[D]
+
+    I saw you of late, as you worked at the pump;
+    In you all is charming, all is true, nothing false;
+    'Tis then you display in your movements such grace that
+    One would gladly be damned, if he might pump with you.
+
+
+[E]
+
+    You have a saucy countenance,
+    A graceful figure;
+    A killing eye, a tiny foot,
+    And piquant bearing;
+    Your petticoat, too, I admire,
+    And all that one divines
+    Beneath,
+    And all that one divines!
+
+
+[F]
+
+    My candle's gone out,
+    No fire have I;
+    Pray open your door,
+    For the love of the Lord!
+
+
+[G] Colinet is misled by the twofold meaning of the French word
+_broche_.--_Mettre une broche_--to put on a brooch. _Mettre à la
+broche_--to put on the spit; _i.e.,_ to roast.
+
+[H] This play upon words cannot be reproduced in English. L. says: _Je
+l'entends très-bien!_ But _entendre_ means to _hear_, as well as to
+_understand;_ so the other retorts: _Tu l'entends, mais tu ne le
+comprends pas;_ you hear, but you don't understand.
+
+[I] All styles are good, except the tiresome style.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Frédérique; vol. 2, by Charles Paul de Kock
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRÉDÉRIQUE; VOL. 2 ***
+
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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
+  <head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+<title>
+  The Project Gutenberg eBook of Frédérique; vol. 2, by Paul De Kock.
+</title>
+<style type="text/css">
+ p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:2%;}
+
+.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;margin: 2% auto 2% auto;}
+
+.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;}
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+ h2 {margin:8% auto 2% auto;text-align:center;clear:both;font-size:110%;}
+
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+
+ table {margin: 2% auto 2% auto;border:none;text-align:left;
+font-size:90%;}
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+a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;}
+
+ img {border:none;}
+
+.blockquot {margin:2% auto 2% auto;}
+
+.discomfiture {max-width:50%;margin:5% auto 5% auto;}
+
+.figcenter   {margin:auto;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;}
+
+.footnotes  {border:dotted 2px gray;margin-top:15%;clear:both;}
+
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+.fnanchor   {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;}
+</style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Frédérique; vol. 2, by Charles Paul de Kock
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Frédérique; vol. 2
+
+Author: Charles Paul de Kock
+
+Release Date: December 17, 2011 [EBook #38332]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRÉDÉRIQUE; VOL. 2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p class="figcenter"><small>Copyright 1903 by G. Barrie &amp; Sons</small><br />
+<a href="images/frontispiece_lg.jpg">
+<img src="images/frontispiece_sml.jpg" width="388" height="550" alt="frontispiece" title="frontispiece (Copyright 1903 by G. Barrie &amp; Sons)" /></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="discomfiture">
+<p class="c"><i>DUPONT'S DISCOMFITURE</i></p>
+
+<p><i>As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment</i>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<h1>
+NOVELS<br />
+<br />
+<small><small>BY</small></small><br />
+<br />
+<big>Paul de Kock</big><br />
+<br />
+<span class="red"><small><small>VOLUME VI</small></small><br />
+<br />
+<small>FRÉDÉRIQUE</small><br />
+<small><small>VOL. II</small></small><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<small>THE GIRL WITH THREE<br />
+PETTICOATS</small></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<img src="images/colophon.png" width="150" height="63" alt="colophon PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH GEORGE BARRIE&#39;S SONS" title="" />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+</h1>
+
+<p class="cb">
+THE JEFFERSON PRESS<br />
+<br />
+BOSTON <span style="margin-left: 15%;">NEW YORK</span></p>
+
+<p class="c"><br />
+<br />
+<br /><i>Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. &amp; Sons.</i><br />
+<br /><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents"
+style="margin:5% auto 5% auto;">
+<tr><th colspan="2" align="center"><big><a href="#XXXIII_ROSETTE_THE_BRUNETTE">FRÉDÉRIQUE<br />&nbsp;<br />
+[CONTINUED]</a></big></th></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXIII_ROSETTE_THE_BRUNETTE"><b>XXXIII</b></a></td><td>ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXIV_THE_UMBRELLAS_THE_POLKA"><b>XXXIV</b></a></td><td>THE UMBRELLAS.&mdash;THE POLKA</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXV_A_HIGH_LIVER"><b>XXXV</b></a></td><td>A HIGH LIVER</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXVI_A_SCENE"><b>XXXVI</b></a></td><td>A SCENE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXVII_ROSETTES_SEVEN_AUNTS"><b>XXXVII</b></a></td><td>ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXVIII_THE_DEALER_IN_SPONGES"><b>XXXVIII</b></a></td><td>THE DEALER IN SPONGES</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XXXIX_A_PARTY_OF_FOUR"><b>XXXIX</b></a></td><td>A PARTY OF FOUR</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XL_A_SICK_CHILD"><b>XL</b></a></td><td>A SICK CHILD</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLI_THE_REWARD_OF_WELLDOING"><b>XLI</b></a></td><td>THE REWARD OF WELLDOING</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLII_A_CONSOLATION"><b>XLII</b></a></td><td>A CONSOLATION</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLIII_CONJECTURES"><b>XLIII</b></a></td><td>CONJECTURES</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLIV_LOVE_ON_ALL_SIDES"><b>XLIV</b></a></td><td>LOVE ON ALL SIDES</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLV_SECOND-SIGHT_IN_WOMEN"><b>XLV</b></a></td><td>SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLVI_FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS"><b>XLVI</b></a></td><td>FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLVII_THE_NEIGHBOR"><b>XLVII</b></a></td><td>THE NEIGHBOR</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLVIII_AT_THE_OPERA"><b>XLVIII</b></a></td><td>AT THE OPÉRA</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#XLIX_A_DOUBLE_DUEL"><b>XLIX</b></a></td><td>A DOUBLE DUEL</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#L_A_PRESENTATION"><b>L</b></a></td><td>A PRESENTATION</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><th colspan="2" align="center"><big><a href="#THE_GIRL_WITH_THREE_PETTICOATS">THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS</a></big></th></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-I_THE_DANGER_OF_SLEEPING_TOO_MUCH"><b>I</b></a></td><td>THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-II_HOW_DUPONT_AMUSED_HIMSELF_AT_THE_BALL"><b>II</b></a></td><td>HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-III_MADEMOISELLE_GEORGETTE"><b>III</b></a></td><td>MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-IV_YOUNG_COLINET"><b>IV</b></a></td><td>YOUNG COLINET</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-V_AN_INGENUOUS_YOUTH"><b>V</b></a></td><td>AN INGENUOUS YOUTH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-VI_A_PRIVATE_DINING-ROOM"><b>VI</b></a></td><td>A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-VII_THE_SECOND_PETTICOAT"><b>VII</b></a></td><td>THE SECOND PETTICOAT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-VIII_A_GENTLEMAN_WHO_DID_NOT_RUIN_HIMSELF_FOR_WOMEN"><b>VIII</b></a></td><td>A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-IX_THE_LITTLE_BLACK_SKIRT_DOES_ITS_WORK"><b>IX</b></a></td><td>THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-X_A_BOX_OF_CANDIED_FRUIT"><b>X</b></a></td><td>A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XI_DECLARATION_AND_OBSTINACY"><b>XI</b></a></td><td>DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XII_LOVE_LOVE_WHEN_THOU_HAST_TAKEN_US_CAPTIVE"><b>XII</b></a></td><td>LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XIII_A_BROOCH"><b>XIII</b></a></td><td>A BROOCH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XIV_COLINETS_SECOND_VISIT"><b>XIV</b></a></td><td>COLINET'S SECOND VISIT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XV_A_DAINTY_BREAKFAST"><b>XV</b></a></td><td>A DAINTY BREAKFAST</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XVI_TWELVE_THOUSAND_FRANCS"><b>XVI</b></a></td><td>TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XVII_A_PARCEL"><b>XVII</b></a></td><td>A PARCEL</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XVIII_A_BLASE_YOUNG_MAN"><b>XVIII</b></a></td><td>A BLASÉ YOUNG MAN</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XIX_THE_VISCOUNTS_FRIENDS"><b>XIX</b></a></td><td>THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XX_THE_THIRD_PETTICOAT"><b>XX</b></a></td><td>THE THIRD PETTICOAT</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XXI_AN_ATTACK"><b>XXI</b></a></td><td>AN ATTACK</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XXII_TERTIA_SOLVET"><b>XXII</b></a></td><td>TERTIA SOLVET</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XXIII_THE_GENTLEMEN_WITH_THE_THREE_PETTICOATS"><b>XXIII</b></a></td><td>THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#G-XXIV_THE_MOTIVE"><b>XXIV</b></a></td><td>THE MOTIVE</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXIII_ROSETTE_THE_BRUNETTE" id="XXXIII_ROSETTE_THE_BRUNETTE"></a>XXXIII<br /><br />
+ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE</h2>
+
+<p>I was conscious of a secret feeling of satisfaction, which I attributed
+to my reconciliation with Frédérique. I was pleased to have her for a
+friend; there was something unique, something that appealed strongly to
+me, in that friendship between a man of thirty and a woman of
+twenty-seven; and I promised myself that I would not again so conduct
+myself as to break off the connection.</p>
+
+<p>But I had not forgotten Saint-Bergame's words, as he passed our
+carriage: "So it's that fellow now! each in his turn!"&mdash;It was evident
+that he believed me to be Madame Dauberny's lover. I was not surprised
+that he should have that idea. People will never believe in the
+possibility of an innocent intimacy between a man and woman of our age.
+But Frédérique had been deeply wounded by Saint-Bergame's remark;
+indeed, by what right did the fellow presume to proclaim that from the
+housetops? Was it spite? was it jealousy? Whatever his motive, the man
+was an impertinent knave; and if I had not feared to compromise Madame
+Dauberny even more, I would have gone to him and demanded an explanation
+of his words. But, perhaps an opportunity would present itself; if so, I
+would not let it slip.<a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a></p>
+
+<p>Several days had passed since my drive in the Bois, when, as I was
+strolling along the boulevards one morning, I halted, according to my
+custom, in front of one of those pillars upon which posters are
+displayed by permission. Being very fond of the theatre, I have always
+enjoyed reading the various theatrical announcements. I did not carry it
+so far as to read the printer's name; but, had I done so&mdash;<i>that is a
+very harmless diversion!</i></p>
+
+<p>But observe how harmless diversions may give birth to diversions that
+are not harmless. A young woman stopped close beside me, also to read
+the announcements; and I was not so absorbed by the titles of dramas and
+vaudevilles that the sight of a pretty face did not distract my thoughts
+from them.</p>
+
+<p>I think that I have told you that certain faces, certain figures,
+possess an indefinable charm and fascination for me at first sight. The
+young girl who stood beside me&mdash;for she certainly was a young girl&mdash;wore
+a simple, modest costume, denoting a shopgirl on an errand: dark-colored
+dress, shawl,&mdash;no, I am mistaken, it was a little alpaca cloak,&mdash;and a
+small gray bonnet, without any ornament, placed on her head with no
+pretence of coquetry; it had evidently been put on in a hurry.</p>
+
+<p>But, beneath that unassuming headgear, I saw a refined, attractive,
+piquant face. She was a brunette; her complexion was rather dark, but
+her fresh, brilliant coloring gave her a look of the <i>Midi</i>. Her brown
+hair was brushed smoothly over her temples; her eyes were black, or
+blue&mdash;or, more accurately, blue bordering on black. They were large, and
+said many things. The mouth was very pretty, and well supplied with
+teeth. I had thus far only caught a glimpse of the latter, but that was
+enough. The nose was straight and well shaped, slightly turned<a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a> up at
+the end, which always gives a saucy look to the face. Add to all this a
+lovely figure, neither too tall nor too short; a pretty hand&mdash;of that I
+was sure, for she wore no gloves; and, lastly, a modest and graceful
+carriage; and you will not be surprised that I forgot the names of the
+plays and performers printed on the posters before me, and devoted my
+whole attention to that young woman.</p>
+
+<p>For her part, she had glanced several times at me, as if
+unintentionally. She scrutinized the posters for a long while; and as I
+was in no hurry, I too remained in front of the pillar. I had assured
+myself at least twelve times that <i>La Grâce de Dieu</i> was to be given at
+the Gaîté, and it seemed to me that my neighbor also kept reading the
+same thing over and over again.</p>
+
+<p>However, she walked away at last along the boulevard. We were then in
+front of the Gymnase. There was nothing to detain me there, for I was
+thoroughly posted concerning the programme at the Gaîté. Furthermore,
+that grisette took my eye. I believed that I could safely classify her
+as a grisette, with liberty to do her justice later, if I had insulted
+her. Why should I not try to make her acquaintance? For some time, my
+behavior had been virtuous to a degree which accorded neither with my
+tastes nor with my habits. Being obliged to eschew sentiment with my
+former acquaintances, I was conscious of a void in my heart which I
+should be very glad to fill.</p>
+
+<p>I walked after the young woman. One is sometimes sadly at a loss to
+begin a conversation in the street; but for some reason or other, I did
+not feel the slightest embarrassment with that girl. She walked so
+slowly that I easily overtook her. She did not precisely look<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a> at me;
+but I was fully persuaded that she saw me. Should I begin with the usual
+compliments: "You are adorable! With such pretty eyes, you cannot be
+cruel!" or other remarks of the same sort? No, they were too stupid and
+worn too threadbare; so I addressed her as if we were already
+acquainted, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you like the theatre, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, very much!"</p>
+
+<p>She answered without the slightest affectation, and with no indication
+that she was offended by my question. I took that as a good omen, and
+continued:</p>
+
+<p>"Would you like to go to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-night? Oh, dear, no! But I was looking for the Palais-Royal
+advertisement; I wanted to know what they were playing there, and I
+can't ever find it."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry I didn't know that sooner, for I would have shown it to
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"After all, it don't make any difference."</p>
+
+<p>"But if you like the theatre, won't you allow me to give you some
+tickets?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tickets! Do you have theatre tickets? for what theatre?"</p>
+
+<p>"It doesn't make any difference: I have some for them all. Perhaps you
+may think that I am lying, that I say this to trap you, when my only
+purpose is to make your acquaintance. But I assure you, mademoiselle,
+that I shall be only too happy to be useful to you. Allow me to send you
+some tickets; that doesn't bind you to anything."</p>
+
+<p>The girl stopped. We were then near Porte Saint-Denis. She hesitated a
+moment, then replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Well! send me some tickets; I'll accept them; but don't send them to my
+house; that'll never do, because<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a> I live with my aunts. I have a lot of
+aunts, and I am not free."</p>
+
+<p>She smiled so comically as she said this, that I saw a double row of
+lovely teeth. I ventured to take her hand; that was going ahead rather
+fast, but, for some unknown reason, although I had not been talking with
+her five minutes, I felt as if I knew her well. She let me hold and
+press her hand, which was plump and soft; it did not seem to vex her in
+the least.</p>
+
+<p>"Where shall I send the tickets?"</p>
+
+<p>"To my employer's."</p>
+
+<p>"What is your trade?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mend shawls and fringes. I'm a very good hand at it, I promise you!"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't doubt it, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"Just now I'm doing an errand for my employer; she always sends me on
+errands, I don't know why; she says that the dealers aren't so strict
+with me! It's a bore sometimes to go out so often; but sometimes it's
+good fun, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you tell me your name?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you come to a restaurant with me and breakfast?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; in the first place, I haven't got time; they're waiting for me, and
+I must go back. In the second place, I wouldn't go, anyway, like that,
+with someone I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the way to become acquainted."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose anyone should see me go into a restaurant with you&mdash;one of my
+aunts, for instance! I've got seven aunts!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi! that's worse than Abd-el-Kader! No matter! come and have
+breakfast with me at my rooms, and<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a> you will see at once who I am&mdash;that
+I am not a mere nobody, a man without means or position."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I didn't say you were, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"I live on Rue Bleue, No. 14; that isn't very far away. If you will
+trust me, I promise you that I won't even kiss the end of your finger."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not, monsieur; but I tell you, I haven't got time; I must go
+back; I am late already, and I shall be scolded."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well! where shall I send you a ticket, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"At Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay; just give it to the
+concierge. Mark it: <i>For Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"And you are Mademoiselle Rosette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps. When will you send the ticket?"</p>
+
+<p>"Whenever you choose."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow, then."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow, very good!"</p>
+
+<p>"How many seats?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will send you a box with four seats."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! splendid! That will be fun."</p>
+
+<p>"But you will go?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I may speak to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> I don't know about that. If I am with my employer, you must be
+careful. But I'll go out in the entr'acte."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I will make an opportunity to say a few words to you. And you
+won't come and breakfast with me? An hour passes so quickly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! no! Adieu, monsieur! You won't forget&mdash;Mademoiselle Rosette, at
+Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay."<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No, mademoiselle, there's no danger of my forgetting."</p>
+
+<p>She walked away, and I did the same. I was enchanted with my new
+acquaintance. Mademoiselle Rosette was altogether charming, and in her
+eyes, in her answers, I saw at once that she was no fool. Suppose that I
+had fallen upon a pearl, a treasure! It was impossible to say. The
+things we find without looking for them are often more valuable than
+those we take a vast amount of trouble to obtain.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXIV_THE_UMBRELLAS_THE_POLKA" id="XXXIV_THE_UMBRELLAS_THE_POLKA"></a>XXXIV<br /><br />
+THE UMBRELLAS.&mdash;THE POLKA</h2>
+
+<p>Love and poetry&mdash;these are what make hours seem like minutes. Be an
+author, a poet, a novelist, or a lover, and for you time will have
+wings. I thought of Mademoiselle Rosette all day, I dreamed of her all
+night, and the next morning I set about fulfilling my promise. There is
+nothing so easy, in Paris, as to obtain theatre tickets; it is not
+necessary to know authors or managers; it is enough to have money. With
+money one can have whatever one desires. I was on the way to a ticket
+broker's, when I found myself face to face with Dumouton, the literary
+man, who was of the dinner party at Deffieux's.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Dumouton had not changed; he was still the same in physique and in
+dress. The yellowish-green or faded apple-green coat; the skin-tight
+trousers of any color you choose. But I noticed that he had two
+umbrellas under his arm, although there were no signs<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a> of rain. He
+offered me his hand, as if he were overjoyed to meet me, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Monsieur Rochebrune! bonjour! how are you? It's a long while since
+I had the pleasure of meeting you."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton! indeed, I believe we have not met
+since Dupréval's dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"True. We had a fine time at that dinner; everybody told some little
+anecdote; it was very amusing."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you still writing plays?"</p>
+
+<p>"Still. But one can't find such a market as one would like. There is so
+much intriguing at the theatres! The writing of a play isn't the most
+difficult part, but the getting it acted. Speaking of theatres, you
+don't happen to need an umbrella, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, thanks, I have one. Are you selling umbrellas now?"</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;but&mdash;it happens that I bought one yesterday; and, meanwhile, my
+wife had bought one, too. So you see, we have too many; I would be glad
+of a chance to get rid of one; I would sell it cheap."</p>
+
+<p>"If I hadn't one already, I might make a trade with you; but as I don't
+need it&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Still, it's often convenient to have two or three; for you lose one
+sometimes, or lend it to somebody who doesn't return it. That has
+happened to me a hundred times; and then, when you want to go out, it
+rains; you look for your umbrella, and it isn't there. That is very
+annoying; so it's more prudent to have two."</p>
+
+<p>"But you apparently don't think so, as you want to sell one of yours."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! we have five in the house now."</p>
+
+<p>"That makes a difference; but I don't quite understand why you bought
+another."<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a></p>
+
+<p>Dumouton scratched his nose; I could not help thinking of Rosette's
+seven aunts, and that Dumouton could shelter them from the rain with his
+seven umbrellas.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you suppose I would like to have at this moment?" I asked him,
+as he sadly shifted his umbrellas from his right arm to his left.</p>
+
+<p>"A cane, perhaps? I have one with a crow's beak head that would please
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! I never carry a cane. What I would like at this moment is a
+theatre ticket for this evening."</p>
+
+<p>Dumouton's face fairly beamed.</p>
+
+<p>"For what theatre?" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! that makes no difference; but I would like a whole box."</p>
+
+<p>"I have what you want, I have it right in my pocket. See, a box at the
+Gymnase!"</p>
+
+<p>"The Gymnase it is!"</p>
+
+<p>Dumouton took from his pocket an old notebook, or wallet, or, to speak
+more accurately, two pieces of leather&mdash;just what to call it, I do not
+know; but it contained a mass of papers, some old and soiled, others
+clean and new. He produced from it a pink one, which proved to be a
+ticket for a box at the Gymnase. I took the ticket and read at the foot
+of it the name of one of our most popular authors.</p>
+
+<p>Dumouton restored his papers to his pocket, put his umbrellas under his
+left arm once more, and looked at me with an anxious expression,
+murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you want it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed! But I was reading the name on it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's of no consequence; I asked for it for him, but he can't go.
+You'll take it, then, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, gladly."<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a></p>
+
+<p>"There's only one thing. I have promised a box to some people to whom I
+am under obligations, and I can't break my word. It's too late to go to
+the theatre to ask for one, so I must buy one of a ticket broker; and I
+don't know whether&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I did not let him finish the sentence.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't propose that you shall be put to any expense on my account. How
+much will the ticket cost you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! a hundred sous, I suppose."</p>
+
+<p>"Here's the money; and I am your debtor."</p>
+
+<p>Dumouton pocketed the five francs with a radiant air. But he took his
+umbrellas in his hand again and held them out to me.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry that you won't take one of these," he said.</p>
+
+<p>I glanced at them, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"But neither of them is new."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that may be; we bought them at second-hand. But they are good ones,
+and not dear. I will give you your choice for ten francs."</p>
+
+<p>It was clear to my mind that poor Dumouton was sadly in need of money.
+Why should I not gratify him by buying an umbrella? That was simply a
+roundabout way of asking a favor. I took one of the umbrellas at random,
+and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if it will relieve you,&mdash;and I can understand that these two are
+a luxury, if you have five at home,&mdash;give me this one. Here's the ten
+francs."</p>
+
+<p>Dumouton took the money and slipped one of the umbrellas under my arm so
+rapidly that I thought that he had run it into me; and fearing perhaps
+that I would change my mind and go back on my bargain, he left me on the
+instant, saying:<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I am very glad you needed an umbrella. Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune!
+hope to see you again soon!"</p>
+
+<p>He disappeared, running. I examined the article I had purchased: it was
+a very good umbrella, with a laurel-wood stick; the head was a trefoil
+with silver trimmings, and the cover dark green silk. After all, I had
+not made a bad bargain; but I would have been glad not to have it on my
+hands just then, for the weather was fine, and it makes a man look very
+foolish to carry an umbrella under such circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>But I had my ticket. I entered a café and called for paper and ink. I
+put the ticket in an envelope, with this superscription: <i>For
+Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I carried the missive myself, for the name Ratapond did not inspire
+confidence. Moreover, I was not sorry to ask a few questions and find
+out a little more about Mademoiselle Rosette.</p>
+
+<p>I arrived at Rue Meslay, and found the designated number. I passed under
+a porte cochère and was walking toward the concierge's lodge, when an
+enormous woman, who reminded me of one of the handsome sappers and
+miners who change their sex during the Carnival, came toward me from the
+farther end of the courtyard.</p>
+
+<p>"Who do you want to see, monsieur?" she demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Does Madame Ratapond live in this house, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; fifth floor above the entresol, the door opposite the
+stairs."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, madame; but what is that lady's business?"</p>
+
+<p>As I asked the question, I felt in my pocket and took out a two-franc
+piece, which I slipped into the hand of the colossus, who instantly
+assumed a coquettish, mincing air and seemed to diminish in size until
+she reached my level.<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur," she replied, "Madame Ratapond's a very respectable
+woman; she sends shawls into the departments and on the railroads."</p>
+
+<p>"Has she many workgirls?"</p>
+
+<p>"Six, and sometimes more."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know one of them named Mademoiselle Rosette&mdash;a pretty brunette,
+with a shapely, slender figure?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, monsieur. Mamzelle Rosette! To be sure, I know her; she goes
+up and down twenty times a day. She often does errands. Does monsieur
+happen to have brought her a ticket to the theatre? She told me this
+morning she expected one to-day, but she didn't count much on it."</p>
+
+<p>"That is just what I have brought for her."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! won't she be glad, though! I tell you, monsieur, you can flatter
+yourself you've given her a lot of pleasure. She'll dance for joy when I
+tell her!"</p>
+
+<p>"She doesn't live in the house, does she?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; she comes about eight o'clock or half-past."</p>
+
+<p>"At what time does she go away?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, when the others do. Usually about eight, unless they're working
+late; then it's as late as ten, sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is the letter, madame, with the ticket; will you be kind enough to
+hand it to mademoiselle in person?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, I understand. You see, I'm sure it won't be long before
+she comes in or goes out, and she always speaks to me when she passes."</p>
+
+<p>"I rely upon you, then, madame."</p>
+
+<p>The colossus cut several capers by way of courtesies; I left her
+standing on one leg, and went my way. I had found that the girl had not
+deceived me in what she told me; that was something. I did not suppose
+that I was<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> dealing with a Jeanne d'Arc, but I did not care to fall into
+the other extreme. I determined to go to the Gymnase, and to have a
+little note in my pocket, appointing a meeting, which I would slip into
+Mademoiselle Rosette's hand if I was unable to talk freely with her.</p>
+
+<p>I was on my way home, when I heard my name called. I turned and
+recognized Monsieur Rouffignard, the stout, chubby-faced party, who also
+was one of the dinner party at Deffieux's.</p>
+
+<p>"Parbleu!" I said, as we shook hands; "this is my day for meetings!"</p>
+
+<p>"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! have you seen our friend Dupréval
+lately?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not for a long while! I have not done right; but I have been told that
+since Dupréval was married he has entirely renounced pleasure and gives
+all his attention to business; so that I have been afraid of disturbing
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"It is true, he has become a regular bear; he thinks of nothing but
+making money. For my part, I make it, but I spend it too!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I spend it, and don't make any. Such is life: everyone follows his
+tastes, or the current that carries him along; if we all did the same
+thing, it would be too monotonous."</p>
+
+<p>"I have just met a man who was at our dinner party at Deffieux's, and
+who can't be very well content with his lot at present; I don't know
+whether that will make him less rigid in the matter of morals."</p>
+
+<p>"Whom do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Faisandé, the clerk in the Treasury Department, who was
+shocked when he heard anything a little off color."</p>
+
+<p>"What has happened to him?"<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a></p>
+
+<p>"He has lost his place, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>"Dismissed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and he certainly hasn't embezzled. I heard all about it from a man
+who is a clerk in the same bureau. Would you believe, Monsieur
+Rochebrune, that that individual, who was so virtuous, so pure in his
+language, sometimes passed a fortnight without showing his face at his
+desk? If it had been on account of sickness, no one would have said a
+word; but, no, the man wasn't even at home; he didn't show himself there
+any more than he did at the bureau; not even at night; and his wife and
+child expecting him all the time! He passed a fortnight away from home!"</p>
+
+<p>"What a cur!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are right: <i>cur</i> is the word. They began, at the bureau, by warning
+him that, if he were not more regular, his conduct would be reported. He
+paid no attention. They cut down his salary; and he kept on in the same
+way. At last, they gave him his walking ticket. And now he's thrown on
+his wife's hands, and she has to work day and night to support her
+family! Poor woman! may heaven soon rid her of the fellow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Cur and hypocrite often go together. I have never had the slightest
+confidence in people who prate about their own virtue, honesty, or
+merit."</p>
+
+<p>While I was speaking, Monsieur Rouffignard happened to glance at my
+umbrella, which he at once began to scrutinize closely.</p>
+
+<p>"You are surprised to see me with an umbrella in my hand, in such
+beautiful weather as this, aren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am not surprised at that, but&mdash;&mdash; Will you allow me to touch it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly."<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a></p>
+
+<p>I handed the umbrella to my stout friend, who examined the handle,
+opened and closed it, and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Parbleu! I am sure now that I'm not mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you happen to recognize my umbrella?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your umbrella? You say it's yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, to be sure! I bought it not two hours ago, and that is why I am
+carrying it now."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, I should be very glad to know where you bought it."</p>
+
+<p>"You know Dumouton&mdash;the literary man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dumouton! Indeed I know him; he borrows five francs of me every time he
+sees me. But go on!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well! I met him this morning. He had two umbrellas under his arm, and
+he urged me so hard to buy one of them that I finally bought this one."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! the villain! Upon my word, this is too cool! He actually sold you
+my umbrella, which he borrowed the day before yesterday and was to
+return that evening, and which I am still waiting for! Oh! this is the
+one&mdash;a trefoil with silver trimmings. It's my umbrella! Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, what do you say to that performance?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Dumouton! I was sorry that I had been the means of showing him up;
+but how could I suspect that he had sold me Rouffignard's umbrella? It
+was very wrong; but, perhaps, he needed the money to pay his baker. I
+felt that I must try to arrange the matter.</p>
+
+<p>"You agree with me!" cried the stout man; "you call this a shameful
+trick, don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Monsieur Rouffignard. I think that there is some misunderstanding
+simply, some mistake; that Dumouton is not guilty&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Not guilty! and he sold you my umbrella?"<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Allow me. When I met Dumouton this morning, he had two umbrellas under
+his arm. He offered to sell me one. 'And what about the other?' I asked
+him.&mdash;'The other isn't mine,' he said; 'it was lent to me, and I am
+going at once to return it.'&mdash;He certainly was speaking of yours, then.
+I made a bargain with him for his umbrella. But we talked some little
+time, and, when he left me, he must have made a mistake and given me the
+wrong one; that's the whole of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am so sure of it that I will give you your umbrella, and go to
+Dumouton's to get the other."</p>
+
+<p>"Infinitely obliged, Monsieur Rochebrune. But, as Dumouton proposed to
+bring mine back, I may find the other one at my house; in that case, I
+will send it to you at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so, pray; au revoir, Monsieur Rouffignard!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your servant, Monsieur Rochebrune!"</p>
+
+<p>The stout man went off with his umbrella; I was quite sure that he would
+find none to send to me. Unfortunate Dumouton! See whither <i>petits
+verres</i> lead, and idling in cafés, and risky collaborations!</p>
+
+<p>My thoughts recurred to the ticket for the box at the Gymnase. Suppose
+that should be claimed at the door, like the umbrella! Suppose my ladies
+should be denied admission, humiliated! That would prove to have been a
+precious gift of mine! And the name that was written on it! Suppose that
+that should mislead Mademoiselle Rosette! Faith! that would be amusing.
+In case of an emergency, as I had given the damsel my address, and had
+forgotten to tell her my name, I determined to instruct my concierge as
+to what he must say if anyone should call and ask for the person whose
+name was on the ticket.<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a></p>
+
+<p>I waited impatiently for the hour at which the play would begin. I was
+convinced that they would be admitted on the ticket I had sent. Dumouton
+had undoubtedly asked for the box under some other name than his own,
+with the intention of selling it; that was very pleasant for the person
+whose name was written out in full on the ticket!</p>
+
+<p>I could not afford to appear at the very beginning of the play; I should
+look like an opéra-comique lover. I waited until eight o'clock, before I
+went to the Gymnase. I had been careful to observe the number of the
+box, which was the best in the second tier. The play had begun; I walked
+along the corridor, found the number in question, and satisfied myself
+by a glance through the glass door that the box was full. That was
+satisfactory; she had come. My next move was to take up a position on
+the opposite side; at a distance, it would be easy for me to keep my
+eyes on the box without attracting attention.</p>
+
+<p>I entered the opposite balcony, where nothing would intercept my view of
+the person on whose account I had come.</p>
+
+<p>But to no purpose did I fix my opera glass on the box in question; to no
+purpose did I rub it with my handkerchief so that I could see more
+distinctly: among all the faces that filled the box I had given my
+pretty grisette, there was not one that resembled or even suggested
+hers. I looked again and again. It was impossible; I thought that my
+eyes deceived me. There were four women in the box, and I examined them
+one after another. It did not take long. In front, there was a rather
+attractive person of thirty or thereabouts; but she did not in the least
+resemble Mademoiselle Rosette: as for the other<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a> three, they were all
+between fifty and seventy, and vied with one another in ugliness.</p>
+
+<p>What had they done with my pretty Rosette? where was she? I wanted her,
+I must have her! Deuce take it! It was not for that quartette of women
+that I had bought the box of Monsieur Dumouton, who had seized the
+opportunity to entangle me in the folds of an umbrella! Who were those
+people I was examining? Madame Ratapond? some of my inamorata's aunts? I
+had no idea, but I was horribly annoyed. So she had not come! although
+the ticket was meant for her; although she knew that I would go there
+solely in the hope of seeing her and speaking to her! So she did not
+choose to make my acquaintance, but simply to make sport of me!</p>
+
+<p>I left the balcony and returned to the corridor; I asked the box opener
+if the ladies in such a number had said that they expected anyone.</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; they didn't say anything about it. Anyway, the box is
+full; there's four of 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that. By the way, please show me their ticket."</p>
+
+<p>The box opener showed me the coupon: it was the one I had sent. I was
+completely <i>done!</i> I returned, in an execrable humor, to the balcony,
+but this time nearer the box. From time to time, I glanced at that
+assemblage of the fair sex, every member of which, with one exception,
+was exceedingly ugly. But it seemed to me that they had noticed me.
+Perhaps they fancied that they had made a conquest of me. In any event,
+there was but one of them who could reasonably imagine that. Soon I
+began to think that they whispered and laughed together as they looked
+at me. Perhaps it was my imagination.<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a> But, no matter! I had had enough.
+She for whom I had come was not there; why should I remain?</p>
+
+<p>I left the theatre. I was weak enough to pace back and forth on the
+boulevard, in front of the door, hoping that she might come. But the
+clock struck ten. I decided to go away. I went into a café and read the
+papers, and about half-past eleven I went home, depressed and
+shame-faced. Really, that girl was most seductive, and I had fancied
+that there would be no obstacle to our liaison.</p>
+
+<p>My concierge stopped me.</p>
+
+<p>"A young woman has been here asking for you, monsieur. That is to say,
+she didn't ask for you, but for that queer name monsieur told me."</p>
+
+<p>My heart expanded; I became as cheerful as I was melancholy a moment
+before.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so the young woman came, did she? A tall, dark girl, with a
+wide-awake look?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; that describes her."</p>
+
+<p>"What time did she come?"</p>
+
+<p>"About half-past eight."</p>
+
+<p>"And she asked if Monsieur&mdash;the author whose name I gave you&mdash;lived
+here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"And you answered?"</p>
+
+<p>"I answered <i>yes</i>, as you told me to. I told her that you lived on the
+second floor, but that you had gone out."</p>
+
+<p>"And then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then she said she'd come about noon to-morrow, and told me to tell
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"She will come to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, about noon."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good! very good!"<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a></p>
+
+<p>I was beside myself with joy. I rewarded my concierge, then ran lightly
+up my two flights. Pomponne opened the door. I went in singing, and said
+to him:</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow, Pomponne, about noon, a young grisette will come here."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! a grisette&mdash;a new one?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean one who has not called on monsieur before."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, of course, you idiot! She will ask for&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Pardi!</i> she will ask for monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, no; that is just what she won't do."</p>
+
+<p>"Will she ask for me, then? But I don't expect anybody, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how you annoy me with your reflections, Pomponne! She will ask
+for&mdash;&mdash; But, no, you would make some infernal blunder; I prefer not to
+have you here. I will send you on some errand, and let her in myself
+when she comes."</p>
+
+<p>"What, monsieur! do you distrust me to that extent?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hush! you bore me."</p>
+
+<p>"But if you want her to ask for me, monsieur, I'm willing, I don't
+refuse."</p>
+
+<p>"Leave me in peace, and go to bed!"</p>
+
+<p>Pomponne went to bed, weeping because I would not allow him to be there
+on the morrow to admit my young grisette. I fell asleep thinking of
+Mademoiselle Rosette. Her visit indicated a very earnest wish to make my
+acquaintance; or was it not due to her having read that name on the
+ticket? Was it not because she believed me to be a famous author that
+she had come to my lodgings? All women love renown; grisettes are as
+susceptible to it as other women. And in that case, when she
+learned&mdash;&mdash;<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Faith!" said I to myself; "we shall see to-morrow; let's go to sleep."</p>
+
+<p>At noon, I was becomingly dressed; I had sent Pomponne away, with orders
+not to return before two o'clock, and I impatiently counted the minutes.</p>
+
+<p>I did not count long. The bell rang; I opened the door instantly: it was
+my grisette, in the same costume as on the day of our first meeting, and
+with a no less affable expression. She entered without ceremony. I
+ushered her into my little salon, and invited her to sit on the divan,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"How good of you to come!"</p>
+
+<p>"I came last evening."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it. But why weren't you at the theatre? I was so anxious to meet
+you there! In fact, it was for you that I sent the box, and not for
+those others."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but I couldn't go; there was work that had to be done, and at such
+times there's no fun to be had. You saw my employer, Madame Ratapond,
+and a specimen of my aunts."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so those were your aunts; the elderly ladies, I presume?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. And my mistress, what did you think of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is very good-looking. But it was you that I wanted to see! You are
+so pretty, and I love you so dearly!"</p>
+
+<p>At this point, I tried to add action to speech; but Mademoiselle Rosette
+pushed me away and arose, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place, I want you to let me alone. Stop! stop! you think
+you can go on like that, right away&mdash;&mdash; Oh, no! Later, I won't say! We'll
+see!"</p>
+
+<p>Good! At all events, she gave me ground for hope. I liked her frankness
+exceedingly.<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a></p>
+
+<p>"In the second place, I must go; yes, I'm in a great hurry. I came here
+on my way to do an errand; but it wasn't far that I had to go, and my
+mistress will say: 'There's that Rosette idling again!'"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so it seems that you do that sometimes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sometimes; I don't deny it. I like to stroll along and look in the
+shop windows."</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down a moment."</p>
+
+<p>She did so, and said, after looking about the room:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur&mdash;is it really true that it's you?"</p>
+
+<p>"That it's I?&mdash;why&mdash;&mdash; What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you know, yesterday, when I saw your name on the ticket, I shouted
+for joy, and I said: 'What! that gentleman who spoke to me is the one
+who writes the plays I like so much and go to see so often!'&mdash;Oh! I tell
+you, I was pleased then, and that's why I came right here last night: I
+remembered your address, and I asked if it was really you that lived in
+this house; and the concierge said <i>yes</i>, and I told him I'd come again
+to-morrow, at noon. Well! does that make you angry? you don't say
+anything."</p>
+
+<p>"No; it doesn't make me angry. But I was thinking."</p>
+
+<p>"I say, monsieur, do you know I'm mad over your plays? If I should go
+mad over you too&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There's no danger of that."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? there's no danger? What makes you say: 'There's no
+danger'? Perhaps you don't know that I take fire very quickly, I do!"</p>
+
+<p>That young woman was decidedly original. She said whatever came into her
+head, without beating about the bush. I liked that frankness, in which
+there was something like artlessness. Mademoiselle Rosette was neither
+stupid, nor pretentious, nor prudish. She was a perfect<a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> little
+ph&oelig;nix, was that grisette. I began by kissing her; she defended
+herself feebly, or, rather, she allowed herself to be kissed without too
+much fuss; but when I attempted to go further, she defended herself very
+stoutly, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"I said: 'Not to-day!'&mdash;So, no nonsense; it's a waste of time!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, when, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! we'll see; we've got time enough. Do you like me?"</p>
+
+<p>"What a question! Many other men must like you, for you know well enough
+that you're as pretty as a peach."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! I know that; people tell me so every day."</p>
+
+<p>"Lovers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lovers and flatterers and chance acquaintances&mdash;what do I know? I can't
+go out without being followed, and it's sickening!"</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Mademoiselle Rosette, tell me frankly: have you had
+many&mdash;lovers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lovers! I should think not! No, I've never had but one."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very modest! And you loved him dearly, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you separate?"</p>
+
+<p>She looked down at the floor, heaved a profound sigh, and murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"Alas! he died, my poor Léon!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! forgive me for reminding you of so sad a loss."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he died&mdash;a little more than a year ago."</p>
+
+<p>"How old are you?"<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Twenty. They've wanted to marry me off seventeen times already; but I
+won't have it; I haven't any taste for marriage. I am right, ain't I?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you have no inclination for marriage, you will certainly do quite as
+well to remain free."</p>
+
+<p>"Free, that's it! What fun it is to do just what one wants to do! In the
+first place, I should make a husband very unhappy! And in the second
+place, how can I marry, now? I don't choose to deceive anyone, and I
+certainly wouldn't hold myself out for something that I'm not any more."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right, mademoiselle; you shouldn't have any secrets from the
+man you bind yourself to; but all young ladies aren't like you."</p>
+
+<p>"They're wrong, then. I must go now; I shall get a scolding."</p>
+
+<p>"Just another minute. Tell me; if you hadn't seen that name on the
+theatre ticket, wouldn't you have come to see me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then it was on account of the name alone that you came, not on my
+account?"</p>
+
+<p>"But it was on your account, as the name's yours."</p>
+
+<p>"But suppose it were not mine? suppose it were a mere accident that that
+name was on the ticket?"</p>
+
+<p>The girl gazed earnestly at me, then exclaimed impatiently:</p>
+
+<p>"Come, go on! what do you mean? I don't like to have anyone hold my nose
+under water."</p>
+
+<p>"I mean, mademoiselle, that, like yourself, I do not choose to deceive
+anyone, or to hold myself out for what I am not. The author of whose
+works you are so fond&mdash;I am not he. My name is Charles Rochebrune; and
+I<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> haven't the least little bit of renown to serve as a halo to my name.
+If my concierge lied to you yesterday, it was because I thought that you
+would not come here for poor me; and, as I ardently desired to see you
+again, I ventured upon that little fraud, to obtain the pleasure of
+receiving you here. But I never intended to carry it any further.&mdash;That
+is what I wanted to tell you."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Rosette was silent for a few moments; I heard her mutter in
+a disappointed tone: "It's a pity!" But the next minute she smiled and
+held out her hand, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care&mdash;it was good of you to tell me the truth!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then you are no longer angry with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"What good would that do?"</p>
+
+<p>"And you will love me a little?"</p>
+
+<p>"We shall see. Ah! a piano! Who plays the piano? I love music!"</p>
+
+<p>I sat down at the piano, and played quadrilles, waltzes, and polkas.
+When I reached the last-named dance, she began to polk about the salon
+with fascinating grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you like the polka?"</p>
+
+<p>"I adore it! Do you polk?"</p>
+
+<p>"A little."</p>
+
+<p>"Let's try it."</p>
+
+<p>She took my arm, and in a moment we were polking all over the salon to a
+tune which I was obliged to sing while we danced. It was very fatiguing;
+but Mademoiselle Rosette did not weary; she was an intrepid dancer. We
+were making our fifteenth circuit, at least, when the door was suddenly
+thrown open and Frédérique appeared. She stood, speechless with
+amazement, in the doorway; she had not eyes enough to look at us.<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> I
+attempted to stop and go to her; but Mademoiselle Rosette dragged me on
+and compelled me to continue:</p>
+
+<p>"Come on, come on!" she cried. "Do you think of stopping now? My word!
+Why, I can polk two hours without stopping!"</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXV_A_HIGH_LIVER" id="XXXV_A_HIGH_LIVER"></a>XXXV<br /><br />
+A HIGH LIVER</h2>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Rosette danced on with undiminished ardor, but I felt that
+mine was rapidly giving out; my voice was dying away, and there were
+moments when I did not make a sound. After watching us for some time,
+Frédérique took her place at the piano and began to play a polka for us.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was no longer any reason why we should stop; I did not need
+to sing, it is true, but I did need the leg of a Hercules to keep pace
+with my partner, who exclaimed when she heard the music:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's fine! How much better we go with the piano!&mdash;Not quite so
+fast, madame, please! The polka isn't like the waltz."</p>
+
+<p>But I could do no more; I stopped and threw myself into a chair.
+Mademoiselle Rosette thereupon concluded to sit down; and as she took
+out her handkerchief to wipe her face, she dropped a thimble, two skeins
+of cotton, a piece of cake, two sous, a spool of thread, a card, a lump
+of sugar, a skein of silk, and three plums.</p>
+
+<p>She got down on all fours to pick them up, then glanced at the clock and
+cried:<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! half-past one! To think that I've been here an hour and a
+half, and I didn't mean to stay five minutes! Oh! what a trouncing I
+shall get! luckily, I don't care a hang! Adieu, Monsieur
+What's-your-name! I'm going."</p>
+
+<p>She had already left the salon; I hurried after her and overtook her in
+the reception room, and, seizing her around the waist, said:</p>
+
+<p>"When shall I see you again?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> I don't know; whenever you say."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you dine with me to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dine with you? Yes, I'd like to."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you be on Passage Vendôme at five o'clock?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! not on Passage Vendôme; that's too near my employer's; someone
+might see me. Better go where we met first, on Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle,
+in front of the Gymnase."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good; at five o'clock?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's too early; half-past five."</p>
+
+<p>"Half-past five it is. Until to-morrow, then!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; adieu!"</p>
+
+<p>I kissed her, and she ran down the stairs four at a time. I returned to
+the salon. Frédérique's face wore a singular expression. She pretended
+to laugh, but her merriment seemed forced to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you forgive me for leaving you alone a moment while I said a word
+to that young woman?" I said, as I sat down beside her.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course! Do friends stand on ceremony with one another?"</p>
+
+<p>"You see, I have taken advantage of the permission you gave me."</p>
+
+<p>"You have done well.&mdash;Ha! ha! ha!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you laugh?"<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Because you looked so comical, polking with that grisette just now. I
+had so little expectation of finding a ball in progress here!&mdash;Ha! ha!
+ha! I was speechless."</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, how did you come in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Through the door, naturally; I rang, and your servant admitted me. But
+you were so hard at work with your dancing that you didn't hear
+me&mdash;apparently.&mdash;Ha! ha! ha!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! my servant admitted you, did he? I sent him on an errand and
+forbade him to return before two o'clock. The rascal! he couldn't
+restrain his curiosity, and he came back before the time."</p>
+
+<p>"I disturbed you&mdash;I am very sorry. But it seemed to me that you had had
+enough; you were on your last legs. <i>Fichtre!</i> what a dancer that damsel
+is! You and I dance very well together&mdash;they took us for artists from
+the Opéra, you know; but if you had polked with your friend at Monsieur
+Bocal's ball, they would have carried you both in triumph, like
+<i>Musard</i>.&mdash;Ha! ha! ha!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are in a satirical mood, Frédérique."</p>
+
+<p>"Satirical with you? Bless my soul! it seems to me that that would be
+very unbecoming of me. You amuse yourself, you enjoy life, you know how
+to make the most of your best days&mdash;and you are quite right! I may envy
+your happiness, but certainly not laugh at it, I who can no longer do
+anything but bore myself and other people too."</p>
+
+<p>She said these last words in a most melancholy tone, and her eyes were
+wet with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"What's that you say about boring other people, Frédérique?" I said,
+taking her hand. "You didn't make that wicked remark for my benefit, I
+trust; if you did, it is absolutely false."</p>
+
+<p>She hastily withdrew her hand.<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No, no!" she cried; "I don't know what I am saying, or what I am
+thinking about! Come, let us talk, my dear friend; who is this girl that
+I found with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"She&mdash;why, she's a grisette; and a very pretty one, too, is she not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that may be. She lisps when she talks."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! really now! Once in a while, there's something that makes her voice
+tremble, it is true, but it isn't at all disagreeable; quite the
+contrary."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a matter of taste. Some men like women who lisp, just as some
+like red hair. I have known some who even went so far as to adore women
+with a limp."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how caustic you are to-day, Frédérique!"</p>
+
+<p>"And this beauty, with the quivering voice&mdash;how long have you known
+her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Since day before yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"Peste! she's quite new! And the acquaintance is already&mdash;complete; you
+have nothing else to wish for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I beg your pardon. We don't go so fast."</p>
+
+<p>"But I should say that you go at quite a good pace. If the young lady
+should prove cruel, I should be much surprised."</p>
+
+<p>"I trust that she won't be to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you are to see her again to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we dine together; we have made the appointment, it's all
+arranged."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique abruptly sprang to her feet and walked to the window. She
+remained there some time. When she came back to me, I was surprised at
+her pallor.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you feel ill?" I asked, hastening to meet her.</p>
+
+<p>"No; I&mdash;I&mdash;was looking at the weather. Well! so you really have ceased
+entirely to think of Armantine?"<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What has induced you to mention that lady to me? What idea have you in
+your head?"</p>
+
+<p>"A perfectly natural one. I am still surprised to find that you have
+forgotten her. Do you know that she has left Passy?"</p>
+
+<p>"How should I know that? Do you suppose that I have been to Passy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! that is true. Well, Armantine has left the neighborhood of the
+Bois. She hasn't told me where she has gone; apparently, she isn't
+anxious to see me again. That's as she pleases: one should never force
+one's self upon anybody. But I see that you are not listening to me! I
+forgive you: you are so engrossed by your new conquest and your blissful
+meeting to-morrow!&mdash;But I am forgetting that I have some business to
+attend to."</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, she put on her bonnet, which she had tossed on a table
+when she took her seat at the piano.</p>
+
+<p>"What! you are going to leave me already?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;I, too&mdash;somebody's waiting for me&mdash;I too have an appointment. Did
+you think that that was impossible?"</p>
+
+<p>"In what a tone you say that! I thought simply that, in that case, you
+would have taken me into your confidence."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so. I can't tell all my sentiments so easily as you can."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you have less confidence in me than I have in you."</p>
+
+<p>"That is possible."</p>
+
+<p>"But that is very unkind!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, how long will this new love of yours last?"</p>
+
+<p>"My relations with Mademoiselle Rosette?&mdash;for you mustn't call it love."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, then?"<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It is a little liaison of no consequence&mdash;for amusement."</p>
+
+<p>"Give it whatever name you choose. Well, how long will this little
+liaison of no consequence, for amusement, be likely to last?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you ask?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I want to know."</p>
+
+<p>"It's rather hard for me to answer. How is it possible to say? You see,
+I know nothing of the girl's temperament. Such liaisons sometimes end in
+a week; sometimes they last three months."</p>
+
+<p>"All right. Then I will come again three months hence."</p>
+
+<p>"What does this mean? Why do you leave me so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it seems to me that I always arrive most inopportunely and
+disturb you in the midst of your pleasures; and I shall do well not to
+intrude again, so long as you are&mdash;infatuated with this grisette."</p>
+
+<p>"Really, Frédérique, I can't understand you! What connection can there
+possibly be between my follies, my amourettes, my momentary pleasures,
+and our delightful friendship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you are quite right! Of course, there is not the slightest
+connection between me and your pleasures. Ah, me! I certainly do not
+know what I am saying to-day; my wits are all topsy-turvy. But, adieu! I
+repeat, I have an appointment; I must leave you. Adieu!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I shall see you again soon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, soon."</p>
+
+<p>She left the room. There were days when I was utterly at a loss to
+understand that woman's changing moods.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! here's Monsieur Pomponne! Just come this way, O faithful and, above
+all, obedient servitor!"<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a></p>
+
+<p>Pomponne hung his head and stood in front of me, like a Cossack awaiting
+the knout.</p>
+
+<p>"What did I tell you when I sent you out this morning?"</p>
+
+<p>"You told me, monsieur, that it would take me till two o'clock at least.
+But I hurried and got back earlier. Monsieur tells me sometimes that I
+am slow, and I wanted to prove that I could be quick."</p>
+
+<p>"You have proved that you are a prying rascal&mdash;that's what you have
+proved! Another time, if you don't carry out my orders to the letter, I
+will discharge you."</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't give me any letter, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Enough; off with you, or I may give you something else!"</p>
+
+<p>The next day, at half-past five, I was at the place Mademoiselle Rosette
+had appointed; in a few moments, I saw my new conquest approaching; she
+did not keep me waiting, that was another excellent quality.</p>
+
+<p>For this occasion Mademoiselle Rosette had made a toilet; she wore a
+green merino dress, a pretty shawl, a black velvet bonnet, with a tulle
+veil. It was all very becoming to her; moreover, her costume was
+suitable, without being pretentious; that fact denoted good taste.</p>
+
+<p>I offered her my arm, and she smilingly accepted it. We walked toward
+the cab stand. I put her into a little <i>citadine</i>, and as we drove away
+I began the conversation with a kiss; that leads at once to intimacy. My
+companion accepted the situation with the best grace imaginable. We were
+very good friends in short order.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you taking me?" inquired Rosette.</p>
+
+<p>"To a restaurant."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it very far?"<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Near the Jardin des Plantes, opposite the Orléans station&mdash;the
+Arc-en-Ciel. It seems to me that if we get away from the crowd, we shall
+be more at liberty, more at home. You're in no hurry, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! that is to say, provided I'm at home at eleven o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we have plenty of time before us. By the way, where do you live?"</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose I don't choose to tell you?"</p>
+
+<p>"It shall be exactly as you choose."</p>
+
+<p>"I was joking. I live on Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."</p>
+
+<p>"The deuce! that's well up in the faubourg! And you go back there alone,
+at night, when you leave your work?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure!"</p>
+
+<p>"And you're not afraid?"</p>
+
+<p>"What should I be afraid of? Besides, I always have body-guards, men who
+follow me and protect me. But, speaking of that, monsieur, who was that
+lady who came to see you while we were polking? and who stayed there
+after I went, and looked at me as if she meant to count my eyelashes?"</p>
+
+<p>"That lady is a friend of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand: she's your mistress!"</p>
+
+<p>"I assure you that she is not. If she were, I should have no reason to
+conceal the fact."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I don't know. There are some ladies who don't want to be given
+away&mdash;when they're married, for instance."</p>
+
+<p>"Once more, I assure you that she is a friend, and nothing more."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! a friend! I know what that means! So she's an old one, eh?"<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Neither old nor new. Do you suppose that, if that lady were my
+mistress, she would be obliging enough, when she found me dancing with
+you, to sit down at the piano and be our orchestra?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but she played the polka fast enough to spoil our wind in a second.
+It was no use for me to call out: 'A little slower, please, madame!' she
+didn't listen to me, but banged and banged away! It was a sly trick to
+wind us both. Oh! I'm not so stupid as you think!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I have never thought that you were stupid; far from it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really! tell me, do you think I am bright?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think you are charming."</p>
+
+<p>"That's no answer; I might be charming, and still be stupid. However, I
+don't care; as long as I please you, and you love me a little&mdash;I mean
+much; I want to be loved much&mdash;that's all I ask."</p>
+
+<p>She said all this with an abandon, a vivacity, which proved, at all
+events, that she did not stop to pick her words.</p>
+
+<p>We arrived at the restaurant; I need not say that I had taken my
+conquest to an establishment where there were cosily furnished private
+dining-rooms. I also think it needless to add that I began by dismissing
+the waiter, who attempted to insist upon serving us at once, by telling
+him that I would prepare my order and ring for him when we wanted to
+dine. I was very glad to have an interview with Mademoiselle Rosette,
+uninterrupted by the constant going and coming of a waiter.</p>
+
+<p>At last we were left alone. I was able to converse at my ease with my
+pretty workgirl, to whom our conversation was equally agreeable and who
+sustained her part excellently. I was enchanted with Mademoiselle<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>
+Rosette! Long live the women who do not make a thousand and one grimaces
+before coming to what they have never intended to refuse! Ah! if only
+one could believe that they did have that intention, and yielded to the
+power of sentiment, to the ascendency of our passion alone! But it is
+impossible to believe that. Whenever a woman agrees to go to a private
+dining-room with a man, it means that she does not propose to be severe.</p>
+
+<p>In due course, we dined; we had the most voracious appetites. We were as
+gay as larks; embarrassment and reserve had vanished. There is nothing
+superior to a little tender conversation for putting us in a good humor
+at once, and putting to flight that indefinable constraint which takes
+wing only when a woman has ceased to keep us at any distance.</p>
+
+<p>Rosette and I were like people who had known each other for six months.
+She ate like an ogre and drank like a porter. She was a model grisette!
+a table companion of the sort that puts you on your mettle and excites
+you! Don't talk to me of the women who never have any appetite, who
+barely nibble at their food, and leave untouched all that you put on
+their plate. They call everything bad, and end by preventing you from
+eating. What depressing companions! With them, you spend quite as
+much&mdash;yes, more; for you never know what to order to stir them up, and
+you always dine wretchedly.</p>
+
+<p>But with Rosette how different it was! how we made the oysters
+disappear, and the soup, and the beef-steak; the fish and game and
+vegetables and sweetmeats and dessert! She ate the last dish with as
+much gusto as the first. Oh! fascinating girl, I admired thee! I revered
+thee! I would have erected a column to thee, had I<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a> been Lucullus! But
+thou wert as well pleased with a charlotte russe! And thou wert right:
+columns remain, but charlotte russes pass away; and that was what we
+wanted.</p>
+
+<p>We drank chablis, pomard, madeira, and came at last to champagne.
+Rosette confessed that she adored that wine; as for the others, I was
+pleased to see that she had a friendly feeling for them as well. She
+laughingly emptied her glass, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I'd have you know that I never get tipsy."</p>
+
+<p>A moment later, she cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but I say, I am drinking too much; I'm beginning to be dizzy!"</p>
+
+<p>In another instant, she assumed a sentimental expression.</p>
+
+<p>"O my friend!" she said; "if I should be drunk, what would you say to
+me? You might not love me any more! That would make me very unhappy!"</p>
+
+<p>But I kissed her and drank with her, and her fears were succeeded by
+bursts of merriment.</p>
+
+<p>The more one drinks, the more one talks, unless one happens to be
+melancholy in one's cups, and my grisette was not so constituted.</p>
+
+<p>While we dined, she told me her whole history; I knew her family as well
+as if I were her cousin. She was an orphan, but her seven aunts took
+care of her. It seemed to me that their watchfulness resembled that of
+the Seven Sleepers. That is one of the inconveniences of having too many
+aunts: each of them probably relied on the others to keep an eye on
+Rosette.</p>
+
+<p>Now her aunts wanted her to marry, and each one had a match in view for
+her; the result being that there were seven aspirants for the hand of my
+friend, who reminded<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> me of the Seven Children of Lara. Thus
+Mademoiselle Rosette had only too many to choose from, to say nothing of
+the fact that she had several young men who were paying court to her,
+for the good motive, without the knowledge of her aunts.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you don't believe me! But I'll show you; I always have letters
+from some of my suitors in my pocket. I want you to read them; they'll
+make you laugh."</p>
+
+<p>And Rosette set about emptying her pockets, which led us to the
+disclosure of a multitude of things, such as scissors, skeins of cotton,
+crusts of bread, visiting cards, copper coins, barley sugar, ribbons,
+braid, chalk, specimens of dry goods, orange peel, etc., etc. I told her
+that she should empty her pockets on the boulevard and shout:</p>
+
+<p>"Here's what's left from the sale! Come, messieurs and mesdames, take
+your choice; this is what's left from the sale!"</p>
+
+<p>Rosette insisted that I should read her letters from her adorers. I
+found in them the following sentiments:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! mademoiselle, what a sudden spasm I felt throughout my being when I
+saw your shadow on the curtain!"</p>
+
+<p>Or this: "Fatality collects and heaps up like a block of granite on my
+breast the circumstances that compel me to idolize you."</p>
+
+<p>I soon had enough of that; I refused to read any more and returned the
+scrawls to Rosette, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I'll wager that your lovers have long, flying hair, uncombed beards,
+and artist's hats?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is true! How did you guess that?"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear love, when a man writes in that style, he doesn't dress like
+other people."<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a></p>
+
+<p>The hour arrived when we must think of returning. The time had passed
+very quickly; that is the greatest praise one can give a tête-à-tête.</p>
+
+<p>I put Mademoiselle Rosette in a cab again&mdash;she was slightly
+exhilarated&mdash;and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I will escort you to Faubourg Saint-Denis."</p>
+
+<p>She seemed to consider.</p>
+
+<p>"Aren't you going home?" I continued.</p>
+
+<p>"How stupid you are! Where do you suppose I'm going? But, you see, I
+have quite a choice; I can go and sleep at another one of my aunts', if
+I choose&mdash;it doesn't matter which, I have a bed with each of them; I
+might sleep in the Marais, for I have an aunt on Rue Pont-aux-Choux."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! that's convenient, isn't it? So, when you want to pass the
+night with your lover, you tell one aunt that you've been with another
+one, and so on. Oh! fortunate niece! I have known lots of nieces, but
+very few in so pleasant a position as you occupy."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! come, don't laugh at me! Let me tell you, monsieur, that my aunts
+see each other very often; and so, if I should lie and say I had passed
+the night with one of them when I hadn't, they'd soon find it out, and I
+shouldn't have a very nice time."</p>
+
+<p>"Forgive me, dear love! I didn't mean to offend you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Kiss me. When shall I see you again?"</p>
+
+<p>"When you are willing."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll come to see you Thursday, about two. Will you wait for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly."</p>
+
+<p>"And you'll take care that your friend don't come and disturb us; if she
+does, I'll make a scene with her. I'm very jealous, let me tell you. You
+love me, don't you?<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> Ah! you've made me tipsy, you see, and I don't know
+what I'm saying."</p>
+
+<p>I reassured Rosette and left her on Faubourg Saint-Denis, where she had
+finally decided to go. She was a very attractive girl, her conversation
+was amusing, and her person most alluring. But I was sorry that she had
+a tent pitched in every quarter of Paris; one could never be sure where
+she had gone into camp.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXVI_A_SCENE" id="XXXVI_A_SCENE"></a>XXXVI<br /><br />
+A SCENE</h2>
+
+<p>I had known Rosette a month, and thus far had had no reason to repent. I
+had observed, to be sure, that the young woman did not always tell me
+the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; but, after all, a
+lover should not act toward his mistress in the capacity of a juryman.
+Moreover, Rosette herself had told me, in a moment of effusiveness, that
+she lied a great deal and lied very well. It seemed to me that, after
+that, I was not justified in losing my temper when she told me a
+falsehood; for she might reply:</p>
+
+<p>"I gave you fair warning!"</p>
+
+<p>I often took Rosette to dine in a private dining-room. Knowing as I did
+what justice she could do to a hearty meal, it would really have been a
+pity not to give her an opportunity for practice; and as I myself am
+endowed with a lusty appetite, our little parties always afforded us
+pleasure: when love went to sleep, the stomach woke, and <i>vice versa</i>.<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a></p>
+
+<p>Rosette came to my rooms once or twice a week, and sometimes unheralded.
+When I was absent, she went into my chamber; I had told Pomponne that
+she was to be admitted at any time. When she had come and failed to find
+me, I always discovered it instantly, for she turned everything in the
+apartment topsy-turvy. She tossed about papers, books, combs, brushes,
+and soap; looked through all the drawers, and left nothing in its place;
+even the chairs I always found in the middle of the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Couldn't you have put my room to rights a little?" I would say to
+Pomponne.</p>
+
+<p>And Monsieur Pomponne would reply, with his sly smile:</p>
+
+<p>"It was Mademoiselle Rosette who arranged monsieur's bedroom like that;
+I shouldn't venture to touch anything."</p>
+
+<p>I had not seen Frédérique since the day she played for us to dance. She
+had not called upon me again. I had been several times to see her, but
+had not found her. Could it be that her friendship was really jealous of
+my love for a grisette? That would be absurd. Friendship should be
+indulgent to our weaknesses, and, after all, I had not promised
+Frédérique to be virtuous.</p>
+
+<p>I could not understand her conduct in the least, but I was deeply
+grieved by it. I missed her; my follies with Rosette were simply
+transitory gleams of pleasure, while my delightful interviews with
+Frédérique filled my heart with a joy which had a morrow.</p>
+
+<p>I was sitting one day, absorbed in serious reflections, when Frédérique
+entered my room. I cannot describe my sensation of pleasure. I ran to
+meet her, took her hands, and cried:<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! here you are at last! I am very glad! I thought that you had
+forgotten me altogether."</p>
+
+<p>She looked at me and smiled, as she rejoined:</p>
+
+<p>"So you are glad to see me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Unkind Frédérique! can you ask such a question? Why, I have been to see
+you several times!"</p>
+
+<p>"I know it; my people told me."</p>
+
+<p>"But you are never at home! What sort of life are you leading, pray,
+madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"I go out a good deal, it is true."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you been ill? it seems to me that you are a little pale."</p>
+
+<p>"I am never very red. The women you see are so fresh and rosy, that you
+are struck by the difference."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! madame, I see no woman whom it gives me so much pleasure to look at
+as you."</p>
+
+<p>"Really?"</p>
+
+<p>She uttered that word with an accent that came from her heart. I made
+her sit down beside me. She looked all about the room, murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"Are you alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I do not intrude?"</p>
+
+<p>"Once more, I tell you that you never intrude."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! <i>never</i> is too strong. What if she were with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! you know well enough: your dancing damsel&mdash;your Rosette."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! my Rosette!"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> I think that I may fairly say <i>your</i> Rosette, for she must
+surely have become yours since the day&mdash;&mdash; To be sure, she may be others'
+also, and in that case the possessive pronoun would be of doubtful
+propriety."<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Call her what you will, Frédérique; I attach little importance to that.
+But I am surprised to find that my liaison with that girl displeases
+you. Why is it so? I can't understand. You are too intelligent to
+believe that such amourettes can impair the pure friendship I have sworn
+to you."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique put her hand over her eyes and turned her face away.</p>
+
+<p>"But you are mistaken!" she exclaimed. "It is not true! Your liaison
+with this grisette doesn't displease me at all. Upon my word! why should
+it, pray?&mdash;But I would have liked you to know five or six at the same
+time; that would be more amusing; I should enjoy that immensely."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment I heard voices outside, and recognized Pomponne's.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur is having a consultation with someone," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care a hang for his consultation; I can go in any time, I can!"
+was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>And an instant later, Mademoiselle Rosette opened the door and appeared
+before us. Frédérique turned pale, but she did not stir. I was annoyed
+that Rosette should have come just then. However, I had no reason for
+letting her see it; so I went to meet her, smiling as usual. But my
+grisette had assumed a furious expression, and she drew back from me,
+crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't put yourself out, monsieur, I beg; you were so comfortable with
+madame! You weren't polking, to be sure, but you were engaged in
+something more interesting; anybody could see that."</p>
+
+<p>I saw that Rosette was on the point of saying things most unseemly, and
+perhaps worse than that, to Madame<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a> Dauberny, and I felt my blood begin
+to boil. Frédérique, on the contrary, remained quite calm.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle," I said, "I cannot believe that it is your intention to
+insult those persons whom you may chance to meet on my premises; I tell
+you at once that that does not meet my views at all, and that I will not
+endure it."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? Perhaps I'll have to put on mittens when I speak to the
+princesses I find in monsieur's room! I guess not much! Humbug!"</p>
+
+<p>"O Rosette! Rosette!"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me alone; I propose to shriek all I want to, and get mad too! I
+don't believe in these <i>friendships</i> between ladies and young men. Bah!
+friendship that crawls under your bedclothes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Be careful, mademoiselle!"</p>
+
+<p>"I won't be careful! I'm your mistress, I am, worse luck!&mdash;If madame
+don't know it, I'm very glad to tell her of it, so that she'll know it
+now. Yes, I'm your mistress; but I don't propose to have you have others
+at the same time&mdash;old ones or new ones;&mdash;if you do, I'll raise a deuce
+of a row! Ah! you'll see!"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique, who seemed rather pleased than angry as she listened to
+Rosette, rose and said to her in a most affable tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I was quite well aware that you were monsieur's mistress, mademoiselle;
+I beg you to believe that I did not doubt it for a moment, when I saw
+you in his room. I assure you that you are wrong, altogether wrong, to
+be jealous of me, who am not and never have been Monsieur Rochebrune's
+mistress. So that I do not deserve your anger&mdash;and to prove it, I am
+going to take my leave at once and surrender my place to you&mdash;which I
+would<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a> not do, I beg you to believe, if monsieur were my lover. Come!
+make your peace; be reconciled! I am distressed to have been the cause
+of this scene.&mdash;Adieu, Rochebrune; au revoir, my friend! Be sure that I
+am not at all offended with you for what has happened."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique left the room, smiling sweetly at me. I did not try to detain
+her, because I did not choose to expose her to fresh abuse from Rosette.</p>
+
+<p>As for my grisette, she threw herself on the divan, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care! I must admit that she's a good creature, after all. Ah! I
+wouldn't have been the one to go! You might have called up a dozen
+gendarmes, and I'd just have said: <i>Zut!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>I paced the floor without a word; I was vexed and angry. After five
+minutes, Rosette exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"I say, monsieur, when are you going to stop stalking around your room,
+like the Bear of Berne? Why, you ought to have begged my pardon ten
+times for the tricks you play on me! For it's a perfect outrage, the way
+you treat me!"</p>
+
+<p>"If anyone ought to ask pardon, mademoiselle, you are the one; for,
+without any motive or reason, you have insulted a most estimable lady, a
+person who should be out of reach of your suspicions and your attacks. I
+had told you before that there was nothing in my relations with her to
+arouse your jealousy; and because you find her in my room, where she has
+not been since the day of the polka, you make a scene, and say things to
+her that are worse than unbecoming. It is all wrong, and I am very angry
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Hoity-toity! You're angry with me, are you? Ah! you're a nice man, you
+are! You are annoyed because<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a> I caught you in&mdash;vicious conversation, as
+the bewigged men say! After all, what did I say that was so mortifying
+to your fine lady? Nothing at all! Ah! if I had pulled her hair out or
+torn her dress, then you might say something!"</p>
+
+<p>"That would have been the last straw! Do you suppose I would have
+allowed that?"</p>
+
+<p>"If I'd taken a fancy to do it, you wouldn't have had time to stop
+me&mdash;my good friend. I wouldn't have asked your leave."</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Rosette, you are very wrong-headed."</p>
+
+<p>"That may be; but you can take me or leave me."</p>
+
+<p>I said nothing, but continued to pace the floor. After a considerable
+time, Mademoiselle Rosette sprang to her feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Well! so that's the way it is, eh?&mdash;Bonsoir!"</p>
+
+<p>She rushed from the room, and I heard her slam one door after another
+till she was in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>She had gone, and gone in a rage. No matter! I could not allow her to
+insult my visitors without the slightest cause. If I should allow it,
+with her temperament Mademoiselle Rosette would soon pass from words to
+deeds. I said to myself that she would calm down and come back to me. I
+did not believe that she was vixenish at heart. Those people who fly
+into a rage so quickly do not let the sun go down on their wrath.<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXVII_ROSETTES_SEVEN_AUNTS" id="XXXVII_ROSETTES_SEVEN_AUNTS"></a>XXXVII<br /><br />
+ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS</h2>
+
+<p>Several days passed and I heard nothing of my grisette. But I went to
+see Frédérique, whom I found at home, and who greeted me with evident
+pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>I did not mention Rosette; but I saw in her eyes that she was burning to
+know the situation of my amour with her. At last, she could contain
+herself no longer.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my friend," she said, "you say nothing of your love affairs. I
+trust, however, that I am still your confidante; and you surely must
+have been content with my conduct the last time I came to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not speak of that, to avoid recalling unpleasant things; you were
+most kind, a thousand times too kind; but that did not surprise me, and
+I ask your pardon again for that girl, who didn't know what she was
+saying."</p>
+
+<p>"I assure you that she didn't offend me in the least; far from it! her
+observations were so amusing, and her expressions so classic! But you
+are reconciled, I hope? My departure should have restored peace at
+once."</p>
+
+<p>"No; that is where you are mistaken. We did not make peace. Rosette went
+away in a rage, and I haven't seen her since."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? You surprise me. And haven't you made any attempt to see that
+fascinating grisette again?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, not any."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique looked at me out of the corner of her eye. To change the
+subject, I asked her if her husband had returned.<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Not yet. You seem greatly interested in my husband's movements. I
+confess that that puzzles me a good deal."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg you to believe that my interest in him has no connection with
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am sure of that."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know that your husband's friend, he who called himself
+Saint-Germain, has lost his place?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not know it; but that explains why he comes here almost every day
+to inquire if Monsieur Dauberny has returned; indeed, he asked to see me
+once."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not receive that man, madame; I take the liberty of giving you that
+advice."</p>
+
+<p>"I will follow your advice, monsieur, which, by the by, is in perfect
+accord with my previous intentions. If I dared to give you advice, in my
+turn, I would say&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! no! I won't say it! I prefer that you should follow the
+impulses of your heart; and then, too&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique began to laugh, and I was somewhat annoyed; but she refused
+to say anything more. I took my leave, almost offended with her; but I
+pressed her hand affectionately.</p>
+
+<p>Several more days passed, and still no news of Rosette. I was hurt by
+her desertion; she was very pretty, and she loved me, or, at all events,
+she pretended to, which often amounts to the same thing. If she was
+jealous, was not that a proof of affection? After all, I had let her go
+without saying a word, without trying to detain her.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come!" I said to myself; "no false shame! It is my place to make
+advances."</p>
+
+<p>Rosette had said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"If you should happen to have anything important to say to me, go to my
+aunt's&mdash;whichever one I am staying<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> with&mdash;and ask for me. There's no
+danger; they won't see anything but smoke."</p>
+
+<p>So I determined to hunt up Rosette, at her various aunts' abodes,
+praying that I should have less difficulty than Jason had in his quest
+of the Golden Fleece. Rosette, by the way, had not a golden fleece, and
+was to be congratulated therefor.</p>
+
+<p>I hired a cab by the hour, and went first to Faubourg Saint-Denis,
+corner of Rue Chabrol; that was where Rosette had her legal domicile. I
+knew the house, having taken her there quite often. I went in and asked
+an old tailor, presumably the concierge, if Mademoiselle Rosette was
+with her aunt, Madame Falourdin. I had remembered that aunt's name; as
+for the others, I had heard them named; but that conglomeration of more
+or less queer and unusual names had escaped my memory.</p>
+
+<p>"Mamzelle Rosette?" replied the tailor, eying the seat of an old pair of
+trousers as a cook eyes eggs that are to be served in the shell;
+"Mamzelle Rosette? No, monsieur, I don't think she be to her aunt's, or
+I'd have seen her going out and coming in more'n once this morning. You
+see, monsieur, that girl's just like a worm as has been cut in
+two&mdash;always wriggling.&mdash;<i>Bigre!</i> that place is pretty nigh worn out!"</p>
+
+<p>I saw that Rosette was recognized everywhere as being constantly in
+motion.</p>
+
+<p>"So you think she isn't at Madame Falourdin's?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd put my thimble in the fire on it. Ha! ha! To be sure, it wouldn't
+burn, being as it's wrought iron.&mdash;Oho! how thin this place is!"</p>
+
+<p>The old fellow was inclined to jest. However, I must find out where to
+go in search of Rosette.<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Can you tell me, monsieur, where I shall find Mademoiselle Rosette?"</p>
+
+<p>I added to my question the obligatory accompaniment of a piece of
+silver; but to my amazement the old tailor pushed my hand away, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"That would be robbery, for I don't know where she is.&mdash;They want me to
+make a child's jacket out of this thing, and I couldn't make one
+gaiter!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I must speak to that young woman."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, go up to the third, Mame Falourdin; she'd ought to know
+where her niece is."</p>
+
+<p>He was right; that was my only resource. Rosette had said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"When you ask for me at one of my aunts', you must always say that you
+come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon."&mdash;I bore that
+in mind.</p>
+
+<p>There was but one door on the third floor, so that it was impossible to
+make a mistake. I rang. A tall, thin woman opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Falourdin?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's me, monsieur. What can I do for you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is Mademoiselle Rosette with you, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; what do you want of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I know, monsieur, I know! About a cashmere shawl, I suppose, that needs
+mending and must be mended right away?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think that that's what it is, madame."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, monsieur, you must be kind enough to go to her Aunt Riflot's, Rue
+du Pont-aux-Choux, No. 17. That's where Rosette is just now."</p>
+
+<p>"Exceedingly obliged, madame; I will go there at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Your servant, monsieur!"<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a></p>
+
+<p>I was not sorry to know that the finisher was supposed to send for
+Rosette to mend shawls; that would give me more self-assurance in my
+embassy.</p>
+
+<p>I was driven to Rue du Pont-aux-Choux. There I did not stop to parley
+with the concierge; I asked for Madame Riflot, and went up at once to
+the fourth floor. I found a very active and wide-awake little old woman,
+who did not keep still an instant, but was constantly on the move from
+the stove to the kitchen table and cupboard while she talked with me.</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to say a word to Mademoiselle Rosette, if possible,
+madame."</p>
+
+<p>"Rosette? my niece Rosette?&mdash;Ah! mon Dieu! I believe it's burning! yes,
+I believe it's burning!"</p>
+
+<p>And the old woman ran and turned over the tripe that was frying on the
+stove.</p>
+
+<p>"She is here, is she not, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rosette? my niece Rosette?&mdash;Have I got any parsley? have I got any
+parsley? It would be just like me not to have any parsley!"</p>
+
+<p>"Will you kindly tell me if I may speak to her? Will you call her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who? Rosette? my niece Rosette?&mdash;A body don't have a minute to herself!
+It must be after twelve. Is it after twelve?"</p>
+
+<p>I began to lose patience, and, being convinced that Rosette was not far
+away, I shouted at the top of my voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Rosette, you're wanted!"</p>
+
+<p>At that, the infernal old hag stopped, looked at me, and began to laugh.
+When she had laughed her fill, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"It's no use for you to call and yell, as she ain't here; you might just
+as well sing!"<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a></p>
+
+<p>"She is not here? You should have told me that at once, madame."</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't give me time.&mdash;And my fire, my fire&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, madame, will you be kind enough to tell me where I can
+find mademoiselle your niece? I wanted to see her about mending a
+shawl&mdash;at Madame Berlingot's."</p>
+
+<p>"Rosette told me, the last time I saw her: 'I'm going to work at Aunt
+Piquette's, Rue aux Ours, No. 35.'&mdash;Well, have I got any embers, I
+wonder? Let's look and see!"</p>
+
+<p>"Exceedingly obliged, madame."</p>
+
+<p>That old woman set my nerves on edge! Thank God! I was clear of her at
+last! I made all haste to Aunt Piquette's, Rue aux Ours.</p>
+
+<p>I found no concierge at the number indicated; but a neighbor told me
+that Madame Piquette lived on the fifth floor. <i>Fichtre!</i> the flights
+increased in number! If I should have to visit all Rosette's aunts, how
+high should I have to ascend, at that rate? But I hoped that I should
+find that intangible niece this time.</p>
+
+<p>I rang at Madame Piquette's door. A woman appeared who was fully sixty
+years of age, but who wore a cap overladen with flowers and pink
+ribbons. Where will not coquetry build its nest?</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Piquette?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's me, monsieur; take the trouble to come in."</p>
+
+<p>And she made a formal reverence, as she stood aside to let me pass.</p>
+
+<p>"It is useless for me to disturb you, madame; I have come to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly shall not receive you on the landing, monsieur; please walk
+in."<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a></p>
+
+<p>"But, madame, I have come for Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece, to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You will offend me by staying out here, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>I had to give way. I went in, hoping to remain in the first room; but
+Madame Piquette pushed me toward a door at the farther end, making
+another reverence. I concluded to enter the second room, which with the
+first seemed to form the whole suite. And no Rosette! Could it be that I
+had made another fruitless journey?</p>
+
+<p>"I come, madame, from&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray be good enough to sit down, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not worth while, madame. I wanted to see Mademoiselle Rosette,
+your niece&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You will mortify me by standing, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>I had no desire to mortify Madame Piquette, but I was inclined to regret
+little Aunt Riflot at that moment. At last we were both seated. Madame
+Piquette put a small rug under my feet. Did she think that I had come to
+pass the day with her? She glanced in the mirror, and rearranged her cap
+strings on her breast. That pantomime alarmed me; I looked about in
+dismay; but for some unknown reason, I did not let my eyes rest on
+Madame Piquette, who had partly unfastened her neckerchief. Mon Dieu!
+what was the woman thinking of? At last, she finished her man&oelig;uvring,
+and I hastened to say, without stopping for breath:</p>
+
+<p>"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon, to ask
+Mademoiselle Rosette to mend a cashmere shawl."</p>
+
+<p>Madame Piquette courtesied again; I glanced in the mirror and thought
+that she was preparing to remove her neckerchief. Great heaven! what was
+I about to see?<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a></p>
+
+<p>But, no; I had taken fright without cause; she rearranged her pink
+ribbons about her neck, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"It is with the deepest regret, monsieur, that I find myself compelled
+to inform you that Rosette is not here. I believe that she is at her
+Aunt Dumarteau's at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you kindly give me Madame Dumarteau's address?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's a long way, monsieur, a long way from here!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have a cab, madame."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, monsieur, take the trouble to go to Rue Verte, Faubourg
+Saint-Honoré, No. 12."</p>
+
+<p>"Exceedingly obliged, madame!"</p>
+
+<p>"But if you would be pleased to rest a moment longer, monsieur, I should
+be charmed to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I listened to no more; I rose, left the room, and went down the stairs
+by leaps and bounds; I fancied that I could still see Madame Piquette
+baring her neck before me.</p>
+
+<p>"Rue Verte, No. 12," I said to my cabman.&mdash;Oh! Rosette, what a dance you
+were leading me! But, no matter! As I had begun, I would persevere to
+the end.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Dumarteau?" I said to the concierge.</p>
+
+<p>"Sixth floor, door at the left."</p>
+
+<p>Sixth floor! I would have bet on it! And this was only the fourth aunt!
+What fate was in store for me?</p>
+
+<p>I knocked at Madame Dumarteau's door, as she had no bell. A woman of
+some fifty years, with a morose face, half opened the door, and asked in
+a hoarse voice:</p>
+
+<p>"What do you want?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Dumarteau."</p>
+
+<p>"That's me! Well?"<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I have come to see Mademoiselle Rosette, from&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Mamzelle Rosette ain't here."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is she, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"At her Aunt Lumignon's, Rue du Petit-Muse, Quartier Saint-Antoine."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good! What number, please?"</p>
+
+<p>But the lady had already closed her door in my face. Should I knock
+again, to find out the number? No; Rue du Petit-Muse was short, I knew,
+and I could inquire. My conversation with Madame Dumarteau was not long;
+she had not an amiable look, but I preferred her ill humor to Madame
+Piquette's coquetries. At all events, I lost no time there.</p>
+
+<p>I started for Rue du Petit-Muse. If I had not known my Paris,
+Mademoiselle Rosette could have undertaken to instruct me. I told the
+cabman to stop at the corner of Rue Saint-Antoine, and went into one of
+the first houses, where I said to the concierge:</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Lumignon?"</p>
+
+<p>"This is the place, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>Faith! I was in luck. The next step was to inquire which floor; I was
+afraid that I could guess beforehand: I should surely be directed to the
+seventh.</p>
+
+<p>"Which floor, concierge?"</p>
+
+<p>"At the rear of the courtyard, to the left, ground floor."</p>
+
+<p>Ah! I breathed again! The aunts were coming down in the world.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Lumignon was a little hunchback with a bright eye and a shrill
+voice, like most hunchbacks. As soon as I mentioned her niece's name,
+she smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you want Rosette," she said; "for Madame Berlingot, I suppose? Yes,
+yes, I'm used to that; it's always the same song! If I was evil-minded,
+I might suspect<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a> something! But I wash my hands of her. In the first
+place, Rosette don't pay any attention to us; she's such a wilful
+creature! So much the worse for her! I've warned her!"</p>
+
+<p>"But, madame, she is wanted to mend a cashmere shawl."</p>
+
+<p>"I know! I know! A fine thing, that cashmere shawl is!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, madame, is mademoiselle your niece with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"With me! oh, yes! of course! When she comes here, she don't stay long
+enough to mould."</p>
+
+<p>"Where can I find her, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"At her Aunt Chamouillet's, perhaps; but I won't swear to it."</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Chamouillet's address, if you please?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rue Madame, No. 4, near the Luxembourg."</p>
+
+<p>I took leave of the hunchbacked aunt, who looked after me with a cunning
+leer. I returned to my cab, and said to the driver:</p>
+
+<p>"Rue Madame, near the Luxembourg."</p>
+
+<p>"I say, monsieur, if you've got many more trips like this to make, my
+horse will leave us on the road."</p>
+
+<p>"No; whatever happens, this is the last but one."</p>
+
+<p>We reached Rue Madame with difficulty; the horse was at his last gasp. I
+unearthed Aunt Chamouillet. I was told to go up to the second floor,
+where I found a woman washing on the landing; and just as I was climbing
+the last stairs, that woman, who, I presume, had not heard me coming,
+turned and emptied a large pail of soapsuds on the staircase. I was
+drenched to the waist.</p>
+
+<p>I swore like a pirate, whereupon the woman calmly observed:<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Why are the gutters all stopped up? It don't do any good to complain,
+they don't clean 'em out; and I must empty my water somewhere."</p>
+
+<p>"But you might at least look before you empty it."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you get any of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Parbleu! I am drenched!"</p>
+
+<p>"That'll dry, and it don't spot."</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Chamouillet, if you please?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's me. Have you got something you want washed?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, madame; I am sufficiently washed now! I would like to speak with
+Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece."</p>
+
+<p>Madame Chamouillet had returned to her washing; she paid much more
+attention to her linen than to what I said to her.</p>
+
+<p>"I come, madame, on the part of Madame Berlingot, on Rue&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"All right, monsieur, all right!&mdash;How can anyone soil linen like that!
+Look, monsieur, I leave it to you!"</p>
+
+<p>And she took from her tub a shirt, which she started to spread out for
+my inspection. I evaded that demonstration; but, as she put the shirt
+back in the tub, she threw a wet stocking in my face. I tried to take it
+calmly; I wiped my face and continued:</p>
+
+<p>"Will you kindly tell me where Mademoiselle Rosette is?"</p>
+
+<p>"Where Rosette is? How do you suppose I know? Oh, yes! on my word! As if
+anyone ever knows where she is!"</p>
+
+<p>"What, madame! isn't she here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur.&mdash;It breaks my back to scrub this!"</p>
+
+<p>"But where shall I go to find her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Try at her aunts'."<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I have already seen six of them, counting you, madame. I have called on
+Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon, and yourself.
+Who is the one that's left for me to see?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Cavalos, Rue de la Lune, No. 19. But I won't answer&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Madame Chamouillet let a piece of soap slip out of her
+hands, and my waistcoat had the benefit of it. I had had enough; I fled
+from the laundress; I seemed to be pursued by soapsuds.</p>
+
+<p>"Rue de la Lune, No. 19," I said to my cabman. Luckily, that took us
+back into my own neighborhood, and I was sure that this last quest could
+not be fruitless: Rosette must be there. That was the last of the aunts,
+and she had told me positively that when she was not with one of them I
+would find her with another. What a pity that I had not been sent to Rue
+de la Lune at the outset!</p>
+
+<p>I reached the end of my journeyings. I was directed to Madame Cavalos's
+lodging on the entresol. I found a very stout, thickset, little old
+woman, who greeted me with an affable bow and waited for me to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Cavalos?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bonjour, monsieur! very well, I thank you."</p>
+
+<p>"I wanted to speak to your niece, Mademoiselle Rosette."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, I don't change much; that's what everybody tells me."</p>
+
+<p>"I come from Madame Berlingot."</p>
+
+<p>"You thought I didn't live so low? I used to be higher up, but I've
+moved down."</p>
+
+<p>What did that mean? Madame Cavalos seemed to be stone deaf. I stepped
+nearer to her, and shouted at the top of my lungs:<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I want to see Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece!"</p>
+
+<p>"You say you have come about my lease?"</p>
+
+<p>That was most trying. The woman was a fool. I gave up speaking and made
+a lot of strange gestures, trying to arouse her curiosity at least.
+Motioning to me to wait, she left the room, and returned with an ear
+trumpet, which she held to her ear, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't deaf; but some days I can't hear so well as others."</p>
+
+<p>Poor old woman! she ought never to have laid aside her trumpet. I
+repeated my question, and that time she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"My niece Rosette? Why, she ain't here, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"What, madame! not here? Why, where on earth can I find her, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's easily done, monsieur. She must be with her Aunt Falourdin,
+Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."</p>
+
+<p>At that, I gave up all hope of finding my grisette; I had no desire to
+begin the circuit of the aunts anew; I had had quite enough of them. I
+bade my cabman take me home. It was five o'clock, and we had been on the
+road since noon! Ah! Mademoiselle Rosette! Mademoiselle Rosette! you had
+shown me aunts of all colors! What a day! Jason was certainly more
+fortunate than I: after many perils, he obtained the Golden Fleece; I
+had faced seven aunts, and had not obtained Rosette!<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXVIII_THE_DEALER_IN_SPONGES" id="XXXVIII_THE_DEALER_IN_SPONGES"></a>XXXVIII<br /><br />
+THE DEALER IN SPONGES</h2>
+
+<p>As I entered my apartment, Pomponne came to meet me with his expression
+that denoted news.</p>
+
+<p>"There's someone waiting for you, monsieur, who's been here quite a long
+while. But I didn't know that monsieur would be away so long; he did not
+tell me."</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be that Rosette has come while I have been running after her?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; it ain't Mamzelle Rosette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it Madame Dauberny, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; it's a person of our sex."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how you annoy me, Pomponne! I ought to have gone to see who was
+there, instead of listening to you."</p>
+
+<p>I went at once into my salon, and found Ballangier sitting in a corner
+with a book in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>I was agreeably surprised to find that he was neatly dressed. He wore a
+gray blouse, but it was spotlessly clean; his trousers were well
+brushed, his shoes polished; he had a clean white collar and a black
+cravat. It was the costume of a well-behaved mechanic who was a credit
+to his trade.</p>
+
+<p>He came to meet me, with a timid air, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I ask your pardon, Charles, for waiting for you; I did wrong, perhaps;
+but when I came, about two o'clock, your servant said you would soon be
+back; and so, as I was anxious to see you, I said to myself: 'As long as
+I'm here, I may as well stay.'"<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You did well, Ballangier, very well; I am very glad to see you, too.
+Let me look at you. From your dress, and the expression of self-content
+that I can read in your face, I am sure that you are behaving better
+now."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true; at all events, I am trying to. I am working for a
+manufacturer in Faubourg Saint-Antoine&mdash;I had a letter of recommendation
+to him."</p>
+
+<p>"From whom, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier twisted his cap about in his hands as he continued:</p>
+
+<p>"From an excellent man I used to work for long ago, and who never
+despaired of me. They took me on trial, at first. The master had heard
+very bad accounts of me, but I worked so well that after a while he got
+to be less strict with me; then he increased my pay, without my asking,
+and now he says everywhere that he's satisfied with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that is splendid, my friend. And you were glad to tell me all this,
+because you knew that it would give me great pleasure, weren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, I thought it would."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, my friend, for thinking of that. Indeed, you cannot conceive
+how I rejoice to learn of the change that has taken place in you! But
+you will keep on, Ballangier; now that you have started on the right
+path, you won't leave it again, will you? Besides, you must surely be a
+happier man, now that you are earning your living, and can hold your
+head erect boldly, without fear of being arrested by a creditor, or
+assailed by a wife or mother whose husband or son you have led astray;
+without reading on the faces of honest folk the contempt that evil
+livers always inspire! Instead of that, you will be made welcome, made
+much of, courted by respectable<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a> families; a father will no longer dread
+to see his daughter, or a brother his sister, on your arm. You will be
+loved, esteemed, highly considered. Yes, highly considered; for there is
+no trade, no career, in which an honest man may not acquire that
+consideration which mere wealth, unaccompanied by probity, cannot
+acquire. Tell me if all this is not preferable to a life of debauchery,
+which makes you either a brute or a madman most of the time; to the
+false friendship of those wretches who know nothing but idleness, and
+sometimes something much worse, who extol all the vices, who try to cast
+ridicule on merit and hard work, because other men's merit gnaws at
+their envy-ridden hearts, and, being unable to attain it, they do their
+utmost to crush it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! you are right, Charles: I am far happier! I reflect now; I
+feel that I am an entirely different man. I read a good deal; I am fond
+of reading, and it used to be impossible for me to read five minutes at
+a time."</p>
+
+<p>"Read, you cannot do better; but select good books; bad writers are
+worse than false friends, for we have them under our hand every minute;
+their treacherous counsels lead feeble or excitable minds astray; there
+is no more dangerous companion for a tête-à-tête than an evil book."</p>
+
+<p>"You must guide me; you must give me a list of authors whose works will
+be profitable reading for me."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do better than that. Come with me."</p>
+
+<p>I led Ballangier to my book shelves, from which I took Racine, Molière,
+Montesquieu, Fénelon, and La Fontaine.</p>
+
+<p>"There, those are for you," I said; "take these books home with you, and
+read them carefully and with profit. Some will seem to you a little
+severe and serious; but the others, while they instruct you, will make
+you laugh. Learn by heart the great, the immortal Molière. He<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>
+castigated the vices and absurdities of his time; but as vices unluckily
+belong to all times, as men are no better to-day than they ever were, as
+we meet in the world every day <i>tartufes, précieuses ridicules, avares,
+and bourgeois gentilshommes</i>, Molière, like all authors who depict
+nature, is and will be of all epochs.</p>
+
+<p class="c">"'Rien n'est beau que le vrai; le vrai seul est aimable.'<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p>
+
+<p class="nind">That maxim is earnestly denied by those poets who have never succeeded
+in being natural. They put a conventional jargon in the mouths of all
+their characters, and call that style! In their works, the peasant talks
+just like the noble; the man of the people uses as fine phrases as the
+advocate; the maid-servant indulges in metaphors like the <i>grande dame;</i>
+and they call that style! Posterity will do justice to all such stuff.
+Bathos sinks and is drowned, while the natural sails smoothly along and
+always rides out the storm."</p>
+
+<p>"What! are all these fine books for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; make a bundle of them and take them away."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! thanks, Charles!"</p>
+
+<p>"When you have read them with profit, I will give you more."</p>
+
+<p>"You are too kind! But I mean to make myself worthy of&mdash;&mdash;. Well, you
+will see. Meanwhile, I've brought this back to you."</p>
+
+<p>He took from his pocket a small paper-covered package.</p>
+
+<p>"What is there inside?"</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty-nine francs."</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you want to give me that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I saw Piaulard and tried to pay him; but he was already paid;
+a&mdash;person had settled with him. You<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a> probably know that person, and I
+would like the twenty-nine francs to be returned."</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, my friend! This act of yours proves the return of worthy
+sentiments. But you need not worry; the person in question was paid long
+ago. So, keep the money, and if you need any more to buy anything come
+to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am not short of funds now. I have never been so rich. I don't
+know how it happens."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't know? Why, it's very easy to understand; you spend vastly
+less, and earn vastly more; that's the whole secret of living in
+comfort."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier tied up his books, we shook hands affectionately, and he went
+away content, leaving me very happy. What a contrast to our previous
+interviews!</p>
+
+<p>The next day, I was still resting from my peregrinations of the previous
+afternoon, and stoically making up my mind to wear mourning for
+Mademoiselle Rosette, when the pretty brunette suddenly burst into my
+room, vivacious, sprightly, and gay as always. She came to me and held
+out her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Bonjour, monsieur! Are you still angry with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Angry? Why, it wasn't I who was angry; it was yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's all over; let's not say any more about that; I don't bear
+any malice, and I don't know how to sulk. I say, did you go and ask for
+me at Aunt Falourdin's?"</p>
+
+<p>"At Aunt Falourdin's? You put it mildly. If you should say at all seven
+of your aunts', that would be nearer the truth!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's impossible! You went to the whole seven? you saw the whole
+assortment? Ha! ha! ha! Well, you must have had a merry time!"<a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a></p>
+
+<p>Rosette was seized with a paroxysm of frantic laughter, during which she
+could only repeat:</p>
+
+<p>"He saw my seven aunts! Poor, dear boy! he saw my seven aunts!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I saw them all; and all in one day!"</p>
+
+<p>"That was your Waterloo! I am sure that it will remain engraved on your
+memory! I say, I'll bet that you'd rather go up the Marly hill seven
+times in succession than go through that day's work again, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you. There is one Dame Piquette, in particular, who lives on
+Rue aux Ours. Sapristi! I didn't feel at all comfortable in my
+tête-à-tête with her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did she make eyes at you? I'll bet she made eyes at you! She's an old
+coquette, who declares that she can't go out without being besieged. Oh!
+my poor Charles!"</p>
+
+<p>"But all that would have been nothing, mademoiselle, if I had succeeded
+in finding you. It would seem that you accept hospitality elsewhere than
+with your aunts?"</p>
+
+<p>Rosette made a little grimace, which I interpreted as meaning that she
+did not quite know what course to adopt; at last she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I was with one of my friends. My aunts are always at me to get married,
+and that tires me; I shall end by dropping all of 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"I should say that you were doing that already."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, let's not say any more about that. We're not cross any more, are
+we? and you'll take me out to dinner, and we'll have a nice little
+feed&mdash;what do you say? Yes, you will, it's all settled; and we'll go
+into the country&mdash;it's a fine day&mdash;and roll on the grass."</p>
+
+<p>How can one resist a pretty minx who proposes rolling on the grass? I
+was on the point of signing the<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> treaty of peace with Mademoiselle
+Rosette, when the bell rang.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear girl," I said to my grisette, "if it should happen to be the
+lady who was here the other day, I trust that you won't make another
+scene?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, don't be afraid; I saw that I was wrong; she left me in
+possession with such a good grace! I don't bear your friend any grudge
+now."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment, we detected a strong odor of essence of rose, and
+Rosette exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> that lady uses plenty of perfumery! what a sachet bag!"</p>
+
+<p>But the door opened, and no lady appeared, but Balloquet, in his best
+clothes and with fresh gloves.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I beg pardon, my dear Rochebrune! You are with a lady, and your
+servant didn't tell me! I will go, and come again another day."</p>
+
+<p>"No, stay, Balloquet, stay; mademoiselle will not object.&mdash;Isn't that
+so, Rosette? you are willing that my friend should stay?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure! I'm no savage; company don't scare me."</p>
+
+<p>And Rosette put her mouth to my ear and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"Is he a perfumer?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; a doctor."</p>
+
+<p>"A doctor! Does he treat his patients with essences? He gives out such
+an odor&mdash;you'd think he was the Grand Turk!"</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet meanwhile said to me in an undertone:</p>
+
+<p>"Good! I don't frighten this one away! She isn't like the little
+blonde."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! she's not the same sort at all."</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet had been with us but a moment, when the bell rang again, and
+this time Frédérique appeared.<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a></p>
+
+<p>"The servant told me that there were three of you," she said, dropping
+carelessly upon a chair; "and that's why I ventured to come in. Did I do
+wrong, Rochebrune?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, madame; you are always welcome. And mademoiselle here will take
+advantage of the opportunity to express her regret for the unseemly
+words she used to you the other day."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame," said Rosette, walking up to Madame Dauberny. "I was
+wrong; I'm hot-headed; but turn your hand over, and I forget all about
+it. Are you still angry with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the least, mademoiselle," replied Frédérique, trying to smile;
+"I assure you that I had forgotten it entirely. But I trust that I shall
+not arouse your jealousy again."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, madame! Charles has told me that he never loved you, and that's
+all I ask."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique bit her lips. I, for my part, was conscious of a sensation
+that I cannot describe. I would gladly have horsewhipped Rosette, I
+believe, if it had been possible. Women have a way of adjusting things
+that often produces the contrary effect.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame is acquainted with my sentiments, mademoiselle," I stammered,
+awkwardly enough; "she appreciates them&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, my friend!" interposed Frédérique; "sentiments are to be
+proved, not put in words. But, mon Dieu! how sweet your room smells!
+There's an odor of&mdash;of rose; yes, it's surely rose;&mdash;is it not,
+mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame," said Rosette; "that smell has been here ever since
+monsieur le docteur came in.&mdash;Do you bathe in essence of rose,
+monsieur?"<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a></p>
+
+<p>Balloquet, who was walking about the room playing the dandy, passed his
+hand through his hair as he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly, mademoiselle; but, in truth, I am very fond of the odor of
+rose; I sometimes perfume my linen with an essence that I get from
+Constantinople."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, frankly, monsieur, you use too much of it; you smell too strong!
+I wouldn't like to eat a truffled turkey with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I should smell nothing but rose, instead of the odor of
+truffles; and a truffled turkey <i>à la rose</i> wouldn't be good, I know."</p>
+
+<p>"I think that I have had the pleasure of meeting madame before," said
+Balloquet, saluting Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; on a certain day, or rather night, when my presence was
+useful to both of you gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes! the two wedding parties, wasn't it, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; I only looked in at yours, but it seemed to be very
+lively."</p>
+
+<p>"It was, indeed, madame; that was the Bocal wedding; it was very hot
+there!"</p>
+
+<p>"The Bocal wedding!" cried Rosette. "Why, I know Bocal; he's a distiller
+on Rue Montmartre, and his daughter married Monsieur Pamphile Girie,
+dealer in sponges."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the man; do you know him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! that is to say, I know Freluchon; it's through him that I know
+all that."</p>
+
+<p>"Freluchon!" said I; "it seems to me that I've heard that name."</p>
+
+<p>"Freluchon was Monsieur Bocal's head clerk, and he was courting
+Mademoiselle Pétronille; and when she married that ass of a Pamphile
+Girie, she worked so well with her feet and hands, that Freluchon left
+Monsieur<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a> Bocal and went into the sponge trade; he became first clerk to
+Pétronille&mdash;you can guess the sequel! But it seems that Monsieur
+Pamphile has a mother who <i>sees everything</i> and <i>knows everything</i>, just
+like the late <i>Solitaire;</i> so Mamma Girie put a flea in her son's ear on
+the subject of Freluchon. Monsieur Pamphile wanted to discharge the
+clerk, but Madame Pétronille said he shouldn't. The husband and wife had
+a row; Monsieur Bocal tried to step in and take his daughter's part;
+Mère Girie pummelled Monsieur Bocal; they sent for the magistrate, the
+police, the neighbors, and the concierge; there was such a row that the
+omnibuses couldn't get through the street. As a result of that row,
+Pétronille left her husband and went back to her father; Pamphile
+neglected his shop to go on sprees; and Freluchon finally bought out his
+sponge business, and would like now to set me up in it with him; for I
+must tell you that my gentleman has forgotten his Pétronille and fallen
+in love with me, and buries me in billets-doux and sponges; on my
+birthday, he sent me one as big as a pumpkin. 'Monsieur,' says I, 'what
+use do you expect me to make of this immense marine
+plant?'&mdash;'Mademoiselle, I would like to cover you with it.'&mdash;And there
+you are! With the seven suitors favored by my aunts, that makes eight
+humming-birds who aspire to enter into wedlock with me."<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XXXIX_A_PARTY_OF_FOUR" id="XXXIX_A_PARTY_OF_FOUR"></a>XXXIX<br /><br />
+A PARTY OF FOUR</h2>
+
+<p>Rosette rattled all this off almost without drawing a breath. We laughed
+at her story, and she was well pleased with her successful performance.</p>
+
+<p>"But, by the way, Monsieur Charles, all that don't make me forget that
+you're going to take me into the country to dinner. And while we're on
+that subject&mdash;I've got an idea, and I'll tell you what it is; I tell all
+my ideas. Suppose we all four go and dine together, as we're in a mood
+for laughing; we'll have some sport and talk nonsense&mdash;what do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>Rosette's proposition seemed to me so extraordinary that I had not as
+yet thought of any fitting reply, when, to my amazement, Frédérique
+exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"For my part, I agree. I am at liberty, and, on my word, I shall not be
+sorry to have a little sport, especially as I got out of the way of it
+long ago."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you're fine, you are! I love you with all my heart, now!" said
+Rosette, slapping Frédérique on the back. "And you, Monsieur Larose, why
+don't you say something?"</p>
+
+<p>"I?" said Balloquet; "if you mean what you say, I'm game; nothing would
+suit me better."</p>
+
+<p>"Do I mean it! I hope you don't think we're going to dine on air, do
+you? Well, my dear friend, don't you think my plan's a good one? you
+don't seem enchanted with it!"<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I? I beg your pardon; I will do whatever you wish."</p>
+
+<p>"But," said Frédérique, "Rochebrune would have preferred to dine alone
+with you, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ouiche!</i>" cried Rosette; "as if we hadn't time enough to see each
+other! Come, is it settled?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is settled, agreed, decided."</p>
+
+<p>"Let's start, then; it's after two o'clock already."</p>
+
+<p>"Go and call a cab, Pomponne, and we'll keep it the rest of the day."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! what <i>chic!</i> There's only one thing that annoys me now; and that
+will spoil my enjoyment at dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"If monsieur le docteur might smell less strong of rose! I should prefer
+I don't know what to that smell. Try going out in the street and walking
+in&mdash;no matter what!"</p>
+
+<p>"There is a way of satisfying you, Mademoiselle Rosette," I said,
+walking up to Balloquet.&mdash;"Come, Balloquet, we are all friends here;
+don't be stiff about it, but allow me to offer you another pair of
+gloves, and take off those you are wearing. I venture to prefer this
+petition in the name of these ladies' nerves, and in the name of our
+appetites, which would vanish before this odor of rose."</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet had a noble impulse: he took his gloves off and threw them out
+of the window. Rosette laughed till she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! it was the gloves," she cried, "cleansed gloves, of course, of
+course! But your dealer cheated you; they clean them now so that they
+don't smell of anything."</p>
+
+<p>Pomponne announced that the cab was waiting. While Mademoiselle Rosette
+stood before my mirror, busily engaged in putting on her bonnet, I went
+to Frédérique, and found an opportunity to say in her ear:<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You are not joking&mdash;you are really willing to dine with a grisette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? you are going to, yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"But I am a man."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! I am one of your male friends. Don't men sometimes take their
+friends with them on a pleasure party? But if it will annoy you too
+much, I will not go."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! do not think that, madame! But I was afraid&mdash;I thought&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I had no time to say any more; Rosette came toward us, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"The cab's waiting; shall we go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go," Frédérique replied.</p>
+
+<p>I was embarrassed for a moment; I intended to offer my arm to Madame
+Dauberny, but she had already accepted Balloquet's, and Rosette took
+possession of mine.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on, monsieur! What on earth's the matter with you to-day? Since
+you've seen my aunts, you're very absent-minded!"</p>
+
+<p>We entered the cab. Rosette insisted that I should sit opposite her. I
+obeyed. It seemed strange not to desire that arrangement, but I should
+have preferred to be facing Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>The cabman asked us where we were going. We looked at each other and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that's so; where are we going?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let the ladies decide."</p>
+
+<p>"It makes absolutely no difference to me," said Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case," said Rosette, "I propose Saint-Mandé; if we want to go
+as far as Saint-Maur, I know a delicious<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> little walk; you only have to
+go up a little way and then down."</p>
+
+<p>"Saint-Mandé it is!"</p>
+
+<p>We started. Rosette was in insanely high spirits. According to her
+habit, she said whatever came into her head, and sometimes her
+reflections were very comical. Frédérique also seemed to be in an
+amiable humor. Balloquet rivalled Rosette in gayety; I thought that I
+could detect a purpose on his part to play the gallant with Madame
+Dauberny. I cannot say why I considered that very idiotic of him. Surely
+she was an exceedingly attractive woman! And why should not he, a
+devoted admirer of the sex, try to please her? But Madame Dauberny would
+never listen to Balloquet. While I said that to myself, I was conscious
+of a feeling of irritation. Had I any right to take it amiss that
+Balloquet should make love to Frédérique, to whom I was nothing more
+than a friend?</p>
+
+<p>It followed that I was the only one of the party who was not hilarious.
+Rosette, noticing it, said to me from time to time:</p>
+
+<p>"I say, my dear man, what's the matter with you, anyway? We are all
+talking and laughing&mdash;you're the only one who don't say anything. Can it
+be that you are really cracked over one of my aunts?&mdash;You must excuse
+him, madame, for he met my seven aunts yesterday, and that's quite
+enough to destroy his peace of mind."</p>
+
+<p>I excused myself as best I could; I tried to laugh, but I made rather a
+failure of it; and the thing that vexed me most of all was that the more
+serious I became, the more Madame Dauberny laughed and jested. She held
+her own with Rosette in nonsense and droll<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a> remarks. Balloquet seemed
+enchanted; he became more and more attentive to his vis-à-vis, whose
+witty sallies completed the fascination begun by her beauty. For my
+part, I did not enjoy myself at all.</p>
+
+<p>At last we arrived at Saint-Mandé, and left the cab at the gate leading
+into the wood. We went at once to Grue's, to order our dinner and engage
+a private room; then we strolled away in the direction of Saint-Maur.</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet took possession once more of Frédérique's arm, which she
+laughingly accorded to him. It seemed to me that she laughed very freely
+with him. Rosette took my arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it the habit to walk arm in arm in the country?" I asked, in an
+indifferent tone. "I thought that everyone walked&mdash;or ran, on his own
+account."</p>
+
+<p>"For my part, I am very happy to be madame's escort," said Balloquet,
+with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that it's a bore to you to give me your arm?" asked
+Rosette, pinching me till I was black and blue.</p>
+
+<p>"O mademoiselle! the idea!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's that&mdash;<i>mademoiselle?</i> Call me <i>mademoiselle</i> again, and see what
+happens!"</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! Rosette, you get angry about nothing!"</p>
+
+<p>"About nothing! I want you to <i>thou</i> me! Let's not walk so fast."</p>
+
+<p>"But the others are away ahead."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! we shall overtake them in time. Don't be afraid of losing your
+way with me, you ugly monster!"</p>
+
+<p>"When people go out together, it's for the purpose of being together."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how mad you make me! I suppose we ought all to tie ourselves
+together, for fear of losing each other,<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> eh? Besides, how do you know
+that they are not just as well pleased not to have us on their heels?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Why so</i> is delicious! If you can't see that your friend's making soft
+eyes at that lady, you must be near-sighted."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so? He won't get ahead very fast."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you know about it? Oh! these men! such conceit! Because she
+wouldn't have you, perhaps, you think she won't have anybody!&mdash;Let's not
+walk so fast!"</p>
+
+<p>"That lady is very willing to laugh and jest; but with her it isn't safe
+to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ta! ta! ta! Bless my soul! she's a goddess, perhaps, and we must offer
+sacrifices to her!&mdash;Come, kiss me!"</p>
+
+<p>"O Rosette! can you think of such a thing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do think of such a thing; kiss me at once!"</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose the others should turn and see us&mdash;what should we look like?"</p>
+
+<p>"We should look like two people kissing. What harm is there in that?
+Don't they know that you're my lover and I'm your mistress?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's no reason. There is such a thing as propriety."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I have no patience with you! Kiss me quick, or I'll shriek!"</p>
+
+<p>I kissed her. Luckily, the others did not turn. I dropped my companion's
+arm on the pretext of looking for violets, and overtook our friends.</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you walk so fast?" I asked Balloquet; "if you prefer not to
+stay with us, that's a different matter; but it isn't very sociable."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique burst out laughing, and Balloquet made signs to me which I
+considered foolish.<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a></p>
+
+<p>"See how the kindest intentions are sometimes misinterpreted," said
+Frédérique; "we thought that we were doing you a favor, by arranging a
+tête-à-tête for you with your pretty brunette."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! madame, you carry your kindness too far."</p>
+
+<p>"So far as I am concerned," said Balloquet, "you needn't thank me; in
+remaining with madame, I acted entirely in my own interest."</p>
+
+<p>Then he came close to me and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, she is adorable! Wit to the tips of her finger-nails; fine
+figure, lovely eyes, distinguished face, original disposition! I can't
+understand why you've never been in love with her. For my part, I'm
+caught; I'm in for it!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are making a mistake; you'll waste your time."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so? nobody knows! She laughs heartily at what I say."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! what about that bunch of violets?" asked Rosette, as she joined
+us.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't find anything but dandelions and coltsfoot."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks! then you can keep your bouquet; I don't want it."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose we stroll back in the direction of our dinner?" said
+Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame is right," said Rosette; "especially as walking's very
+monotonous. I have a lover who's in such low spirits to-day! Imagine,
+madame, that he's never suggested rolling on the grass with me!"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique cast a mocking glance in my direction.</p>
+
+<p>"If my companion had made such a proposition to me," murmured Balloquet,
+puffing himself up, "I should have accepted with thanks; I would have
+rolled like an ass."<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but you're a gallant <i>à la rose</i>, you are! Why, I almost had to
+force monsieur to kiss me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! what things you say, Rosette!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? Don't lovers always kiss? Do you suppose madame thinks
+that we pass our time whispering in each other's ears?"</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny turned her face away to laugh. I wished that I were
+heaven knows where. I should certainly remember that excursion to the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>We returned to the restaurant. There I tried to recover my good humor.
+In the first place, as the table was round, I was naturally seated
+between Frédérique and Rosette&mdash;no more with one than with the other.
+They served us a delicious dinner, with choice wines.</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said Rosette; "this was well ordered! These gentlemen have
+distinguished themselves! I give this pomard my esteem."</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear," said Balloquet; "we shall have some ladies' wines too."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by ladies' wines? sweet ones, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"I warn you that I can't endure your sweet wines, except champagne; and
+unless madame cares for them&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," said Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Strike off your sweet wines, then. Bah! they make me sick; I can't
+drink 'em! But these&mdash;just ask Charles how I punish 'em!"</p>
+
+<p>"I should say that it isn't necessary to ask me," I said; "it's
+self-evident."</p>
+
+<p>"Does that make you cross, my dear boy? Don't you like to have your
+Rosette hold her own with you to-day? Are you going to be in the sulks
+at table too? Ah!<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a> madame, my aunts have spoiled him, and no mistake; he
+was much nicer before he went the rounds of them."</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny nudged my knee and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"Be more agreeable, or she will make a scene with you."</p>
+
+<p>I strove to put myself in harmony with the general merriment. Rosette
+chattered incessantly; Balloquet sang, with his eyes fixed on
+Frédérique; she laughed at my grisette's sallies, and from time to time
+told us some very amusing anecdotes.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! if I could tell stories like madame," cried Rosette, "I know what
+I'd do!"</p>
+
+<p>"What would you do?" asked Balloquet.</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't do anything else. I'd tell stories all day, and make them up
+all night.&mdash;Kiss me, Charles!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi! Rosette, are we going to begin that again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you hear him, madame? He refuses to kiss me, the villain!"</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle," I said, in a serious tone, "I am sorry to be obliged to
+inform you that there are occasions when such liberties are permissible,
+and others when we must abstain from them; you should understand that."</p>
+
+<p>Rosette pushed her chair away from the table, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"It wasn't worth while to bring me with you, just to say such things as
+that to me."</p>
+
+<p>With that, she put her hand over her eyes and began to weep. The devil!
+That was the climax! I was in torment.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique tried to console Rosette, and said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come, monsieur, don't make mademoiselle unhappy; she is right;
+you choose a very inopportune time to lecture her. Kiss her at once, and
+make peace with her."<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a></p>
+
+<p>I obeyed; whereupon Balloquet exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! I would not wait to be asked twice, if someone would allow me
+to kiss her."</p>
+
+<p>It was extraordinary what an ass the fellow seemed to me to make of
+himself!</p>
+
+<p>Luckily, with Rosette laughter always followed tears. She speedily
+forgot her grievance, and thought of nothing but doing honor to the
+champagne, which made its appearance just then. Frédérique held her own
+with her, but did not lose her head. Balloquet, who was deeply impressed
+by the way in which those two bore themselves at table, tried to surpass
+them, got very tipsy, and nearly strangled himself pouring down
+champagne.</p>
+
+<p>"Well done!" said Rosette; "that'll teach you to try to pour down wine
+like that; it seems to me such a stupid way! What's the use of drinking
+anything good, if you don't taste it, if you don't get the flavor of it?
+You throw it down your neck, as if it was a medicine you were afraid of
+smelling! How sensible that is! You might as well drink cheap claret; it
+would have the same effect as champagne."</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet succeeded in ceasing to cough, and a moment later, when we
+were a little quieter than usual, he said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Charles, have you had any news of the man of the ring?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, I haven't&mdash;found him yet. Why don't you drink, Balloquet?"</p>
+
+<p>I was afraid that the young doctor would be guilty of some indiscretion,
+and I tried to change the subject. But Rosette chimed in:</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? He said something about a ring. There must be a woman in
+that story, and I want to hear it."<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, mademoiselle, yes; it is a story about a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"But a very sad one," said I, interrupting Balloquet; "this is not at
+all a fitting time to tell it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? I like sad things too; I like plays that make you cry. Oh!
+Monsieur Larose, do tell us the story."</p>
+
+<p>"With pleasure, mademoiselle!"</p>
+
+<p>I trembled lest Balloquet should disclose what I had concealed from
+Frédérique. He did not know that the man of the ring was Monsieur
+Dauberny; but if he should mention the name Bouqueton, Frédérique would
+know at once that the man was her husband. I tried to make signs to
+Balloquet to hold his peace; but he did not look at me, and began his
+tale.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique said nothing; but she watched us closely and did not lose a
+word of what the young doctor said. Stammering and hesitating a little,
+he told poor Annette's story; but he did not mention the assassin's
+name.</p>
+
+<p>"What a ghastly story!" exclaimed Frédérique, with a shudder.</p>
+
+<p>"It's horrible!" cried Rosette. "Oh! what an abominable man! But didn't
+the poor girl tell you his name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes," replied Balloquet, "she told us. The devil take the name!
+Would you believe that I can't remember it?&mdash;But you know it,
+Rochebrune, as you know the man."</p>
+
+<p>"You know that villain, Charles? Oh! but you must have had him arrested,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I could not; we have no evidence."</p>
+
+<p>"But what about that ring that he gave the poor girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"That ring I have at home. I am keeping it carefully; some day, I hope
+that it will help me&mdash;to avenge the poor girl."</p>
+
+<p>"And you won't tell us the man's name?"<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What good would it do? The whole thing is too shocking. The criminal's
+name had better remain a secret until the victim is avenged."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique did not say a word, but she kept her eyes fastened upon me
+all the while. The time for returning to Paris arrived, and I was not
+sorry. The story of Annette had saddened Rosette and made Frédérique
+very thoughtful. We returned to our cab. Balloquet continued to do the
+amiable with Madame Dauberny; I verily believe that he asked her
+permission to call to pay his respects. What a self-sufficient puppy! I
+did not hear her reply. Rosette pinched me, probably because I was not
+listening to what she said.</p>
+
+<p>I wanted to take Frédérique home; Balloquet insisted, on the contrary,
+that Rosette and I should be set down first. We were on the point of
+quarrelling. Rosette said nothing, and I thought that she had fallen
+asleep. Madame Dauberny put an end to our discussion by calling to the
+cabman to stop on the boulevard. She hastily alighted, bade us adieu,
+and hurried away. But Balloquet instantly opened the door, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"I won't allow that lady to go away alone; the idea! I am going to
+escort her!"</p>
+
+<p>I tried to hold him back by seizing his coat tails. I told him that
+Madame Dauberny did not want his escort, that she preferred to go alone.</p>
+
+<p>He would not listen to me. He leaped out of the cab, tearing off one
+whole skirt of his coat, and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter with you to-night, my friend?" said Rosette; "you
+interfere with everybody; you find fault with whatever we do, and tear
+people's coats!"</p>
+
+<p>"That doesn't concern you."</p>
+
+<p>"How polite my lover is to-day!"<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a></p>
+
+<p>"To which aunt shall I take you this evening, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faubourg Saint-Denis, as usual."</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, you haven't told me yet where you were perching yesterday,
+when I had the kindness&mdash;I might well say, the folly&mdash;to look for you at
+all your aunts' lodgings."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you want to make me unhappy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Answer me!"</p>
+
+<p>"I told you that I was with a friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! at the sponge dealer's, perhaps?"</p>
+
+<p>"What an outrage! Instead of saying such things, you would do well to
+kiss me. It seems that we don't get beyond compliments to-day!"</p>
+
+<p>In truth, she was right; I had rebuked her enough all day; the least I
+could do was to compensate her at that moment.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XL_A_SICK_CHILD" id="XL_A_SICK_CHILD"></a>XL<br /><br />
+A SICK CHILD</h2>
+
+<p>I passed a wretched night. I was eager to know if Madame Dauberny had
+allowed Balloquet to escort her, and if he had made any progress in my
+friend's good graces. Why was I so eager to know that? I myself could
+not understand. As I was not that lady's lover, as I had never thought
+of mentioning the subject of love to her, ought I to take it amiss that
+others should mention it? I began to believe that one could be jealous
+in friendship as well as in love. If Frédérique should have a lover,
+that would lessen the attachment that she seemed<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> to entertain for me;
+doubtless that was the reason why it pained me to think that she should
+allow anyone to make love to her. That was selfishness, I admit; but
+what was I to do?</p>
+
+<p>I arose early. I was strongly inclined to call on Balloquet, but I had
+forgotten his address. I had an idea that it was Cité Vindé; but what
+should I ask him. Should I not cut a very absurd figure, going there to
+question him? No, I would not go. Still, I would have liked to know
+whether he walked home with Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>While I was hesitating, uncertain as to what I should do, Pomponne
+opened my door and announced with emphasis:</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Potrelle, concierge or portress!"</p>
+
+<p>The good woman came in, bowing and apologizing for disturbing me. I
+asked her what brought her there.</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I have come again about that poor woman&mdash;Madame
+Landernoy. I wanted to know if monsieur's intentions were still the
+same."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean? what intentions?"</p>
+
+<p>"About the work&mdash;about her taking care of monsieur's linen."</p>
+
+<p>"What difference does it make whether my intentions are the same, as
+that young woman is convinced that I have none but evil ones? as she
+believes that I am laying a trap for her, in concert with those
+scoundrels who deceived her? Faith! Madame Potrelle, one gets tired of
+being constantly suspected. If it is pleasant to do good, it is painful
+to come in contact with ingrates. In fact, I confess that your tenant
+had gone wholly out of my mind, and I assure you that you would not have
+heard from me again."<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mon Dieu! monsieur, I can understand that. But still, if you knew
+how miserable that young woman is at this minute! For near a month her
+child has been sick&mdash;suffering all the time; the little creature needs
+the fresh air; so the mother takes her child out to walk, and meanwhile
+she don't do any work; but her little Marie's health before everything!
+She was a sweet little thing. She's fourteen months old already&mdash;how
+time flies! Madame Landernoy goes without everything herself on the
+child's account; and now she hasn't got any work&mdash;or what little she
+does get is such poor stuff&mdash;eight sous a day! Think of taking care of a
+child with that! So I happened to think of you, monsieur, because you
+were always so kind to that young woman; and I've always judged you
+right, I have! And I says to Mignonne: 'I'm going to see Monsieur
+Rochebrune and ask him for some work.'&mdash;And this time she says: 'Yes,
+go! go!' For she looked at her little girl, who seemed to be in pain;
+and what wouldn't she do to get the means of helping her!"</p>
+
+<p>"And she will go so far as to accept work from me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you mustn't blame her, monsieur; misfortune makes people unjust so
+often! Does monsieur refuse?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, certainly not. Look over my commode and my closets, and take
+whatever you choose."</p>
+
+<p>The good woman made haste to examine my effects. She made up a large
+bundle of linen, hastily, as if she were afraid I would change my mind;
+then she rolled it all up in her apron, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Will monsieur take an account of what I've got?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Madame Potrelle, that is quite unnecessary; I know with whom I am
+dealing, and I am not suspicious myself."<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a></p>
+
+<p>The concierge thanked me, bowed again, and took her leave, saying that
+the work would be attended to immediately.</p>
+
+<p>Is it conceivable that during all the time that Madame Potrelle was
+talking about her tenant, I thought of nothing but Frédérique and
+Balloquet? Ah! how small a thing it takes to give a new turn to our
+thoughts! We are kind or cruel to others only as it gratifies our
+caprices. That truth is most discreditable to mankind!</p>
+
+<p>I had not fully determined what course to pursue, but I decided to go
+out; and at my door I found myself face to face with Balloquet, who was
+coming to see me.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I am delighted to find you, my dear Rochebrune!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I to see you. Shall we go upstairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't worth while; we can talk as well, walking."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good. What have you to tell me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was coming to talk to you about Madame Dauberny. Ah! my friend, what
+a woman! what a physique&mdash;to arouse passions!"</p>
+
+<p>"I see that you are in love with her already. Well! did you overtake her
+yesterday?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I overtook her on the street. She didn't want to accept my arm,
+but I insisted, and she yielded."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! she took it, did she? And you escorted her home?"</p>
+
+<p>"Naturally."</p>
+
+<p>"And&mdash;and&mdash;how does your passion progress?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's all over! oh! it's all over, absolutely!"</p>
+
+<p>I made such a sudden movement that Balloquet cried:</p>
+
+<p>"What struck you then? cramp in the leg? a twist in the tendon, perhaps?
+That catches you sometimes in walking."<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No, I&mdash;I turned my foot. But you said: 'It's all over!'&mdash;What is it
+that's all over? Do you mean that you are already the fortunate
+vanquisher of that lady?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! not at all! just the opposite! I said it was all over, because
+she gave me my walking ticket, I mean my dismissal. Oh! but she did it
+in the most amiable, the most courteous way&mdash;impossible to take offence.
+You were quite right when you told me that I should waste my time."</p>
+
+<p>I was conscious of a thrill of satisfaction, of happiness, that I could
+not describe. Poor Balloquet! I pitied him then. I pressed his arm
+affectionately, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Come, tell me the whole story, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! it didn't last long. I offered my arm, as I say, and she accepted
+it at last. On my way, I resumed my rôle of gallant&mdash;I believe that I
+even ventured upon a declaration of love. We drank quite a lot at
+dinner, you know.&mdash;Your Rosette would do well to marry a dealer in
+sponges!&mdash;In short, I was very animated, my words flowed like running
+water. She made no reply whatever.&mdash;'It's because she is moved,' I said
+to myself. We reached her door, and I asked permission to go upstairs
+for a moment. That was a little abrupt, I agree; but when one has heated
+the iron so hot&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"At that, the lady halted in front of me and said, in a tone at once
+ironical and imposing: 'Monsieur Balloquet, the day is at an end; all
+that you have said to me thus far I have listened to as a sort of
+continuation of the impromptu excursion to the country which made us
+acquainted. During a day of follies, it is not against the law to say
+foolish things. To-morrow, it would be unbecoming. You are very
+agreeable, monsieur, and you are<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a> Rochebrune's friend; in that capacity,
+I shall always be glad to see you when chance brings us together. But
+let there be no more talk of love between us, monsieur; that is a
+passion to which I have said adieu. And if I should have a fancy to
+renew my acquaintance with it, I tell you frankly that I should not
+apply to you for that purpose. So, au revoir, and no ill feeling!'&mdash;With
+that, she held out her hand, pressed mine warmly, and shut her door in
+my face. Well, my friend, on my word of honor, I am not in the least
+offended with her; for she's no coquette; she doesn't lure you on with
+false hopes, but says to you at once: 'It's like this and like
+that!'&mdash;You know what to expect. I will be true to Satiné. Poor Satiné!
+But I'll tell her to put less rose on her gloves. Never mind; she's a
+fine woman, is Madame Dauberny; I can't understand why you've never
+thought of making love to her."</p>
+
+<p>Did he propose to set up as an echo of Baron von Brunzbrack?</p>
+
+<p>When Balloquet left me, I squeezed his hand so hard that I made him cry
+out. Really, he was a very good fellow, was Balloquet, and I was very
+fond of him! How in the devil could I ever have dreamed that Frédérique
+would listen to him? There was not the slightest bond of sympathy
+between them.</p>
+
+<p>Now that I was no longer tormented by that business, I remembered
+Mignonne and Madame Potrelle, and how coldly and absent-mindedly I had
+listened to what that good woman told me. Mignonne's child was ill, and
+the poor mother was in need of a thousand things to nurse her properly!
+Suppose I should go to see her, to encourage her? She would receive me
+ill, perhaps; but, no matter! I no longer felt in the mood to take
+offence.<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a></p>
+
+<p>I started for Rue Ménilmontant. Madame Potrelle uttered a cry of
+surprise when she saw me; then she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! monsieur, have you come to take back the work that young
+woman needs so much?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, far from it! But this morning I was&mdash;preoccupied, and I paid
+little attention to what you told me."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so; monsieur wasn't like what he usually is; but, <i>dame!</i>
+everyone has his own troubles."</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to see Mignonne, Madame Potrelle, and see for myself what
+her child's condition is. Do you think she will receive me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, monsieur. She receives anybody now, if they say they know
+anything about children's health."</p>
+
+<p>I ran quickly up the five flights. I stopped to take breath before
+mounting the last narrow, dark staircase. When I reached the top, I
+heard a sweet, melancholy voice singing:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'Veille, veille, pauvre Marie,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Pour secourir le prisonnier.'"</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Mignonne's door was thrown wide open, for it was summer, and in that way
+she admitted a little air and light to her chamber, which, as we know,
+had no window but the round hole in the ceiling.</p>
+
+<p>I stepped forward; Mignonne's back was turned toward the door; she was
+on her knees beside a cradle placed on two chairs. The cradle was
+covered with a pretty piece of flowered chintz; a flounce of the same
+material about the base concealed the little straw mattress on which
+children usually lie. It had almost a luxurious look, in striking
+contrast with the other contents of that poor chamber; but the most
+poverty-stricken mother always finds a way to adorn her child's cradle.<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a></p>
+
+<p>At that moment, Mignonne was trying to put the child to sleep by singing
+to her and rocking her.</p>
+
+<p>I stopped in the doorway; she did not turn. She did not hear me; she had
+no eyes or ears for anything but her daughter. She was speaking to her:</p>
+
+<p>"Well! don't we propose to go to sleep to-day, Mademoiselle Marie? Don't
+we propose to shut our lovely eyes? Oh, yes! we have very lovely eyes,
+but we must sleep, all the same; that will do us good! And then, mamma
+wants you to. Do you hear, dear child? mamma wants you to. Oh, yes! you
+hear me; you smile at me. Ah! she holds out her little arms, she wants
+me to take her! Mon Dieu! but it would do her so much good to sleep! But
+I must do what you want me to, mustn't I?"</p>
+
+<p>She bent over the cradle and took up the child; then she stood up, and
+saw me. She cast a sad glance at me, in which I no longer saw any trace
+of alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, madame," I said, stepping forward; "I ventured to come to
+see you, because Madame Potrelle told me this morning that your little
+Marie was ill. I studied medicine a little, long ago; I shall be happy
+if I can assist you with advice, which you may follow if you think it
+good!&mdash;Ah! she is very pretty, dear child!"</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't she, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>And Mignonne smiled when she saw me gazing at her daughter, who was
+really beautiful and already bore much resemblance to her mother. But
+her pretty features were drawn and worn, and denoted some internal
+trouble; her eyes too were sad, and it is with the eyes that children
+express their feelings before they have learned to talk.</p>
+
+<p>"How old is she, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Almost fifteen months, monsieur."<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a></p>
+
+<p>"She seems very big for that age, and I have no doubt that it is her
+precocious growth that makes her ill."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so, monsieur? Yes, that must be one of the causes. She is
+very large for fifteen months; and yet she isn't stout, she isn't too
+big, like the children that are abnormal!"</p>
+
+<p>"Allow me to feel her pulse."</p>
+
+<p>I took the child's hand; the skin was dry and burning. Mignonne read in
+my face that I was not satisfied with that examination.</p>
+
+<p>"She's feverish, isn't she, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"A little; growing fever; that ought not to alarm you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! do you think she will get well, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly I do, madame. Her condition doesn't even seem to me serious
+enough for you to be worried about her."</p>
+
+<p>"But, monsieur, it's more than a month that she's been like this;
+sometimes she's better for a day or two; then she laughs and sings&mdash;yes,
+monsieur, I give you my word that she sings, poor dear! To be sure, I
+don't suppose anybody but her mother can understand her. But then she
+falls back into this sort of prostration, the fever comes back, and she
+refuses everything. Mon Dieu! then I don't know what to do to bring a
+smile back to her lips. Do you suppose that she's in pain? The poor
+little things can't tell us where they feel sick. But she will get well,
+won't she, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have always believed, madame, whenever I have stood beside a man or
+woman whom the doctors had given over, that they might still recover,
+for I believe more in God than in man; I have more faith in divine<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>
+Providence than in human skill, and I do not think that we know as yet
+all the resources of nature. But when the sufferer is a child, a
+creature so fresh and new in life, to despair of its recovery seems to
+me rank blasphemy; because in that young plant, just born, there must be
+the sap of youth and strength and maturity. Children become very ill in
+a very short time, and recover their health as quickly; their eyes, sad
+and haggard to-night, will laugh again to-morrow; often nothing more
+than a ray of sunshine is needed to effect that happy change."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! monsieur, you restore my courage!"</p>
+
+<p>"You must never lose it when you are nursing a sick person. I suppose
+that you have a doctor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; but he doesn't come often. He doesn't say much of
+anything. But I hope he'll come to-day; I expect him."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you like me to send another one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur; I have confidence enough in this one."</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, madame! Don't grieve, don't fatigue yourself too much; remember
+that you must retain your own health in order to nurse your child. With
+your permission, I will call again to inquire for little Marie."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>I stepped forward and kissed the child on the forehead; her eyes
+fastened upon me in evident amazement. Mignonne, too, looked closely at
+me when I kissed her little one. But she made no objection, and
+responded sadly to my salutation as I left the room.</p>
+
+<p>I went downstairs, and found the concierge watching for me, combing one
+of her cats the while.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, monsieur, did you see my tenant and her little sick girl?"<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame; I did my best to revive hope in Mignonne's heart. Her
+child is not well, still I think she isn't in danger. What does the
+doctor say?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> the doctor shakes his head; he always says when he goes away:
+'We shall see.'"</p>
+
+<p>"He doesn't compromise himself. Meanwhile, take this money, Madame
+Potrelle, and see to it that the young woman and her child want
+nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how kind you are, monsieur! But all this money&mdash;&mdash; Why, how much
+have you given me? A hundred and fifty francs!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's an advance on the work Mignonne is going to do for me."</p>
+
+<p>"An advance! But she'll never take such a sum of money, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"That is why I give it to you. Pay for the medicines; there's no need of
+Mignonne's knowing anything about it."</p>
+
+<p>"But, monsieur, suppose she should ask me how I got it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Arrange it to suit yourself, Madame Potrelle; say that the druggist
+doesn't charge anything for medicines furnished to sick people who live
+under the eaves; lie, if necessary: there are cases where lying is no
+sin. And when this is gone, come to me at once and get more&mdash;without
+saying anything to Mignonne."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! monsieur, what you're doing&mdash;&mdash; Well! if anyone should ever speak
+ill of you in my presence, he'd get Brisquet in his face. This is
+Brisquet I'm combing."</p>
+
+<p>"Au revoir, Madame Potrelle! I'll come again in a few days to hear about
+little Marie."<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLI_THE_REWARD_OF_WELLDOING" id="XLI_THE_REWARD_OF_WELLDOING"></a>XLI<br /><br />
+THE REWARD OF WELLDOING</h2>
+
+<p>Several days passed, and I had not been again to see Mignonne. Rosette
+had called upon me several times; but my pretty grisette talked too much
+about Monsieur Freluchon, the dealer in sponges; which led me to think
+that our relations would not last much longer.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny was slightly indisposed; she sent for me to come to her,
+and I lost no time in complying. She seemed touched by my zeal. She was
+charming with me; she asked me about Rosette, but laughingly and without
+irony, as before; then she said, shaking her head:</p>
+
+<p>"I am no longer afraid that that girl will make you lose your common
+sense and forget our friendship."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you ever been afraid of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes. My friendship is too selfish. It is wrong, I realize that;
+but I am jealous, which a friend has no right to be. Scold me,
+monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, I forgive you&mdash;the more freely because I seem to have
+the same conception of friendship that you do; for&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"For what? Go on!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well! I too am jealous of the affection you bestow on others. And on
+that trip to the country, when Balloquet made love to you&mdash;that vexed me
+terribly."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? Did you suppose for a moment that I would listen to that man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not&mdash;if he had pleased you?"<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a></p>
+
+<p>"If he had pleased me&mdash;very good; but you know perfectly well that he
+could not please me&mdash;seriously. And so your friendship is jealous, too?"</p>
+
+<p>She lowered her eyes as she asked that question. I took her hand and
+pressed it affectionately. At that moment, her maid entered and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Dauberny, who has just arrived, wishes to know if he may come
+to inquire for madame's health."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique was thunderstruck. She glanced at me, murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"He has come back! What a misfortune! I had flattered myself that he
+would never come back. But, after all, we must submit to our fate. After
+five months' absence, I dare not refuse to receive him; for his visit is
+solely one of politeness, no doubt. Remain, my friend; your presence
+will give me strength to endure Monsieur Dauberny's. Will you do me this
+favor?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you authorize me to do so, madame, I will remain."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique told her maid that she might admit Monsieur Dauberny. I was
+intensely agitated by the thought that I should soon be in that man's
+presence; but I strove to conceal my agitation beneath a calm and
+indifferent air.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Dauberny appeared in a moment. He was rather tall, but had
+grown too stout for his height. His face, the features of which were,
+generally speaking, regular, wore nevertheless an expression of brutal
+libertinage, and when his eyes tried to express merriment they became
+sea-green, watery, like those of a wild beast. He appeared to be about
+fifty years of age; his hair was thick and curly. He was neatly dressed,
+but seemed to have difficulty in carrying his great weight.</p>
+
+<p>He was apparently surprised to find a man in his wife's apartment.
+However, he gave me a rather curt nod, to<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> which I replied by an almost
+imperceptible inclination of the head and a manner so frigid that he was
+impressed by it and immediately bowed again much lower.</p>
+
+<p>I confess that I felt incapable of bending my head before that monster.
+At that instant, the fate of poor Annette recurred to my memory; I
+remembered her bruises, her horrible suffering! I remembered that
+shocking scene on the outer boulevards! I felt that I could not remain
+longer in that man's presence. The blood rushed to my face; I was on the
+point of giving way to my wrath and hurling myself upon the villain!
+While I was still master of myself, I took my hat and left the salon.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going, Rochebrune?" said Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame, yes; I beg pardon&mdash;but an important engagement&mdash;pray
+excuse me!"</p>
+
+<p>I said no more, but went away, turning my head to avoid bowing to
+Monsieur Dauberny.</p>
+
+<p>What would Frédérique think of my behavior toward her husband&mdash;of that
+abrupt departure? I did not know; but if I had stayed longer, I should
+have broken out; and before her, in her apartment, that would have been
+a mistake.</p>
+
+<p>Pomponne was watching for my return; he came to meet me, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur, the old concierge&mdash;I know now that she's a concierge&mdash;from
+Rue Ménilmontant has been here, not with the young woman who came once
+and ran off as if someone was going to assault her&mdash;a very pretty
+blonde&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Pomponne, well! What did Madame Potrelle say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! yes, that's the concierge's name; it had escaped me. She said: 'Be
+good enough to ask Monsieur<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> Rochebrune to come as soon as
+possible&mdash;to-day, if he has a minute&mdash;to my young tenant; for she's in
+great trouble.'&mdash;I was going to ask her why the young woman was in
+trouble, but she didn't give me time; she went away again, saying: 'I'm
+in a hurry, I ran all the way.'&mdash;To be sure, if she had run all the way
+from Rue Ménilmontant&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I listened to no more from Pomponne. I left the house at once and
+hurried to Mignonne's abode. I found the concierge below.</p>
+
+<p>"What is there new, Madame Potrelle? Do you want money?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! it ain't that, monsieur; but that poor mother&mdash;her child's much
+sicker. The doctor told me there wasn't any hope, but I haven't told
+Madame Landernoy that, for it would kill her too, she's so unhappy
+already! I don't know what to do to encourage her, and I thought of you,
+monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. My heart was very
+heavy; still, I felt that I must try to bring back a little hope to her
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>I arrived under the eaves. The door was still open and Mignonne was
+kneeling by the cradle, as at my previous visit; but she was not
+singing; everything was perfectly still. The young mother, with her eyes
+fixed on her child, seemed to be watching for some gleam of hope on her
+face or in her breathing.</p>
+
+<p>I stepped into the room; Mignonne did not even turn her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, madame," I said, approaching the cradle; "will you allow me
+to examine your little girl?"</p>
+
+<p>The young woman glanced at me, with eyes dim with tears, and murmured:<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur! just see how she has changed, poor child, in the ten days
+since you saw her! Just look at her!"</p>
+
+<p>Poor little one! My heart sank and my chest heaved when I saw the
+shocking ravages that disease had wrought in so short a time. When I saw
+her, ten days before, she was pale and thin; but her pretty features had
+not changed. Now, her little face was all wasted away; her head, like
+her body, seemed shrunken; her mouth, which she kept tightly closed, her
+little features, constantly distorted by nervous
+contractions&mdash;everything indicated great suffering; and yet she was
+still sweet and pretty. Ought such angels to suffer? What crime can they
+have committed?</p>
+
+<p>I took the child's hand; it was still burning. The mother gazed
+anxiously at my face and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur, do you still hope?"</p>
+
+<p>"I told you that I should always hope."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! you are right; but for that, I should die."</p>
+
+<p>"Does she complain? Can you guess where she feels pain?"</p>
+
+<p>"Alas! she doesn't complain, poor child! But she groans and cries, and I
+can't soothe her any more. Oh! monsieur! I can't soothe her any more!"</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne paused a moment to weep. I did not try to check her tears. They
+do much more harm when stored up than when they are freely shed.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment she continued, pointing to the child:</p>
+
+<p>"Look! see how she keeps her teeth clenched all the time. Oh! that is
+what frightens me!"</p>
+
+<p>"What does the doctor say?"</p>
+
+<p>"He ordered her some medicine. But she won't take anything, she won't
+drink. That is the hardest part of it!"<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, for if she drank a little of it, it would probably allay the fire
+that is consuming her."</p>
+
+<p>"But what am I to do if she won't drink it&mdash;when she cries if I insist?
+I can't force her, can I, the dear little pet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Will you let me try, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"You, monsieur! Do you think you can succeed any better than I?"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall go about it differently."</p>
+
+<p>"With her teeth always clenched&mdash;I'm afraid she'll break the cup when I
+hold it to her mouth."</p>
+
+<p>"For that reason, I do not mean to try with a cup. Have you a small
+spoon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Please let me have it, madame."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne gave me a small iron spoon, and a cup containing the sedative
+draught ordered by the doctor. I filled the spoon and offered it to the
+child, who refused to take it; but I succeeded in partly opening her
+gums for an instant with my left hand, and poured the contents of the
+spoon into her mouth. The little one cried bitterly; but she had
+swallowed a few drops of the potion, and that was all I wanted.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne watched me in amazement, almost in terror; for a moment she was
+afraid that I would hurt the child. But she soon calmed down, and seemed
+pleased with the result I had obtained.</p>
+
+<p>"You saw how I did it," I said; "you must act in the same way, when you
+want her to take a little of the medicine."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur, I don't know whether I can; I don't know whether I can be
+as quick as you; and then I shall be afraid of hurting the dear angel."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not hurt her."<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is true. And see, look at her, monsieur; it seems as if she were
+breathing better! Oh! if that really has done her good!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is more than likely."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur, if you would stay a little longer, and give her some more
+by and by?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will gladly do it, madame."</p>
+
+<p>"I am abusing your good nature, monsieur; but I'm afraid I can't do it
+as well as you."</p>
+
+<p>"I am in no hurry, madame; my time is at my own disposal. I have often
+made a bad use of it, and I will try to atone partly, here with you."</p>
+
+<p>The child seemed to be dozing, and I did not disturb her. But, after
+half an hour or more, when she began to be uneasy again, I repeated my
+man&oelig;uvre and made her swallow another half-spoonful of the potion.</p>
+
+<p>I remained some time longer talking with Mignonne, doing my utmost to
+restore her courage and hope. Then I went away, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Until to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>The next day, I went again to see the little invalid, and passed a large
+part of the day with Mignonne; for my conversation served to revive her
+courage, and she thought that no one could succeed so well as I in
+making the child drink. Little Marie's condition showed a slight change
+for the better. The doctor was greatly surprised, and the mother's hopes
+revived. It seemed to me that I too loved the poor little girl. One
+becomes attached to children so easily!</p>
+
+<p>A week elapsed; I had not allowed a day to go by without passing several
+hours in Mignonne's room. I thought that she still retained some
+suspicion of my intentions; but, as she considered that I understood<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>
+taking care of children, she said to me each day when I left her:</p>
+
+<p>"It would be so kind of you, if you would come to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>I had not called on Frédérique again, nor had I seen Rosette. What must
+they think of me? But on returning home one afternoon, about four
+o'clock, I found both my friend and my mistress established in my salon.</p>
+
+<p>I saw at once, by the expression of their faces, that they were angry
+with me.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! here you are, are you, monsieur?" said Rosette. "You're getting to
+be very rare&mdash;very hard to find, for this is the third time I've been
+here&mdash;so help me! I don't know whether your Jocrisse told you?"</p>
+
+<p>"My Jocrisse did not tell me."</p>
+
+<p>"And madame here has been as many times as I have, it seems, and hasn't
+had any better luck."</p>
+
+<p>"What, Frédérique! you have taken the trouble to come here? I am
+terribly sorry."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique smiled, but with the mocking expression that I knew so well,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"What does it matter that I have been here? You weren't very solicitous
+about my health, I judge, as you haven't been to inquire about it since
+the day you left so abruptly. I understand that there is nothing very
+agreeable in my husband's presence; still, from regard for me, you might
+have put up with it a little longer."</p>
+
+<p>"You see, madame," said Rosette, "monsieur has other intrigues, new
+passions, beside which my love and your friendship are nothing at all!
+He hasn't a minute now to sacrifice to us; he passes all his time, all
+his days, with his new flame on Rue Ménilmontant. She can't be<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a> anything
+very distinguished, living in that quarter; but we must know a little of
+everything!"</p>
+
+<p>I saw that Pomponne had been chattering and inventing fables.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so you have been told that I go every day to Rue Ménilmontant?" I
+said, with a tranquillity that seemed to add to their irritation.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; to see a young and pretty blonde. You like blondes now,
+it seems! You like 'em of all colors, don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"And this blonde whom I go to see is my mistress, is she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! she may be your laundress, who knows? And you go there to watch
+her iron your shirts! Ha! ha! ha! Why don't you tell us that? it would
+be more amusing."</p>
+
+<p>"I won't tell you that, because I have no reason to lie."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! of course not! To be sure, you're your own master, you can do what
+you think best. It seems that she came here one day&mdash;your blonde&mdash;and
+ran away as if the devil was after her. Oh! how sorry I am I wasn't here
+that day, when she honored you with a visit! I'd have led her a pretty
+dance! I'd have sent her mazurking down the stairs! But, who knows?
+perhaps I shall meet her one of these days. As you pass all your time
+with her now, it's probable that it will soon be her turn to come here.
+Just let me meet her! You see, I'm not very gentle when I'm jealous!
+I'll box that woman's ears; yes, monsieur, yes, I'll box her ears!"</p>
+
+<p>I listened to Rosette without winking. Frédérique said nothing, but kept
+her eyes on me.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not so wicked as you try to make people think, Rosette," said I,
+trying to take her hand, which she snatched away. "If you should find
+the young<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a> woman you speak of here, you would not insult her, I trust;
+for it would be as absurd as your insulting madame."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you say? Do you want to make us believe that the blonde is just
+a friend of yours? Oh! my boy, that may do for once. Madame Frédérique
+here is your friend, but you don't pass all your time with her, I
+believe.&mdash;Does he, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I see very little of monsieur!" rejoined Frédérique, with a gesture
+of annoyance; "and when by chance he does condescend to pay me a visit,
+he seizes the first pretext to retire. I know that friends ought not to
+stand on ceremony; but it would be possible to be more frank and
+outspoken."</p>
+
+<p>This was said in a tone which indicated that she was seriously offended.
+Suddenly Rosette darted at me, as if she meant to claw my eyes out,
+crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Come, monsieur, who is this woman that you pass all your time with? How
+long have you known her? what do you do at her house? Answer! answer!
+Answer, I say! I am not your friend, and I want you to stand on ceremony
+with me!"</p>
+
+<p>"First of all, mademoiselle, I might refuse to answer questions asked in
+such a way. You want to know all that I do? Are you entitled to? Do I
+know all that you are doing, when I am looking vainly for you at your
+seven aunts'? But, nevertheless, I propose to gratify your curiosity,
+because I shall be very glad to justify myself at the same time in the
+eyes of my friend Frédérique, who thinks that she no longer has my full
+confidence."</p>
+
+<p>"That is to say, you condescend to answer me on madame's account? That's
+very polite to me! But, no matter! go on, monsieur."<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a></p>
+
+<p>"This girl, to whose room I have, in fact, been going regularly for some
+days, and who lives on Rue Ménilmontant, is not my mistress. Your
+conjectures with regard to her are altogether false; she is a poor girl,
+who was virtuous, and who was seduced&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"How clever! As if all girls weren't virtuous before they're seduced!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I know what I am talking about; I mean that she had not the taste
+for pleasure or idleness which sooner or later leads a girl on to her
+ruin."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! very good; I understand! She'd have been a saint, if she hadn't
+sinned."</p>
+
+<p>"If you don't mean to let me speak, Rosette, it is useless to question
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I'll hold my tongue."</p>
+
+<p>"This girl became a mother. Her seducer had deserted her."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! but what has all this rigmarole to do with you? Is it any of
+your business, if you're not the seducer?"</p>
+
+<p>"I learned indirectly of this young woman's misfortunes; I became
+interested in her, I gave her work, and tried, so far as was in my
+power, to relieve her distress. What is there so surprising in that,
+mesdames? Why do you look at me with such a peculiar expression?"</p>
+
+<p>"Go on, my dear boy, continue your touching story. And now you pass your
+time with this young woman; because she's teaching you to knit,
+perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>I could not restrain a gesture of impatience. It is disheartening, when
+one has tried to do a little good, to be incessantly suspected of the
+opposite. I sprang to my feet and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"I go to see that young woman every day now, because she is in despair;
+because she would lose her<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> reason, in all probability, if she had no
+one to keep up her courage; because this is no time to abandon her!
+Believe me or not, as you choose, mesdames; but so much the worse for
+you, if you believe me incapable of doing a kind action from
+disinterested motives!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have never believed that of you, Charles," said Frédérique, coming to
+my side; "but it seems to me that one who believed that she had your
+full confidence may well be surprised to learn that your attention is
+engrossed by a young woman whom you had never mentioned to her."</p>
+
+<p>"As for me," cried Rosette, "I'm not so gullible as madame; I don't take
+any stock in your innocent, unfortunate, persecuted woman! All you need
+is the credulous and cruel husband! I saw a play like that once. I don't
+say that you don't help this lovely blonde of yours; on the contrary, I
+believe you help her too much. No doubt you were touched by her woes;
+but why? Because you're in love with her."</p>
+
+<p>"That is not true, Rosette; I tell you once more, you are all wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon&mdash;one more question, and answer it honestly: is this
+woman pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is very good-looking."</p>
+
+<p>"There! I was sure of it!&mdash;Take notice, Madame Frédérique, that these
+benevolent gentlemen never protect any women that aren't good-looking.
+As for the ugly ones, I don't know how it happens, but they never
+unearth them. They can groan in corners as much as they choose, there's
+no danger that anyone will hunt them up.&mdash;Total result: I don't take any
+stock in your story, and I believe I shall do well to yield to
+Freluchon's entreaties and couple up with him.&mdash;You've seen his sponge
+shop<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a> on Rue du Petit-Carreau, haven't you, madame? Don't you think it's
+rather neat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very," replied Frédérique; "the counting-room especially struck me as
+remarkably elegant."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! how fine I'll look in it!&mdash;Adieu, Charles! You've been playing
+tricks on me, and I'm going to get married!"</p>
+
+<p>Rosette departed, and I confess that I did not try to detain her; what
+she had said had stung me to the quick. As for Frédérique, I saw that in
+the bottom of her heart she shared the grisette's unjust suspicions. She
+stayed a moment longer with me, but said almost nothing; then she too
+left me, and when I pressed her hand it hardly responded to the
+pressure. So that is how we are believed when we tell the truth! If I
+had lied, I am very certain that they would not have been so
+incredulous.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLII_A_CONSOLATION" id="XLII_A_CONSOLATION"></a>XLII<br /><br />
+A CONSOLATION</h2>
+
+<p>I did not recover at once from the sensations caused by the two visits I
+had received. I knew that my liaison with Rosette would not last long;
+and when a thing is bound to end a little sooner or a little later, one
+is prepared for it. Moreover, since my peregrinations among the aunts, I
+had not had the slightest confidence in Rosette.</p>
+
+<p>But Frédérique! That she should look coldly on me because I had busied
+myself in behalf of a young woman who was in trouble surprised me, I
+admit. She was<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a> kind-hearted herself; why was she unwilling that other
+people should have that good quality?</p>
+
+<p>I was tempted for a moment to go to her; but I reflected that it would
+be almost equivalent to asking her forgiveness for doing a kind action
+without her leave. I felt that I must retain my dignity. So much the
+worse for those who see evil everywhere and in everything!</p>
+
+<p>All this reflection and hesitation detained me at home much later than
+usual, and the day was far advanced when I arrived at Rue Ménilmontant.
+Madame Potrelle was not in her lodge, which was deserted. I hastened
+upstairs; but my heart was oppressed by a melancholy presentiment: was
+the poor child worse?</p>
+
+<p>When I reached Mignonne's room, I found there, besides the unhappy
+mother, the doctor, the concierge, and a neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne was weeping and calling her daughter; at last she fell back on
+her chair, speechless and motionless.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Marie is no more," said the doctor, in a low voice; "she died
+only a minute ago, after a slight convulsion. The child could not
+recover; I knew it all along; but the poor mother will not have it that
+she is dead. Still, we must take her away."</p>
+
+<p>Poor mother! poor child! I had arrived too late! I could not have
+prevented that catastrophe, and yet I was deeply grieved that I had
+delayed so long. The old concierge leaned over Mignonne and burst into
+tears; the other woman did the same. I walked to the cradle and looked
+in. Poor little girl! the last struggle had gone gently with her, for
+her face was not changed; on the contrary, it seemed that with death she
+had found peace and rest, that she was happy in having ceased to suffer.
+Her sweet face seemed to smile; I stooped to kiss<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> the forehead of that
+angel who had made so brief a sojourn on earth.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne, who was apparently absorbed by her grief, when she saw me,
+sprang to her feet, pushed the doctor away, and came to me, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Here you are! here you are! How late you have come! But you will make
+her drink, won't you? You will bring the dear child back to life; for
+she isn't dead! oh, no! God has not taken my daughter away from me!
+Here, here, take her; why don't you make her drink? Open her lips; you
+see that she doesn't cry, that she doesn't refuse!"</p>
+
+<p>And she stooped over to lift the child, covering her with tears and
+kisses. Then she suddenly uttered a loud shriek and pressed her to her
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>"Cold! cold!" she cried. "Why is that? Warm her, monsieur, warm her, I
+say! You can see that she is dying!"</p>
+
+<p>It was a heartrending scene. Even the doctor could not restrain his
+tears. But luckily Mignonne lost consciousness. We took advantage of
+that moment to carry her away, the doctor and I. The neighbor who was
+present lived on the same street, two houses away; she offered to take
+the young mother in and keep her as long as her condition required.</p>
+
+<p>We placed Mignonne in a large armchair; several obliging people lent a
+hand, and we carried Mignonne to the neighbor's house before she
+recovered consciousness. The doctor accompanied her, and said that he
+would not leave her. Madame Potrelle remained, to pray beside the dead
+child. I left the house, as sad and gloomy as a stormy day. I sought a
+solitary quarter, for the sight of the world oppressed me.<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What had that young mother done," I said to myself, "that she should be
+deprived of her child, who was her only comfort and joy on earth?"</p>
+
+<p>A fortnight had passed since little Marie's death. I had not as yet had
+the courage to go to see Mignonne; I was afraid that the sight of me
+would make her unhappy, for it would inevitably remind her of her
+daughter.</p>
+
+<p>But did not she think of her always, poor woman? Not by striving to
+banish a memory from the heart do we succeed in resigning ourselves to
+it with less bitterness; on the contrary, grief is pacified and soothed
+by speaking freely and often of those we have lost.</p>
+
+<p>I had called at Madame Dauberny's, but was told that she had gone into
+the country for a few days. Of Rosette I heard nothing at all.</p>
+
+<p>One hot summer's day, I decided to go to see Mignonne. I had left her in
+charge of decent people who were deeply interested in her. The doctor
+had promised to see her constantly, and that was why I had postponed my
+visit. We often have courage to bear our own troubles, but find it
+wanting when we must face those of other people.</p>
+
+<p>When I arrived at Madame Potrelle's lodge, I found the good woman there.
+I hardly dared to question her. She divined my hesitation and
+anticipated my wishes.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Landernoy has been very sick, monsieur; for five days, we
+thought she would die; but she has finally recovered her health, or at
+least the consciousness of her misfortunes; for I don't call it health
+myself, when she cries all the time and only eats so as to keep up her
+strength. At last, about four days ago, she insisted on coming back to
+her own little room upstairs. The neighbor didn't want her to; but the
+doctor said: 'She mustn't be thwarted, it will make her worse.'&mdash;So
+she's<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> come back. Oh! monsieur, if you could have heard her sobs when
+she saw the child's cradle; and now she keeps her head bent over it all
+the time, as if she was looking for her; and she says: 'It's all I've
+got left of her. I can't cry anywhere but over her cradle, for I don't
+know where she is&mdash;I haven't got anything of hers. Nobody can find the
+poor woman's child, and I can't go and kneel by her grave!'&mdash;Ah!
+monsieur, it is very painful to hear that, and to see that poor young
+thing crushed under the weight of her grief, and refusing, sometimes for
+whole days, to budge from her little one's cradle!"</p>
+
+<p>I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. I found her door
+closed. I could hear nothing; profound silence reigned. I knocked gently
+on the door. After a moment, I heard Mignonne's sweet voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Who is there?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is I, madame; pray let me come in."</p>
+
+<p>She evidently recognized my voice, for she opened the door at once. She
+looked earnestly at me, and said, pointing to the cradle with a
+heartrending expression:</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you come now? She isn't here any longer; you can't do anything
+more for her; and I&mdash;oh! I don't need anything now."</p>
+
+<p>She fell, exhausted, on a chair. But I stood in front of her and said,
+in a respectful and firm tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I have one more duty to perform. Be good enough to come with me,
+madame; take your bonnet and shawl, and come with me, I beg. I ask it in
+your daughter's name."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne gazed at me in surprise; but I had no sooner mentioned her
+daughter, than she rose, hastily put on what she needed, and was ready
+in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>I went downstairs first, and she followed me. Mère Potrelle stared when
+she saw us pass her door; but I did<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> not stop. I had come in a cab,
+which was waiting at the door. I asked Mignonne to get in, and she
+complied without asking any questions. I took my seat beside her; the
+cabman knew where to take us, and we drove away.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne did not open her lips, and I respected her silence. Thus we
+traversed the distance that separated us from the cemetery of
+Père-Lachaise. Our cab stopped at the gate of that place of repose. I
+alighted first, and gave my hand to Mignonne. When she recognized the
+place where we were, she seemed to feel a sudden shock; her eyes
+brightened, she looked into my face, then eagerly seized my hand and
+walked beside me, never relaxing her grasp; I felt her hand tremble in
+mine.</p>
+
+<p>I led her for some time through the paths between the graves. At last, I
+stopped on the summit of a hill where there was a sort of enclosure
+formed by a number of cypresses. I led her into that enclosure, where
+there was a monument as simple as the body beneath it. It was a flat
+stone, lying on the ground, with a white marble column standing at its
+head. On that column was an angel flying away from a cradle, and at the
+base these words only:</p>
+
+<p class="c">HERE RESTS MARIE LANDERNOY</p>
+
+<p>That modest monument was surrounded by newly planted flowers, and the
+whole was enclosed by a low iron fence. I opened the gate, of which I
+had the key, and pointed to the stone, saying simply:</p>
+
+<p>"Your daughter is there."</p>
+
+<p>The young woman, who had followed me in silence, but trembling nervously
+for a reason which I could well understand, gazed vacantly at the little
+cenotaph at first; but<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a> when she read her daughter's name on the marble,
+she uttered a cry, fell on her knees as if to thank heaven, then rose
+again, weeping, threw herself into my arms, and pressed me to her heart,
+murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"My friend! my friend! And I was suspicious of you! Oh! forgive me! I
+love you dearly, now! My daughter is lying there; I can come now and
+pray upon her grave, and tend and renew the flowers that surround it.
+Ah! I breathe more freely now; you have given me courage to keep on
+living."</p>
+
+<p>"I have something else here," I said, taking from my pocket a carefully
+folded paper, which I handed to Mignonne.</p>
+
+<p>The young woman took the paper, and a flush of joy overspread her face;
+she covered her daughter's hair with kisses, then threw herself into my
+arms once more.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! thanks! thanks, my friend! I have not lost everything; I have
+something of her! Her soft, fine hair&mdash;I have it all, and it will never
+leave me! Ah! you have almost made me happy! Let me thank you again."</p>
+
+<p>She laid her head on my shoulder and wept profusely; but the tears were
+soothing and assuaged her grief.</p>
+
+<p>Then she knelt beside the gravestone. I walked away in order not to
+disturb her meditation and her prayers.</p>
+
+<p>At last, after spending a long time beside her daughter, Mignonne
+returned to me; but she was no longer the same woman as when she left
+her room. Her sombre grief, her wild glance, had given place to an
+expression of pious melancholy and placid resignation.</p>
+
+<p>I took her back to her home; on the way, I tried, not to combat her
+regrets, but to make her understand that the most unhappy of mankind are
+not those who are taken away from this world.<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a></p>
+
+<p>When we returned, Madame Potrelle looked at us, and was surprised beyond
+words at the change that had taken place in her tenant; but she dared
+not question us. Mignonne ran to the good woman and kissed her.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am no longer so wretched as I was! I have just been praying at my
+daughter's grave; I've got the key; there are flowers all around it; I
+am going to take care of them. Marie will be glad. See, I have all her
+hair; and it's to him, to monsieur, my best friend, that I owe it all!
+Ah! you were quite right when you told me that I made a mistake to
+distrust him!"</p>
+
+<p>I bade Mignonne adieu, in order to escape Madame Potrelle's eulogium.
+The young woman offered me her hand, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Now I will come myself to get the work you are good enough to give me.
+You will allow me to do it, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do more than that, I beg you to; and, in the interest of your health,
+I urge you to look carefully after all my linen; for there is nothing
+like work to distract one's thoughts."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne speedily fulfilled her promise; she appeared one morning,
+alone; she desired to show me that she no longer had any suspicion of
+me. I talked a few minutes with her. We spoke of her daughter, the
+subject in which she was most deeply interested. The people who are
+afraid to speak of those they have lost are the ones who wish to forget
+them at once. When one does not wish to forget the dear ones who are no
+more, why should one shrink from speaking of them?</p>
+
+<p>Then I went out, after saying to her:</p>
+
+<p>"The keys are in all the drawers. Look over everything, and take away
+what you choose. That is your<a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a> affair; and my servant has orders to obey
+you like myself, if you need anything."</p>
+
+<p>Several weeks passed thus. At first Mignonne came every four or five
+days, then a little oftener, then every other day; and I frequently
+found her established in my quarters, and working there; for she had
+said to me one day:</p>
+
+<p>"When there isn't much to mend, perhaps one shirt, or one waistcoat, it
+is hardly worth while to carry it home, if it doesn't annoy you to have
+me do it here."</p>
+
+<p>And as it did not annoy me in the least to have her work in my rooms, as
+I observed with delight that her grief was more calm, more resigned, and
+that when she was busily employed there she had much more distraction
+than in her own chamber, I urged her to work there whenever it was
+convenient for her to do so.</p>
+
+<p>Pomponne alone seemed very much puzzled because that young woman did her
+sewing in my apartment when I was not there; especially as Mignonne was
+not talkative, and as I had forbidden him to presume to ask her any
+questions.<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLIII_CONJECTURES" id="XLIII_CONJECTURES"></a>XLIII<br /><br />
+CONJECTURES</h2>
+
+<p>I called again to see Frédérique, but she had not returned from the
+country. Did she propose to spend the summer there? It seemed to me that
+she might have told me where she was going, and have asked me to pass
+some time with her.</p>
+
+<p>I was unhappy over Frédérique's absence; but, above all, I was hurt by
+her manifest indifference. I would have liked to scold her; I would have
+liked to tell her that I was very angry with her. Where was she? what
+was she doing? whom did she see now? Madame insisted upon my telling her
+everything, but she told me nothing.</p>
+
+<p>One day when Mignonne was working in my salon, and I, contrary to my
+custom, had not gone out, the doorbell announced a visitor. Mignonne
+rose at once, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I will go, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so, Mignonne? Stay, I beg you; you are not in my way; and if my
+visitor has anything to say to me in private, I will take him into my
+bedroom, that's all. There is not the least reason why you should go."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne resumed her seat, and Ballangier entered the room. He was still
+in cap and blouse, but his dress was irreproachably neat, and his hands
+very white. When he saw a young woman installed in my apartment, he
+started back in surprise, and would have gone away.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg pardon! I didn't know that you had company. Pomponne told me I
+might come in."<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course; come in, come in! You mustn't let madame frighten you
+away. Take a seat, and let us talk."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier decided to sit down. Mignonne went on sewing and kept her
+eyes over her work.</p>
+
+<p>"Well! have you still plenty to do? are they still satisfied with you? I
+am sure that they are; I can read it in your eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; my employer is perfectly satisfied with me. If you knew how rich I
+am now! I am actually saving money! Can you believe that I have
+seventy-five francs put by?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, my friend! As soon as a man has succeeded in saving
+something, it's like a snowball. It isn't so hard as people think to
+become well to do. Often nothing is necessary but determination; but it
+must be constant and immovable."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's the way it is with me now; there's no danger of my
+stumbling. Why, when I see a drunken man, it makes me blush for shame,
+and I say to myself: 'How could I ever take any pleasure in making a
+beast of myself like that!'"</p>
+
+<p>"And your reading?"</p>
+
+<p>"That gives me a great deal of entertainment, too. But there are some
+things I have to read over two or three times, because I don't
+understand them right away."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you like me to give you some more books?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, not to-day. I am doing an errand for my employer, and I had to
+pass your door; that's why I took the liberty of coming up."</p>
+
+<p>"You did well, for it's a pleasure to me to see you now."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier smiled, then glanced furtively at Mignonne. We talked for
+some time; then he rose, saying that he must hurry, because his employer
+was waiting for him.<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a> I walked into the reception room with him, and
+there, after bidding me adieu, Ballangier murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"She's mighty pretty, that little woman sewing in there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she is pretty; and, what's better still, she's respectable."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes! Is she a lady?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you another time who she is."</p>
+
+<p>When Ballangier had gone, I returned to Mignonne, who went on with her
+work and said nothing. Still, I would have bet that she was surprised to
+hear me, a young man of fashion, addressed thus familiarly by a man in
+cap and blouse.</p>
+
+<p>Pomponne handed me a huge envelope which the concierge had just brought
+upstairs. The enclosure was printed; evidently a wedding invitation. I
+read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon,
+Chamouillet, and Cavalos have the honor to announce the marriage of
+their niece, Mademoiselle Rosette Gribiche, to Monsieur
+Jules-César-Octave Freluchon, dealer in sponges."</p></div>
+
+<p>Ah! it was very amiable on Rosette's part to send me an announcement of
+her wedding. But something was written at the foot of the sheet:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"You are requested to attend the ball, which will take place at
+Chapart's, Rue d'Angoulême; I rely on you for the polka."</p></div>
+
+<p>Ah! there I recognized my saucy grisette. She was quite capable of
+insisting on dancing all night with me;<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a> and I was not at all certain
+that she would not demand something else. But I would not accept her
+invitation, I would not go to her wedding feast. I would be more
+sensible than she was. I would not swear that, later on, I might not do
+myself the pleasure of buying a sponge of her. Meanwhile, I wished
+Monsieur Freluchon all happiness, and I was convinced beforehand that it
+would be his.</p>
+
+<p>One evening, when I went home, Pomponne said to me, rubbing his hands
+gleefully:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur had another visitor to-day. Mon Dieu! monsieur had only just
+gone out, when Madame Dauberny came."</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Dauberny? Oh! how sorry I am that I didn't see her!"</p>
+
+<p>"She came in; in fact, she waited for monsieur quite a long time,
+talking with your seamstress."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by my seamstress? In heaven's name, can't you say
+Madame Landernoy?"</p>
+
+<p>"As that lady sews for monsieur, I thought she was his seamstress."</p>
+
+<p>"No matter! what did Frédérique say when she went away? Will she come
+again to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur; she won't come again to-morrow nor any other day; for
+she said to me when she went away: 'You will tell your master that I
+shan't come again.'"</p>
+
+<p>"She said that she wouldn't come again! That's impossible, Pomponne; you
+are mistaken; Frédérique could not have said that."</p>
+
+<p>"Beg pardon, monsieur; I'm sure she said it, because it surprised me;
+and I said to her: 'Why! is madame angry with monsieur?'"<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I recognize you there! Always inquisitive and chattering! Well,
+what did she say to that?"</p>
+
+<p>"She said: 'That's none of your business!'&mdash;I didn't say any more."</p>
+
+<p>I could not understand why Frédérique should have said what Pomponne had
+reported to me. If she had come often to see me without finding me, it
+might be conceivable; but, on the contrary, I had been more than ten
+times to inquire for her while she was in the country.</p>
+
+<p>"No matter!" I thought; "I will go to see her to-morrow, and obtain an
+explanation of all this, I hope."</p>
+
+<p>The next day, as soon as I had finished breakfast, I hastened to Madame
+Dauberny's. At last, she was at home! Her maid ushered me into her room.</p>
+
+<p>I found Frédérique enveloped in a morning gown. Her lovely hair, falling
+in long curls on each side of her face, was without ornament. She was
+very pale, and her manner was cold and constrained; she greeted me with
+a smile that was not sincere, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! is it you, Charles?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is I. You came to see me yesterday, and I am extremely sorry
+that I was absent. But that fact does not seem to me a sufficient
+explanation of your saying to my servant that you would not come again.
+What did that mean? I have been here ten or fifteen times to see you
+since you went into the country, where it never once occurred to you to
+write me, to tell me where you were. I could not write to you, for I had
+no idea in what direction you had gone. But I came, nevertheless, again
+and again; for I could not tire of coming, when I hoped to see
+you!&mdash;Tell me, what is the matter? what have I done? Why are you
+offended? for you are offended, I can see by the cold way in which you
+receive me."<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a></p>
+
+<p>Frédérique listened to me attentively. She forced herself to smile and
+offered me her hand, saying in a faltering tone:</p>
+
+<p>"All that you say is true&mdash;I have no right to be angry&mdash;and I am not any
+longer."</p>
+
+<p>"But you are!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am not."</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you tell Pomponne that you would not come again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;because&mdash;as you have a woman installed in your rooms now&mdash;I
+thought that my visits could only&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, I can't understand you! Because a person comes to my
+rooms, a person who looks after my linen, takes it away and brings it
+back!&mdash;What has that to do with our friendship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is she the&mdash;the young woman in whom you took such a deep interest?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame. She has lost her child, her little girl, who was her only
+joy! It seems to me that that is an additional reason for trying to
+lighten her sorrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! most assuredly! It seems, too, that you have done wonders for her,
+for she says everything good of you! she extols you to the skies! Never
+fear, my friend, she is truly grateful!"</p>
+
+<p>"But that ought not to seem extraordinary to you, who maintain that
+ingratitude is the most shocking of vices."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! I see nothing at all unusual in all that."</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! Frédérique, you drive me mad! Do you know that, to hear you,
+one would think you were unkind and unfeeling, and yet I know that you
+are not."</p>
+
+<p>"She is very pretty, that young woman!"<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I told you that before. And because she is pretty&mdash;is that a reason for
+not doing anything for her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! quite the contrary! That is a reason for being deeply interested in
+her, for having her come to work in one's own rooms, and pass her days
+there.&mdash;Ha! ha! ha! Really, Rosette wasn't so foolish as I: she guessed
+the truth at once."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by that, Frédérique?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean that you love that young woman, that you are in love with her,
+that you mean to make her your mistress! Oh! mon Dieu! it's all simple
+and natural enough, and I don't blame you. You are free, and so is she;
+you are perfectly entitled to&mdash;to live with her, if it suits you to do
+so! But what I don't like, what pains me, is that you always make a
+mystery to me of your sentiments and your intrigues; that I never learn
+your secrets except from others; that you haven't confidence enough in
+me to tell me of your new amours. That is what angers me. For, you see,
+being neither your mistress nor your friend, I am nothing at all to you!
+So I cannot see the necessity of continuing our acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>My heart sank; I felt, not anger, but sorrow, genuine sorrow, to find
+that I was unjustly judged by a woman to whom I would have been glad to
+lay bare my whole heart, to whom I longed to tell my most secret
+thoughts, hoping to read her heart as she would read mine. That reproach
+of a lack of confidence in her touched and wounded me; as I was not
+guilty, I would not even try to justify myself.</p>
+
+<p>I took my hat and prepared to go.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going already?" exclaimed Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame. I consider it useless to remain longer with a person who
+believes neither in my words nor in<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a> my affection. I thought that you
+were able to judge me fairly, to appreciate my feelings. I was mistaken.
+Some day, I doubt not, you will realize your error. Then, madame,
+perhaps you will come to me and offer me again that friendship of which
+you now think me unworthy; and you will find me, as always, happy to
+deserve such a favor."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique looked at me; I believe that she was on the point of rushing
+toward me; but she repressed that impulse, which came from her heart,
+and I went away, determined to make no attempt to see her again. I had
+learned that one can no more rely on a woman's friendship than on her
+love; that there must inevitably be a strain of inconstancy or caprice
+in all their affections.</p>
+
+<p>On the day following my visit to Madame Dauberny, Mignonne came as usual
+to bring back my linen; but, contrary to her custom, she took another
+package and prepared to go away again at once.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you propose to stay and work a while to-day?" I asked her. She
+seemed embarrassed, and hesitated before replying; at last she faltered,
+lowering her eyes:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur&mdash;it is&mdash;I am&mdash;I am afraid that staying here so often to
+work&mdash;I am afraid I am in your way."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the source of that fear to-day? Haven't I told you that I could
+receive in my bedroom anybody with whom I wished to be alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Why this fear, then? What new idea have you got into your head?"</p>
+
+<p>"It didn't come into my head."</p>
+
+<p>"Whose, then, pray?"<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur&mdash;the fact is&mdash;that&mdash;it was day before yesterday that a lady
+came to see you. Didn't your servant tell you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly he did."</p>
+
+<p>"That lady sat down; she stayed a long time with me, and examined me
+very closely. She had a strange way about her. When she mentioned you,
+she said just <i>Rochebrune</i>, or <i>Charles</i>. She is very intimate with you,
+it seems."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! what then?"</p>
+
+<p>"After looking at me so hard that I didn't know which way to turn, she
+began to talk to me. She asked a lot of questions about the beginning of
+our acquaintance. She asked me how long I'd known you, and&mdash;and&mdash;oh! a
+lot of things I don't dare tell you. I just told her the truth&mdash;all you
+had done for me, and all I had to be grateful to you for. You are not
+angry, are you, monsieur, because I told her all that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why should it make me angry?"</p>
+
+<p>"The strange part of it was that the lady didn't seem pleased to hear me
+say all&mdash;all the good of you that you deserve! She kept shrugging her
+shoulders&mdash;I saw it plainly enough! And at last she cried: 'This is all
+very noble, it's magnificent; but it's easy to see what the end of it
+will be. When a young woman installs herself in a young man's bachelor
+apartment, there must be in the bottom of her heart a sentiment stronger
+than her care for her reputation; it must be that she isn't afraid to be
+looked upon by the world as that young man's mistress.'"</p>
+
+<p>"She said that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and then she went away, saying: 'I don't want to make you unhappy,
+mademoiselle; I simply mean to<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a> give you a little advice.'&mdash;Oh! but she
+did make me awfully unhappy!"</p>
+
+<p>"And is that the reason why you don't propose to work here to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! it isn't on my own account, monsieur; it's on yours. That lady says
+it will keep all your friends from coming to see you. I wouldn't for the
+world have you quarrel with anyone."</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot believe anything so absurd, Mignonne! Say, rather, that you
+are afraid to be looked upon as my mistress&mdash;that it has occurred to you
+that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"O monsieur! for heaven's sake, do not finish! After all you have done
+for me, the memory of my daughter alone would be enough to make me
+worship you. What do I care for anything the world can say? Do I know
+the world? Have I any reputation to preserve? Would life have any charm
+for me, were it not for you, who attached me to it by giving my daughter
+a last resting place? You, and the memory of Marie, that is all the
+world means to me! What do I care for all the rest? Oh! if it does not
+displease you to have me stay, tell me so again, monsieur, and I swear
+to you that I will obey you with happiness and joy."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, stay, Mignonne."</p>
+
+<p>The young woman hastily unrolled the work she was about to take away;
+she took her needle and set to work in her usual seat, after looking at
+me with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>She at least showed undiminished confidence in me.<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLIV_LOVE_ON_ALL_SIDES" id="XLIV_LOVE_ON_ALL_SIDES"></a>XLIV<br /><br />
+LOVE ON ALL SIDES</h2>
+
+<p>Mignonne continued to come to my rooms. I found already that my living
+expenses had diminished materially. I asked her to have an eye to a
+thousand and one details of housekeeping, to which I never paid any
+attention; she did it with a zeal and an intelligence that astonished
+me. I was like Ballangier, I was becoming too rich; and yet, nothing was
+ever lacking; on the contrary, I was as comfortable as I could wish. I
+discovered that a woman is very useful in a house.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne's health was fully restored, and she had recovered her fresh
+color; she never laughed, but a sweet smile sometimes played about her
+lips. I was delighted with the change and congratulated her on it.</p>
+
+<p>"It is your work," she said.</p>
+
+<p>When we talked together, she always spoke of her daughter; she went to
+see her almost every day, and I often saw in her belt a flower which she
+constantly covered with kisses. I guessed where she had plucked that
+flower.</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier came to see me, and did not find me; but he found Mignonne,
+and Monsieur Pomponne told me that he sat in front of her more than an
+hour, without opening his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that?" I demanded, pulling Pomponne's ear; "did you
+listen at the door?"</p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't listen, monsieur, as they didn't say anything."<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a></p>
+
+<p>Oh! these servants! Is there no way of finding one who is neither
+inquisitive, talkative, a liar, nor a gossip? When they are not all of
+these together, they are ph&oelig;nixes!</p>
+
+<p>"You received a visitor for me, did you?" I asked Mignonne.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, that young mechanic; for he seems to be a mechanic."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he's a cabinetmaker. What did he say to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"He talks very little. But he told me enough for me to understand that
+you are his benefactor, too; that he owes you a great deal."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am in no sense his benefactor. What I did for him was a duty. But
+he behaved very badly at one time; for a long while he led a life of
+idleness and dissipation. He was deaf to my entreaties and
+remonstrances. In those days, his presence was as distasteful to me as
+it is agreeable now. He has turned over a new leaf, become a respectable
+man once more, and a good workman; I have given him all my friendship
+again, and some day I hope&mdash;I hope that he will make a good husband.
+Then, if Ballangier could fall in with a woman like you, Mignonne,
+gentle and virtuous and hard-working, and if he could win her love, he
+would be altogether happy."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne had become serious. She looked at the floor, murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! as for me, monsieur, you know very well that I can never think of
+marriage! You know that I have been a mother!"</p>
+
+<p>"If you concealed nothing from the man who loved you, you would still be
+worthy of an honest man's love and esteem. Ought anyone to be so severe
+as that, Mignonne? Who has not sinned&mdash;more or less?"<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a></p>
+
+<p>"However, monsieur, I shall never have any occasion to tell my story,
+for I shall never marry."</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot foresee the future."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I can safely take my oath to that!"</p>
+
+<p>I insisted no further, for it seemed to be a painful subject to the
+young woman. Probably, engrossed as she was by her daughter's memory,
+she did not choose to admit that anyone could divert her thoughts from
+her, even in the future.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing from Frédérique. She did not come to see me, and I certainly
+should not go again to her. So it was all over; we had quarrelled&mdash;and
+for what? More than once, unconsciously perhaps, I had walked in the
+direction of her house and found myself in front of it; but at such
+times I made haste to retrace my steps. I would have been glad, however,
+to know if she were in Paris, or if she had gone away again. If chance
+should bring us together, surely we could not pass on the street without
+speaking. But I did not meet her.</p>
+
+<p>By way of compensation, I did meet Ballangier near my own house. He was
+on his way to see me; but as he had met me, he said that he would not go
+upstairs. Something made me think that he would have preferred to go up.
+I noticed a certain constraint in his manner. He asked about Mignonne,
+but he did it with the air of one who dared not reveal all of the
+interest he took in that young woman. Poor Ballangier! it was not
+difficult to divine what was going on in his heart; he was not an expert
+dissembler.</p>
+
+<p>Another day, I met him again near my abode, and he made haste to tell me
+that he had not come out without the permission of his employer, who was
+still content with him, because he always worked two hours later at<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>
+night when he left his work in the morning. I looked him squarely in the
+eye, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"You don't tell me everything, my friend. You are concealing something
+from me at this moment!"</p>
+
+<p>He blushed, became confused, and stammered:</p>
+
+<p>"Concealing something? I? Why, I don't think so!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are not very sure, are you? But I'll tell you straight away what it
+is: you're in love!"</p>
+
+<p>This time he turned pale.</p>
+
+<p>"In love? with whom, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>"With whom? Why, with that young woman whom you have seen several times
+at my rooms, and whom I call Madame Landernoy&mdash;or Mignonne."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! nonsense, Charles! you are mistaken. I consider her very
+good-looking, to be sure; and then, her manner is so sweet and so
+modest! But I certainly shouldn't presume to fall in love with her,
+especially as&mdash;as you might not like it! For, you see, you have a right
+to love her, you have done so much for her, and you give her work to
+do."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, if that is all that prevents you, you may fall in love with
+Mignonne at your pleasure; for, so far as I am concerned, I look upon
+her as a sister; I have never dreamed of loving her in any other way;
+and for the very reason that I have been of some service to her and that
+she has enough confidence in me to come to my rooms to work, I should
+feel bound in honor not to love her otherwise than as a sister."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier's face became radiant. He seized both my hands and squeezed
+them hard; he would have cut capers in the street, if I had not
+prevented him.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it possible?" he cried. "You don't love her! you don't think of
+loving her! Oh! if you knew what a<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> weight you have taken off my
+breast!&mdash;For I do love her, Charles; yes, I do love that young woman!
+love her, do I say? why, I idolize her, I am mad over her! It took me
+all of a sudden when I first saw her, it struck me here! Since then,
+it's impossible for me to think of anything else. But I wouldn't ever
+have told you; I wouldn't ever have told her, either. You'll forgive me;
+for I thought that, with her always in your rooms&mdash;I thought you
+couldn't help loving her&mdash;but nothing of the sort! You see, I've never
+been in love before; I've known a lot of street walkers&mdash;but as to love,
+not a bit of it! And now, what a difference! And how proud I am to be a
+decent, hard-working man again! Perhaps I might take her fancy. Do you
+think she'll ever love me, Charles? Oh! if she could love me!"</p>
+
+<p>I strove to calm him; then I began by telling him Mignonne's whole
+story. He listened attentively, muttering from time to time:</p>
+
+<p>"Poor girl! the villains!"</p>
+
+<p>When he knew all, I asked him if he still deemed Mignonne worthy to be
+his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Do I think her worthy? Yes, indeed, poor girl! The least she's entitled
+to is to find a man who'll make up for all the injury others have done
+her. But suppose I should begin by killing this Fouvenard? by smashing
+this Rambertin?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, Ballangier; we must forget those wretches. If an opportunity
+should offer, I don't say&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! how quickly we'd seize it! how we'd trounce those fellows!"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, all that you have to do is to try to please Mignonne; but even in
+that you must act with great circumspection, and, above all, with
+patience! That young<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> woman, engrossed as she is with thoughts of her
+daughter, would take fright at a single word of love. You will need time
+to touch her heart. You must gain her confidence. In short, I cannot
+undertake to say that you will win her love; that is your affair; for
+you understand that I cannot intervene. I know enough of Mignonne's
+temperament to be sure that that would be no way to succeed with her."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! never fear, Charles; I am very reserved, very shy. I will wait, I
+will wait as long as it's necessary. The hope of winning her some day
+will give me courage. I am going to read a lot; to try to educate
+myself, and to be less awkward in my talk; for she talks mighty well,
+and she has a very distinguished air. You'll see, Charles, you'll see!
+You will be better satisfied than ever with me!"</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier left me, drunk with joy. I prayed that he might be happy in
+his love, and determined that I would do all that lay in my power to
+help him.</p>
+
+<p>I had just left him, and was walking along, musing upon what he had said
+to me, when someone halted in front of me. It was Dumouton, the
+debt-ridden man of letters. He had no umbrellas this time, but he
+carried under his left arm an oval box, of bronzed tin, which seemed to
+be carefully fastened.</p>
+
+<p>"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! I recognized you at a distance. You
+didn't see me, for you were lost in thought. Are you pretty well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton."</p>
+
+<p>"Were you thinking out the plot of a play? You seemed very much
+preoccupied."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! I don't write plays, myself."</p>
+
+<p>"You are very wise! It's a wretched trade since so many people have
+begun to dabble in it."<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a></p>
+
+<p>I attempted to salute Monsieur Dumouton and leave him; but he detained
+me, saying with an embarrassed air:</p>
+
+<p>"I beg pardon! I would like to say another word to you, as I have
+happened to meet you. It's like this. First of all, you must know that
+one of my children is sick; he's been&mdash;out of sorts for a week. And
+then, we were without a certain household utensil&mdash;mon Dieu! why not say
+it at once&mdash;a syringe! We needn't be more prudish than Molière, need
+we?"</p>
+
+<p>"Surely not; you are perfectly justified in saying a syringe."</p>
+
+<p>"So I said to my wife: 'We must have a syringe!'&mdash;'Buy one,' said she.
+Very good! that's what I did this morning. I bought a <i>clyso-pompe</i> with
+a constant flow&mdash;a new invention. It's exceedingly convenient; it comes
+in a box; this is it that I have under my arm. Who'd ever suspect there
+was a syringe in it? It might be lace, or prunes."</p>
+
+<p>"Or even a pie."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right; there are pies of this shape. And it's so easy to use;
+no one has any idea what it is. Why, you can even use it at the theatre,
+in a box. I know a lady who made a bet that she'd do it at the opera,
+during a ballet; she won her bet."</p>
+
+<p>"Did she have witnesses?"</p>
+
+<p>"Probably."</p>
+
+<p>"I must confess that I should have cried off."</p>
+
+<p>"In a word, I bought this delightful <i>clyso-pompe</i>. Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, would you believe that our child, whom his grandmother had
+accustomed to the old method, positively refused to adopt the new?
+Impossible to make him try the <i>clyso-pompe!</i> Children are so obstinate!
+And as my wife spoils him, she bought<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a> him an old-fashioned syringe. The
+dealer who sold me this box refuses to take it back, and I am trying to
+dispose of it&mdash;at a loss, of course. If you happened to want such a
+thing&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Monsieur Dumouton, I am sorry that I cannot oblige you as I did in
+the matter of the umbrella, but I won't buy your <i>clyso-pompe</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"You are making a mistake. It's always useful."</p>
+
+<p>"It is of no use for you to insist. But go and see our mutual friend,
+Monsieur Rouffignard. Who knows? perhaps he will be very glad to relieve
+you of this instrument."</p>
+
+<p>At the name Rouffignard, Dumouton's face lengthened, and, without
+another word, he bowed and disappeared. I was sure that he would not try
+to sell me anything more.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLV_SECOND-SIGHT_IN_WOMEN" id="XLV_SECOND-SIGHT_IN_WOMEN"></a>XLV<br /><br />
+SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN</h2>
+
+<p>It was three days after I had received Ballangier's confidence, and in
+the morning when I was still alone, that Pomponne announced Madame
+Dauberny.</p>
+
+<p>I could not believe my ears; but at the same instant Frédérique hurried
+into the room, with the amiable, fascinating expression, the proud yet
+sweet glance, that always attracted and vanquished me; and, before I had
+recovered from my surprise, she ran to me, took my hand, then threw her
+arms about me and kissed me two or three times.<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a></p>
+
+<p>I began by letting her do as she chose, because I found it very
+pleasant; but I gazed into her face, my eyes questioned her. She met
+them fearlessly and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Charles, I was wrong! Reproach me all you choose, overwhelm me
+with the harshest words&mdash;I deserve it, yes, I deserve it! you could not
+say too much. But here I am! I have come back to you, to ask your
+forgiveness, to swear to you that hereafter I will have no more
+caprices, that I will believe all that you say&mdash;all, do you hear? That I
+will approve of everything you do, that my friendship will no longer be
+selfish or exacting, and that it will be unchangeable! Indeed, do you
+suppose that it really ceased even for a moment? Oh! no, you never
+thought so, did you, Charles? You hadn't such a bad opinion of me, had
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>I was bewildered by what I heard. I would have liked to ask her why she
+had been angry, and why she was so no longer, but she put her hand over
+my mouth, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"No reproaches, my friend, since I agree that I was wrong and beg your
+pardon! Are you not willing now to throw a veil over the past?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! I am, indeed! Besides, you have come back, and I am so happy
+to find you once more as you used to be, that I don't care to seek for
+the explanation of my good fortune. But we, or rather you, are no longer
+angry, are you, Frédérique?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have sworn it, my friend. Tell me, what are you going to do to-day?
+Would you like to pass the day with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Would I like it! You anticipate my dearest wish."</p>
+
+<p>"The weather is magnificent; what do you say to a ride? We can go and
+hire some horses at the riding<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a> school, where I usually hire; they have
+some very good ones."</p>
+
+<p>"A ride? delightful!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then get ready quickly, monsieur. I will wait for you in your salon."</p>
+
+<p>She left the room. I hastily finished dressing, and joined her in the
+salon.</p>
+
+<p>"Your young seamstress doesn't seem to be here to-day," said Frédérique,
+with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"No, she came yesterday. She doesn't come regularly, every day, but just
+when she pleases."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, I was most unjust to that young woman. Such things as I said
+to her! Really, I don't know what had got into my head that day!"</p>
+
+<p>"As you're sorry for it, you mustn't think any more about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I shall try to make my peace with her, all the same. Let us go and
+have our ride, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>We were soon in the saddle, and started off at a gallop. Frédérique rode
+with all the grace, assurance, and fearlessness of a circus rider. We
+went in the direction of the forest of Meudon, and Fleury. In that
+region one is more alone than in the Bois de Boulogne; the country is
+more rural, the landscape more diversified, and you can draw rein from
+time to time and indulge in pleasant converse.</p>
+
+<p>We passed a delightful day. At night we dined together at a restaurant,
+like two bachelors&mdash;that is to say, we dined in the main dining-room.
+And when we parted, Frédérique said:</p>
+
+<p>"Not for long!"</p>
+
+<p>The next day, when I returned home after doing several errands, I found
+Mignonne in her usual place.<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a></p>
+
+<p>She bade me good-morning as usual, but her glance seemed less frank than
+it usually was. We all have days when we are inclined to melancholy;
+perhaps she had just come from her child's grave.</p>
+
+<p>I chatted with Mignonne as usual. I fancied that I could see that she
+was waiting for Pomponne to leave us alone. But when I had company, that
+servant of mine always found some excuse for constantly going in and out
+and appearing every minute or two in the room where we were. I have
+known him to leave a pin on the mantel, as a pretext for returning, and,
+when he came for it, to leave another in its place. I had to call to him
+sternly: "When will you have done with that nonsense?"&mdash;He realized that
+I was losing patience, and he came no more to fetch his pins.</p>
+
+<p>At last, Mignonne decided to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"Has that lady who was here the other day been to see you again,
+monsieur?" she asked hesitatingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mignonne, she has. We had had a little dispute, but we are
+reconciled now. She has a hot head, but an excellent heart."</p>
+
+<p>"Did she tell you that it was wrong of you to let me work here?"</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, she said several times that she was very sorry that
+she had said things to you that might have hurt you, and that she hoped
+to make her peace with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mon Dieu! that isn't worth while, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne said that in a peculiar tone; then she returned to her work and
+did not utter another word. Soon the door opened and Frédérique
+appeared, as affable, smiling, and fascinating as on the day before. She
+shook hands with me and nodded pleasantly to Mignonne, who returned her
+salutation much less graciously.<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a></p>
+
+<p>I was sitting at the piano, jotting down an air that had come into my
+head. Frédérique insisted that she would not disturb me; and while I was
+trying to pick out an accompaniment for my air, I saw that she went to
+Mignonne and tried to talk with her.</p>
+
+<p>I played a little for Frédérique, who sang very well when she chose to
+take the trouble. Mignonne, perhaps because she was not fond of music,
+seemed to take little pleasure in listening to us.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique passed a large part of the day with me, and Mignonne went
+away earlier than usual.</p>
+
+<p>A fortnight passed. Frédérique continued to come frequently to see me.
+Her mood with me never changed, her glance was always sweet; the most
+perfect harmony reigned between us.</p>
+
+<p>As for Mignonne, I was disturbed to see that her features had resumed
+their expression of gloomy melancholy, that the roses which had
+reappeared for a time on her cheeks had again given place to pallor. And
+I was distressed by that change, of which I could not guess the cause.</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier came twice. I urged him to remain, and gave him a seat near
+the pretty seamstress. Then I easily made an excuse for leaving them
+together, in the hope that they would become better acquainted. But both
+times Ballangier said to me, when he went away:</p>
+
+<p>"It will be a long job; she's still just as sad as ever, and she doesn't
+look at me at all; in fact, I'm not sure that she listens when I am
+talking to her. But, never mind, I'll be patient, and I'll have love
+enough for two, if necessary."</p>
+
+<p>One evening, when Frédérique had come during the day, and, not finding
+me, had passed several hours with<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a> Mignonne, I was much surprised to
+receive a note from her containing these words only:</p>
+
+<p>"I have something to say to you, my friend, something important. I shall
+expect you."</p>
+
+<p>What could she have to say to me, of such urgency? However, I knew
+Frédérique well enough to know that when she had anything to say, it was
+perfect torture to her to have to wait till the next day; so I went to
+her at once.</p>
+
+<p>My friend was in a very dainty négligé, which reminded me of the night I
+had supped with her. She smiled sweetly, as I entered the room, and gave
+me her hand, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I was sure that you would come at once. You realized that I don't like
+to wait! Come, sit here by my side, and we will talk like two good
+friends."</p>
+
+<p>I did as she bade me. She began by putting her hand on mine.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," she said, "it is rather embarrassing for me to tell you
+what I have to tell. I trust that you will not take my words in ill
+part, that you will not be angry, as I was. But, above all things, be
+persuaded that I am perfectly sure that I am not mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>"What a preamble! I thought that you and I could afford to go straight
+to the point; I have never liked the circumlocutions with which
+advocates confuse their arguments instead of stating them simply."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right; I will come to the point. To-day, my friend, I went to
+your rooms; you were absent, but that young woman, Mignonne, was there,
+working hard as usual."<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so Mignonne is your subject, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mignonne. I sat down beside her, although my presence was by no
+means agreeable to her. It did not require much discernment to see that.
+Haven't you noticed it, too, Charles? Haven't you noticed that when I
+appear her face changes and her eyes become sad? that she hardly replies
+to what I say to her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have noticed all that. But I have seen nothing more in it than a
+bit of spite because of what you said to her one day."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! there's something besides her remembrance of that. To-day, I
+determined to have it out with her. I succeeded, by several adroit
+questions, in making her betray the secret of her heart, which, by the
+way, had been no secret to me for a long time."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! what is this secret?"</p>
+
+<p>"You won't be angry, Charles? At all events, you are not in the least to
+blame for it. So I begin by telling you that I am not offended with you
+for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how cruel you are with your reflections, Frédérique!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well! Mignonne loves you dearly. That is the secret that makes her
+melancholy and embarrassed&mdash;especially when I am there; because she has
+imagined, foolishly of course, but still she has imagined that you love
+me, that I am&mdash;your mistress! If she had heard Mademoiselle Rosette
+repeat your remark&mdash;that you would never love me&mdash;she wouldn't entertain
+that absurd idea."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Frédérique, you know very well that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't interrupt me, my friend; besides, we are not talking about that,
+but about Mignonne. When she sees me come in, when I am with you, her
+eyes fill with tears,<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a> and she looks at the floor so that we may not see
+them. Yes, my friend, you can believe my extensive experience, believe
+my heart, which is never mistaken&mdash;that young woman has a profound
+affection for you. That which was only gratitude at first has become
+love! She is accustomed to see you almost every day. Perhaps she does
+not herself realize the strength of the sentiment that draws her toward
+you; but she yields to the fascination she feels; and that love will
+acquire greater force in her heart, if you yourself do not try to uproot
+it."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne in love with me! It seemed improbable to me at first; but as I
+recalled a multitude of trivial circumstances, I became less
+incredulous.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I have never lisped a word of love to her; nothing in my conduct
+can have given her any reason to think that I was in love with her."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that, my friend; oh! I am certain of that!" cried Frédérique,
+pressing my hand. "But probably that is just why she loves you! Women
+are made that way; it's a congenital defect in them. If you had spoken
+of love to Mignonne, it is very probable that she would have taken
+offence at it, and would have ceased to come to your rooms. But when she
+found that you always treated her like a sister, confidence
+returned&mdash;she reproached herself for her distrust; well, at all events,
+she loves you, that is certain! We all know that that sentiment is not
+governed by reason."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Frédérique, if you have guessed right, if that young woman does
+love me&mdash;which would distress me greatly, I confess&mdash;what do you advise
+me to do? Of course, you do not want me to cease to help the unfortunate
+creature, to abandon her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no; of course not!"<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a></p>
+
+<p>"If I tell her not to come to my rooms any more&mdash;she is very sensitive,
+like all unfortunate people, and she will go away forever."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you willing to rely on me, my friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"I ask nothing better."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you what, it seems to me, would cure the whole trouble&mdash;but
+I am afraid you will not like my plan."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how terrible you are to-day with your reticences!"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen! While I was absent from Paris, you didn't know where I was, did
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; you didn't tell me."</p>
+
+<p>"As you didn't ask me, I thought that you were not interested. Well,
+monsieur, I was at a charming country house that I had hired&mdash;and it is
+still mine, because I took it for a year, all furnished and equipped. I
+had nothing to do but to go there, and that was not much trouble; for
+the house is at Fontenay-sous-Bois, close to Vincennes&mdash;only two leagues
+and a half from Paris. I was not very far away, monsieur, as you see. So
+that I came often to Paris, and knew everything that happened here."</p>
+
+<p>"And you propose to send Mignonne to your country house?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, not that. In the first place, she would probably refuse to go to
+any house of mine. You must do the opposite of that&mdash;you must&mdash;that is,
+if it won't be too much of a bore to you&mdash;pass some time yourself in
+that retreat. It is only the last of July, and the weather is fine. But
+perhaps country life is tedious to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all! But you will go with me, of course; you will keep me
+company?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most assuredly! Must I not do the honors of my house?"<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Your plan is delightful, Frédérique, and I accept with the greatest
+pleasure!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really! you are really willing to go into the country with me? The
+prospect doesn't alarm you&mdash;you're not afraid of being bored?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that possible, with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how good you are, and how happy I am! But, never fear, my friend; I
+will try to arrange it so that the time won't seem too long to you. In
+the first place, it is a lovely spot, the whole neighborhood is
+charming; you would think that you were a hundred leagues from the
+capital. However, it is no desert, for there are several pretty estates
+in the neighborhood; but I don't care much for visiting neighbors,
+myself, especially in the country; for when you have once allowed your
+neighbors to call, they are always at your door, and that gets to be
+horribly tiresome. But wait till you see my house&mdash;it's an immense
+place, like a little château. The garden is very large and well shaded;
+there's a lake in which I have the right to fish&mdash;only there are no fish
+in it. There's a billiard room, and all sorts of games. And then, when
+you are bored beyond endurance, or when you have any business in Paris,
+we are so near&mdash;you can be here in an hour."</p>
+
+<p>"I am at your orders, Frédérique. Let us start! let us start as soon as
+possible! I look forward with delight to living in the country with
+you."</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny pressed my hand with all her strength and kissed me on
+the forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen! listen!&mdash;Oh! mon Dieu! here I am beginning to address you
+familiarly again, as I used to."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am very willing."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! I won't do it! Listen, my friend: you must tell Mignonne that
+you are going to pass some time in<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> the country; that is a perfectly
+natural thing for you to do; ask her to continue to come to your rooms
+as usual, to superintend your household; you might even give her to
+understand that you rely on her friendship to look carefully after your
+interests. She will be flattered by that mark of confidence. You need
+not tell her how long you expect to be away&mdash;nor whom you are going to
+visit. You are not accountable to her, after all. But, my friend, you
+mustn't come to Paris too often to see her; for that would destroy the
+effect of your sojourn in the country."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand that perfectly."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we must hope that absence&mdash;common sense&mdash;&mdash; That young woman will
+realize sooner or later that she does wrong to love you with love."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely she will! And then, if another man calls to see her, now and
+then&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes! That's the very thing! Perhaps he will succeed in winning her
+love!"</p>
+
+<p>I stared at Frédérique in amazement, for I had never mentioned
+Ballangier's passion for Mignonne to her. She blushed and began to
+arrange her hair; that was her usual resource when she did not want to
+be examined.</p>
+
+<p>"Who do you think may succeed in winning Mignonne's love, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the man who is paying court to her&mdash;that young man who comes to
+see you sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that, Frédérique?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wonderful cleverness on my part! Did I not meet him one day when he was
+going to see you?"</p>
+
+<p>"And you guessed that he was in love with Mignonne, simply from seeing
+him come to my rooms?"</p>
+
+<p>"He has changed greatly, and to his advantage, that young man."<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you recognized him, did you?"</p>
+
+<p>I watched Frédérique closely, for a multitude of ideas had suddenly
+rushed into my mind; something told me that Madame Dauberny knew more
+about Ballangier than she chose to tell me. I think that she must have
+divined my thoughts, for she rose hastily and said:</p>
+
+<p>"It is getting late, my friend. We start to-morrow&mdash;is that settled?"</p>
+
+<p>"I ask nothing better."</p>
+
+<p>"Bring your servant; we have room enough for him. I have only a gardener
+and my maid there. Will Mignonne come to you to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think so, as she didn't come to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait for her and tell her that you are going to the country; then come
+to me, and we will start together."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good. I will go home to make my preparations, and to-morrow I will
+call for you. <i>O rus! quando te aspiciam?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"I can guess what that means. You will see the fields to-morrow, my
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>On reaching home, I gave orders to Pomponne to prepare for our
+departure. I might take very few things to Fontenay, and send him to
+Paris whenever I needed anything. But that was just what I wanted to
+avoid, because I was acquainted with Monsieur Pomponne's loquacity.</p>
+
+<p>It was ten o'clock when Mignonne arrived. Since Frédérique had opened my
+eyes to the young woman's secret sentiments, I had dreaded that
+interview; I was deeply moved, and it grieved me to think of causing her
+pain. Poor child! from whom I was fleeing because she loved me! We run
+after so many women who do not love us!<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a></p>
+
+<p>Mignonne seemed to me even paler and more depressed than usual. However,
+she smiled when she saw me. I went to meet her and held out my hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Mignonne, I was waiting to say good-bye to you."</p>
+
+<p>She looked anxiously at me, did not take the hand I offered her, and
+faltered:</p>
+
+<p>"What! to say good-bye? Are you going on a journey?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! I am just going into the country&mdash;not very far away. I am not
+leaving you for long."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you are going to the country? You have never said anything about
+it. Is it something you have just thought of?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have been thinking of it for several days. I am in the habit of going
+into the country every year for a time; it does me good."</p>
+
+<p>"If it's for your health, you are wise. I will go away, then, and come
+again when you return&mdash;when you send me word."</p>
+
+<p>"No; on the contrary, if you wish to please me, to do me a favor, you
+will continue to come here. I am taking my servant with me, but I will
+leave you my keys, which you will hand to the concierge when you go
+away. I intrust the care of my establishment to you! There are many
+things to be done here. I would like to have my curtains renovated, and
+the furniture of my salon and bedroom covered. You will find money in
+the desk. Be good enough to attend to all these details. I take the
+liberty of looking upon you as if you were my sister; does that offend
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Offend me! no, indeed! You are too kind to me! you always find pretexts
+for keeping me busy, for heaping kindnesses on me. Oh! I see it plainly
+enough!"<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Don't say that. On the contrary, it is due to you that my house has
+assumed an orderly, comfortable aspect that it never had before."</p>
+
+<p>"Will it be long before you return to Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so. But sometimes, when one has no business to attend
+to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, and when one is enjoying one's self. Are you going to
+visit&mdash;friends?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I am going to see several friends&mdash;to make a round of visits. By
+the way, Mignonne, I wanted to say&mdash;&mdash; That young man whom you have seen
+here several times&mdash;Ballangier&mdash;will probably come while I am away."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell the concierge not to let anyone come up, as you won't be
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"That is all right, so far as most people are concerned; but I want
+Ballangier to be excepted from that prohibition. I take a very deep
+interest in that young man. He used to have none but evil acquaintances
+in Paris; he must not find a house closed to him where he can learn only
+profitable lessons. And then, too, my library is at his disposal; he may
+take whatever books he chooses. So you will please be kind enough to
+admit him. He's a fine fellow, and I am sure that he will do his utmost
+to deserve your esteem."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, monsieur," Mignonne replied, in a cold and constrained tone;
+"your orders shall be followed."</p>
+
+<p>"But I am not giving you orders; I am simply expressing a wish, that's
+all!"</p>
+
+<p>"And if any letters should come for you, monsieur, where shall I send
+them?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't expect any. At all events, my servant will call and get them
+from the concierge."<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you will send your servant to Paris, but you won't come yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>She hastily lowered her eyes, but I saw that they were full of tears. I
+made haste to grasp her hand, which she did not withdraw, and pressed it
+affectionately.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall see you soon, Mignonne," I said. "Keep a sharp eye on my
+house!"</p>
+
+<p>And I hurried away, driving Monsieur Pomponne before me, for he seemed
+determined to return to the room where Mignonne was, probably to pick up
+a pin.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLVI_FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS" id="XLVI_FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS"></a>XLVI<br /><br />
+FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS</h2>
+
+<p>We arrived at Fontenay about three in the afternoon. Frédérique's
+country house was a little beyond the village; it was not isolated, for
+there were several pretty villas in the neighborhood; but it was far
+enough from the centre of population for us not to be annoyed by the
+singing of drunken men, the noise of children, and the barking of dogs.
+An iron fence surrounded a beautiful lawn bordered by flowers in front
+of the house. At the left was a small building, entirely separate from
+the main house, and Frédérique said to me as we passed it:</p>
+
+<p>"That is where you are to sleep, my friend; there's a very nice little
+chamber over the billiard room, and you will be absolutely at home
+there, free to go in and out without disturbing anyone."</p>
+
+<p>"But I didn't come here to live alone! And you?"<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I live in this huge structure. I will show you my apartments. But,
+never fear, my friend, I didn't bring you here to banish you from my
+presence. You will not be compelled to return to your own quarters
+except to sleep.&mdash;Adèle, take Pomponne to the pavilion at once, with his
+master's traps."</p>
+
+<p>Adèle was the lady's-maid. She was an excellent girl, who deigned to
+assume the functions of cook in addition to her own, in the country.
+Monsieur Pomponne followed her, peering inquisitively into every clump
+of bushes.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique showed me the house, which consisted of two stories, with six
+sleeping-rooms. It was furnished with taste, and would easily
+accommodate a large family.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do with so much room, all alone as you are?" I
+inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"In the country, my friend, I find that one needs plenty of space. I saw
+this house, and it took my fancy; the rent was not high, so I hired it.
+I could not make it smaller; besides, you see that I am not alone now."</p>
+
+<p>"You will still be alone in your great caravansary, since you relegate
+me to a separate building!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! my friend, what about the proprieties? Is it not a very bold step
+at the best for me, a married woman, to bring a young man to stay at my
+house in the country? The world doesn't know that we are only Orestes
+and Pylades, Damon and Pythias. But I don't care a snap of my finger for
+what people may say!"</p>
+
+<p>"And your husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"My husband! I fancy that he doesn't even know that I am in the
+country.&mdash;You have seen the house, now come and see the garden. But wait
+a minute! wait! my rustic cap! Oh! it is so nice to be comfortable!"<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a></p>
+
+<p>She substituted for her city bonnet a little straw cap with a visor,
+which she wore a little on one side; she was captivating so. I found in
+the hall several hats for the country, of different shapes.</p>
+
+<p>"Take your choice," said my hostess.</p>
+
+<p>"What! are these part of the furniture?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I brought them all for my own use&mdash;to try&mdash;you know, I dress like a
+man sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>"So you told me; but I have never seen you in masculine costume."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll put it on some morning, to stroll about the fields with you. Oh! I
+look like a scamp then, I tell you! Come, monsieur, choose a hat."</p>
+
+<p>I donned a gray felt, with a pointed crown and a broad brim, in which I
+must have resembled an Italian bandit; all I needed was the ribbons.
+Frédérique escorted me to the garden. It contained nearly two acres, and
+was laid out in an original fashion. There were none of the customary,
+broad, straight paths; on the contrary, they wound and twisted about in
+all directions&mdash;a veritable labyrinth. Shade trees, shrubbery, and
+thickets combined to make the garden a fascinating spot, which appeared
+four times larger than it really was.</p>
+
+<p>Our first day passed very quickly. I was installed in the small
+pavilion, and was very comfortable there; but it seemed to me that I
+should prefer to be in the main house, under the same roof with
+Frédérique. My friendship for her developed so rapidly that when I was
+fifteen minutes without seeing her I felt that something was missing: I
+had never loved a mistress as I loved that friend.</p>
+
+<p>When I woke for the first time in that house to which I had come so
+unexpectedly, I was conscious of a feeling<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a> of contentment, of secret
+happiness, which I could not describe. Was it pleasure because I was in
+the country with a person who manifested such sincere friendship for me?
+Was it satisfaction because I had acted wisely in going away from
+Mignonne and being careful not to take an unfair advantage of the
+sentiment I had inspired? Or was it simply the change of air?</p>
+
+<p>I went to a window that looked on the garden, and I heard a voice
+calling me a sluggard. Frédérique was already up. She wore a white
+dress, cut like a blouse, with a blue sash. I had noticed that blue was
+her favorite color. Her little straw cap was on her head, and her
+beautiful glossy black hair fell in dense curls on both sides of her
+face.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to me that I had never seen her so lovely, so alluring. Ah! it
+is a fact that in the country, amid the green fields and trees,
+everything that appeals to our senses moves and excites us more keenly
+than elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique put her arm through mine and we strolled about the garden.
+For the first time, I was conscious of a peculiar sensation at the
+contact of her arm with mine. Was it really the first time that I had
+experienced that sensation? No. But that morning it seemed sweeter to
+me; and yet, for some unknown reason, I was no longer so light-hearted,
+so at my ease with her; I was almost afraid to look at her. What
+thoughts were these that came into my head? I dared not heed them.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny had never been so amiable, so gay, so kind, so
+sparkling. I thought that I knew her; but to be able to appreciate fully
+all the resources of her wit, all the charm of her society, and all the
+seductiveness of her beauty, I found that it was necessary to be alone
+with her in that charming retreat.<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a></p>
+
+<p>The time passed with extraordinary rapidity; and yet there were but we
+two. We made frequent trips in the saddle or on foot about the
+surrounding country. The horses that we hired were very ugly&mdash;but what
+did we care? We did not go out to exhibit ourselves. When the weather
+was bad, we played and sang, or I drew some landscape that I had
+sketched, while she read aloud to me. Every morning she said:</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, if you want to take a trip to Paris, don't hesitate; you can
+come back this evening; but don't go to your own rooms, if Mignonne is
+there. As we have undertaken to cure that young woman, we must not cause
+a relapse."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that you are tired of me?" I would say; "would you like to
+be rid of me for to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>Her only reply was to give me a light tap on the cheek, and nothing more
+would be said about Paris.</p>
+
+<p>A fortnight passed. Suppose that in seeking to cure Mignonne I had made
+myself ill? That is what I was beginning to ask myself; for the more I
+saw of Frédérique, the more strongly I felt that it would be impossible
+for me to renounce the pure and unalloyed happiness that I enjoyed with
+her. I was no longer the same man; in the midst of my pleasures, I had
+attacks of melancholy. When Frédérique fixed her eyes on me, I became
+embarrassed, almost timid; but when she was not looking at me, with what
+joy I gazed at her! with what bliss my eyes feasted themselves upon
+every detail of her person! Was it love that I felt for her? I dared not
+confess it positively to myself, but I was terribly afraid that it was.
+Yes, I was afraid; for if I loved her with love, and she loved me with
+friendship only, I must constantly endure the torments of Tantalus in
+her presence; if I loved her<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a> with love, I should not always be able to
+control myself; and my feelings since I had been with her in the
+country, the perturbation that I felt when she put her arm through mine,
+the flush that rose to my face when I happened to place my hand on her
+knee&mdash;everything warned me that a time would come&mdash;and perhaps
+soon&mdash;when I should forget respect and social conventions&mdash;when the
+friend would vanish and be succeeded by the lover! How many times, when
+we were walking together along a narrow path, had I been tempted to
+press her to my heart! to steal a kiss from her lips! But I remembered
+the night that I had supped with her, when we had agreed to be good
+friends, when she adopted the familiar form of address, and granted me
+the same privilege.&mdash;Excited by the fumes of wine,&mdash;or perhaps already
+assailed by the first flames of the passion that was destined later to
+consume me,&mdash;I had kissed her passionately. She had taken offence; that
+kiss was the signal for our rupture; she forbade me to enter her doors
+again. Suppose that she should do the same now! She manifested the
+utmost confidence in me, because she believed me to be simply her
+friend, because she was persuaded that I would never have any other
+feeling than friendship for her. Suppose that upon learning that I
+really loved her she should take offence anew, leave me, deprive me of
+her presence! That thought froze the blood in my veins, and was
+sufficient to recall me to my senses whenever Frédérique's lovely eyes
+were on the point of making me forget myself.</p>
+
+<p>Two old bachelors who lived in the nearest house were the only guests
+she had received thus far; the brothers Ramonet were very pleasant, and
+played billiards or whist with us when the rain compelled us to stay
+indoors.<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a></p>
+
+<p>Several times I had had occasion to send Pomponne to Paris. I told him
+to say to Mignonne that I was visiting my friend Balloquet, at Fontenay;
+I did not know whether he had obeyed my orders strictly, but I doubted
+it.</p>
+
+<p>One evening, when the bad weather compelled us to resort to
+cards,&mdash;which, by the way, I would have been glad to dispense with, but
+Frédérique, whether because she was afraid that I would be bored, or
+from pure coquetry, took care that our tête-à-têtes should not be too
+frequent,&mdash;the elder Monsieur Ramonet observed, as he was dealing:</p>
+
+<p>"We have a new neighbor. The small house close by&mdash;on the right."</p>
+
+<p>"With the terraces, in the Italian style?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. It has been let."</p>
+
+<p>"It must be very recently," said Frédérique, "for all the shutters have
+always been closed until now."</p>
+
+<p>"It was only three days ago. A lady has hired it."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Alone, except for a maid. But it's a very small house, almost no room
+at all. It's very pretty, though; I went over it once?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen the new neighbor yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, but my brother has.&mdash;Haven't you, Jules, seen the lady who has
+hired the little house?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, when I passed there this morning, she was at the window on the
+ground floor; I bowed, and she returned my bow most affably. She's very
+pretty&mdash;a young woman, with an air of distinction."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! did you see all that at a glance, Monsieur Jules?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, madame! Oh! one glance is all I need; however, I bestowed
+more than one on her."<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p>
+
+<p>"And, of course, you know already who she is, what she does, what her
+name is?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, not yet; but I shall know all those things to-morrow. She must be a
+widow; for the house would be too small for a lady with a husband and
+family. Being neighbors, we will call on her one of these days&mdash;eh,
+brother?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure."</p>
+
+<p>"You have that privilege, messieurs. As for myself, as I pay very few
+visits, I think that I shall not make this lady's acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>After the brothers Ramonet had gone, Frédérique, who seemed more
+thoughtful than usual, suddenly said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"You are not bored here, are you, my friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"How many times must I tell you that I am enjoying myself immensely;
+that I have never known such happy days as those that have just passed?"</p>
+
+<p>"And you don't regret Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"I regret nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"And you don't care about making the acquaintance of new neighbors?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not; indeed, I think sometimes that the brothers Ramonet are
+in the way."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! how good you are to be so happy with your friend! Good-night,
+Charles; until to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>She gave me her hand, and looked at me with such a charming expression
+that I was ready to cover her hand with kisses. Ah! if I dared confess
+what was taking place in my heart! But she would have had no choice but
+to be angry and order me to go. I preferred to hold my peace and remain
+with her.<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLVII_THE_NEIGHBOR" id="XLVII_THE_NEIGHBOR"></a>XLVII<br /><br />
+THE NEIGHBOR</h2>
+
+<p>On the following morning, Frédérique and I were in the salon on the
+ground floor; I was trying to extort some melody from a wretched piano,
+and she was laughing at my impatience, when her servant appeared and
+informed her that a lady desired to see her.</p>
+
+<p>"A lady!" exclaimed Frédérique, in surprise; "but I don't expect any
+lady. Where does she come from?"</p>
+
+<p>"It seems that she is the person who has hired the little house near
+by."</p>
+
+<p>"And she thinks that, being a neighbor, she owes me a visit. Well, I
+will receive her, if it must be; but I propose to show her in short
+order that I don't choose to be intimate with my neighbors. Admit this
+lady who is in such a hurry to see me!"</p>
+
+<p>The maid retired. I turned toward the door, curious to see the neighbor,
+who was said to be pretty; Frédérique continued to sit nonchalantly on
+the couch. A lady appeared; I made a gesture of surprise, and Madame
+Dauberny uttered a cry; we recognized Madame Sordeville.</p>
+
+<p>Armantine seemed amazed to find me there; but she recovered herself at
+once and ran toward Frédérique, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"It is I! You didn't expect to see me, did you? You had no idea that I
+had become your neighbor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, surely not; I had not the slightest suspicion of it!" replied
+Frédérique, in a tone that was not<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a> precisely affectionate; "but who
+told you&mdash;how did you know that I lived in this house, where, by the
+way, I have been only a short time?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! servants, you know, find out instantly who one's neighbors
+are, and, in the country especially, that is the first thing one thinks
+about."</p>
+
+<p>"I promise you that I think very little about it."</p>
+
+<p>"My maid said to me this morning: 'Madame, this fine house next to us is
+let to Madame Dauberny.'&mdash;I needn't tell you that, when I heard your
+name, I asked for other particulars; I soon concluded that it must be
+you, so I lost no time in coming to see you and embrace you. Did I do
+wrong?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed! certainly not!"</p>
+
+<p>The ladies embraced. I was not fully persuaded that their kisses were
+sincere. Frédérique was much disturbed; she changed color every second.
+Madame Sordeville was still pretty and as great a coquette as ever; I
+saw that instantly. She soon turned to me and said:</p>
+
+<p>"When I came to see my friend, I did not expect, I must say, to find
+Monsieur Rochebrune here. That is an additional pleasure!"</p>
+
+<p>I contented myself with bowing coldly. Frédérique, who was watching me,
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Monsieur Rochebrune consented to pass some time with me here. I
+thought at first that he would not make a long visit, but he said to me
+lately that he did not regret Paris at all."</p>
+
+<p>"That is the truth, madame; you have made me love the country."</p>
+
+<p>Armantine bit her lips, and continued:</p>
+
+<p>"You receive a great deal of company here, no doubt? It's so near
+Paris!"<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Why, no; on the contrary, I receive no one. Except for two gentlemen
+who live near,&mdash;and them we see only once or twice a week,&mdash;we are
+always alone, Charles and I."</p>
+
+<p>Armantine frowned slightly with vexation, but instantly tried to change
+the frown into a smile. It was the first time that she had heard
+Frédérique call me Charles, and that evidence of familiarity did not
+seem to cause her the keenest pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>"So you have left your place of retirement at Passy?" said Madame
+Dauberny, after a pause.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! a long while ago&mdash;I was bored to death there. One sees too many
+people in that region, and I prefer solitude now. I came here to take a
+house, because I thought it would be quieter, more like the country."</p>
+
+<p>"But, still, if you are bored&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"It is sometimes unwelcome visitors who bore one. One is happier alone
+with one's memories."</p>
+
+<p>As she said this, Armantine cast a melancholy glance in my direction.
+Frédérique noticed it, and she at once rose, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Come, inspect my house and garden.&mdash;Will you come with us, Charles?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, madame; I have some letters to write."</p>
+
+<p>I bowed, and returned to my pavilion. I had an idea that Frédérique was
+quite willing that I should not attend them; besides, those two old
+friends might have innumerable things to say to each other after so long
+a separation, and I did not wish to intrude.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of that woman, with whom I had been deeply in love, had
+caused some disturbance in my mind, I admit; but it was of very brief
+duration; it was surprise, the emotion due to the evocation of the past,
+and<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a> there was nothing in my heart that at all resembled love for her.
+Armantine was still very pretty, there was no denying that; but her
+eyes, sometimes so expressive, and her seductive smile, could not efface
+from my memory the disdainful, insolent air with which she left me that
+day on the Champs-Élysées.</p>
+
+<p>I remained in my room all day. When I returned to the salon, Frédérique
+was alone. I sat down beside her.</p>
+
+<p>"Has your friend left you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Did you hope to find her here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I? Why do you ask me that?"</p>
+
+<p>"You answer my question with another; that is very convenient. But do
+you think that I should regard it as a crime if it gave you great
+pleasure to meet a woman whom&mdash;whom you once adored&mdash;whom you still
+love, probably?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! so you think that I still love her, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"What would there be extraordinary in that? When a passion has not
+been&mdash;satisfied&mdash;there is no reason why it should end."</p>
+
+<p>"And you think, do you, that it should end as soon as it is satisfied?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think&mdash;that I am only your friend, whereas Armantine&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! I don't know what I am saying! That unexpected visit, the
+idea of having her for a neighbor&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You must have been glad to see your friend again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! of course, I am delighted! She will probably come every day;
+as she knows that you are here, she certainly won't miss a day."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you think that she will come on my account?"<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a></p>
+
+<p>"On yours&mdash;or mine&mdash;I'm sure I don't know. However, we shall see."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique sighed. All the rest of the evening, she was sad and pensive;
+for my part, I too was preoccupied. We parted earlier than usual, and
+she did not look at me as she did the night before, when she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Until to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, I proposed to Frédérique that we should take a
+long walk; she assented, and we started. We had not walked fifty yards,
+when we saw Armantine coming toward us. I noticed that she was dressed
+more coquettishly than on the day before. Frédérique could not restrain
+an angry gesture as she muttered:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! it seems that she was watching us! This bids fair to be amusing!"</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to walk?" asked Armantine, looking at me.</p>
+
+<p>"It looks rather like it," replied Frédérique.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you allow me to go with you? As I don't know the country at all, I
+am very glad to find guides."</p>
+
+<p>"You have the right to come with us. But I warn you that I am a good
+walker, and Charles and I take very long walks."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I can walk very well!&mdash;Besides, if I get tired, I fancy that
+monsieur will kindly give me his arm."</p>
+
+<p>"It will be at your service, madame," I replied, with cold courtesy.</p>
+
+<p>But Frédérique, who had my arm at that moment, instantly dropped it,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"In the country, people walk singly; that's the most convenient way."</p>
+
+<p>I looked at her in surprise, for we were not accustomed to walk so.<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a></p>
+
+<p>We started again. Armantine went into ecstasies over the scenery; she
+kept exclaiming every minute:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it is perfectly lovely here! I am delighted that I came; I am
+immensely pleased already!"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique said nothing, or replied only by a few curt phrases. I
+carried on the conversation with Madame Sordeville, who constantly asked
+me for information about the region, and was never at a loss for
+questions which enabled her to talk with me. I fancied that I could see
+that Frédérique was irritated by it; but I could not be discourteous to
+the other, who talked to me incessantly.</p>
+
+<p>Our walk was gloomy enough. Frédérique was the first to suggest
+returning. Thereupon Armantine complained of being tired. It was
+impossible to avoid offering her my arm, which she eagerly accepted. I
+offered the other to Frédérique, but she refused it. I wondered what the
+matter was.</p>
+
+<p>Armantine left us at her door, having informed her friend that she would
+pass the evening with her.</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique was pale and excited; I asked her the cause of her anger, and
+why she had refused my arm.</p>
+
+<p>"In order to leave you alone with the object of your love!" she replied,
+with a piercing glance that seemed to seek to read my inmost thoughts.
+That glance gave birth to a hope so delicious that a thrill of joy ran
+through my whole being; but I dared not dwell upon that thought. I
+should be too happy if I had guessed aright.</p>
+
+<p>Armantine passed the whole evening with her friend. She worked, while we
+played and sang. Frédérique asked me to sing a ballad; I complied, and
+apparently acquitted myself creditably, for I saw that Armantine
+listened to me with amazement; and when I had finished, Frédérique
+said:<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That was very good, Charles; you were more successful than at
+Armantine's reception."</p>
+
+<p>I laughed at the remembrance of my false note; but Madame Sordeville
+lowered her eyes and did not laugh.</p>
+
+<p>She came the next day and the next; nor was there an evening that she
+did not pay her friend a visit. Frédérique received her with formal
+rather than affectionate courtesy; she had altogether lost the
+playfulness and spirit that made our tête-à-têtes so delightful. When I
+was alone with her, she said little; when Armantine was there, she said
+nothing at all. But Armantine pretended to pay no heed to the melancholy
+or capricious humor of her friend; she was fond of talking, and she
+often sustained practically the whole burden of what could hardly be
+called conversation.</p>
+
+<p>Very often she bestowed a melting glance on me, but I pretended not to
+notice. She always seated herself near me. If we walked in the garden,
+she walked by my side and talked to me in undertones, as if she had
+something to say to me that she did not wish Frédérique to hear.
+Frédérique observed all her man&oelig;uvring, and sometimes I saw her
+expression change two or three times in a minute. At such times, my
+heart beat violently, and I was tempted to throw myself at her feet and
+say:</p>
+
+<p>"It is you, you alone, whom I love!"</p>
+
+<p>But suppose that all that was nothing more than what she called the
+selfishness of friendship! She was such a peculiar creature! I should be
+so confused if I had misinterpreted her feelings! What would she think
+of me? That my self-esteem led me to see on all sides women who adored
+me!</p>
+
+<p>One morning, after passing an hour with us, Armantine remembered that
+she had something to do at home, and<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> left us. I rejoiced to be left
+alone with Frédérique, which had come to be a rare occurrence of late. I
+proposed a walk in the fields, but she refused on the ground of
+indisposition, a sick headache, and left me abruptly, to go to her room.</p>
+
+<p>Why that ill temper with me? If her friend's constant presence irritated
+her, was I responsible for it? Had I sought Madame Sordeville's company?
+On the contrary, she must have seen that in my intercourse with that
+lady I kept strictly within the limits of the most rigid courtesy. As I
+said this to myself, I left the salon and the house, hoping to find a
+solution of my conjectures while walking.</p>
+
+<p>I paid no attention to the direction I took. What did it matter, as I
+had no definite goal in view? But chance willed that I should turn to
+the right instead of the left; and to reach the woods I had to pass
+Armantine's house.</p>
+
+<p>I did not notice it, but was walking on, musing deeply, when suddenly I
+heard my name called. I raised my eyes and found myself in front of
+Madame Sordeville's house. She was at a window on the ground floor; it
+was she who had called me, and, as I looked up, she bowed affably to me.</p>
+
+<p>I returned her salutation, and was going on; but she called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you do me the favor to come in a moment, Monsieur Rochebrune? I
+have long wanted to have a moment's conversation with you; but at Madame
+Dauberny's it is impossible; for she doesn't leave you for an instant.
+As chance has brought you to my door, will you not grant me this favor?"</p>
+
+<p>To refuse would have been discourteous and in wretched taste. Although
+one has ceased to be in love with a<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> woman, one must still be polite to
+her, unless one is a wild Indian; and I had no desire to be looked upon
+as such.</p>
+
+<p>So I went into Madame Sordeville's house; I continued to give her that
+name in my mind. She came to meet me, ushered me into the room, sat
+down, and pointed to a chair near hers. I took it and waited to hear
+what she had to say to me. She hesitated and seemed embarrassed; but she
+looked at me often, and her flashing eyes seemed to try to force me to
+speak first. Despite the fire of her glance, despite the dangerous play
+of her eyes, I remained dumb. At last, Armantine decided to begin the
+interview:</p>
+
+<p>"When I went to call upon Frédérique, monsieur, I did not expect, I
+confess, to find you there, and especially to find you established there
+as if you were at home."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by that, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>"You must understand me. The familiarity now existing between you and my
+friend is evident enough; indeed, she makes no attempt to hide it! But,
+I repeat, I did not expect that&mdash;not that I presume to reproach you, for
+I have no right to do so. You love&mdash;you do not love&mdash;that happens every
+day. As for my friend"&mdash;Armantine dwelt significantly on the last
+word&mdash;"as for my friend, it seems to me that I might be a little
+offended with her without laying myself too much open to blame. Her
+conduct toward me is hardly that of a really sincere friend. In leading
+you on to make love to her, to become her&mdash;her lover, in short, she has
+not acted with delicacy, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>At this point, I interrupted her.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't quite know what you mean, madame," I said; "I begin by
+informing you that I am not Madame Dauberny's lover, that I am simply
+her friend. But even<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a> if I were in love with that lady, and she should
+do me the honor to reciprocate my feeling for her, wherein, I pray to
+know, could it offend you, or even interest you in the least, madame?"</p>
+
+<p>Armantine was silent for a moment; she sighed, and murmured at last:</p>
+
+<p>"I see that you have not forgotten the way I left you one day on the
+Champs-Élysées. I was wrong, monsieur, very wrong; I have often
+regretted it since. But do you not know that women sometimes have
+caprices, moments of irritation, which they themselves cannot
+understand? It may be that I am more subject than other women to such
+freaks. But, when I confess my sins, will you continue to bear malice?"</p>
+
+<p>Armantine was really very fascinating; while "confessing her sins," she
+indulged in a thousand coquettish little man&oelig;uvres which would have
+turned many a man's head. But I was in love with another woman, and that
+love must have been most sincere, for Armantine's tender glances had no
+effect whatever on my heart.</p>
+
+<p>"I bear you no ill will at all, madame," I said, with a smile. "That
+episode faded from my memory long ago, and I supposed that it was the
+same with you. You owe me no apology; indeed, as you know, time changes
+the aspect of many things. To-day, it seems to me that that old story
+does not deserve a moment's thought from either of us. Au revoir,
+madame! With your permission, I will continue my walk."</p>
+
+<p>I rose and bowed. Armantine was speechless, utterly crushed; she did not
+look at me, she did not even respond to my salutation.</p>
+
+<p>I had just left the house, and was about to resume my walk, when I saw
+Frédérique standing a few steps away,<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> with her eyes fixed upon me. I
+walked hastily toward her. Her pallor terrified me; the fixed stare of
+her eyes cut me to the heart. I tried to take her hand; she snatched it
+away.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"What were you doing here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I wanted to see you come out of her house. I was certain that you were
+there."</p>
+
+<p>"At Madame Sordeville's? It was the merest chance, my going in. I was
+passing, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You have no need to apologize, or to try to invent excuses. I have told
+you a hundred times that you were your own master, that you might have
+ten mistresses if you chose, that I did not claim any right to interfere
+with your affections. But I do not like to have people lie to me,
+deceive me, disguise their thoughts."</p>
+
+<p>"I have done none of those things, Frédérique; and if you will listen to
+me&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Later&mdash;not now. Adieu!"</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to leave me? Won't you come to walk with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"No! I have something to do, I am going home."</p>
+
+<p>"I am going home, too."</p>
+
+<p>"No; continue your walk, I beg you. It would annoy me if you should go
+home with me. You see that my nerves are all on edge, that a trifle
+upsets me. Leave me, my friend; au revoir!"</p>
+
+<p>She hurried away; I feared to vex her by following her. She was there in
+the road, watching for me; she wanted to see if I was with Armantine.
+And that sadness that I read in her eyes, and that she tried in vain to
+dissemble&mdash;was not that jealousy? If she had no warmer<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a> feeling than
+friendship for me, would she be jealous of Armantine? Even though I were
+mistaken, even though the result were to break off our relations again,
+I determined that I would no longer make a secret of my sentiments, of
+my consuming love for her. I resolved that I would tell her all, that
+very day. It was no longer possible for me to be content with the rôle
+of a friend.</p>
+
+<p>I wandered about the country a long while, recalling every trivial
+circumstance in Frédérique's conduct that could possibly encourage my
+hope that she had something more than friendship for me. The dinner hour
+had arrived, when I returned to the house.</p>
+
+<p>I found nobody in the salon. I went into the garden, but Frédérique was
+not there. I called Pomponne, who came with a letter in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur called me, and I was looking for monsieur; what a
+coincidence!"</p>
+
+<p>"Where is Madame Dauberny?"</p>
+
+<p>"She has gone, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Gone! What do you say, idiot?"</p>
+
+<p>"I say, monsieur, that we're the masters of the house. Madame Dauberny
+has gone away with Adèle, and here's a letter she left for monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>I took the letter, hastily tore it open, and read what follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="nind">"M<small>Y</small> F<small>RIEND</small>:</p>
+
+<p>"I am going away from this house, which has lost all its charm for
+me since Armantine has been my neighbor and has passed all her time
+with us. I say with us&mdash;I imagined that it was still that happy
+time when there were only we two! That time passed too swiftly. I
+realize that I am a selfish creature, and that it is natural<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a> that
+you should be happy in having found again a woman whom you once
+loved dearly, and whose presence has rekindled the fire which was
+not extinct. So, be happy with her. Remain at my house, my friend;
+remain there as long as you please, and believe that I go away
+without murmuring, but not without regret."</p></div>
+
+<p>I had hardly finished reading the letter, when I called my servant.</p>
+
+<p>"Pack my valise, Pomponne, and your own things; we are going back to
+Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Going back to Paris! When, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Instantly! make haste!"</p>
+
+<p>"What about dinner, monsieur? We haven't dined, and I know it's all
+ready; Adèle told me so when she went away."</p>
+
+<p>"We will dine in Paris. I do not propose to remain another half-hour in
+this house. Come! you should have had everything ready before now."</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to Paris in the first <i>coucou</i>
+I could find; for there are still <i>coucous</i> at Fontenay.<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLVIII_AT_THE_OPERA" id="XLVIII_AT_THE_OPERA"></a>XLVIII<br /><br />
+AT THE OPÉRA</h2>
+
+<p>I reached Paris about seven in the evening. As I entered my house, the
+first person I saw was Ballangier, in a neat brown frock-coat and a
+round hat; his attire was noticeable for a sort of coquetry which
+indicated that the desire to please was still his first thought.</p>
+
+<p>He grasped my hand, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! here you are at last! I am so glad to see you! I have so much to
+tell you about all that has happened in the six weeks since you went
+away! For it is six weeks since you left Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Is Mignonne in my room now?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but she sometimes passes the whole day there and a large part of
+the evening. She enjoys being in your room."</p>
+
+<p>"Come up with me and tell me all about it."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier accompanied me to my apartment; I got rid of Pomponne by
+telling him to get his dinner wherever he chose; and when I was alone
+with my friend, I asked how his love affairs were progressing.</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place, my dear Charles, when I came here, three days after
+you went away, I was very much surprised to learn that you were in the
+country; I was going away, sadly enough, when the concierge said to me:
+'There's somebody upstairs, and my orders are to let you go up.' I
+didn't wait to be informed twice; something told me that I should find
+Mignonne here. Sure enough,<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a> she was here; she was working, but she was
+very sad&mdash;indeed, I believe she was crying. She received me coldly. I
+sat a long while looking at her, without saying a word, and she didn't
+speak, either. At last I began to talk about you, of all that I owed
+you, of my affection for you. Then she listened to me and answered. On
+my next visit, I talked again about you; I saw that that was the only
+way of making her talk a little. I asked her if she knew where you were;
+she said, with a sigh, that she knew perfectly well, but, as you had
+made a secret of it, she didn't think that she ought to tell. I
+continued to come from time to time; and when I couldn't call during the
+day, on account of my work, I made up for it by waiting for her in the
+evening at the corner of the street. I watched for her to come away from
+your house; I didn't dare to speak to her, for fear of displeasing her,
+but I followed her at a distance till she was safely at home; and as she
+lives on Rue Ménilmontant, my pleasure lasted some time. You will see,
+Charles, what an excellent idea it was of mine to act as her escort. For
+several days I had noticed a middle-aged man prowling about the street,
+a well-dressed man, but very fat; and I fancied that he too was on the
+watch for Mignonne; for he walked very near her&mdash;when he could keep up
+with her, that is, for she quickened her pace at his
+approach.&mdash;'Parbleu!' I said to myself, about a week ago; 'I must find
+out about this matter. I'll just keep out of sight and see what this
+fellow's intentions are.' The weather happened to be bad that night, and
+there were few people in the street. I waited; my man soon appeared, and
+he waited too. After a few minutes, Mignonne came out of the house. Then
+I saw my man, who was lurking in the darkest part of the street, speak
+to Mignonne, put his<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a> arm round her waist, insult her, in short, in
+spite of her entreaties and her shrieks. I tell you, his punishment
+wasn't long in coming! In three seconds I was on the fellow; I had
+grabbed him by the throat, thrown him into the gutter, and hammered him
+with feet and hands. I believe that I should be punching him yet, if
+Mignonne hadn't begged me to let him alone. You can imagine that I
+offered her my arm then to take her home, and she didn't refuse it. The
+poor child was so frightened! She thanked me a hundred times more than I
+deserved; and since then, I'm not sure, but it seems to me that she's
+more friendly with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, Ballangier! that incident ought surely to have helped on
+your prospects. You have rendered Mignonne a great service, and she is
+grateful."</p>
+
+<p>"A great thing that was! to punch an impertinent blackguard's head!
+Anybody would do as much for a poor little woman who's being
+insulted&mdash;unless he has no blood in his veins! How is it with you,
+Charles, are you all right? Have you left the country for good?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; that depends. Look you, my friend, I too am in love, and
+I don't know yet whether my love is returned."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! Do you mean it? you are in love, too? Oh! she'll love you, I'll
+answer for that; it is impossible for anyone not to love you!"</p>
+
+<p>"God grant it! Meanwhile, I will admit that I haven't dined; and as it's
+the fashion in our day for lovers to dine, because dieting would not
+advance their affairs, I propose to regale myself. Have you dined?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! long ago. I came here to wait for Mignonne, but she must have gone
+away earlier than usual."<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a></p>
+
+<p>I was in a hurry to dine, because I intended to go immediately after to
+Madame Dauberny's; as she had returned only a few hours ahead of me, it
+was impossible that she should not be at home.</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier went out with me; he would have left me when we reached the
+street, but I asked him to walk with me as far as the boulevard; and on
+the way I learned with pleasure that his conduct was still all that
+could be desired, that his love did not cause him to neglect his work,
+and that he had become one of his employer's head workmen.</p>
+
+<p>We had almost reached the boulevard, when, as we passed a brightly
+lighted shop, Ballangier started back, touched my arm, and said,
+pointing to a man who had just passed us:</p>
+
+<p>"There he is! That's the man! He didn't see me, but I recognized him."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"The man I thrashed so soundly for taking liberties with Mignonne."</p>
+
+<p>I looked at the person whom Ballangier pointed out to me; his figure
+impressed me, it reminded me of someone. I ran back and overtook him,
+then turned about and faced him. I was not mistaken: it was Monsieur
+Dauberny.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know whether he recognized me. He must have been surprised by
+the way I stared at him; but he simply frowned and went his way,
+quickening his pace. I let him go, and returned to Ballangier, who had
+stopped and was waiting for me a few steps away.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Charles, you wanted to see that man; you succeeded, didn't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I recognized him perfectly."<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Recognized? The deuce! do you know the old reprobate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! if he were no worse than that! But he's an infernal villain! You
+did well, I assure you, to deliver Mignonne from his persecutions. Poor
+girl! If you knew of what that man is capable!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really?"</p>
+
+<p>"Continue to watch. The sight of that man makes me tremble for her! But
+the day of reckoning must come some time!"</p>
+
+<p>"Explain yourself! Do you want me to run after the fellow and arrest
+him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! that's not the way I must deal with him. But we will watch him,
+and an opportunity will soon come&mdash;with that man they must come
+frequently&mdash;and then&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Then we will annihilate him, won't we?"</p>
+
+<p>"Au revoir, Ballangier! I must dine. But, I repeat, watch over Mignonne
+more carefully than ever."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you have no need to urge that on me."</p>
+
+<p>I entered a restaurant, dined in hot haste, and went to Madame
+Dauberny's house.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame is not in," said the concierge.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that she is not receiving, for she must be at home; did she
+not return from the country to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; madame returned to-day. But I assure you that she went
+out this evening, not very long ago; and I believe I heard someone say
+that she was going to the Opéra."</p>
+
+<p>"To the Opéra?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; Mamzelle Adèle told us that her mistress was going to
+the Opéra."</p>
+
+<p>I was determined to find her. If I allowed that evening to pass without
+having an explanation with her, she<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a> would be quite capable of leaving
+Paris on the morrow; she would escape me again, and for a long time
+perhaps. I decided to go to the Opéra. Frédérique was not one of those
+women who are afraid to go to the theatre alone; more than once I had
+heard her say:</p>
+
+<p>"Why do I need a companion? When the fancy takes me to go to the
+theatre, I send and hire a box, and I go. In my box, I am alone, I am at
+home, and no one has the right to come there to annoy me."</p>
+
+<p>I arrived at the Opéra; I went into the orchestra and stood at the
+entrance, from which I examined one side of the auditorium. I did not
+see Frédérique. I walked to the other side of the orchestra; there was a
+large audience, and several men were already standing at that entrance.
+I slipped in behind them and began my inspection. That time my search
+was short: I saw her, alone, in a <i>baignoire</i>, leaning back a little.
+Was she listening attentively to the performance, or was she absorbed by
+her thoughts? Before joining her, I gave myself the pleasure of gazing
+at her for several minutes.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly one of the men in front of me began to speak, so loudly that I
+did not lose a single word; indeed, I was speedily convinced that he
+intended that I should hear.</p>
+
+<p>"I say, do you see that lady yonder, in one of the <i>baignoires</i>&mdash;all
+alone in her box?"</p>
+
+<p>"In a pearl-gray dress, with black hair, and long cork-screw curls?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. What do you think of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad&mdash;a Spanish type of face; but a little pale."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps that may be grief at losing me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! is she&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my dear fellow, she's an old flame of mine; she's still a&mdash;&mdash;"<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a></p>
+
+<p>I did not allow Saint-Bergame to complete his sentence; if I had not
+recognized his voice, I should have guessed his identity from his
+language. I grasped his arm, and said to him in an undertone:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur, the man who has been a woman's lover and tells of it is a
+conceited ass; the man who insults her in public is a coward!"</p>
+
+<p>Saint-Bergame turned, eyed me from head to foot with an insolent air,
+and rejoined in a loud voice:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you constitute yourself that lady's champion, do you? To be sure,
+it's your turn now."</p>
+
+<p>I could not contain my wrath; I struck him in the face. Saint-Bergame
+tried to rush at me; but our quarrel had attracted general attention;
+someone threw himself between us, and I noticed then for the first time
+that Saint-Bergame's companion was Fouvenard.</p>
+
+<p>We left the hall; several persons tried to adjust our difficulty, but I
+satisfied them that their mediation was useless, and that we knew
+perfectly well how the affair must end. I joined Saint-Bergame, who,
+with Fouvenard, awaited me in a corner of the vestibule. The latter
+stared at me in amazement, murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"What! is it you? What is this quarrel about?"</p>
+
+<p>"There are no explanations to be given, messieurs. At what hour
+to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"At nine o'clock&mdash;no, ten o'clock, at Porte Maillot," said
+Saint-Bergame, who was trembling with anger. "I don't like to rise
+early. I shall have time enough to kill you."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, monsieur! Your weapon?"</p>
+
+<p>"The sword."</p>
+
+<p>"That is all."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall have monsieur and another second with me."<a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It seems to me that monsieur would suffice."</p>
+
+<p>"You evidently do not fight often, monsieur, and are not familiar with
+the customs of duelling."</p>
+
+<p>I did not consider it necessary to reply to this new insult.</p>
+
+<p>"Very good; I will have two witnesses," I said, and walked away.</p>
+
+<p>I returned to the hall and was going toward Madame Dauberny's box, when
+a lady rushed up to me. It was Frédérique. She took my arm and led me
+away, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Come! let us go! let us go!"</p>
+
+<p>I followed her from the building. She almost made me run; she squeezed
+my arm convulsively; I spoke to her, and she did not reply; but she
+wept, and hid her face in her handkerchief. At last we arrived at her
+house. Then she threw herself into a chair and her sobs burst forth
+anew. I knelt at her feet; I took her hand and begged her to tell me the
+cause of her grief.</p>
+
+<p>"The cause? the cause? You ask me that when you are to fight
+to-morrow&mdash;for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am to fight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no falsehoods! I recognized you at the entrance to the orchestra.
+You struck Saint-Bergame."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, for he insulted you."</p>
+
+<p>She took my head in her hands and kissed me again and again, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that was well done! Thanks, my friend! I expected nothing less from
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! in that case, why these tears, this grief, when I am going to
+punish a man who had insulted you once before? I found this evening an
+opportunity that I have been looking for ever since our drive in the
+Bois de Boulogne."<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! of course, this duel would be an everyday affair, if&mdash;&mdash; Mon Dieu!
+it is my fault! always my fault! Why did I leave the country? why did I
+come back to Paris? All this would not have happened, if I had stayed at
+Fontenay. But you, my friend&mdash;why did you come back&mdash;why did you follow
+me? Why didn't you stay with that woman whom you love&mdash;and who has no
+idea of spurning you now?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are all astray, Frédérique: it was to stay with the woman I love
+that I returned to Paris; it was to be with her that I followed you; for
+the woman I love&mdash;not with friendship, but with love&mdash;the most sincere,
+the most passionate love&mdash;with a love that will end only with my
+life&mdash;is you&mdash;you! Yes! though you banish me from your presence again, I
+can no longer content myself with the title of friend, beneath which I
+have with difficulty concealed all that I felt for you!"</p>
+
+<p>"He loves me! he loves me!" murmured Frédérique, gazing at me with an
+expression of the purest ecstasy in her lovely eyes. Then, giving way to
+her emotion, lacking strength to say more, she fell into my arms. I will
+not try to describe my bliss. One cannot describe what one feels so
+keenly.</p>
+
+<p>When we had recovered the faculty of speech, Frédérique said to me, with
+her head resting on my shoulder:</p>
+
+<p>"The least that I can do is to reveal all my secrets to you now; there
+must be no more secrets between us. I felt drawn toward you the first
+moment that I knew you. There are, I have no question, certain bonds of
+sympathy which we cannot understand, but which draw us toward those whom
+we are destined to love. But at that time you were engrossed by
+Armantine. Remember that I refused to allow you to call on me. I had no
+idea<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a> that you would fall in love with me, but I felt that your presence
+would be dangerous to me. I saw you again at Armantine's, depressed and
+disheartened by her coquetry; I determined to console you by offering
+you my friendship; I was acting in perfect good faith then, I proposed
+to be your friend and nothing more&mdash;when that kiss that you gave me
+while I was pretending to doze, that kiss which set my whole being on
+fire, proved to me that I had other sentiments for you than those of a
+friend. But you loved Armantine; I did not choose to be simply a passing
+caprice to you, so it was necessary to break off our relations
+altogether. And that is what I did, without ceasing for an instant to
+think of you. Later, I learned what Monsieur Sordeville was, and I lost
+no time in urging you not to go again to his house; you did not follow
+my advice, being still in love with Armantine.&mdash;Then came the scene on
+the Champs-Élysées; I had had nothing to do with bringing it about; but
+I am too honest not to confess that her treatment of you gave me some
+little hope. We met again, and again I offered you my friendship; but I
+had much difficulty in concealing the true state of my heart. Your
+liaison with Rosette made me unhappy, but I soon realized that it was
+not love. When I saw that other attractive and interesting young woman
+in your rooms, fresh torments assailed me, and I was very happy when you
+consented to go away from Mignonne. Finally, at Fontenay my secret was
+at my tongue's end every day; for I fancied that your eyes expressed
+something different from friendship. Then we fell in with Armantine
+again, and she recommenced her coquetries with you. Ah! that was too
+much! I no longer had the strength to carry on the struggle; I came
+away, fully determined to part from you forever. But<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a> you would not have
+it so; it is I whom you love. Ah! my friend, my bliss at this moment
+more than makes up for all the torture I have endured!"</p>
+
+<p>For more than an hour we abandoned ourselves to the ecstatic joy of two
+hearts which for the first time have declared their mutual love. But
+suddenly Frédérique's brow darkened, and she looked sadly into my face,
+crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! my happiness has made me forget. It is not a dream&mdash;you are
+to fight to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I am to fight to-morrow, at ten o'clock. But that fact cannot
+prevent my being the happiest of men to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there no way of enjoying perfect happiness on earth? I was so happy,
+so happy! And you are to fight to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be the victor, and I shall have avenged you! My happiness will
+be even greater&mdash;if that is possible!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, yes, we must hope so! With what weapons do you fight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Swords."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Saint-Bergame chose that weapon, of course. I have often heard him
+boast of his fine swordsmanship."</p>
+
+<p>"I struck him, so he had the choice of weapons."</p>
+
+<p>"True; but are you a good fencer?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know how to defend myself."</p>
+
+<p>"We will see about that."</p>
+
+<p>She left me and went into her dressing-room, whence she soon returned
+with a pair of buttoned foils and handed one to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us see, my friend, if you really know how to defend yourself," she
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"What! can you handle a sword?"<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Very well, according to Grisier, who was my teacher. Didn't I tell you
+that I received a man's education? Come, monsieur, on guard, and look
+out for yourself!"</p>
+
+<p>I took the foil. I thought, at first, that all I needed to do was to
+parry carelessly a thrust or two. But Frédérique soon undeceived me; she
+was sharp and persistent in attack, quick in parrying. Twice I was
+touched, and she exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so that's how you defend yourself, is it? Why, poor fellow, you
+will let him kill you! Attack&mdash;attack, I say!"</p>
+
+<p>These words recalled me to myself; my self-esteem was aroused. We
+continued for some time, and at last I touched her. She dropped her foil
+and embraced me, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right! that will do! But you must be careful; you must not
+be taken unawares. Whom shall you have with you to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"You remind me. I shall get Balloquet. I can rely upon him, and I must
+go this evening and leave a letter for him. But I must have another
+second. Those fellows insist on having three on a side. Whom in the
+devil shall I get?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't cudgel your brains, my friend. Your other second will be at your
+rooms at nine o'clock to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know of someone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I'll wager that you are thinking of Baron von Brunzbrack?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so. However, I'll be responsible for your second. Now, write to
+Balloquet at once. Do you know the long-bearded individual who was with
+Saint-Bergame?"<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, I know him! And if I could fight with him too, it would be an
+additional gratification."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what has he done to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing to me. But I told you, did I not, that Mignonne was vilely
+insulted and then abandoned by her seducer? Well, it was that dastard,
+that low-lived scoundrel, that Fouvenard, in short, who was with
+Saint-Bergame at the Opéra this evening."</p>
+
+<p>"Go, my friend, and carry the note to Balloquet; make sure of him, and I
+will answer for the other second. Then go home and rest. Until
+to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>"You will come to my rooms to learn the result of the duel?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you will see me. Until to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>I pressed her to my heart. I was proud of her courage. She continued to
+smile as she looked after me. I found Balloquet's abode, not without
+difficulty, gave my letter to the concierge, and went home to bed. She
+loved me! I was so happy, that I had not a thought to spare for my
+duel.<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XLIX_A_DOUBLE_DUEL" id="XLIX_A_DOUBLE_DUEL"></a>XLIX<br /><br />
+A DOUBLE DUEL</h2>
+
+<p>I woke early. It seemed to me that the events of the preceding night
+were a dream. But, no&mdash;she loved me, she was mine, and I was to fight a
+duel!</p>
+
+<p>At half-past eight, Balloquet arrived, all out of breath.</p>
+
+<p>"What's up, my dear Rochebrune?" he cried. "You wrote me not to fail
+you, to drop everything&mdash;and here I am! Is there a duel on the carpet,
+by any chance?"</p>
+
+<p>"Just that! I have a duel on hand for this morning, at ten o'clock, at
+Porte Maillot. I tell you beforehand, my dear Balloquet, that the affair
+cannot be adjusted; I struck my opponent at the Opéra last night."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil! it's a serious business, then. What caused the quarrel?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is about a lady, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>"A lady! I understand! that is to say, it's for her lovely eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"If I should tell you her name, I'll be bound that you also would fight
+for her."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! do I know her, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Dauberny."</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Dauberny! <i>Fichtre!</i> But, tell me, are you in love with her
+now?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have always been, my dear Balloquet; but I dared not confess it to
+myself, or tell her, for fear I should be repulsed."</p>
+
+<p>"Like me! But it would seem that you haven't been repulsed. I was in
+love with her for a moment, after a<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a> good dinner. She sent me about my
+business, and I haven't given her a thought for a long time. But I am
+none the less enchanted that you have chosen me for your second. She's a
+charming woman, and, although she didn't listen to my nonsense, 'pon my
+honor! I'd be very glad to fight for her."</p>
+
+<p>"Give me your hand, Balloquet. I expected nothing less from you."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the weapon?"</p>
+
+<p>"The sword."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; here it is."</p>
+
+<p>"Are there to be only we two?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am expecting my other second."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Frédérique has undertaken to send him to me. I fancy that it will be a
+certain Prussian baron, an excellent and honorable man."</p>
+
+<p>I had finished dressing just as the clock struck nine. I was already
+beginning to fret over the baron's non-appearance, when my door opened
+and a slender, graceful young man, of most attractive aspect, stood
+before us. I looked at him several times, before I exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Frédérique!"</p>
+
+<p>"Myself, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? Why, yes, on my word, it's Madame Dauberny!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why are you in this disguise?"</p>
+
+<p>"What! can't you guess? I am your other second."</p>
+
+<p>"You! Can you think of such a thing, Frédérique?"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought of it instantly, when I knew that you were going to fight for
+me."<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a></p>
+
+<p>"But it's impossible! A woman cannot act as second. I cannot consent to
+it.&mdash;Isn't that so, Balloquet?"</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly isn't customary, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen, messieurs: I have but one reply to make&mdash;I propose to do it! If
+you don't take me with you, I will follow you and be there, all the
+same. All argument is useless. I propose to be your second."</p>
+
+<p>"But my adversary's seconds will laugh when they see a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear, they won't laugh long. But let us go, messieurs; we must
+not keep them waiting. I have a cab below."</p>
+
+<p>I saw that it was useless for me to try to change Frédérique's
+resolution. We started. I took my sword; but I found a pair of foils
+without buttons in the cab. Frédérique had thought of everything. We
+talked little on the way. However brave we may be, we are always
+assailed by a multitude of reflections when about to fight a duel.</p>
+
+<p>We reached the rendezvous. Saint-Bergame was already there, with
+Fouvenard and a little man who did not seem to enjoy the occasion at
+all. I went forward first, apologizing for my delay. Balloquet was
+behind me, and Frédérique a little farther back.</p>
+
+<p>Saint-Bergame simply bowed and walked away, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Let us look for a suitable spot."</p>
+
+<p>The little man suggested that we might fight behind the restaurant.</p>
+
+<p>Fouvenard recognized Balloquet, and they exchanged a formal bow. We went
+into the woods, and in a few moments came to a small cleared space. I
+removed my coat, and Saint-Bergame did the same. Then Frédérique came
+forward with the foils, and my opponent at once exclaimed:<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What is this? Is Madame Dauberny one of your seconds?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur," replied Frédérique, with dignity; "for if Charles and
+his friend do not avenge me, then I will avenge myself."</p>
+
+<p>Saint-Bergame indulged in mocking laughter, and Monsieur Fouvenard
+deemed it fitting to join him.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! ha!" he said; "a woman for second! Why, this is charming! I would
+be glad to cross swords with the lady myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! so you shall, if you're not a coward," retorted Frédérique,
+offering him one of her foils.</p>
+
+<p>He was still pleased to jest and draw back, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! I would with pleasure, if it were a fan; but a foil&mdash;my dear
+lady, you wouldn't know how to handle that!"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! I shouldn't know how to handle it?"</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Frédérique laid her foil across Fouvenard's face, leaving
+a red mark which seemed to cut it in two. The bearded man flew into a
+rage; he seized the weapon she offered him, exclaiming:</p>
+
+<p>"I no longer recognize your sex, and I will not spare you."</p>
+
+<p>"And I will avenge my sex, and poor Mignonne!"</p>
+
+<p>At the name of Mignonne, Fouvenard turned pale; but he prepared for the
+combat. Balloquet proposed to the little man that they should imitate
+us; he declined, saying that he considered it ridiculous for seconds to
+fight.</p>
+
+<p>When I saw Frédérique cross swords with Fouvenard, I shuddered; I
+trembled for her safety.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on, monsieur," said Saint-Bergame; "I didn't come here to admire
+madame's prowess; on guard!"<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a></p>
+
+<p>His words recalled me to myself. We began to fight. Saint-Bergame
+attacked me with violence. While defending myself, I listened to the
+other combatants. I fancied that Fouvenard uttered a cry of triumph. My
+adversary made the most of my distraction; I received a thrust which
+passed through the upper part of my left arm. That wound irritated,
+exasperated me; I attacked Saint-Bergame fiercely, and he soon fell at
+my feet; my sword had entered his breast.</p>
+
+<p>I turned and looked for Frédérique. She had not been fighting for some
+time; in a few seconds, she had knocked Fouvenard's sword from his hand
+and wounded him in the side. He fell on the turf, and although his wound
+was trifling he had declined to fight any more.</p>
+
+<p>The little man went to call one of the cabs. Balloquet assisted in
+placing Saint-Bergame inside, and he was so seriously wounded that the
+young doctor thought it best to accompany him and his seconds. I
+returned to Paris alone with Frédérique, who twisted a handkerchief
+round my arm and begged Balloquet to come to us as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>In the cab, she put her arm around my neck, and insisted that I should
+rest my head on her shoulder. She gazed at me, gazed at me incessantly.
+Dear Frédérique! it seemed to me that we loved each other all the more
+dearly from having just escaped a great danger.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached my lodgings, we found no one there but Pomponne, who
+wept when he saw that I was wounded. I had much difficulty in making him
+understand that it amounted to nothing. I lay on a couch; Frédérique
+seated herself beside me and made lint, expressing surprise at
+Mignonne's absence; for she relied upon her to nurse me zealously when
+she should be<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a> obliged to leave me. In about three-quarters of an hour
+Balloquet arrived.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Saint-Bergame is in for a long siege," he said, "if he escapes
+at all. He has his own surgeon, so I left him. As for Fouvenard, he will
+be all right in a fortnight; but what irritates him most is that blow
+across the face with the flat of the foil. That was so well laid on,
+that it is probable that our seducer will carry the mark of it all his
+life. <i>Fichtre!</i> madame, there's some strength in your hand!"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Monsieur Balloquet, please examine Charles."</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet looked at my wound and dressed it, declared that there was not
+the slightest danger to be apprehended, but that it would be as well for
+me to keep my bed for a few days. I was about to obey my doctor, albeit
+with regret, when the doorbell rang violently. I supposed that it was
+Mignonne; but Ballangier appeared, pale as death and so excited that he
+could hardly speak.</p>
+
+<p>"In heaven's name, what's the matter?" I asked; "what has happened?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! a terrible misfortune, a&mdash;&mdash; Mon Dieu! are you wounded?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's almost nothing. Pray go on."</p>
+
+<p>"You urged me yesterday to watch over Mignonne. When I left you, as I
+was still disturbed by what you had said, I walked in the direction of
+her home. When I reached Rue Ménilmontant, although I was persuaded that
+Mignonne had not gone out, as she had not been at your rooms at all that
+day, something impelled me to go and ask the concierge. 'Madame
+Landernoy isn't in,' she said; 'she went out this morning to go and work
+at Monsieur Rochebrune's, on Rue Bleue, as usual.'&mdash;I knew that she
+hadn't been here, so you can imagine my<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a> anxiety. I told that to the
+concierge. She shared my uneasiness. We waited. The evening passed, and
+the night, and Mignonne did not return. This morning I went to
+Père-Lachaise, where Mignonne often goes to visit her little girl's
+grave. I inquired there. The gate-keeper said that he did see her
+yesterday morning; he knows her well, she has such a gentle, courteous
+way! After passing half an hour, as usual, at her daughter's grave, she
+went away&mdash;to come here, no doubt. But since then she hasn't been seen."</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu!" cried Frédérique; "what can have happened to her?"</p>
+
+<p>"What has happened to her!" cried Ballangier, clenching his fists
+frantically; "ah! I suspect, and so does Charles! There's a man&mdash;a vile
+scoundrel&mdash;who looks respectable, unfortunately; he's been watching
+Mignonne a long while. I thrashed him some time ago, but it seems that
+that didn't sicken him. I ought to have killed him then and there! When
+you come away from Père-Lachaise toward Paris, there are some deserted
+streets, nothing more than alleyways, where you don't meet anyone even
+in broad daylight. We don't know which streets Mignonne usually took,
+but he knew, no doubt; he must have been on the watch for her and
+abducted her, forced her into a cab. Here in Paris, with a little money
+one can always find a hundred vagabonds, miserable wretches, who are
+ready to do any rascally thing. It must be the man we met last night who
+has carried Mignonne off&mdash;it can't be anyone else; and you remember,
+Charles, when I pointed him out to you, how he was sneaking along,
+looking furtively on all sides, as if to see whether anyone was
+following him. And when he saw that you were looking at him, he scuttled
+away fast<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> Oh! to think that if I had followed him then, I should know
+where Mignonne is! For he was going to her, I am sure of it! But you
+know the man, Charles; you told me last night that you knew him; you
+said: 'The day of reckoning must come some time.'&mdash;So tell me who he is,
+tell me where I can find him and kill him if he doesn't give Mignonne
+back to me!"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique and Balloquet gazed anxiously at me. Should I name that man?
+name him before her? Why should I spare the monster? Why should not his
+wife, as well as I, have the right to despise him utterly?</p>
+
+<p>"The man who was watching Mignonne," I said, at last, "was your husband,
+Frédérique; it was Monsieur Dauberny."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier was stupefied. Balloquet was no less surprised. Frédérique,
+on the contrary, simply nodded her head, muttering: "I suspected as
+much!"&mdash;Then she said:</p>
+
+<p>"But it isn't enough to be convinced, to know that it was he? How are we
+to prove it? How can we discover in what place, in what out-of-the-way
+corner of Paris, he has concealed Mignonne? If you should ask him, he
+would deny having had any hand in the young woman's disappearance."</p>
+
+<p>"Just let me find your husband," I said; "tell me where I can see him
+and speak to him, and I am sure that he will deny nothing to me."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique looked at me in surprise; then she rose hurriedly, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I will go home at once; my presence will not rouse his suspicions. I
+will find out what he did yesterday and to-day; I will find out whether
+he is at home. If he is, I will send word to you instantly; and to
+prevent his going<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> out, I will go to his apartment, I will ask for an
+interview on business&mdash;in short, I will keep him at home."</p>
+
+<p>She said no more, but left the room at once. Then I said to Balloquet:</p>
+
+<p>"You remember Annette&mdash;and that Bouqueton?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes! Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that Bouqueton was Monsieur Dauberny."</p>
+
+<p>"What! the villain who&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>I put my finger on my lips and pointed to Ballangier, who was sitting
+with his head in his hands; it would have been cruel to add to his
+suffering. Balloquet understood me; but he could not sit still; he paced
+the floor excitedly, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! mon Dieu! but, in that case, we must make haste; we mustn't lose an
+instant! Poor young woman! Oh! it is ghastly to know that she is with
+him!"</p>
+
+<p>We counted the seconds. Ballangier went again and again to the window.
+At last he cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Here she is; she's coming back!"</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity!" said Balloquet; "that means that her husband isn't at
+home."</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique entered and dropped into a chair, exhausted and gasping for
+breath.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Dauberny isn't at home," she said; "but he passed the night
+there."</p>
+
+<p>"He passed the night at home?" cried Ballangier.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the concierge is certain of it; he saw him go in last evening,
+before dark, quite early in fact, and he is perfectly positive that he
+didn't go out again."</p>
+
+<p>"His meeting with us must have made him uneasy," said I; "if he was
+going to where he is detaining Mignonne, he was afraid of being watched
+and followed; so he probably went home."<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is probable. But he went out early this morning, saying that he
+was going to pass some time in the country, and might be away three
+weeks. Where shall we look for him? Where can we hope to find him now?"</p>
+
+<p>We were in despair. Ballangier, who was in a most desperate frame of
+mind, was still ignorant of all that Balloquet and I feared for
+Mignonne, who, I was sure, would not yield to Monsieur Dauberny's
+desires.</p>
+
+<p>For a long while we were silent, each cudgelling his brains to think how
+we could find Monsieur Dauberny's trail. Suddenly Frédérique cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! there is one hope!"</p>
+
+<p>We all looked anxiously at her.</p>
+
+<p>"During that trip of Monsieur Dauberny's, some time ago, one of his
+intimate friends, Monsieur Faisandé, came often to inquire for him. One
+day, he found only Adèle at home, and he said to her: 'If Dauberny
+returns soon, tell him to come at once to Monsieur Saint-Germain's, at
+Montmartre&mdash;a small house, with a green door, on the left-hand side of
+the square.'"</p>
+
+<p>"At Montmartre!" cried Ballangier; "he was going in that direction last
+night."</p>
+
+<p>I rose and held out my arm to Balloquet, telling him to bind it up with
+a handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, messieurs, come," I cried; "this is a dispensation of Providence,
+let us not lose a minute!&mdash;You cannot go with us, Frédérique, but you
+will soon see us again, and something tells me that we shall bring
+Mignonne back with us."</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier threw his arms about my neck and kissed me. Frédérique bound
+up my arm, whispering:</p>
+
+<p>"You are wounded, and you are going out&mdash;when you need rest!"<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! if my recovery is a little slower, that makes no difference. I want
+all those whom I love to be as happy as I am!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are right, my friend. Go, but remember that I am waiting for you."</p>
+
+<p>I took from my desk the ring that came from poor Annette; on it I rested
+all my hopes. I pressed Frédérique's hand, and we started. We took the
+first cab we saw, and I said to the driver:</p>
+
+<p>"Montmartre, the public square. Take us there quickly, and you shall
+have five francs an hour."</p>
+
+<p>We went like the wind, but the road seemed very long. At last we reached
+the square. I told the cabman to stop, and we all three alighted and
+turned to the left.</p>
+
+<p>"That must be the place!" cried Ballangier, pointing to a small house of
+poor aspect, with a narrow green door.</p>
+
+<p>"Stay in the square," I said to him, "and keep your eye on the house. If
+anyone comes out, run after him. You and I, Balloquet, will go in."</p>
+
+<p>I knocked at the little green door; it was opened and we entered a
+narrow passageway, at the end of which was a small yard. A
+shrewish-looking woman, who was sitting in a dark corner, called out to
+us:</p>
+
+<p>"Who do you want?"</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Saint-Germain."</p>
+
+<p>"He ain't in; he went away this morning, and won't be back to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Bouqueton must be here, then, and what we have to say to his
+friend Saint-Germain, we can say to him just as well."</p>
+
+<p>The woman looked at us distrustfully, then said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Monsieur Bouqueton's here&mdash;since this morning. Wait, while I go
+and call him. Go into that room; I'll<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> tell him some friends of Monsieur
+Saint-Germain want to see him."</p>
+
+<p>We entered a room on the ground floor, taking care not to go near the
+window, so that we might not be seen from outside.</p>
+
+<p>After a few minutes, we heard heavy steps coming downstairs; they
+stopped at the door of the room in which we were, and Monsieur Dauberny
+appeared.</p>
+
+<p>He gazed at us for several seconds in amazement; but, on scrutinizing me
+more closely, he seemed disturbed. However, he tried to recover himself,
+and said:</p>
+
+<p>"What can I do for you, messieurs?"</p>
+
+<p>"We have come in search of Mignonne Landernoy, a young woman whom you
+caused to be kidnapped yesterday morning as she was coming away from
+Père-Lachaise."</p>
+
+<p>Dauberny could not control a sudden start; but he affected an air of
+tranquillity, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, monsieur. I suppose that you
+mistake me for somebody else."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I know you quite well. Search your memory. You saw me once at your
+house in Paris; you are Monsieur Dauberny; Bouqueton is the name you
+assume in your love intrigues! I know you perfectly, monsieur, as you
+see!"</p>
+
+<p>Frédérique's husband looked at me for some instants, then assumed a
+mocking expression, and rejoined:</p>
+
+<p>"And you are my wife's lover&mdash;the man who lives with her at
+Fontenay-sous-Bois. You see that I know you too."</p>
+
+<p>"If your wife has a liaison in which her heart is engaged, monsieur,
+your abominable conduct makes her only too excusable."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur!"<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Let us have done with this! Where is Mignonne? Give that young woman up
+to us; we will not leave this house without her."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what you mean, and I order you to leave the house."</p>
+
+<p>Instead of complying, Balloquet and I walked up to Monsieur Dauberny,
+and I held before his eyes the hand in which was Annette's ring.</p>
+
+<p>"What about this&mdash;do you know what this means?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>At sight of the ring, Dauberny turned a greenish white and fell into a
+chair. Balloquet seized his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"It was I," he said, "who attended the unhappy Annette, the woman you
+murdered! She is dead; but I received her full confidence, and we are
+familiar with your crime to its smallest details."</p>
+
+<p>Dauberny could not speak. Great drops of sweat rolled down his forehead;
+he took a key from his bosom and held it out to us with a trembling
+hand, stammering almost inaudibly:</p>
+
+<p>"On the second floor. Mignonne is on the second floor."</p>
+
+<p>I motioned to Balloquet to stay with Dauberny, while I flew upstairs to
+the second floor. I found two doors; the one at the rear was locked. I
+opened it and found Mignonne on her knees, praying, in a corner of the
+room. When she heard the door open, she gave a shriek and ran toward the
+window; but I called her by name; she recognized my voice, and fell
+unconscious to the floor. Poor girl! joy sometimes kills. I took her in
+my arms and carried her downstairs. The air revived her; when we reached
+the yard, she opened her eyes and smiled at me.</p>
+
+<p>"You have saved me again!" she cried.<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a></p>
+
+<p>Balloquet heard our voices and joined us. I told him to take Mignonne to
+the cab; then I returned to Dauberny, who was still in the lower room,
+pale and trembling, like a criminal awaiting his doom.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," said I, "we will hold our peace concerning your crime; but
+you must go away, leave France, and never let your wife see you again."</p>
+
+<p>He motioned that he would obey me, and I made haste to join my friends.</p>
+
+<p>Ballangier was like one mad with joy; he seized Mignonne's hands and
+kissed them, and I made haste to tell the young woman that but for
+Ballangier we should have known absolutely nothing of her abduction, and
+that he was her savior.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon she gave Ballangier her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor boy!" she said.</p>
+
+<p>She told us that the night before, in a narrow, lonely street, two men,
+who doubtless were watching for her, had suddenly seized her and taken
+her to a cab which was waiting a few yards away. To prevent her crying
+out, one of them held a handkerchief over her mouth; but that precaution
+was unnecessary in the carriage, as terror had deprived her of the use
+of her senses.</p>
+
+<p>On recovering consciousness, she found herself in the little house at
+Montmartre. A man, whom from her description I identified as Faisandé,
+was with her, and tried to allay her fears.</p>
+
+<p>"You will see my friend Bouqueton to-night," he said. "You will come to
+an understanding with him, for he's a good fellow; he seems to be in
+love with you."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne threw herself at his feet, imploring him to set her free. He
+contented himself with locking her in a room, where the shockingly ugly
+old hag brought her<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a> food. The evening passed, and no one came. Mignonne
+did not close her eyes during the night. At last, about eight in the
+morning, another man, whom she recognized as the one who had insulted
+her on the street, appeared before her and informed her that she must be
+his mistress. Mignonne repulsed him with horror, and he left her,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Weep, shriek&mdash;it will do no good; you will be much wiser to make the
+best of it; we will dine together this evening, and I will pass the
+night with you."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne, alone once more, had determined to die rather than yield to
+that man; having no weapon, she had resolved to jump out of the window
+when he returned to her room. Then she prayed&mdash;and it was at that moment
+that I arrived. It was time.</p>
+
+<p>
+<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>At last we were at my rooms once more. Frédérique was awaiting us; she
+embraced Mignonne, then insisted that I should tell her all. I had not
+the strength to speak. The intensely exciting scenes that I had passed
+through had inflamed my wound; I was in terrible pain, and I swooned.<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="L_A_PRESENTATION" id="L_A_PRESENTATION"></a>L<br /><br />
+A PRESENTATION</h2>
+
+<p>It seems that I was ill a week; my wound threw me into a fever; then, I
+was delirious, and a scratch that should have amounted to nothing became
+a serious matter as a result of the events following my duel.</p>
+
+<p>But I became convalescent at last, I was restored to health and
+happiness; for Frédérique was there, beside my bed, watching for my
+first glance. Tears fell from her eyes when I held out my hand to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Saved!" she cried; "saved! Ah! Balloquet was right when he said that
+you were cured; but I dared not believe him!"</p>
+
+<p>I saw two other persons stealing softly toward the bed; they were
+Mignonne and Ballangier. I shook their hands; I tried to thank them; but
+Frédérique begged me not to speak yet. I could smile at them, and that
+was something.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Dauberny had learned from Balloquet how we had succeeded in
+rescuing Mignonne. He had not concealed from her that Monsieur Bouqueton
+was poor Annette's murderer. Frédérique had taken an oath never again to
+live under the same roof with that man. For my part, I did not believe
+that he would ever venture to reappear in society.</p>
+
+<p>Health returns quickly when the heart is at peace. A few days later, I
+was walking on the boulevards, leaning on Frédérique's arm.<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a></p>
+
+<p>"My dear," she said, "Balloquet insists that the country air will
+complete your cure. To-morrow, if you feel strong enough to endure the
+journey, we will go to Fontenay and pass the rest of the season there."</p>
+
+<p>"To Fontenay?" I said, looking her in the face. "Why, aren't you afraid
+of meeting people there whose presence annoys you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, no!" she said, fixing her lovely eyes on mine; "I am not afraid
+of anything now, for I am sure of your love."</p>
+
+<p>The next day, we went to Fontenay, and Frédérique absolutely insisted
+upon taking Mignonne with us; she had become very fond of her; to be
+sure, Mignonne was much more amiable to Ballangier.</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne lived in the pavilion which I had previously occupied, and I
+was under the same roof with Frédérique; a convalescent requires so much
+attention!</p>
+
+<p>Armantine came to see us soon after our arrival. Frédérique received her
+with vastly more cordiality than before, notwithstanding which, Madame
+Sordeville came much less frequently; women have a tact which enables
+them to divine instantly when they have lost the game beyond recall.</p>
+
+<p>I went to Paris and made inquiries about Ballangier; all that I learned
+was in his favor. I went to see him at his employer's, and invited him
+to dine at Fontenay on the next day but one. At first he declined what
+he called an honor; but I did not leave him until I had made him promise
+to come. The poor fellow asked nothing better, for I told him that he
+would see Mignonne.</p>
+
+<p>I invited Balloquet to come into the country on the same day. On my
+return to Fontenay, I told Frédérique<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> of the invitations I had ventured
+to extend without asking her permission; she closed my mouth by
+informing me that I need not ask her permission for anything. Then,
+after a moment's reflection, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I too propose to invite some people for that day. Will it annoy you if
+I have other company?"</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, on that day it will give me great pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>The next day, I went to Paris again; I had various purchases to make of
+gifts which I had in mind. As I passed through Rue du Petit-Carreau, I
+noticed a sponge shop. I thought of Rosette and stopped. Someone called
+me; it was my pretty brunette, enthroned at the desk.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you afraid to come into my shop, monsieur?" asked Rosette, who was
+as lively and alluring as ever. "You were going by without deigning to
+say good-day to an old acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>And she began to sing:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'Eh quoi! vous ne dites rien!</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Mon ami, ce n'est pas bien!</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Jadis c'était différent,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Souvenez-vous-en!'"<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"Still as merry as ever, Rosette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, yes! sponges ain't such a dismal trade as I thought; and then,
+my husband's such a good fellow! He's like putty in my hands!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are happy, are you?"<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, very happy. Are you sorry for that?"</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, I am very glad."</p>
+
+<p>"And your lovely friend&mdash;does she still pretend to be nothing but a
+friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, no! we are on better terms than that now; we were both mistaken
+in thinking that our feeling for each other was only friendship."</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! I saw what was coming a long way off! It was a long time coming,
+that love!"</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, Rosette!"</p>
+
+<p>"You will give me your custom, I hope? Send me your doctor <i>à la rose</i>
+too, with or without his gloves."</p>
+
+<p>"I will send all my acquaintances to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I haven't told you&mdash;on Sundays, I have my seven aunts in the shop,
+and people come in just from curiosity; we make a lot of money that
+day."</p>
+
+<p>I left Rosette and returned to Fontenay. I showed Frédérique all that I
+had bought for Mignonne; I proposed that the young woman should wear a
+costume which would enhance the charms of her person, and I suggested
+that Frédérique should superintend her toilet. She approved all that I
+had done; I fancy that she also divined a great part of what I intended
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>The reception day came in due time. The Ramonet brothers and several
+other neighbors arrived before dinner. Armantine was among those
+invited. I was very glad of it; I should have regretted her not being
+there on that day. Balloquet soon appeared, and then our old friend the
+Baron von Brunzbrack, who wrung my hand with great force, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I vould like to pe your frent no more, but I vas, all te same."<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Why should you not be my friend, monsieur le baron?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because, ven she haf sent me a letter of invitation, Montame Dauberny,
+she haf told me dat she loafe you, but dat she offer to me her
+frentship."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, baron, isn't it something to be her friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ja, ja; but I vas right, ven I haf susbect dat you pe in loafe mit
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"You had second-sight, baron."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne appeared at last, in a lovely costume, which became her to
+admiration, and which she seemed ashamed to wear. It was Frédérique
+herself who led her into the salon; she blushed when she came in,
+although Frédérique whispered to her:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be afraid, Mignonne; the men admire you and the women envy you;
+that is the most delightful part that one can play in society."</p>
+
+<p>Madame Sordeville bit her lips when she saw Mignonne; that was a tacit
+homage to her charms.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody had arrived, except Ballangier. He came at last, dressed
+without pretension, but very suitably for the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>The whole company was assembled in the salon on the ground floor. I took
+Ballangier's hand and led him to Madame Dauberny, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Pray permit me, madame, to present my brother."</p>
+
+<p>Everybody loudly expressed surprise, except Frédérique, who whispered to
+me:</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it."</p>
+
+<p>But the one upon whom my words produced the greatest effect was
+Ballangier himself. He stood as if rooted to the floor, trembling like a
+leaf; tears gathered in his eyes, and he said under his breath:</p>
+
+<p>"O Charles! why tell it? there was no need."<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No need to acknowledge you as my brother?" I said, raising my voice.
+"Oh! be sure that this is a very happy moment to me! If I did for a long
+time conceal the ties that united us, do you suppose that it was because
+our positions were different, because you were only a workman, while I,
+more favored by fortune, chose to be an artist, a poet, a financier? No,
+my dear fellow; I forbade you to call me your brother, when, led astray
+by vicious men, you lived a life of idleness, drunkenness, and
+debauchery. Yes, I blushed to be the brother of a lazy vagabond! But now
+that you have reformed, now that you possess the esteem of your fellow
+workmen and your employers, I am proud to call you my brother; for one
+should always be proud to be related to an honest man, whatever rank he
+may hold in society."</p>
+
+<p>Balloquet shook hands with me, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"What you said was very fine, Rochebrune!"</p>
+
+<p>The baron complimented me too, but I fancy that he did not understand.</p>
+
+<p>I continued, addressing Frédérique:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame, Ballangier is my brother; not on the father's side&mdash;our
+names are not the same&mdash;but on the mother's side. My mother was a widow
+with one son when she married Monsieur Rochebrune, my father.&mdash;And now,"
+I added, turning to Mignonne, "allow me to solicit your hand for my
+brother, who loves you sincerely and who will devote his life to making
+you happy."</p>
+
+<p>Mignonne timidly gave her hand to Ballangier, saying to me with her
+customary gentleness:</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be very happy to be your sister."</p>
+
+<p>While all this was taking place, Armantine cut a peculiar figure. She
+left us early in the evening. The next day, she left Fontenay.<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a></p>
+
+<p>"How did you know that Ballangier was my brother?" I asked Frédérique,
+when we were alone.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear, have you forgotten that day on the Champs-Élysées? The poor
+fellow was tipsy, and, while I was trying to quiet him, he involuntarily
+told me the secret, although I asked him no questions."</p>
+
+<p>A few days after that festivity, Frédérique received a letter, which she
+read with evident emotion. Then she handed it to me, murmuring:</p>
+
+<p>"See, my dear! you began the work, and Providence has done the rest."</p>
+
+<p>The letter was from Zurich, Switzerland, and contained these words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="nind">"M<small>ADAME</small>:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur François Dauberny, travelling for pleasure, met his death
+three days ago on one of our glaciers. The sad event occurred, it
+is said, while he was pursuing a young Swiss girl, who had refused
+to listen to him. The papers found upon him give the information
+that he was your husband."</p></div>
+
+<p>"Well!" said I, taking Frédérique's hand; "nothing can part us
+henceforth!"</p>
+
+<p><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a></p>
+
+<p><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a></p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_GIRL_WITH_THREE_PETTICOATS" id="THE_GIRL_WITH_THREE_PETTICOATS"></a>THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS</h2>
+
+<p><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a></p>
+
+<p><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-I_THE_DANGER_OF_SLEEPING_TOO_MUCH" id="G-I_THE_DANGER_OF_SLEEPING_TOO_MUCH"></a>I<br /><br />
+THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH</h2>
+
+<p>At first glance, you will think that this is a paradox, you have so
+often heard it said that: "There is nothing so good as sleep"; or:
+"Sleep is so beneficial"; or: "Sleep is the greatest of restorers"; or:
+"He who sleeps, dines."&mdash;I ask your pardon for this last quotation. I am
+persuaded that you have never experienced its truth.</p>
+
+<p>To all this I might reply that the best things have their bad side, and
+that we must never abuse them. But I will content myself with simply
+giving you some figures; you are aware that there is nothing so
+convincing as figures.</p>
+
+<p>I take people who go to bed at midnight; many, it is true, go to bed
+much later; but as there are vast numbers who go to bed earlier, the
+balance is preserved. You retire at midnight, then, and you get up at
+eight in the morning; you have slept eight hours, or one-third of your
+day. Consequently, if you live sixty years, you will have devoted twenty
+years to sleep. Frankly, doesn't that seem to you too much? Ah! but I
+can hear you retort:</p>
+
+<p>"But, monsieur, one doesn't sleep all night without waking; I never have
+eight hours' sleep!"</p>
+
+<p>Very good; I agree. Instead of twenty years, then, I will charge you
+with only fifteen; is not even that a good deal of time wasted?<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Sleep," says Montaigne, "stifles and suppresses the faculties of our
+mind."</p>
+
+<p>You will say: "Rest is indispensable to mankind"&mdash;and to womankind, too,
+the ladies are so charming when they are asleep!&mdash;That is true; but
+habit is everything in a man's life; with four hours' sleep a day, or a
+night, you might be in as robust health as Æsculapius. I love to believe
+that the god of medicine was in robust health; however, I will not take
+my oath to it. But, to reach that result, you must get into the habit of
+not sacrificing more than four hours to oblivion of your surroundings.
+Now, as you adopt a contrary course, the result is that the more you
+sleep, the more you feel the need of sleep, which, by deadening your
+faculties, thickens your blood, deprives you of a part of your normal
+activity, and sometimes makes your mind indolent&mdash;that is to say, if you
+have one; but I am sure that you have.</p>
+
+<p>Sleep has another great disadvantage; it tends to produce obesity; and
+you will agree that you do not wish to be obese. That is a burden with
+no corresponding benefit. In general, nothing ages a man so quickly as a
+big paunch. Find me a man who desires one; I am inclined to think that
+you would search in vain. On the other hand, you will find men by the
+hundred who do their utmost to compress and abolish what stomach they
+have; to that end, they often employ means which impede their
+respiration; they wear corsets, like women; there are some who even go
+so far as to refrain from satisfying their appetites, who do not eat as
+their stomach demands, always in the fear that that organ will protrude
+unduly.</p>
+
+<p>Alexander the Great, or the great Alexander&mdash;no, I think it better to
+say Alexander the Great, because he stands by himself, and great
+Alexanders are very<a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a> numerous&mdash;Alexander the Great often desired, even
+when he was in bed, to resist the attacks of sleep, for fear that it
+would make him forget the plans and projects that he had in mind.
+Perhaps you will ask me why he went to bed, that being the case. He went
+to bed to rest, but not to sleep. To that end, he caused a large copper
+basin to be placed on the floor beside his bed; he kept his arm extended
+over the basin, and held in his hand a big copper ball. If sleep
+overcame him, his fingers would relax, and naturally the ball would drop
+and make such a splash when it struck the water that it woke him
+instantly.</p>
+
+<p>You have the right to do as Alexander the Great did, when you wish to
+avoid going to sleep; but perhaps you will find it rather tiresome to
+hold your arm over a basin, with a heavy copper ball in your hand. I
+admit that one must needs be Alexander the Great, or Alexander Dumas, to
+do such things.</p>
+
+<p>There are other ways of keeping awake: sleep rarely assails you when you
+are enjoying yourself; therefore, you need only enjoy yourself, but that
+is not always so easy as one might think.</p>
+
+<p>A gentleman, whom I will call Dupont, with your permission, and who
+lived in the pretty little town of Brives-la-Gaillarde, had the
+unfortunate habit of sleeping too much. He was married, but it seems
+that that fact did not amuse him enough; there are some men who are
+capable of hinting that it was more likely to increase his infirmity.</p>
+
+<p>This much is certain: that Madame Dupont herself often said to her
+husband:</p>
+
+<p>"You sleep a great deal too much, monsieur; it's perfectly ridiculous!
+You're only forty years old; what in<a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a> heaven's name will you do when
+you're fifty? You fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow,
+and don't wake up during the night; in the morning, I can hardly make
+you open your eyes. You're not a man any longer, you're a marmot. Let me
+tell you that when I married you I didn't think I was marrying a marmot!
+But never mind about me; this sleeping all the time will be the death of
+you; you're getting to be terribly fat, and you'll soon have a stomach
+like Punchinello."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Dupont was impressed by his wife's harangue; perhaps he would
+not have cared so much about the resemblance to a marmot, but he was not
+anxious to have a stomach like Punchinello.</p>
+
+<p>He did not hesitate, but went at once to his physician and said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Doctor, I sleep a great deal too much; my wife complains about it, and
+I feel myself that it's making me lazy. What must I do to sleep less?"</p>
+
+<p>The doctor, who was very fond of smoking, shook his head and rolled a
+cigarette, as he asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you smoke?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, doctor, I smoke all the time; but I fall asleep even when I'm
+smoking."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a pity! because I was going to advise you to smoke."</p>
+
+<p>"Advise something else."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you take snuff?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, doctor; I have a collection of snuffboxes; but I don't take much
+pleasure in it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's too bad! for I would have advised you to take snuff."</p>
+
+<p>"Try something else."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you play cards?"<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I know all the games, but I don't care for any of them; cards put me to
+sleep at once."</p>
+
+<p>"So much the worse! I would have advised you to play cards. For, after
+all, to avoid going to sleep, you must amuse yourself. Have you ever
+been to Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, doctor, twice; but it was a long while ago, when I was in
+business. It was before my marriage. I have an idea that I rather
+enjoyed myself in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, go there again; spend a few weeks in Paris; that will wake
+you up, invigorate you, and amuse you. But be sure to go alone; don't
+take your wife."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont heartily approved this last injunction; he hastily made the
+necessary preparations, told his wife of the doctor's prescription, and
+started; nor did madame seem greatly distressed by his departure. But
+one does not care much for the society of a marmot, unless one is a
+marmot also.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-II_HOW_DUPONT_AMUSED_HIMSELF_AT_THE_BALL" id="G-II_HOW_DUPONT_AMUSED_HIMSELF_AT_THE_BALL"></a>II<br /><br />
+HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL</h2>
+
+<p>It was the year 1860, and it was the carnival season, which unluckily
+was very brief that year. We say unluckily, for we admit that we do not
+agree with the people who say:</p>
+
+<p>"Masks have gone out of fashion; it isn't the thing to disguise yourself
+now to drive or walk on the boulevards. No, no! That's all gone by,
+forgotten, bad form! Before long, there won't be any carnival."</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, we do not understand why such people frown upon
+something that tends to amuse and<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a> rejoice the common people. It may not
+make you laugh, monsieur, who seem always to be in a bad humor, and
+whose nerves are unstrung when you see other people enjoying themselves.
+I am very sorry for you! But I assure you that, in the old days, when,
+during the pre-Lenten season, a triple row of carriages filled with
+masks formed an immense Longchamp in the centre of Paris, the
+promenaders and idlers did not complain because they were furnished with
+that spectacle gratis.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody could not afford to go to the Opéra ball, or even to the Salle
+Barthélemy; and the modest annuitant, as he strolled about the streets
+with his wife during the carnival days, returned home in high glee when
+he had rubbed elbows with Harlequins or Punchinellos; and if a Bear said
+to his wife: "I know you!" the delighted couple could not contain
+themselves; and madame would say proudly to her concierge: "A Bear said
+to me: 'I know you!'"</p>
+
+<p>You must see, you pessimists, who want to abolish the carnival, that by
+abolishing it you would grieve a great many people. I know that that is
+a matter of indifference to you; but, despite your efforts, so long as
+the world exists, there will be masks. Some people would tell you that
+there are masks all the year round; that you need not wait for carnival
+time to see them. But, as you hear that very often, I will not say it.</p>
+
+<p>The carnival is the season of intrigues and of mad pranks. Again, we
+might say that there are intrigues all the year round; but that has been
+said before, and we will not repeat it. We will take the liberty, in
+passing, of calling your attention to the fact that we say only novel
+things; that is very considerate on our part, and we are persuaded that
+we shall receive due credit therefor.<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a></p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Dupont was, as we have said, a man of forty years; that is the
+age of passions, when one is destined to have any; but thus far the
+gentleman in question had not manifested the slightest symptom of
+anything of the sort. He smoked, took snuff, gambled, and drank, but
+without enthusiasm, and, we might say, without enjoyment. As for the
+women, you have seen that he slept most of the time beside his wife.
+Nevertheless, Monsieur Dupont was not insensible to the charms of
+beauty; what attracted him more than anything else in a woman was
+figure, shape, carriage; in short, he preferred a well-proportioned body
+to a pretty face; and unluckily for Madame Dupont, she was rather pretty
+than well made. Perhaps that was what had made her husband such a heavy
+sleeper.</p>
+
+<p>As for Dupont himself, he was neither handsome nor ugly, neither short
+nor tall, neither clever nor stupid; he was one of those men of whom
+nothing is said. He had rather a good figure, however, with a shapely
+foot and a small white hand. He was very proud of these advantages,
+considered himself a little Apollo, and was absolutely determined not to
+take on flesh; the fear of that catastrophe was mainly responsible for
+his decision to go to Paris; and since the doctor had recommended that
+he should go without his wife, it was evident that he wished him to lead
+the life of a bachelor there. Now, what is the life of a bachelor, if
+not to be constantly on the look-out for intrigues, amourettes, <i>bonnes
+fortunes;</i> in a word, to pass one's time running after women&mdash;society
+women when opportunity offers, and grisettes when one can do no better?</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of grisettes, there are some writers who try to make us believe
+that there are none now; that they have gone out of fashion, like pug
+dogs; that the<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a> mould is broken. With due deference to those gentlemen,
+we maintain that the grisette still exists and always will exist in
+Paris. For, if you please, what are all the flowermakers, seamstresses,
+burnishers, illuminators, laundresses, waistcoatmakers, shirtmakers,
+trousermakers, etc., etc.?&mdash;They are neither coquettes, nor those
+exceedingly free and easy beauties who are always in evidence in the
+proscenium boxes of the smaller theatres, and are called, I do not just
+know why, lorettes; nor are they kept women, for it very often happens
+that their lovers can give them nothing but love; lastly, they are not
+virtuous bourgeois women, who never go out except on the arm of a father
+or brother. They are grisettes, genuine grisettes! Pray let us not
+demonetize them, they are such pretty coins! Why insist that they shall
+cease to be current?</p>
+
+<p>I wish that you gentlemen, who will have it that there are none left in
+Paris, would go now and then, during the summer, to the Closerie des
+Lilas, the favorite ball of the students who love dancing and love; you
+will see there grisettes of all categories, you will see them laughing,
+capering, fooling, dancing a cancan as graceful and much less indecent
+than the Spanish dances which are allowed at the theatres; you will hear
+them talk, making fun of one another, envying this one her lover,
+ridiculing that one's lover; and amid the brief sentences and bursts of
+laughter that fill the air on all sides, you will catch some piquant,
+clever remarks, original expressions, which you hear nowhere else, and
+which make it impossible for you to keep a serious face&mdash;unless, that is
+to say, you belong to that school which insists that no one shall laugh,
+and which dares to say that "laughter is a grimace"! What a pitiful
+school, good Lord! Take my<a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a> advice and never send your children to it!
+You must surely see that the results are not desirable.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont, arriving in Paris during the carnival, began his bachelor life
+by betaking himself to the Opéra ball.</p>
+
+<p>"The doctor ordered me to enjoy myself, and I can't fail of it in the
+midst of that crowd, largely composed of pretty women who are not
+absolute Lucretias, who ask nothing better than to make acquaintances,
+who, in fact, go to the ball for that sole purpose. I will take my
+choice, I will try to find a woman shaped like a Venus&mdash;yes, a Bacchante
+even, for all the Bacchantes I ever saw in pictures were of perfect
+shape; I will play the agreeable, the gallant; I have wit enough when I
+am started; to be sure, I have some difficulty in getting started, but
+with perseverance and punch I shall succeed; and I won't go to bed at
+ten o'clock, for I won't go to the ball till midnight."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont carried his plan into execution; he had some trouble to avoid
+falling asleep in his chair when the clock struck ten. Several times he
+was on the point of getting into bed instead of putting on his dress
+coat; but, luckily, just as he was about to yield to his old habit, he
+glanced at his stomach and remembered that he could no longer button the
+last button of his waistcoat; whereupon he sprang to his feet and
+dressed in haste, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"You poor devil, do you want to turn into a Punchinello? I shan't have a
+hump behind, to be sure, but one in front is just as laughable and much
+more inconvenient. I'll go to the ball, cut capers, and have a jolly
+time! Sapristi! this isn't a joking matter, it's a matter of remaining
+young!"</p>
+
+<p>Behold, therefore, our friend at the ball, gliding amid the throng that
+walked back and forth around the dancing<a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a> enclosure, because from there
+one can look at the women at close quarters; one can even speak to them,
+joke with them, and offer them an arm when they are without an escort;
+all that is permissible at a masquerade ball. Indeed, what is not
+permissible there?&mdash;Dupont saw divers pretty creatures dressed as
+boatmen, sailors, jockeys, and postilions. As a general rule, ladies who
+dress in masculine costume wear no masks and are very glad to show their
+faces. They also disclose their shoulders and breasts; sometimes,
+indeed, there is too much abandon in their attire; they do not
+understand that the eye likes to have something to divine, and that a
+man is especially enamored of what he does not see.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont selected a very attractive little blonde dressed as a Columbine.
+To become better acquainted, he invited her to polk; but our worthy
+friend from Brives-la-Gaillarde did not know what a risk he was taking;
+he fancied that the polka was danced at the Opéra ball as it was danced
+in his province; above all, he was unaware that it always ended in a
+galop&mdash;and such a galop! it must be seen to be appreciated. It is a
+whirlwind; it is as if a sort of insane frenzy had taken possession of
+all the dancers, under the inspiration of the lively, rapid, deafening
+music that electrifies you and takes you off your feet; you no longer
+galop, you fly, you whirl madly about, you push and jostle everyone you
+meet! Be fearless and do not lose your head, or you will infallibly be
+thrown down.</p>
+
+<p>That is what happened to Dupont; he was not agile enough to hold his own
+in that bacchanalian dance; he fell and dragged his partner to the floor
+with him; she sprang quickly to her feet, and said in an angry tone:<a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a></p>
+
+<p>"When you don't know how to galop, my boy, you shouldn't ask a lady to
+dance."</p>
+
+<p>And the Columbine seized the arm of a Harlequin, and began to dance with
+him; while poor Dupont, who had not risen quickly enough, was struck by
+the feet of several dancers, and finally got up covered with bruises.</p>
+
+<p>As he was very lame in the knees, shoulders, and back, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"That's enough amusement for to-night!"</p>
+
+<p>But Dupont would not admit that he was beaten, although he really had
+been. A few days later, he tried his luck again at a ball; but this time
+he went to the Casino, which he had been told was the rendezvous of the
+women most in vogue. In truth, our provincial was agreeably impressed by
+the fine costumes and by the elegance of those ladies, most of whom were
+in party dresses instead of masks.</p>
+
+<p>"It is impossible," he said to himself, "that they dance such a
+dangerous galop here as they do at the Opéra. However, I will be prudent
+and not galop; I will confine myself to taking a partner for a
+contra-dance; that's the wiser way, because the figures are always the
+same; I know them all, and it isn't possible that I can be thrown down
+doing the English chain or the <i>pastourelle</i>."</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont, after walking about the hall for some time in search of a
+particularly shapely partner, invited at last a rather attractive person
+whose languorous eyes gazed into his with infinite good humor.</p>
+
+<p>They stood up to dance; but Dupont had for vis-à-vis a <i>gaillarde</i> who
+had been a pupil of the famous Rigolboche, and whose bold and eccentric
+dancing was so renowned that people fought for places to watch her.<a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a></p>
+
+<p>When Dupont executed his <i>avant-deux</i> before that lady, he suddenly
+received a superb kick full in the face, amid the applause and roars of
+laughter of the spectators.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont alone did not laugh; his nose was crushed, and he attempted to
+complain; but the tall <i>gaillarde</i> said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"It's your own fault! You're a donkey, my dear friend; you ought to have
+known that that was the time when I lift my leg! If you don't know my
+steps, you shouldn't dance opposite me! Bribri would never have let my
+foot hit him!"</p>
+
+<p>As Dupont's nose was bleeding and pained him severely, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I've amused myself enough for to-day."</p>
+
+<p>Several days passed, and, Dupont's nose having healed, he said to
+himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go to the ball again; I'll stick to it; but this time I won't
+dance."</p>
+
+<p>Attracted by the length of a poster which almost covered a whole pillar
+on the boulevards, he went to the ball in the Salle Barthélemy. There
+the crowd was almost as great as at the Opéra, but the company was
+infinitely less refined, and the tobacco smoke and the dust raised by
+the dancing, blended with the odor of the refreshments which were being
+served, gave to that ball a distinction peculiarly its own.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont discovered a pretty little brunette, whose dress resembled that
+of a grisette. She was alone; he offered his arm and a glass of punch.
+The girl hesitated, then replied:</p>
+
+<p>"You are very kind! I am very fond of punch, and I'd like to take a
+glass; but I'm afraid of Ronfland."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's Ronfland?"<a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a></p>
+
+<p>"He's&mdash;he's my friend, a cabinetmaker, a good fellow&mdash;but he gets drunk
+too often. I came to the ball with him, and he was to dance with me; but
+he didn't, and he left me here. That ain't a nice way to treat me!"</p>
+
+<p>"As Monsieur Ronfland left you, it seems to me that you're at liberty to
+do what you choose, and to accept my arm and a glass of punch; you can't
+stay alone in this crowd, you need an escort."</p>
+
+<p>"It ain't very good fun to be alone, that's true. I don't understand
+Ronfland; he left me near the orchestra, and he says: 'Stay here, and
+I'll come right back.'&mdash;That was more than an hour ago, and he hasn't
+come back."</p>
+
+<p>"He's forgotten you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I'm sure he's gone to get a drink."</p>
+
+<p>"Without you? That isn't polite. Of course, you have the right to do the
+same."</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! yes, so I have. So much the worse for Ronfland! After all, it's
+his own fault!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont put the little brunette's arm through his and took her to the
+café; he ordered punch and filled a glass for his new acquaintance, who
+drank it readily, but kept repeating:</p>
+
+<p>"After this you'll dance with me, won't you, monsieur? For one don't
+come to a ball to go without dancing."</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont, who was not at all anxious to dance, continued to pour out
+the punch, as he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, by and by; we have time enough. There are too many people here
+now; we should be too warm; it's better to drink punch."</p>
+
+<p>But suddenly a young man, with a cap cocked over one ear, rushed up like
+a bomb, brought his fist down on the table, upset the punch bowl and
+glasses, and boxed the little brunette's ears, crying:<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that's how you behave, Joséphine! I've caught you at it! I bring
+you to the ball, and you play tricks on me with other men! I'll bring
+you to the right-about, you vile street walker!"</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Joséphine began to weep.</p>
+
+<p>"You're still drunk, Ronfland," she cried. "I don't play tricks on you;
+you ought not to leave me; you're a drunkard; I don't love you any
+more!"</p>
+
+<p>But Dupont was not of a temper to allow a woman who was in his company
+to be maltreated; he rose, picked up the empty bowl, which was rolling
+about the table, and with it struck Ronfland on the nose.</p>
+
+<p>"Parbleu!" he said; "my nose was smashed the other day, and I'm not
+sorry to have my revenge."</p>
+
+<p>But the young man in the cap, infuriated by the blow, leaped upon
+Dupont, who lost his balance, and they rolled together on the floor,
+still striking each other.</p>
+
+<p>The police appeared and separated them. Ronfland and his companion were
+turned out of doors, and Dupont was obliged to pay for what was broken.
+As he had cut himself severely in the face while rolling about on the
+broken glass, he lost no time in taking a cab and returning to his
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got what I deserve!" he said to himself; "I have gone about it the
+wrong way. I certainly shall not go to any more balls in search of
+amusement!"<a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-III_MADEMOISELLE_GEORGETTE" id="G-III_MADEMOISELLE_GEORGETTE"></a>III<br /><br />
+MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE</h2>
+
+<p>Dupont was obliged to keep his room a week. He had taken rooms in an
+unpretentious hotel on Rue de Seine. To pass the time, which seemed very
+long, our provincial spent most of the day at his window. As his rooms
+were on the third floor, and as the opposite house was not high, Dupont
+was able to look into the chamber of a neighbor who lived opposite,
+under the eaves.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't had any luck in Paris yet," thought Dupont, as he paced the
+floor slowly, with his head swathed in bandages. "I have done what I
+could to amuse myself, but I have had poor success; however, I must
+admit that I sleep less&mdash;especially since I received this wound in the
+face. I won't go to balls any more in search of <i>bonnes fortunes</i>. But
+sometimes one goes far afield in search of what one has close at hand.
+In one of those attic chambers opposite, I have noticed a young
+woman&mdash;very pretty she is, on my word! and, above all, well built. I am
+the better able to judge, because I see her in négligé costume&mdash;a
+morning jacket, and a short fustian skirt, as well as I can see from
+here. But how alluring that simple négligé is! It enables one to admire
+a shapely, flexible figure, and hips! oh! such well-rounded hips! She
+has a fine shape! It is impossible not to fall in love with such a
+shape!"</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont, opening his window, although it was quite cold, leaned
+bravely out, and fastened his eyes on his neighbor's window. It was
+closed, but the curtains were<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a> not drawn, and he could easily see the
+young woman who lived there, and who was at that moment engaged in
+arranging her hair before a mirror fastened to the window shutter.</p>
+
+<p>"Her face is captivating," said Dupont to himself; "wide-awake brown
+eyes, a turned-up nose&mdash;<i>à la</i> Roxelane, as they say&mdash;and a mouth&mdash;hum!
+the mouth isn't small, but it's well furnished; and then, she has a very
+pleasant smile. But, on the whole, there's nothing extraordinary about
+the face, and I prefer the figure. Ah! good! now she's walking about the
+room&mdash;still in that charming costume, tight-fitting white jacket, and
+the little striped skirt that hangs so well over her rounded hips. I
+can't see her foot or leg, but they must be beautiful; a tall, graceful
+figure almost always means a good leg. I certainly am dead in love with
+that figure; I must make that girl's acquaintance. She must have noticed
+my assiduity in watching her. It doesn't seem to displease her; there's
+nothing savage in her manner; on the contrary, there's a merry, aye, a
+mischievous look about her face, which seems to be intended to encourage
+one to make her acquaintance. She is probably a seamstress. As soon as I
+can go out, I'll ask the concierge opposite; I know how to make those
+fellows talk."</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, being engrossed by his neighbor, Dupont slept much less, and
+sometimes even passed the night without sleep. That was good progress,
+and he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"What a change my wife will see in me when I go back to
+Brives-la-Gaillarde! All I'm afraid of is that there the desire to sleep
+will return."</p>
+
+<p>His wound being healed, Dupont was able to get rid of all the bandages
+in which his head was swathed. He<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a> made haste to leave the house,
+crossed the street to the house in which the girl with the striped skirt
+lived, and entered the concierge's lodge. In Paris, the porters have all
+become concierges; just as the shops have become <i>magasins</i>; the wine
+shops, <i>maisons de commerce</i>; the hair dressers' establishments, salons
+where one is rejuvenated; the groceries, dépôts for colonial produce;
+the bakers, pastry cooks; the <i>marchands de confection</i>, tailors; the
+book shops, <i>cabinets de lecture</i>; the cafés, restaurants; soup houses,
+<i>traiteurs</i>; indeed, even those gentry who haul refuse at night have
+assumed the title of <i>employés à la poudrette</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont accosted the concierge most affably, and slipped his irresistible
+argument into the hand of that functionary, who, happening to be a
+woman, asked nothing better than to talk, and instantly laid aside her
+one-sou illustrated paper, and answered without stopping for breath:</p>
+
+<p>"The girl who lives on the third, second door at the left, is named
+Georgette; she embroiders for a living, and she has lots of talent; she
+embroiders like a fairy, so they say! She's twenty years old, I believe,
+and she hasn't been in Paris long. She's a Lorrainer, and she's full of
+fun, always ready to talk; and yet I think she's straight. Still, I
+wouldn't put my hand in the fire to prove it! it's never safe to put
+your hand in the fire about such things; you'd get burned too often! But
+I don't see any men go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's. Does she meet any
+of 'em outside? That's something I can't tell you. You see, when that
+girl goes out, I don't follow her. But she leads a regular life all the
+same, and never goes to balls, although I don't think it's the wish to
+go that's lacking, for I've heard her say more'n once: 'How lucky people
+are who can afford to enjoy themselves! When shall I<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a> have twenty
+thousand francs a year?'&mdash;But, although she hasn't got it, that don't
+seem to make her sad; for she sings all the time. That's all I can tell
+you about her, seeing that it's all I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty thousand francs a year!" muttered Dupont, scratching his head.
+"The devil! it's not I who'll give it to her!&mdash;So she embroiders, you
+say?" he continued.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by <i>what</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean, what does she embroider?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! collars, handkerchiefs, caps, whatever anyone wants her to
+embroider."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I might ask her to do something for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's your right."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good. I'll go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's."</p>
+
+<p>"Third floor, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but there's two or three doors; it's the one where you see a
+toothbrush instead of a tassel on the bell cord."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll remember."</p>
+
+<p>As he mounted the stairs, Dupont said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"What in the devil can I have her embroider? Ah! a cravat! I believe
+they're not in fashion, men don't wear embroidered cravats now; but, no
+matter, I'll tell her it's the fashion at Brives-la-Gaillarde; and,
+after all, what does she care, so long as I give her work?"</p>
+
+<p>He reached the third landing, where there were several doors; but he
+discovered the little toothbrush hanging at the end of a bell cord, and
+he boldly pulled it.</p>
+
+<p>The door was opened by Mademoiselle Georgette herself, who smiled
+mischievously when she saw who her visitor was. She was still dressed in
+the white jacket and<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a> short fustian skirt; that costume was very
+becoming to her, it showed off all her good points. If we dared, we
+would say that that costume is becoming to all women&mdash;but we should add:
+provided they are well built.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Georgette&mdash;embroiderer?" inquired Dupont, assuming rather
+a patronizing air.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle, I came&mdash;I should like&mdash;I was told&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray come in, monsieur; I don't receive my visitors on the landing."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont asked nothing better than to accept the invitation. He entered a
+room of which he had only caught a glimpse from his window. It was
+simply furnished, but extremely neat and clean; the floor was scrubbed
+and waxed; there was not a speck of dust on the furniture; the bed was
+very white and smooth; all of which spoke loudly in favor of the
+occupant. Demosthenes, being asked what constituted an orator, replied:
+"Elocution, elocution, elocution!" A philosophical king, being asked
+what occasioned the fall of the ramparts of a city, replied: "Money,
+money, money!" And Ninon, being asked what was the most beautiful
+ornament of womankind, replied: "Cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness!"</p>
+
+<p>The girl offered Dupont a chair; she did the honors of her domicile with
+infinite ease, and seemed in no wise intimidated by her visitor. He, on
+the other hand, while he tried to assume an imposing manner, became
+exceedingly awkward, and had much difficulty in finding words,
+especially as Mademoiselle Georgette waited for him to speak, with an
+expression which seemed to indicate a powerful desire to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"I came, mademoiselle, for&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"For something, I presume, monsieur."<a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, mademoiselle; I have been told&mdash;that you embroider."</p>
+
+<p>"You were told the truth. Have you something you wish to have
+embroidered?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;that is to say&mdash;I don't know whether embroidered cravats are worn
+in Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; they are not in style now."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! and cuffs?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nor cuffs either."</p>
+
+<p>"And&mdash;handkerchiefs?"</p>
+
+<p>"For ladies; oh! yes, monsieur, some beautiful embroidery is done on
+handkerchiefs."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! very good! You do embroider handkerchiefs!"</p>
+
+<p>While they conversed, Dupont cast frequent glances at the young woman's
+feet, which were small and well arched; the lower part of the leg was
+very shapely; so that his thoughts were diverted, and he murmured again
+and again:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you embroider handkerchiefs!"</p>
+
+<p>In a moment Mademoiselle Georgette laughed heartily, and thereby
+completely disconcerted her visitor, who gazed at her in amazement,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"You are very merry, I see, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"It is true, monsieur, that I do not engender melancholy."</p>
+
+<p>"And might I ask what has aroused your merriment at this moment?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"I! Ah! it is I who make you laugh! Do you find me so very amusing,
+pray, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Amusing is not the word, monsieur; but, to speak frankly, you are far
+from clever in inventing a pretext."</p>
+
+<p>"A pretext! What do you mean? I don't understand."<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Still, it's easy enough to understand. You wanted to have an excuse, a
+reason, for coming to my room&mdash;for you have nothing to be embroidered."</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you think that, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose that I do not recognize you, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you recognize me, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure; you live at the small hotel opposite, where you pass your
+time staring at me, making eyes at me&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you have noticed that?"</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont puffed himself out like a turkey-cock; he was gratified to
+have been observed, and drew a favorable augury from that fact.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, I have noticed that," the young embroiderer continued.
+"How could I have helped seeing it, unless I was blind? Why, the other
+day, when you came to the window, it was horribly cold, and your nose
+was all blue! I was strongly tempted to make faces at you."</p>
+
+<p>At this point, Dupont bit his lips and did not puff himself out.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't do it, because I presumed, seeing your head all bandaged, that
+you were either sick or hurt; and one should always take pity on those
+who suffer; but you are cured now, it seems."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, mademoiselle; I fought a duel, and was wounded in the head."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you fought a duel, did you, monsieur? May a body, without being too
+inquisitive, ask what was the cause of your duel?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was a lady, of great distinction, with whom I happened to be, and at
+whom an insolent knave presumed to look too closely."<a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You fought for a lady! That was very well done, and leads me to forget
+your glances at me; but tell me, monsieur, why you have come here
+to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Since you are so good at divination, mademoiselle, you ought to have no
+difficulty in guessing. I saw you from my window, I found you charming,
+and I desired to make your acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>"Good! that is plain speaking! And with what purpose do you wish to make
+my acquaintance? Perhaps you hope to make me your mistress?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not say that, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"No, but you think it! As if that wasn't always what men aim at, when
+they fall in with a poor girl who is weak and foolish enough to believe
+them! But I am generous enough to warn you that you will waste your time
+with me."</p>
+
+<p>"In any case, mademoiselle, it would be difficult to waste it more
+agreeably than in your company."</p>
+
+<p>"That is very prettily said. But, monsieur, I will confess that I have a
+fancy for knowing the people whom I receive. Now, I don't know you."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true, mademoiselle, that is very true; one must know with whom
+one is dealing."</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont, who had prepared his little story in advance, straightened
+himself up in his chair and continued:</p>
+
+<p>"I am an&mdash;an American; I was in business, but I have retired; I have
+money enough to be happy; I am a widower, without children, and
+therefore at liberty to do exactly as I please."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, monsieur. And your name?"</p>
+
+<p>"My name is&mdash;Dupont."</p>
+
+<p>"Dupont&mdash;that is quite a French name; I thought Americans had names more
+like the English."<a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That depends on their origin; my family was French. Now that you know
+who I am, mademoiselle, will you allow me to pay court to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I see no objection&mdash;provided that you haven't lied to me; for, I give
+you fair warning, I hate liars!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont bowed, scratched his head, and rejoined:</p>
+
+<p>"You wished to know who I was, mademoiselle, and I have gratified your
+wish. In my turn, may I be permitted&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"To know who I am! Oh! that is soon told: you already know that my name
+is Georgette, and that I am an embroiderer. I was born at Toul, a pretty
+village in Lorraine, near Nancy. My parents are not rich, and I have two
+sisters, both older than I. My two sisters came to Paris in the hope of
+being better off here and of being able to help our parents, but they
+didn't succeed. Poor sisters! Then they came back again to us."</p>
+
+<p>"And you have come to Paris in your turn. I am surprised that your
+parents consented to let you leave them. They might well have been
+afraid that you would be no more fortunate than your sisters."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but I was determined to come to Paris; I had made up my mind to do
+it; and when I make up my mind to do a thing, it's got to be done."</p>
+
+<p>"That indicates a strong will."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; I have a very strong one."</p>
+
+<p>"And since you have been in Paris, have you found it pleasant?"</p>
+
+<p>"So-so; not too pleasant! Certainly there are plenty of means of
+enjoyment in Paris, one has such a choice of pleasures! Plays, balls,
+promenades, concerts&mdash;all of them are delightful to those who can afford
+such diversions. But when you stay in your chamber all day long, and<a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>
+pass your evening working or reading, you hardly enjoy life in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"That is very true. But what prevents you from enjoying all these
+amusements that tempt you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Can a woman who is all alone go about to plays and promenades?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, certainly not; but you can have had no lack of cavaliers ready to
+offer you their arms."</p>
+
+<p>"True; but I don't go with everybody, monsieur; I don't accept the arm
+of the first comer! Certainly, if I had chosen to listen to all the
+young men who have followed at my heels and overwhelmed me with their
+silly declarations of love,&mdash;love that seized them all of a sudden when
+they saw me walk along the street,&mdash;I should have had plenty of
+opportunities! But that isn't what I want!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont caressed his chin, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She is exacting; she doesn't choose to go about with every <i>gamin!</i> She
+wants to make the acquaintance of a <i>comme il faut</i> man. All the chances
+are in my favor."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette had resumed her embroidery, looking out of the
+corner of her eye to see how her visitor bore himself. He looked at her
+work and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle, you embroider superbly."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so, monsieur? Are you a connoisseur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my wi&mdash;my sister used to embroider."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she in America?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she remained there."</p>
+
+<p>"It's not surprising, monsieur, that I know how to embroider well, for I
+come from a province renowned for its embroideries. The very best of
+that sort of work is done at Nancy."</p>
+
+<p>"And you are from Nancy?"<a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No; but Toul is quite near. Well! do you really want some handkerchiefs
+embroidered?"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont began to laugh, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! no; and since you have so shrewdly guessed that I came here
+solely in the hope of making your acquaintance, shall I be so fortunate,
+mademoiselle, as to have your permission to cultivate it&mdash;to come again
+to see you&mdash;and perhaps to offer you my arm sometimes and take you to
+the play or to walk?"</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette reflected a few moments, gazed earnestly at
+Dupont, and said at last:</p>
+
+<p>"You have not lied to me in what you have told me about yourself? You
+are really a widower and free?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, mademoiselle, I have not lied to you," Dupont replied
+unhesitatingly.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, monsieur, come to see me; I am willing."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! mademoiselle, you make me the happiest of men!"</p>
+
+<p>"But you must not make your visits too long; that might compromise me."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont rose, bowed to the young woman, and took his leave, saying to
+himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She is mine! It may perhaps take longer than I should have liked, but
+it's only a question of time now. She is mine! and I haven't the
+slightest desire to sleep."<a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-IV_YOUNG_COLINET" id="G-IV_YOUNG_COLINET"></a>IV<br /><br />
+YOUNG COLINET</h2>
+
+<p>A fortnight had passed. Dupont called very frequently on his neighbor,
+of whom he was more enamored than ever; for to the charms of her person
+Mademoiselle Georgette added wit, high spirits, and entertaining
+conversation. Less than these were enough to turn the head of our
+provincial, who lost his appetite, and slept no more than two hours in
+succession during the night, because his love was in no degree
+satisfied, and his desires augmented with the presence of her who gave
+birth to them. But he was no further advanced in that direction than on
+the first day. If he took the girl's hand, she laughingly withdrew it;
+if he tried to kiss her, she pushed him away without ceremony; if he
+ventured to place his hand on her knee, or tried to put his arm about
+her waist, she assumed a severe expression and said to him in a very
+decided tone:</p>
+
+<p>"If you don't stop that, I'll turn you out and never admit you again!"</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon Dupont was fain to cease his audacious experiments, and said
+to himself again as he went away:</p>
+
+<p>"It will take a long time! it will take much longer than I thought!
+However, I shall certainly gain my end; for if the girl hadn't found me
+to her liking, she wouldn't have consented to receive my visits, she
+wouldn't go out with me and accept presents from me. She plays<a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a> the
+cruel, to give greater value to her conquest. That is coquetry, yes,
+immodesty&mdash;but it can't last forever."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette did, in fact, accept Dupont's escort readily
+enough to the play, to concerts, and to go out to walk. As for balls,
+Dupont did not offer to take her to any, nor did she seem to desire it.
+One thing she had always refused: that was, to dine in a private
+dining-room at a restaurant.</p>
+
+<p>"I am willing to dine with you at a restaurant," she said; "but we will
+dine in the main dining-room, with other people."</p>
+
+<p>In vain did Dupont say:</p>
+
+<p>"The service isn't so good in the main dining-room; and then, too, it's
+bad form&mdash;ladies who dine at restaurants never go to the public room."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette was inflexible; she would not give way. As a general rule, she
+seemed to go with Dupont, not for the pleasure of being with him, but to
+see the people and to be seen herself.</p>
+
+<p>She dressed very modestly. Dupont had said to himself: "The way to
+capture a woman is by giving her things to wear, by encouraging her
+coquetry;" and he had sent the young embroiderer a pretty shawl, a silk
+dress, and a stylish bonnet. She had accepted his gifts without
+argument, and had arrayed herself in them that same day to go to the
+Opéra-Comique with him. But when, after escorting her home at the close
+of the performance, he had asked permission to go up to her room for a
+moment, she had shut the door in his face, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I should think not! it's quite enough to receive you in the daytime."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette made frequent conquests when she was on Dupont's
+arm; then our provincial became<a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a> jealous, for it seemed to him that his
+companion was distraught at times, and that she paid too much attention
+to the men who ogled her, and not enough to him.</p>
+
+<p>Then, too, the young woman was very curious; at the play, she would call
+his attention to a stylishly dressed young dandy and say:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know the gentleman in that box, just opposite us, with an opera
+glass in his hand?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; I haven't an idea who he is," Dupont would reply sourly; "I don't
+know anyone in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! to be sure; I forgot that you had just come from America. It's a
+pity!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why is it a pity?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because you don't know anyone in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"And even if I did know the young man you refer to, how would that help
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! not at all. I simply wanted to know."</p>
+
+<p>Another time, it was a middle-aged man, but dressed in the height of
+fashion, and mimicking all the manners of a young dandy, whom
+Mademoiselle Georgette noticed on one of the public promenades and
+pointed out to her faithful attendant.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know who that man is?"</p>
+
+<p>"How in the devil do you suppose that I know who he is?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! to be sure! you are just from America&mdash;I forgot that."</p>
+
+<p>On returning to his room, Dupont would say to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Why does she question me about the men we meet walking, or at the
+theatre? That doesn't amuse me at all! She is a great flirt, is that
+girl; she doesn't lower her eyes when a man looks at her; she acts as if
+she was delighted to make conquests. And yet she's virtuous,<a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a> perfectly
+virtuous! I know that better than anybody; but all she wants is to go
+out, to show herself. Ah! she has such a fine figure! When she's on my
+arm, everybody admires her carriage, her figure above all! and her foot,
+and her leg! How can a man help falling in love with all that? I can't
+eat or drink on account of it; and I lost the power to sleep long ago;
+I'm growing thin; to be sure, I'm not sorry for that, but I'm growing
+perceptibly thinner. If this goes on, I shall look like a Pierrot
+instead of a Punchinello."</p>
+
+<p>One day, Dupont had been in his pretty neighbor's room for several
+minutes; he was watching her work, and was doing his utmost to persuade
+her that he adored her, while the girl listened with manifest
+indifference, like one who was thinking of something other than what was
+being said to her, when there came two light taps at her door.</p>
+
+<p>"Someone is knocking," said Dupont, with an air of surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I thought that I heard a knock."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you expecting company?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but why shouldn't people come to see me? You came, whom I certainly
+did not expect."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen&mdash;they're knocking again. It is certainly at your door."</p>
+
+<p>"Come in!" cried Georgette; "the door isn't locked."</p>
+
+<p>In fact, the young woman was always careful to leave the key in the lock
+outside when Dupont was with her, in order to give less occasion for
+gossip.</p>
+
+<p>The door opened and a young man appeared and stopped on the threshold.
+He may have been about twenty years old, although he looked younger. His
+fresh, ingenuous face was exceedingly youthful; his great<a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a> blue eyes,
+gentle and tender, had almost the charm of a woman's eyes; his chin was
+covered with an almost imperceptible down; his forehead was without a
+wrinkle, and his light chestnut hair grew naturally and at will, having
+never known the hand of a hairdresser. Take him for all in all, he was a
+very pretty fellow; of medium height, but slender and graceful.</p>
+
+<p>His dress was neither that of a peasant nor that of a Parisian youth. He
+wore broadcloth trousers, almost skin-tight, with long leather gaiters
+reaching to the knee, a velvet waistcoat with metal buttons, and a
+rough, long-haired hunting jacket. Lastly, he held in his hand a felt
+hat, with a round crown and broad brim, and a stout knotted stick.</p>
+
+<p>"Mamzelle Georgette, if you please?" said the young man, still standing
+in the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>At the sound of that voice, the young woman sprang to her feet, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Colinet! it's Colinet!"</p>
+
+<p>And she ran to the new-comer, seized his hands, then his face, and
+kissed him again and again, with every indication of the keenest
+delight.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Colinet!" she said. "Oh! how glad I am to see you!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I am very glad to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" the young man
+replied. "For they told me Paris was so big, I was afraid I wouldn't
+find you!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont meanwhile looked on with a strange expression on his face, saying
+to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"It seems that she lets some people kiss her! More than that, she kissed
+him first! The devil! the devil! I wonder if I'm nothing better than an
+old fool! That would be humiliating!"<a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a></p>
+
+<p>Georgette took the young man's hand, and leading him into the room
+presented him to Monsieur Dupont, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"This is a friend of my childhood. We used to play together when we were
+children&mdash;didn't we, Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us pray that they won't continue to play together, now they're
+grown up!" thought Dupont, who was forced to admit that the young man
+was very comely.&mdash;"Is monsieur from your province?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, to be sure, and he's just come from there.&mdash;Isn't that so,
+Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, mamzelle; I arrived last night at the Plat d'Étain, where I'm
+staying, on Carré Saint-Martin."</p>
+
+<p>"And my mother and father and sisters&mdash;do tell me about them."</p>
+
+<p>"They are all well, thank heaven! and they all told me to be sure and
+kiss you for them."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! kiss me for each of them."</p>
+
+<p>Young Colinet lost no time in kissing Georgette again; while Dupont's
+face became a yard long, and he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Are they going to pass all their time kissing? That fellow has obtained
+more in two minutes than I have in a month. I simply must change my
+batteries."</p>
+
+<p>When young Colinet had delivered all his kisses, Georgette bade him sit
+down and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't my sisters give you anything for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, excuse me; Mamzelle Aimée, the oldest one, gave me a letter,
+which I've got here in my pocket."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! give it to me, quick!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Colinet handed a letter to Georgette, who eagerly seized it,
+broke the seal, and walked to the<a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a> window to read it, regardless of her
+visitors. Thereupon Dupont turned to the new-comer and asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Have you been in Paris before?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; this is the first time."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to settle here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur. In fact, I promised mother not to stay more than four
+days. I'm going home Saturday."</p>
+
+<p>This reply caused Dupont most intense satisfaction, for he had begun to
+fear that he should find the young man at his compatriot's every day. He
+continued, with a more amiable air:</p>
+
+<p>"Are you in business?"</p>
+
+<p>"I raise sheep, and my father calves."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a very fine trade! Our first parents raised cattle, more or
+less; we content ourselves nowadays with eating them, and that is all
+the more reprehensible because it's not the way to multiply the races."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette finished reading her letter, which seemed to have
+interested her deeply; as she folded it, she uttered an "at last!" which
+seemed to say many things.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont, content to know that young Colinet was to remain only a short
+time in Paris, took his hat and said to his neighbor:</p>
+
+<p>"I leave you with your old friend. You must have many things to say to
+each other."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not keep you," Georgette replied, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"She won't keep me! parbleu! I can see that for myself!" said Dupont, as
+he took his leave. "She never does keep me! Oh! this is too long a job!
+I am drying up! That young Colinet kissed her more than ten times! It's
+high time that my turn should come!"<a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-V_AN_INGENUOUS_YOUTH" id="G-V_AN_INGENUOUS_YOUTH"></a>V<br /><br />
+AN INGENUOUS YOUTH</h2>
+
+<p>The next afternoon, when Dupont called upon his neighbor, he found
+Colinet there, apparently no less shy and embarrassed than before,
+sitting in front of Georgette and watching her work, without a word; but
+with the air of being perfectly happy simply to look at her.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Monsieur Colinet," said Dupont, "have you been enjoying yourself?
+have you got a little acquainted with Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've been to see the animals in the Jardin des Plantes, monsieur; but I
+like my sheep better than the lions and tigers. I wonder why they give
+them such fine cages, when my sheep often don't have any house even."</p>
+
+<p>"Tigers are kept in cages, Monsieur Colinet, because they are vicious
+and people are afraid of 'em. As for your sheep, as they never injure
+anybody, nobody worries about them, and they're allowed to feed where
+they will. That's worth something in itself."</p>
+
+<p>"My sheep don't always find enough to eat in the fields; but I saw them
+give great big chunks of meat to your ugly tigers."</p>
+
+<p>"For the very same reason! They're afraid of 'em, so they must keep 'em
+well fed."</p>
+
+<p>"You must go to the play while you're in Paris, Colinet."</p>
+
+<p>"With you, Mamzelle Georgette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Monsieur Dupont here will take us both."<a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a></p>
+
+<p>"The devil! it seems that I must amuse Monsieur Colinet too," thought
+Dupont. "But, after all, I prefer that to having her go alone with him."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you take us to the theatre to-night?" Georgette asked Dupont.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, certainly, mademoiselle, with the greatest pleasure! Am I not
+always at your service, and too happy if I can do anything to please
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; I know that you are extremely obliging; but I should
+dislike to abuse your good nature."</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot put it to the test too often. You know my sentiments for
+you, for I make no mystery of them; I am your loyal knight!"</p>
+
+<p>Young Colinet stared first at Dupont, then at Georgette, as if he were
+trying to fathom their meaning. The pretty embroiderer laughed heartily,
+as she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Then we'll go to the Cirque-National. They give fairy plays there, with
+transformation scenes;&mdash;you'll like that, Colinet."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go wherever you say, Mamzelle Georgette."</p>
+
+<p>"It's strange," thought Dupont, "that she addresses this young man
+<i>thou</i>, while he uses <i>you</i>. After all, that's better than if it was the
+other way."</p>
+
+<p>That evening, he escorted Mademoiselle Georgette and young Colinet to
+the theatre of the Circus on Boulevard du Temple. I do not need to tell
+you that the numerous theatres that imparted so much animation to that
+boulevard were not then demolished. The play was a fairy extravaganza, a
+mixture of dancing and marvellous exploits, with frequent changes of
+scenery. The rather scant costumes of the female dancers made Colinet
+lower his eyes; sometimes he even turned his head away just when most<a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>
+of the spectators had their opera glasses fastened on the forms of those
+ladies.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well! what are you thinking about?" Dupont would exclaim, nudging
+the young man; "you look away at the most delicious moment!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid of offending those ladies, if I look at them when they lift
+their legs in our direction," Colinet would reply, with a blush.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow! he certainly isn't dangerous!" was Dupont's conclusion.
+"Still, my pretty embroiderer pays no attention to anyone else. When I
+speak to her, she hardly answers me, she doesn't seem to listen. I long
+for the time when her childhood's friend will return to his sheep."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont's wishes were soon gratified. On the Saturday Colinet said
+farewell to Georgette, who gave him two letters for her sisters and
+kisses for her parents. The young man took charge of them all, and went
+away sadly enough.</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you come back with me?" he asked Georgette. "I should be so
+happy to take you back to the province! Do you enjoy yourself so very
+much in Paris, mamzelle?"</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't that I enjoy myself so much, Colinet; but I must stay here&mdash;I
+must!"</p>
+
+<p>"And will you have to stay long?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; we will hope not. But I promise you, Colinet, that the
+day that takes me back to my parents will be the happiest day in my
+life."</p>
+
+<p>"And in mine too, mamzelle."</p>
+
+<p>"Really, Colinet? then you have much&mdash;friendship for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what I have; but I would like never to leave you again."<a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a></p>
+
+<p>"We shall meet again, Colinet; don't forget me. I promise not to forget
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Mamzelle Georgette, that promise makes me very happy!"</p>
+
+<p>And to prove his joy the poor boy burst into tears; then he kissed
+Georgette and ran away as fast as his legs would carry him, because he
+felt that if he delayed any longer he would not have the courage to go
+at all.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont called on his neighbor in the afternoon; he found her sad and
+thoughtful.</p>
+
+<p>"I opine that the young shepherd has gone," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur. He is very lucky: he is going to see my father and
+mother!"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt. But it must be very monotonous to look at sheep all the time.
+You see, charming Georgette, there's nothing like Paris! It is the home
+of all pleasures; it is the place to which all the great talents, all
+the people of renown, come to be applauded! In a word, one really lives
+in Paris; elsewhere, one only vegetates!"</p>
+
+<p>"If that were true, monsieur, it would be most unfortunate for a great
+many people, for Paris isn't big enough to hold the whole world. But I
+think myself that one can be very happy elsewhere, when one is with
+those whom one loves and is able to confine one's desires within
+reasonable limits."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true, charming Georgette; you talk like Virgil, or Delille. It
+was the latter, I believe, who said:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'Les vrais plaisirs aux champs ont fixé leur séjour;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">On y craint plus les dieux, on y fait mieux l'amour!'<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="nind">But as for making love, with all deference to Delille, that can be done
+very well in Paris; indeed, the art is carried<a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a> to perfection here; and
+if you would only be less cruel to me&mdash;&mdash; But you are distraught! You
+don't seem to be listening!"</p>
+
+<p>"What did you say, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"There! I was sure of it; you weren't listening to me! But I forgive
+you; the departure of your childhood's friend has saddened you. Come,
+you absolutely must have some diversion! To-morrow will be Sunday, and
+we must enjoy the day. Will you dine with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"With pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>"I will call for you at five o'clock; be ready then. We will dine at
+Bonvalet's, on the boulevard."</p>
+
+<p>"Wherever you choose; it's all the same to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, at Bonvalet's; they treat one very well there. Then we will
+go to one of the theatres opposite. It's all settled; and until then I
+leave you with your memories. Au revoir, dear neighbor, until
+to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont took his leave, rubbing his hands and saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow will see my triumph! Between now and then, I will go to
+Bonvalet's, I will speak to one of the waiters, I will suborn him in my
+interest, and I will engage a private dining-room in advance, even
+though I have to pay its weight in gold!"<a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-VI_A_PRIVATE_DINING-ROOM" id="G-VI_A_PRIVATE_DINING-ROOM"></a>VI<br /><br />
+A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM</h2>
+
+<p>The next day, punctually at five o'clock, Dupont appeared. He found
+Georgette dressed in her best clothes, but still pensive and careworn.</p>
+
+<p>"Decidedly, you regret your childhood's friend too much," said Dupont,
+with a smile. "You were always so light-hearted, singing all the time&mdash;I
+should hardly recognize you now!"</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't Colinet's going away that makes me thoughtful."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! it isn't that? Then there's something else, is there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so."</p>
+
+<p>"Something which you will confide to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think not."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, let us go to dinner."</p>
+
+<p>They went to the restaurant on Boulevard du Temple. As they were about
+to ascend the flight of stairs leading to the first floor, three
+gentlemen who seemed to have dined very well came down. One of them,
+finding himself face to face with Dupont, uttered an exclamation of
+surprise as he looked at him, and slapped him on the back.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, upon my word!" he cried; "this is an unexpected meeting! It's
+Dupont, dear old Dupont! What does this mean? You are in Paris, and
+haven't been to see me?"<a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a></p>
+
+<p>Dupont turned scarlet, he hung his head, and stammered:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! is it you, Jolibois? Bonjour! How are you? Adieu!"</p>
+
+<p>And he tried to pass with Georgette, who had his arm.</p>
+
+<p>But Monsieur Jolibois caught him by the sleeve, and continued:</p>
+
+<p>"Well! do you hurry away like this when you meet a friend? When did you
+leave Brives-la-Gaillarde? Is your wife with you? Don't run away, I say;
+I'm very glad to see you. Poor Dupont! Do you still sleep like a marmot?
+For that's all you did when I was at Brives-la-Gaillarde, and your wife
+complained of it. Ha! ha! she complained bitterly, did your dear
+spouse!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont was on the rack; if he had dared, he would have struck his friend
+Jolibois, to make him relax his hold, at the risk of knocking him
+downstairs. He tried to release his arm, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"You have been dining, Jolibois, and dining very well, I should judge.
+But madame and I have not dined, and we would like to join our friends,
+who are waiting for us upstairs. I'll call on you; but let me go now,
+Jolibois; I promise you that I'll call to see you.&mdash;Come, my dear
+madame, they are waiting for us."</p>
+
+<p>With another jerk, Dupont succeeded in shaking off his persecutor. He
+hurried Georgette upstairs, leaving his friend Jolibois, who looked
+after them, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you rascal! you think you can fool me! But I can guess&mdash;I see
+what's up! You're a rascal, Dupont! But don't be afraid: I won't tell
+your wife."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette did not say a word; she took pity on her escort's pitiable
+state. They reached the landing on the first floor. Dupont recognized
+his waiter and said to him:<a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Waiter, we would like a table in one of the public rooms."</p>
+
+<p>"There isn't one, monsieur; they're all taken. It's very hard to get one
+on Sunday, unless you come much earlier than this. But I happen to have
+a private room, just vacated; I will give you that."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont glanced at Georgette, who replied:</p>
+
+<p>"We wish to dine in a public room. Let us take a turn on the boulevard;
+we will come back in a little while, and probably we shall find a table
+then."</p>
+
+<p>"As you please, my dear friend," replied Dupont, who dared not insist,
+because the meeting with his friend Jolibois had made him very sheepish;
+but as they went away he made a sign to the waiter.</p>
+
+<p>They returned to the boulevard; it was a dull, damp day, and there was
+some mud on the pavement; but, as it was a Sunday, there was a great
+throng on the boulevards, for there are multitudes of people in Paris
+who are determined to walk out on Sunday, whatever the weather, and who,
+when the rain begins to fall in torrents, vanish only to reappear a
+moment later, armed with umbrellas, and stroll along, looking in the
+shop windows, as if the sun were shining.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont offered Georgette his arm; he did not know how to begin the
+conversation, being sadly embarrassed. The girl enjoyed his confusion
+for some minutes, then began:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Monsieur l'Américain from Brives-la-Gaillarde, has your meeting
+with your friend Jolibois made you dumb? Really, that would be a pity,
+you say such pretty things sometimes!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont tried to recover his self-possession, and replied:<a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a></p>
+
+<p>"My charming neighbor, I confess that that meeting was not very
+agreeable to me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I believe you there!"</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place, Jolibois was drunk; it was easy enough to see that
+he'd been drinking too much, for he didn't know what he was saying. He
+recognized me&mdash;and then he took me for somebody else."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette stopped, looked her escort squarely in the face, and said in a
+very sharp tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Dupont, do you take me for a fool?"</p>
+
+<p>"I, mademoiselle? God forbid! On the contrary, I have every reason to
+know that you have a very keen intellect, that you reason perfectly, and
+that you are also exceedingly shrewd and satirical."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, monsieur, don't try to go on with the lies you have told
+me, in which, by the way, I never placed much faith: for you are much
+more like a Limousin than an American. You were never an American. You
+came to Paris from Brives-la-Gaillarde, as your friend Jolibois has just
+told you. But what I am least able to forgive is your passing yourself
+off as a widower while your wife is still living! Fie, monsieur! to deny
+your wife is a shameful thing!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont saw that he must abandon falsehood.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle," he faltered. "Well, yes&mdash;it is true&mdash;I admit it. But I
+was so anxious to make your acquaintance! And if I had told you I was
+married, you wouldn't have consented to receive me."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? On the contrary, it would have given me more confidence in
+you. I would have said: 'Here's a man who doesn't try to deceive
+me.'&mdash;But to pretend to be a widower&mdash;to attempt to play the bachelor
+here, while your poor wife is lamenting your absence, no doubt!"<a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! you may be quite easy in your mind as to that! My wife doesn't
+lament my absence in the least. She was one of the first to urge me to
+come to Paris, and to come without her."</p>
+
+<p>"And to pretend to be a bachelor?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say that she went so far as that; but when a woman allows her
+husband to travel without her, that means that she is willing he should
+play the bachelor; for, after all, my dear little neighbor, men aren't
+nuns, and you understand&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, monsieur, enough! not another word on that subject!"</p>
+
+<p>"Very good; I ask nothing better.&mdash;But I think I felt a drop of rain."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it's raining. Let's go back to the restaurant; there will probably
+be room now."</p>
+
+<p>They returned to Bonvalet's, where the waiter made the same reply:</p>
+
+<p>"Everything's taken in the public room; but I happen to have a private
+room; I advise you to take it quick, or somebody else will get
+possession."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont looked at Georgette, who replied:</p>
+
+<p>"All right! let's take the private room, as we can't do anything else."</p>
+
+<p>Our gallant was overjoyed. The waiter escorted them into a warm,
+comfortable, well-closed room, where a table was already laid for two.</p>
+
+<p>"Really, one would think that they expected us!" said Georgette,
+removing her bonnet and shawl.</p>
+
+<p>"Guests are always expected at a restaurant."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course; but these two covers all laid!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is probably a room in which they never put more than two."<a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No matter. Give your order quickly, monsieur, for I am awfully hungry."</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to know what you prefer."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I like everything."</p>
+
+<p>"And there is nothing that I don't like; so the matter can be easily
+arranged."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont ordered a choice, toothsome dinner, with a great variety of
+wines. He attempted to sit on a sofa beside Georgette; but she compelled
+him to sit opposite her, on the other side of the table.</p>
+
+<p>"You would be in my way at dinner," she said; "and I don't like to be
+hampered when I am eating."</p>
+
+<p>"I must not annoy her," said Dupont to himself. "I must go softly, for I
+have much to be forgiven for. Let's wait till the generous wines
+arrive."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette did honor to the dinner; but she drank very little, although
+her companion did his utmost to induce her to, crying, as he filled her
+glass with beaune première:</p>
+
+<p>"Above all things, don't put water in this wine; it would be downright
+murder! It's the most delicious beaune there is."</p>
+
+<p>"That makes absolutely no difference to me," replied the girl. "I never
+drink pure wine. I prefer it with water."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right with common wines. But this, which costs four francs a
+bottle&mdash;it's sacrilege to put water in it!"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you shouldn't have ordered
+anything but common wines; then you wouldn't have exposed me to the risk
+of committing crimes."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont was vexed; but, to compensate himself for his disappointment, he
+was very careful to drink his own<a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a> beaune pure, and he resorted to it
+frequently, to keep up his courage and his gayety. He was beginning to
+risk an affectionate word or two, when Georgette abruptly interposed,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Is madame your wife pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont frowned, as he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Quite&mdash;but not so well built as you&mdash;far from it! Ah! if she had your
+enchanting figure!"</p>
+
+<p>"Are her eyes black or blue?"</p>
+
+<p>"They are&mdash;they are green, like a cat's."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! what a misfortune! You say that your wife has eyes like a cat's?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do I care?&mdash;And your mouth is so lovely! Your smile charms me
+beyond words!"</p>
+
+<p>"And her teeth&mdash;are they fine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Whose teeth?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your wife's."</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, don't you propose to talk about anything but my
+wife? I will confess that I didn't ask you to dine with me in order to
+hear you talk about her."</p>
+
+<p>"That may be; but the subject is very interesting to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Must I tell you again, my lovely Georgette, that in Paris I have no
+wife, that I am a bachelor again?"</p>
+
+<p>"True; I know perfectly well that you would like to make people think
+so. But, after all, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you may be quite sure of
+one thing, and that is that it's a matter of indifference to me whether
+you are married or single."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont wondered how he ought to take that. He concluded to look upon it
+as an omen favorable to his love, and filled his neighbor's glass with
+grenache, saying:<a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a></p>
+
+<p>"This is a lady's wine, very sweet, which won't stand water. Taste it, I
+beg you."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette took one swallow of grenache, then put her glass on the table.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like sweetened wines," she said.</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi! what in heaven's name does she like?" thought Dupont; and to
+console himself, he emptied his own glass at a draught.</p>
+
+<p>But by dint of trying to maintain his aplomb, he became as red as his
+friend Jolibois; and when the champagne was brought, he left his chair
+and proposed to Georgette to dance the polka with him. She laughed in
+his face and sent him back to his seat. He filled a glass with champagne
+and offered it to the girl.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you like champagne either?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! it has an effervescence, a sparkle, that arouses&mdash;&mdash; Does your
+wife like it?"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont brought his fist down on the table, drank a glass of champagne,
+and cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, you're laughing at me! But you shall pay me for it! That
+calls for revenge, and I propose to avenge myself by kissing you."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, he rose and rushed toward Georgette, and tried to put his
+arms about her. But she checked him with a firm hand.</p>
+
+<p>"None of this nonsense, Monsieur Dupont," she said, "or I shall be
+seriously angry."</p>
+
+<p>"What, dear angel! do you really mean to refuse me this?"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall refuse you everything; you may be sure of that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! why, then you have been laughing at me, making a fool of me!"<a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a></p>
+
+<p>"In what way have I made a fool of you, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"In what way? Why, in every way! When a woman accepts a man's
+attentions, when she consents to receive presents from him,&mdash;a shawl, a
+bonnet, and heaven knows what!&mdash;she doesn't send him about his business
+afterward, do you understand, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand, monsieur, that you are as foolish as you are impertinent.
+Did I ever give you the slightest hope that I would be your mistress?
+You taunt me for accepting a few paltry presents. I have made you some
+much more valuable ones, by consenting to receive your visits, to go to
+walk and to the theatre with you, to put my arm in yours. Do you count
+all that as nothing, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say that. But you consented to dine with me in a private room;
+and when a woman goes to a private dining-room with a gentleman&mdash;it
+isn't for the purpose of being cruel. Everybody knows that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I could well afford to dine tête-à-tête with you, monsieur, for you
+have never been at all dangerous to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why have you always refused until to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I didn't choose to give you hopes that could not be realized."</p>
+
+<p>"And why did you accept to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it bored me to walk about in the rain with you. But, never
+fear, monsieur, I shall not be caught again."</p>
+
+<p>Dupont was terribly put out; but self-esteem, the wine he had drunk, and
+the mocking glances of the girl, who seemed to defy him&mdash;all these
+excited him beyond measure, and he determined to face even Mademoiselle
+Georgette's wrath. He said to himself that he was nothing but a
+simpleton, that the girl was laughing at him, that he would never have
+so favorable an opportunity again,<a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a> and that he would be a fool not to
+take advantage of it. All these reflections passed through his mind like
+a flash of lightning; having failed in his attempt to kiss his intended
+victim, he ventured to attack her in a different fashion. Instantly he
+received a smart blow as the reward of his audacity.</p>
+
+<p>"Leave me, monsieur," said Georgette, rising from her seat; "you are an
+insolent fellow, and I will not remain with you another minute."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am very sorry, my lovely neighbor, but I will not leave you,"
+replied Dupont, who had lost his head completely; and he succeeded in
+seizing the short striped petticoat that Georgette had on. "No, no; I
+have got hold of that charming little skirt which is so becoming to you,
+and which I have gazed at and admired so often! I've got it, and I won't
+let it go."</p>
+
+<p>"All right! then keep it, monsieur, for it's all you will ever have of
+mine!"</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment.<a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-VII_THE_SECOND_PETTICOAT" id="G-VII_THE_SECOND_PETTICOAT"></a>VII<br /><br />
+THE SECOND PETTICOAT</h2>
+
+<p>On the day following that dinner, Mademoiselle Georgette left her modest
+little chamber on Rue de Seine very early in the morning; for she had
+taken care to give notice in the middle of the quarter.</p>
+
+<p>This time she hired lodgings in the Marais, on Boulevard Beaumarchais,
+where rows of handsome houses, solidly constructed, now replace the
+paths, shaded by secular trees, which used often to serve as places of
+assignation for lovelorn couples.</p>
+
+<p>The young embroiderer exchanged her attic room for a small apartment,
+still very modest, but indicating a less precarious financial condition.
+The furniture, too, was more pretentious; it was not that of a
+<i>petite-maîtresse</i>, but it was no longer that of a grisette.</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Georgette changed her business also; she abandoned
+embroidery to become a shirtmaker; and as she sewed as well as she
+embroidered, she did not lack work.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, the short fustian skirt gave place to a petticoat of black silk,
+which fell gracefully over her alluring figure and reached only halfway
+to her ankle, so that it disclosed the lower part of a very shapely leg
+and the beginning of a plump calf.</p>
+
+<p>In her own room, the pretty shirtmaker affected the costume that she
+wore in the attic on Rue de Seine, a tight-fitting white jacket, and the
+short skirt that was so<a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a> becoming to her. Add to these, spotlessly clean
+white stockings, and a tiny foot neatly shod, and she was quite certain
+to turn the heads of all who saw her in that charming négligé.</p>
+
+<p>Georgette lived now at the rear of a courtyard; but that courtyard was
+spacious, airy, and well kept; it was square in shape, and the tenants
+of the building in front looked on the boulevard and on the courtyard,
+while those in the building at the rear had the latter view only; and
+when they sat at their windows, they could see nothing but one another.</p>
+
+<p>Georgette occupied two small rooms on the entresol. But above her was an
+elderly female annuitant, with her servant; their combined ages exceeded
+a century. On the next floor above, a family of honest bourgeois, who
+were always in bed at half-past ten. On the upper floor, a lady who gave
+lessons on the piano. In the building at her right lived an unmarried
+government clerk, who had a maid of all work. Above him, a lady of
+uncertain age, who had once been very pretty, and was still a great
+coquette; who covered her face with rice powder, cold cream, and red,
+blue, and black paint; who regretted the <i>mouches</i> with which ladies
+used to spot their faces, but who had made, with the aid of a red-hot
+pin, two beauty spots&mdash;one on the left cheek, the other on a spot which
+is not seen. But, you will say, if it is not seen, why make the beauty
+spot there? Ah! you are too inquisitive! Pray, do not those persons who
+are gifted with second-sight see everything, even the most carefully
+hidden things? The second beauty spot was for them; magnetism is an
+invaluable science.</p>
+
+<p>Above this lady, whose name was Madame Picotée, were two young men who
+devoted themselves to literature,<a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a> which did not prevent them from
+ogling their neighbors, when they were attractive.</p>
+
+<p>In the building at the left, on the first floor, was a dressmaker's
+establishment; on the second, a painter of miniatures; on the third, a
+photographer. In all the buildings, the rooms under the eaves were
+reserved for servants.</p>
+
+<p>The building that looked on the boulevard contained the handsomest
+apartments, and, consequently, the most important tenants of the house.</p>
+
+<p>On the first floor was a very rich gentleman with two servants: a maid
+and a valet. On the second, a young couple; the husband was engaged in
+business, the wife in coquetry; she was pretty and a flirt, he was ugly
+and a rake; they had a soubrette with a very wide-awake air, and a cook
+who drank too much.</p>
+
+<p>On the third floor was a young man who had just received his degree as a
+physician and who lacked nothing but patients; he looked for them and
+solicited them everywhere; he would have made some, if it had been
+possible, but only for the pleasure of taking care of them and the glory
+of curing them.</p>
+
+<p>After Mademoiselle Georgette took up her abode in the entresol at the
+rear of the courtyard, all eyes were fastened upon her, and the feminine
+glances were foremost in seeking to scrutinize and pass judgment on the
+new-comer; for women are more curious than men&mdash;that is a recognized
+fact.</p>
+
+<p>It was easy to obtain a sight of the latest arrival; it was April; the
+weather was very fine, the sun deigned to show his face frequently; and
+Mademoiselle Georgette, who was very glad to admit him to her little
+entresol, left her windows open almost all day, and, as her custom was,<a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>
+sat at her window working. You know what her costume was: the white
+jacket fitting close to her figure, and the skirt clinging about her
+hips.</p>
+
+<p>So that they could look at her and examine her at their ease; and as she
+was very attractive, very alluring in her simple costume, the women did
+not fail to discover that it was very unseemly, and that it was most
+unbecoming to her. They decided that the little shirtmaker did not know
+how to dress, and that she had no other beauty than her youth.</p>
+
+<p>The lady who painted her cheeks even went so far as to say that the
+girl's skirt was indecent, because it outlined her figure too plainly.
+To be sure, the lady in question no longer had any figure that could
+possibly be outlined by her garments; but, on the other hand, she was
+very fond of going to the Circus, where men perform daring feats on
+horseback, and she had never found any fault with the exceedingly tight
+nether garments worn by most of the riders.</p>
+
+<p>The men who lived in the house disagreed entirely with the opinion of
+the ladies. To a man, they voted the girl most attractive and
+exceedingly well built; and they rivalled one another in passing
+encomiums upon the grace with which she wore her modest costume. The
+short black petticoat was declared to be enchanting; and from the first
+to the topmost floor, the male tenants said to one another:</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen the girl on the entresol, with her little short skirt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she's very piquant, is that young woman; she has such a
+well-set-up figure, and such well-rounded hips! She reminds me of the
+famous Spanish dancer, Camera Petra."<a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, there's a resemblance in her skirt. I saw her in the yard,
+drawing water at the pump."</p>
+
+<p>"Still in her simple négligé?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Ah! messieurs, if you could have seen her pump! She was so
+graceful, and her skirt followed her motions so perfectly! It was enough
+to drive a man mad!"</p>
+
+<p>"She has a very pretty leg too, and a tiny foot."</p>
+
+<p>"She's a mighty pretty girl! I must try to make a conquest of her."</p>
+
+<p>"And I."</p>
+
+<p>"And I."</p>
+
+<p>"And I," said the photographer to himself; "I'll do it quicker than any
+of 'em, as I'll go to her and suggest taking her picture on a card; for
+all these young girls are delighted to have their picture."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-VIII_A_GENTLEMAN_WHO_DID_NOT_RUIN_HIMSELF_FOR_WOMEN" id="G-VIII_A_GENTLEMAN_WHO_DID_NOT_RUIN_HIMSELF_FOR_WOMEN"></a>VIII<br /><br />
+A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN</h2>
+
+<p>There was one man in the house who said nothing; to be sure, he was too
+lofty a personage to gossip with his neighbors! It was the man who
+occupied the first-floor suite in the building on the boulevard. His
+name was Monsieur de Mardeille; was he of noble birth, or was he not?
+that is of little consequence to us; but this much is certain: he had
+about twenty-five thousand francs a year and he never spent the whole of
+his income.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille was at this time about fifty years of age, but he
+looked hardly forty-four. He had been a<a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a> very comely person, and was
+still far from ill-looking. He was of commanding stature, well built,
+and had had the good fortune not to grow stout as he grew older; thus he
+was still capable of making conquests, his physical advantages being
+reinforced by those due to the possession of wealth. Always dressed in
+the height of fashion, but wise enough to avoid those extreme styles
+which, while they are endurable in a young man, are ridiculous in middle
+age, Monsieur de Mardeille had a distinguished bearing and the manners
+of the best society; and lastly, while he was no eagle, he had that
+social cleverness which often consists only in a good memory, and is
+infinitely more common than natural cleverness. With all the rest, he
+was exceedingly presumptuous, and believed himself to be very shrewd.</p>
+
+<p>It is almost superfluous to say that Monsieur de Mardeille took the
+greatest care of his health, for he was most solicitous to retain his
+good looks, and, consequently, his youth; which last is a decidedly
+difficult thing to do, as we grow older every day. But still, so long as
+a man has a youthful look he tries to persuade himself that he is really
+young; to be sure, there is always something in our inmost being that
+reminds us how old we are; but so long as that something does not let
+itself be seen, we are entitled to forget it.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille, then, took the greatest care of his person; he
+took medicinal baths twice a week; he took all the laxatives that keep
+the complexion fresh; he indulged in no excess, either at the table or
+in love. In fact, as he was a man who thought of nothing but himself, he
+had never allowed himself to undergo the slightest annoyance because of
+a woman, for egotists never love. Moreover, this gentleman prided
+himself<a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a> upon never having spent money on a mistress. We do not call it
+spending money when we take a lady to dine at a restaurant, or to the
+play, or to the Bois in a calèche; for, in such cases, as we have our
+share of the pleasure, and as we gratify our vanity by parading our
+conquest, the money is spent for our own behoof. So that Monsieur de
+Mardeille, having thus far succeeded in having <i>bonnes fortunes</i> that
+cost him nothing, laughed at his friends, most of whom ruined
+themselves, or at least ran into debt, to satisfy the whims of the fair
+ones for whom they sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"What the devil!" he would say, looking at himself in a mirror; "do as I
+do, messieurs! No woman ever resisted me, and yet I never gave them
+diamonds or cashmere shawls&mdash;still less, money, egad! And I have always
+taken good care not to pay their milliner's bills; whenever it has
+happened that a lady who had been kind to me has taken it into her head
+to send one of her purveyors to me with a little note begging me to help
+her out of a scrape by paying his bill, I have always begun by turning
+the man out of doors; and then I have ceased visiting my fair one, to
+whom I have written: 'I found it impossible to accommodate you, and I
+dare not see you again.'&mdash;Then my mistress was certain to come running
+after me, overwhelming me with tokens of affection, and crying: 'Can it
+be that you thought that I loved you from selfish motives? Why, it is
+you, you alone, whom I love! Oh! come back, come back!'&mdash;I have
+generally let them pull my ear for a while, and then gone back, amid
+transports of love on their part. For you may be perfectly sure,
+messieurs, that a woman will never love a man more because he is very
+gallant and very generous with her. She will take more pains about
+deceiving<a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a> him, that's all; for she will hate to lose his gifts and his
+bounty; but what pleasure is there in possessing a woman who clings to
+you only from motives of self-interest?"</p>
+
+<p>"But," some of his friends would reply, "have you never felt the
+pleasure of giving? Are you insensible to the delight one feels in
+gratifying a woman's desires, in humoring her fancies, her caprices, and
+in the sweet smile with which she thanks you when you take her a
+present, whether it be some pretty trifle, or a magnificent jewel?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! I can readily believe that she smiles at you then; you
+wouldn't have her make a face at you, would you? But that gracious
+smile, which transports and intoxicates you, is not bestowed on you, but
+on the jewel or the shawl that you bring her. And perhaps you think that
+she loves you the more for it? Why, not at all; she will deceive you the
+next minute, making fun of you with the friend of her heart, to whom she
+will laughingly show the present you have just given her. No, messieurs,
+I do not know, nor have I any desire to know, what you choose to call
+the pleasure of giving. For that pleasure would deprive me of all
+confidence in my mistress; and if I am deceived, I can, at all events,
+say that it has cost me nothing.&mdash;And then," De Mardeille would add, "I
+must say that I have always chosen my conquests in good society, and
+that, consequently, my mistresses did not need to have me treat them
+generously."</p>
+
+<p>"That proves nothing. Whatever a woman's rank, she is always flattered
+to receive a handsome present."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so; but, on the other hand, I am much more flattered when she
+loves me without any presents."</p>
+
+<p>Now you know the gentleman who lived directly opposite Georgette, and
+whose windows, being on the first<a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a> floor, enabled him to look directly
+into the apartments in the entresol opposite; which entresol was
+occupied by the pretty shirtmaker, who, as we have already had the
+privilege of informing you, often left her windows open to enjoy the
+balmy spring air, and perhaps also to allow her neighbors to see her.
+When a woman is pretty, she does not hide herself, unless she is under
+the sway of a jealous tyrant. And even then she finds a way to let some
+portion of her person be seen, which may kindle a desire to see the
+rest.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille condescended occasionally to sit at a window in
+his dining-room, which looked on the courtyard; and there, in a stylish
+négligé, enveloped in a handsome dressing-gown, of velvet or dimity
+according to the season, his head covered with a dainty cap, the tassel
+of which fell gracefully over his right ear, and from beneath which
+escaped some stray brown locks, which were sternly forbidden to turn
+gray, my gentleman would bestow a glance or two on those of his
+neighbors who were worth the trouble of looking at. But thus far he had
+discovered nobody in the house who deserved to be scrutinized for more
+than an instant.</p>
+
+<p>When Georgette moved in, Monsieur de Mardeille's valet lost no time in
+informing his master that he had a new neighbor opposite, and added:</p>
+
+<p>"I thought she seemed to be very good-looking."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! she seemed to you to be good-looking?" replied the old dandy, with
+a smile. "What sort of woman is this new tenant?"</p>
+
+<p>"She's an unmarried woman, so it seems, monsieur, and she makes men's
+shirts."</p>
+
+<p>"A shirtmaker! What! do you presume to praise a shirtmaker to me,
+Frontin?"<a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a></p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille had insisted that his valet should consent to be
+called Frontin, although his real name was Eustache; for the name
+Frontin, which used to be employed in all comic operas, reminded our
+elegant seducer of a multitude of interesting and diverting love
+intrigues, wherein Frontin's master was always triumphant; and it was
+probably with a view to reproducing in actual life those scenes of the
+stage that Monsieur de Mardeille had dubbed his servant Frontin. If he
+had dared, he would have called him Figaro; but he himself was beginning
+to be a little mature to play Almaviva.</p>
+
+<p>Frontin, a great clown who deemed himself very shrewd, smiled as he
+answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! monsieur, I thought that a pretty girl was a pretty girl, even
+if she was a shirtmaker!"</p>
+
+<p>"There may be some little truth in what you say, Frontin; but so far as
+I am concerned, you must understand that I look at women with other eyes
+than yours; that is to say, to appear pretty to me, a young woman, even
+a grisette,&mdash;for I do not absolutely debar grisettes,&mdash;must have
+something more than the commonplace beauties which charm you other men
+on the instant. She must have a&mdash;I don't know what&mdash;a certain peculiar
+fascination which we connoisseurs readily recognize, and to which the
+common herd of martyrs pay no heed. Tell me, Frontin, what you noticed
+especially alluring in this girl? I shall see at once whether you're an
+expert."</p>
+
+<p>"What I noticed, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. And, first of all, where did you see her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I saw her pass this morning, monsieur, crossing the courtyard; I was in
+the concierge's lodge, and he said to me: 'See, there's the new tenant
+of the little entresol! That's Mamzelle Georgette; she's a shirtmaker,
+and she<a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a> sews like a fairy, so they say.'&mdash;Naturally, I looked at her. I
+should say that she's about twenty, very well built, with very pleasant,
+attractive eyes; eyes of the sort that&mdash;that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, Frontin, I understand. What else?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dame!</i> monsieur, her nose is a little turned up, and she has a very
+large mouth; I saw her teeth when she spoke to the concierge; there
+isn't one missing, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! if her teeth were decaying at twenty, that would be
+unfortunate!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I mean that her teeth are very white and even; and her cheeks are
+rosy and fresh."</p>
+
+<p>"I see! a simple, country beauty! she's probably just from the country."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! she doesn't look in the least like a peasant; she carries
+herself too easily for that."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I will see, I will examine her, I will run my eye over her. But I
+will wager&mdash;a toothpick&mdash;that your pretty neighbor is a mere ordinary
+beauty. Does she ever sit at her window?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! better than that, monsieur: she leaves all her windows wide open,
+and from ours we can look right into her room; we can even see her
+little bed in the rear!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! we can even see her bed? And she leaves her windows open?"</p>
+
+<p>"I presume that she shuts them when she goes to bed. And she has
+curtains."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Frontin, you knave, you have noticed all that! she has curtains!
+Parbleu! it would be a pretty state of things if she hadn't! Morals,
+Frontin, morals! However, I will take a look at this young woman whom
+you think pretty, and tell you if you know what you're talking about."<a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am sure that monsieur will agree with me."</p>
+
+<p>A few moments later, Frontin ran to his master and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur, our young neighbor's windows opposite are wide open, and
+she's sewing at one of them; you can see her at your ease."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille arose, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"This devil of a Frontin! he insists that I must see his little
+shirtmaker. But beware! if you have disturbed me just to show me some
+commonplace face, I shall withdraw my confidence in your taste."</p>
+
+<p>Although he pretended that he went to look at his new neighbor solely to
+oblige his servant, he was not at all sorry to assure himself whether
+she was in fact as attractive as Frontin said; for Monsieur de Mardeille
+had always been very fond of the fair sex; to seek to attract women had
+been almost the sole occupation of his life; and for the last few years
+that occupation had been much more laborious, and had demanded much more
+time and trouble. It is useless to appear only forty-four years old when
+one is fifty; there are women who think forty-four too old&mdash;usually
+those who are about that age themselves. A middle-aged man finds it
+easier to make the conquest of a mere girl than of a woman who has known
+life. Why is it? Probably because the former lacks the experience of the
+other.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille took up his position at one of his dining-room
+windows; he assumed a graceful attitude, leaning on the window sill; he
+pushed his cap a little farther over his right ear, then turned his eyes
+to this side and that, not choosing to let anyone suppose that he had
+come there to look at the new tenant of the entresol.<a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a></p>
+
+<p>Soon, however, he carelessly cast a glance in that direction. Georgette
+was sitting at the window, sewing, and from time to time she too glanced
+into the courtyard; there is no law against a young woman's desiring to
+become acquainted with the faces of her neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille therefore was able to scrutinize the young
+shirtmaker's features at his leisure. She, when she raised her eyes from
+her work, saw plainly enough that her opposite neighbor was examining
+her; but that fact seemed not to embarrass her in the least, for she
+raised her head as often as before to look out of her window.</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad! not bad!" muttered Monsieur de Mardeille; "a little nose <i>à
+la</i> Roxelane, fresh cheeks, eyes that look bright enough and saucy
+enough! But nothing extraordinary; I have seen all that a hundred times.
+She's rather a pretty girl, but nothing more. She doesn't deserve all
+your high-flown praise, my poor Frontin."</p>
+
+<p>But thus far he had only seen Georgette seated, so that he had no
+opportunity to admire the shapeliness of her figure or the grace of her
+carriage. Luckily, chance willed&mdash;&mdash; But was it really chance? We will
+not take our oath to it; women are so quick at divining what is
+calculated to seduce us! But, no matter! let us charge it to the account
+of chance that it occurred to the girl to leave her seat to water a
+small pot of violets that stood on the other window sill.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon her opposite neighbor had an opportunity to watch her walk
+about her room; for one does not find on the instant all that one
+requires to water flowers, especially when one has no watering pot. So
+he saw Mademoiselle Georgette in her jacket and short petticoat; he
+could even see her foot and the lower part of her leg; for the
+girl&mdash;still by chance&mdash;went several times to the<a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a> rear of the room,
+walking back and forth, after she had watered her flowers; and Monsieur
+de Mardeille, who was about to turn away from the window, remained
+there, and did not stir.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! the devil!" he was muttering now; "ah! that's very pretty, that is!
+<i>Fichtre!</i> what a figure! what hips! what a foot! what a leg! This is
+infinitely superior to all the rest. What a brisk walk! She reminds me
+of Béranger's ballad."</p>
+
+<p>And he began to hum:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'Ma Frétillon! ma Frétillon!</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Cette fille</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Qui frétille,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">N'a pourtant qu'un cotillon!'"</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Amazed to hear his master sing, Frontin said, with a downcast
+expression:</p>
+
+<p>"So, monsieur doesn't think that the little one opposite deserves all I
+said in her praise?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hush! hush! hold your tongue, Frontin!" replied Monsieur de Mardeille,
+without leaving the window or taking his eyes off his neighbor; "I said
+that, but I hadn't then seen her graceful, willowy form, or the little
+black skirt that outlines her voluptuous hips so perfectly. It is
+adorable! Indeed, it is well deserving of one's attention! And her foot!
+she has a charming foot! and the leg promises&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I am very glad that monsieur sees that I was right, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Hush, Frontin, hush! She's looking in this direction."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette had, in fact, raised her head at that moment, and her eyes had
+met her neighbor's of the first floor.<a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a> Monsieur de Mardeille eagerly
+seized the opportunity to bestow a gracious salutation upon the new
+tenant, who replied with a courtesy and a very amiable smile.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon Monsieur de Mardeille left his window, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"We must not be too lavish of our attentions at once! But from the way
+the little one smiled at me, I see that this conquest will not cost me
+much trouble."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-IX_THE_LITTLE_BLACK_SKIRT_DOES_ITS_WORK" id="G-IX_THE_LITTLE_BLACK_SKIRT_DOES_ITS_WORK"></a>IX<br /><br />
+THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK</h2>
+
+<p>While Monsieur de Mardeille deemed himself certain of triumphing over
+the young shirtmaker, almost all the other tenants of the house were
+trying to make a favorable impression on her. Georgette's little skirt
+had turned all their heads. The young men of letters were pleased to
+write verses in her honor, to commemorate her seductive figure in a
+ballad; they proposed to immortalize Georgette as Béranger immortalized
+Lisette, as all lovelorn poets have tried to immortalize their
+mistresses and their love affairs. Each of them believed himself to be a
+Virgil, a Catullus, a Tibullus, a Petrarch. There is no harm in that: we
+ought always to believe ourselves to be something; it affords one so
+much pleasure and costs so little!</p>
+
+<p>The miniature painter determined to propose to paint the girl's
+portrait. The photographer hoped that she would allow him to photograph
+her in all sizes and in different attitudes.<a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a></p>
+
+<p>The young doctor was bent upon attending her, and prayed heaven to
+inflict some trifling indisposition upon his pretty neighbor which would
+compel her to have recourse to his skill. The married man, who was very
+ugly and had a pretty wife, naturally considered the shirtmaker much
+better-looking than his wife. As he lived above Monsieur de Mardeille,
+he too had an excellent view of Georgette's apartment. So he frequently
+stationed himself at one of the windows in his dining-room; and from
+thence, not content with staring at his neighbor, he had no scruple
+about making signs and throwing kisses to her&mdash;in a word, indulging in a
+pantomime most discreditable to a married man. The truth was that he
+knew that his wife was not jealous, and that she paid little heed to his
+acts and gestures.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, even the old bachelor, who had a maid of all work, ventured to
+make eyes at the pretty shirtmaker, despite his fifty-five years; and as
+his windows were not opposite hers, in order to see her he was obliged
+to lean very far out of his window.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon the maid of all work never failed to cry out:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! monsieur, it's perfectly ridiculous to lean out like that!
+What is it you're trying to see, anyway? Is monsieur trying to throw
+himself out of the window on account of the little shirtmaker on the
+entresol? On my word, she isn't worth the trouble! She's no great
+wonder; and then, monsieur won't have anything to show for the crick in
+his neck, for the girl never looks in this direction."</p>
+
+<p>And the bachelor, irritated, but desirous none the less to deal gently
+with his maid, would reply:</p>
+
+<p>"You don't know what you are talking about, Arthémise! I don't look in
+one direction more than another. I stand at the window because it does
+me good to breathe<a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a> the fresh air. I don't pay any attention to my
+neighbors; I didn't even know that there was a shirtmaker on the
+entresol."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! tell that to the marines! you can't fool me! Why, all the men
+in the house are getting cracked over that girl! It's easy enough to see
+that, for they pass about all their time at their windows, now."</p>
+
+<p>In truth, as soon as Georgette's window was open and she sat down by it
+to work, you would see a head appear on the fourth floor, then another
+on the second; and sometimes they all appeared at the same moment. It
+seemed to amuse Georgette, who would respond affably with a little nod
+to the salutations addressed to her from every floor.</p>
+
+<p>The female contingent was horrified by the conduct of the gentlemen; for
+no one of them had ever shown the slightest desire to gaze at one of the
+beauties of the establishment; to be sure, there were none, save the
+ugly man's wife, and she never appeared at any of the windows looking on
+the courtyard. Her bedroom faced the boulevard, and she would have
+considered that she compromised her reputation by showing herself at one
+of the rear windows.</p>
+
+<p>By way of compensation, her husband was one of the most enterprising,
+one of those who tried most frequently to see Georgette, and who
+indulged in telegraphic signals to which the young shirtmaker paid no
+attention whatever. But that did not discourage Monsieur Bistelle,&mdash;that
+was the gentleman's name,&mdash;who continued to throw kisses to the girl,
+which she pretended not to see; it scandalized all the neighbors,
+however.</p>
+
+<p>The young dressmakers amused themselves at Monsieur Bistelle's expense,
+and pointed him out to one another as soon as he appeared at his window.
+The lady<a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a> of the beauty spot, Madame Picotée, always stationed herself
+at her window as soon as her neighbor came to his, and burst into roars
+of laughter, a little forced. At every kiss that Monsieur Bistelle threw
+to Georgette, she cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mon Dieu! what fools some men are! but I never saw one quite so bad
+as this fellow! And a married man, too! why, it's shocking! The Bastille
+ought to be rebuilt on purpose for such people."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Bistelle heard it all; but it made no impression on him, and he
+often said to himself, in an undertone:</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! if I had chosen to send her a kiss, she wouldn't have thought it
+so shocking!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to act so foolishly as his
+neighbor on the second floor. He also stood at his window to look at
+Georgette; but, far from making signs and throwing kisses to her, he
+contented himself with a low bow, to which the girl never failed to
+respond with a pleasant smile. But as Bistelle was often looking out
+just as Georgette nodded and smiled, he took for himself the salutation
+addressed to the floor below; so that his hopes gained strength; he was
+enchanted; he would rub his hands in glee and sometimes go down to walk
+in the courtyard, where he would stop under the shirtmaker's windows,
+humming:</p>
+
+<p class="c">"'&#8217;Tis here that Rose doth dwell!'"</p>
+
+<p class="nind">or:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'When one knows how to love and please,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">What other blessing doth he lack?'"</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>And the young dressmakers never failed to clap their hands and demand an
+encore. One day, Madame Picotée had the bright idea of tossing him two
+sous, which he laughingly picked up and put in his pocket, saying:<a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>
+"This will buy me some rouge and rice powder."&mdash;Which remark maddened
+the lady of the beauty spot, who ran for her slop jar and would have
+emptied it on her neighbor, but for the presence of the concierge, who
+was sweeping the courtyard.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Frontin, who soon discovered that his master was enamored of
+the damsel of the entresol, told him all that happened in the house, and
+all the foolish freaks to which Monsieur Bistelle resorted in his
+endeavors to commend himself to Mademoiselle Georgette.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you say? that ugly creature hopes to make a conquest of that
+pretty grisette?" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "didn't he ever look at
+himself in the glass?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know whether he knows how ugly he is," replied Frontin; "but I
+assure you, monsieur, that he flatters himself that he has made an
+impression on Mademoiselle Georgette; he declares that she smiles
+sweetly at him when he's at his window."</p>
+
+<p>"Smiles! Why, it's at me that the girl smiles, not at him! It's
+impossible that it should be at him! The conceited ass! the monkey! for
+the fellow looks very much like a monkey, doesn't he, Frontin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; and he makes gestures like one, too."</p>
+
+<p>"What! do you mean to say that he presumes to do what monkeys do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! monsieur, he goes through some very curious performances;
+they're very much like it! But that isn't all."</p>
+
+<p>"What else is there, Frontin?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know that Monsieur Bistelle sent a very fine bouquet to Mademoiselle
+Georgette this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"A bouquet! The popinjay! He had the assurance! And did the little one
+accept his bouquet?"<a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; indeed, it's on her window sill now."</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be possible? I must look."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in going where he could see the
+shirtmaker's window; he not only saw a huge bouquet on the sill, but he
+saw Monsieur Bistelle walking in the courtyard and humming:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"And if I am not there,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">At least my flowers will be."</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"Well, well! I must act, that is plain!" said the elderly dandy to
+himself; "I must declare myself in some other way than by standing at
+the window. Still, I can't make a straight dash for that grisette's
+rooms; that might compromise me. Ah! I have an idea! It's as simple as
+can be. She makes shirts. There's a pretext right at my hand.&mdash;Look you,
+Frontin."</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to go to Mademoiselle Georgette's."</p>
+
+<p>"The pretty neighbor's?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; you will present yourself in my name, and most politely. You will
+say to her that, as I have heard that she is a shirtmaker and as I have
+some very fine shirts to be made up&mdash;&mdash; That isn't true; I don't need
+any, but they are always useful and I can safely order a dozen.&mdash;You
+will say to her then, that, as I have some work for her, I shall be much
+obliged if she will take the trouble to come to my rooms. You
+understand: in this way, I don't compromise myself, and I shall be able
+to talk to her much more freely than in her apartment."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, yes; I will go and do your errand."</p>
+
+<p>"Be perfectly courteous and respectful; that flatters these little
+girls."<a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; and you don't want me to take her a bouquet too?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! what good do bouquets do? There's nothing so commonplace! Do
+you suppose that I intend to copy Monsieur Bistelle? No, no, never a
+bouquet; I don't need that sort of thing to succeed. Go, Frontin; if the
+young shirtmaker asks you at what time I can receive her, say that she
+is entirely at liberty to choose the hour that is most convenient to
+her, and that she will always be welcome. I think that's rather pretty,
+eh? That's worth more than a bouquet."</p>
+
+<p>Frontin departed, to perform the mission with which his master had
+intrusted him. But the bouquet sent to Georgette by Bistelle had been
+seen by the whole house. Instantly, as if he had lighted a train of
+powder, all the aspirants to the girl's favor had determined that they
+must not lag behind, and that the moment had come to try to make her
+acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>The young literary man who dabbled in poetry purchased a small bunch of
+violets for two sous&mdash;we are all gallant according to our means;&mdash;but he
+wrapped it in a sheet of note paper, whereon he had written this
+quatrain:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"Je vous ai vue, agissant à la pompe;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">En vous tout est charmant, tout est vrai, rien ne trompe;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">Vous déployez alors des mouvements si doux,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">Que l'on se damnerait pour pomper avec vous!"<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="nind">The young poet gave his bouquet and his verses to the concierge, to be
+delivered, instructing him to say<a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a> to the girl that she must read what
+was written on the paper. A little later, the poet's confrère also
+appeared with a modest bouquet; but his forte was vaudevilles rather
+than poetry, so that the offering which accompanied his flowers was a
+ballad, and he laid the same injunction on the concierge.</p>
+
+<p>Next came the photographer, who sent a package of photographs of the
+most popular actors. It is well known that young working girls, as a
+general rule, have a pronounced penchant for actors. Our photographer
+had no doubt that his gift would be most acceptable, and he told the
+concierge to say to Mademoiselle Georgette that he would be highly
+flattered if he might be permitted to photograph her.</p>
+
+<p>Next came the miniature painter, who sent a dainty pasteboard box on
+which he had painted a swarm of little cupids in exceedingly graceful
+attitudes. As he handed his box to the concierge, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"You will not fail to assure Mademoiselle Georgette that the artist who
+executed all these cupids would esteem himself very fortunate if he
+might paint his neighbor's portrait free of charge, and in whatever
+costume may be most agreeable to her."</p>
+
+<p>A few moments after the miniature painter, the young doctor appeared and
+handed the concierge a package, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Be kind enough to hand this to Mademoiselle Georgette, with my
+compliments; it contains mauve, linden leaves, and poppy seeds; they are
+all excellent to take when one has a cold, and it rarely happens that a
+person goes a whole year without a cold. You will say to the young lady
+that I solicit her permission to attend her."<a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a></p>
+
+<p>Lastly, the old bachelor himself had purchased a box of candied fruit,
+without his maid-servant's knowledge. But he took care not to intrust
+his gift to the concierge, for if he did he knew that his servant would
+certainly be told of it. So he went out on the boulevard and found a
+little bootblack, to whom he handed his box and gave instructions where
+to deliver it; and as he did not choose to remain incognito, lest his
+pretty neighbor should attribute his gift to somebody else, he
+instructed his messenger to say to her:</p>
+
+<p>"Your neighbor, Monsieur Renardin, sends you this box, with his
+compliments.&mdash;Above all things," he added, "don't stop at the
+concierge's lodge, and don't speak to him; go straight to Mademoiselle
+Georgette's room on the entresol. You are paid, so take nothing from
+her."</p>
+
+<p>Affairs were in this condition when Monsieur de Mardeille sent his valet
+Frontin to Georgette's room. From early morning, the concierge, having
+received the presents one after another, had passed all his time going
+back and forth from his lodge to the entresol, where the young
+shirtmaker accepted without hesitation everything that was sent to her,
+simply saying to the concierge:</p>
+
+<p>"Say to monsieur that I thank him."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't forget to read the verses, mademoiselle; there's verses written
+on the paper," said the concierge, when he delivered the bunches of
+violets.</p>
+
+<p>"All right; I'll read everything, but I shall not answer anything."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette had read the quatrain, and was humming the vaudevillist's
+ballad, which was written to the tune of <i>La Boulangère</i>, laughing
+heartily at the words:<a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a></p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"Vous avez un minois fripon,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">Une taille tres-fine;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">L'&oelig;il assassin, le pied mignon,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">La tournure mutine;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">J'admire enfin votre jupon</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">Et tout ce qu'on devine</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">De rond,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .25em;">Et tout ce qu'on devine!"<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="nind">when the concierge appeared once more, with the package of photographs
+of actors; and a few moments later with the box adorned with cupids.</p>
+
+<p>"What! more?" said Georgette. "Why, these gentlemen seem to have passed
+the word around to-day to pay compliments to me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! yes, mademoiselle, they're standing in line at my door. But I
+don't complain; to tell you the truth, all these young men are well
+intentioned; all they want is to pay their respects to you; that's what
+they told me to tell you."</p>
+
+<p>"I accept the little gifts, monsieur; they serve to keep up&mdash;pleasant
+relations; but be good enough to say to these gentlemen that I do not
+want their respects, and beg them not to take the trouble of coming to
+offer them to me."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil!" muttered the concierge, as he went away; "the young
+shirtmaker is one of the virtuous kind, it seems; and these gentlemen
+won't have anything to<a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a> show for their presents! But in spite of that,
+she accepts everything that comes!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette had just received the package of simples presented by the
+young doctor and had repeated her previous reply to the concierge, when
+Monsieur de Mardeille's valet presented himself at her door.</p>
+
+<p>He saluted her with the unceremonious air commonly assumed by servants
+who think that their appearance is most welcome; and when Georgette
+asked him what he wanted, he replied in an almost patronizing tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I come, mademoiselle, from my master, Monsieur de Mardeille&mdash;the
+gentleman who lives opposite, on the first floor&mdash;an apartment that
+rents for three thousand francs. My master is very rich; he has more
+than twenty-five thousand francs a year; he might have a carriage if he
+chose; he has money enough. The only reason that he hasn't one is that
+he doesn't want it."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette laughed in the servant's face.</p>
+
+<p>"Well! what of it?" she retorted. "What do you suppose I care whether
+your master has a carriage or not, or how much he pays for his
+apartment? Did he send you here to tell me that? Oh! that would be too
+stupid!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Frontin was a little disconcerted to find that he had not
+produced more effect. He continued, in a less lofty tone:</p>
+
+<p>"No, mademoiselle, no; my master didn't send me here to tell you that.
+But I thought&mdash;I supposed you would be glad to be informed. One likes to
+know with whom one is dealing."</p>
+
+<p>"Do your errand; that will be better than your long speeches."</p>
+
+<p>This time Frontin was altogether disconcerted; he expected to find a
+young seamstress only too delighted to<a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a> receive a message from his
+master, and he found that he had to do with a young woman who seemed
+strongly inclined to laugh at him. So he decided to be very polite, and
+said in a respectful tone:</p>
+
+<p>"My master, mademoiselle, having occasion to have some shirts made, and
+knowing that you work in that line, requests you to be kind enough to
+call at his apartment, so that he may give you his order and be
+measured."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," replied Georgette, in a very decided tone, "you will say to
+your master that I am not in the habit of calling upon unmarried men. If
+he were married, if his wife were with him, why, I would gladly comply
+with his request, there would be no difficulty about it; but as he is
+alone&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"He has a maid, mademoiselle, and myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Servants don't count, monsieur. I shall not go to your master's
+apartment; if he has an order to give me, he can take the trouble to
+come here; I will receive him and his twenty-five thousand francs a
+year, with or without a carriage!"</p>
+
+<p>Frontin was piqued; in the first place, because the young woman had said
+that servants did not count; and secondly, because she seemed to make
+very little account of his master's exalted position. He replied, with
+evident irritation:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, where would be the harm, mademoiselle? Suppose you should come to
+Monsieur de Mardeille's rooms; you wouldn't be the first one to do it!
+He receives ladies&mdash;a great many ladies! And they <i>are</i> ladies, too, who
+don't work for everybody."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le valet de chambre, you are a donkey! You talk nothing but
+nonsense!"<a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What's that? I am a donkey! Allow me&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't doubt that your master receives many ladies, and for that very
+reason I don't propose to add to the number."</p>
+
+<p>"But&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough of this! You have my answer; go and repeat it to Monsieur de
+Mardeille."</p>
+
+<p>Frontin was on the point of making some retort, when a great uproar in
+the courtyard attracted the attention of all the tenants of the house.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-X_A_BOX_OF_CANDIED_FRUIT" id="G-X_A_BOX_OF_CANDIED_FRUIT"></a>X<br /><br />
+A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT</h2>
+
+<p>The reader will remember that Monsieur Renardin, one of Georgette's
+neighbors, who had a maid of all work, had purchased a box of candied
+fruit and had employed a little bootblack to deliver it to Georgette,
+and had told him that she lived on the entresol at the rear of the
+courtyard.</p>
+
+<p>But the young fellow, who was a messenger as well as a bootblack, was a
+child of Auvergne, and had just as much intelligence as he required to
+black boots or to carry a pail of water; almost all water carriers are
+Auvergnats. He put the box of candied fruit under his arm; it was
+carefully wrapped in white paper and tied with pink ribbon. He entered
+the designated house, and, passing the concierge's door with his head in
+the air, started across the courtyard; but the concierge, who had seen
+him pass, ran out of his lodge and stopped him, saying:<a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Where in the devil are you going, you young scamp? What do you mean by
+marching by my door without a word? That's no way to go into a house, do
+you hear, Savoyard?"</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't no Savoyard, I'm an Auvergnat."</p>
+
+<p>"Savoyard or Auvergnat! I don't care which, they're the same thing!
+Where are you going, I say?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not speaking to you! I'm going straight ahead."</p>
+
+<p>"I see that you don't speak to me; but I speak to you; I'm the
+concierge, and I have a right to question you, and you must answer."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not to speak to the concierge, that's my orders. I'm going straight
+ahead."</p>
+
+<p>"What an obstinate little beggar! I tell you, you shan't pass till I
+know where you're going!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I tell you I'm going straight ahead to take this box."</p>
+
+<p>"Where?"</p>
+
+<p>"I won't tell you."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll make you tell me! What's in the box? explosive stuff, perhaps? If
+you won't answer, I'll take you and your box before the magistrate."</p>
+
+<p>The concierge seized the boy's arm; he struggled and wept, and shouted
+at the top of his lungs:</p>
+
+<p>"Let me be&mdash;you big thief! Monsieur Renardin, your neighbor, sent me
+here, and I'll tell him that you wouldn't let me do my errand!"</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Arthémise, the old bachelor's servant, crossed the
+courtyard at that moment. Hearing her master's name, she stopped short,
+then ran to the messenger.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Renardin!" she cried; "who wants Monsieur Renardin? This
+little fellow?&mdash;What do you want of him?"<a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, he doesn't want him; he says that he comes here from him,"
+said the concierge; "if the little donkey had only said that at first,
+I'd have let him pass."</p>
+
+<p>"From him&mdash;he comes from him? Then it's me he wants. Monsieur Renardin
+must have sent him to me. What do you want of me, my boy?"</p>
+
+<p>The little Auvergnat looked at Mademoiselle Arthémise, who was a
+strapping, red-faced wench of about thirty, with stray hairs on her chin
+and upper lip that made her look like a man disguised as a woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Be you Mademoiselle Georgette?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Georgette!" replied the stout servant, with a savage
+glare. "Yes, yes, that's me."</p>
+
+<p>"And you live in the entresol yonder?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, it's me, I tell you! Did Monsieur Renardin send you to bring
+that box to Mademoiselle Georgette, on the entresol?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; it's from your neighbor, with all his compliments, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! we'll just look and see what he sends to that hussy!"</p>
+
+<p>And Mademoiselle Arthémise seized the box and was beginning to tear off
+the wrapper, when the concierge called to her:</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle; you take that box when you know
+perfectly well it isn't for you."</p>
+
+<p>"What business is it of yours? What do you want to meddle in it for, you
+low-lived porter? Does the shirtmaker pay you to look after her lovers'
+presents?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, mademoiselle, the shirtmaker doesn't pay me, but I'm bound to do my
+duty; if that Auvergnat Savoyard had said what he wanted, I'd have let
+him pass and carry to Mademoiselle Georgette what he had for her."<a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! everybody knows that you look after the lovers; that's your
+business, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"My business is to see that the tenants get what's addressed to them.
+Give me that box, which isn't for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Not if I know it! Candied fruits! apricots! Look at this, will you! He
+gives candied fruits to that slut, and he says there's no need of my
+putting mushrooms in the chicken fricassee! that I spend too much money!
+that I ain't economical! Just wait! just wait! I'll give you candied
+prunes and cherries packed in straw!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I tell you again to give me that box, Mademoiselle Arthémise; you
+are not Mademoiselle Georgette!"</p>
+
+<p>The little Auvergnat, who was just beginning to understand that he had
+made a botch of his errand, interposed at that point.</p>
+
+<p>"What! ain't you the lady on the entresol?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! hold your tongue, you brat, it's none of your business! Here,
+here's an orange; put that down and show me your heels!"</p>
+
+<p>And Mademoiselle Arthémise stuffed a piece of candied orange into the
+bootblack's mouth. He accepted and ate it; but he was none the less
+determined to recover the box. He tried to take it away from Monsieur
+Renardin's maid, and the concierge seconded his efforts. But the stout
+Arthémise was a muscular wench, able to contend with more formidable
+antagonists. She began by throwing a slice of quince in the boy's face;
+then she planted a candied apricot on the concierge's left eye, whereat
+he cried out like an ass whose eye has been put out; then she dealt
+blows indiscriminately to right and left.</p>
+
+<p>It was the outcries of the concierge and the little Auvergnat, blended
+with roars of laughter from Mademoiselle Arthémise, that had brought all
+the tenants to<a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a> their windows. To add to the uproar, Monsieur Renardin
+appeared at that moment, uneasy because his messenger had not returned,
+and curious to know how the pretty shirtmaker had received his gift.</p>
+
+<p>The bachelor was horrified when he saw the little Auvergnat on all
+fours, looking for the piece of quince, which had fallen to the ground;
+the concierge yelling and cursing as he removed the apricot from his
+eye, piece by piece; and lastly, the maid of all work, stuffing herself
+with candied fruit and saying:</p>
+
+<p>"It's mighty good, all the same! I never tasted it before, but I'll make
+him give me some now."</p>
+
+<p>"What does this mean, Arthémise? What are you doing here in the
+courtyard, instead of attending to your dinner?" inquired Monsieur
+Renardin, with a frown.</p>
+
+<p>"My dinner! Deuce take the dinner! it can take care of itself. I'm
+having a treat, I am! I'm eating candied cherries and pears! I say,
+monsieur, when you go about it, you send nice presents to young ladies!
+But you'd better choose a page who ain't quite so stupid as this one; he
+took me for the hussy of the entresol. Oh, my! I didn't say anything; I
+just took the box."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? you little rascal! is this the way you do errands?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; it wasn't my fault. Why wouldn't the concierge let me
+in?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did my duty; this Savoyard's a fool, and I was just going to send him
+to the entresol when Mademoiselle Arthémise told him she was
+Mademoiselle Georgette, and that the box was for her."</p>
+
+<p>"What, Arthémise! you dared&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Hoity-toity! why should I have hesitated? This little brat brings a box
+from you&mdash;of course, I thought it was<a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a> for me. As if I could suppose
+that a man of your age would pay court to young girls! that he'd lay out
+money for the first pert-faced minx that perches in the house! that he'd
+send boxes of candied fruit to a new-comer, a shirtmaker, when he growls
+every day because, as he says, I put too much butter in a sauce
+that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, mademoiselle! that will do; come with me, and we will have an
+explanation upstairs. I don't choose to have the whole house know what
+goes on in my establishment."</p>
+
+<p>And Monsieur Renardin walked hastily toward the stairs, not daring to
+look at the windows of the entresol. Mademoiselle Arthémise followed her
+master, making faces behind his back; she still had the box of candied
+fruit in her hand, and she called out to the concierge, laughing in his
+face:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care a snap of my finger! I always get the good things. As for
+monsieur, as he don't like bread soup, he can make up his mind to eat
+nothing else for a week!"</p>
+
+<p>"If my eye is injured, mademoiselle," said the concierge, "you'll have
+to pay the doctor!"</p>
+
+<p>"Count on it, my dear man; apply to Monsieur Renardin; he's the cause of
+it all! He's an old rake, and nothing else!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette had overheard all this from her room, and it had amused her
+immensely. Monsieur Frontin, who was on the landing, had stopped there,
+in order not to lose a word of the altercation and to be able to report
+it faithfully to his master. When there was no one left in the
+courtyard, the little Auvergnat having decamped after picking up the
+piece of quince, the valet returned to the front building and to his
+master's apartment. He began<a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a> by attempting to tell him what had just
+taken place in the courtyard; but Monsieur de Mardeille interrupted him:</p>
+
+<p>"I know all about that; I was at my window. I know that Monsieur
+Renardin sent a box of candied fruit to the little shirtmaker, and that
+Arthémise, his maid, got possession of the box and ate what was in it.
+That Arthémise is a bad one, and her master ought to discharge her at
+once. But when a man submits to be domineered over by his servant, he
+deserves to have her make a fool of him. However, that doesn't interest
+me much; this Monsieur Renardin is not a rival to worry about. You have
+been to see the little one? Well! She was flattered, enchanted by my
+proposition, of course? When is she coming?"</p>
+
+<p>Frontin drew himself up, assumed a solemn expression, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Georgette did not seem at all flattered by monsieur's
+proposition; on the contrary, she put on an air&mdash;well, an air as if she
+was a great swell!"</p>
+
+<p>"Cut it short, Frontin!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, monsieur, this shirtmaker doesn't choose to measure you for
+shirts; do you understand that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand that you're an idiot, if that's the way you did my errand!
+I never said a word to you about taking my measure!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I supposed that was necessary, monsieur. When a tailor makes you a
+coat, he takes your measure first."</p>
+
+<p>"Enough! What did the girl say? She didn't refuse without giving any
+reasons, did she?"</p>
+
+<p>"She thought it was strange, monsieur, that you are not married. She
+said: 'Oh! if your master was married, if he had a wife, that would make
+a difference; I'd<a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a> go and measure him right away; but I don't go to see
+bachelors. If he chooses to come to my rooms, I will receive him.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Aha! she wants me to go to her! You ought to have begun by telling me
+that, you clown! I understand&mdash;that flatters my young lady's vanity!
+These girls have so much self-esteem! She wants the whole house to know
+that Monsieur de Mardeille is paying court to her! Well, I don't care,
+after all; I will go; but I will go in the evening, because the
+neighbors aren't at their windows after dark."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XI_DECLARATION_AND_OBSTINACY" id="G-XI_DECLARATION_AND_OBSTINACY"></a>XI<br /><br />
+DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY</h2>
+
+<p>That same evening, Monsieur de Mardeille left his apartment about eight
+o'clock. It was quite dark, everything was quiet in the house, and he
+stole noiselessly downstairs and passed the concierge's lodge on tiptoe,
+unnoticed. Then he walked rapidly across the courtyard and went up to
+the entresol, where he could see a light.</p>
+
+<p>"No one will see me go to the little shirtmaker's," he said to himself,
+"and perhaps she will be quite as well pleased to receive me after dark.
+That saves appearances."</p>
+
+<p>He stopped at Georgette's door and knocked softly. In a moment, a sweet
+voice said:</p>
+
+<p>"Who is there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Open, if you please, Mademoiselle Georgette; it is someone who wishes
+to speak to you."<a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I don't receive visits at night. Come back to-morrow morning."</p>
+
+<p>"I am your opposite neighbor, mademoiselle&mdash;Monsieur de Mardeille; I
+sent my servant to you this morning. You know what it is that brings me;
+so be kind enough to open the door, I beg."</p>
+
+<p>"I am very sorry, monsieur; but I never let anybody in at night. Come
+back to-morrow. It will be light then."</p>
+
+<p>"What, mademoiselle! you leave me outside your door&mdash;me, Monsieur de
+Mardeille! You are quite certain, I presume, that I am not a robber?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you might be a more dangerous character! Good-night, monsieur!
+Until to-morrow, by daylight!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's because she considers me too dangerous that she won't let me in
+now!" said Monsieur de Mardeille to himself, as he returned to his own
+lodgings.</p>
+
+<p>That idea, by flattering his self-esteem, consoled him a little for
+having put himself out to no purpose.</p>
+
+<p>"It's plain," he thought, "that she wants the whole house to know that I
+am paying court to her.&mdash;Well! since it must be, mademoiselle, you shall
+receive a visit from me at midday."</p>
+
+<p>And the next day, after passing more than an hour at his toilet, because
+he was determined to be irresistible, Monsieur de Mardeille decided to
+defy the prying glances of the neighbors. He went downstairs as if he
+were going out; but as he passed the concierge, who was standing at his
+door, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, that girl who lives on the entresol makes shirts, doesn't
+she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; she works for a linen draper; her sewing is perfect, so
+they say."<a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a></p>
+
+<p>"In that case, I am inclined to order some shirts of her. One ought
+always to employ one's neighbors, as far as possible."</p>
+
+<p>And our dandified friend turned on his heel, crossed the courtyard, and
+in an instant stood before Georgette's door, which was always unlocked
+during the day.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille tapped softly twice.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in, the door is unlocked," replied the same voice that he had
+heard the night before.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille entered with the ease of manner born of
+familiarity with society, and the nonchalance which a rich man always
+affects when he calls upon poor people&mdash;unless, that is to say, he is
+possessed of intelligence or tact; in which case, far from seeking to
+make his superiority felt, his endeavor will rather be to keep it out of
+sight. But men of tact and intelligence are rare, and Georgette's caller
+was deficient in both those qualities.</p>
+
+<p>However, he abated something of his lordly manner when he saw how
+unconcernedly the young woman received him. She seemed in no wise
+perturbed by his visit, but gracefully motioned him to a chair and
+coolly resumed her own, which was near the window, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"May I know, monsieur, to what I am indebted for the honor of your
+visit?"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille settled himself comfortably in his chair, and
+replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle, I sent my valet to you yesterday; I ventured to request
+you to come to my apartment; it is not very far; I live just opposite."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I know it, monsieur; I recognize you perfectly. But your servant
+must have told you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That you would not call upon unmarried men&mdash;yes, he told me that. But,
+bless my soul! why do bachelors<a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a> cause you such alarm? Have you had much
+reason to complain of them? Ha! ha! ha! Do you know that that might give
+rise to many conjectures?"</p>
+
+<p>And he laughed again, because he had fine teeth which he was very glad
+to exhibit, and because, moreover, he thought it quite clever to laugh
+like that. But Georgette remained unmoved, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what conjectures one might form, monsieur; but I act thus
+because it suits me, and I worry very little about what people may
+think."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille, surprised at the girl's serious tone, smiled
+rather sheepishly and decided not to laugh any more. He moved uneasily
+in his chair as he rejoined:</p>
+
+<p>"I had no intention to offend you. The deuce! mademoiselle, it seems
+that one cannot safely jest with you."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I am very ready to jest, when I know my
+man."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! to be sure, and you know me only by sight as yet. I consider myself
+fortunate, mademoiselle, to have so charming a person as you are for my
+opposite neighbor; and it made me anxious at once to&mdash;to&mdash;to become
+better acquainted with you."</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, monsieur; but there is too great a difference of rank
+between us."</p>
+
+<p>"Differences may be lessened; in fact, they very soon disappear between
+a lovely woman and a man who is fascinated by her charms."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette smiled and murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"Was it to tell me that that you came here, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, yes! Look you! I won't beat about the bush; I prefer to go
+straight to the point. Indeed, why should I conceal the impression that
+your charms, your beauty,<a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a> have made on my heart? Is it a crime to love
+you? especially as I am a bachelor, which certainly is no reason for
+spurning my homage. Yes, my lovely neighbor, you turned my head the very
+first time I saw you&mdash;in this charming négligé which is so becoming to
+you! I have not had a moment's repose since, I think of nothing but you!
+I used the pretext of wanting shirts made to try to lure you to my
+apartment; but what I wanted, what I want now, before everything, is to
+tell you that I adore you, and to beg you not to be insensible to my
+love!"</p>
+
+<p>It was Georgette's turn to laugh; and she did it so frankly, so
+unreservedly, that the old beau, who had leaned over toward her,
+straightened himself up and seemed completely taken back. As the pretty
+shirtmaker continued to laugh, he decided to say:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, I am delighted to have afforded you so much
+amusement; but may I not know what it is that makes you laugh so
+heartily? It cannot be my avowal of my sentiments? You must be
+accustomed to receive such declarations, are you not? So far as I have
+been able to see, almost all the men in the house have told you or would
+like to tell you the same thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you know that, do you, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Did I not see the concierge pass the whole of yesterday bringing you
+bouquets, photographs, and heaven knows what? I even heard something of
+a box of candied fruit.&mdash;Ha! ha! ha! that was too absurd!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is quite true that all the gentlemen in the house have been most
+polite to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! mademoiselle, I don't send bouquets myself; I consider it so
+commonplace, so vulgar, that I am not tempted to imitate these gentry. I
+speak out, I say<a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a> frankly what I feel. Don't you consider that the
+better way?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it seems to me that it is very pleasant to receive bouquets and
+other presents."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lips and said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She likes her little presents; she's selfish; that's a pity!"</p>
+
+<p>But that did not prevent him from moving his chair nearer to
+Georgette's, and trying to assume a very affectionate, touching tone, as
+he murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"You have made no reply to my declaration, charming girl."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon; didn't you hear me laugh?"</p>
+
+<p>"What! is that the way you reply? What am I to conclude from that?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I took your declaration of love for what it was worth&mdash;that is to
+say, for a joke."</p>
+
+<p>"A joke! Oh! don't think it! I spoke most seriously. I love you! I adore
+you!"</p>
+
+<p>"On the instant, just from seeing me at my window?"</p>
+
+<p>"Does it take weeks or months to fall in love? We see a woman; she
+attracts us, fascinates us at once, or never. Love&mdash;what is it but
+electricity?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I didn't know!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it is nothing else; a pretty woman's eyes contain the fluid that
+electrifies us. The moment that we feel the shock, it's all up with us;
+we are electrified."</p>
+
+<p>"Really! and the women, what electrifies them?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that is done by the same process; our glances do the business!"</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, he tried to electrify the girl by fixing his eyes upon her,
+full of fire, and attempted to move<a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a> his chair still nearer. But
+Georgette moved hers away, saying in a very sharp tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't sit so near me, monsieur, I beg you! it makes it hard for me to
+work, and, besides, it isn't proper."</p>
+
+<p>The old beau was speechless with surprise; he concluded that his eyes
+had not emitted enough of the magnetic fluid, and tried to make them
+still more inflammable as he exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"May not one venture to approach you, pray, in order to admire that
+divine figure at closer quarters?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, one may not. What would the neighbors think if they
+should see you sitting so near me?"</p>
+
+<p>"The neighbors! the neighbors! Why do you leave your window wide open?
+It makes it very inconvenient to talk with you. I will close it, with
+your permission."</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, no; I wish it to remain open; it does not interfere at
+all with my talking; and if the neighbors know that you are calling on
+me,&mdash;which they probably do, for everything that goes on in this house
+is seen,&mdash;why, they will see that nothing has happened that I need to
+conceal."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille frowned slightly; he shifted about in his chair,
+and said, after a brief pause:</p>
+
+<p>"What a strange idea it is, to subject yourself like this to the
+inspection of other people, to whose opinion you ought to be
+indifferent, in any event!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! so you think that one can afford to be indifferent to other
+people's opinion?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think&mdash;I think that you treat me very cruelly!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I, monsieur, think that I have conferred a great favor on you by
+consenting to receive you in my room&mdash;where I never receive any man. It
+seems that you are not at all grateful."<a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! pardon me, my lovely neighbor; certainly I am very grateful; but I
+thought&mdash;I hoped&mdash;&mdash; By the way, you have not told me yet whether my
+sentiments are offensive to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, monsieur, I hardly know you! And I don't allow myself to be
+electrified as easily as you do, I presume."</p>
+
+<p>"Cruel girl! you make sport of my torments."</p>
+
+<p>"You say that you love me, do you, monsieur? But why should I believe in
+your love? What proofs of it have you given me?"</p>
+
+<p>"What proofs? Do you mean to say, mademoiselle, that you must have
+proofs before you believe in it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly! Oh! I am very incredulous, monsieur, and I don't
+believe in anything until I have had proofs of it."</p>
+
+<p>"But it seems to me, mademoiselle, that the step I am taking at this
+moment ought to satisfy you that I am telling you the truth. When a man
+of my rank, a man accustomed to frequent only the best society, pays a
+visit to a&mdash;a simple working girl, he must be impelled thereto by a very
+powerful sentiment!"</p>
+
+<p>"That is to say, monsieur, that you think you do me great honor by
+calling on me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, I don't say that! You are cruel, and no mistake! you put a bad
+construction on everything I say!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette made no reply, but continued to sew. Monsieur de Mardeille,
+sorely annoyed because he had failed to make such rapid progress as he
+hoped, said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Let us try changing the subject. The little one must like pleasure. All
+women want to be amused. Let us see if we can't dazzle her."</p>
+
+<p>After a moment, he added, aloud:<a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Have you been working long at this trade&mdash;for a linen draper?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur. Indeed, I have not been long in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! then you are not a Parisienne? You surprise me! You have all the
+grace of one. May I, without being impertinent, ask you from what
+province you come?"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette hesitated a moment before she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I come from a small village near Rouen."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you are a Norman! That is strange, for you haven't the Norman
+accent. How long have you been in Paris?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly five months."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you come alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, all alone. I said to my parents: 'I want to go to Paris; I will
+work hard there, and perhaps I may make my fortune&mdash;who knows?'"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille scratched his head as he repeated:</p>
+
+<p>"Fortune! hum! that's not so easy. Women don't often make their fortunes
+in Paris, when they have no other means of earning money than their
+needle. But, when you came to Paris, you probably knew that you would
+find a friend here, a wealthy protector, who could start you at once on
+the road to the fortune to which you aspire?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur," Georgette replied coldly; "I did not come to Paris to
+meet anyone, and I shall find a way myself to reach the end I have in
+view."</p>
+
+<p>Once more the old beau bit his lips and glanced about the room.</p>
+
+<p>"It's impossible to tell how to take the girl; she's always on her
+guard!" he said to himself. "I shall not succeed with her so quickly as
+I thought. But, it doesn't<a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a> make much difference, I have plenty of time.
+I must find her sensitive spot.&mdash;Are you fond of the play,
+mademoiselle?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, monsieur, very!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you go often?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most rarely, monsieur. In the first place, I have no acquaintances in
+Paris; and for a young girl to go to the theatre alone is hardly
+proper."</p>
+
+<p>"I have found the weak point in the shield," thought Mardeille; and he
+rejoined:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my charming neighbor, I will escort you to the theatre, with your
+permission. We will have a little screened box; it will be very
+comfortable, like being at home."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what your little screened boxes are, monsieur; but when I
+go to the play, I don't go to hide myself; I want to see and be seen."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you want to be seen! What a coquette!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not from coquetry. But, monsieur, you cannot think that I would
+go to the play with such an elegant person as you, in the modest costume
+that I wear."</p>
+
+<p>"I presume that you would not go in this jacket and this short skirt,
+although the costume is divinely becoming to you! On my word, you are
+bewitching so!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, of course, I would not go out in a jacket; but my best costume is
+very modest: a cotton gown, a little cap, a knitted fichu&mdash;that's my
+attire!"</p>
+
+<p>"What! haven't you a bonnet&mdash;a tiny bonnet?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, I haven't."</p>
+
+<p>The elderly dandy moved about in his chair, seemed to reflect, and said,
+at last:</p>
+
+<p>"After all, you must be fascinating in a cap. Besides, we can take a
+cab. Is it settled? I will take you to-night, if you agree."<a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What, monsieur! do you mean to say that you would take to the theatre a
+woman in a cotton dress, cap, and a fichu instead of a shawl?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do; I am entirely free from prejudices. I would like to take you in
+the costume you have on, if it were possible."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, upon my word! I wouldn't have believed that!"</p>
+
+<p>"That proves how dearly I love you, I hope."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette shook her head as she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, it doesn't prove it at all. However, monsieur, I have more
+self-esteem than you. I have enough respect for your exalted rank to
+avoid compromising it. Fie, monsieur! what would people think of you if
+they saw you with a woman in a cap on your arm?"</p>
+
+<p>"But we shall take a cab."</p>
+
+<p>"We shall not go into the theatre in a cab! Ha! ha! And as I don't
+propose to hide myself in a screened box, when I am once in the theatre
+everyone will have plenty of time to admire my costume."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille rose and paced the floor, and for some time he did
+not speak; at last he said:</p>
+
+<p>"What do you need to go to the theatre with me, my lovely child?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, almost everything: a silk dress; they have such nice things
+ready-made now, that it will be easy enough to find one that will fit
+me. And a pretty bonnet, and a fine shawl&mdash;cashmere, or something like
+it,&mdash;and gloves&mdash;nice kid gloves."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille began to pace the floor again, dissembling with
+difficulty the grimace that had replaced his amiable air. Suddenly he
+looked into the courtyard and exclaimed:<a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I believe I have visitors! Yes, they have come to see me. Au
+revoir, my charming neighbor; a thousand pardons for leaving you so
+abruptly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! pray don't mind me, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>Our dandy was already at the door; he returned hurriedly to his own
+apartment, with an exceedingly ill-humored expression; and when Frontin
+inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"Did the shirtmaker take monsieur's measure?" he angrily replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Hold your tongue, you imbecile! I forbid you ever to mention that
+grisette to me."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XII_LOVE_LOVE_WHEN_THOU_HAST_TAKEN_US_CAPTIVE" id="G-XII_LOVE_LOVE_WHEN_THOU_HAST_TAKEN_US_CAPTIVE"></a>XII<br /><br />
+LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!</h2>
+
+<p>A week passed. Monsieur de Mardeille had not called again upon
+Georgette; he had not stationed himself at his rear windows; but he had
+stolen many a glance through the glass, by raising a corner of the
+curtain. He had seen his young neighbor, as alert and alluring and
+graceful as ever, going to and fro in her modest apartment; then sitting
+down to work at her window; then rising and sitting down again; and
+every movement of the pretty shirtmaker made his heart beat fast. He had
+given Frontin a kick in the hind quarters, when that worthy ventured to
+laugh inanely because his master raised the curtain.</p>
+
+<p>He was somewhat flattered by the fact that, although Georgette responded
+affably enough to the salutations of her other neighbors, he had never
+seen one of them<a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a> in her room; so that she had really done him a favor
+by consenting to receive him.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of a week, he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"After all, it was on my account, it was in my interest, to avoid
+compromising me, that the girl insisted upon being well dressed before
+she would go out on my arm. I can't be angry with her for that: it was a
+very excusable motive. But then I must send her all that she lacks.
+Pardieu! I am well able to do it! That is not the question&mdash;no&mdash;but it
+isn't my custom; I have never spent money on women. I know that once
+doesn't make a custom; but, for all that, I don't like it. But that girl
+is obstinate and strong-willed; if I don't send her what she wants, I
+shall have to abandon the pursuit. And I don't want to abandon it! I
+dream of her every night. I see her slender figure, her rounded hips,
+which her little black skirt hugs so closely. Well! I must buy her this
+finery. I won't go so far as the cashmere&mdash;no, indeed, I'm not such a
+fool! But when a man goes so far as to play the gallant, he must do
+things properly. At my age, it's very unpleasant to change one's habits.
+Why in the devil did that provoking grisette take up her abode in my
+house? right opposite me? under my nose? It's a fatality!"</p>
+
+<p>Love, and self-esteem, which is quite as strong as its brother, carried
+the day at last. One morning Georgette received the shawl, the bonnet,
+the dress, and even the kid gloves, with this brief note written by her
+stylish neighbor:</p>
+
+<p>
+<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Now will you go to the theatre with me to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>
+<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>And Georgette replied, to the messenger:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I will go."<a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a></p>
+
+<p>For Monsieur de Mardeille, who did not wish that anyone should know that
+he was spending money to gratify the shirtmaker, had not sent his gifts
+by Frontin.</p>
+
+<p>That evening, about seven o'clock, the dandy presented himself at
+Georgette's door. She was all dressed and ready, and probably less
+seductive in that guise than in her jacket and short skirt; but she was
+still very comely, because a young and pretty woman never becomes ugly
+in a stylish bonnet. Indeed, Monsieur de Mardeille was surprised at the
+ease with which his little neighbor wore her new costume.</p>
+
+<p>"On my honor!" he cried; "you are charming thus! You wear these clothes
+with such grace!"</p>
+
+<p>"Does that surprise you, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing surprises me in you; I believe you to be adapted for any
+station."</p>
+
+<p>"I am ready; let us go."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! we have plenty of time. Pray let me admire you a moment."</p>
+
+<p>"You may admire me all you please at the theatre; but as I don't often
+go, I want to see everything. Let us be off!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette was already on the landing. Monsieur de Mardeille followed
+her, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She has a little will of her own that can't be resisted! But to-night,
+when we return from the theatre, I flatter myself that she won't dismiss
+me so quickly."</p>
+
+<p>It was still broad daylight when Georgette left her room, handsomely
+dressed and on Monsieur de Mardeille's arm. All the neighbors were at
+their windows; it is unnecessary to say that their tongues were in
+motion.</p>
+
+<p>"The ex-beau carries the day!" said the photographer; "he is rich and
+fashionable, and such advantages seduce<a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a> these little girls, who are
+immensely flattered by hanging on a dandy's arm."</p>
+
+<p>"And then, he's very good-looking still," said the miniature painter. "I
+can understand that he may have taken the little one's fancy. These
+girls have a surprising taste for mature men."</p>
+
+<p>"The Lovelace of the first floor must have put out some money," said the
+two men of letters; "he's dressed the little neighbor from top to toe.
+Women can always be caught by flattering their coquetry."</p>
+
+<p>"And we couldn't offer her all that!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's very strange! this Mardeille has the reputation of being a stingy
+curmudgeon with women."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a report that he spreads himself, so as to get all the more
+credit."</p>
+
+<p>The young doctor said nothing; he simply sighed, as he thought:</p>
+
+<p>"She hasn't even had a cold!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Bistelle was furious, for she had received his bouquets and had
+not received him, and had met all his propositions with a refusal,
+although they were most alluring. And so, when he saw Georgette pass in
+her new attire, he cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! cheap stuff! Why, that shawl isn't a cashmere, nor even a Lyon;
+that dress isn't silk; that bonnet didn't come from one of our leading
+milliners! It's all trumpery; anyone can see that at a glance. I'd have
+dressed the girl a hundred times better; she's a fool to prefer that
+Mardeille, who never knew what it was to be generous to a woman!"</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman did not reflect that he himself was very ugly, whereas
+his rival was still very comely; but that is one of the things that one
+never considers. Moreover,<a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a> we are so accustomed to our own faces that
+we never deem ourselves unattractive.</p>
+
+<p>Even Monsieur Renardin, the old bachelor, made a very pronounced grimace
+when he saw Georgette pass; especially as Mademoiselle Arthémise, his
+maid-servant, did not fail to say, with a sneer:</p>
+
+<p>"See, there goes your flame on the arm of the Joconde of the first
+floor! I advise you to send boxes of candied fruits to such hussies! The
+shirtmaker snaps her fingers at you."</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place, Arthémise, you're talking nonsense; that young
+woman didn't receive any candied fruit from me, as you ate it all."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God! I was on hand to stop it as it passed&mdash;or else she would
+have got it. It's very lucky that I ate it, you see. I suppose you think
+that mincing thing would have put the box on her head to go out with
+you, don't you? Oh! she's a sly one! She's bleeding the ex-young man of
+the first floor; she's quite right, for he's a skinflint with women,
+they say; he's getting what he deserves."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille escorted Georgette to the Ambigu-Comique. He tried
+to take her to a small, dark box, but she refused to enter it, and he
+was obliged to take a seat in the balcony with her. There it was
+impossible to take the slightest liberty! As some consolation, our
+gallant kept trying to whisper words of love in the girl's ear, but she
+soon said to him impatiently:</p>
+
+<p>"Please be kind enough not to keep talking to me! You prevent me from
+hearing the play, and I suppose that is what people go to the theatre
+for."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lip and said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"There's nothing so idiotic as these girls who have never been to the
+theatre! I won't bring you very often, I can tell you!"<a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a></p>
+
+<p>The play amused Georgette immensely, but was exceedingly tedious to her
+escort, who was overjoyed when it came to an end. He suggested returning
+home in a cab; but the girl refused, she was absolutely determined to go
+on foot.</p>
+
+<p>"But it's beginning to rain!" said Monsieur de Mardeille.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it will cool us off!"</p>
+
+<p>"But your new bonnet&mdash;won't the rain fade it and ruin it?"</p>
+
+<p>"What a terrible misfortune, if it is spoiled! There are other bonnets
+in the milliners' shops!"</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder if she thinks I am going to buy her one every day!" thought
+her companion, with difficulty restraining an outburst of temper; for he
+was obliged to return on foot, while Georgette, leaning on his arm,
+talked of nothing but the play and the actors she had seen.</p>
+
+<p>They reached home at last. Monsieur de Mardeille had impatiently awaited
+that moment. He flattered himself that it would mark his final triumph.
+They entered the house in which they both lived. In front of the
+concierge's lodge, which was at the foot of Monsieur de Mardeille's
+staircase, Georgette stopped and said, with a graceful courtesy:</p>
+
+<p>"Bonsoir, monsieur! a thousand thanks for the pleasure you have given me
+by taking me to the play."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? Bonsoir?" cried Mardeille, with a smile. "But I am not
+going to bed yet; and you will allow me to come up and chat a moment
+with you, will you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur! for I am going to bed, and this is no time for
+conversation."</p>
+
+<p>"Going to bed? What difference does that make? I won't prevent you;
+indeed, I shall be too happy to assist you in making your <i>toilette de
+nuit</i>."<a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I don't need anyone to assist me. If I did, I wouldn't resort to a man
+for that purpose. Bonsoir, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I say&mdash;this is a jest! Surely, my charming neighbor, you don't mean
+that you won't receive me in your room a moment?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow, monsieur, to-morrow during the day, I shall be greatly
+flattered to receive a call from you, if you choose to come; but at this
+time of night it would be very improper."</p>
+
+<p>With that, Georgette nodded and ran across the courtyard to her own
+staircase, leaving Monsieur de Mardeille, utterly taken aback, in front
+of the concierge's door. He was nonplussed by the girl's conduct.</p>
+
+<p>"This is too much!" he said to himself; "she accepts my presents&mdash;a
+whole toilette, which cost me a pretty penny&mdash;and she's just as cruel as
+she was before! So the young lady is making sport of me, is she?"</p>
+
+<p>But suddenly, the courtyard and staircase being still lighted, he saw
+the concierge in his lodge watching what was going on; whereupon our
+dandy struck his forehead, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"What an idiot I am not to understand! That child has a hundred times
+more tact than I have! She doesn't want the concierge to see me go up to
+her room at midnight; for that would inevitably spread a report through
+the whole house that I had passed the night there! Yes, of course that's
+it; she's quite right; she has pointed out to me clearly enough what I
+have to do: go up to my room and pretend to go to bed; then, when
+everybody's asleep, and the gas is all out, go downstairs and steal up
+to her room, where I'll wager that I shall find the door unlocked as
+usual. There is my path all marked out for me: now I must follow it."<a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a></p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille went upstairs, purposely making a great noise. He
+entered his room, slammed the door, ordered Frontin to undress him, and
+then dismissed him with strict injunctions to go to bed at once. Half an
+hour passed, the gas was extinguished, there was no light to be seen in
+any of the neighbors' rooms, not even Georgette's.</p>
+
+<p>"That girl thinks of everything!" thought Monsieur de Mardeille. "She is
+prudence personified: she has put out her light. Very good! Darkness
+makes one more daring. I must make haste; the propitious moment is
+here!"</p>
+
+<p>And the gentleman stole from his room on tiptoe, enveloped in an ample
+robe de chambre, and with his jaunty cap on his head. He went
+downstairs, taking every precaution not to make any noise; he passed the
+concierge's lodge, where there was no light; darkness reigned on all
+sides, and as our seducer was feeling his way across the courtyard he
+ran against the pump; but that told him where he was; the door leading
+to the narrow stairway was close at hand; he found it and went upstairs,
+muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, at last!"</p>
+
+<p>He soon stood in front of Georgette's door. He felt about on all sides;
+the key was not in the lock, and the door was securely fastened.</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't think of leaving the key outside!" thought Monsieur de
+Mardeille; "that was an oversight. Perhaps it was from modesty, so that
+she might not seem to be expecting me. However, I must let her know that
+I am here. I'll knock softly; she can't be asleep."</p>
+
+<p>And he gave two very soft taps, then a louder one, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"She doesn't hear! Can she have gone to sleep already? It's very
+strange; there's not a sound anywhere<a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a> in the house, and she ought to
+hear! Damn the odds! I must wake her up! If other people hear, it will
+be her own fault."</p>
+
+<p>And he knocked louder, then louder still, and shouted through the
+keyhole:</p>
+
+<p>"Little neighbor! it's I! open the door a minute; I left something in
+your room. Come, charming Georgette, you've teased me enough; you must
+let me in; I have some very interesting things to tell you. For heaven's
+sake! just long enough to say two words to you, and then I'll leave
+you."</p>
+
+<p>His trouble and entreaties were wasted; she made no reply, and the door
+did not open. After spending nearly three-quarters of an hour on
+Georgette's landing, the discomfited gallant angrily pulled his cap over
+his eyes and left the entresol, bumping against the walls.</p>
+
+<p>To augment his rage, when he was in the courtyard he heard roars of
+laughter from several windows; and he recognized Mademoiselle
+Arthémise's voice, saying in a very loud tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that's well done! The scented dandy's sold again! The little one
+makes fools of her lovers; that reconciles me to her! Ha! ha! now's the
+time to sing:</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poetry">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">"'Ma chandelle est morte,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Je n'ai plus de feu;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Ouvre-moi ta porte,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: .75em;">Pour l'amour de Dieu!'"<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a></span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XIII_A_BROOCH" id="G-XIII_A_BROOCH"></a>XIII<br /><br />
+A BROOCH</h2>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille did not close his eyes that night. He was terribly
+vexed, and he awaited the morrow with extreme impatience, in order to
+have an explanation with the little shirtmaker, whom he proposed to
+reproach in no measured terms. He firmly believed himself to be in the
+right, because he maintained that in love one gives nothing without some
+equivalent.</p>
+
+<p>At last the morning came; people began to stir in the house. Our dandy
+rose and looked at himself in the mirror. He found that he was horribly
+pale, that his eyes were red, and that he had a worn, jaded look. As he
+desired, before all else, to be handsome and fascinating, he passed more
+than an hour at his toilet, changing his cravat and waistcoat again and
+again; but he did not succeed in restoring his usual freshness of
+aspect. At last, weary of the struggle, he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"A little pallor makes one more interesting; women like a melancholy
+air. That cruel girl will be touched by my evident suffering. Decidedly,
+it is much better for me to be pale; it gives me the advantage at the
+outset."</p>
+
+<p>He betook himself to his little neighbor's apartment, crossing the
+courtyard as rapidly as possible to avoid the glances of the other
+tenants. This time the door was unlocked. Monsieur de Mardeille
+unceremoniously entered Georgette's room and found her already at work.
+She looked up at him with a sly smile, and said:<a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, monsieur! it's very good of you to come to see me. Pray
+sit down, and we will talk about the play."</p>
+
+<p>But Monsieur de Mardeille did not sit down; he paced the floor
+excitedly, and rejoined in an angry tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't come here to talk about the play, mademoiselle!"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed? Very well, then we'll talk about something else."</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle&mdash;you sleep very soundly!"</p>
+
+<p>"I? Oh! you are mistaken, monsieur; on the contrary, my sleep is very
+light; the slightest noise wakes me."</p>
+
+<p>"The slightest noise? How did it happen, then, that you didn't hear the
+noise I made last night, when I knocked on your door for half an hour,
+and you did not deign to reply?"</p>
+
+<p>"Last night? Why, I heard you distinctly, monsieur; much too distinctly,
+in fact!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then, mademoiselle, why didn't you let me in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why? Because I didn't choose to; because I don't receive visits at
+midnight; because I considered the uproar you made at my door most
+unseemly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Uproar? But if you had opened your door at once, I wouldn't have made
+any uproar!"</p>
+
+<p>"True; but as I didn't choose to open it, you shouldn't have kept on
+knocking."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I had the right to come to your
+room, that I might fairly expect to be admitted! When a woman accepts
+gifts from a man, it means that she consents&mdash;at all events, she
+shouldn't leave him at the door when he comes to see her."<a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a></p>
+
+<p>"The right! the right!" cried Georgette, rising, and casting such an
+angry glance at Monsieur de Mardeille that he was thoroughly abashed.
+"Let me tell you, monsieur, that you are most impertinent, and that I
+ought to turn you out of my room at once and forbid you ever to put your
+foot inside my door again. The right! What do you mean, monsieur? Is it
+because you have sent me a few paltry rags that you presume to speak to
+me in this tone? Understand, monsieur, that I did you much honor by
+receiving your superb gifts! If you had not wanted to go out with me,
+you wouldn't have given them to me, I presume. So that you did it much
+more to gratify your own vanity than to please me. And monsieur imagines
+that, because of those gifts, I will open my door to him at midnight!
+and perhaps give myself to him and esteem myself too happy to be his
+mistress!&mdash;Why, you are mad, monsieur! Here are your presents. I don't
+want them; you may take them back! Look, this will show you how much I
+care for them!"</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Georgette ran to her closet, took down the gown, shawl,
+and bonnet, threw them on the floor, and kicked them toward Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who was horrified and dared not move.</p>
+
+<p>Having done this, the girl returned to her chair by the window, which
+was open as usual, and resumed her work, paying no further heed to her
+neighbor, who stood in the same spot as motionless as a statue.</p>
+
+<p>Several minutes passed thus. The ex-beau had had time to reflect. He
+began by picking up the gown, the shawl, and the bonnet, and laid them
+all carefully on a table; then he went to Georgette and stammered
+confusedly:</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle&mdash;I was wrong&mdash;I was very wrong&mdash;I admit it!"<a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It's very fortunate that you realize it, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"I should not have believed&mdash;or rather, I should not have hoped&mdash;&mdash;
+Certainly I do not attach any value to these gewgaws that I sent you; it
+wasn't on account of them that I knocked at your door last night; but I
+thought that you were touched by my passion for you, that you no longer
+doubted it&mdash;that was what led me to come here and knock last night,
+after the theatre. Forgive me, I beseech you, my dear neighbor; don't be
+angry with me; it would make me too unhappy."</p>
+
+<p>"As you admit your wrongdoing," Georgette answered, with a smile, "I
+forgive you. Oh! I am not one who bears malice! I say at once what I
+have on my heart; then it's all over and I think no more about it."</p>
+
+<p>The old beau took the girl's hand and respectfully put it to his lips.
+She withdrew it and pointed to a chair, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Now sit down, and let us talk about something else."</p>
+
+<p>"Something else!" murmured Monsieur de Mardeille as he sat down. "When I
+am with you, it is hard for me to refrain from telling you of my love.
+Does it make you angry?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but have you forgotten what I said to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! it's quite possible, my dear neighbor; what did you say to me on
+that subject?"</p>
+
+<p>"I told you that I did not believe in any man's love until he had given
+me proofs of it."</p>
+
+<p>Her neighbor frowned, and faltered:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! yes&mdash;to be sure&mdash;I remember now&mdash;proofs. But I don't feel quite
+sure what you mean by that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur, I should consider that I insulted you if I explained my
+meaning any further!" retorted Georgette, satirically. "If you don't
+understand me, so much the worse for you!"<a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Did you enjoy the play last night?" hastily inquired Monsieur de
+Mardeille, anxious to change the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, very much. I would go very often, if I had the means."</p>
+
+<p>"But if someone takes you, it's the same thing, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; it isn't the same thing to be able to give one's self
+pleasure when one chooses, as to take it only when it pleases others to
+offer it."</p>
+
+<p>"At all events, my pretty neighbor, when it is your pleasure to go
+again, I shall be at your service and delighted to escort you."</p>
+
+<p>"You are too kind, monsieur.&mdash;Did you notice that lady in pink who was
+in a box on the stage last night?"</p>
+
+<p>"In a proscenium box, do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know whether you call it a proscenium box, but the lady I mean
+had a sort of crown of flowers on her head&mdash;and she was very pretty,
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, I remember&mdash;a lovely blonde. That was Irma, one of the women
+most in vogue at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! as one knows a great many of the women one meets at all the balls
+at the Casino, at all the first performances&mdash;in short, at all the
+functions to which one can gain admission by paying for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she married?"</p>
+
+<p>"Married? the deuce! never!&mdash;As if those creatures ever married! She's a
+kept woman, that's the whole story."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! she's a kept woman. At all events, she is kept handsomely. She had
+a magnificent diamond necklace and brooch. For they were diamonds,
+weren't they, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"They were&mdash;or, at all events, they looked like it; but they may have
+been false. Nowadays, they make false<a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a> gems that resemble real ones so
+closely that it's very hard to distinguish them. They're quite as
+handsome; indeed, they are often more effective, on account of the way
+they're mounted."</p>
+
+<p>"False diamonds! how horrible! I should never be willing to wear
+anything false, myself!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille looked at his watch, then rose, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"How the time flies with you, charming Georgette! But I have some
+business at my broker's, and I have only just time to go there. So, au
+revoir, my lovely neighbor! You are not angry any longer, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, no; I have entirely forgotten the past."</p>
+
+<p>The ex-beau bowed and left her, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She has forgotten the past! Therefore she has entirely forgotten that I
+gave her a complete toilette. She looks upon that as such a trifling
+matter! And now she's beginning to talk about diamonds! Oh! that is
+going too far! The little one has extravagant ideas! I wonder if she
+would like me to keep her like Irma? It's incredible! a shirtmaker
+wanting diamonds! The deuce! I didn't expect to encounter so many
+obstacles with a grisette; it never happened to me before! She talked
+with self-assurance! She's no fool, that's clear! And the worst of it is
+that, when she gets excited, her eyes have such fire and expression! She
+is enchanting! She's a little demon! But give her diamonds! never!
+never! I'd rather eat them!"</p>
+
+<p>Several weeks passed. Monsieur de Mardeille continued his visits in the
+daytime to Georgette, who always had her windows open, whatever the
+weather. But he did not make the slightest progress in his love affair.
+When he tried to move nearer to the girl, she compelled him to remove
+his chair; if he tried to take her hand, she<a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a> withdrew it; if he tried
+to place his hand on the little skirt, at which he gazed with covetous
+eyes, she pushed him away roughly, and exclaimed in her sternest tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I won't have you touch my skirt; that is forbidden!"</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon our gallant heaved profound sighs, to which she replied by
+laughing heartily, and by mischievous glances which made her prettier
+than ever; for, while confining her neighbor strictly within the limits
+of respect, Mademoiselle Georgette did not hesitate to employ all the
+little coquettish arts that make a man more enamored than ever and put
+the finishing touch to his distraction.</p>
+
+<p>The result was that one day, on leaving Georgette, who had done nothing
+but walk about the room in her simple morning costume, Monsieur de
+Mardeille exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Well! I can't do anything else! I'll send her a little brooch&mdash;in
+diamonds&mdash;rose ones&mdash;something not too expensive; and yet it must be
+pretty; for if it isn't, I know her well enough to know that she is
+quite capable of making a fool of me again. Oh! these women! to think
+that I never spent a sou on them! And this little hussy has made me
+depart from my custom, and now I'm as big a fool as other men."</p>
+
+<p>The next day, when he presented himself at his neighbor's door, Monsieur
+de Mardeille was amiable and lively and in high spirits; one would have
+taken him for a boy of twenty. Having taken a seat beside Georgette, he
+took a little pasteboard box from his pocket and handed it to her,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Allow me, my charming friend, to offer you this token, this proof, of
+my affection; and be assured that in offering it to you I do not
+consider that it gives me the slightest claim to your love; I desire to
+owe that to your heart alone."<a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Good! that is very well said," replied Georgette, hastily opening the
+box, in which she found a little brooch, worth eight or nine hundred
+francs, and very effective.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! this is most gallant of you!" she cried. "Really, monsieur, you are
+coming on!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? I am coming on?" thought Mardeille; "what does she mean by
+that? No matter! I won't ask any questions. This will touch her, and I
+am sure that to-morrow she will be the one to say: 'I expect you
+to-night.'"</p>
+
+<p>"This is a lovely brooch," said Georgette.</p>
+
+<p>"And you will deign to accept it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Will I accept it? Most assuredly, monsieur, and I am very grateful to
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"She is grateful for it; that's good!" said our seducer to himself; "the
+rest will go of itself. I won't commit the blunder of seeking payment
+now for my present; I'll go away, that will be more adroit.&mdash;I am
+obliged to leave you, my dear neighbor," he said, rising.</p>
+
+<p>"Already, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"That word is very pleasant in your mouth!&mdash;Yes&mdash;I have some urgent
+business to attend to. I leave you so soon with the greatest regret, but
+to-morrow, I hope, I shall be more fortunate."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so, too, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>Mardeille bowed most respectfully to the young woman; without even
+taking her hand. He took his leave, enchanted with what he had done.</p>
+
+<p>"I have taken the right way," he thought. "Women are stubborn, as a
+general rule; to refrain from asking them for anything is enough to
+induce them to grant you everything. The little one is mine now!"<a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XIV_COLINETS_SECOND_VISIT" id="G-XIV_COLINETS_SECOND_VISIT"></a>XIV<br /><br />
+COLINET'S SECOND VISIT</h2>
+
+<p>On the day following the gift of the brooch, Monsieur de Mardeille,
+buoyed up by the sweetest hopes, left his couch with this thought in his
+mind:</p>
+
+<p>"I will make a careful toilet, but I won't go to see my young friend too
+early; I must let her wish for my coming. After breakfast I will go to
+my window, and I am sure that Georgette will beckon me to come to her.
+Yes, that is the more adroit way."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille breakfasted slowly; he enjoyed his coffee as, in
+anticipation, he enjoyed his coming triumph; at last, after glancing
+over several newspapers, he went to one of the windows looking on the
+courtyard, thinking that he had given her time enough to wish for his
+coming and that he would do well to show himself.</p>
+
+<p>On opening his window he looked at once toward his little neighbor's,
+and saw a young man seated beside Georgette, holding both her hands and
+gazing at her most affectionately. Thereupon our gallant frowned,
+compressed his lips, and stared in dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi!" he exclaimed; "with a young man! She's with a young man, and
+she pretends to receive visits from no man but me! And this is her
+gratitude for my brooch! Ah! we'll see about this! I won't allow myself
+to be fooled in this way! I must find out who this young man is who
+holds both her hands, when I can hardly induce her to let me hold one."<a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a></p>
+
+<p>The man whom he had discovered in his neighbor's apartment was young
+Colinet, whom we already know. His dress was almost exactly the same as
+he had worn on the occasion of his first visit to Georgette, except that
+his broadcloth trousers were replaced by linen ones, and that he carried
+a light switch instead of his stout stick. A much greater change had
+taken place on his face, however; in the intervening three months, his
+innocent, shy air had given place to one more sedate and thoughtful; it
+was still frank and open, but the artless expression had disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how glad I am to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" said Colinet, taking
+the girl's hands.</p>
+
+<p>"And I to see you, Colinet! It makes me very happy, I can tell you! And
+you say that everybody at home is well&mdash;my father and mother and
+sisters?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, mamzelle, I left them all in good health; and here's a letter that
+Mamzelle Suzanne, your second sister, gave me for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! give it to me, give it to me quick, Colinet!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette eagerly seized the letter that the young man had brought her;
+she broke the seal and read it to herself inaudibly; the expression of
+her face betrayed her deep interest in its contents. While Georgette was
+reading, Colinet looked about, apparently making an inspection of the
+room.</p>
+
+<p>"It's very nice here," he muttered; "much finer than it was in the other
+place."</p>
+
+<p>Having finished reading the letter, Georgette put it in her bosom, then
+smiled anew at Colinet, who said:</p>
+
+<p>"Will that letter bring you back to the province?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet, Colinet."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you still enjoy yourself more in Paris?"<a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It is not that, my friend; but I came here for a certain purpose; and I
+shall not leave Paris until I have finished what I have begun."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you're doing some work here, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>"And you won't tell me what it is? Perhaps I could help you."</p>
+
+<p>"No, you couldn't help me; and it's better that I shouldn't tell you now
+what I am trying to do; but you shall know some day; yes, I promise you
+that some day you shall know everything; and you won't blame me,
+Colinet; on the contrary, I am sure that you will approve of what I have
+done."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, I shan't blame you; for I know you, I do, and I
+know that you ain't capable of doing anything wrong. But, dear me! your
+head's a little&mdash;what do they call it down home?&mdash;a little solid; and
+when you've made up your mind to do something, why, you've got to do
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Mayn't one have a strong will, as long as it doesn't lead one to do
+wrong?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes! Oh! you can have anything; but you used to <i>thou</i> me, and now
+I'm sorry to find that you've stopped doing it."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette blushed as she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"That is true, Colinet; but it ought not to hurt your feelings&mdash;far from
+it&mdash;for I don't like you any the less on that account. But it seems to
+me that I ought not to speak to you so familiarly as I used to when we
+were children."</p>
+
+<p>"If you like me just as much, I ought not to complain; but I love you
+more and more every day, Georgette."<a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! so much the better! that's just what I want! Above all things,
+don't you ever change; for I count on your love, Colinet!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, can a man ever change when he loves you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Kiss me, Colinet."</p>
+
+<p>"With all my heart!"</p>
+
+<p>The opposite neighbor did not see the kiss, because all this had taken
+place before he went to the window.</p>
+
+<p>"What about that Monsieur Dupont I saw in your room so often when I was
+here before?" queried Colinet; "do you still see him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Colinet, I don't see Monsieur Dupont any more."</p>
+
+<p>The young man smiled. He seemed delighted to hear that; but his brow
+grew dark when Georgette added:</p>
+
+<p>"No, I never see him now, but I do see another man."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you have made the acquaintance of another man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, a very stylish gentleman who lives in this house; he comes to see
+me very often."</p>
+
+<p>"Very often?"</p>
+
+<p>"You'll probably see him very soon. Then, as I shall tell him, which is
+perfectly true, that you are an old playfellow of mine, don't forget
+that I am supposed to be a Norman."</p>
+
+<p>"A Norman! But that isn't true; you are from Toul, in Lorraine."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that very well, Colinet; but that is just what this gentleman
+mustn't find out; and, above all things, don't mention my parents' name
+before him&mdash;remember that."</p>
+
+<p>"Why on earth do you make all this mystery with this man? You haven't
+ever done anything wrong, I know; so why do you conceal your family
+name, mamzelle?"<a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You told me that you had confidence in me, Colinet."</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure&mdash;I have it still."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, my friend, don't ask me questions that I can't answer
+now. I have told you that it will all be explained some day, and that
+ought to be enough for you."</p>
+
+<p>"That's true, mamzelle; I was wrong to ask you questions; I won't say
+any more about it.&mdash;So you're a Norman, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; from a little village near Rouen."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the name of the village?"</p>
+
+<p>"The name? I haven't an idea; what difference does it make? any name
+will do. That man doesn't know all the suburbs of Rouen. Call it
+Belair&mdash;there are Belairs in every province."</p>
+
+<p>"All right; and I'm a Norman, too, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course."</p>
+
+<p>"And may I still raise calves?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? cattle are raised everywhere. Hush! I hear my neighbor coming
+upstairs."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille had crossed the courtyard like a rocket; he ran up
+the stairs without stopping for breath, entered Georgette's room like a
+shot out of a catapult, and, without even acknowledging the salutation
+of Colinet, who rose as he entered, he took his stand in front of the
+young woman and exclaimed in a hoarse voice:</p>
+
+<p>"It is I, mademoiselle!"</p>
+
+<p>"So I see, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't expect me&mdash;that is to say, not at this moment, I fancy."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not, pray, monsieur? I never expect you. You come when you please;
+neighbors don't stand on ceremony."<a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;but I thought&mdash;I didn't expect to find you with company, as you
+said you never received anybody but me."</p>
+
+<p>The girl's face became grave and stern; she looked at Monsieur de
+Mardeille with a wrathful expression, exclaiming:</p>
+
+<p>"Let me tell you, monsieur, that I consider that what you have just said
+is in the worst possible taste. If, up to the present time, it has
+suited me to receive no other visits than yours, you may be perfectly
+sure that it hasn't been from any desire to be agreeable to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle, I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, to hear you, anyone would think that I am dependent on
+you, that you have some claim over me! You make me blush for you,
+monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>The ex-beau turned as red as a gobbler; he shuffled his feet about and
+tore his gloves, but did not know what to reply.</p>
+
+<p>"To-day," continued Georgette, "my old playfellow, the friend of my
+childhood, who has just come from our province to bring me news of my
+relatives, has called on me. He will always be welcome in my home. I was
+about to introduce him to you, monsieur, when you began to say such
+nonsensical things! You were not polite enough to acknowledge the bow my
+friend Colinet gave you when you came in. You know so well what is
+customary and proper, monsieur, that you will allow me to believe that
+you are not in your ordinary frame of mind this morning, and that
+something has happened to upset you.&mdash;Sit down again, Colinet, my
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille did not know where he was; Georgette's haughty
+glance had rooted him to the floor. At last, he turned to Colinet and
+made him a low bow; then he concluded to take a chair, muttering, as he
+did so:<a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is true, I have a sick headache this morning, a very bad one;
+it makes me feel wretched."</p>
+
+<p>"All right! tell us that, and we will excuse you for being in an ill
+humor.&mdash;Colinet, my friend, are you in Paris for long?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, Mamzelle Georgette; I can only stay one day; I must go back
+to-morrow afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>The neighbor's face became amiable once more; he straightened himself up
+in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you in such a hurry, Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have several places to stop at on my way back&mdash;to collect the price
+of cattle we've sold."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur is a cattle raiser?" Mardeille inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; I deal in horned cattle mostly, because there's always a
+market for them."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, it's an excellent business," said Monsieur de
+Mardeille.&mdash;Then he leaned toward Georgette and said to her, almost
+timidly:</p>
+
+<p>"You're not wearing your brooch?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I should think not&mdash;with my jacket!" laughed Georgette. "Is it
+customary to put on a brooch so early in the morning?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got a chicken to roast?"<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a> queried Colinet. "I'll help you,
+if you want; I know all about chickens."</p>
+
+<p>Georgette laughed aloud, and Monsieur de Mardeille tried to do the same;
+but his laughter was not sincere.</p>
+
+<p>"We're not talking about chickens, my dear Colinet, nor of the kind of
+<i>broche</i> you have in mind," said the young shirtmaker, when her
+merriment had somewhat abated. "Oh! I don't live so magnificently as
+that; my<a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a> repasts are more modest. Still, my friend, if you will
+breakfast with me to-morrow, before you go away, I will have a sausage
+and a meat pie; with those and a good appetite, one can breakfast
+perfectly&mdash;isn't that so?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure, mamzelle; I won't fail to be here."</p>
+
+<p>"If Monsieur de Mardeille would like to join us, and doesn't consider
+our breakfast unworthy of him, he would give us great pleasure by
+accepting my invitation."</p>
+
+<p>Our dandy's face became radiant. He bowed and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Unworthy of me! A repast over which you preside! Why, on the contrary,
+it will seem delicious to me, and I accept your kind invitation with all
+my heart. But I will ask your permission to bring a few bottles of wine
+from my cellar; that will do no harm."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! bring whatever you choose; we are not proud; we accept whatever
+anyone offers us."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, my charming neighbor, it's a bargain; I will breakfast
+with you to-morrow. Meanwhile, I will leave you, for you may have a
+thousand messages to give monsieur for your relations and friends,
+commissions to intrust to him, and I should be very sorry to incommode
+you. Au revoir, my dear neighbor!&mdash;Bonjour, monsieur, until
+to-morrow!&mdash;At what hour do you breakfast, neighbor?"</p>
+
+<p>"At ten o'clock, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good; I will be on time."</p>
+
+<p>And the ex-beau retired, as well pleased as he had been furious when he
+arrived; a few words from Georgette had sufficed to effect this
+revolution in his humor; to be sure, she had a way of saying them which
+precluded the possibility of a reply.</p>
+
+<p>After Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet seemed to be reflecting
+profoundly, and Georgette asked him:<a name="page_321" id="page_321"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking about, my friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"About that gentleman who was here just now. How he spoke to you when he
+came in!"</p>
+
+<p>"And you heard how I answered him."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that did my heart good! Is that old beau making love to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but don't be alarmed, Colinet; he's no more dangerous to me than
+Monsieur Dupont was."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you, as you say so. But what made you ask him to breakfast
+with us to-morrow? I should have liked it better to be with you alone."</p>
+
+<p>"And so should I, my friend; but I did what I thought it best to do, for
+I don't want to break with my neighbor yet, and that is what would have
+happened if I hadn't invited him. I am going to answer my sister
+Suzanne's letter now, and then write to Aimée. I'll give you the letters
+to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, I'll go out and do some errands; for you know how it is in the
+country: when anyone comes to Paris, people try to see who can give him
+the most errands to do. I promised to dine with some friends; so I
+shan't see you again till to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Come early, then, so that we can have time to talk a little before
+breakfast."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette. Oh! what a pity that we two aren't going to
+breakfast all alone together!"</p>
+
+<p>"A time will come, Colinet, when we two shall often be alone; but
+perhaps you won't be so anxious for it then."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Georgette! you don't think that!"</p>
+
+<p>The girl's only reply was to hold out her hand to her old playfellow. He
+squeezed it, then covered it with kisses; and Georgette was obliged to
+remind him of all his commissions before he could make up his mind to
+leave her.<a name="page_322" id="page_322"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XV_A_DAINTY_BREAKFAST" id="G-XV_A_DAINTY_BREAKFAST"></a>XV<br /><br />
+A DAINTY BREAKFAST</h2>
+
+<p>At nine o'clock the following morning, Frontin carried to Georgette's
+apartment a <i>terrine</i> de foie gras, a small Reims ham, cakes, some
+superb fruit, bordeaux, madeira, and champagne. The valet, remembering
+the tone in which the shirtmaker had spoken to him, was as polite to her
+now as he had formerly been impertinent.</p>
+
+<p>Georgette received all these supplies with no indication of surprise,
+whereas Colinet, who had already arrived at his compatriot's rooms,
+opened his eyes in amazement and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"What! are we going to eat all that? Why, what a feast, Mamzelle
+Georgette! what a feast! That gentleman must be head over heels in love
+with you to send you so many good things!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that that proves his love, Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well! it must prove something, anyway!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it proves that he would like to seduce me; for there are women who
+allow themselves to be seduced through their appetite."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! there are lots of 'em. Why, at home, there's Manette, who went
+into the woods with Blaise for a plum tart! But you ain't one of that
+kind, Georgette!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not I! I will eat all these things, and my neighbor won't be any
+further ahead. You won't forget to give my sisters the letters I gave
+you, will you, Colinet?"<a name="page_323" id="page_323"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I should think not! Do I ever forget anything you tell me? Especially
+as Suzanne and Aimée are always terribly impatient to get your letters."</p>
+
+<p>"I can believe it. Poor sisters!"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you told them that you're coming home soon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet, my friend, not yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to stay in Paris much longer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! I haven't any idea."</p>
+
+<p>"And your mother, dear Maman Granery! Oh! she longs so for you!"</p>
+
+<p>"My mother! Oh! Colinet, please tell her that I love her as dearly as
+ever, that she will never have to blush for me, and that I&mdash;&mdash; But,
+hush! I hear Monsieur de Mardeille."</p>
+
+<p>The neighbor from the first floor entered the room, all smiles and
+amiability and merriment. He presented his respects to Georgette and
+slapped Colinet familiarly on the shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Really, monsieur, you are very kind to us," said Georgette; "you have
+sent us so many things! My poor little pie won't dare to appear beside
+your gifts!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are jesting, my dear neighbor! We will punish your pie with the
+rest&mdash;eh, Monsieur Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, I ask nothing better."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, messieurs, let us begin."</p>
+
+<p>They took their seats at a table which was not elegantly furnished, but
+was exquisitely neat. Flowers took the place of the wonderful <i>surtouts</i>
+which adorn the tables of the wealthy; and women have the art of
+arranging flowers with so much taste, that they always achieve lovely
+decorative effects with them. And then, too, Georgette did the honors of
+the table without embarrassment or awkwardness; and lastly, she still
+wore her<a name="page_324" id="page_324"></a> little silk petticoat and her jacket, which made her
+altogether fascinating.</p>
+
+<p>"You will excuse me, monsieur, for not dressing for the occasion," she
+said to her neighbor; "but I am more comfortable this way; and then I
+should have been afraid of spoiling my beautiful gown."</p>
+
+<p>"You are enchanting in this costume, my little neighbor; I should have
+been terribly distressed if you had made your toilet.&mdash;Don't you agree
+with me, Monsieur Colinet? don't you think that Mademoiselle Georgette
+is very seductive in this charming négligé?"</p>
+
+<p>Colinet was busy eating; however, he replied, shaking his head:</p>
+
+<p>"I am used to seeing mamzelle like this! At home, we never dress up,
+except for the church festivals."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is your home, Monsieur Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>The young man glanced at Georgette, who guessed that he had forgotten
+the name she had told him; so she replied for him:</p>
+
+<p>"Belair, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Belair! I don't know of any town of that name in Normandie."</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't a town; it's a village."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! if it's only a village, that makes a difference. Drink, Monsieur
+Colinet. Are you fond of wine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; especially when it's as good as this."</p>
+
+<p>"And then, you don't drink much of anything but cider in your province,
+I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Cider?"&mdash;And Colinet looked surprised; but Georgette kicked him, under
+the table, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes! cider, of course. Cider is much more common at home&mdash;in
+Normandie&mdash;than wine. So I advise<a name="page_325" id="page_325"></a> you not to drink too much of this,
+Colinet, for it would soon make you tipsy!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, you need have no fear," rejoined Monsieur de Mardeille;
+"natural wines never do any harm."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! that's his business. But if you make him tipsy, he won't be able
+to start for home to-day."</p>
+
+<p>This suggestion from Georgette checked the ex-dandy, who was about to
+fill the young man's glass, but reflected that it would be very foolish
+to prevent the old playfellow from going away from Paris.</p>
+
+<p>The breakfast lasted a long while; Colinet succeeded in retaining his
+reason, while doing honor to the neighbor's wines. Georgette was careful
+to change the subject when Monsieur de Mardeille mentioned Normandie.
+When the clock struck one, the latter rose and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I must go to the Bourse."</p>
+
+<p>"And I," said Colinet, "must think about starting for home."</p>
+
+<p>"A pleasant journey, Monsieur Colinet! We shall meet again, I hope."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!" said Georgette; "you will certainly see him again."</p>
+
+<p>When Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet said, with a sigh:</p>
+
+<p>"He's luckier than I am, that man is; for he stays with you, and I am
+going to leave you again!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Colinet, he isn't luckier than you, for I love you, and I shall
+never have either love or friendship for that man."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! if that's so, you're right, I am luckier than he is! His breakfast
+was mighty good! But, for all that, I'd rather have nothing but
+potatoes, with nobody but you!"</p>
+
+<p>"So would I, my friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you ought not to have invited him!"<a name="page_326" id="page_326"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to begin your questions again, Colinet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, no! forgive me; I'm done."</p>
+
+<p>"Then kiss me and go; and kiss my father and mother and sisters for me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! never you fear; I won't fail."</p>
+
+<p>Colinet kissed Georgette and went away, weeping as bitterly as on the
+previous occasion.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XVI_TWELVE_THOUSAND_FRANCS" id="G-XVI_TWELVE_THOUSAND_FRANCS"></a>XVI<br /><br />
+TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS</h2>
+
+<p>About five o'clock in the afternoon, Monsieur de Mardeille returned to
+Georgette's room, having seen her sitting at the window, alone.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, so your young compatriot has gone?" he said, taking a seat by her
+side.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, a long while ago; almost as soon as you went."</p>
+
+<p>"That young man seems to be very fond of you."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he's a true friend."</p>
+
+<p>"But isn't he your lover?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have told you, monsieur, that I have no lover; and I can add, without
+lying, that I have never had one."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you, my dear neighbor, I believe you; although it's a rare
+thing to find in Paris a girl of twenty&mdash;for you are twenty, are you
+not?"</p>
+
+<p>"And six months, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"And six months! that makes it all the more remarkable! A girl who is
+virtuous and always has been.<a name="page_327" id="page_327"></a> Oh! that is very pretty! But, after all,
+I suppose that you do not intend to retain your&mdash;heart always?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, monsieur; one cannot tell what may happen."</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo! very well answered!"</p>
+
+<p>And Monsieur de Mardeille moved his chair nearer to Georgette's, and
+murmured:</p>
+
+<p>"And suppose circumstances should bring you in contact with a man who
+adores you, whose happiness consists in making you happy,&mdash;like myself,
+for instance,&mdash;then would you yield to him?"</p>
+
+<p>"But women are so weak!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! fascinating girl, I am the happiest of men! you fill my cup to the
+brim!"</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, Monsieur de Mardeille extended his hand toward the little
+black petticoat; but Georgette quickly moved her chair away and struck
+him a smart blow on the fingers, saying in a very serious tone:</p>
+
+<p>"Well! monsieur, what sort of manners are these? I have told you before
+that I did not like that!"</p>
+
+<p>The ex-beau stamped on the floor in a rage, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi! mademoiselle, so you propose to make a fool of me to the end!
+You give me reason to hope that you will cease to be cruel, and then you
+forbid me the slightest liberty! What does it all mean? Where do we
+stand? I would like very much to know what to expect."</p>
+
+<p>"I am not making a fool of you, monsieur; but what led you to think that
+I was about to yield to you already?"</p>
+
+<p>"Already! <i>already</i> is very pretty, on my word! When I have been making
+love to mademoiselle more than two months! when I have made great
+sacrifices for her! I am not talking about the dress&mdash;that was a trifle;
+but you<a name="page_328" id="page_328"></a> seemed to want a diamond brooch, and I sent it to you
+instantly. That was no trifle, allow me to tell you; and when a woman
+accepts such presents&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"She immediately becomes the mistress of the man who gives them; is that
+it, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, yes! at least, that's the general rule."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, monsieur, it isn't according to my ideas!"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, mademoiselle, what are your ideas, or rather your
+demands? for, really, I don't understand you."</p>
+
+<p>"Look you, Monsieur de Mardeille, do you wish me to explain myself
+frankly? do you wish me to tell you what I have resolved upon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! pray explain yourself! that will give me great pleasure!
+Speak! I am impatient to hear you."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to me, then, monsieur. If I, being touched and flattered by your
+present of a brooch, should yield to you to-day, as you claim that I
+ought to do, what would happen, monsieur? This: that when your love, or
+rather your caprice, was once satisfied&mdash;for, with most men of your
+stamp, this ardent love is only a caprice&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! can you believe&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, yes, I do believe it; indeed, I haven't the least doubt
+of it; but let me finish, I beg.&mdash;Well! if I were weak enough, foolish
+enough&mdash;let us not mince words&mdash;to cease to resist, then, in a month, or
+two months, say three months, if you choose, you would have had enough
+of your little grisette; she would bore you, and you would cease to see
+her; more than that, you would avoid her as zealously as you now seek
+her. So the girl is abandoned by the man to whom she sacrificed
+everything, whose oaths she believed! And that man, after making her
+unaccustomed to work by a life of idleness and dissipation, leaves her,
+in most cases, with no resource against<a name="page_329" id="page_329"></a> destitution! But even that is
+not all! If the girl alone were unhappy, that would be much, no doubt,
+but still she alone would be punished for her fault. It is not always
+so. Often, too often, a wretched child is born of that passing
+connection. Then the poor girl, who can hardly support herself by her
+labor, has no means of supporting her child! Isn't that horrible? Ought
+not one to shrink in dismay from such a terrible future?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mademoiselle, you are imagining chimeras! You are romancing!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, I am not romancing; I am simply stating what is seen,
+what happens every day! And you yourself, monsieur, who claim that I am
+inventing chimeras, be frank, if such a thing is possible, and tell me
+if you never seduced and then abandoned a girl in the situation I have
+just sketched? Think over your life, your love affairs, your numerous
+conquests, and tell me, monsieur, if you are quite sure that such a
+thing never happened to you?"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille changed color; he rose, with a sullen expression
+on his face, and paced the floor, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, my numerous conquests, my adventures, aren't in
+question here. I can't go over everything that has happened to me; it
+would take too long. Besides, I don't remember."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, rather, that you don't choose to remember."</p>
+
+<p>"In heaven's name, let us drop this and return to you. According to what
+you have said, if I understand you, you will not yield to anyone&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Until he has placed me in such a position that I need have no fear of
+poverty, and that I can support and educate my child&mdash;if I should have
+one. Yes, monsieur, that<a name="page_330" id="page_330"></a> is my firm and irrevocable resolution, and I
+promise you that I shall not change."</p>
+
+<p>The dandified neighbor made a horrible grimace, and continued to pace
+the floor, mumbling:</p>
+
+<p>"The devil! the devil! you look ahead, mademoiselle; you take your
+precautions."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that forbidden, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but it's very uncommon&mdash;luckily. For you, love, sentiment, a man's
+attractions&mdash;everything that ordinarily captivates a young girl glides
+over your heart without stirring it. Sensibility is not your strong
+point."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so? And are you yourself so very sensitive, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am&mdash;to your charms, most assuredly. But my love does not touch you;
+you are very cruel to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I am less stupid than other women, that's all!"</p>
+
+<p>"However, mademoiselle, if one must settle a fortune on you in order to
+obtain your favors, you must understand that everybody can't afford to
+indulge in such a passion."</p>
+
+<p>"A fortune! Oh! no, monsieur, I am not so ambitious as all that; a
+fortune is not what I ask, but simply the means to bring up the child
+that is so often the result of a woman's fault."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you have in mind only the result! But suppose there isn't any
+result?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, then it will be for the poor girl herself, who will at least be
+secure against want."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! it will be for the girl, if it isn't needed for the child! Very
+good! You think of everything! You would make an excellent cashier for a
+broker!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I should not object to that. As a general rule, men earn more with
+the pen than women do with the needle."<a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is why women don't look to their needle to satisfy their
+coquetry."</p>
+
+<p>"They have no choice, since they are forced to it."</p>
+
+<p>"Nobody forces them to be coquettes."</p>
+
+<p>"But you would be very sorry if they were not!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille continued to pace the floor, humming between his
+teeth:</p>
+
+<p class="c">"'When one knows how to love and please, what other boon can one desire?'</p>
+
+<p class="nind">No, no! that song isn't appropriate!&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="c">'A bandage covers the eyes of the god that makes men love!'</p>
+
+<p class="nind">That is nearer the truth.&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="c">'Come, lady fair, I await thee, I await thee, I await thee!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette went on with her work, as if he were not there. When he was
+tired of singing, he went to the shirtmaker's side and said to her
+abruptly:</p>
+
+<p>"What ought it to cost for a child's porridge?"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette replied, with a smile:</p>
+
+<p>"Seek and ye shall find."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! now you are quoting the Gospel at me! But Saint Peter was scoffing
+at us when he said that; for there's one thing that I have constantly
+sought and have never found. I won't tell you what it is, out of respect
+for your sex, but any man will guess my meaning. But I return to what I
+asked you just now. It seems to me that with two or three thousand
+francs one ought to be able to provide porridge in large quantities and
+for a long time!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you expect a child to live on nothing but porridge?"<a name="page_332" id="page_332"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That or something like it. A child eats so little!"</p>
+
+<p>"But food isn't the only thing it needs. When it grows up, its education
+must be attended to, mustn't it? and then, it must be apprenticed and
+taught a trade. It must know how to earn its living, so that it can help
+its mother when the time comes."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! tra la la! there's no reason why you shouldn't go on! Why don't you
+ask me at once to buy a substitute for him if it's a boy, or to give her
+a dowry if it's a girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that would be no more than right!"</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't I tell you, mademoiselle, that you demanded a fortune?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, you exaggerate. For it seems to me&mdash;yes, let us suppose
+that there's a boy to be brought up&mdash;I am inclined to think that with
+twelve thousand francs it might be done."</p>
+
+<p>"Twelve thousand francs!"&mdash;And Monsieur de Mardeille jumped so high that
+his head nearly struck the ceiling.&mdash;"Twelve thousand francs!" he
+repeated. "Do you think that that is nothing, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think that it is no more than is necessary to make a child into a
+man. Why, by putting that sum in the savings bank at once, one would
+have a little income, which would keep increasing. Oh! you may be sure,
+monsieur, that the mother would keep nothing for herself; but she would
+at least be at ease with respect to her child's future."</p>
+
+<p>"And as she would use none of that little income for herself, she would
+still have to be supported, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur! That sum, once given, would be the whole; she would
+accept nothing more."</p>
+
+<p>The elderly beau began once more to stride back and forth, ejaculating
+from time to time:<a name="page_333" id="page_333"></a></p>
+
+<p>"The world is getting to be a curious place; it's a good school; one
+learns something every day!&mdash;But women are becoming sharper and sharper!
+We're nothing but children beside them! Twelve thousand francs! Why, not
+long ago, a man might have had more than a hundred mistresses with that
+money! I am not speaking for myself, for God knows I never ruined myself
+for women! I always triumphed without untying my purse strings. I prefer
+that way; at all events, I was sure that I was loved on my own account.
+They didn't offer to break the bargain!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know, monsieur, that these reflections of yours are not very
+polite!" said Georgette, annoyed by his soliloquies.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I might at least be permitted to
+complain!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, you may not. You criticise my conduct! But if I choose,
+monsieur, I should have to say but a word to make you blush for yours;
+to force you to lower your crest before me and ask my pardon for all
+your impertinence."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille stared at her and stammered:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't understand a word of what you say, mademoiselle. If you would
+explain yourself a little more clearly&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"It doesn't suit me to do so at this moment; but, never fear, you won't
+lose anything by waiting."</p>
+
+<p>The neighbor took his hat to go, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I won't lose anything? That's a question. I am very much afraid I shall
+have nothing to show for my brooch. If I dared, I'd ask her to give it
+back; but I don't dare, especially as I have an idea that she wouldn't
+do it. This little vixen holds me in awe; she has such a way<a name="page_334" id="page_334"></a> of
+speaking, such a decided tone! What an idiot I have been! This will
+teach me to make sacrifices for women!"</p>
+
+<p>He turned to Georgette, and with a curt nod to her left the room,
+infinitely less radiant than he had been in the morning, and muttering
+between his teeth:</p>
+
+<p>"Twelve thousand francs! a little shirtmaker! What are we coming to?
+Great God! what are we coming to?"</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XVII_A_PARCEL" id="G-XVII_A_PARCEL"></a>XVII<br /><br />
+A PARCEL</h2>
+
+<p>For a week following this interview, the tenant of the first floor front
+was in an unapproachable humor. He went in and out at all hours of the
+day, scolded his servant, ate hardly anything, slept badly, and did not
+once go to the windows looking on the courtyard. One day Frontin
+attempted to speak of the young tenant of the entresol; but his master
+abruptly interposed, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"If you so much as refer to the shirtmaker, if you venture to repeat a
+single word relating to her, I'll put you out of doors with a kick&mdash;you
+know where!"</p>
+
+<p>But at the end of the week, Monsieur de Mardeille, alarmed by his loss
+of appetite and his inability to sleep, and observing in dismay that his
+rosy, smiling face was assuming the semblance of a baked apple, that his
+brow was becoming wrinkled and his cheeks sunken, and that, if that sort
+of thing continued, he would soon appear at least as old as he really
+was, said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Things can't go on like this! I try to divert my thoughts, and I can't
+do it! I pay court to other women,<a name="page_335" id="page_335"></a> they welcome me with open arms, yet
+I don't go back to them! The image of that little Georgette is always
+before my eyes! I see her going back and forth in her chamber, in her
+jacket and short skirt. Her voluptuous shape turns my head! Decidedly I
+am mad over that girl. And after all, I should be a great fool to pine
+away with longing, when it is in my power to be that girl's happy lover!
+I know what it will cost me. But, still, twelve thousand francs won't
+ruin me; especially as she said in so many words that she would not ask
+for anything more after that. And there are women who ask all the time.
+You don't give them so much at one time, but it amounts to the same
+thing, indeed it costs more in the end!"</p>
+
+<p>While making these reflections, Monsieur de Mardeille walked about the
+room, and finally said to Frontin:</p>
+
+<p>"Frontin, is it long since you met our little neighbor?"</p>
+
+<p>The valet, recalling his master's prohibition, stared at him in
+amazement, and then replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Madame Picotée? No; I met her in the courtyard no longer ago than this
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that? who said anything about Madame Picotée, you idiot? Didn't
+I say our little neighbor? What do you suppose I care for that old
+party? I am talking about the girl on the entresol, the charming
+Georgette."</p>
+
+<p>When he heard the pretty shirtmaker's name, Frontin said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"This is a test; monsieur forbade me to speak of her; he is trying to
+test me."</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon he put a finger to his lip and turned to his master, shaking
+his head and laughing, as if to say:</p>
+
+<p>"Not such a fool as you think!"<a name="page_336" id="page_336"></a></p>
+
+<p>And Monsieur de Mardeille, thoroughly out of patience, shook his
+servant's arm, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Will you answer me, you clown?"</p>
+
+<p>"You forbade me to mention the young girl on the entresol, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"I retract that order, numskull!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I couldn't guess that!"</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to mention her now, and to tell me everything you know about
+her. And you must know something, for you're always in the concierge's
+lodge."</p>
+
+<p>"Bless me! monsieur, it's the same old story: Monsieur Bistelle keeps
+sending Mamzelle Georgette bouquets and billets-doux, begging her to
+receive him; but, <i>nisco!</i> she won't receive him, and she sends back his
+billets-doux."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? Georgette refuses to receive that fellow? That's good! She
+received me; and my neighbor is rich and must have made her handsome
+offers! So she gave me the preference; therefore she must have a
+penchant for me! She resists me only because she's got that wretched
+notion of dread of possible results in her head. But I am preferred;
+therefore she loves me; it's just the same thing. Is that all you know,
+Frontin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! the gentleman&mdash;the old bachelor, Monsieur Renardin, has been trying
+to send something else to our little neighbor. He ordered a superb Savoy
+biscuit. I don't know how Mademoiselle Arthémise found out about it, but
+she did. So then she did sentry duty in the concierge's lodge, and
+stopped the pastry cook's boy as he passed, got possession of the Savoy
+biscuit, hollowed it out, and put it on her head, so that she looked
+like a Turk. She went all over the house with the biscuit on<a name="page_337" id="page_337"></a> her head,
+and waited on her master at dinner that way. He happened to have
+company, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"That was well done! Think of that man flattering himself that he could
+seduce her with biscuits! What a jackass!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille went to the window and raised the curtain.
+Georgette was in her usual place, and seemed to him even more seductive
+than ever. He feared that she might be offended with him; however, he
+could not resist the desire to open the window and seat himself at it;
+then he watched for a glance from her. It was not long before she raised
+her eyes in his direction; whereupon he made her a low bow, to which she
+replied by a most affable smile. He was enchanted, radiant; he passed an
+hour at the window; and Georgette looked at him and smiled several
+times.</p>
+
+<p>"She isn't angry; she will receive me kindly&mdash;I saw that in her eyes,"
+he said to himself. "Yes, I can call on her without fear. True; but if I
+don't follow out her suggestion, I shall not make any progress."</p>
+
+<p>The day passed, and Monsieur de Mardeille had been unable to decide what
+course to pursue. He went to his desk several times, looked through his
+cashbox, counted the banknotes, gazed at them with a sigh, then restored
+them to their place. Love and avarice were fighting a battle to the
+death in his heart, and his long-standing habits were being subjected to
+a cruel shock.</p>
+
+<p>The next day he was still wavering, hesitating, unable to decide upon
+any plan, when Frontin suddenly came to him and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Do come and look out of the window, monsieur; Mamzelle Georgette is in
+the courtyard, pumping; if you could see how gracefully she pumps!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, let's see that!"<a name="page_338" id="page_338"></a></p>
+
+<p>Our lover hastened to take his place at a window that overlooked the
+pump. Georgette was there, in the little petticoat that clung about her
+hips; and the exercise of pumping developed all her good points most
+happily. Did the girl suspect it? Probably, for she seemed to take
+pleasure in what is to most people tiresome labor.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille, having gazed for several minutes at the animated
+picture before him, hurried to his cashbox and took out a bundle of
+banknotes. His hesitation was at an end; he stuffed them hastily into a
+wallet, which he put in his pocket; then, making a rapid toilet, he left
+his room and betook himself to Georgette's apartment, saying to himself,
+like Cæsar as he passed the Rubicon: "<i>Alea jacta est!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>The young shirtmaker had hardly time enough to leave the pump, reach her
+room, and resume her work, ere she saw Monsieur de Mardeille enter,
+eager, agitated, and throbbing with hope. He rushed toward Georgette,
+took a seat near her, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear little neighbor, I have come to ask your pardon&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"My pardon! Why, I have no recollection that you have offended me,
+monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, yes! The last time that I was here I said things to you that I
+shouldn't have said."</p>
+
+<p>"If you did, monsieur, I have forgotten them."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that is well done! how amiable of you! But I could not live away
+from you, charming Georgette; I was too unhappy!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is so true, that to prove my love I have decided to submit to every
+sacrifice&mdash;which I never did before for any woman. But what would one
+not do to touch that<a name="page_339" id="page_339"></a> bewitching petticoat, which always flies when I
+try to catch it! See, fascinating girl; take this wallet; it contains
+twelve thousand francs in banknotes! Will this put an end to your
+rigorous treatment of me?"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette's cheeks flushed; a gleam of joy, of triumph, shone in her
+eyes; she took the portfolio, looked at it without opening it, and said
+in an uncertain voice:</p>
+
+<p>"As you have done this, I must needs yield to you. But I ask you for a
+respite of one more day. I want to think of my family to-day, to recall
+my childish memories; but to-morrow, oh! to-morrow, you will no longer
+find me cruel!"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot refuse anything to her who promises me perfect bliss! So
+to-morrow you will not be wild and shy any more&mdash;you will let me touch
+that little villain of a skirt that puts my heart in a flutter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I promise you that you shall touch it all you choose to-morrow, and
+that I shall not object!"</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, enough, my divinity! I do not care to hear any more, and I
+leave you until to-morrow; for if I should stay with you, I would not
+answer for my self-restraint. Until to-morrow! We will breakfast
+together, and your windows will be closed, won't they?"</p>
+
+<p>"They will be, you will see."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille took his leave; he was in raptures, and said to
+himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She put me off till to-morrow. I have an idea that, before yielding to
+me, she wanted to know by count if there really was the amount I
+mentioned in the wallet. She's a cautious damsel; she won't allow
+herself to be caught very easily! But what difference does it make to
+me? She will find that I haven't deceived her; and this time she will
+keep her promise, I am sure."<a name="page_340" id="page_340"></a></p>
+
+<p>An afternoon and evening are interminable when the next day is to
+witness the fulfilment of all one's hopes. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+what he could to kill the time: he called on some friends, dined at a
+restaurant, looked in at several theatres, went home very late, went to
+bed, and fell asleep at last, dreaming of Georgette.</p>
+
+<p>The so ardently desired day broke at last. Our gallant awoke rather
+late, and rang for Frontin, who came in on tiptoe.</p>
+
+<p>"What time is it, Frontin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly ten o'clock, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"What! you let me sleep so late as this without waking me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wake monsieur! He did not tell me to, and I should never think of
+taking the liberty!"</p>
+
+<p>"No matter! prepare everything for my toilet. You must curl my hair, and
+take pains with it; I want to be very handsome this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur always is that!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not bad, for a numskull!"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean that when a man is rich he is always handsome."</p>
+
+<p>"You are talking nonsense now. By the way, Frontin, look out of the
+dining-room window and tell me if my little neighbor Georgette is at her
+window."</p>
+
+<p>Frontin obeyed; in a moment he returned and said:</p>
+
+<p>"It's very extraordinary, monsieur; all the windows are closed in
+Mamzelle Georgette's rooms, and usually they're all wide open!"</p>
+
+<p>"Closed!" repeated Monsieur de Mardeille, with a smile. "Oh! I remember;
+that's what I asked her to do, yesterday; that proves that she is
+expecting me. Stupid of me to sleep so late!&mdash;Come, Frontin, be quick
+about my hair."<a name="page_341" id="page_341"></a></p>
+
+<p>The servant dressed his master's hair in haste. When he had put the
+finishing touches to it, Monsieur de Mardeille said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, go to the sideboard and get some madeira, bordeaux, and champagne,
+which you will carry to my little neighbor, and tell her that I am at
+your heels. I will be at her room in five minutes."</p>
+
+<p>Frontin disappeared; but he returned before his master had finished
+dressing; he had two bottles under his arms and the third in his hand,
+and his face wore a more inane expression than usual.</p>
+
+<p>"How is this, imbecile? Haven't you done yet what I told you? Why don't
+you carry those bottles to Georgette's?" shouted Monsieur de Mardeille.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I've been there, but I couldn't find
+anyone. That's why I've come back with my bottles."</p>
+
+<p>"Couldn't find anyone! She has gone out to buy something, no
+doubt.&mdash;Couldn't you wait on her landing a minute?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is what I thought of doing at first, monsieur; but it was just as
+well I didn't, for it seems that I should have wasted my time."</p>
+
+<p>"Wasted your time? What do you mean? Come, come! explain yourself!"</p>
+
+<p>"When I was coming back, monsieur, I met the concierge.&mdash;'Has Mamzelle
+Georgette gone out already?' I said. 'Do you know whether she'll be back
+soon?'&mdash;At that he began to laugh, and he said: 'Pardi! if you wait for
+her, you'll waste your time; she went away last night.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Went away last night? Nonsense! you don't know what you're saying; you
+misunderstood! Went away! where did she go?"<a name="page_342" id="page_342"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That's what I asked, monsieur. It seems that the girl has moved. She
+paid the concierge last night; she sent for an upholsterer, and sold him
+all her furniture; then she took a cab, and off she went without saying
+where she was going."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille turned green, red, and ash-colored in turn.</p>
+
+<p>"A glass of water, Frontin! a glass of water!" he stammered, dropping on
+a chair. "I think I am going to faint."</p>
+
+<p>The servant hastily gave his master a glass of water, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Was monsieur so very much in love with our little neighbor?"</p>
+
+<p>At that, Monsieur de Mardeille threw the water in Frontin's face.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold your tongue, you brute! I am robbed, that's what I am! Fetch the
+concierge; I must speak to him."</p>
+
+<p>"He has something for you from Mamzelle Georgette, monsieur; for he said
+to me: 'Is your master awake? I've got something to give him in person
+from this young woman, who gave me the parcel before she went away.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And you didn't tell me that, you idiot! Go, run, and tell him to come
+up instantly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hark! monsieur, someone's ringing; that must be him. I'll go and let
+him in."</p>
+
+<p>The old beau was still wavering between hope and fear.</p>
+
+<p>"This package&mdash;why, she must have returned me my banknotes," he thought.
+"She has probably reflected, and concluded to remain virtuous. If that's
+how it is, I must make the best of it."</p>
+
+<p>The concierge entered his tenant's apartment, bringing a rather large
+parcel, carefully wrapped in paper; he carried it on his outstretched
+arms, as if he were delivering<a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a> the keys of a city on a salver, and
+handed it to Monsieur de Mardeille, who looked at it, scrutinized it,
+and at once said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't give her enough banknotes to make so large a parcel as this!"</p>
+
+<p>"This is what the young woman on the entresol told me to give you,
+monsieur, when she went away."</p>
+
+<p>"Went away! But why did you let the girl go away? Did you give her
+notice to quit?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; but she paid in full and one quarter ahead, so I couldn't
+prevent her from going, especially as she seemed in a great hurry."</p>
+
+<p>"And you didn't ask her where she was going?"</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon; she told me that she was going back to her province,
+but that she should come to Paris again in a week."</p>
+
+<p>"And she didn't leave you her address?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; but she left me this little note for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Give it to me! you should have begun with that! Leave me now.&mdash;You go,
+too, Frontin."</p>
+
+<p>The concierge and the valet left the room together, agreeing that it was
+too bad that he had not opened the parcel in their presence.</p>
+
+<p>"I should have liked to know what it was the little shirtmaker sent
+him," said the concierge.</p>
+
+<p>"You had it in your hands; couldn't you feel what there was inside the
+paper?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, no!"</p>
+
+<p>"Was it hard?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; it was soft."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it's probably a cheese that she had sent to her from her
+province."<a name="page_344" id="page_344"></a></p>
+
+<p>When he was alone, Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in opening the
+parcel; it contained the little black petticoat that Georgette usually
+wore.</p>
+
+<p>"Her petticoat! She sends me her petticoat!" cried Monsieur de
+Mardeille. "What bitter mockery!"</p>
+
+<p>Then he unsealed the letter and read these words:</p>
+
+<p>"I told you that to-day you would be able to hold and fondle my little
+petticoat at your leisure. You see that I keep my word; here it is. You
+will think very badly of me, will you not, monsieur? Before you condemn
+me, wait until you have seen me again, which will be as soon as I can
+possibly arrange it. Yes, have no fear; you shall hear from me."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille was speechless; the letter dropped from his hands.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XVIII_A_BLASE_YOUNG_MAN" id="G-XVIII_A_BLASE_YOUNG_MAN"></a>XVIII<br /><br />
+A BLASÉ YOUNG MAN</h2>
+
+<p>It was a fortnight after the events we have narrated.</p>
+
+<p>In a very handsome apartment on Rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, a young man
+attired in a superb robe de chambre was strolling listlessly from one
+room to another, smoking a cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>This young man was the Vicomte de Sommerston. The descendant of a very
+wealthy Irish family, Edward de Sommerston was born in France and had
+never chosen to visit the home of his ancestors. He had come into
+possession of an income of eighty thousand francs at the age of
+twenty-one, and had immediately plunged into<a name="page_345" id="page_345"></a> the life of pleasure,
+dissipation, and debauchery which ages men so rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>He was tall, well built, handsome, and rich&mdash;this was twice more than
+enough to kill in ten years a man who was unable to resist his passions.
+The viscount was now twenty-nine; he was not dead yet, but he was not
+much better than that; he had not only used, but abused everything. The
+list of his mistresses was enormously long, especially as there were
+many of them whom he had known no more than a week, as he was an
+essentially fickle and capricious youth. The woman he adored to-day was
+an object of indifference to him to-morrow. Unluckily for him, he had
+never fallen in with any cruel charmers, his reputation as a rake and
+<i>mauvais sujet</i> being, on the contrary, a powerful recommendation with
+the ladies to whom he addressed his homage.</p>
+
+<p>Edward had run through the half of his fortune; he had enough remaining
+to enable him to live comfortably, if he had known how to make a wise
+use of it; but he did not know how to do anything, even to amuse
+himself: everything was a burden and a bore to him. He was no longer
+capable of loving; he had ruined his stomach by flooding it with
+champagne and malvoisie; he still gambled from time to time, but without
+enjoyment unless luck was exceedingly unfavorable to him; when he lost
+heavily, he experienced a sort of excitement which brought a little life
+to his pallid, wasted face.</p>
+
+<p>A single passion retained its power over him: he still smoked. It was
+impossible to meet him without a cigarette in his mouth; and that was
+followed by another and another and another; wherever he might be, at
+home or elsewhere, he smoked continually; he could not do<a name="page_346" id="page_346"></a> without it,
+he said. He owed that lamentable habit to the foolish good nature of
+those ladies who allowed him to smoke in their rooms, and sometimes
+smoked with him. What do you think about the fair sex smoking?</p>
+
+<p>To no purpose had the doctors told the viscount:</p>
+
+<p>"You make a mistake to smoke so much; it's injuring your health; you
+cough constantly, your lungs are weak, and you'll dry them up completely
+by smoking as you do; you'll go into a consumption."</p>
+
+<p>These warnings, instead of being acted upon, had produced the opposite
+effect on the young man, who insisted that he knew better than the
+doctors.</p>
+
+<p>"Bah!" he said to himself; "they tell me not to smoke. Well! I'll smoke
+more than ever, to let them see how much I think of their advice."</p>
+
+<p>In fact, the number of cigarettes he smoked in a day reached such a
+fabulous figure, that his valet's sole occupation was to make them for
+his master.</p>
+
+<p>From time to time, Edward had travelled, hoping to find new sensations
+amid new scenes. He had visited Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and England;
+but, unluckily, the man who can scatter gold along his path meets with
+no obstacles to his desires in any country; women are coquettish, men
+are selfish, innkeepers have an eye to the main chance, servants are
+flatterers, everywhere. In Spain, thanks to the national jealousy, the
+viscount had fought several duels; but as he handled both sword and
+pistol with skill, he was always victorious, which fact afforded him no
+pleasure at all.</p>
+
+<p>Once, as he was travelling in Switzerland, and trying to climb some
+glacier, he fell over a precipice, and lay there nearly six hours before
+he was rescued by guides, by means of rope ladders. He was half frozen,
+but well<a name="page_347" id="page_347"></a> content, and he remembered that day as one of the pleasantest
+during his travels.</p>
+
+<p>He had returned to Paris, after a trip to Italy, only three weeks before
+we first meet him strolling about his apartments, smoking cigarettes,
+which he rarely finished, and followed at a distance by his valet,
+Lépinette, preparing others. Suddenly he halted in the middle of his
+salon, and asked:</p>
+
+<p>"What time is it, Lépinette?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly three o'clock, monsieur le vicomte."</p>
+
+<p>"Really? Give me a cigarette."</p>
+
+<p>"Here it is, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"I will finish dressing.&mdash;What in the devil am I going to do to-day,
+Lépinette? Do you know?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think that monsieur told three of his friends, Messieurs Florville,
+Dumarsey, and Lamberlong, to call for him to ride in the Bois."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes! you are right. Yes, those gentlemen were to call for me.&mdash;This
+one isn't well made; give me another."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is one, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"To ride in the Bois&mdash;always the same thing; it's horribly
+monotonous.&mdash;Lépinette, you must find something to amuse me."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like nothing better; but monsieur le vicomte is so exacting!
+Things that would delight other gentlemen are indifferent to him, or
+displease him."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true; I am hard to amuse. I resemble Louis XIV in that. I hoped
+to find something new when I came back to Paris.&mdash;This one draws badly;
+give me another."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is one, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"But no&mdash;nothing new or exciting!"<a name="page_348" id="page_348"></a></p>
+
+<p>"There are some very pretty women in the quarter, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! according to your taste, not mine!&mdash;But don't I hear horses in the
+courtyard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; they are your friends, who have called for monsieur le
+vicomte, no doubt."</p>
+
+<p>"Bigre! and I am not dressed! Never mind! they can wait.&mdash;Give me a
+cigarette."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XIX_THE_VISCOUNTS_FRIENDS" id="G-XIX_THE_VISCOUNTS_FRIENDS"></a>XIX<br /><br />
+THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS</h2>
+
+<p>The viscount's friends entered his salon in riding costume, hunting crop
+in hand.</p>
+
+<p>The first was a tall youth of nearly six feet, and so slender and frail
+that he seemed in danger of breaking in two when he stooped; especially
+as he was always dressed in the latest style, and squeezed and pinched
+himself so that not the slightest crease could be detected in his
+clothes. Many ladies envied that young man his figure. His name was
+Florville, and his face was not unattractive.</p>
+
+<p>The second was a young man of medium stature, whose hair was bright red,
+as were the rims of his eyes; which did not prevent him from esteeming
+himself a very good-looking fellow; he dared not turn his head, for fear
+of rumpling his collar or disarranging the knot of his cravat. He was an
+habitué of the Théàtre-Italien; he never missed a performance, insisted
+on posing as a great connoisseur in music, and declared that he could
+easily have reached high C, if his voice had been cultivated; but it had
+not<a name="page_349" id="page_349"></a> been. This individual, so laughable by reason of his manners and
+his pretensions, was Monsieur Lamberlong.</p>
+
+<p>The third of the viscount's visitors was a man of about thirty,
+remarkable neither for beauty nor ugliness, rather stout than thin, with
+a good-humored, smiling face, and all the manners of a high liver. His
+name was Dumarsey.</p>
+
+<p>Florville and Dumarsey had enormous cigars in their mouths. The young
+man with the red hair did not smoke; by way of compensation, he had a
+little square glass over his right eye, and kept it in place almost all
+the time; his kind friends declared that he ought to wear one on the
+left eye as well, in order to conceal both his albino-like lids.</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are! here we are, Edward!&mdash;The deuce! he's not ready!"</p>
+
+<p>"I was sure he wouldn't be; I'd have bet on it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! what's your hurry, messieurs? In the first place, it's too early
+to go to the Bois. We have time enough. I will finish
+dressing.&mdash;Lépinette, give me a cigarette."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is one, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you allow me to complete my toilet in your presence?"</p>
+
+<p>"Go on, go on, take all the time you want!" said Dumarsey; "I have a
+good londres; that's enough for me."</p>
+
+<p>"For my part," said Florville, "I am not satisfied with this so-called
+Havana."</p>
+
+<p>"If you would like a cigar, Monsieur Lamberlong, you'll find a box on
+the console yonder. I smoke nothing but cigarettes myself, but I always
+keep a few cigars for my friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Exceedingly obliged, dear viscount; but I don't care about smoking;
+there was a man at the Bouffes last night who smelt very strongly of
+tobacco; it made a number of ladies ill."<a name="page_350" id="page_350"></a></p>
+
+<p>"As there is no performance at the Bouffes to-night, you have nothing to
+fear."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but I am going to a concert to-night, at which Alboni is to sing."</p>
+
+<p>"You stick to music, don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's my element."</p>
+
+<p>"You know, Edward," laughed Dumarsey, "Lamberlong would have been able
+to reach high <i>C</i>, if his natural faculties had been cultivated. What a
+pity to have neglected them!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is there any chance of catching the lost note, if we should take an
+express train?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are pleased to jest, messieurs. None the less, it is true that a
+gentleman in the balcony at the Bouffes said to me not long ago: 'This
+is where you ought to be!'"</p>
+
+<p>"In the balcony?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; but at the Bouffes, with a salary of sixty thousand francs!"</p>
+
+<p>"Had he heard your high <i>C</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; just as I left school."</p>
+
+<p>"It can't be denied that there are some very fortunate mortals. There
+was a man who had heard Lamberlong's high <i>C!</i> And we poor devils might
+pay fabulous prices, yes, hire the whole auditorium of the Bouffes, and
+not hear it! It's heartrending!"</p>
+
+<p>The red-haired young man rose impatiently, and began to inspect the
+pictures that adorned the salon.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you hear that's new, messieurs?" said Edward, tying his cravat.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! nothing piquant or interesting. There's been a great scarcity
+lately of scandalous intrigues in which we know the leading parties."<a name="page_351" id="page_351"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Who is the woman most in vogue? Remember that I am just from Italy,
+messieurs, and that I am not at all posted as to what is going on in
+Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"There are five or six in high favor; but you must have seen them, for
+you were at Saint-Phar the banker's great crush night before last."</p>
+
+<p>"I saw nothing wonderful. If that's all you have to offer me, why&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There was a dazzling blonde at the Bouffes last night. She attracted
+every eye."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! of course, you made inquiries about her, Lamberlong?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; she's the wife of a rich Spaniard, who is taking her to Brazil."</p>
+
+<p>"If he's taking her to Brazil, that's too far to follow her. But you
+must have had some romantic adventures in Italy, viscount? The women
+there are very revengeful, they say."</p>
+
+<p>"No more so than in France! I saw two or three little stilettos glisten
+in the girdle or the garter, but I didn't feel the point of one."</p>
+
+<p>"No great passions, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, nothing! it's maddening! Love is vanishing, messieurs."</p>
+
+<p>"That isn't what says a young man who is always in the orchestra chairs
+at the Bouffes; he's in a fair way of dying of love for an actress; he
+won't say who she is."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but one must be an habitué of the Bouffes to do that sort of
+thing!&mdash;A cigarette, Lépinette."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is one, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"How many do you smoke a day, Edward?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; I never counted them."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bet that it's two dozen!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bet it's three!"<a name="page_352" id="page_352"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! all you have to do is to ask my valet; he can give you more
+accurate information than anyone else on that subject."</p>
+
+<p>"Lépinette, how many cigarettes does your master smoke in a day&mdash;about?"</p>
+
+<p>Lépinette reflected a moment, then replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I have sometimes given monsieur le vicomte as many as sixty, messieurs;
+but it's never less than forty."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! ha! ha! that is magnificent! sixty cigarettes a day! You deserve a
+prize, Edward. We'll order a wreath of cigarettes for you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, messieurs, what would you have? a man must do something; and when
+one has no other amusement&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! viscount, you can't make us believe that you haven't some beauty to
+whom you are devoted."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Florville, at this moment I love nobody. I am so utterly blasé on
+the subject of love! It is all over; my heart has lost the power of
+taking fire; the incendiary glances of my fair friends leave it as cold
+as ice. And then, when one knows women, one knows how much reliance may
+be placed on their oaths."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! there are exceptions," said Dumarsey. "I remember, Edward, when you
+had a pretty young girl for a mistress&mdash;I think you had abducted her,
+found her at a linen draper's. She came from Lorraine. She was almost a
+peasant, and you sophisticated her."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! yes, I remember! You mean Suzanne, don't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Suzanne, yes, that was what you called her. She seemed to be very fond
+of you."</p>
+
+<p>"In other words, she loved me too much; it got to be insufferable. She
+was far too sentimental."</p>
+
+<p>"What did you do with the girl?"<a name="page_353" id="page_353"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What did I do with her? Faith, nothing! What do you expect a man to do
+with a girl of that sort, when she has once been his mistress, and he
+has had enough of her? I don't see that there's anything for him to do
+with her."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you don't know what became of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed; and I should be very sorry to know. I had enough trouble to
+rid myself of the little one's importunities.&mdash;Give me a cigarette,
+Lépinette."</p>
+
+<p>And the viscount, with a testy exclamation, threw on the floor the
+cigarette he had in his mouth, which he had smoked only a few seconds.
+Since the mention of the young woman named Suzanne, his brow had
+clouded, and his face had assumed an ill-humored expression. But young
+Lamberlong brought back a smile to his lips by exclaiming:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mon Dieu! I have entirely forgotten what they give at the Bouffes
+to-morrow. Can you tell me, messieurs?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! give us a moment's peace with your Bouffes, Lamberlong!&mdash;Can you
+understand, messieurs, how a man can attend every blessed performance at
+the Italiens, when he doesn't know a word of that language?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who told you that I don't know a word of Italian? It's false; I
+understand it quite well."</p>
+
+<p>"You understand it, but you don't comprehend it."<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a></p>
+
+<p>"You say you understand it; very well! answer this: <i>Pone nos recede</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The young man with red hair scratched his head, looked at the ceiling,
+and muttered:<a name="page_354" id="page_354"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I never heard those words at the Bouffes."</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon the dandy laughed heartily, and Florville exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't you know that Dumarsey was talking Latin to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Latin! How do you suppose I could understand him, then? What do I know
+about Latin&mdash;a dead language! They don't sing in Latin at the Bouffes."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le vicomte's horse is saddled," said a little groom, putting
+his nose in at the door.</p>
+
+<p>"All right!&mdash;Let us go, messieurs.&mdash;By the way, Lépinette, have you
+filled my pockets with cigarettes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, I have put some everywhere, even in your fob."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right.&mdash;To horse, messieurs!"</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XX_THE_THIRD_PETTICOAT" id="G-XX_THE_THIRD_PETTICOAT"></a>XX<br /><br />
+THE THIRD PETTICOAT</h2>
+
+<p>Two days after this riding party, Edward de Sommerston was in his
+smoking room, stretched out on a divan, smoking and intensely bored, as
+usual, and watching the puffs of smoke ascend and float about the room
+until they formed a fog so dense that one could hardly see from one side
+to the other. Suddenly the door was softly opened; Lépinette appeared,
+and, trying to distinguish his master through the clouds that filled the
+room, said in an undertone:</p>
+
+<p>"Is monsieur le vicomte asleep?"<a name="page_355" id="page_355"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What! No, I'm not asleep! I wish I were, but smoking never puts me to
+sleep! What do you want of me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I came to tell monsieur that I have just made a find."</p>
+
+<p>"A find! Have you found a treasure? So much the better for you; keep
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur, it isn't a treasure in money; it's something of another
+sort, which will be much more to monsieur's taste."</p>
+
+<p>The viscount half rose, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"What in the deuce is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's a woman, monsieur; or rather, an enchanting girl!"</p>
+
+<p>The viscount fell back on the couch, muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"And you came here and disturbed me for that, did you? That's what you
+call a treasure!"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that monsieur would not be sorry to learn that there is in
+the house a young woman who is really deserving of a moment's
+attention."</p>
+
+<p>"Aha! so this beauty lives in the house, does she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur. The concierge, who represents the owner, has several
+rooms at the top of the house which he furnishes neatly and rents on his
+own account."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! his little perquisites; I understand. Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's one of those rooms that he has rented to Mademoiselle
+Georgette, an exceedingly virtuous person, so it seems, who rarely goes
+out and receives no visitors."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! very good! So it's a real model of virtue, is it? Did the concierge
+undertake to swear to that?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, the concierge didn't say positively that it was so; I
+simply repeat what I heard."</p>
+
+<p>"And what does this chaste creature do?"</p>
+
+<p>"She makes small articles in embroidery, monsieur; charming little
+things, such as mats for candlesticks, little<a name="page_356" id="page_356"></a> rugs to put under your
+feet, and cigar cases&mdash;oh! lovely cigar cases!"</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know? Have you bought something of the girl already?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; but the concierge showed me one that his new tenant made
+for a present to him; it is exceedingly pretty."</p>
+
+<p>"The concierge smokes, does he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! like a porter, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Those knaves take every conceivable liberty!&mdash;Well! how does all this
+concern me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that monsieur might be curious to see the little one from
+upstairs."</p>
+
+<p>"Just an ordinary face, I am sure; one of those affected little
+minxes&mdash;the grisette who wants to be followed; I know all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! this one has no ordinary face. I will not say that she is
+precisely a beauty; that would not be true; but it is the whole aspect
+of her that attracts&mdash;and, above all, a figure so well set up&mdash;superb
+outlines&mdash;a shapely leg and such a tiny foot!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really! has she all those things? You have examined her very closely,
+haven't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was on the landing just now, monsieur, as she came upstairs, in a
+jacket and a short petticoat, both white; and the petticoat has an
+embroidered hem. Oh! she doesn't seem to be at all hard up! And she was
+humming between her teeth as she came up. I stood aside to let her pass;
+at that, she gave me a very pleasant bow; and as she was going on, I
+said: 'Are we to have the good fortune to have you for a neighbor,
+mademoiselle?'"</p>
+
+<p>"This devil of a Lépinette doesn't waste any time; he makes
+acquaintances at once!"<a name="page_357" id="page_357"></a></p>
+
+<p>"When one has the honor of being in monsieur le vicomte's service, one
+should understand how to deal with the fair sex."</p>
+
+<p>"That's not bad. Go on!"</p>
+
+<p>"The young woman stopped, and answered very pleasantly: 'Yes, monsieur,
+I live in the house.'&mdash;Then she bowed again and went on upstairs."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that all?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur. As that meeting was very agreeable to me, I went out on
+the landing several times. It was a happy thought. A moment ago, the
+young woman came downstairs very fast."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems to me that she spends a good deal of time on the stairs for a
+girl who never goes out!"</p>
+
+<p>"She had forgotten to buy some coffee, monsieur; coffee is her passion,
+it seems; she can't do without it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did she tell you that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; but she didn't stop; she went on downstairs. She'll
+probably come back very soon; if monsieur chooses, I will keep watch on
+the landing, and as soon as I see Mademoiselle Georgette in the hall
+below I will let him know."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! Do you suppose I am going to put myself out to see this
+grisette? You are crazy, Lépinette!"</p>
+
+<p>"I would just like to have monsieur see her in her jacket and short
+petticoat; they're so becoming to her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! there's a very simple way for me to see this girl without
+disturbing myself. She embroiders cigar cases, you say? I'll order one
+of her. Go out and watch for her, and, when she comes, ask her to step
+into my apartment a moment. You may tell her why."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, monsieur; I will go on sentry duty, in order to give her
+your message."<a name="page_358" id="page_358"></a></p>
+
+<p>"If you don't see her pass, you may as well go up to her room; there's
+no need of standing on ceremony with a mere working girl."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, monsieur; if she has already come in, I will go up and do
+your errand."</p>
+
+<p>Lépinette left the room, and Edward de Sommerston surrendered anew to
+the charms of the cigarette; but five minutes had not passed when the
+valet reappeared and said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"The young person is here, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Whom do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"The girl from upstairs who makes cigar cases."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I had already forgotten your protégée. Well! show her in."</p>
+
+<p>"Here, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure; you don't suppose I am going to put myself out to go into
+the salon to receive this grisette, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then I will show her in here."</p>
+
+<p>The servant went out, returned in a moment, and announced: "Mademoiselle
+Georgette!"&mdash;And the Georgette with whom we are already acquainted,
+having seen her on Rue de Seine and Boulevard Beaumarchais, entered the
+smoking room in her morning costume; but this time there was something
+in the simple négligé that denoted more thought, more coquetry: the
+jacket was trimmed with lace, the white petticoat had an embroidered
+hem; and the hair was arranged according to the prevailing style;
+plainly, she realized that she was now in the Chaussée d'Antin.</p>
+
+<p>Georgette advanced three steps and retreated two, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! what a horrible smell!"<a name="page_359" id="page_359"></a></p>
+
+<p>Thereupon the viscount turned over on his couch, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"So you don't like the smell of tobacco, my girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo! there's someone here. But I can't see anything; it's like being
+in the clouds! Well! I won't stay here! I don't propose to have people
+think that I've been in barracks!"</p>
+
+<p>And Georgette walked quickly from the smoking room, followed a corridor,
+opened the first door she saw, and found herself in a charming salon,
+where she paused a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"This is better! one can at least see something here, and it isn't
+reeking with tobacco smoke!"</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the young man, surprised by his visitor's abrupt exit, rose
+from his couch, laughing, and saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"This is a most amusing creature! But, after all, I couldn't have seen
+her here. Where in the devil has she gone! Let's look for her, let's
+play hide-and-seek; it will remind me of my boyhood!"</p>
+
+<p>Passing from one room to another, the young dandy arrived at last in
+that one in which Mademoiselle Georgette had taken refuge; he discovered
+her seated in an easy-chair and turning the leaves of an album that lay
+on a table near by. The girl's utter lack of ceremony, and her perfect
+ease of manner in that elegant salon, astonished Edward, who gazed at
+her for several seconds, then said:</p>
+
+<p>"It seems to amuse you to look at caricatures?"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette rose and courtesied gracefully, as she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I was waiting for you to come, monsieur, and I thought there was no
+harm in looking through this album."<a name="page_360" id="page_360"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed! you have done nothing wrong, except running away from my
+smoking room, as if it were a bear's den."</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! monsieur, I am not sure that I should not prefer a bear's den to
+a room where the smoke is so thick that you can't see, and makes your
+eyes smart and your head ache, to say nothing of the insufferable odor!"</p>
+
+<p>While Georgette was speaking, Edward examined her from head to foot; and
+his examination was evidently favorable to her, for he muttered from
+time to time:</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, on my word! very seductive! That devil of a Lépinette didn't
+deceive me!"</p>
+
+<p>Then the viscount began to walk around the girl, who was standing in the
+middle of the salon; and he smiled as he observed the little white
+petticoat that outlined her hips so perfectly; until at last, vexed by
+this inspection, she exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Haven't you nearly finished staring at me, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you are exceedingly pleasant to look at!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that why you sent for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well! suppose it were? My valet had praised your face and figure, and I
+wanted to see if he told the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"If I had known that, I certainly would not have come into your
+apartment. Adieu, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"One moment, I pray! What a hurry you're in, Mademoiselle
+Georgette!&mdash;for Georgette is your name, I believe?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"From what part of the country do you come?"</p>
+
+<p>"From Bordeaux, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"From the South. I'd have bet on it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?"<a name="page_361" id="page_361"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Because you seem to have a little head that is very quick to take
+offence."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I have a very good head."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you live alone upstairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"How many lovers have you, Mademoiselle Georgette?"</p>
+
+<p>The girl stared at the viscount with an impertinent expression, and
+finally answered:</p>
+
+<p>"I have none, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"What! not one? not the least little bit of a one?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"That is very strange."</p>
+
+<p>"What is there strange about it, monsieur? Do you think that a girl
+cannot remain virtuous, and live without a lover?"</p>
+
+<p>"It seems to me to be very difficult, to say no more, in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"No more difficult in Paris than elsewhere; a woman always does just
+what she chooses."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! not always! There is the desire to please, the instinct of
+coquetry, which is inborn in woman. She wants to have pretty gowns, and
+she can't buy them with what she earns. She wants to wear silk dresses
+and cashmere shawls! You are fascinating in this déshabillé; still, you
+wouldn't go to Mabille's in such a costume."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I have no desire to go to Mabille's."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mean what you say."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"No lover! what a phenomenon! Surely, with that figure, that dainty
+foot, you must have made many conquests?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!"<a name="page_362" id="page_362"></a></p>
+
+<p>"And you have never listened to any man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Never."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you must have a lover in your province&mdash;some secret passion that
+fills your heart?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur; I have no secret passion."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, I say again, you are a phenomenon, and I am very proud to
+have such a rarity for a neighbor. Are you afraid of loving, pray?
+afraid of love?"</p>
+
+<p>"I! I am not afraid of anything."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! ha! ha! you are very amusing!"</p>
+
+<p>"You think me amusing, monsieur? How lucky for me!"</p>
+
+<p>"I think you provoking, alluring, fascinating!"</p>
+
+<p>And the young man tried to take Georgette in his arms; but she quickly
+extricated herself and pushed him away, saying in a very decided tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like such manners, monsieur; and they will never succeed with
+me, I warn you."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon, mademoiselle, pardon! I forgot that I was dealing with a
+Lucretia."</p>
+
+<p>"Is this all you have to say to me, monsieur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no; I wanted to order an embroidered cigar case; my servant tells
+me that you make lovely ones."</p>
+
+<p>"I do my best, at all events. Would you like one?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you will make it for me."</p>
+
+<p>"What color do you want?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I leave all those details to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good, monsieur! I charge fifteen francs."</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever you choose! The price is of little consequence to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, monsieur; in three days, you shall have your cigar case."<a name="page_363" id="page_363"></a></p>
+
+<p>"All right. Will you be kind enough to bring it yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be afraid; I won't receive you in my smoking room."</p>
+
+<p>"So much the better! for, really, that smell of tobacco makes my head
+ache. I have the honor to salute you, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette executed a bewitching little reverence, and the viscount said
+to himself as he looked after her:</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! that little brunette must be mine, for she is really a most
+original creature!"</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XXI_AN_ATTACK" id="G-XXI_AN_ATTACK"></a>XXI<br /><br />
+AN ATTACK</h2>
+
+<p>Edward de Sommerston did not believe what Georgette had told him on the
+subject of lovers; he was sceptical concerning the virtue of a girl who
+lived alone and worked for a living.</p>
+
+<p>"This girl," he said to himself, "tries to pass herself off for a model
+of virtue so as to secure more generous treatment; that's a trick that
+doesn't fool me. She will submit like the others; for she's a woman, so
+she must love finery; that's the bait to catch them with."</p>
+
+<p>During the three days that elapsed before she brought him what he had
+ordered, the young man asked his servant several times if he had
+happened to meet on the stairs the young woman who lived at the top of
+the house; but Lépinette had not seen Georgette, which fact seemed<a name="page_364" id="page_364"></a> to
+vex him; he flattered himself, perhaps, that he could make a conquest of
+the girl more easily than his master could.</p>
+
+<p>On the day that Georgette had appointed, Edward, attired in a coquettish
+morning négligé, awaited the young woman in a pretty little salon which
+might at need have passed for a boudoir. He was smoking cigarettes, but
+had ordered them made of a very mild tobacco, in which there was a touch
+of perfume.</p>
+
+<p>About noon, Lépinette announced: "Mademoiselle Georgette!" and the young
+woman appeared, still in her little morning costume.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, monsieur," she said, as she courtesied to the
+viscount, "for presenting myself in this négligé; but I have none too
+much time to work, and I never dress when I expect to stay at home."</p>
+
+<p>"The hussy knows perfectly well that she is more alluring in this
+dress," thought Edward, "and that is why she comes in her short
+petticoat. If she weren't so well built, she'd be all bundled up in
+clothes. We know all about that. Mademoiselle Georgette desires me to
+admire her good points; therefore, she desires to please me."</p>
+
+<p>And the young man, without stirring from his couch, pointed to a chair
+and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Take a seat, I beg! You are very attractive thus. Besides, one doesn't
+dress to call on a neighbor. Will it annoy you if I continue to smoke?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I didn't come here to interfere with your pleasures, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"This tobacco is very mild, and the odor is not disagreeable, even to
+people who don't like tobacco."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true; it smells like patchouli."<a name="page_365" id="page_365"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Have you been good enough to remember my cigar case?"</p>
+
+<p>"Here it is, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>And Georgette handed him a lovely little affair, lined with silk.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, this is delicious! it's an admirable piece of work!" cried Edward.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you like it? So much the better!"</p>
+
+<p>"I should be very exacting if I did not like it. The colors of the
+little diamonds are blended perfectly. You have no less taste than
+talent. And it took you only three days to make it?"</p>
+
+<p>"That was quite long enough."</p>
+
+<p>"It should be worth fifty francs, at least."</p>
+
+<p>"No, that would be too much; I am content with the price I told you."</p>
+
+<p>"But in that case you earn less than five francs a day, for you have to
+buy your wool and your silk."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! if I earned five francs a day, that would be too fine; I should be
+too rich!"</p>
+
+<p>"So you are not ambitious, eh? You have no desire to change your
+position?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hum! that depends. To change it for a short time would hardly be worth
+while. Sometimes I have had dreams: at such times, I see myself in a
+superb apartment; I have diamonds and handsome dresses, a carriage, and
+servants to wait on me; oh! it's magnificent!"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand the moral!" said Edward to himself. "We would like to
+obtain all those things! The damsel seems to be decidedly calculating!"</p>
+
+<p>While making these reflections, the young man left his couch and planted
+himself in front of the chair occupied by Georgette; and there, with his
+head thrown back and<a name="page_366" id="page_366"></a> one hand on his hip, he eyed her coolly and
+laughed in her face, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know that you're nobody's fool, my dear?"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette supported his stare and his question without the slightest
+trace of emotion; she simply rose from her chair and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I am very glad that you have so good an opinion of me, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray keep your seat; do you think of running away already?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; for I don't pass my time doing nothing, myself; I can't
+afford it."</p>
+
+<p>"One moment&mdash;let us talk a little. In the first place, you can't go away
+till I have paid you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am not worried! I'll trust you."</p>
+
+<p>"You might make a mistake.&mdash;Do give me a few seconds. It affords me much
+pleasure to talk with you."</p>
+
+<p>Edward took her hand, and she consented to resume her chair; whereupon
+he seated himself very close to her, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I tell you something?"</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am in love with you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! ha! ha! what folly!"</p>
+
+<p>"It may perhaps be folly! But, whatever it is, it's the truth all the
+same! Yes, I am in love with you. That rather surprises me; for I
+haven't been able to fall in love for some time past. It must be that
+there is in you something&mdash;I don't know what&mdash;more enticing than in
+other women. Look you! I verily believe, God forgive me! that it's your
+little petticoat that has turned my head!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then, monsieur, I will run upstairs and send you the petticoat, so that
+you may have nothing more to wish for."<a name="page_367" id="page_367"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Hum! you scamp! No, that would not be enough for me! I want the
+petticoat and all it contains!&mdash;What a sweet little hand!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! monsieur, don't touch me, I beg! I have told you before that I
+don't like such manners."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true; I keep forgetting that you are a vestal! I am so
+unaccustomed to meeting such!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you have a very bad opinion of women! Surely you must have met some
+virtuous ones, whom you seduced and then deserted, like the others!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is possible; I don't remember. With me the past is always in the
+wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am sure of that! That is why it is necessary to take precautions
+for the future."</p>
+
+<p>"What an amusing creature! Do you [<i>tu</i>] know that you [<i>tu</i>] are most
+amusing?"</p>
+
+<p>"I forbid you to <i>thou</i> me, monsieur. You have no excuse for doing it."</p>
+
+<p>"Because you are not my mistress yet? That is true; but you will be
+before long; it amounts to the same thing."</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, I shall not be your mistress. I tell you again not to
+talk to me in that way; if you do, I shall go away and not come again."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come, be calm, Mademoiselle Georgette! you shall be treated
+respectfully. Tell me, darling, you will take me for your lover, won't
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"What! Am I so very disagreeable to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! it isn't that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oho! as long as it isn't that, then you will listen to me."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I will not listen to you; because I know that you are too fickle,
+that you never keep a mistress more<a name="page_368" id="page_368"></a> than a month at the longest; and I
+don't choose to be cast aside like that."</p>
+
+<p>"Somebody has been telling you fairy tales. I won't say that I love
+forever. Pardieu! my fair, if we did not leave them, they would leave
+us. Someone must begin, and I prefer that I should be the one."</p>
+
+<p>"You have a way of settling matters which doesn't cause me to change my
+opinion about you. You are too much run after, too popular in good
+society, to attach yourself to a grisette!"</p>
+
+<p>"There's some truth in what you say! You argue well, my charming friend;
+but allow me to tell you that I've had my fill and more of great ladies,
+and that I am absolutely indifferent to what people may say and think of
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe you.&mdash;Adieu, monsieur! I must go home."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I don't let you go until I have an answer from you."</p>
+
+<p>"Later&mdash;we will see."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you will come again to see me? By the way, I must have two more
+cigar cases; I want them to give to my friends. Meanwhile, let me pay
+you for this one."</p>
+
+<p>And the young man took a purse full of gold from his pocket and tossed
+it into Georgette's lap. She looked at it for a moment, then weighed it
+in her hand, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"What is this?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's what I owe you."</p>
+
+<p>The pretty creature opened the purse and amused herself by counting its
+contents.</p>
+
+<p>"Almost five hundred francs! Really, that's a high price for a cigar
+case!"<a name="page_369" id="page_369"></a></p>
+
+<p>"But you are going to make me two more; that will pay for them all."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, monsieur; I can't accept so much; I will take what is due me,
+but no more."</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Georgette took fifteen francs in gold from the purse,
+which she proceeded to place on the table. Then she ran from the room,
+crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, monsieur le vicomte! I will come again when your cigar cases are
+done."</p>
+
+<p>Edward was so surprised by the girl's abrupt departure, that he did not
+even think of detaining her.</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XXII_TERTIA_SOLVET" id="G-XXII_TERTIA_SOLVET"></a>XXII<br /><br />
+TERTIA SOLVET</h2>
+
+<p>As may be imagined, Georgette's refusal to accept the purse of gold had
+not diminished in the least degree the rich young man's caprice for the
+maiden; on the contrary, it was certain to intensify it, as she who had
+adopted that course of action well knew. The desires that are quickly
+satisfied last but a short time; our passions do not increase in force
+and deprive us of repose altogether, unless they encounter obstacles in
+their path. Good fortune that comes of itself&mdash;bah! no one cares for
+that! It is an unseasoned dish.</p>
+
+<p>But, thanks to this new fancy, which rapidly became tyrannical in its
+demands, the viscount ceased to be bored, and smoked a few less
+cigarettes; which proves that love is always of some benefit. His
+friends noticed the change.<a name="page_370" id="page_370"></a></p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow, you have some new passion on the brain," said
+Florville; "I would stake my head on it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that is visible to the naked eye," added Dumarsey. "We have a new
+intrigue on hand, which is waxing warm."</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! messieurs, you have guessed right!" replied Edward. "Yes, I have
+a very violent fancy. Deuce take me! I believe I am really in love!"</p>
+
+<p>"Really! Is she so very pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>"She's better than pretty; she is piquant&mdash;enchanting!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see her at the Bouffes?" inquired the simpering Lamberlong.</p>
+
+<p>"At the Bouffes? Oh! she never goes there, I can promise you that!"</p>
+
+<p>The red-haired worthy made a wry face.</p>
+
+<p>"A woman who never goes to the Bouffes!" he murmured; "mon Dieu! what
+sort of a creature can she be?"</p>
+
+<p>"I say, Edward, what style of woman is your new passion?"</p>
+
+<p>"What style? Oh! the most modest that you can imagine; but I adapt
+Boileau's verse to women:</p>
+
+<p>"'Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre ennuyeux.'"<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a></p>
+
+<p>"When will you show us your charmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! messieurs, I'll show her to you when I am her fortunate
+vanquisher."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it isn't a finished affair?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; and I shall be careful not to let you see her now; for I know
+you&mdash;you would try to steal her from me."</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure; that is done among friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you expect to sigh for long?" asked the tall Florville; "you, my
+dear viscount, who ordinarily put a love affair through at railroad
+speed?"<a name="page_371" id="page_371"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah! this time I have to do with a little minx who is not so easily
+brought to terms."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! Edward, tell us when you will show her to us, as a proof that you
+have triumphed? I'll give you three days; is that enough?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hum! I am not sure."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, messieurs, let's do the square thing; we'll give him a week; and
+if, within a week, he doesn't invite us to dinner with his new conquest,
+why, we will assign him a place among the gulls.&mdash;Is it a bargain,
+Edward?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, messieurs, within a week. I accept that proposition."</p>
+
+<p>"If you bring your lady, we are to pay for the dinner; if you don't, you
+are to treat us."</p>
+
+<p>"Agreed&mdash;within a week!&mdash;Oh! I hope to be on firm ground before that."</p>
+
+<p>This agreement was made two days after the conversation which had
+resulted in Georgette's refusal of the purse containing five hundred
+francs.</p>
+
+<p>When his friends had gone, the viscount said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Now I must act. The little one refused gold&mdash;but gold doesn't take the
+eye like fine clothes. She had a magnificent outburst of pride. But this
+time I'll send her some things that she won't be able to resist."</p>
+
+<p>The young man ordered his carriage and drove to the most fashionable
+shops. He bought a handsome shawl, silks and velvets for dresses, and
+even a pretty little bonnet which he considered well adapted to the face
+he desired to seduce. He returned home with his purchases, and said to
+Lépinette:</p>
+
+<p>"Take all this to the girl upstairs, Mademoiselle Georgette. Give her my
+compliments, and tell her I would like to have the cigar cases I ordered
+from her; that I<a name="page_372" id="page_372"></a> shall expect her to-morrow, during the morning, even
+if she has only one finished."</p>
+
+<p>Lépinette took the handsome gifts in his arms with great care, and went
+to do his master's errand, while the latter sallied forth again to go to
+the races.</p>
+
+<p>On returning home at night, the viscount's first thought was to ask his
+servant how his presents had been received. Lépinette replied, assuming
+a serious expression:</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur, I saw something to-day that I never saw before!"</p>
+
+<p>"What did you see? You remind me of a sibyl."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, monsieur, I saw a young girl, a mere working girl, who lives in
+an attic, refuse a cashmere shawl, velvets, silks&mdash;in a word, a
+magnificent outfit!"</p>
+
+<p>"What! you saw that? Do you mean to say that Georgette&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur; Mademoiselle Georgette refused your presents."</p>
+
+<p>"Impossible!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is true, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you must have gone about it awkwardly."</p>
+
+<p>"No; monsieur is well aware that I am accustomed to such commissions. I
+spread the things out&mdash;the shawl on a table before that amazing
+creature's eyes; she let me go on at first, and watched me without
+saying a word; but finally she exclaimed: 'What am I to do with all
+this, monsieur?'&mdash;'Whatever you please, mademoiselle,' I replied; 'my
+master begs you to accept it all, and he presents his compliments and
+requests you to bring him the cigar cases to-morrow, even if they are
+not done!'"</p>
+
+<p>"That's very clever of you! Go on."</p>
+
+<p>"Then Mademoiselle Georgette walked to where I had put the presents, and
+said: 'All these things are very<a name="page_373" id="page_373"></a> pretty, very elegant, but I don't want
+them. You may thank monsieur le vicomte for me, take all these beautiful
+things back to him, and tell him that I will bring what he ordered
+to-morrow.'&mdash;'But I can't take them back, mademoiselle,' I said; 'my
+master told me to leave them with you.'&mdash;'Because your master thought it
+would make me very happy to receive such beautiful things; but, as he
+has made a mistake, you must take them back.'&mdash;'Mademoiselle,' I added,
+with a supplicating expression, 'you may do whatever you choose with
+these garments and materials; but for heaven's sake keep them, or my
+master will scold me.'&mdash;'I am very sorry, but I will not keep
+them.'&mdash;And with that, the young woman, who struck me as being
+exceedingly obstinate, piled them all on my arms: the shawl, the
+fabrics, and the bonnet box, and pushed me gently toward the door, which
+she closed behind me. That is just what happened."</p>
+
+<p>"So that you brought back my presents?"</p>
+
+<p>"I had to do it, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"No, you weren't obliged to; you're a fool! You ought to have thrown
+them all on the floor and run away."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure that she'd have thrown them out on the landing."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, suppose she had? we should have seen whether she would or not.
+However, she said that she would come to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p>
+
+<p>"Very good!"</p>
+
+<p>Edward was surprised beyond words by the girl's behavior. He paced the
+floor of his apartment in great agitation. At times he was tempted to go
+up to Georgette's room himself; but she might refuse to admit him, and
+he did not choose to make an exhibition of himself<a name="page_374" id="page_374"></a> before the other
+tenants; so he went to bed at last, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"She will come to-morrow; I shall see her and find out why she refused
+my presents; for I had not as yet asked her for anything in exchange. To
+be sure, the request may be foreseen. Ah! Mademoiselle Georgette, you
+will not resist me forever! I believe that I am really in love with her!
+At all events, my honor is involved in the affair now. I must not be the
+one to pay for that dinner with my friends."</p>
+
+<p>All night the viscount was haunted by the image of the girl who had
+refused his splendid gifts. He rose early, attempted to smoke, and threw
+away several cigarettes as soon as he lighted them. The things he had
+sent to Georgette, he ordered taken into the small salon; and as he
+gazed at the rich fabrics spread out on a couch, he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps she doesn't like these colors! But the shawl is lovely! No,
+that cannot be her reason. Can it be that she really means to remain
+virtuous? But there was that dream of hers, in which she imagined that
+she was very rich. The little minx has something in her head, and she
+will have to tell me what it is."</p>
+
+<p>At last, about noon, Mademoiselle Georgette arrived. Lépinette ushered
+her at once into the small salon, where the viscount was impatiently
+awaiting her. She bowed to him, with a charming smile; while he, on the
+contrary, pretended to be sulky. He pointed to a chair, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Be seated, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"Your cigar cases are finished, monsieur; here they are."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well! but I am not thinking about them."</p>
+
+<p>"Your servant told me that you wanted them."<a name="page_375" id="page_375"></a></p>
+
+<p>"My servant is an ass!&mdash;However, you are well aware that the cigar cases
+are only a pretext for seeing you. What is the use of beating about the
+bush, when one can speak frankly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no, monsieur, I didn't know&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Edward pointed to the objects spread out on the couch, and asked
+abruptly:</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you refuse those?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you send them to me?" she rejoined, in the same tone.</p>
+
+<p>The young man did not know what reply to make; he began to laugh, and
+finally exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Gad! one can never get the last word with you! Come, charming girl, let
+us play with our cards exposed&mdash;what do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know how to play cards."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you know perfectly well what I mean by that. However, I will
+explain my meaning literally. I adore you."</p>
+
+<p>"So you told me before."</p>
+
+<p>"In love, one may be allowed to repeat one's self; indeed, that is one
+of its great charms. I was saying, then, that I adore you."</p>
+
+<p>"And I say that I don't believe you."</p>
+
+<p>"I will compel you to believe me. You don't expect to pass your whole
+youth without knowing what love is, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't say, monsieur; but I have always heard that it isn't safe to
+swear to anything."</p>
+
+<p>"Now you're talking reasonably. Very well! let me be the fortunate
+mortal to make love known to you. I am in a position to make you happy,
+to make your lot an enviable one."<a name="page_376" id="page_376"></a></p>
+
+<p>"A man always says that to the poor girl he is trying to seduce&mdash;but
+afterward&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I always keep my promises. In the first place, I will give you a pretty
+apartment, which I will furnish with taste. You shall have handsome
+clothes and jewels. I will take you to the play and to drive; you shall
+have a carriage at your disposal. I will pay all your tradesmen's bills,
+and in addition you shall have a thousand francs a month to spend.&mdash;Tell
+me, isn't that attractive?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed, most attractive! But how long will it last?"</p>
+
+<p>"So long as you love me."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean, so long as <i>you</i> love <i>me</i>; and you gentlemen who are able to
+gratify all your whims&mdash;your love affairs never last long."</p>
+
+<p>"I have but one whim henceforth, and that is to please you. Well,
+Georgette, you have heard what I have to offer; you consent to make me
+happy, do you not?"</p>
+
+<p>And the viscount tried to seize the girl's hand; but she hastily pulled
+it away.</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, no!" she replied.</p>
+
+<p>"What! you refuse my offers?"</p>
+
+<p>"I refuse them."</p>
+
+<p>"In heaven's name, have you some ground for hating me? Do you detest
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, I assure you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then it must be that what I offer doesn't satisfy you, eh? Well! tell
+me what you want&mdash;what you desire. In short, explain yourself, I entreat
+you!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette was silent for a moment, then said in a low tone:</p>
+
+<p>"If I should tell you what I want, you would think me very ridiculous, I
+am sure."<a name="page_377" id="page_377"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! no, no! tell me; women are entitled to have caprices without
+number."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! this is no caprice; it is simply forethought for the
+future.&mdash;Monsieur le vicomte, how much do you think it would cost to
+bring up a little girl, from the cradle till she was about sixteen years
+old&mdash;that is to say, to make a woman of her?"</p>
+
+<p>The young man stared blankly at her, as he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"What in the devil does that question mean? what connection has it with
+my offers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Much, I assure you. At all events, be good enough to answer; what is
+the probable cost of a girl's education, and her support&mdash;everything?"</p>
+
+<p>"As if I knew! As if I ever paid any attention to such things!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I suppose you never have paid any attention to them; but, no
+matter! make a guess at it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! about three or four thousand francs, I suppose."</p>
+
+<p>"No, monsieur, you're a long way off. I reckon that it would cost fully
+twenty thousand francs."</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty thousand francs! Nonsense! that isn't possible! Twenty thousand
+francs for a child?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, when that child is a daughter; when one wishes to give
+her a good education, and to cultivate her talents until she is a woman
+grown. Really, monsieur, I should have said that you were more generous!
+Forty thousand francs a year is too little for your pleasures, and you
+think that twenty thousand is too much for bringing up and educating a
+woman, and assuring her of a bare existence! Ah! that's just like you
+men!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, you are right: twenty thousand francs is none too much. But,
+for God's sake, let us drop this subject and return to you&mdash;to you, who
+will not always<a name="page_378" id="page_378"></a> be so cruel to me, I trust. What do you want? you
+haven't told me yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, monsieur le vicomte, if I should yield to your solicitations, as
+I might have a little girl, I want the means of bringing her up, of
+giving her an education; and as I have no faith in a seducer's promises,
+I want it&mdash;before I give myself to him.&mdash;Do you understand me now?"</p>
+
+<p>The viscount was speechless with surprise; he frowned, moved his chair
+away from Georgette's, and muttered at last:</p>
+
+<p>"Hum! all this means that you want twenty thousand francs before you
+surrender?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, monsieur, that's it exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a little expensive, mademoiselle."</p>
+
+<p>"It's not I who am expensive, monsieur," retorted the girl, with a
+glance of disdain, almost of contempt; "it's the little girl&mdash;the
+child."</p>
+
+<p>"The little girl! the little girl! but you haven't one yet! Wait at
+least until you have it, before you make such a demand!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no! for it would be too late then, and I should be very sure of
+being refused."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so; I am certain of it."</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Georgette fixed her eyes on the young man's face with such
+a meaning expression that he could not support it but lowered his eyes
+and faltered:</p>
+
+<p>"In truth&mdash;it is possible."</p>
+
+<p>After a brief pause, Georgette rose, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, monsieur!"</p>
+
+<p>"What! are you going, mademoiselle?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure; I believe that we have nothing more to say to each other."<a name="page_379" id="page_379"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, but we have; only, your <i>ultimatum</i> requires
+reflection. Will you allow me to consider it a little?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! as much as you please! You have compelled me to put my thoughts
+into words. It is a foolish idea; let us think no more about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so? Unless you said it as a joke."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I spoke most seriously; but I am fully persuaded that you will not
+make a sacrifice for me&mdash;of which I am not worthy."</p>
+
+<p>"But I don't say that. Only, one hasn't such a large sum always at his
+disposal."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no hurry, monsieur; we shall see each other again. Excuse me;
+I cannot stay any longer, I have work to do. Au revoir, monsieur le
+vicomte!"</p>
+
+<p>Georgette eluded the grasp of the young man, who tried to detain her,
+and who exclaimed when she had gone:</p>
+
+<p>"I suspected as much; she's a sly little fox, as cunning as a demon! As
+bright as she is mischievous! But, twenty thousand francs&mdash;all at one
+stroke! No, no! I won't make such a fool of myself for a grisette; that
+would be too absurd! With her talk about a little girl, she reminded me
+of that poor Suzanne, who had one, I believe. But what the devil am I
+mooning about? I'll go to the club and forget it all!"</p>
+
+<p>The viscount went to his club, then to a friend's house, where there was
+sure to be high play. He tried to divert his thoughts, took a hand at
+baccarat, lost ten thousand francs at the outset, then wound up by
+winning three thousand.</p>
+
+<p>"I might have lost twenty thousand," he said to himself, as he left the
+game, "and I should have had to pay<a name="page_380" id="page_380"></a> it within twenty-four hours. Oh! I
+can obtain the money easily enough&mdash;it isn't that; I have only to sell a
+few railroad shares. But, no, no! it would be too asinine! I am sure
+that I should be sorry afterward!"</p>
+
+<p>Two days passed, during which the viscount did his utmost to avoid
+thinking about Georgette; but on the third day, being still haunted by
+her image, he rose early, saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! I am a great fool to torment myself like this, when it rests
+entirely with me to obtain the pleasure I crave! After all, what do a
+few banknotes more or less amount to? I'll save money in some other
+direction. I may as well go to my broker and settle the matter. Besides,
+I am to dine with those fellows the day after to-morrow; it shall not be
+said that I had to pay for the dinner."</p>
+
+<p>Edward called at his broker's and procured the sum that he needed by
+selling certain securities. He returned home, placed the twenty thousand
+francs in a dainty pocketbook, and, having ordered Lépinette to burden
+himself anew with all the things that he had previously sent to
+Georgette, said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Go up to that young lady's room; give her first this pocketbook, then
+all this finery, and ask her when I shall see her. Go; I propose to
+watch you from the hall; so no stupid blunders this time!"</p>
+
+<p>The valet went up the two flights of stairs, and the viscount
+impatiently awaited his return. Lépinette's face was fairly radiant when
+he appeared.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" said Edward.</p>
+
+<p>"The young woman opened the pocketbook. I was not inquisitive enough to
+look at what she was counting, but I think it was banknotes."</p>
+
+<p>"Idiot! What next?"<a name="page_381" id="page_381"></a></p>
+
+<p>"She seemed delighted, and she said to me, with a most amiable
+expression: 'Please inform your master that if he can come up to-night,
+between eleven o'clock and twelve, it will give me great pleasure. I
+wish to thank him in person.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo! at last! <i>tandem! denique tandem felix!</i> Ah! I knew that I
+should attain my ends! And those fellows won't have the laugh on me!"</p>
+
+<p>The young man was insanely hilarious. He instantly demanded cigarettes,
+which he had neglected utterly since he had had something to occupy his
+mind; then he went out to try to kill time.</p>
+
+<p>He returned to his apartment at eleven o'clock, but had the patience to
+wait until midnight, so that he might not meet anyone in the hall. Then
+he took a candle, and ran quickly up the two flights. He had learned
+from Lépinette which was Georgette's door: it was the last on the right;
+there was no possibility of a mistake. The viscount soon found the door,
+and saw that the key was in the lock.</p>
+
+<p>"She thinks of everything!" he said to himself; "there is no need of
+knocking, and I don't have to wait on the landing; it's well done of
+her."</p>
+
+<p>He softly opened the door and entered the room, where it was absolutely
+dark.</p>
+
+<p>"So she has gone to bed already!" thought the viscount, walking toward
+the bed, which was at the back of the room. He put forward his light: no
+one; the bed was empty and had not been slept in. Utterly at sea, the
+young man looked in all directions; at last, he discovered on a table
+near the fireplace all the dry goods he had sent to Georgette a second
+time; nothing was missing, not even the bonnet; but the little white
+petticoat was<a name="page_382" id="page_382"></a> laid on a piece of material, and on the petticoat was a
+letter addressed to Monsieur le Vicomte Edward de Sommerston.</p>
+
+<p>Our lover seized the letter and hurriedly ran his eye over it.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="nind">"M<small>ONSIEUR LE</small> V<small>ICOMTE</small>:</p>
+
+<p>"I have gone away; do not look for me. I carry with me your pocketbook
+and its contents; I need only that, so I leave you all the rest. I leave
+you, in addition, my little white petticoat, which seemed to please you
+immensely; but some day I shall ask you to return it to me; for I expect
+to see you again, in order to explain my conduct; then, perhaps, you
+will consider that it was perfectly natural, rather than blamable."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The viscount stood for some time, lost in amazement, gazing alternately
+at the letter and the petticoat; but suddenly he burst into a laugh,
+saying to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"Gad! she's a most amusing little hussy! And it has been a racy
+adventure. I will regale my friends with it when I give them that
+dinner, the day after to-morrow."<a name="page_383" id="page_383"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XXIII_THE_GENTLEMEN_WITH_THE_THREE_PETTICOATS" id="G-XXIII_THE_GENTLEMEN_WITH_THE_THREE_PETTICOATS"></a>XXIII<br /><br />
+THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS</h2>
+
+<p>Toward the close of the month of September following, one fine day,
+about two o'clock in the afternoon, a gentleman was walking back and
+forth along the path in front of the monkey house at the Jardin des
+Plantes.</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman was no other than our old acquaintance Monsieur Dupont,
+of whom we lost sight some time ago. We left him in the private
+dining-room, where he had dined with Georgette, who quitted him abruptly
+because he thought that he could easily triumph over a girl who had
+consented to dine with him alone at a restaurant; so that his <i>bonne
+fortune</i> was limited to the possession of a little striped petticoat
+which had been left in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>Dupont had returned to his wife at Brives-la-Gaillarde. He had carried
+the little petticoat with him, but had been careful not to show it to
+his wife, who might have thought it strange that her husband should
+bring nothing back from Paris save a second-hand petticoat. However,
+Dupont had been much less inclined to sleep since his return; that was
+something in favor of the capital. From time to time, when he was alone,
+he took the grisette's little petticoat from its hiding place and gazed
+fondly at it, sighing as he remembered her who had worn it and to whom
+it was so becoming. On those days, Dupont was even less sleepy than
+usual, and his wife would say to him:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear, it was an excellent idea for you to pass a few weeks in Paris;
+you came back much more wide awake; it did you good."<a name="page_384" id="page_384"></a></p>
+
+<p>Finally, about the middle of September, Dupont received a letter thus
+conceived:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"If you desire to see Mademoiselle Georgette again, whose acquaintance
+you made during your stay in Paris last spring, monsieur, be good enough
+to be at the Jardin des Plantes, on the path facing the monkey house,
+about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 25th of this month; she will
+join you there. You will confer a great favor by bringing with you the
+little striped petticoat that Mademoiselle Georgette left in your
+hands."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Dupont quivered with joy when he read this letter:</p>
+
+<p>"The charming girl wants to see me again!" he thought "The petticoat is
+only a pretext; she regrets her ill treatment of me and means to reward
+my love at last. Yes, indeed; I will certainly keep the appointment she
+gives me."</p>
+
+<p>He went to his wife, and said to her:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear love, I must make another little trip to Paris. It is necessary
+for me to see Jolibois, and I believe that it will be good for my health
+too. I could hardly wake up this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my dear, yes, go to Paris," replied madame; "it can't help doing
+you good; but don't stay so long as you did the last time."</p>
+
+<p>That is why our old acquaintance was walking in the Jardin des Plantes,
+on the designated avenue, on the 25th of September, feeling from time to
+time in the pocket of his full-skirted coat, in which he had bestowed
+the little striped petticoat he was requested to return.</p>
+
+<p>Ere long Dupont noticed that he kept passing a person of mature years,
+but dressed with much elegance; this<a name="page_385" id="page_385"></a> was no other than Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who had received the following note a few days before:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"If Monsieur de Mardeille will take the trouble to be at the Jardin des
+Plantes, on the path in front of the monkey house, on the 25th of this
+month, about two o'clock in the afternoon, he will find there
+Mademoiselle Georgette, who will explain her conduct toward him. It
+would be very obliging on his part if he would bring with him her little
+black petticoat."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to miss that appointment, for
+he was consumed by a longing to see Georgette once more.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps she means to return the twelve thousand francs I was stupid
+enough to give her," he said to himself.</p>
+
+<p>And having made a neat parcel of the little black petticoat, he put it
+in his overcoat pocket and betook himself to the place indicated in the
+note.</p>
+
+<p>After a little time, a third personage appeared on the same path; this
+was the young Vicomte Edward de Sommerston, who had received a letter of
+precisely the same tenor as Monsieur de Mardeille's, except that he was
+requested to bring with him a <i>white</i> petticoat. As our young dandy was
+not inclined to carry a petticoat in his pocket, he was accompanied by a
+very diminutive groom, who carried the garment in question under his arm
+and had an abundant supply of cigarettes in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>As these three gentlemen were walking back and forth along the same
+path, they soon noticed one another.</p>
+
+<p>"Anyone would say that those two dandies also have appointments here,"
+said Dupont to himself.<a name="page_386" id="page_386"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Those two fellows are evidently waiting here for someone," thought the
+viscount, as he puffed at his cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>And Monsieur de Mardeille made a similar reflection as he passed the
+other two.</p>
+
+<p>Before long there was a smart shower. Instantly all the promenaders and
+monkey fanciers disappeared, except the three gentlemen with the
+petticoats. They continued to walk to and fro on the same path; and as
+there was no one else left there save themselves and the little groom,
+they could not doubt that they were all there by appointment. They began
+to smile as they passed one another; it was easy to see that they
+divined one another's motives for being there, and that they had at
+their tongue's end some such words as:</p>
+
+<p>"How tedious this waiting is! Gad! if it weren't for a charming woman,
+I'd have gone away long ago!"</p>
+
+<p>Dupont had been tempted more than once to enter into conversation with
+his fellow promenaders, but he had not dared.</p>
+
+<p>"The time wouldn't seem so long, if I were talking with these
+gentlemen," he said to himself; "that would divert my thoughts and make
+it easier to be patient; but perhaps they are not in a mood for
+talking."</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Edward stopped and drew his watch. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+the same; whereupon Monsieur Dupont walked up to them, drew his own
+watch, and ventured to say:</p>
+
+<p>"I beg pardon, messieurs, but will you allow me to ask what time you
+make it? My watch may be a little fast, and I should like to be certain
+of the time. I say twenty-two minutes past two."</p>
+
+<p>"Two twenty-two; that's my time, too," said Monsieur de Mardeille.<a name="page_387" id="page_387"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Faith! messieurs, we go better than Charles the Fifth's clocks," said
+the viscount, after consulting his watch; "I agree with you exactly."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't Charles the Fifth's clocks go well?" inquired Dupont.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you know that that monarch, after abdicating, cultivated a
+passion for clockmaking? He amused himself mending and improving clocks;
+he had an enormous number of them, and they went so well together that
+sometimes, as a reward of his labors, he had the pleasure of hearing
+them strike twelve for a whole hour!"</p>
+
+<p>They laughed heartily over Charles the Fifth's clocks; then Dupont
+observed:</p>
+
+<p>"I had a rendezvous for two o'clock, here in this path."</p>
+
+<p>"So had I."</p>
+
+<p>"And I."</p>
+
+<p>"But women are never on time!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, never!"</p>
+
+<p>"Especially when they are young and pretty; they know that we'll wait
+for them."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, they are too anxious to make us long for them to come."</p>
+
+<p>"As for myself," said Edward, "I propose to wait just five minutes more;
+but if Mademoiselle Georgette hasn't arrived at the half-hour, I am
+going away!"</p>
+
+<p>"Georgette!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille.</p>
+
+<p>"Georgette!" muttered Monsieur Dupont. "On my word! this is strange;
+it's a Georgette I am waiting for, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"And I."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu! this is rather unique! A dark girl, medium height, but built
+like a Venus! And such a foot! and a leg! altogether enchanting!"<a name="page_388" id="page_388"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is the exact portrait of the person I am waiting for."</p>
+
+<p>"It is the exact portrait of the Georgette who wrote to me."</p>
+
+<p>"This becomes decidedly interesting!" said the viscount. "I have her
+letter here."</p>
+
+<p>"So have I."</p>
+
+<p>"And I."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us compare them. Yes, it certainly is the same writing! Well,
+messieurs, I have a petticoat of hers here, which she left in my hands
+and asked me to bring back to her.&mdash;Tom! come here and show what you
+have under your arm."</p>
+
+<p>The little groom drew near and unfolded the white petticoat; Monsieur de
+Mardeille and Dupont instantly took the petticoats out of their pockets,
+and exhibited them, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I also have brought her a petticoat."</p>
+
+<p>"And so have I, as you see."</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon the three gentlemen laughed so uproariously that the monkeys
+tried to imitate them. When their outburst of hilarity had subsided, the
+viscount said:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you believe that the girl has made fools of us by writing to us
+all to meet her at the same place?"</p>
+
+<p>"I begin to think so," said Mardeille.</p>
+
+<p>"And she made us come in front of the monkeys!" exclaimed Dupont. "She
+selected this place purposely."</p>
+
+<p>"She certainly won't come; it is past the half-hour. I am going away."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a moment, monsieur; there's a lady coming in this direction."</p>
+
+<p>"But she is with a gentleman."<a name="page_389" id="page_389"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Georgette didn't write us that she would come alone."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't distinguish her features yet, for she has on a bonnet. But it
+isn't her figure at all. This one has an enormous funnel-shaped skirt."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a hoopskirt&mdash;the latest fashion."</p>
+
+<p>"Great God! how ugly she is! The Georgette I am expecting used to dress
+in such excellent taste! One could see how she was built."</p>
+
+<p>"Still, the nearer she comes, the more I think that I recognize her."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, that's so! I would swear that it is she."</p>
+
+<p>"It is she! it certainly is, messieurs. See, she's coming toward us!
+There's no doubt about it now."</p>
+
+<h2><a name="G-XXIV_THE_MOTIVE" id="G-XXIV_THE_MOTIVE"></a>XXIV<br /><br />
+THE MOTIVE</h2>
+
+<p>It was, in fact, Georgette, dressed in good taste, but very simply, and
+wearing one of the skirts then in fashion, which transformed a woman
+into a sugar loaf. She was arm in arm with Colinet, who had entirely
+laid aside his artless, timid manner.</p>
+
+<p>Georgette and her escort walked up to the three gentlemen, and the young
+woman bowed pleasantly to them, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, messieurs, for having kept you waiting. It was our driver's
+fault, for his horses hardly crawled. Allow me, first of all, to present
+my husband, Monsieur Colinet."<a name="page_390" id="page_390"></a></p>
+
+<p>Colinet gravely saluted the three men, who returned his salutation.</p>
+
+<p>"Did she send for us to introduce her husband?" they said to themselves.
+"That was hardly worth while!"</p>
+
+<p>"I asked you to meet me in this garden, messieurs," continued Georgette,
+"because I know that there are paths here where very few people pass,
+and where we can talk as if we were at home. I see one on the other side
+of these flower beds, where we shall be very comfortable; will you have
+the kindness to go there with me?"</p>
+
+<p>The three gentlemen bowed, and the whole party walked to a path, usually
+quite deserted, where there were benches. Georgette and her husband
+having seated themselves, the others did the same, and the little groom
+stood at some distance. Then the young woman turned to Messieurs de
+Sommerston and de Mardeille, and addressed them thus:</p>
+
+<p>"A few words will suffice to inform you why I acted as I did with
+respect to you. In the first place, messieurs, I am neither from
+Normandie nor from Bordeaux; I am a Lorrainer; Toul is my native place;
+my parents, who are poor but honorable farmers, are named Granery; I am
+the sister of Aimée and Suzanne."</p>
+
+<p>The viscount and Monsieur de Mardeille made a gesture of surprise and
+their brows grew dark when they heard those names; while Dupont thought:</p>
+
+<p>"What has this to do with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," continued Georgette, addressing Mardeille, "I am the sister of
+that poor Aimée, who came to Paris, where she hoped, by means of her
+skill in embroidery, to be able to help her parents. As ill luck would
+have it, she fell in with you. Aimée was beautiful, and she caught your
+fancy; being innocent and inexperienced, she believed your fine
+speeches, your promises, your<a name="page_391" id="page_391"></a> oaths&mdash;in short, she allowed herself to
+be seduced. A child, a son, was the result of her misstep. But you had
+already begun to act differently toward her, your visits became more
+rare; and when she asked you for the means to support and bring up her
+child, then you ceased entirely to see her. Ah! monsieur, a man must be
+very hard-hearted to behave like that. To stop loving a person is
+possible, I admit; but to spurn a mother who asks you for bread for her
+child! Oh! that is shameful!"</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille hung his head and made no reply. Thereupon
+Georgette turned to the viscount:</p>
+
+<p>"Do I need to remind you, monsieur, that your treatment of my sister
+Suzanne was exactly the same as this gentleman's treatment of Aimée? You
+seduced a poor girl who was innocence itself&mdash;you cannot deny it; then,
+after making her the mother of a daughter, you abandoned her, and, to
+avoid seeing her tears and hearing her complaints, you went away, you
+left Paris. My sisters returned to the province, in utter despair. They
+threw themselves at our parents' feet, with the children they were
+nursing; and, instead of cursing them, my parents wept with them and
+tried to comfort them; for with us, people don't curse their children
+when they are unfortunate. Isn't it more natural to forgive them? But I,
+seeing my sisters weep every day over their children's cradles, said to
+myself: 'I will go to Paris, too, but I will go to avenge them!'&mdash;I was
+twenty years old, I was well and strong, and I was especially noted for
+a resolute will. My parents tried in vain to oppose my determination. I
+started for Paris. Unfortunately, Aimée did not know Monsieur de
+Mardeille's address, and Suzanne did not know whether Monsieur de
+Sommerston had returned to Paris. But nothing could deter me.&mdash;'I shall
+succeed in<a name="page_392" id="page_392"></a> finding them,' I said to myself; 'and something leads me to
+hope that my enterprise will be successful.'&mdash;I flattered myself that I
+should be able to make your acquaintance, messieurs. You know whether I
+succeeded.&mdash;Now, Monsieur de Mardeille, is it necessary for me to tell
+you that the twelve thousand francs I asked of you was for your son,
+that it has been invested in his name, and will be used to bring him
+up?&mdash;And you, monsieur le vicomte, whom I asked for twenty thousand
+francs, because I knew that you were a richer man, and because a girl's
+education costs more than a boy's&mdash;you know now that that sum will be
+used to bring up Suzanne's daughter, and to provide her with a
+dowry.&mdash;Well, messieurs, do you consider now that my conduct was so
+blamable? That money, with which you intended to seduce and ruin me, as
+you ruined my sisters, I have put to a good use. It will make it
+possible to bring up your children carefully; and what you would have
+employed in an evil action will accomplish a result that will do you
+honor. Tell me, messieurs, do you bear me a grudge now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith! no," cried the viscount; "the play was well acted! You performed
+your part perfectly! Accept my congratulations, madame, together with
+this petticoat, which I hasten to restore to you.&mdash;Here, Tom! hand that
+garment to madame."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Mardeille did not seem to have accepted the inevitable so
+gracefully as the viscount; however, he realized that he must resign
+himself, and at least pretend to repent of his wrongdoing. Consequently,
+he said to Georgette:</p>
+
+<p>"Madame, I judged you ill, that is true. I did treat your sister Aimée
+somewhat inconsiderately, and you<a name="page_393" id="page_393"></a> have repaired my neglect, my fault.
+We men are drawn on by the current of business and pleasure, and are
+sometimes at fault when we do not mean to be. Present my compliments to
+your sister. Here is the little petticoat that became you so well!"</p>
+
+<p>"But why am I mixed up in this affair, madame, I who never seduced any
+of your sisters?"</p>
+
+<p>"You, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile&mdash;"I took you at first
+for an honorable, loyal man, whose arm I could accept without fear, for
+I was alone in Paris. I did not then know the addresses of these
+gentlemen, which my sisters succeeded in obtaining for me later. I
+wanted to go to the play and to the fashionable promenades, hoping to
+discover, to meet there, the persons I was absolutely determined to
+find."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand; you used me as an escort."</p>
+
+<p>"Something like it, monsieur. As for your love, that didn't frighten me.
+When I learned that you had lied to me, that you were married, as it was
+a matter of perfect indifference to me, I might have forgiven you; but
+you attempted to take most unbecoming liberties with me! So then,
+monsieur, I left you without ceremony, abandoning in your hands a little
+petticoat&mdash;which you have brought to me, I hope?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madame, here it is."</p>
+
+<p>And Dupont, hanging his head rather sheepishly, produced his little
+parcel and handed it to Georgette. She took it and gave it to her
+husband; then she rose, and, with a graceful courtesy to the three men
+who had been in love with her, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Now that I am rehabilitated in your eyes, messieurs, it remains for me
+only to wish you whatever may be most agreeable to you."<a name="page_394" id="page_394"></a></p>
+
+<p>And, after bowing once more, Georgette took her husband's arm and walked
+away with him.</p>
+
+<p>Her three ex-lovers looked after her, and the viscount exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Sapristi! what a difference between that huge funnel and the little
+petticoat that outlined her form so perfectly! Ah! if I had seen her
+dressed as she is to-day, all this wouldn't have happened!"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, it wouldn't!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "indeed, it wouldn't
+have happened; I should still have my twelve thousand francs."</p>
+
+<p>"I agree with you entirely, messieurs," said Dupont; "what a difference
+in her shape! And the change is not to her advantage! The idea of
+getting into that sugar-loaf affair, instead of letting us see her
+graceful outlines! Ah! madame! what a scurvy trick to play on us!"</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Naught save the true is beautiful or lovable.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a>
+</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">How now! you say nothing!</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">My friend, 'tis not nice of you!</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Once it was different,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Remember, I pray you!</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> True joys have fixed their abiding place in the fields; We
+fear the gods more there, and there make love more at our ease.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a>
+</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">I saw you of late, as you worked at the pump;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">In you all is charming, all is true, nothing false;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">&#8217;Tis then you display in your movements such grace that</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">One would gladly be damned, if he might pump with you.</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a>
+</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">You have a saucy countenance,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">A graceful figure;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">A killing eye, a tiny foot,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">And piquant bearing;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Your petticoat, too, I admire,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">And all that one divines</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Beneath,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">And all that one divines!</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a>
+</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">My candle's gone out,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">No fire have I;</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">Pray open your door,</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 0em;">For the love of the Lord!</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> Colinet is misled by the twofold meaning of the French word
+<i>broche</i>.&mdash;<i>Mettre une broche</i>&mdash;to put on a brooch. <i>Mettre à la
+broche</i>&mdash;to put on the spit; <i>i.e.,</i> to roast.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> This play upon words cannot be reproduced in English. L.
+says: <i>Je l'entends très-bien!</i> But <i>entendre</i> means to <i>hear</i>, as well
+as to <i>understand;</i> so the other retorts: <i>Tu l'entends, mais tu ne le
+comprends pas;</i> you hear, but you don't understand.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> All styles are good, except the tiresome style.</p></div>
+
+</div>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Frederique; vol. 2, by Charles Paul de Kock
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Frederique; vol. 2
+
+Author: Charles Paul de Kock
+
+Release Date: December 17, 2011 [EBook #38332]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FREDERIQUE; VOL. 2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: frontispiece (Copyright 1903 by G. Barrie & Sons)]
+
+_DUPONT'S DISCOMFITURE_
+
+_As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment_.
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS
+
+BY
+
+Paul de Kock
+
+VOLUME VI
+
+FREDERIQUE
+
+VOL. II
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+[Illustration: colophon PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH GEORGE BARRIE'S
+SONS]
+
+THE JEFFERSON PRESS
+
+BOSTON NEW YORK
+
+_Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. & Sons_.
+
+
+
+
+FREDERIQUE
+
+[CONTINUED]
+
+XXXIII ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE
+
+XXXIV--THE UMBRELLAS.--THE POLKA
+
+XXXV--A HIGH LIVER
+
+XXXVI--A SCENE
+
+XXXVII--ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS
+
+XXXVIII--THE DEALER IN SPONGES
+
+XXXIX--A PARTY OF FOUR
+
+XL--A SICK CHILD
+
+XLI--THE REWARD OF WELLDOING
+
+XLII--A CONSOLATION
+
+XLIII--CONJECTURES
+
+XLIV--LOVE ON ALL SIDES
+
+XLV--SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN
+
+XLVI--FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS
+
+XLVII--THE NEIGHBOR
+
+XLVIII--AT THE OPERA
+
+XLIX--A DOUBLE DUEL--
+
+L--A PRESENTATION
+
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+I--THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
+
+II--HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL--
+
+III--MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE
+
+IV--YOUNG COLINET
+
+V--AN INGENUOUS YOUTH
+
+VI--A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM
+
+VII--THE SECOND PETTICOAT
+
+VIII--A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN
+
+IX--THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK
+
+X--A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT
+
+XI--DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY
+
+XII--LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!
+
+XIII--A BROOCH
+
+XIV--COLINET'S SECOND VISIT
+
+XV--A DAINTY BREAKFAST
+
+XVI--TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS
+
+XVII--A PARCEL--
+
+XVIII--A BLASE YOUNG MAN
+
+XIX--THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS
+
+XX--THE THIRD PETTICOAT
+
+XXI--AN ATTACK
+
+XXII--TERTIA SOLVET
+
+XXIII--THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS
+
+XXIV--THE MOTIVE
+
+
+
+
+XXXIII
+
+ROSETTE THE BRUNETTE
+
+
+I was conscious of a secret feeling of satisfaction, which I attributed
+to my reconciliation with Frederique. I was pleased to have her for a
+friend; there was something unique, something that appealed strongly to
+me, in that friendship between a man of thirty and a woman of
+twenty-seven; and I promised myself that I would not again so conduct
+myself as to break off the connection.
+
+But I had not forgotten Saint-Bergame's words, as he passed our
+carriage: "So it's that fellow now! each in his turn!"--It was evident
+that he believed me to be Madame Dauberny's lover. I was not surprised
+that he should have that idea. People will never believe in the
+possibility of an innocent intimacy between a man and woman of our age.
+But Frederique had been deeply wounded by Saint-Bergame's remark;
+indeed, by what right did the fellow presume to proclaim that from the
+housetops? Was it spite? was it jealousy? Whatever his motive, the man
+was an impertinent knave; and if I had not feared to compromise Madame
+Dauberny even more, I would have gone to him and demanded an explanation
+of his words. But, perhaps an opportunity would present itself; if so, I
+would not let it slip.
+
+Several days had passed since my drive in the Bois, when, as I was
+strolling along the boulevards one morning, I halted, according to my
+custom, in front of one of those pillars upon which posters are
+displayed by permission. Being very fond of the theatre, I have always
+enjoyed reading the various theatrical announcements. I did not carry it
+so far as to read the printer's name; but, had I done so--_that is a
+very harmless diversion!_
+
+But observe how harmless diversions may give birth to diversions that
+are not harmless. A young woman stopped close beside me, also to read
+the announcements; and I was not so absorbed by the titles of dramas and
+vaudevilles that the sight of a pretty face did not distract my thoughts
+from them.
+
+I think that I have told you that certain faces, certain figures,
+possess an indefinable charm and fascination for me at first sight. The
+young girl who stood beside me--for she certainly was a young girl--wore
+a simple, modest costume, denoting a shopgirl on an errand: dark-colored
+dress, shawl,--no, I am mistaken, it was a little alpaca cloak,--and a
+small gray bonnet, without any ornament, placed on her head with no
+pretence of coquetry; it had evidently been put on in a hurry.
+
+But, beneath that unassuming headgear, I saw a refined, attractive,
+piquant face. She was a brunette; her complexion was rather dark, but
+her fresh, brilliant coloring gave her a look of the _Midi_. Her brown
+hair was brushed smoothly over her temples; her eyes were black, or
+blue--or, more accurately, blue bordering on black. They were large, and
+said many things. The mouth was very pretty, and well supplied with
+teeth. I had thus far only caught a glimpse of the latter, but that was
+enough. The nose was straight and well shaped, slightly turned up at
+the end, which always gives a saucy look to the face. Add to all this a
+lovely figure, neither too tall nor too short; a pretty hand--of that I
+was sure, for she wore no gloves; and, lastly, a modest and graceful
+carriage; and you will not be surprised that I forgot the names of the
+plays and performers printed on the posters before me, and devoted my
+whole attention to that young woman.
+
+For her part, she had glanced several times at me, as if
+unintentionally. She scrutinized the posters for a long while; and as I
+was in no hurry, I too remained in front of the pillar. I had assured
+myself at least twelve times that _La Grace de Dieu_ was to be given at
+the Gaite, and it seemed to me that my neighbor also kept reading the
+same thing over and over again.
+
+However, she walked away at last along the boulevard. We were then in
+front of the Gymnase. There was nothing to detain me there, for I was
+thoroughly posted concerning the programme at the Gaite. Furthermore,
+that grisette took my eye. I believed that I could safely classify her
+as a grisette, with liberty to do her justice later, if I had insulted
+her. Why should I not try to make her acquaintance? For some time, my
+behavior had been virtuous to a degree which accorded neither with my
+tastes nor with my habits. Being obliged to eschew sentiment with my
+former acquaintances, I was conscious of a void in my heart which I
+should be very glad to fill.
+
+I walked after the young woman. One is sometimes sadly at a loss to
+begin a conversation in the street; but for some reason or other, I did
+not feel the slightest embarrassment with that girl. She walked so
+slowly that I easily overtook her. She did not precisely look at me;
+but I was fully persuaded that she saw me. Should I begin with the usual
+compliments: "You are adorable! With such pretty eyes, you cannot be
+cruel!" or other remarks of the same sort? No, they were too stupid and
+worn too threadbare; so I addressed her as if we were already
+acquainted, and said:
+
+"Do you like the theatre, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very much!"
+
+She answered without the slightest affectation, and with no indication
+that she was offended by my question. I took that as a good omen, and
+continued:
+
+"Would you like to go to-night?"
+
+"To-night? Oh, dear, no! But I was looking for the Palais-Royal
+advertisement; I wanted to know what they were playing there, and I
+can't ever find it."
+
+"I am sorry I didn't know that sooner, for I would have shown it to
+you."
+
+"After all, it don't make any difference."
+
+"But if you like the theatre, won't you allow me to give you some
+tickets?"
+
+"Tickets! Do you have theatre tickets? for what theatre?"
+
+"It doesn't make any difference: I have some for them all. Perhaps you
+may think that I am lying, that I say this to trap you, when my only
+purpose is to make your acquaintance. But I assure you, mademoiselle,
+that I shall be only too happy to be useful to you. Allow me to send you
+some tickets; that doesn't bind you to anything."
+
+The girl stopped. We were then near Porte Saint-Denis. She hesitated a
+moment, then replied:
+
+"Well! send me some tickets; I'll accept them; but don't send them to my
+house; that'll never do, because I live with my aunts. I have a lot of
+aunts, and I am not free."
+
+She smiled so comically as she said this, that I saw a double row of
+lovely teeth. I ventured to take her hand; that was going ahead rather
+fast, but, for some unknown reason, although I had not been talking with
+her five minutes, I felt as if I knew her well. She let me hold and
+press her hand, which was plump and soft; it did not seem to vex her in
+the least.
+
+"Where shall I send the tickets?"
+
+"To my employer's."
+
+"What is your trade?"
+
+"I mend shawls and fringes. I'm a very good hand at it, I promise you!"
+
+"I don't doubt it, mademoiselle."
+
+"Just now I'm doing an errand for my employer; she always sends me on
+errands, I don't know why; she says that the dealers aren't so strict
+with me! It's a bore sometimes to go out so often; but sometimes it's
+good fun, too."
+
+"Will you tell me your name?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Will you come to a restaurant with me and breakfast?"
+
+"No; in the first place, I haven't got time; they're waiting for me, and
+I must go back. In the second place, I wouldn't go, anyway, like that,
+with someone I don't know."
+
+"That's the way to become acquainted."
+
+"Suppose anyone should see me go into a restaurant with you--one of my
+aunts, for instance! I've got seven aunts!"
+
+"Sapristi! that's worse than Abd-el-Kader! No matter! come and have
+breakfast with me at my rooms, and you will see at once who I am--that
+I am not a mere nobody, a man without means or position."
+
+"Oh! I didn't say you were, monsieur."
+
+"I live on Rue Bleue, No. 14; that isn't very far away. If you will
+trust me, I promise you that I won't even kiss the end of your finger."
+
+"Perhaps not, monsieur; but I tell you, I haven't got time; I must go
+back; I am late already, and I shall be scolded."
+
+"Very well! where shall I send you a ticket, then?"
+
+"At Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay; just give it to the
+concierge. Mark it: _For Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's_."
+
+"And you are Mademoiselle Rosette?"
+
+"Perhaps. When will you send the ticket?"
+
+"Whenever you choose."
+
+"To-morrow, then."
+
+"To-morrow, very good!"
+
+"How many seats?"
+
+"I will send you a box with four seats."
+
+"Ah! splendid! That will be fun."
+
+"But you will go?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And I may speak to you?"
+
+"_Dame!_ I don't know about that. If I am with my employer, you must be
+careful. But I'll go out in the entr'acte."
+
+"Then I will make an opportunity to say a few words to you. And you
+won't come and breakfast with me? An hour passes so quickly!"
+
+"Oh, no! no! Adieu, monsieur! You won't forget--Mademoiselle Rosette, at
+Madame Ratapond's, No. 48, Rue Meslay."
+
+"No, mademoiselle, there's no danger of my forgetting."
+
+She walked away, and I did the same. I was enchanted with my new
+acquaintance. Mademoiselle Rosette was altogether charming, and in her
+eyes, in her answers, I saw at once that she was no fool. Suppose that I
+had fallen upon a pearl, a treasure! It was impossible to say. The
+things we find without looking for them are often more valuable than
+those we take a vast amount of trouble to obtain.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIV
+
+THE UMBRELLAS.--THE POLKA
+
+
+Love and poetry--these are what make hours seem like minutes. Be an
+author, a poet, a novelist, or a lover, and for you time will have
+wings. I thought of Mademoiselle Rosette all day, I dreamed of her all
+night, and the next morning I set about fulfilling my promise. There is
+nothing so easy, in Paris, as to obtain theatre tickets; it is not
+necessary to know authors or managers; it is enough to have money. With
+money one can have whatever one desires. I was on the way to a ticket
+broker's, when I found myself face to face with Dumouton, the literary
+man, who was of the dinner party at Deffieux's.
+
+Poor Dumouton had not changed; he was still the same in physique and in
+dress. The yellowish-green or faded apple-green coat; the skin-tight
+trousers of any color you choose. But I noticed that he had two
+umbrellas under his arm, although there were no signs of rain. He
+offered me his hand, as if he were overjoyed to meet me, crying:
+
+"Why, Monsieur Rochebrune! bonjour! how are you? It's a long while since
+I had the pleasure of meeting you."
+
+"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton! indeed, I believe we have not met
+since Dupreval's dinner."
+
+"True. We had a fine time at that dinner; everybody told some little
+anecdote; it was very amusing."
+
+"Are you still writing plays?"
+
+"Still. But one can't find such a market as one would like. There is so
+much intriguing at the theatres! The writing of a play isn't the most
+difficult part, but the getting it acted. Speaking of theatres, you
+don't happen to need an umbrella, do you?"
+
+"No, thanks, I have one. Are you selling umbrellas now?"
+
+"No--but--it happens that I bought one yesterday; and, meanwhile, my
+wife had bought one, too. So you see, we have too many; I would be glad
+of a chance to get rid of one; I would sell it cheap."
+
+"If I hadn't one already, I might make a trade with you; but as I don't
+need it----"
+
+"Still, it's often convenient to have two or three; for you lose one
+sometimes, or lend it to somebody who doesn't return it. That has
+happened to me a hundred times; and then, when you want to go out, it
+rains; you look for your umbrella, and it isn't there. That is very
+annoying; so it's more prudent to have two."
+
+"But you apparently don't think so, as you want to sell one of yours."
+
+"Oh! we have five in the house now."
+
+"That makes a difference; but I don't quite understand why you bought
+another."
+
+Dumouton scratched his nose; I could not help thinking of Rosette's
+seven aunts, and that Dumouton could shelter them from the rain with his
+seven umbrellas.
+
+"What do you suppose I would like to have at this moment?" I asked him,
+as he sadly shifted his umbrellas from his right arm to his left.
+
+"A cane, perhaps? I have one with a crow's beak head that would please
+you."
+
+"No, no! I never carry a cane. What I would like at this moment is a
+theatre ticket for this evening."
+
+Dumouton's face fairly beamed.
+
+"For what theatre?" he cried.
+
+"Faith! that makes no difference; but I would like a whole box."
+
+"I have what you want, I have it right in my pocket. See, a box at the
+Gymnase!"
+
+"The Gymnase it is!"
+
+Dumouton took from his pocket an old notebook, or wallet, or, to speak
+more accurately, two pieces of leather--just what to call it, I do not
+know; but it contained a mass of papers, some old and soiled, others
+clean and new. He produced from it a pink one, which proved to be a
+ticket for a box at the Gymnase. I took the ticket and read at the foot
+of it the name of one of our most popular authors.
+
+Dumouton restored his papers to his pocket, put his umbrellas under his
+left arm once more, and looked at me with an anxious expression,
+murmuring:
+
+"Don't you want it?"
+
+"Yes, indeed! But I was reading the name on it."
+
+"Oh! that's of no consequence; I asked for it for him, but he can't go.
+You'll take it, then, will you?"
+
+"Yes, gladly."
+
+"There's only one thing. I have promised a box to some people to whom I
+am under obligations, and I can't break my word. It's too late to go to
+the theatre to ask for one, so I must buy one of a ticket broker; and I
+don't know whether----"
+
+I did not let him finish the sentence.
+
+"I don't propose that you shall be put to any expense on my account. How
+much will the ticket cost you?"
+
+"Oh! a hundred sous, I suppose."
+
+"Here's the money; and I am your debtor."
+
+Dumouton pocketed the five francs with a radiant air. But he took his
+umbrellas in his hand again and held them out to me.
+
+"I am sorry that you won't take one of these," he said.
+
+I glanced at them, and replied:
+
+"But neither of them is new."
+
+"Oh! that may be; we bought them at second-hand. But they are good ones,
+and not dear. I will give you your choice for ten francs."
+
+It was clear to my mind that poor Dumouton was sadly in need of money.
+Why should I not gratify him by buying an umbrella? That was simply a
+roundabout way of asking a favor. I took one of the umbrellas at random,
+and said:
+
+"Well, if it will relieve you,--and I can understand that these two are
+a luxury, if you have five at home,--give me this one. Here's the ten
+francs."
+
+Dumouton took the money and slipped one of the umbrellas under my arm so
+rapidly that I thought that he had run it into me; and fearing perhaps
+that I would change my mind and go back on my bargain, he left me on the
+instant, saying:
+
+"I am very glad you needed an umbrella. Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune!
+hope to see you again soon!"
+
+He disappeared, running. I examined the article I had purchased: it was
+a very good umbrella, with a laurel-wood stick; the head was a trefoil
+with silver trimmings, and the cover dark green silk. After all, I had
+not made a bad bargain; but I would have been glad not to have it on my
+hands just then, for the weather was fine, and it makes a man look very
+foolish to carry an umbrella under such circumstances.
+
+But I had my ticket. I entered a cafe and called for paper and ink. I
+put the ticket in an envelope, with this superscription: _For
+Mademoiselle Rosette, at Madame Ratapond's_.
+
+I carried the missive myself, for the name Ratapond did not inspire
+confidence. Moreover, I was not sorry to ask a few questions and find
+out a little more about Mademoiselle Rosette.
+
+I arrived at Rue Meslay, and found the designated number. I passed under
+a porte cochere and was walking toward the concierge's lodge, when an
+enormous woman, who reminded me of one of the handsome sappers and
+miners who change their sex during the Carnival, came toward me from the
+farther end of the courtyard.
+
+"Who do you want to see, monsieur?" she demanded.
+
+"Does Madame Ratapond live in this house, madame?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; fifth floor above the entresol, the door opposite the
+stairs."
+
+"I beg your pardon, madame; but what is that lady's business?"
+
+As I asked the question, I felt in my pocket and took out a two-franc
+piece, which I slipped into the hand of the colossus, who instantly
+assumed a coquettish, mincing air and seemed to diminish in size until
+she reached my level.
+
+"Oh! monsieur," she replied, "Madame Ratapond's a very respectable
+woman; she sends shawls into the departments and on the railroads."
+
+"Has she many workgirls?"
+
+"Six, and sometimes more."
+
+"Do you know one of them named Mademoiselle Rosette--a pretty brunette,
+with a shapely, slender figure?"
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur. Mamzelle Rosette! To be sure, I know her; she goes
+up and down twenty times a day. She often does errands. Does monsieur
+happen to have brought her a ticket to the theatre? She told me this
+morning she expected one to-day, but she didn't count much on it."
+
+"That is just what I have brought for her."
+
+"Oh! won't she be glad, though! I tell you, monsieur, you can flatter
+yourself you've given her a lot of pleasure. She'll dance for joy when I
+tell her!"
+
+"She doesn't live in the house, does she?"
+
+"No, monsieur; she comes about eight o'clock or half-past."
+
+"At what time does she go away?"
+
+"Why, when the others do. Usually about eight, unless they're working
+late; then it's as late as ten, sometimes."
+
+"Here is the letter, madame, with the ticket; will you be kind enough to
+hand it to mademoiselle in person?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I understand. You see, I'm sure it won't be long before
+she comes in or goes out, and she always speaks to me when she passes."
+
+"I rely upon you, then, madame."
+
+The colossus cut several capers by way of courtesies; I left her
+standing on one leg, and went my way. I had found that the girl had not
+deceived me in what she told me; that was something. I did not suppose
+that I was dealing with a Jeanne d'Arc, but I did not care to fall into
+the other extreme. I determined to go to the Gymnase, and to have a
+little note in my pocket, appointing a meeting, which I would slip into
+Mademoiselle Rosette's hand if I was unable to talk freely with her.
+
+I was on my way home, when I heard my name called. I turned and
+recognized Monsieur Rouffignard, the stout, chubby-faced party, who also
+was one of the dinner party at Deffieux's.
+
+"Parbleu!" I said, as we shook hands; "this is my day for meetings!"
+
+"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! have you seen our friend Dupreval
+lately?"
+
+"Not for a long while! I have not done right; but I have been told that
+since Dupreval was married he has entirely renounced pleasure and gives
+all his attention to business; so that I have been afraid of disturbing
+him."
+
+"It is true, he has become a regular bear; he thinks of nothing but
+making money. For my part, I make it, but I spend it too!"
+
+"And I spend it, and don't make any. Such is life: everyone follows his
+tastes, or the current that carries him along; if we all did the same
+thing, it would be too monotonous."
+
+"I have just met a man who was at our dinner party at Deffieux's, and
+who can't be very well content with his lot at present; I don't know
+whether that will make him less rigid in the matter of morals."
+
+"Whom do you mean?"
+
+"Monsieur Faisande, the clerk in the Treasury Department, who was
+shocked when he heard anything a little off color."
+
+"What has happened to him?"
+
+"He has lost his place, that's all."
+
+"Dismissed?"
+
+"Yes, and he certainly hasn't embezzled. I heard all about it from a man
+who is a clerk in the same bureau. Would you believe, Monsieur
+Rochebrune, that that individual, who was so virtuous, so pure in his
+language, sometimes passed a fortnight without showing his face at his
+desk? If it had been on account of sickness, no one would have said a
+word; but, no, the man wasn't even at home; he didn't show himself there
+any more than he did at the bureau; not even at night; and his wife and
+child expecting him all the time! He passed a fortnight away from home!"
+
+"What a cur!"
+
+"You are right: _cur_ is the word. They began, at the bureau, by warning
+him that, if he were not more regular, his conduct would be reported. He
+paid no attention. They cut down his salary; and he kept on in the same
+way. At last, they gave him his walking ticket. And now he's thrown on
+his wife's hands, and she has to work day and night to support her
+family! Poor woman! may heaven soon rid her of the fellow!"
+
+"Cur and hypocrite often go together. I have never had the slightest
+confidence in people who prate about their own virtue, honesty, or
+merit."
+
+While I was speaking, Monsieur Rouffignard happened to glance at my
+umbrella, which he at once began to scrutinize closely.
+
+"You are surprised to see me with an umbrella in my hand, in such
+beautiful weather as this, aren't you?"
+
+"Oh! I am not surprised at that, but---- Will you allow me to touch it?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+I handed the umbrella to my stout friend, who examined the handle,
+opened and closed it, and exclaimed:
+
+"Parbleu! I am sure now that I'm not mistaken."
+
+"Do you happen to recognize my umbrella?"
+
+"Your umbrella? You say it's yours?"
+
+"Why, to be sure! I bought it not two hours ago, and that is why I am
+carrying it now."
+
+"In that case, I should be very glad to know where you bought it."
+
+"You know Dumouton--the literary man?"
+
+"Dumouton! Indeed I know him; he borrows five francs of me every time he
+sees me. But go on!"
+
+"Well! I met him this morning. He had two umbrellas under his arm, and
+he urged me so hard to buy one of them that I finally bought this one."
+
+"Ah! the villain! Upon my word, this is too cool! He actually sold you
+my umbrella, which he borrowed the day before yesterday and was to
+return that evening, and which I am still waiting for! Oh! this is the
+one--a trefoil with silver trimmings. It's my umbrella! Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, what do you say to that performance?"
+
+Poor Dumouton! I was sorry that I had been the means of showing him up;
+but how could I suspect that he had sold me Rouffignard's umbrella? It
+was very wrong; but, perhaps, he needed the money to pay his baker. I
+felt that I must try to arrange the matter.
+
+"You agree with me!" cried the stout man; "you call this a shameful
+trick, don't you?"
+
+"No, Monsieur Rouffignard. I think that there is some misunderstanding
+simply, some mistake; that Dumouton is not guilty----"
+
+"Not guilty! and he sold you my umbrella?"
+
+"Allow me. When I met Dumouton this morning, he had two umbrellas under
+his arm. He offered to sell me one. 'And what about the other?' I asked
+him.--'The other isn't mine,' he said; 'it was lent to me, and I am
+going at once to return it.'--He certainly was speaking of yours, then.
+I made a bargain with him for his umbrella. But we talked some little
+time, and, when he left me, he must have made a mistake and given me the
+wrong one; that's the whole of it."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"I am so sure of it that I will give you your umbrella, and go to
+Dumouton's to get the other."
+
+"Infinitely obliged, Monsieur Rochebrune. But, as Dumouton proposed to
+bring mine back, I may find the other one at my house; in that case, I
+will send it to you at once."
+
+"Do so, pray; au revoir, Monsieur Rouffignard!"
+
+"Your servant, Monsieur Rochebrune!"
+
+The stout man went off with his umbrella; I was quite sure that he would
+find none to send to me. Unfortunate Dumouton! See whither _petits
+verres_ lead, and idling in cafes, and risky collaborations!
+
+My thoughts recurred to the ticket for the box at the Gymnase. Suppose
+that should be claimed at the door, like the umbrella! Suppose my ladies
+should be denied admission, humiliated! That would prove to have been a
+precious gift of mine! And the name that was written on it! Suppose that
+that should mislead Mademoiselle Rosette! Faith! that would be amusing.
+In case of an emergency, as I had given the damsel my address, and had
+forgotten to tell her my name, I determined to instruct my concierge as
+to what he must say if anyone should call and ask for the person whose
+name was on the ticket.
+
+I waited impatiently for the hour at which the play would begin. I was
+convinced that they would be admitted on the ticket I had sent. Dumouton
+had undoubtedly asked for the box under some other name than his own,
+with the intention of selling it; that was very pleasant for the person
+whose name was written out in full on the ticket!
+
+I could not afford to appear at the very beginning of the play; I should
+look like an opera-comique lover. I waited until eight o'clock, before I
+went to the Gymnase. I had been careful to observe the number of the
+box, which was the best in the second tier. The play had begun; I walked
+along the corridor, found the number in question, and satisfied myself
+by a glance through the glass door that the box was full. That was
+satisfactory; she had come. My next move was to take up a position on
+the opposite side; at a distance, it would be easy for me to keep my
+eyes on the box without attracting attention.
+
+I entered the opposite balcony, where nothing would intercept my view of
+the person on whose account I had come.
+
+But to no purpose did I fix my opera glass on the box in question; to no
+purpose did I rub it with my handkerchief so that I could see more
+distinctly: among all the faces that filled the box I had given my
+pretty grisette, there was not one that resembled or even suggested
+hers. I looked again and again. It was impossible; I thought that my
+eyes deceived me. There were four women in the box, and I examined them
+one after another. It did not take long. In front, there was a rather
+attractive person of thirty or thereabouts; but she did not in the least
+resemble Mademoiselle Rosette: as for the other three, they were all
+between fifty and seventy, and vied with one another in ugliness.
+
+What had they done with my pretty Rosette? where was she? I wanted her,
+I must have her! Deuce take it! It was not for that quartette of women
+that I had bought the box of Monsieur Dumouton, who had seized the
+opportunity to entangle me in the folds of an umbrella! Who were those
+people I was examining? Madame Ratapond? some of my inamorata's aunts? I
+had no idea, but I was horribly annoyed. So she had not come! although
+the ticket was meant for her; although she knew that I would go there
+solely in the hope of seeing her and speaking to her! So she did not
+choose to make my acquaintance, but simply to make sport of me!
+
+I left the balcony and returned to the corridor; I asked the box opener
+if the ladies in such a number had said that they expected anyone.
+
+"No, monsieur; they didn't say anything about it. Anyway, the box is
+full; there's four of 'em."
+
+"I know that. By the way, please show me their ticket."
+
+The box opener showed me the coupon: it was the one I had sent. I was
+completely _done!_ I returned, in an execrable humor, to the balcony,
+but this time nearer the box. From time to time, I glanced at that
+assemblage of the fair sex, every member of which, with one exception,
+was exceedingly ugly. But it seemed to me that they had noticed me.
+Perhaps they fancied that they had made a conquest of me. In any event,
+there was but one of them who could reasonably imagine that. Soon I
+began to think that they whispered and laughed together as they looked
+at me. Perhaps it was my imagination. But, no matter! I had had enough.
+She for whom I had come was not there; why should I remain?
+
+I left the theatre. I was weak enough to pace back and forth on the
+boulevard, in front of the door, hoping that she might come. But the
+clock struck ten. I decided to go away. I went into a cafe and read the
+papers, and about half-past eleven I went home, depressed and
+shame-faced. Really, that girl was most seductive, and I had fancied
+that there would be no obstacle to our liaison.
+
+My concierge stopped me.
+
+"A young woman has been here asking for you, monsieur. That is to say,
+she didn't ask for you, but for that queer name monsieur told me."
+
+My heart expanded; I became as cheerful as I was melancholy a moment
+before.
+
+"Ah! so the young woman came, did she? A tall, dark girl, with a
+wide-awake look?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; that describes her."
+
+"What time did she come?"
+
+"About half-past eight."
+
+"And she asked if Monsieur--the author whose name I gave you--lived
+here?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"And you answered?"
+
+"I answered _yes_, as you told me to. I told her that you lived on the
+second floor, but that you had gone out."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"Then she said she'd come about noon to-morrow, and told me to tell
+you."
+
+"She will come to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, about noon."
+
+"Very good! very good!"
+
+I was beside myself with joy. I rewarded my concierge, then ran lightly
+up my two flights. Pomponne opened the door. I went in singing, and said
+to him:
+
+"To-morrow, Pomponne, about noon, a young grisette will come here."
+
+"Ah! a grisette--a new one?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"I mean one who has not called on monsieur before."
+
+"Why, yes, of course, you idiot! She will ask for----"
+
+"_Pardi!_ she will ask for monsieur."
+
+"Well, no; that is just what she won't do."
+
+"Will she ask for me, then? But I don't expect anybody, monsieur!"
+
+"Oh! how you annoy me with your reflections, Pomponne! She will ask
+for---- But, no, you would make some infernal blunder; I prefer not to
+have you here. I will send you on some errand, and let her in myself
+when she comes."
+
+"What, monsieur! do you distrust me to that extent?"
+
+"Hush! you bore me."
+
+"But if you want her to ask for me, monsieur, I'm willing, I don't
+refuse."
+
+"Leave me in peace, and go to bed!"
+
+Pomponne went to bed, weeping because I would not allow him to be there
+on the morrow to admit my young grisette. I fell asleep thinking of
+Mademoiselle Rosette. Her visit indicated a very earnest wish to make my
+acquaintance; or was it not due to her having read that name on the
+ticket? Was it not because she believed me to be a famous author that
+she had come to my lodgings? All women love renown; grisettes are as
+susceptible to it as other women. And in that case, when she
+learned----
+
+"Faith!" said I to myself; "we shall see to-morrow; let's go to sleep."
+
+At noon, I was becomingly dressed; I had sent Pomponne away, with orders
+not to return before two o'clock, and I impatiently counted the minutes.
+
+I did not count long. The bell rang; I opened the door instantly: it was
+my grisette, in the same costume as on the day of our first meeting, and
+with a no less affable expression. She entered without ceremony. I
+ushered her into my little salon, and invited her to sit on the divan,
+saying:
+
+"How good of you to come!"
+
+"I came last evening."
+
+"I know it. But why weren't you at the theatre? I was so anxious to meet
+you there! In fact, it was for you that I sent the box, and not for
+those others."
+
+"Yes, but I couldn't go; there was work that had to be done, and at such
+times there's no fun to be had. You saw my employer, Madame Ratapond,
+and a specimen of my aunts."
+
+"Ah! so those were your aunts; the elderly ladies, I presume?"
+
+"Yes. And my mistress, what did you think of her?"
+
+"She is very good-looking. But it was you that I wanted to see! You are
+so pretty, and I love you so dearly!"
+
+At this point, I tried to add action to speech; but Mademoiselle Rosette
+pushed me away and arose, saying:
+
+"In the first place, I want you to let me alone. Stop! stop! you think
+you can go on like that, right away---- Oh, no! Later, I won't say! We'll
+see!"
+
+Good! At all events, she gave me ground for hope. I liked her frankness
+exceedingly.
+
+"In the second place, I must go; yes, I'm in a great hurry. I came here
+on my way to do an errand; but it wasn't far that I had to go, and my
+mistress will say: 'There's that Rosette idling again!'"
+
+"Ah! so it seems that you do that sometimes?"
+
+"Yes, sometimes; I don't deny it. I like to stroll along and look in the
+shop windows."
+
+"Sit down a moment."
+
+She did so, and said, after looking about the room:
+
+"Monsieur--is it really true that it's you?"
+
+"That it's I?--why---- What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, you know, yesterday, when I saw your name on the ticket, I shouted
+for joy, and I said: 'What! that gentleman who spoke to me is the one
+who writes the plays I like so much and go to see so often!'--Oh! I tell
+you, I was pleased then, and that's why I came right here last night: I
+remembered your address, and I asked if it was really you that lived in
+this house; and the concierge said _yes_, and I told him I'd come again
+to-morrow, at noon. Well! does that make you angry? you don't say
+anything."
+
+"No; it doesn't make me angry. But I was thinking."
+
+"I say, monsieur, do you know I'm mad over your plays? If I should go
+mad over you too----"
+
+"There's no danger of that."
+
+"What's that? there's no danger? What makes you say: 'There's no
+danger'? Perhaps you don't know that I take fire very quickly, I do!"
+
+That young woman was decidedly original. She said whatever came into her
+head, without beating about the bush. I liked that frankness, in which
+there was something like artlessness. Mademoiselle Rosette was neither
+stupid, nor pretentious, nor prudish. She was a perfect little
+phoenix, was that grisette. I began by kissing her; she defended
+herself feebly, or, rather, she allowed herself to be kissed without too
+much fuss; but when I attempted to go further, she defended herself very
+stoutly, crying:
+
+"I said: 'Not to-day!'--So, no nonsense; it's a waste of time!"
+
+"Well, when, then?"
+
+"Oh! we'll see; we've got time enough. Do you like me?"
+
+"What a question! Many other men must like you, for you know well enough
+that you're as pretty as a peach."
+
+"Oh, yes! I know that; people tell me so every day."
+
+"Lovers?"
+
+"Lovers and flatterers and chance acquaintances--what do I know? I can't
+go out without being followed, and it's sickening!"
+
+"Come, Mademoiselle Rosette, tell me frankly: have you had
+many--lovers?"
+
+"Lovers! I should think not! No, I've never had but one."
+
+"That's very modest! And you loved him dearly, I suppose?"
+
+"Why, yes."
+
+"Why did you separate?"
+
+She looked down at the floor, heaved a profound sigh, and murmured:
+
+"Alas! he died, my poor Leon!"
+
+"Oh! forgive me for reminding you of so sad a loss."
+
+"Yes; he died--a little more than a year ago."
+
+"How old are you?"
+
+"Twenty. They've wanted to marry me off seventeen times already; but I
+won't have it; I haven't any taste for marriage. I am right, ain't I?"
+
+"If you have no inclination for marriage, you will certainly do quite as
+well to remain free."
+
+"Free, that's it! What fun it is to do just what one wants to do! In the
+first place, I should make a husband very unhappy! And in the second
+place, how can I marry, now? I don't choose to deceive anyone, and I
+certainly wouldn't hold myself out for something that I'm not any more."
+
+"You are right, mademoiselle; you shouldn't have any secrets from the
+man you bind yourself to; but all young ladies aren't like you."
+
+"They're wrong, then. I must go now; I shall get a scolding."
+
+"Just another minute. Tell me; if you hadn't seen that name on the
+theatre ticket, wouldn't you have come to see me?"
+
+"Oh, no!"
+
+"Then it was on account of the name alone that you came, not on my
+account?"
+
+"But it was on your account, as the name's yours."
+
+"But suppose it were not mine? suppose it were a mere accident that that
+name was on the ticket?"
+
+The girl gazed earnestly at me, then exclaimed impatiently:
+
+"Come, go on! what do you mean? I don't like to have anyone hold my nose
+under water."
+
+"I mean, mademoiselle, that, like yourself, I do not choose to deceive
+anyone, or to hold myself out for what I am not. The author of whose
+works you are so fond--I am not he. My name is Charles Rochebrune; and
+I haven't the least little bit of renown to serve as a halo to my name.
+If my concierge lied to you yesterday, it was because I thought that you
+would not come here for poor me; and, as I ardently desired to see you
+again, I ventured upon that little fraud, to obtain the pleasure of
+receiving you here. But I never intended to carry it any further.--That
+is what I wanted to tell you."
+
+Mademoiselle Rosette was silent for a few moments; I heard her mutter in
+a disappointed tone: "It's a pity!" But the next minute she smiled and
+held out her hand, saying:
+
+"I don't care--it was good of you to tell me the truth!"
+
+"Then you are no longer angry with me?"
+
+"What good would that do?"
+
+"And you will love me a little?"
+
+"We shall see. Ah! a piano! Who plays the piano? I love music!"
+
+I sat down at the piano, and played quadrilles, waltzes, and polkas.
+When I reached the last-named dance, she began to polk about the salon
+with fascinating grace.
+
+"Do you like the polka?"
+
+"I adore it! Do you polk?"
+
+"A little."
+
+"Let's try it."
+
+She took my arm, and in a moment we were polking all over the salon to a
+tune which I was obliged to sing while we danced. It was very fatiguing;
+but Mademoiselle Rosette did not weary; she was an intrepid dancer. We
+were making our fifteenth circuit, at least, when the door was suddenly
+thrown open and Frederique appeared. She stood, speechless with
+amazement, in the doorway; she had not eyes enough to look at us. I
+attempted to stop and go to her; but Mademoiselle Rosette dragged me on
+and compelled me to continue:
+
+"Come on, come on!" she cried. "Do you think of stopping now? My word!
+Why, I can polk two hours without stopping!"
+
+
+
+
+XXXV
+
+A HIGH LIVER
+
+
+Mademoiselle Rosette danced on with undiminished ardor, but I felt that
+mine was rapidly giving out; my voice was dying away, and there were
+moments when I did not make a sound. After watching us for some time,
+Frederique took her place at the piano and began to play a polka for us.
+
+Then there was no longer any reason why we should stop; I did not need
+to sing, it is true, but I did need the leg of a Hercules to keep pace
+with my partner, who exclaimed when she heard the music:
+
+"Oh! that's fine! How much better we go with the piano!--Not quite so
+fast, madame, please! The polka isn't like the waltz."
+
+But I could do no more; I stopped and threw myself into a chair.
+Mademoiselle Rosette thereupon concluded to sit down; and as she took
+out her handkerchief to wipe her face, she dropped a thimble, two skeins
+of cotton, a piece of cake, two sous, a spool of thread, a card, a lump
+of sugar, a skein of silk, and three plums.
+
+She got down on all fours to pick them up, then glanced at the clock and
+cried:
+
+"Mon Dieu! half-past one! To think that I've been here an hour and a
+half, and I didn't mean to stay five minutes! Oh! what a trouncing I
+shall get! luckily, I don't care a hang! Adieu, Monsieur
+What's-your-name! I'm going."
+
+She had already left the salon; I hurried after her and overtook her in
+the reception room, and, seizing her around the waist, said:
+
+"When shall I see you again?"
+
+"_Dame!_ I don't know; whenever you say."
+
+"Will you dine with me to-morrow?"
+
+"Dine with you? Yes, I'd like to."
+
+"Will you be on Passage Vendome at five o'clock?"
+
+"No, no! not on Passage Vendome; that's too near my employer's; someone
+might see me. Better go where we met first, on Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle,
+in front of the Gymnase."
+
+"Very good; at five o'clock?"
+
+"That's too early; half-past five."
+
+"Half-past five it is. Until to-morrow, then!"
+
+"Yes; adieu!"
+
+I kissed her, and she ran down the stairs four at a time. I returned to
+the salon. Frederique's face wore a singular expression. She pretended
+to laugh, but her merriment seemed forced to me.
+
+"Will you forgive me for leaving you alone a moment while I said a word
+to that young woman?" I said, as I sat down beside her.
+
+"Why, of course! Do friends stand on ceremony with one another?"
+
+"You see, I have taken advantage of the permission you gave me."
+
+"You have done well.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"Why do you laugh?"
+
+"Because you looked so comical, polking with that grisette just now. I
+had so little expectation of finding a ball in progress here!--Ha! ha!
+ha! I was speechless."
+
+"By the way, how did you come in?"
+
+"Through the door, naturally; I rang, and your servant admitted me. But
+you were so hard at work with your dancing that you didn't hear
+me--apparently.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"Oho! my servant admitted you, did he? I sent him on an errand and
+forbade him to return before two o'clock. The rascal! he couldn't
+restrain his curiosity, and he came back before the time."
+
+"I disturbed you--I am very sorry. But it seemed to me that you had had
+enough; you were on your last legs. _Fichtre!_ what a dancer that damsel
+is! You and I dance very well together--they took us for artists from
+the Opera, you know; but if you had polked with your friend at Monsieur
+Bocal's ball, they would have carried you both in triumph, like
+_Musard_.--Ha! ha! ha!"
+
+"You are in a satirical mood, Frederique."
+
+"Satirical with you? Bless my soul! it seems to me that that would be
+very unbecoming of me. You amuse yourself, you enjoy life, you know how
+to make the most of your best days--and you are quite right! I may envy
+your happiness, but certainly not laugh at it, I who can no longer do
+anything but bore myself and other people too."
+
+She said these last words in a most melancholy tone, and her eyes were
+wet with tears.
+
+"What's that you say about boring other people, Frederique?" I said,
+taking her hand. "You didn't make that wicked remark for my benefit, I
+trust; if you did, it is absolutely false."
+
+She hastily withdrew her hand.
+
+"No, no!" she cried; "I don't know what I am saying, or what I am
+thinking about! Come, let us talk, my dear friend; who is this girl that
+I found with you?"
+
+"She--why, she's a grisette; and a very pretty one, too, is she not?"
+
+"Yes, that may be. She lisps when she talks."
+
+"Oh! really now! Once in a while, there's something that makes her voice
+tremble, it is true, but it isn't at all disagreeable; quite the
+contrary."
+
+"That's a matter of taste. Some men like women who lisp, just as some
+like red hair. I have known some who even went so far as to adore women
+with a limp."
+
+"Oh! how caustic you are to-day, Frederique!"
+
+"And this beauty, with the quivering voice--how long have you known
+her?"
+
+"Since day before yesterday."
+
+"Peste! she's quite new! And the acquaintance is already--complete; you
+have nothing else to wish for?"
+
+"Oh! I beg your pardon. We don't go so fast."
+
+"But I should say that you go at quite a good pace. If the young lady
+should prove cruel, I should be much surprised."
+
+"I trust that she won't be to-morrow."
+
+"Ah! you are to see her again to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, we dine together; we have made the appointment, it's all
+arranged."
+
+Frederique abruptly sprang to her feet and walked to the window. She
+remained there some time. When she came back to me, I was surprised at
+her pallor.
+
+"Do you feel ill?" I asked, hastening to meet her.
+
+"No; I--I--was looking at the weather. Well! so you really have ceased
+entirely to think of Armantine?"
+
+"What has induced you to mention that lady to me? What idea have you in
+your head?"
+
+"A perfectly natural one. I am still surprised to find that you have
+forgotten her. Do you know that she has left Passy?"
+
+"How should I know that? Do you suppose that I have been to Passy?"
+
+"Oh, no! that is true. Well, Armantine has left the neighborhood of the
+Bois. She hasn't told me where she has gone; apparently, she isn't
+anxious to see me again. That's as she pleases: one should never force
+one's self upon anybody. But I see that you are not listening to me! I
+forgive you: you are so engrossed by your new conquest and your blissful
+meeting to-morrow!--But I am forgetting that I have some business to
+attend to."
+
+As she spoke, she put on her bonnet, which she had tossed on a table
+when she took her seat at the piano.
+
+"What! you are going to leave me already?"
+
+"Yes--I, too--somebody's waiting for me--I too have an appointment. Did
+you think that that was impossible?"
+
+"In what a tone you say that! I thought simply that, in that case, you
+would have taken me into your confidence."
+
+"Perhaps so. I can't tell all my sentiments so easily as you can."
+
+"Then you have less confidence in me than I have in you."
+
+"That is possible."
+
+"But that is very unkind!"
+
+"Tell me, how long will this new love of yours last?"
+
+"My relations with Mademoiselle Rosette?--for you mustn't call it love."
+
+"What is it, then?"
+
+"It is a little liaison of no consequence--for amusement."
+
+"Give it whatever name you choose. Well, how long will this little
+liaison of no consequence, for amusement, be likely to last?"
+
+"Why do you ask?"
+
+"Because I want to know."
+
+"It's rather hard for me to answer. How is it possible to say? You see,
+I know nothing of the girl's temperament. Such liaisons sometimes end in
+a week; sometimes they last three months."
+
+"All right. Then I will come again three months hence."
+
+"What does this mean? Why do you leave me so?"
+
+"Because it seems to me that I always arrive most inopportunely and
+disturb you in the midst of your pleasures; and I shall do well not to
+intrude again, so long as you are--infatuated with this grisette."
+
+"Really, Frederique, I can't understand you! What connection can there
+possibly be between my follies, my amourettes, my momentary pleasures,
+and our delightful friendship?"
+
+"Oh! you are quite right! Of course, there is not the slightest
+connection between me and your pleasures. Ah, me! I certainly do not
+know what I am saying to-day; my wits are all topsy-turvy. But, adieu! I
+repeat, I have an appointment; I must leave you. Adieu!"
+
+"But I shall see you again soon?"
+
+"Yes, soon."
+
+She left the room. There were days when I was utterly at a loss to
+understand that woman's changing moods.
+
+"Ah! here's Monsieur Pomponne! Just come this way, O faithful and, above
+all, obedient servitor!"
+
+Pomponne hung his head and stood in front of me, like a Cossack awaiting
+the knout.
+
+"What did I tell you when I sent you out this morning?"
+
+"You told me, monsieur, that it would take me till two o'clock at least.
+But I hurried and got back earlier. Monsieur tells me sometimes that I
+am slow, and I wanted to prove that I could be quick."
+
+"You have proved that you are a prying rascal--that's what you have
+proved! Another time, if you don't carry out my orders to the letter, I
+will discharge you."
+
+"You didn't give me any letter, monsieur."
+
+"Enough; off with you, or I may give you something else!"
+
+The next day, at half-past five, I was at the place Mademoiselle Rosette
+had appointed; in a few moments, I saw my new conquest approaching; she
+did not keep me waiting, that was another excellent quality.
+
+For this occasion Mademoiselle Rosette had made a toilet; she wore a
+green merino dress, a pretty shawl, a black velvet bonnet, with a tulle
+veil. It was all very becoming to her; moreover, her costume was
+suitable, without being pretentious; that fact denoted good taste.
+
+I offered her my arm, and she smilingly accepted it. We walked toward
+the cab stand. I put her into a little _citadine_, and as we drove away
+I began the conversation with a kiss; that leads at once to intimacy. My
+companion accepted the situation with the best grace imaginable. We were
+very good friends in short order.
+
+"Where are you taking me?" inquired Rosette.
+
+"To a restaurant."
+
+"Is it very far?"
+
+"Near the Jardin des Plantes, opposite the Orleans station--the
+Arc-en-Ciel. It seems to me that if we get away from the crowd, we shall
+be more at liberty, more at home. You're in no hurry, are you?"
+
+"Oh, no! that is to say, provided I'm at home at eleven o'clock."
+
+"Then we have plenty of time before us. By the way, where do you live?"
+
+"Suppose I don't choose to tell you?"
+
+"It shall be exactly as you choose."
+
+"I was joking. I live on Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
+
+"The deuce! that's well up in the faubourg! And you go back there alone,
+at night, when you leave your work?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And you're not afraid?"
+
+"What should I be afraid of? Besides, I always have body-guards, men who
+follow me and protect me. But, speaking of that, monsieur, who was that
+lady who came to see you while we were polking? and who stayed there
+after I went, and looked at me as if she meant to count my eyelashes?"
+
+"That lady is a friend of mine."
+
+"I understand: she's your mistress!"
+
+"I assure you that she is not. If she were, I should have no reason to
+conceal the fact."
+
+"Oh! I don't know. There are some ladies who don't want to be given
+away--when they're married, for instance."
+
+"Once more, I assure you that she is a friend, and nothing more."
+
+"Oh! a friend! I know what that means! So she's an old one, eh?"
+
+"Neither old nor new. Do you suppose that, if that lady were my
+mistress, she would be obliging enough, when she found me dancing with
+you, to sit down at the piano and be our orchestra?"
+
+"Oh! but she played the polka fast enough to spoil our wind in a second.
+It was no use for me to call out: 'A little slower, please, madame!' she
+didn't listen to me, but banged and banged away! It was a sly trick to
+wind us both. Oh! I'm not so stupid as you think!"
+
+"But I have never thought that you were stupid; far from it!"
+
+"Really! tell me, do you think I am bright?"
+
+"I think you are charming."
+
+"That's no answer; I might be charming, and still be stupid. However, I
+don't care; as long as I please you, and you love me a little--I mean
+much; I want to be loved much--that's all I ask."
+
+She said all this with an abandon, a vivacity, which proved, at all
+events, that she did not stop to pick her words.
+
+We arrived at the restaurant; I need not say that I had taken my
+conquest to an establishment where there were cosily furnished private
+dining-rooms. I also think it needless to add that I began by dismissing
+the waiter, who attempted to insist upon serving us at once, by telling
+him that I would prepare my order and ring for him when we wanted to
+dine. I was very glad to have an interview with Mademoiselle Rosette,
+uninterrupted by the constant going and coming of a waiter.
+
+At last we were left alone. I was able to converse at my ease with my
+pretty workgirl, to whom our conversation was equally agreeable and who
+sustained her part excellently. I was enchanted with Mademoiselle
+Rosette! Long live the women who do not make a thousand and one grimaces
+before coming to what they have never intended to refuse! Ah! if only
+one could believe that they did have that intention, and yielded to the
+power of sentiment, to the ascendency of our passion alone! But it is
+impossible to believe that. Whenever a woman agrees to go to a private
+dining-room with a man, it means that she does not propose to be severe.
+
+In due course, we dined; we had the most voracious appetites. We were as
+gay as larks; embarrassment and reserve had vanished. There is nothing
+superior to a little tender conversation for putting us in a good humor
+at once, and putting to flight that indefinable constraint which takes
+wing only when a woman has ceased to keep us at any distance.
+
+Rosette and I were like people who had known each other for six months.
+She ate like an ogre and drank like a porter. She was a model grisette!
+a table companion of the sort that puts you on your mettle and excites
+you! Don't talk to me of the women who never have any appetite, who
+barely nibble at their food, and leave untouched all that you put on
+their plate. They call everything bad, and end by preventing you from
+eating. What depressing companions! With them, you spend quite as
+much--yes, more; for you never know what to order to stir them up, and
+you always dine wretchedly.
+
+But with Rosette how different it was! how we made the oysters
+disappear, and the soup, and the beef-steak; the fish and game and
+vegetables and sweetmeats and dessert! She ate the last dish with as
+much gusto as the first. Oh! fascinating girl, I admired thee! I revered
+thee! I would have erected a column to thee, had I been Lucullus! But
+thou wert as well pleased with a charlotte russe! And thou wert right:
+columns remain, but charlotte russes pass away; and that was what we
+wanted.
+
+We drank chablis, pomard, madeira, and came at last to champagne.
+Rosette confessed that she adored that wine; as for the others, I was
+pleased to see that she had a friendly feeling for them as well. She
+laughingly emptied her glass, saying:
+
+"I'd have you know that I never get tipsy."
+
+A moment later, she cried:
+
+"Oh! but I say, I am drinking too much; I'm beginning to be dizzy!"
+
+In another instant, she assumed a sentimental expression.
+
+"O my friend!" she said; "if I should be drunk, what would you say to
+me? You might not love me any more! That would make me very unhappy!"
+
+But I kissed her and drank with her, and her fears were succeeded by
+bursts of merriment.
+
+The more one drinks, the more one talks, unless one happens to be
+melancholy in one's cups, and my grisette was not so constituted.
+
+While we dined, she told me her whole history; I knew her family as well
+as if I were her cousin. She was an orphan, but her seven aunts took
+care of her. It seemed to me that their watchfulness resembled that of
+the Seven Sleepers. That is one of the inconveniences of having too many
+aunts: each of them probably relied on the others to keep an eye on
+Rosette.
+
+Now her aunts wanted her to marry, and each one had a match in view for
+her; the result being that there were seven aspirants for the hand of my
+friend, who reminded me of the Seven Children of Lara. Thus
+Mademoiselle Rosette had only too many to choose from, to say nothing of
+the fact that she had several young men who were paying court to her,
+for the good motive, without the knowledge of her aunts.
+
+"Perhaps you don't believe me! But I'll show you; I always have letters
+from some of my suitors in my pocket. I want you to read them; they'll
+make you laugh."
+
+And Rosette set about emptying her pockets, which led us to the
+disclosure of a multitude of things, such as scissors, skeins of cotton,
+crusts of bread, visiting cards, copper coins, barley sugar, ribbons,
+braid, chalk, specimens of dry goods, orange peel, etc., etc. I told her
+that she should empty her pockets on the boulevard and shout:
+
+"Here's what's left from the sale! Come, messieurs and mesdames, take
+your choice; this is what's left from the sale!"
+
+Rosette insisted that I should read her letters from her adorers. I
+found in them the following sentiments:
+
+"Ah! mademoiselle, what a sudden spasm I felt throughout my being when I
+saw your shadow on the curtain!"
+
+Or this: "Fatality collects and heaps up like a block of granite on my
+breast the circumstances that compel me to idolize you."
+
+I soon had enough of that; I refused to read any more and returned the
+scrawls to Rosette, saying:
+
+"I'll wager that your lovers have long, flying hair, uncombed beards,
+and artist's hats?"
+
+"That is true! How did you guess that?"
+
+"My dear love, when a man writes in that style, he doesn't dress like
+other people."
+
+The hour arrived when we must think of returning. The time had passed
+very quickly; that is the greatest praise one can give a tete-a-tete.
+
+I put Mademoiselle Rosette in a cab again--she was slightly
+exhilarated--and said:
+
+"I will escort you to Faubourg Saint-Denis."
+
+She seemed to consider.
+
+"Aren't you going home?" I continued.
+
+"How stupid you are! Where do you suppose I'm going? But, you see, I
+have quite a choice; I can go and sleep at another one of my aunts', if
+I choose--it doesn't matter which, I have a bed with each of them; I
+might sleep in the Marais, for I have an aunt on Rue Pont-aux-Choux."
+
+"Pardieu! that's convenient, isn't it? So, when you want to pass the
+night with your lover, you tell one aunt that you've been with another
+one, and so on. Oh! fortunate niece! I have known lots of nieces, but
+very few in so pleasant a position as you occupy."
+
+"Oh! come, don't laugh at me! Let me tell you, monsieur, that my aunts
+see each other very often; and so, if I should lie and say I had passed
+the night with one of them when I hadn't, they'd soon find it out, and I
+shouldn't have a very nice time."
+
+"Forgive me, dear love! I didn't mean to offend you!"
+
+"Kiss me. When shall I see you again?"
+
+"When you are willing."
+
+"I'll come to see you Thursday, about two. Will you wait for me?"
+
+"Most certainly."
+
+"And you'll take care that your friend don't come and disturb us; if she
+does, I'll make a scene with her. I'm very jealous, let me tell you. You
+love me, don't you? Ah! you've made me tipsy, you see, and I don't know
+what I'm saying."
+
+I reassured Rosette and left her on Faubourg Saint-Denis, where she had
+finally decided to go. She was a very attractive girl, her conversation
+was amusing, and her person most alluring. But I was sorry that she had
+a tent pitched in every quarter of Paris; one could never be sure where
+she had gone into camp.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVI
+
+A SCENE
+
+
+I had known Rosette a month, and thus far had had no reason to repent. I
+had observed, to be sure, that the young woman did not always tell me
+the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; but, after all, a
+lover should not act toward his mistress in the capacity of a juryman.
+Moreover, Rosette herself had told me, in a moment of effusiveness, that
+she lied a great deal and lied very well. It seemed to me that, after
+that, I was not justified in losing my temper when she told me a
+falsehood; for she might reply:
+
+"I gave you fair warning!"
+
+I often took Rosette to dine in a private dining-room. Knowing as I did
+what justice she could do to a hearty meal, it would really have been a
+pity not to give her an opportunity for practice; and as I myself am
+endowed with a lusty appetite, our little parties always afforded us
+pleasure: when love went to sleep, the stomach woke, and _vice versa_.
+
+Rosette came to my rooms once or twice a week, and sometimes unheralded.
+When I was absent, she went into my chamber; I had told Pomponne that
+she was to be admitted at any time. When she had come and failed to find
+me, I always discovered it instantly, for she turned everything in the
+apartment topsy-turvy. She tossed about papers, books, combs, brushes,
+and soap; looked through all the drawers, and left nothing in its place;
+even the chairs I always found in the middle of the room.
+
+"Couldn't you have put my room to rights a little?" I would say to
+Pomponne.
+
+And Monsieur Pomponne would reply, with his sly smile:
+
+"It was Mademoiselle Rosette who arranged monsieur's bedroom like that;
+I shouldn't venture to touch anything."
+
+I had not seen Frederique since the day she played for us to dance. She
+had not called upon me again. I had been several times to see her, but
+had not found her. Could it be that her friendship was really jealous of
+my love for a grisette? That would be absurd. Friendship should be
+indulgent to our weaknesses, and, after all, I had not promised
+Frederique to be virtuous.
+
+I could not understand her conduct in the least, but I was deeply
+grieved by it. I missed her; my follies with Rosette were simply
+transitory gleams of pleasure, while my delightful interviews with
+Frederique filled my heart with a joy which had a morrow.
+
+I was sitting one day, absorbed in serious reflections, when Frederique
+entered my room. I cannot describe my sensation of pleasure. I ran to
+meet her, took her hands, and cried:
+
+"Ah! here you are at last! I am very glad! I thought that you had
+forgotten me altogether."
+
+She looked at me and smiled, as she rejoined:
+
+"So you are glad to see me?"
+
+"Unkind Frederique! can you ask such a question? Why, I have been to see
+you several times!"
+
+"I know it; my people told me."
+
+"But you are never at home! What sort of life are you leading, pray,
+madame?"
+
+"I go out a good deal, it is true."
+
+"Have you been ill? it seems to me that you are a little pale."
+
+"I am never very red. The women you see are so fresh and rosy, that you
+are struck by the difference."
+
+"Ah! madame, I see no woman whom it gives me so much pleasure to look at
+as you."
+
+"Really?"
+
+She uttered that word with an accent that came from her heart. I made
+her sit down beside me. She looked all about the room, murmuring:
+
+"Are you alone?"
+
+"To be sure!"
+
+"And I do not intrude?"
+
+"Once more, I tell you that you never intrude."
+
+"Oh! _never_ is too strong. What if she were with you?"
+
+"Who, pray?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! you know well enough: your dancing damsel--your Rosette."
+
+"Oh! my Rosette!"
+
+"_Dame!_ I think that I may fairly say _your_ Rosette, for she must
+surely have become yours since the day---- To be sure, she may be others'
+also, and in that case the possessive pronoun would be of doubtful
+propriety."
+
+"Call her what you will, Frederique; I attach little importance to that.
+But I am surprised to find that my liaison with that girl displeases
+you. Why is it so? I can't understand. You are too intelligent to
+believe that such amourettes can impair the pure friendship I have sworn
+to you."
+
+Frederique put her hand over her eyes and turned her face away.
+
+"But you are mistaken!" she exclaimed. "It is not true! Your liaison
+with this grisette doesn't displease me at all. Upon my word! why should
+it, pray?--But I would have liked you to know five or six at the same
+time; that would be more amusing; I should enjoy that immensely."
+
+At that moment I heard voices outside, and recognized Pomponne's.
+
+"Monsieur is having a consultation with someone," he said.
+
+"I don't care a hang for his consultation; I can go in any time, I can!"
+was the reply.
+
+And an instant later, Mademoiselle Rosette opened the door and appeared
+before us. Frederique turned pale, but she did not stir. I was annoyed
+that Rosette should have come just then. However, I had no reason for
+letting her see it; so I went to meet her, smiling as usual. But my
+grisette had assumed a furious expression, and she drew back from me,
+crying:
+
+"Don't put yourself out, monsieur, I beg; you were so comfortable with
+madame! You weren't polking, to be sure, but you were engaged in
+something more interesting; anybody could see that."
+
+I saw that Rosette was on the point of saying things most unseemly, and
+perhaps worse than that, to Madame Dauberny, and I felt my blood begin
+to boil. Frederique, on the contrary, remained quite calm.
+
+"Mademoiselle," I said, "I cannot believe that it is your intention to
+insult those persons whom you may chance to meet on my premises; I tell
+you at once that that does not meet my views at all, and that I will not
+endure it."
+
+"Really? Perhaps I'll have to put on mittens when I speak to the
+princesses I find in monsieur's room! I guess not much! Humbug!"
+
+"O Rosette! Rosette!"
+
+"Let me alone; I propose to shriek all I want to, and get mad too! I
+don't believe in these _friendships_ between ladies and young men. Bah!
+friendship that crawls under your bedclothes!"
+
+"Be careful, mademoiselle!"
+
+"I won't be careful! I'm your mistress, I am, worse luck!--If madame
+don't know it, I'm very glad to tell her of it, so that she'll know it
+now. Yes, I'm your mistress; but I don't propose to have you have others
+at the same time--old ones or new ones;--if you do, I'll raise a deuce
+of a row! Ah! you'll see!"
+
+Frederique, who seemed rather pleased than angry as she listened to
+Rosette, rose and said to her in a most affable tone:
+
+"I was quite well aware that you were monsieur's mistress, mademoiselle;
+I beg you to believe that I did not doubt it for a moment, when I saw
+you in his room. I assure you that you are wrong, altogether wrong, to
+be jealous of me, who am not and never have been Monsieur Rochebrune's
+mistress. So that I do not deserve your anger--and to prove it, I am
+going to take my leave at once and surrender my place to you--which I
+would not do, I beg you to believe, if monsieur were my lover. Come!
+make your peace; be reconciled! I am distressed to have been the cause
+of this scene.--Adieu, Rochebrune; au revoir, my friend! Be sure that I
+am not at all offended with you for what has happened."
+
+Frederique left the room, smiling sweetly at me. I did not try to detain
+her, because I did not choose to expose her to fresh abuse from Rosette.
+
+As for my grisette, she threw herself on the divan, crying:
+
+"I don't care! I must admit that she's a good creature, after all. Ah! I
+wouldn't have been the one to go! You might have called up a dozen
+gendarmes, and I'd just have said: _Zut!_"
+
+I paced the floor without a word; I was vexed and angry. After five
+minutes, Rosette exclaimed:
+
+"I say, monsieur, when are you going to stop stalking around your room,
+like the Bear of Berne? Why, you ought to have begged my pardon ten
+times for the tricks you play on me! For it's a perfect outrage, the way
+you treat me!"
+
+"If anyone ought to ask pardon, mademoiselle, you are the one; for,
+without any motive or reason, you have insulted a most estimable lady, a
+person who should be out of reach of your suspicions and your attacks. I
+had told you before that there was nothing in my relations with her to
+arouse your jealousy; and because you find her in my room, where she has
+not been since the day of the polka, you make a scene, and say things to
+her that are worse than unbecoming. It is all wrong, and I am very angry
+with you."
+
+"Hoity-toity! You're angry with me, are you? Ah! you're a nice man, you
+are! You are annoyed because I caught you in--vicious conversation, as
+the bewigged men say! After all, what did I say that was so mortifying
+to your fine lady? Nothing at all! Ah! if I had pulled her hair out or
+torn her dress, then you might say something!"
+
+"That would have been the last straw! Do you suppose I would have
+allowed that?"
+
+"If I'd taken a fancy to do it, you wouldn't have had time to stop
+me--my good friend. I wouldn't have asked your leave."
+
+"Mademoiselle Rosette, you are very wrong-headed."
+
+"That may be; but you can take me or leave me."
+
+I said nothing, but continued to pace the floor. After a considerable
+time, Mademoiselle Rosette sprang to her feet.
+
+"Well! so that's the way it is, eh?--Bonsoir!"
+
+She rushed from the room, and I heard her slam one door after another
+till she was in the hall.
+
+She had gone, and gone in a rage. No matter! I could not allow her to
+insult my visitors without the slightest cause. If I should allow it,
+with her temperament Mademoiselle Rosette would soon pass from words to
+deeds. I said to myself that she would calm down and come back to me. I
+did not believe that she was vixenish at heart. Those people who fly
+into a rage so quickly do not let the sun go down on their wrath.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVII
+
+ROSETTE'S SEVEN AUNTS
+
+
+Several days passed and I heard nothing of my grisette. But I went to
+see Frederique, whom I found at home, and who greeted me with evident
+pleasure.
+
+I did not mention Rosette; but I saw in her eyes that she was burning to
+know the situation of my amour with her. At last, she could contain
+herself no longer.
+
+"Well, my friend," she said, "you say nothing of your love affairs. I
+trust, however, that I am still your confidante; and you surely must
+have been content with my conduct the last time I came to see you."
+
+"I did not speak of that, to avoid recalling unpleasant things; you were
+most kind, a thousand times too kind; but that did not surprise me, and
+I ask your pardon again for that girl, who didn't know what she was
+saying."
+
+"I assure you that she didn't offend me in the least; far from it! her
+observations were so amusing, and her expressions so classic! But you
+are reconciled, I hope? My departure should have restored peace at
+once."
+
+"No; that is where you are mistaken. We did not make peace. Rosette went
+away in a rage, and I haven't seen her since."
+
+"Really? You surprise me. And haven't you made any attempt to see that
+fascinating grisette again?"
+
+"No, not any."
+
+Frederique looked at me out of the corner of her eye. To change the
+subject, I asked her if her husband had returned.
+
+"Not yet. You seem greatly interested in my husband's movements. I
+confess that that puzzles me a good deal."
+
+"I beg you to believe that my interest in him has no connection with
+you."
+
+"Oh! I am sure of that."
+
+"Do you know that your husband's friend, he who called himself
+Saint-Germain, has lost his place?"
+
+"I did not know it; but that explains why he comes here almost every day
+to inquire if Monsieur Dauberny has returned; indeed, he asked to see me
+once."
+
+"Do not receive that man, madame; I take the liberty of giving you that
+advice."
+
+"I will follow your advice, monsieur, which, by the by, is in perfect
+accord with my previous intentions. If I dared to give you advice, in my
+turn, I would say----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Oh, no! no! I won't say it! I prefer that you should follow the
+impulses of your heart; and then, too----"
+
+Frederique began to laugh, and I was somewhat annoyed; but she refused
+to say anything more. I took my leave, almost offended with her; but I
+pressed her hand affectionately.
+
+Several more days passed, and still no news of Rosette. I was hurt by
+her desertion; she was very pretty, and she loved me, or, at all events,
+she pretended to, which often amounts to the same thing. If she was
+jealous, was not that a proof of affection? After all, I had let her go
+without saying a word, without trying to detain her.
+
+"Come, come!" I said to myself; "no false shame! It is my place to make
+advances."
+
+Rosette had said to me:
+
+"If you should happen to have anything important to say to me, go to my
+aunt's--whichever one I am staying with--and ask for me. There's no
+danger; they won't see anything but smoke."
+
+So I determined to hunt up Rosette, at her various aunts' abodes,
+praying that I should have less difficulty than Jason had in his quest
+of the Golden Fleece. Rosette, by the way, had not a golden fleece, and
+was to be congratulated therefor.
+
+I hired a cab by the hour, and went first to Faubourg Saint-Denis,
+corner of Rue Chabrol; that was where Rosette had her legal domicile. I
+knew the house, having taken her there quite often. I went in and asked
+an old tailor, presumably the concierge, if Mademoiselle Rosette was
+with her aunt, Madame Falourdin. I had remembered that aunt's name; as
+for the others, I had heard them named; but that conglomeration of more
+or less queer and unusual names had escaped my memory.
+
+"Mamzelle Rosette?" replied the tailor, eying the seat of an old pair of
+trousers as a cook eyes eggs that are to be served in the shell;
+"Mamzelle Rosette? No, monsieur, I don't think she be to her aunt's, or
+I'd have seen her going out and coming in more'n once this morning. You
+see, monsieur, that girl's just like a worm as has been cut in
+two--always wriggling.--_Bigre!_ that place is pretty nigh worn out!"
+
+I saw that Rosette was recognized everywhere as being constantly in
+motion.
+
+"So you think she isn't at Madame Falourdin's?" I said.
+
+"I'd put my thimble in the fire on it. Ha! ha! To be sure, it wouldn't
+burn, being as it's wrought iron.--Oho! how thin this place is!"
+
+The old fellow was inclined to jest. However, I must find out where to
+go in search of Rosette.
+
+"Can you tell me, monsieur, where I shall find Mademoiselle Rosette?"
+
+I added to my question the obligatory accompaniment of a piece of
+silver; but to my amazement the old tailor pushed my hand away, saying:
+
+"That would be robbery, for I don't know where she is.--They want me to
+make a child's jacket out of this thing, and I couldn't make one
+gaiter!"
+
+"But I must speak to that young woman."
+
+"Well, then, go up to the third, Mame Falourdin; she'd ought to know
+where her niece is."
+
+He was right; that was my only resource. Rosette had said to me:
+
+"When you ask for me at one of my aunts', you must always say that you
+come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon."--I bore that
+in mind.
+
+There was but one door on the third floor, so that it was impossible to
+make a mistake. I rang. A tall, thin woman opened the door.
+
+"Madame Falourdin?"
+
+"That's me, monsieur. What can I do for you?"
+
+"Is Mademoiselle Rosette with you, madame?"
+
+"No, monsieur; what do you want of her?"
+
+"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing----"
+
+"I know, monsieur, I know! About a cashmere shawl, I suppose, that needs
+mending and must be mended right away?"
+
+"I think that that's what it is, madame."
+
+"Then, monsieur, you must be kind enough to go to her Aunt Riflot's, Rue
+du Pont-aux-Choux, No. 17. That's where Rosette is just now."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame; I will go there at once."
+
+"Your servant, monsieur!"
+
+I was not sorry to know that the finisher was supposed to send for
+Rosette to mend shawls; that would give me more self-assurance in my
+embassy.
+
+I was driven to Rue du Pont-aux-Choux. There I did not stop to parley
+with the concierge; I asked for Madame Riflot, and went up at once to
+the fourth floor. I found a very active and wide-awake little old woman,
+who did not keep still an instant, but was constantly on the move from
+the stove to the kitchen table and cupboard while she talked with me.
+
+"I would like to say a word to Mademoiselle Rosette, if possible,
+madame."
+
+"Rosette? my niece Rosette?--Ah! mon Dieu! I believe it's burning! yes,
+I believe it's burning!"
+
+And the old woman ran and turned over the tripe that was frying on the
+stove.
+
+"She is here, is she not, madame?"
+
+"Rosette? my niece Rosette?--Have I got any parsley? have I got any
+parsley? It would be just like me not to have any parsley!"
+
+"Will you kindly tell me if I may speak to her? Will you call her?"
+
+"Who? Rosette? my niece Rosette?--A body don't have a minute to herself!
+It must be after twelve. Is it after twelve?"
+
+I began to lose patience, and, being convinced that Rosette was not far
+away, I shouted at the top of my voice:
+
+"Mademoiselle Rosette, you're wanted!"
+
+At that, the infernal old hag stopped, looked at me, and began to laugh.
+When she had laughed her fill, she said:
+
+"It's no use for you to call and yell, as she ain't here; you might just
+as well sing!"
+
+"She is not here? You should have told me that at once, madame."
+
+"You didn't give me time.--And my fire, my fire----"
+
+"In that case, madame, will you be kind enough to tell me where I can
+find mademoiselle your niece? I wanted to see her about mending a
+shawl--at Madame Berlingot's."
+
+"Rosette told me, the last time I saw her: 'I'm going to work at Aunt
+Piquette's, Rue aux Ours, No. 35.'--Well, have I got any embers, I
+wonder? Let's look and see!"
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame."
+
+That old woman set my nerves on edge! Thank God! I was clear of her at
+last! I made all haste to Aunt Piquette's, Rue aux Ours.
+
+I found no concierge at the number indicated; but a neighbor told me
+that Madame Piquette lived on the fifth floor. _Fichtre!_ the flights
+increased in number! If I should have to visit all Rosette's aunts, how
+high should I have to ascend, at that rate? But I hoped that I should
+find that intangible niece this time.
+
+I rang at Madame Piquette's door. A woman appeared who was fully sixty
+years of age, but who wore a cap overladen with flowers and pink
+ribbons. Where will not coquetry build its nest?
+
+"Madame Piquette?"
+
+"That's me, monsieur; take the trouble to come in."
+
+And she made a formal reverence, as she stood aside to let me pass.
+
+"It is useless for me to disturb you, madame; I have come to----"
+
+"I certainly shall not receive you on the landing, monsieur; please walk
+in."
+
+"But, madame, I have come for Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece, to----"
+
+"You will offend me by staying out here, monsieur."
+
+I had to give way. I went in, hoping to remain in the first room; but
+Madame Piquette pushed me toward a door at the farther end, making
+another reverence. I concluded to enter the second room, which with the
+first seemed to form the whole suite. And no Rosette! Could it be that I
+had made another fruitless journey?
+
+"I come, madame, from----"
+
+"Pray be good enough to sit down, monsieur."
+
+"It is not worth while, madame. I wanted to see Mademoiselle Rosette,
+your niece----"
+
+"You will mortify me by standing, monsieur."
+
+I had no desire to mortify Madame Piquette, but I was inclined to regret
+little Aunt Riflot at that moment. At last we were both seated. Madame
+Piquette put a small rug under my feet. Did she think that I had come to
+pass the day with her? She glanced in the mirror, and rearranged her cap
+strings on her breast. That pantomime alarmed me; I looked about in
+dismay; but for some unknown reason, I did not let my eyes rest on
+Madame Piquette, who had partly unfastened her neckerchief. Mon Dieu!
+what was the woman thinking of? At last, she finished her manoeuvring,
+and I hastened to say, without stopping for breath:
+
+"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon, to ask
+Mademoiselle Rosette to mend a cashmere shawl."
+
+Madame Piquette courtesied again; I glanced in the mirror and thought
+that she was preparing to remove her neckerchief. Great heaven! what was
+I about to see?
+
+But, no; I had taken fright without cause; she rearranged her pink
+ribbons about her neck, and replied:
+
+"It is with the deepest regret, monsieur, that I find myself compelled
+to inform you that Rosette is not here. I believe that she is at her
+Aunt Dumarteau's at this moment."
+
+"Will you kindly give me Madame Dumarteau's address?"
+
+"It's a long way, monsieur, a long way from here!"
+
+"I have a cab, madame."
+
+"In that case, monsieur, take the trouble to go to Rue Verte, Faubourg
+Saint-Honore, No. 12."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, madame!"
+
+"But if you would be pleased to rest a moment longer, monsieur, I should
+be charmed to----"
+
+I listened to no more; I rose, left the room, and went down the stairs
+by leaps and bounds; I fancied that I could still see Madame Piquette
+baring her neck before me.
+
+"Rue Verte, No. 12," I said to my cabman.--Oh! Rosette, what a dance you
+were leading me! But, no matter! As I had begun, I would persevere to
+the end.
+
+"Madame Dumarteau?" I said to the concierge.
+
+"Sixth floor, door at the left."
+
+Sixth floor! I would have bet on it! And this was only the fourth aunt!
+What fate was in store for me?
+
+I knocked at Madame Dumarteau's door, as she had no bell. A woman of
+some fifty years, with a morose face, half opened the door, and asked in
+a hoarse voice:
+
+"What do you want?"
+
+"Madame Dumarteau."
+
+"That's me! Well?"
+
+"I have come to see Mademoiselle Rosette, from----"
+
+"Mamzelle Rosette ain't here."
+
+"Where is she, then?"
+
+"At her Aunt Lumignon's, Rue du Petit-Muse, Quartier Saint-Antoine."
+
+"Very good! What number, please?"
+
+But the lady had already closed her door in my face. Should I knock
+again, to find out the number? No; Rue du Petit-Muse was short, I knew,
+and I could inquire. My conversation with Madame Dumarteau was not long;
+she had not an amiable look, but I preferred her ill humor to Madame
+Piquette's coquetries. At all events, I lost no time there.
+
+I started for Rue du Petit-Muse. If I had not known my Paris,
+Mademoiselle Rosette could have undertaken to instruct me. I told the
+cabman to stop at the corner of Rue Saint-Antoine, and went into one of
+the first houses, where I said to the concierge:
+
+"Madame Lumignon?"
+
+"This is the place, monsieur."
+
+Faith! I was in luck. The next step was to inquire which floor; I was
+afraid that I could guess beforehand: I should surely be directed to the
+seventh.
+
+"Which floor, concierge?"
+
+"At the rear of the courtyard, to the left, ground floor."
+
+Ah! I breathed again! The aunts were coming down in the world.
+
+Madame Lumignon was a little hunchback with a bright eye and a shrill
+voice, like most hunchbacks. As soon as I mentioned her niece's name,
+she smiled.
+
+"Ah! you want Rosette," she said; "for Madame Berlingot, I suppose? Yes,
+yes, I'm used to that; it's always the same song! If I was evil-minded,
+I might suspect something! But I wash my hands of her. In the first
+place, Rosette don't pay any attention to us; she's such a wilful
+creature! So much the worse for her! I've warned her!"
+
+"But, madame, she is wanted to mend a cashmere shawl."
+
+"I know! I know! A fine thing, that cashmere shawl is!"
+
+"Well, madame, is mademoiselle your niece with you?"
+
+"With me! oh, yes! of course! When she comes here, she don't stay long
+enough to mould."
+
+"Where can I find her, then?"
+
+"At her Aunt Chamouillet's, perhaps; but I won't swear to it."
+
+"Madame Chamouillet's address, if you please?"
+
+"Rue Madame, No. 4, near the Luxembourg."
+
+I took leave of the hunchbacked aunt, who looked after me with a cunning
+leer. I returned to my cab, and said to the driver:
+
+"Rue Madame, near the Luxembourg."
+
+"I say, monsieur, if you've got many more trips like this to make, my
+horse will leave us on the road."
+
+"No; whatever happens, this is the last but one."
+
+We reached Rue Madame with difficulty; the horse was at his last gasp. I
+unearthed Aunt Chamouillet. I was told to go up to the second floor,
+where I found a woman washing on the landing; and just as I was climbing
+the last stairs, that woman, who, I presume, had not heard me coming,
+turned and emptied a large pail of soapsuds on the staircase. I was
+drenched to the waist.
+
+I swore like a pirate, whereupon the woman calmly observed:
+
+"Why are the gutters all stopped up? It don't do any good to complain,
+they don't clean 'em out; and I must empty my water somewhere."
+
+"But you might at least look before you empty it."
+
+"Did you get any of it?"
+
+"Parbleu! I am drenched!"
+
+"That'll dry, and it don't spot."
+
+"Madame Chamouillet, if you please?"
+
+"That's me. Have you got something you want washed?"
+
+"No, madame; I am sufficiently washed now! I would like to speak with
+Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece."
+
+Madame Chamouillet had returned to her washing; she paid much more
+attention to her linen than to what I said to her.
+
+"I come, madame, on the part of Madame Berlingot, on Rue----"
+
+"All right, monsieur, all right!--How can anyone soil linen like that!
+Look, monsieur, I leave it to you!"
+
+And she took from her tub a shirt, which she started to spread out for
+my inspection. I evaded that demonstration; but, as she put the shirt
+back in the tub, she threw a wet stocking in my face. I tried to take it
+calmly; I wiped my face and continued:
+
+"Will you kindly tell me where Mademoiselle Rosette is?"
+
+"Where Rosette is? How do you suppose I know? Oh, yes! on my word! As if
+anyone ever knows where she is!"
+
+"What, madame! isn't she here?"
+
+"No, monsieur.--It breaks my back to scrub this!"
+
+"But where shall I go to find her?"
+
+"Try at her aunts'."
+
+"I have already seen six of them, counting you, madame. I have called on
+Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon, and yourself.
+Who is the one that's left for me to see?"
+
+"Madame Cavalos, Rue de la Lune, No. 19. But I won't answer----"
+
+As she spoke, Madame Chamouillet let a piece of soap slip out of her
+hands, and my waistcoat had the benefit of it. I had had enough; I fled
+from the laundress; I seemed to be pursued by soapsuds.
+
+"Rue de la Lune, No. 19," I said to my cabman. Luckily, that took us
+back into my own neighborhood, and I was sure that this last quest could
+not be fruitless: Rosette must be there. That was the last of the aunts,
+and she had told me positively that when she was not with one of them I
+would find her with another. What a pity that I had not been sent to Rue
+de la Lune at the outset!
+
+I reached the end of my journeyings. I was directed to Madame Cavalos's
+lodging on the entresol. I found a very stout, thickset, little old
+woman, who greeted me with an affable bow and waited for me to speak.
+
+"Madame Cavalos?"
+
+"Bonjour, monsieur! very well, I thank you."
+
+"I wanted to speak to your niece, Mademoiselle Rosette."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I don't change much; that's what everybody tells me."
+
+"I come from Madame Berlingot."
+
+"You thought I didn't live so low? I used to be higher up, but I've
+moved down."
+
+What did that mean? Madame Cavalos seemed to be stone deaf. I stepped
+nearer to her, and shouted at the top of my lungs:
+
+"I want to see Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece!"
+
+"You say you have come about my lease?"
+
+That was most trying. The woman was a fool. I gave up speaking and made
+a lot of strange gestures, trying to arouse her curiosity at least.
+Motioning to me to wait, she left the room, and returned with an ear
+trumpet, which she held to her ear, saying:
+
+"I ain't deaf; but some days I can't hear so well as others."
+
+Poor old woman! she ought never to have laid aside her trumpet. I
+repeated my question, and that time she replied:
+
+"My niece Rosette? Why, she ain't here, monsieur."
+
+"What, madame! not here? Why, where on earth can I find her, then?"
+
+"Oh! that's easily done, monsieur. She must be with her Aunt Falourdin,
+Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
+
+At that, I gave up all hope of finding my grisette; I had no desire to
+begin the circuit of the aunts anew; I had had quite enough of them. I
+bade my cabman take me home. It was five o'clock, and we had been on the
+road since noon! Ah! Mademoiselle Rosette! Mademoiselle Rosette! you had
+shown me aunts of all colors! What a day! Jason was certainly more
+fortunate than I: after many perils, he obtained the Golden Fleece; I
+had faced seven aunts, and had not obtained Rosette!
+
+
+
+
+XXXVIII
+
+THE DEALER IN SPONGES
+
+
+As I entered my apartment, Pomponne came to meet me with his expression
+that denoted news.
+
+"There's someone waiting for you, monsieur, who's been here quite a long
+while. But I didn't know that monsieur would be away so long; he did not
+tell me."
+
+"Can it be that Rosette has come while I have been running after her?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it ain't Mamzelle Rosette?"
+
+"Is it Madame Dauberny, then?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it's a person of our sex."
+
+"Oh! how you annoy me, Pomponne! I ought to have gone to see who was
+there, instead of listening to you."
+
+I went at once into my salon, and found Ballangier sitting in a corner
+with a book in his hand.
+
+I was agreeably surprised to find that he was neatly dressed. He wore a
+gray blouse, but it was spotlessly clean; his trousers were well
+brushed, his shoes polished; he had a clean white collar and a black
+cravat. It was the costume of a well-behaved mechanic who was a credit
+to his trade.
+
+He came to meet me, with a timid air, saying:
+
+"I ask your pardon, Charles, for waiting for you; I did wrong, perhaps;
+but when I came, about two o'clock, your servant said you would soon be
+back; and so, as I was anxious to see you, I said to myself: 'As long as
+I'm here, I may as well stay.'"
+
+"You did well, Ballangier, very well; I am very glad to see you, too.
+Let me look at you. From your dress, and the expression of self-content
+that I can read in your face, I am sure that you are behaving better
+now."
+
+"That is true; at all events, I am trying to. I am working for a
+manufacturer in Faubourg Saint-Antoine--I had a letter of recommendation
+to him."
+
+"From whom, pray?"
+
+Ballangier twisted his cap about in his hands as he continued:
+
+"From an excellent man I used to work for long ago, and who never
+despaired of me. They took me on trial, at first. The master had heard
+very bad accounts of me, but I worked so well that after a while he got
+to be less strict with me; then he increased my pay, without my asking,
+and now he says everywhere that he's satisfied with me."
+
+"Ah! that is splendid, my friend. And you were glad to tell me all this,
+because you knew that it would give me great pleasure, weren't you?"
+
+"Why, yes, I thought it would."
+
+"Thanks, my friend, for thinking of that. Indeed, you cannot conceive
+how I rejoice to learn of the change that has taken place in you! But
+you will keep on, Ballangier; now that you have started on the right
+path, you won't leave it again, will you? Besides, you must surely be a
+happier man, now that you are earning your living, and can hold your
+head erect boldly, without fear of being arrested by a creditor, or
+assailed by a wife or mother whose husband or son you have led astray;
+without reading on the faces of honest folk the contempt that evil
+livers always inspire! Instead of that, you will be made welcome, made
+much of, courted by respectable families; a father will no longer dread
+to see his daughter, or a brother his sister, on your arm. You will be
+loved, esteemed, highly considered. Yes, highly considered; for there is
+no trade, no career, in which an honest man may not acquire that
+consideration which mere wealth, unaccompanied by probity, cannot
+acquire. Tell me if all this is not preferable to a life of debauchery,
+which makes you either a brute or a madman most of the time; to the
+false friendship of those wretches who know nothing but idleness, and
+sometimes something much worse, who extol all the vices, who try to cast
+ridicule on merit and hard work, because other men's merit gnaws at
+their envy-ridden hearts, and, being unable to attain it, they do their
+utmost to crush it?"
+
+"Oh, yes! you are right, Charles: I am far happier! I reflect now; I
+feel that I am an entirely different man. I read a good deal; I am fond
+of reading, and it used to be impossible for me to read five minutes at
+a time."
+
+"Read, you cannot do better; but select good books; bad writers are
+worse than false friends, for we have them under our hand every minute;
+their treacherous counsels lead feeble or excitable minds astray; there
+is no more dangerous companion for a tete-a-tete than an evil book."
+
+"You must guide me; you must give me a list of authors whose works will
+be profitable reading for me."
+
+"I will do better than that. Come with me."
+
+I led Ballangier to my book shelves, from which I took Racine, Moliere,
+Montesquieu, Fenelon, and La Fontaine.
+
+"There, those are for you," I said; "take these books home with you, and
+read them carefully and with profit. Some will seem to you a little
+severe and serious; but the others, while they instruct you, will make
+you laugh. Learn by heart the great, the immortal Moliere. He
+castigated the vices and absurdities of his time; but as vices unluckily
+belong to all times, as men are no better to-day than they ever were, as
+we meet in the world every day _tartufes, precieuses ridicules, avares,
+and bourgeois gentilshommes_, Moliere, like all authors who depict
+nature, is and will be of all epochs.
+
+    "'Rien n'est beau que le vrai; le vrai seul est aimable.'[A]
+
+That maxim is earnestly denied by those poets who have never succeeded
+in being natural. They put a conventional jargon in the mouths of all
+their characters, and call that style! In their works, the peasant talks
+just like the noble; the man of the people uses as fine phrases as the
+advocate; the maid-servant indulges in metaphors like the _grande dame;_
+and they call that style! Posterity will do justice to all such stuff.
+Bathos sinks and is drowned, while the natural sails smoothly along and
+always rides out the storm."
+
+"What! are all these fine books for me?"
+
+"Yes; make a bundle of them and take them away."
+
+"Oh! thanks, Charles!"
+
+"When you have read them with profit, I will give you more."
+
+"You are too kind! But I mean to make myself worthy of----. Well, you
+will see. Meanwhile, I've brought this back to you."
+
+He took from his pocket a small paper-covered package.
+
+"What is there inside?"
+
+"Twenty-nine francs."
+
+"Why do you want to give me that?"
+
+"Because I saw Piaulard and tried to pay him; but he was already paid;
+a--person had settled with him. You probably know that person, and I
+would like the twenty-nine francs to be returned."
+
+"Well done, my friend! This act of yours proves the return of worthy
+sentiments. But you need not worry; the person in question was paid long
+ago. So, keep the money, and if you need any more to buy anything come
+to me."
+
+"Oh! I am not short of funds now. I have never been so rich. I don't
+know how it happens."
+
+"You don't know? Why, it's very easy to understand; you spend vastly
+less, and earn vastly more; that's the whole secret of living in
+comfort."
+
+Ballangier tied up his books, we shook hands affectionately, and he went
+away content, leaving me very happy. What a contrast to our previous
+interviews!
+
+The next day, I was still resting from my peregrinations of the previous
+afternoon, and stoically making up my mind to wear mourning for
+Mademoiselle Rosette, when the pretty brunette suddenly burst into my
+room, vivacious, sprightly, and gay as always. She came to me and held
+out her hand.
+
+"Bonjour, monsieur! Are you still angry with me?"
+
+"Angry? Why, it wasn't I who was angry; it was yourself."
+
+"Oh! that's all over; let's not say any more about that; I don't bear
+any malice, and I don't know how to sulk. I say, did you go and ask for
+me at Aunt Falourdin's?"
+
+"At Aunt Falourdin's? You put it mildly. If you should say at all seven
+of your aunts', that would be nearer the truth!"
+
+"Oh! that's impossible! You went to the whole seven? you saw the whole
+assortment? Ha! ha! ha! Well, you must have had a merry time!"
+
+Rosette was seized with a paroxysm of frantic laughter, during which she
+could only repeat:
+
+"He saw my seven aunts! Poor, dear boy! he saw my seven aunts!"
+
+"Yes, I saw them all; and all in one day!"
+
+"That was your Waterloo! I am sure that it will remain engraved on your
+memory! I say, I'll bet that you'd rather go up the Marly hill seven
+times in succession than go through that day's work again, eh?"
+
+"I believe you. There is one Dame Piquette, in particular, who lives on
+Rue aux Ours. Sapristi! I didn't feel at all comfortable in my
+tete-a-tete with her!"
+
+"Did she make eyes at you? I'll bet she made eyes at you! She's an old
+coquette, who declares that she can't go out without being besieged. Oh!
+my poor Charles!"
+
+"But all that would have been nothing, mademoiselle, if I had succeeded
+in finding you. It would seem that you accept hospitality elsewhere than
+with your aunts?"
+
+Rosette made a little grimace, which I interpreted as meaning that she
+did not quite know what course to adopt; at last she said:
+
+"I was with one of my friends. My aunts are always at me to get married,
+and that tires me; I shall end by dropping all of 'em."
+
+"I should say that you were doing that already."
+
+"Come, let's not say any more about that. We're not cross any more, are
+we? and you'll take me out to dinner, and we'll have a nice little
+feed--what do you say? Yes, you will, it's all settled; and we'll go
+into the country--it's a fine day--and roll on the grass."
+
+How can one resist a pretty minx who proposes rolling on the grass? I
+was on the point of signing the treaty of peace with Mademoiselle
+Rosette, when the bell rang.
+
+"My dear girl," I said to my grisette, "if it should happen to be the
+lady who was here the other day, I trust that you won't make another
+scene?"
+
+"No, no, don't be afraid; I saw that I was wrong; she left me in
+possession with such a good grace! I don't bear your friend any grudge
+now."
+
+At that moment, we detected a strong odor of essence of rose, and
+Rosette exclaimed:
+
+"_Dame!_ that lady uses plenty of perfumery! what a sachet bag!"
+
+But the door opened, and no lady appeared, but Balloquet, in his best
+clothes and with fresh gloves.
+
+"Oh! I beg pardon, my dear Rochebrune! You are with a lady, and your
+servant didn't tell me! I will go, and come again another day."
+
+"No, stay, Balloquet, stay; mademoiselle will not object.--Isn't that
+so, Rosette? you are willing that my friend should stay?"
+
+"To be sure! I'm no savage; company don't scare me."
+
+And Rosette put her mouth to my ear and whispered:
+
+"Is he a perfumer?"
+
+"No; a doctor."
+
+"A doctor! Does he treat his patients with essences? He gives out such
+an odor--you'd think he was the Grand Turk!"
+
+Balloquet meanwhile said to me in an undertone:
+
+"Good! I don't frighten this one away! She isn't like the little
+blonde."
+
+"Oh, no! she's not the same sort at all."
+
+Balloquet had been with us but a moment, when the bell rang again, and
+this time Frederique appeared.
+
+"The servant told me that there were three of you," she said, dropping
+carelessly upon a chair; "and that's why I ventured to come in. Did I do
+wrong, Rochebrune?"
+
+"No, madame; you are always welcome. And mademoiselle here will take
+advantage of the opportunity to express her regret for the unseemly
+words she used to you the other day."
+
+"Yes, madame," said Rosette, walking up to Madame Dauberny. "I was
+wrong; I'm hot-headed; but turn your hand over, and I forget all about
+it. Are you still angry with me?"
+
+"Not in the least, mademoiselle," replied Frederique, trying to smile;
+"I assure you that I had forgotten it entirely. But I trust that I shall
+not arouse your jealousy again."
+
+"Oh! no, madame! Charles has told me that he never loved you, and that's
+all I ask."
+
+Frederique bit her lips. I, for my part, was conscious of a sensation
+that I cannot describe. I would gladly have horsewhipped Rosette, I
+believe, if it had been possible. Women have a way of adjusting things
+that often produces the contrary effect.
+
+"Madame is acquainted with my sentiments, mademoiselle," I stammered,
+awkwardly enough; "she appreciates them----"
+
+"Enough, my friend!" interposed Frederique; "sentiments are to be
+proved, not put in words. But, mon Dieu! how sweet your room smells!
+There's an odor of--of rose; yes, it's surely rose;--is it not,
+mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, madame," said Rosette; "that smell has been here ever since
+monsieur le docteur came in.--Do you bathe in essence of rose,
+monsieur?"
+
+Balloquet, who was walking about the room playing the dandy, passed his
+hand through his hair as he replied:
+
+"Not exactly, mademoiselle; but, in truth, I am very fond of the odor of
+rose; I sometimes perfume my linen with an essence that I get from
+Constantinople."
+
+"Well, frankly, monsieur, you use too much of it; you smell too strong!
+I wouldn't like to eat a truffled turkey with you."
+
+"Why not, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Because I should smell nothing but rose, instead of the odor of
+truffles; and a truffled turkey _a la rose_ wouldn't be good, I know."
+
+"I think that I have had the pleasure of meeting madame before," said
+Balloquet, saluting Frederique.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; on a certain day, or rather night, when my presence was
+useful to both of you gentlemen."
+
+"Ah, yes! the two wedding parties, wasn't it, madame?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I only looked in at yours, but it seemed to be very
+lively."
+
+"It was, indeed, madame; that was the Bocal wedding; it was very hot
+there!"
+
+"The Bocal wedding!" cried Rosette. "Why, I know Bocal; he's a distiller
+on Rue Montmartre, and his daughter married Monsieur Pamphile Girie,
+dealer in sponges."
+
+"That's the man; do you know him?"
+
+"Oh, yes! that is to say, I know Freluchon; it's through him that I know
+all that."
+
+"Freluchon!" said I; "it seems to me that I've heard that name."
+
+"Freluchon was Monsieur Bocal's head clerk, and he was courting
+Mademoiselle Petronille; and when she married that ass of a Pamphile
+Girie, she worked so well with her feet and hands, that Freluchon left
+Monsieur Bocal and went into the sponge trade; he became first clerk to
+Petronille--you can guess the sequel! But it seems that Monsieur
+Pamphile has a mother who _sees everything_ and _knows everything_, just
+like the late _Solitaire;_ so Mamma Girie put a flea in her son's ear on
+the subject of Freluchon. Monsieur Pamphile wanted to discharge the
+clerk, but Madame Petronille said he shouldn't. The husband and wife had
+a row; Monsieur Bocal tried to step in and take his daughter's part;
+Mere Girie pummelled Monsieur Bocal; they sent for the magistrate, the
+police, the neighbors, and the concierge; there was such a row that the
+omnibuses couldn't get through the street. As a result of that row,
+Petronille left her husband and went back to her father; Pamphile
+neglected his shop to go on sprees; and Freluchon finally bought out his
+sponge business, and would like now to set me up in it with him; for I
+must tell you that my gentleman has forgotten his Petronille and fallen
+in love with me, and buries me in billets-doux and sponges; on my
+birthday, he sent me one as big as a pumpkin. 'Monsieur,' says I, 'what
+use do you expect me to make of this immense marine plant?'--'Mademoiselle,
+I would like to cover you with it.'--And there you are! With the seven
+suitors favored by my aunts, that makes eight humming-birds who aspire
+to enter into wedlock with me."
+
+
+
+
+XXXIX
+
+A PARTY OF FOUR
+
+
+Rosette rattled all this off almost without drawing a breath. We laughed
+at her story, and she was well pleased with her successful performance.
+
+"But, by the way, Monsieur Charles, all that don't make me forget that
+you're going to take me into the country to dinner. And while we're on
+that subject--I've got an idea, and I'll tell you what it is; I tell all
+my ideas. Suppose we all four go and dine together, as we're in a mood
+for laughing; we'll have some sport and talk nonsense--what do you say?"
+
+Rosette's proposition seemed to me so extraordinary that I had not as
+yet thought of any fitting reply, when, to my amazement, Frederique
+exclaimed:
+
+"For my part, I agree. I am at liberty, and, on my word, I shall not be
+sorry to have a little sport, especially as I got out of the way of it
+long ago."
+
+"Ah! you're fine, you are! I love you with all my heart, now!" said
+Rosette, slapping Frederique on the back. "And you, Monsieur Larose, why
+don't you say something?"
+
+"I?" said Balloquet; "if you mean what you say, I'm game; nothing would
+suit me better."
+
+"Do I mean it! I hope you don't think we're going to dine on air, do
+you? Well, my dear friend, don't you think my plan's a good one? you
+don't seem enchanted with it!"
+
+"I? I beg your pardon; I will do whatever you wish."
+
+"But," said Frederique, "Rochebrune would have preferred to dine alone
+with you, mademoiselle."
+
+"_Ouiche!_" cried Rosette; "as if we hadn't time enough to see each
+other! Come, is it settled?"
+
+"It is settled, agreed, decided."
+
+"Let's start, then; it's after two o'clock already."
+
+"Go and call a cab, Pomponne, and we'll keep it the rest of the day."
+
+"Ah! what _chic!_ There's only one thing that annoys me now; and that
+will spoil my enjoyment at dinner."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"If monsieur le docteur might smell less strong of rose! I should prefer
+I don't know what to that smell. Try going out in the street and walking
+in--no matter what!"
+
+"There is a way of satisfying you, Mademoiselle Rosette," I said,
+walking up to Balloquet.--"Come, Balloquet, we are all friends here;
+don't be stiff about it, but allow me to offer you another pair of
+gloves, and take off those you are wearing. I venture to prefer this
+petition in the name of these ladies' nerves, and in the name of our
+appetites, which would vanish before this odor of rose."
+
+Balloquet had a noble impulse: he took his gloves off and threw them out
+of the window. Rosette laughed till she cried.
+
+"Ah! it was the gloves," she cried, "cleansed gloves, of course, of
+course! But your dealer cheated you; they clean them now so that they
+don't smell of anything."
+
+Pomponne announced that the cab was waiting. While Mademoiselle Rosette
+stood before my mirror, busily engaged in putting on her bonnet, I went
+to Frederique, and found an opportunity to say in her ear:
+
+"You are not joking--you are really willing to dine with a grisette?"
+
+"Why not? you are going to, yourself."
+
+"But I am a man."
+
+"Well! I am one of your male friends. Don't men sometimes take their
+friends with them on a pleasure party? But if it will annoy you too
+much, I will not go."
+
+"Oh! do not think that, madame! But I was afraid--I thought----"
+
+I had no time to say any more; Rosette came toward us, saying:
+
+"The cab's waiting; shall we go?"
+
+"Let us go," Frederique replied.
+
+I was embarrassed for a moment; I intended to offer my arm to Madame
+Dauberny, but she had already accepted Balloquet's, and Rosette took
+possession of mine.
+
+"Come on, monsieur! What on earth's the matter with you to-day? Since
+you've seen my aunts, you're very absent-minded!"
+
+We entered the cab. Rosette insisted that I should sit opposite her. I
+obeyed. It seemed strange not to desire that arrangement, but I should
+have preferred to be facing Frederique.
+
+The cabman asked us where we were going. We looked at each other and
+said:
+
+"Ah! that's so; where are we going?"
+
+"Let the ladies decide."
+
+"It makes absolutely no difference to me," said Frederique.
+
+"In that case," said Rosette, "I propose Saint-Mande; if we want to go
+as far as Saint-Maur, I know a delicious little walk; you only have to
+go up a little way and then down."
+
+"Saint-Mande it is!"
+
+We started. Rosette was in insanely high spirits. According to her
+habit, she said whatever came into her head, and sometimes her
+reflections were very comical. Frederique also seemed to be in an
+amiable humor. Balloquet rivalled Rosette in gayety; I thought that I
+could detect a purpose on his part to play the gallant with Madame
+Dauberny. I cannot say why I considered that very idiotic of him. Surely
+she was an exceedingly attractive woman! And why should not he, a
+devoted admirer of the sex, try to please her? But Madame Dauberny would
+never listen to Balloquet. While I said that to myself, I was conscious
+of a feeling of irritation. Had I any right to take it amiss that
+Balloquet should make love to Frederique, to whom I was nothing more
+than a friend?
+
+It followed that I was the only one of the party who was not hilarious.
+Rosette, noticing it, said to me from time to time:
+
+"I say, my dear man, what's the matter with you, anyway? We are all
+talking and laughing--you're the only one who don't say anything. Can it
+be that you are really cracked over one of my aunts?--You must excuse
+him, madame, for he met my seven aunts yesterday, and that's quite
+enough to destroy his peace of mind."
+
+I excused myself as best I could; I tried to laugh, but I made rather a
+failure of it; and the thing that vexed me most of all was that the more
+serious I became, the more Madame Dauberny laughed and jested. She held
+her own with Rosette in nonsense and droll remarks. Balloquet seemed
+enchanted; he became more and more attentive to his vis-a-vis, whose
+witty sallies completed the fascination begun by her beauty. For my
+part, I did not enjoy myself at all.
+
+At last we arrived at Saint-Mande, and left the cab at the gate leading
+into the wood. We went at once to Grue's, to order our dinner and engage
+a private room; then we strolled away in the direction of Saint-Maur.
+
+Balloquet took possession once more of Frederique's arm, which she
+laughingly accorded to him. It seemed to me that she laughed very freely
+with him. Rosette took my arm.
+
+"Is it the habit to walk arm in arm in the country?" I asked, in an
+indifferent tone. "I thought that everyone walked--or ran, on his own
+account."
+
+"For my part, I am very happy to be madame's escort," said Balloquet,
+with a smile.
+
+"Do you mean that it's a bore to you to give me your arm?" asked
+Rosette, pinching me till I was black and blue.
+
+"O mademoiselle! the idea!"
+
+"What's that--_mademoiselle?_ Call me _mademoiselle_ again, and see what
+happens!"
+
+"Mon Dieu! Rosette, you get angry about nothing!"
+
+"About nothing! I want you to _thou_ me! Let's not walk so fast."
+
+"But the others are away ahead."
+
+"Well! we shall overtake them in time. Don't be afraid of losing your
+way with me, you ugly monster!"
+
+"When people go out together, it's for the purpose of being together."
+
+"Oh! how mad you make me! I suppose we ought all to tie ourselves
+together, for fear of losing each other, eh? Besides, how do you know
+that they are not just as well pleased not to have us on their heels?"
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"_Why so_ is delicious! If you can't see that your friend's making soft
+eyes at that lady, you must be near-sighted."
+
+"Do you think so? He won't get ahead very fast."
+
+"What do you know about it? Oh! these men! such conceit! Because she
+wouldn't have you, perhaps, you think she won't have anybody!--Let's not
+walk so fast!"
+
+"That lady is very willing to laugh and jest; but with her it isn't safe
+to----"
+
+"Ta! ta! ta! Bless my soul! she's a goddess, perhaps, and we must offer
+sacrifices to her!--Come, kiss me!"
+
+"O Rosette! can you think of such a thing?"
+
+"Yes, I do think of such a thing; kiss me at once!"
+
+"Suppose the others should turn and see us--what should we look like?"
+
+"We should look like two people kissing. What harm is there in that?
+Don't they know that you're my lover and I'm your mistress?"
+
+"That's no reason. There is such a thing as propriety."
+
+"Oh! I have no patience with you! Kiss me quick, or I'll shriek!"
+
+I kissed her. Luckily, the others did not turn. I dropped my companion's
+arm on the pretext of looking for violets, and overtook our friends.
+
+"What makes you walk so fast?" I asked Balloquet; "if you prefer not to
+stay with us, that's a different matter; but it isn't very sociable."
+
+Frederique burst out laughing, and Balloquet made signs to me which I
+considered foolish.
+
+"See how the kindest intentions are sometimes misinterpreted," said
+Frederique; "we thought that we were doing you a favor, by arranging a
+tete-a-tete for you with your pretty brunette."
+
+"Oh! madame, you carry your kindness too far."
+
+"So far as I am concerned," said Balloquet, "you needn't thank me; in
+remaining with madame, I acted entirely in my own interest."
+
+Then he came close to me and whispered:
+
+"My friend, she is adorable! Wit to the tips of her finger-nails; fine
+figure, lovely eyes, distinguished face, original disposition! I can't
+understand why you've never been in love with her. For my part, I'm
+caught; I'm in for it!"
+
+"You are making a mistake; you'll waste your time."
+
+"Why so? nobody knows! She laughs heartily at what I say."
+
+"Well! what about that bunch of violets?" asked Rosette, as she joined
+us.
+
+"I didn't find anything but dandelions and coltsfoot."
+
+"Thanks! then you can keep your bouquet; I don't want it."
+
+"Suppose we stroll back in the direction of our dinner?" said
+Frederique.
+
+"Yes, madame is right," said Rosette; "especially as walking's very
+monotonous. I have a lover who's in such low spirits to-day! Imagine,
+madame, that he's never suggested rolling on the grass with me!"
+
+Frederique cast a mocking glance in my direction.
+
+"If my companion had made such a proposition to me," murmured Balloquet,
+puffing himself up, "I should have accepted with thanks; I would have
+rolled like an ass."
+
+"Oh! but you're a gallant _a la rose_, you are! Why, I almost had to
+force monsieur to kiss me!"
+
+"Oh! what things you say, Rosette!"
+
+"What's that? Don't lovers always kiss? Do you suppose madame thinks
+that we pass our time whispering in each other's ears?"
+
+Madame Dauberny turned her face away to laugh. I wished that I were
+heaven knows where. I should certainly remember that excursion to the
+country.
+
+We returned to the restaurant. There I tried to recover my good humor.
+In the first place, as the table was round, I was naturally seated
+between Frederique and Rosette--no more with one than with the other.
+They served us a delicious dinner, with choice wines.
+
+"Good!" said Rosette; "this was well ordered! These gentlemen have
+distinguished themselves! I give this pomard my esteem."
+
+"Never fear," said Balloquet; "we shall have some ladies' wines too."
+
+"What do you mean by ladies' wines? sweet ones, I suppose?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I warn you that I can't endure your sweet wines, except champagne; and
+unless madame cares for them----"
+
+"Not at all," said Frederique.
+
+"Strike off your sweet wines, then. Bah! they make me sick; I can't
+drink 'em! But these--just ask Charles how I punish 'em!"
+
+"I should say that it isn't necessary to ask me," I said; "it's
+self-evident."
+
+"Does that make you cross, my dear boy? Don't you like to have your
+Rosette hold her own with you to-day? Are you going to be in the sulks
+at table too? Ah! madame, my aunts have spoiled him, and no mistake; he
+was much nicer before he went the rounds of them."
+
+Madame Dauberny nudged my knee and whispered:
+
+"Be more agreeable, or she will make a scene with you."
+
+I strove to put myself in harmony with the general merriment. Rosette
+chattered incessantly; Balloquet sang, with his eyes fixed on
+Frederique; she laughed at my grisette's sallies, and from time to time
+told us some very amusing anecdotes.
+
+"Ah! if I could tell stories like madame," cried Rosette, "I know what
+I'd do!"
+
+"What would you do?" asked Balloquet.
+
+"I wouldn't do anything else. I'd tell stories all day, and make them up
+all night.--Kiss me, Charles!"
+
+"Sapristi! Rosette, are we going to begin that again?"
+
+"Do you hear him, madame? He refuses to kiss me, the villain!"
+
+"Mademoiselle," I said, in a serious tone, "I am sorry to be obliged to
+inform you that there are occasions when such liberties are permissible,
+and others when we must abstain from them; you should understand that."
+
+Rosette pushed her chair away from the table, muttering:
+
+"It wasn't worth while to bring me with you, just to say such things as
+that to me."
+
+With that, she put her hand over her eyes and began to weep. The devil!
+That was the climax! I was in torment.
+
+Frederique tried to console Rosette, and said to me:
+
+"Come, come, monsieur, don't make mademoiselle unhappy; she is right;
+you choose a very inopportune time to lecture her. Kiss her at once, and
+make peace with her."
+
+I obeyed; whereupon Balloquet exclaimed:
+
+"Mon Dieu! I would not wait to be asked twice, if someone would allow me
+to kiss her."
+
+It was extraordinary what an ass the fellow seemed to me to make of
+himself!
+
+Luckily, with Rosette laughter always followed tears. She speedily
+forgot her grievance, and thought of nothing but doing honor to the
+champagne, which made its appearance just then. Frederique held her own
+with her, but did not lose her head. Balloquet, who was deeply impressed
+by the way in which those two bore themselves at table, tried to surpass
+them, got very tipsy, and nearly strangled himself pouring down
+champagne.
+
+"Well done!" said Rosette; "that'll teach you to try to pour down wine
+like that; it seems to me such a stupid way! What's the use of drinking
+anything good, if you don't taste it, if you don't get the flavor of it?
+You throw it down your neck, as if it was a medicine you were afraid of
+smelling! How sensible that is! You might as well drink cheap claret; it
+would have the same effect as champagne."
+
+Balloquet succeeded in ceasing to cough, and a moment later, when we
+were a little quieter than usual, he said to me:
+
+"By the way, Charles, have you had any news of the man of the ring?"
+
+"No, no, I haven't--found him yet. Why don't you drink, Balloquet?"
+
+I was afraid that the young doctor would be guilty of some indiscretion,
+and I tried to change the subject. But Rosette chimed in:
+
+"What's that? He said something about a ring. There must be a woman in
+that story, and I want to hear it."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle, yes; it is a story about a woman."
+
+"But a very sad one," said I, interrupting Balloquet; "this is not at
+all a fitting time to tell it."
+
+"Why not? I like sad things too; I like plays that make you cry. Oh!
+Monsieur Larose, do tell us the story."
+
+"With pleasure, mademoiselle!"
+
+I trembled lest Balloquet should disclose what I had concealed from
+Frederique. He did not know that the man of the ring was Monsieur
+Dauberny; but if he should mention the name Bouqueton, Frederique would
+know at once that the man was her husband. I tried to make signs to
+Balloquet to hold his peace; but he did not look at me, and began his
+tale.
+
+Frederique said nothing; but she watched us closely and did not lose a
+word of what the young doctor said. Stammering and hesitating a little,
+he told poor Annette's story; but he did not mention the assassin's
+name.
+
+"What a ghastly story!" exclaimed Frederique, with a shudder.
+
+"It's horrible!" cried Rosette. "Oh! what an abominable man! But didn't
+the poor girl tell you his name?"
+
+"Yes, yes," replied Balloquet, "she told us. The devil take the name!
+Would you believe that I can't remember it?--But you know it,
+Rochebrune, as you know the man."
+
+"You know that villain, Charles? Oh! but you must have had him arrested,
+then?"
+
+"No, I could not; we have no evidence."
+
+"But what about that ring that he gave the poor girl?"
+
+"That ring I have at home. I am keeping it carefully; some day, I hope
+that it will help me--to avenge the poor girl."
+
+"And you won't tell us the man's name?"
+
+"What good would it do? The whole thing is too shocking. The criminal's
+name had better remain a secret until the victim is avenged."
+
+Frederique did not say a word, but she kept her eyes fastened upon me
+all the while. The time for returning to Paris arrived, and I was not
+sorry. The story of Annette had saddened Rosette and made Frederique
+very thoughtful. We returned to our cab. Balloquet continued to do the
+amiable with Madame Dauberny; I verily believe that he asked her
+permission to call to pay his respects. What a self-sufficient puppy! I
+did not hear her reply. Rosette pinched me, probably because I was not
+listening to what she said.
+
+I wanted to take Frederique home; Balloquet insisted, on the contrary,
+that Rosette and I should be set down first. We were on the point of
+quarrelling. Rosette said nothing, and I thought that she had fallen
+asleep. Madame Dauberny put an end to our discussion by calling to the
+cabman to stop on the boulevard. She hastily alighted, bade us adieu,
+and hurried away. But Balloquet instantly opened the door, crying:
+
+"I won't allow that lady to go away alone; the idea! I am going to
+escort her!"
+
+I tried to hold him back by seizing his coat tails. I told him that
+Madame Dauberny did not want his escort, that she preferred to go alone.
+
+He would not listen to me. He leaped out of the cab, tearing off one
+whole skirt of his coat, and disappeared.
+
+"What's the matter with you to-night, my friend?" said Rosette; "you
+interfere with everybody; you find fault with whatever we do, and tear
+people's coats!"
+
+"That doesn't concern you."
+
+"How polite my lover is to-day!"
+
+"To which aunt shall I take you this evening, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Faubourg Saint-Denis, as usual."
+
+"By the way, you haven't told me yet where you were perching yesterday,
+when I had the kindness--I might well say, the folly--to look for you at
+all your aunts' lodgings."
+
+"Do you want to make me unhappy?"
+
+"Answer me!"
+
+"I told you that I was with a friend."
+
+"Oh, yes! at the sponge dealer's, perhaps?"
+
+"What an outrage! Instead of saying such things, you would do well to
+kiss me. It seems that we don't get beyond compliments to-day!"
+
+In truth, she was right; I had rebuked her enough all day; the least I
+could do was to compensate her at that moment.
+
+
+
+
+XL
+
+A SICK CHILD
+
+
+I passed a wretched night. I was eager to know if Madame Dauberny had
+allowed Balloquet to escort her, and if he had made any progress in my
+friend's good graces. Why was I so eager to know that? I myself could
+not understand. As I was not that lady's lover, as I had never thought
+of mentioning the subject of love to her, ought I to take it amiss that
+others should mention it? I began to believe that one could be jealous
+in friendship as well as in love. If Frederique should have a lover,
+that would lessen the attachment that she seemed to entertain for me;
+doubtless that was the reason why it pained me to think that she should
+allow anyone to make love to her. That was selfishness, I admit; but
+what was I to do?
+
+I arose early. I was strongly inclined to call on Balloquet, but I had
+forgotten his address. I had an idea that it was Cite Vinde; but what
+should I ask him. Should I not cut a very absurd figure, going there to
+question him? No, I would not go. Still, I would have liked to know
+whether he walked home with Frederique.
+
+While I was hesitating, uncertain as to what I should do, Pomponne
+opened my door and announced with emphasis:
+
+"Madame Potrelle, concierge or portress!"
+
+The good woman came in, bowing and apologizing for disturbing me. I
+asked her what brought her there.
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I have come again about that poor woman--Madame
+Landernoy. I wanted to know if monsieur's intentions were still the
+same."
+
+"What do you mean? what intentions?"
+
+"About the work--about her taking care of monsieur's linen."
+
+"What difference does it make whether my intentions are the same, as
+that young woman is convinced that I have none but evil ones? as she
+believes that I am laying a trap for her, in concert with those
+scoundrels who deceived her? Faith! Madame Potrelle, one gets tired of
+being constantly suspected. If it is pleasant to do good, it is painful
+to come in contact with ingrates. In fact, I confess that your tenant
+had gone wholly out of my mind, and I assure you that you would not have
+heard from me again."
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! monsieur, I can understand that. But still, if you knew
+how miserable that young woman is at this minute! For near a month her
+child has been sick--suffering all the time; the little creature needs
+the fresh air; so the mother takes her child out to walk, and meanwhile
+she don't do any work; but her little Marie's health before everything!
+She was a sweet little thing. She's fourteen months old already--how
+time flies! Madame Landernoy goes without everything herself on the
+child's account; and now she hasn't got any work--or what little she
+does get is such poor stuff--eight sous a day! Think of taking care of a
+child with that! So I happened to think of you, monsieur, because you
+were always so kind to that young woman; and I've always judged you
+right, I have! And I says to Mignonne: 'I'm going to see Monsieur
+Rochebrune and ask him for some work.'--And this time she says: 'Yes,
+go! go!' For she looked at her little girl, who seemed to be in pain;
+and what wouldn't she do to get the means of helping her!"
+
+"And she will go so far as to accept work from me?"
+
+"Oh! you mustn't blame her, monsieur; misfortune makes people unjust so
+often! Does monsieur refuse?"
+
+"No, certainly not. Look over my commode and my closets, and take
+whatever you choose."
+
+The good woman made haste to examine my effects. She made up a large
+bundle of linen, hastily, as if she were afraid I would change my mind;
+then she rolled it all up in her apron, saying:
+
+"Will monsieur take an account of what I've got?"
+
+"No, Madame Potrelle, that is quite unnecessary; I know with whom I am
+dealing, and I am not suspicious myself."
+
+The concierge thanked me, bowed again, and took her leave, saying that
+the work would be attended to immediately.
+
+Is it conceivable that during all the time that Madame Potrelle was
+talking about her tenant, I thought of nothing but Frederique and
+Balloquet? Ah! how small a thing it takes to give a new turn to our
+thoughts! We are kind or cruel to others only as it gratifies our
+caprices. That truth is most discreditable to mankind!
+
+I had not fully determined what course to pursue, but I decided to go
+out; and at my door I found myself face to face with Balloquet, who was
+coming to see me.
+
+"Ah! I am delighted to find you, my dear Rochebrune!"
+
+"And I to see you. Shall we go upstairs?"
+
+"It isn't worth while; we can talk as well, walking."
+
+"Very good. What have you to tell me?"
+
+"I was coming to talk to you about Madame Dauberny. Ah! my friend, what
+a woman! what a physique--to arouse passions!"
+
+"I see that you are in love with her already. Well! did you overtake her
+yesterday?"
+
+"Yes, I overtook her on the street. She didn't want to accept my arm,
+but I insisted, and she yielded."
+
+"Ah! she took it, did she? And you escorted her home?"
+
+"Naturally."
+
+"And--and--how does your passion progress?"
+
+"It's all over! oh! it's all over, absolutely!"
+
+I made such a sudden movement that Balloquet cried:
+
+"What struck you then? cramp in the leg? a twist in the tendon, perhaps?
+That catches you sometimes in walking."
+
+"No, I--I turned my foot. But you said: 'It's all over!'--What is it
+that's all over? Do you mean that you are already the fortunate
+vanquisher of that lady?"
+
+"No, no! not at all! just the opposite! I said it was all over, because
+she gave me my walking ticket, I mean my dismissal. Oh! but she did it
+in the most amiable, the most courteous way--impossible to take offence.
+You were quite right when you told me that I should waste my time."
+
+I was conscious of a thrill of satisfaction, of happiness, that I could
+not describe. Poor Balloquet! I pitied him then. I pressed his arm
+affectionately, and said:
+
+"Come, tell me the whole story, my friend."
+
+"Oh! it didn't last long. I offered my arm, as I say, and she accepted
+it at last. On my way, I resumed my role of gallant--I believe that I
+even ventured upon a declaration of love. We drank quite a lot at
+dinner, you know.--Your Rosette would do well to marry a dealer in
+sponges!--In short, I was very animated, my words flowed like running
+water. She made no reply whatever.--'It's because she is moved,' I said
+to myself. We reached her door, and I asked permission to go upstairs
+for a moment. That was a little abrupt, I agree; but when one has heated
+the iron so hot----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"At that, the lady halted in front of me and said, in a tone at once
+ironical and imposing: 'Monsieur Balloquet, the day is at an end; all
+that you have said to me thus far I have listened to as a sort of
+continuation of the impromptu excursion to the country which made us
+acquainted. During a day of follies, it is not against the law to say
+foolish things. To-morrow, it would be unbecoming. You are very
+agreeable, monsieur, and you are Rochebrune's friend; in that capacity,
+I shall always be glad to see you when chance brings us together. But
+let there be no more talk of love between us, monsieur; that is a
+passion to which I have said adieu. And if I should have a fancy to
+renew my acquaintance with it, I tell you frankly that I should not
+apply to you for that purpose. So, au revoir, and no ill feeling!'--With
+that, she held out her hand, pressed mine warmly, and shut her door in
+my face. Well, my friend, on my word of honor, I am not in the least
+offended with her; for she's no coquette; she doesn't lure you on with
+false hopes, but says to you at once: 'It's like this and like
+that!'--You know what to expect. I will be true to Satine. Poor Satine!
+But I'll tell her to put less rose on her gloves. Never mind; she's a
+fine woman, is Madame Dauberny; I can't understand why you've never
+thought of making love to her."
+
+Did he propose to set up as an echo of Baron von Brunzbrack?
+
+When Balloquet left me, I squeezed his hand so hard that I made him cry
+out. Really, he was a very good fellow, was Balloquet, and I was very
+fond of him! How in the devil could I ever have dreamed that Frederique
+would listen to him? There was not the slightest bond of sympathy
+between them.
+
+Now that I was no longer tormented by that business, I remembered
+Mignonne and Madame Potrelle, and how coldly and absent-mindedly I had
+listened to what that good woman told me. Mignonne's child was ill, and
+the poor mother was in need of a thousand things to nurse her properly!
+Suppose I should go to see her, to encourage her? She would receive me
+ill, perhaps; but, no matter! I no longer felt in the mood to take
+offence.
+
+I started for Rue Menilmontant. Madame Potrelle uttered a cry of
+surprise when she saw me; then she said:
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, have you come to take back the work that young
+woman needs so much?"
+
+"No, no, far from it! But this morning I was--preoccupied, and I paid
+little attention to what you told me."
+
+"That's so; monsieur wasn't like what he usually is; but, _dame!_
+everyone has his own troubles."
+
+"I would like to see Mignonne, Madame Potrelle, and see for myself what
+her child's condition is. Do you think she will receive me?"
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur. She receives anybody now, if they say they know
+anything about children's health."
+
+I ran quickly up the five flights. I stopped to take breath before
+mounting the last narrow, dark staircase. When I reached the top, I
+heard a sweet, melancholy voice singing:
+
+    "'Veille, veille, pauvre Marie,
+      Pour secourir le prisonnier.'"
+
+Mignonne's door was thrown wide open, for it was summer, and in that way
+she admitted a little air and light to her chamber, which, as we know,
+had no window but the round hole in the ceiling.
+
+I stepped forward; Mignonne's back was turned toward the door; she was
+on her knees beside a cradle placed on two chairs. The cradle was
+covered with a pretty piece of flowered chintz; a flounce of the same
+material about the base concealed the little straw mattress on which
+children usually lie. It had almost a luxurious look, in striking
+contrast with the other contents of that poor chamber; but the most
+poverty-stricken mother always finds a way to adorn her child's cradle.
+
+At that moment, Mignonne was trying to put the child to sleep by singing
+to her and rocking her.
+
+I stopped in the doorway; she did not turn. She did not hear me; she had
+no eyes or ears for anything but her daughter. She was speaking to her:
+
+"Well! don't we propose to go to sleep to-day, Mademoiselle Marie? Don't
+we propose to shut our lovely eyes? Oh, yes! we have very lovely eyes,
+but we must sleep, all the same; that will do us good! And then, mamma
+wants you to. Do you hear, dear child? mamma wants you to. Oh, yes! you
+hear me; you smile at me. Ah! she holds out her little arms, she wants
+me to take her! Mon Dieu! but it would do her so much good to sleep! But
+I must do what you want me to, mustn't I?"
+
+She bent over the cradle and took up the child; then she stood up, and
+saw me. She cast a sad glance at me, in which I no longer saw any trace
+of alarm.
+
+"Excuse me, madame," I said, stepping forward; "I ventured to come to
+see you, because Madame Potrelle told me this morning that your little
+Marie was ill. I studied medicine a little, long ago; I shall be happy
+if I can assist you with advice, which you may follow if you think it
+good!--Ah! she is very pretty, dear child!"
+
+"Isn't she, monsieur?"
+
+And Mignonne smiled when she saw me gazing at her daughter, who was
+really beautiful and already bore much resemblance to her mother. But
+her pretty features were drawn and worn, and denoted some internal
+trouble; her eyes too were sad, and it is with the eyes that children
+express their feelings before they have learned to talk.
+
+"How old is she, madame?"
+
+"Almost fifteen months, monsieur."
+
+"She seems very big for that age, and I have no doubt that it is her
+precocious growth that makes her ill."
+
+"Do you think so, monsieur? Yes, that must be one of the causes. She is
+very large for fifteen months; and yet she isn't stout, she isn't too
+big, like the children that are abnormal!"
+
+"Allow me to feel her pulse."
+
+I took the child's hand; the skin was dry and burning. Mignonne read in
+my face that I was not satisfied with that examination.
+
+"She's feverish, isn't she, monsieur?"
+
+"A little; growing fever; that ought not to alarm you."
+
+"Oh! do you think she will get well, monsieur?"
+
+"Certainly I do, madame. Her condition doesn't even seem to me serious
+enough for you to be worried about her."
+
+"But, monsieur, it's more than a month that she's been like this;
+sometimes she's better for a day or two; then she laughs and sings--yes,
+monsieur, I give you my word that she sings, poor dear! To be sure, I
+don't suppose anybody but her mother can understand her. But then she
+falls back into this sort of prostration, the fever comes back, and she
+refuses everything. Mon Dieu! then I don't know what to do to bring a
+smile back to her lips. Do you suppose that she's in pain? The poor
+little things can't tell us where they feel sick. But she will get well,
+won't she, monsieur?"
+
+"I have always believed, madame, whenever I have stood beside a man or
+woman whom the doctors had given over, that they might still recover,
+for I believe more in God than in man; I have more faith in divine
+Providence than in human skill, and I do not think that we know as yet
+all the resources of nature. But when the sufferer is a child, a
+creature so fresh and new in life, to despair of its recovery seems to
+me rank blasphemy; because in that young plant, just born, there must be
+the sap of youth and strength and maturity. Children become very ill in
+a very short time, and recover their health as quickly; their eyes, sad
+and haggard to-night, will laugh again to-morrow; often nothing more
+than a ray of sunshine is needed to effect that happy change."
+
+"Ah! monsieur, you restore my courage!"
+
+"You must never lose it when you are nursing a sick person. I suppose
+that you have a doctor?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; but he doesn't come often. He doesn't say much of
+anything. But I hope he'll come to-day; I expect him."
+
+"Would you like me to send another one?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; I have confidence enough in this one."
+
+"Adieu, madame! Don't grieve, don't fatigue yourself too much; remember
+that you must retain your own health in order to nurse your child. With
+your permission, I will call again to inquire for little Marie."
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+I stepped forward and kissed the child on the forehead; her eyes
+fastened upon me in evident amazement. Mignonne, too, looked closely at
+me when I kissed her little one. But she made no objection, and
+responded sadly to my salutation as I left the room.
+
+I went downstairs, and found the concierge watching for me, combing one
+of her cats the while.
+
+"Well, monsieur, did you see my tenant and her little sick girl?"
+
+"Yes, madame; I did my best to revive hope in Mignonne's heart. Her
+child is not well, still I think she isn't in danger. What does the
+doctor say?"
+
+"_Dame!_ the doctor shakes his head; he always says when he goes away:
+'We shall see.'"
+
+"He doesn't compromise himself. Meanwhile, take this money, Madame
+Potrelle, and see to it that the young woman and her child want
+nothing."
+
+"Oh! how kind you are, monsieur! But all this money---- Why, how much
+have you given me? A hundred and fifty francs!"
+
+"That's an advance on the work Mignonne is going to do for me."
+
+"An advance! But she'll never take such a sum of money, monsieur!"
+
+"That is why I give it to you. Pay for the medicines; there's no need of
+Mignonne's knowing anything about it."
+
+"But, monsieur, suppose she should ask me how I got it?"
+
+"Arrange it to suit yourself, Madame Potrelle; say that the druggist
+doesn't charge anything for medicines furnished to sick people who live
+under the eaves; lie, if necessary: there are cases where lying is no
+sin. And when this is gone, come to me at once and get more--without
+saying anything to Mignonne."
+
+"Ah! monsieur, what you're doing---- Well! if anyone should ever speak
+ill of you in my presence, he'd get Brisquet in his face. This is
+Brisquet I'm combing."
+
+"Au revoir, Madame Potrelle! I'll come again in a few days to hear about
+little Marie."
+
+
+
+
+XLI
+
+THE REWARD OF WELLDOING
+
+
+Several days passed, and I had not been again to see Mignonne. Rosette
+had called upon me several times; but my pretty grisette talked too much
+about Monsieur Freluchon, the dealer in sponges; which led me to think
+that our relations would not last much longer.
+
+Madame Dauberny was slightly indisposed; she sent for me to come to her,
+and I lost no time in complying. She seemed touched by my zeal. She was
+charming with me; she asked me about Rosette, but laughingly and without
+irony, as before; then she said, shaking her head:
+
+"I am no longer afraid that that girl will make you lose your common
+sense and forget our friendship."
+
+"Have you ever been afraid of that?"
+
+"Why, yes. My friendship is too selfish. It is wrong, I realize that;
+but I am jealous, which a friend has no right to be. Scold me,
+monsieur."
+
+"On the contrary, I forgive you--the more freely because I seem to have
+the same conception of friendship that you do; for----"
+
+"For what? Go on!"
+
+"Well! I too am jealous of the affection you bestow on others. And on
+that trip to the country, when Balloquet made love to you--that vexed me
+terribly."
+
+"Really? Did you suppose for a moment that I would listen to that man?"
+
+"Why not--if he had pleased you?"
+
+"If he had pleased me--very good; but you know perfectly well that he
+could not please me--seriously. And so your friendship is jealous, too?"
+
+She lowered her eyes as she asked that question. I took her hand and
+pressed it affectionately. At that moment, her maid entered and said:
+
+"Monsieur Dauberny, who has just arrived, wishes to know if he may come
+to inquire for madame's health."
+
+Frederique was thunderstruck. She glanced at me, murmuring:
+
+"He has come back! What a misfortune! I had flattered myself that he
+would never come back. But, after all, we must submit to our fate. After
+five months' absence, I dare not refuse to receive him; for his visit is
+solely one of politeness, no doubt. Remain, my friend; your presence
+will give me strength to endure Monsieur Dauberny's. Will you do me this
+favor?"
+
+"If you authorize me to do so, madame, I will remain."
+
+Frederique told her maid that she might admit Monsieur Dauberny. I was
+intensely agitated by the thought that I should soon be in that man's
+presence; but I strove to conceal my agitation beneath a calm and
+indifferent air.
+
+Monsieur Dauberny appeared in a moment. He was rather tall, but had
+grown too stout for his height. His face, the features of which were,
+generally speaking, regular, wore nevertheless an expression of brutal
+libertinage, and when his eyes tried to express merriment they became
+sea-green, watery, like those of a wild beast. He appeared to be about
+fifty years of age; his hair was thick and curly. He was neatly dressed,
+but seemed to have difficulty in carrying his great weight.
+
+He was apparently surprised to find a man in his wife's apartment.
+However, he gave me a rather curt nod, to which I replied by an almost
+imperceptible inclination of the head and a manner so frigid that he was
+impressed by it and immediately bowed again much lower.
+
+I confess that I felt incapable of bending my head before that monster.
+At that instant, the fate of poor Annette recurred to my memory; I
+remembered her bruises, her horrible suffering! I remembered that
+shocking scene on the outer boulevards! I felt that I could not remain
+longer in that man's presence. The blood rushed to my face; I was on the
+point of giving way to my wrath and hurling myself upon the villain!
+While I was still master of myself, I took my hat and left the salon.
+
+"Are you going, Rochebrune?" said Frederique.
+
+"Yes, madame, yes; I beg pardon--but an important engagement--pray
+excuse me!"
+
+I said no more, but went away, turning my head to avoid bowing to
+Monsieur Dauberny.
+
+What would Frederique think of my behavior toward her husband--of that
+abrupt departure? I did not know; but if I had stayed longer, I should
+have broken out; and before her, in her apartment, that would have been
+a mistake.
+
+Pomponne was watching for my return; he came to meet me, crying:
+
+"Monsieur, the old concierge--I know now that she's a concierge--from
+Rue Menilmontant has been here, not with the young woman who came once
+and ran off as if someone was going to assault her--a very pretty
+blonde----"
+
+"Well, Pomponne, well! What did Madame Potrelle say?"
+
+"Ah! yes, that's the concierge's name; it had escaped me. She said: 'Be
+good enough to ask Monsieur Rochebrune to come as soon as
+possible--to-day, if he has a minute--to my young tenant; for she's in
+great trouble.'--I was going to ask her why the young woman was in
+trouble, but she didn't give me time; she went away again, saying: 'I'm
+in a hurry, I ran all the way.'--To be sure, if she had run all the way
+from Rue Menilmontant----"
+
+I listened to no more from Pomponne. I left the house at once and
+hurried to Mignonne's abode. I found the concierge below.
+
+"What is there new, Madame Potrelle? Do you want money?"
+
+"Oh, no! it ain't that, monsieur; but that poor mother--her child's much
+sicker. The doctor told me there wasn't any hope, but I haven't told
+Madame Landernoy that, for it would kill her too, she's so unhappy
+already! I don't know what to do to encourage her, and I thought of you,
+monsieur."
+
+I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. My heart was very
+heavy; still, I felt that I must try to bring back a little hope to her
+heart.
+
+I arrived under the eaves. The door was still open and Mignonne was
+kneeling by the cradle, as at my previous visit; but she was not
+singing; everything was perfectly still. The young mother, with her eyes
+fixed on her child, seemed to be watching for some gleam of hope on her
+face or in her breathing.
+
+I stepped into the room; Mignonne did not even turn her head.
+
+"Excuse me, madame," I said, approaching the cradle; "will you allow me
+to examine your little girl?"
+
+The young woman glanced at me, with eyes dim with tears, and murmured:
+
+"Oh! monsieur! just see how she has changed, poor child, in the ten days
+since you saw her! Just look at her!"
+
+Poor little one! My heart sank and my chest heaved when I saw the
+shocking ravages that disease had wrought in so short a time. When I saw
+her, ten days before, she was pale and thin; but her pretty features had
+not changed. Now, her little face was all wasted away; her head, like
+her body, seemed shrunken; her mouth, which she kept tightly closed, her
+little features, constantly distorted by nervous contractions--everything
+indicated great suffering; and yet she was still sweet and pretty. Ought
+such angels to suffer? What crime can they have committed?
+
+I took the child's hand; it was still burning. The mother gazed
+anxiously at my face and said:
+
+"Monsieur, do you still hope?"
+
+"I told you that I should always hope."
+
+"Oh, yes! you are right; but for that, I should die."
+
+"Does she complain? Can you guess where she feels pain?"
+
+"Alas! she doesn't complain, poor child! But she groans and cries, and I
+can't soothe her any more. Oh! monsieur! I can't soothe her any more!"
+
+Mignonne paused a moment to weep. I did not try to check her tears. They
+do much more harm when stored up than when they are freely shed.
+
+In a moment she continued, pointing to the child:
+
+"Look! see how she keeps her teeth clenched all the time. Oh! that is
+what frightens me!"
+
+"What does the doctor say?"
+
+"He ordered her some medicine. But she won't take anything, she won't
+drink. That is the hardest part of it!"
+
+"Yes, for if she drank a little of it, it would probably allay the fire
+that is consuming her."
+
+"But what am I to do if she won't drink it--when she cries if I insist?
+I can't force her, can I, the dear little pet?"
+
+"Will you let me try, madame?"
+
+"You, monsieur! Do you think you can succeed any better than I?"
+
+"I shall go about it differently."
+
+"With her teeth always clenched--I'm afraid she'll break the cup when I
+hold it to her mouth."
+
+"For that reason, I do not mean to try with a cup. Have you a small
+spoon?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Please let me have it, madame."
+
+Mignonne gave me a small iron spoon, and a cup containing the sedative
+draught ordered by the doctor. I filled the spoon and offered it to the
+child, who refused to take it; but I succeeded in partly opening her
+gums for an instant with my left hand, and poured the contents of the
+spoon into her mouth. The little one cried bitterly; but she had
+swallowed a few drops of the potion, and that was all I wanted.
+
+Mignonne watched me in amazement, almost in terror; for a moment she was
+afraid that I would hurt the child. But she soon calmed down, and seemed
+pleased with the result I had obtained.
+
+"You saw how I did it," I said; "you must act in the same way, when you
+want her to take a little of the medicine."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, I don't know whether I can; I don't know whether I can be
+as quick as you; and then I shall be afraid of hurting the dear angel."
+
+"I did not hurt her."
+
+"That is true. And see, look at her, monsieur; it seems as if she were
+breathing better! Oh! if that really has done her good!"
+
+"It is more than likely."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, if you would stay a little longer, and give her some more
+by and by?"
+
+"I will gladly do it, madame."
+
+"I am abusing your good nature, monsieur; but I'm afraid I can't do it
+as well as you."
+
+"I am in no hurry, madame; my time is at my own disposal. I have often
+made a bad use of it, and I will try to atone partly, here with you."
+
+The child seemed to be dozing, and I did not disturb her. But, after
+half an hour or more, when she began to be uneasy again, I repeated my
+manoeuvre and made her swallow another half-spoonful of the potion.
+
+I remained some time longer talking with Mignonne, doing my utmost to
+restore her courage and hope. Then I went away, saying:
+
+"Until to-morrow!"
+
+The next day, I went again to see the little invalid, and passed a large
+part of the day with Mignonne; for my conversation served to revive her
+courage, and she thought that no one could succeed so well as I in
+making the child drink. Little Marie's condition showed a slight change
+for the better. The doctor was greatly surprised, and the mother's hopes
+revived. It seemed to me that I too loved the poor little girl. One
+becomes attached to children so easily!
+
+A week elapsed; I had not allowed a day to go by without passing several
+hours in Mignonne's room. I thought that she still retained some
+suspicion of my intentions; but, as she considered that I understood
+taking care of children, she said to me each day when I left her:
+
+"It would be so kind of you, if you would come to-morrow!"
+
+I had not called on Frederique again, nor had I seen Rosette. What must
+they think of me? But on returning home one afternoon, about four
+o'clock, I found both my friend and my mistress established in my salon.
+
+I saw at once, by the expression of their faces, that they were angry
+with me.
+
+"Ah! here you are, are you, monsieur?" said Rosette. "You're getting to
+be very rare--very hard to find, for this is the third time I've been
+here--so help me! I don't know whether your Jocrisse told you?"
+
+"My Jocrisse did not tell me."
+
+"And madame here has been as many times as I have, it seems, and hasn't
+had any better luck."
+
+"What, Frederique! you have taken the trouble to come here? I am
+terribly sorry."
+
+Frederique smiled, but with the mocking expression that I knew so well,
+saying:
+
+"What does it matter that I have been here? You weren't very solicitous
+about my health, I judge, as you haven't been to inquire about it since
+the day you left so abruptly. I understand that there is nothing very
+agreeable in my husband's presence; still, from regard for me, you might
+have put up with it a little longer."
+
+"You see, madame," said Rosette, "monsieur has other intrigues, new
+passions, beside which my love and your friendship are nothing at all!
+He hasn't a minute now to sacrifice to us; he passes all his time, all
+his days, with his new flame on Rue Menilmontant. She can't be anything
+very distinguished, living in that quarter; but we must know a little of
+everything!"
+
+I saw that Pomponne had been chattering and inventing fables.
+
+"Ah! so you have been told that I go every day to Rue Menilmontant?" I
+said, with a tranquillity that seemed to add to their irritation.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; to see a young and pretty blonde. You like blondes now,
+it seems! You like 'em of all colors, don't you?"
+
+"And this blonde whom I go to see is my mistress, is she?"
+
+"Oh, no! she may be your laundress, who knows? And you go there to watch
+her iron your shirts! Ha! ha! ha! Why don't you tell us that? it would
+be more amusing."
+
+"I won't tell you that, because I have no reason to lie."
+
+"Oh! of course not! To be sure, you're your own master, you can do what
+you think best. It seems that she came here one day--your blonde--and
+ran away as if the devil was after her. Oh! how sorry I am I wasn't here
+that day, when she honored you with a visit! I'd have led her a pretty
+dance! I'd have sent her mazurking down the stairs! But, who knows?
+perhaps I shall meet her one of these days. As you pass all your time
+with her now, it's probable that it will soon be her turn to come here.
+Just let me meet her! You see, I'm not very gentle when I'm jealous!
+I'll box that woman's ears; yes, monsieur, yes, I'll box her ears!"
+
+I listened to Rosette without winking. Frederique said nothing, but kept
+her eyes on me.
+
+"You're not so wicked as you try to make people think, Rosette," said I,
+trying to take her hand, which she snatched away. "If you should find
+the young woman you speak of here, you would not insult her, I trust;
+for it would be as absurd as your insulting madame."
+
+"What do you say? Do you want to make us believe that the blonde is just
+a friend of yours? Oh! my boy, that may do for once. Madame Frederique
+here is your friend, but you don't pass all your time with her, I
+believe.--Does he, madame?"
+
+"Oh! I see very little of monsieur!" rejoined Frederique, with a gesture
+of annoyance; "and when by chance he does condescend to pay me a visit,
+he seizes the first pretext to retire. I know that friends ought not to
+stand on ceremony; but it would be possible to be more frank and
+outspoken."
+
+This was said in a tone which indicated that she was seriously offended.
+Suddenly Rosette darted at me, as if she meant to claw my eyes out,
+crying:
+
+"Come, monsieur, who is this woman that you pass all your time with? How
+long have you known her? what do you do at her house? Answer! answer!
+Answer, I say! I am not your friend, and I want you to stand on ceremony
+with me!"
+
+"First of all, mademoiselle, I might refuse to answer questions asked in
+such a way. You want to know all that I do? Are you entitled to? Do I
+know all that you are doing, when I am looking vainly for you at your
+seven aunts'? But, nevertheless, I propose to gratify your curiosity,
+because I shall be very glad to justify myself at the same time in the
+eyes of my friend Frederique, who thinks that she no longer has my full
+confidence."
+
+"That is to say, you condescend to answer me on madame's account? That's
+very polite to me! But, no matter! go on, monsieur."
+
+"This girl, to whose room I have, in fact, been going regularly for some
+days, and who lives on Rue Menilmontant, is not my mistress. Your
+conjectures with regard to her are altogether false; she is a poor girl,
+who was virtuous, and who was seduced----"
+
+"How clever! As if all girls weren't virtuous before they're seduced!"
+
+"But I know what I am talking about; I mean that she had not the taste
+for pleasure or idleness which sooner or later leads a girl on to her
+ruin."
+
+"Ah! very good; I understand! She'd have been a saint, if she hadn't
+sinned."
+
+"If you don't mean to let me speak, Rosette, it is useless to question
+me."
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I'll hold my tongue."
+
+"This girl became a mother. Her seducer had deserted her."
+
+"Indeed! but what has all this rigmarole to do with you? Is it any of
+your business, if you're not the seducer?"
+
+"I learned indirectly of this young woman's misfortunes; I became
+interested in her, I gave her work, and tried, so far as was in my
+power, to relieve her distress. What is there so surprising in that,
+mesdames? Why do you look at me with such a peculiar expression?"
+
+"Go on, my dear boy, continue your touching story. And now you pass your
+time with this young woman; because she's teaching you to knit,
+perhaps."
+
+I could not restrain a gesture of impatience. It is disheartening, when
+one has tried to do a little good, to be incessantly suspected of the
+opposite. I sprang to my feet and exclaimed:
+
+"I go to see that young woman every day now, because she is in despair;
+because she would lose her reason, in all probability, if she had no
+one to keep up her courage; because this is no time to abandon her!
+Believe me or not, as you choose, mesdames; but so much the worse for
+you, if you believe me incapable of doing a kind action from
+disinterested motives!"
+
+"I have never believed that of you, Charles," said Frederique, coming to
+my side; "but it seems to me that one who believed that she had your
+full confidence may well be surprised to learn that your attention is
+engrossed by a young woman whom you had never mentioned to her."
+
+"As for me," cried Rosette, "I'm not so gullible as madame; I don't take
+any stock in your innocent, unfortunate, persecuted woman! All you need
+is the credulous and cruel husband! I saw a play like that once. I don't
+say that you don't help this lovely blonde of yours; on the contrary, I
+believe you help her too much. No doubt you were touched by her woes;
+but why? Because you're in love with her."
+
+"That is not true, Rosette; I tell you once more, you are all wrong."
+
+"I beg your pardon--one more question, and answer it honestly: is this
+woman pretty?"
+
+"She is very good-looking."
+
+"There! I was sure of it!--Take notice, Madame Frederique, that these
+benevolent gentlemen never protect any women that aren't good-looking.
+As for the ugly ones, I don't know how it happens, but they never
+unearth them. They can groan in corners as much as they choose, there's
+no danger that anyone will hunt them up.--Total result: I don't take any
+stock in your story, and I believe I shall do well to yield to
+Freluchon's entreaties and couple up with him.--You've seen his sponge
+shop on Rue du Petit-Carreau, haven't you, madame? Don't you think it's
+rather neat?"
+
+"Very," replied Frederique; "the counting-room especially struck me as
+remarkably elegant."
+
+"Ah! how fine I'll look in it!--Adieu, Charles! You've been playing
+tricks on me, and I'm going to get married!"
+
+Rosette departed, and I confess that I did not try to detain her; what
+she had said had stung me to the quick. As for Frederique, I saw that in
+the bottom of her heart she shared the grisette's unjust suspicions. She
+stayed a moment longer with me, but said almost nothing; then she too
+left me, and when I pressed her hand it hardly responded to the
+pressure. So that is how we are believed when we tell the truth! If I
+had lied, I am very certain that they would not have been so
+incredulous.
+
+
+
+
+XLII
+
+A CONSOLATION
+
+
+I did not recover at once from the sensations caused by the two visits I
+had received. I knew that my liaison with Rosette would not last long;
+and when a thing is bound to end a little sooner or a little later, one
+is prepared for it. Moreover, since my peregrinations among the aunts, I
+had not had the slightest confidence in Rosette.
+
+But Frederique! That she should look coldly on me because I had busied
+myself in behalf of a young woman who was in trouble surprised me, I
+admit. She was kind-hearted herself; why was she unwilling that other
+people should have that good quality?
+
+I was tempted for a moment to go to her; but I reflected that it would
+be almost equivalent to asking her forgiveness for doing a kind action
+without her leave. I felt that I must retain my dignity. So much the
+worse for those who see evil everywhere and in everything!
+
+All this reflection and hesitation detained me at home much later than
+usual, and the day was far advanced when I arrived at Rue Menilmontant.
+Madame Potrelle was not in her lodge, which was deserted. I hastened
+upstairs; but my heart was oppressed by a melancholy presentiment: was
+the poor child worse?
+
+When I reached Mignonne's room, I found there, besides the unhappy
+mother, the doctor, the concierge, and a neighbor.
+
+Mignonne was weeping and calling her daughter; at last she fell back on
+her chair, speechless and motionless.
+
+"Little Marie is no more," said the doctor, in a low voice; "she died
+only a minute ago, after a slight convulsion. The child could not
+recover; I knew it all along; but the poor mother will not have it that
+she is dead. Still, we must take her away."
+
+Poor mother! poor child! I had arrived too late! I could not have
+prevented that catastrophe, and yet I was deeply grieved that I had
+delayed so long. The old concierge leaned over Mignonne and burst into
+tears; the other woman did the same. I walked to the cradle and looked
+in. Poor little girl! the last struggle had gone gently with her, for
+her face was not changed; on the contrary, it seemed that with death she
+had found peace and rest, that she was happy in having ceased to suffer.
+Her sweet face seemed to smile; I stooped to kiss the forehead of that
+angel who had made so brief a sojourn on earth.
+
+Mignonne, who was apparently absorbed by her grief, when she saw me,
+sprang to her feet, pushed the doctor away, and came to me, crying:
+
+"Here you are! here you are! How late you have come! But you will make
+her drink, won't you? You will bring the dear child back to life; for
+she isn't dead! oh, no! God has not taken my daughter away from me!
+Here, here, take her; why don't you make her drink? Open her lips; you
+see that she doesn't cry, that she doesn't refuse!"
+
+And she stooped over to lift the child, covering her with tears and
+kisses. Then she suddenly uttered a loud shriek and pressed her to her
+heart.
+
+"Cold! cold!" she cried. "Why is that? Warm her, monsieur, warm her, I
+say! You can see that she is dying!"
+
+It was a heartrending scene. Even the doctor could not restrain his
+tears. But luckily Mignonne lost consciousness. We took advantage of
+that moment to carry her away, the doctor and I. The neighbor who was
+present lived on the same street, two houses away; she offered to take
+the young mother in and keep her as long as her condition required.
+
+We placed Mignonne in a large armchair; several obliging people lent a
+hand, and we carried Mignonne to the neighbor's house before she
+recovered consciousness. The doctor accompanied her, and said that he
+would not leave her. Madame Potrelle remained, to pray beside the dead
+child. I left the house, as sad and gloomy as a stormy day. I sought a
+solitary quarter, for the sight of the world oppressed me.
+
+"What had that young mother done," I said to myself, "that she should be
+deprived of her child, who was her only comfort and joy on earth?"
+
+A fortnight had passed since little Marie's death. I had not as yet had
+the courage to go to see Mignonne; I was afraid that the sight of me
+would make her unhappy, for it would inevitably remind her of her
+daughter.
+
+But did not she think of her always, poor woman? Not by striving to
+banish a memory from the heart do we succeed in resigning ourselves to
+it with less bitterness; on the contrary, grief is pacified and soothed
+by speaking freely and often of those we have lost.
+
+I had called at Madame Dauberny's, but was told that she had gone into
+the country for a few days. Of Rosette I heard nothing at all.
+
+One hot summer's day, I decided to go to see Mignonne. I had left her in
+charge of decent people who were deeply interested in her. The doctor
+had promised to see her constantly, and that was why I had postponed my
+visit. We often have courage to bear our own troubles, but find it
+wanting when we must face those of other people.
+
+When I arrived at Madame Potrelle's lodge, I found the good woman there.
+I hardly dared to question her. She divined my hesitation and
+anticipated my wishes.
+
+"Madame Landernoy has been very sick, monsieur; for five days, we
+thought she would die; but she has finally recovered her health, or at
+least the consciousness of her misfortunes; for I don't call it health
+myself, when she cries all the time and only eats so as to keep up her
+strength. At last, about four days ago, she insisted on coming back to
+her own little room upstairs. The neighbor didn't want her to; but the
+doctor said: 'She mustn't be thwarted, it will make her worse.'--So
+she's come back. Oh! monsieur, if you could have heard her sobs when
+she saw the child's cradle; and now she keeps her head bent over it all
+the time, as if she was looking for her; and she says: 'It's all I've
+got left of her. I can't cry anywhere but over her cradle, for I don't
+know where she is--I haven't got anything of hers. Nobody can find the
+poor woman's child, and I can't go and kneel by her grave!'--Ah!
+monsieur, it is very painful to hear that, and to see that poor young
+thing crushed under the weight of her grief, and refusing, sometimes for
+whole days, to budge from her little one's cradle!"
+
+I made no reply, but went up to Mignonne's room. I found her door
+closed. I could hear nothing; profound silence reigned. I knocked gently
+on the door. After a moment, I heard Mignonne's sweet voice:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"It is I, madame; pray let me come in."
+
+She evidently recognized my voice, for she opened the door at once. She
+looked earnestly at me, and said, pointing to the cradle with a
+heartrending expression:
+
+"Why do you come now? She isn't here any longer; you can't do anything
+more for her; and I--oh! I don't need anything now."
+
+She fell, exhausted, on a chair. But I stood in front of her and said,
+in a respectful and firm tone:
+
+"I have one more duty to perform. Be good enough to come with me,
+madame; take your bonnet and shawl, and come with me, I beg. I ask it in
+your daughter's name."
+
+Mignonne gazed at me in surprise; but I had no sooner mentioned her
+daughter, than she rose, hastily put on what she needed, and was ready
+in a moment.
+
+I went downstairs first, and she followed me. Mere Potrelle stared when
+she saw us pass her door; but I did not stop. I had come in a cab,
+which was waiting at the door. I asked Mignonne to get in, and she
+complied without asking any questions. I took my seat beside her; the
+cabman knew where to take us, and we drove away.
+
+Mignonne did not open her lips, and I respected her silence. Thus we
+traversed the distance that separated us from the cemetery of
+Pere-Lachaise. Our cab stopped at the gate of that place of repose. I
+alighted first, and gave my hand to Mignonne. When she recognized the
+place where we were, she seemed to feel a sudden shock; her eyes
+brightened, she looked into my face, then eagerly seized my hand and
+walked beside me, never relaxing her grasp; I felt her hand tremble in
+mine.
+
+I led her for some time through the paths between the graves. At last, I
+stopped on the summit of a hill where there was a sort of enclosure
+formed by a number of cypresses. I led her into that enclosure, where
+there was a monument as simple as the body beneath it. It was a flat
+stone, lying on the ground, with a white marble column standing at its
+head. On that column was an angel flying away from a cradle, and at the
+base these words only:
+
+    HERE RESTS MARIE LANDERNOY
+
+That modest monument was surrounded by newly planted flowers, and the
+whole was enclosed by a low iron fence. I opened the gate, of which I
+had the key, and pointed to the stone, saying simply:
+
+"Your daughter is there."
+
+The young woman, who had followed me in silence, but trembling nervously
+for a reason which I could well understand, gazed vacantly at the little
+cenotaph at first; but when she read her daughter's name on the marble,
+she uttered a cry, fell on her knees as if to thank heaven, then rose
+again, weeping, threw herself into my arms, and pressed me to her heart,
+murmuring:
+
+"My friend! my friend! And I was suspicious of you! Oh! forgive me! I
+love you dearly, now! My daughter is lying there; I can come now and
+pray upon her grave, and tend and renew the flowers that surround it.
+Ah! I breathe more freely now; you have given me courage to keep on
+living."
+
+"I have something else here," I said, taking from my pocket a carefully
+folded paper, which I handed to Mignonne.
+
+The young woman took the paper, and a flush of joy overspread her face;
+she covered her daughter's hair with kisses, then threw herself into my
+arms once more.
+
+"Oh! thanks! thanks, my friend! I have not lost everything; I have
+something of her! Her soft, fine hair--I have it all, and it will never
+leave me! Ah! you have almost made me happy! Let me thank you again."
+
+She laid her head on my shoulder and wept profusely; but the tears were
+soothing and assuaged her grief.
+
+Then she knelt beside the gravestone. I walked away in order not to
+disturb her meditation and her prayers.
+
+At last, after spending a long time beside her daughter, Mignonne
+returned to me; but she was no longer the same woman as when she left
+her room. Her sombre grief, her wild glance, had given place to an
+expression of pious melancholy and placid resignation.
+
+I took her back to her home; on the way, I tried, not to combat her
+regrets, but to make her understand that the most unhappy of mankind are
+not those who are taken away from this world.
+
+When we returned, Madame Potrelle looked at us, and was surprised beyond
+words at the change that had taken place in her tenant; but she dared
+not question us. Mignonne ran to the good woman and kissed her.
+
+"Oh! I am no longer so wretched as I was! I have just been praying at my
+daughter's grave; I've got the key; there are flowers all around it; I
+am going to take care of them. Marie will be glad. See, I have all her
+hair; and it's to him, to monsieur, my best friend, that I owe it all!
+Ah! you were quite right when you told me that I made a mistake to
+distrust him!"
+
+I bade Mignonne adieu, in order to escape Madame Potrelle's eulogium.
+The young woman offered me her hand, saying:
+
+"Now I will come myself to get the work you are good enough to give me.
+You will allow me to do it, won't you?"
+
+"I do more than that, I beg you to; and, in the interest of your health,
+I urge you to look carefully after all my linen; for there is nothing
+like work to distract one's thoughts."
+
+Mignonne speedily fulfilled her promise; she appeared one morning,
+alone; she desired to show me that she no longer had any suspicion of
+me. I talked a few minutes with her. We spoke of her daughter, the
+subject in which she was most deeply interested. The people who are
+afraid to speak of those they have lost are the ones who wish to forget
+them at once. When one does not wish to forget the dear ones who are no
+more, why should one shrink from speaking of them?
+
+Then I went out, after saying to her:
+
+"The keys are in all the drawers. Look over everything, and take away
+what you choose. That is your affair; and my servant has orders to obey
+you like myself, if you need anything."
+
+Several weeks passed thus. At first Mignonne came every four or five
+days, then a little oftener, then every other day; and I frequently
+found her established in my quarters, and working there; for she had
+said to me one day:
+
+"When there isn't much to mend, perhaps one shirt, or one waistcoat, it
+is hardly worth while to carry it home, if it doesn't annoy you to have
+me do it here."
+
+And as it did not annoy me in the least to have her work in my rooms, as
+I observed with delight that her grief was more calm, more resigned, and
+that when she was busily employed there she had much more distraction
+than in her own chamber, I urged her to work there whenever it was
+convenient for her to do so.
+
+Pomponne alone seemed very much puzzled because that young woman did her
+sewing in my apartment when I was not there; especially as Mignonne was
+not talkative, and as I had forbidden him to presume to ask her any
+questions.
+
+
+
+
+XLIII
+
+CONJECTURES
+
+
+I called again to see Frederique, but she had not returned from the
+country. Did she propose to spend the summer there? It seemed to me that
+she might have told me where she was going, and have asked me to pass
+some time with her.
+
+I was unhappy over Frederique's absence; but, above all, I was hurt by
+her manifest indifference. I would have liked to scold her; I would have
+liked to tell her that I was very angry with her. Where was she? what
+was she doing? whom did she see now? Madame insisted upon my telling her
+everything, but she told me nothing.
+
+One day when Mignonne was working in my salon, and I, contrary to my
+custom, had not gone out, the doorbell announced a visitor. Mignonne
+rose at once, saying:
+
+"I will go, monsieur."
+
+"Why so, Mignonne? Stay, I beg you; you are not in my way; and if my
+visitor has anything to say to me in private, I will take him into my
+bedroom, that's all. There is not the least reason why you should go."
+
+Mignonne resumed her seat, and Ballangier entered the room. He was still
+in cap and blouse, but his dress was irreproachably neat, and his hands
+very white. When he saw a young woman installed in my apartment, he
+started back in surprise, and would have gone away.
+
+"I beg pardon! I didn't know that you had company. Pomponne told me I
+might come in."
+
+"Why, of course; come in, come in! You mustn't let madame frighten you
+away. Take a seat, and let us talk."
+
+Ballangier decided to sit down. Mignonne went on sewing and kept her
+eyes over her work.
+
+"Well! have you still plenty to do? are they still satisfied with you? I
+am sure that they are; I can read it in your eyes."
+
+"Yes; my employer is perfectly satisfied with me. If you knew how rich I
+am now! I am actually saving money! Can you believe that I have
+seventy-five francs put by?"
+
+"Well done, my friend! As soon as a man has succeeded in saving
+something, it's like a snowball. It isn't so hard as people think to
+become well to do. Often nothing is necessary but determination; but it
+must be constant and immovable."
+
+"Oh! that's the way it is with me now; there's no danger of my
+stumbling. Why, when I see a drunken man, it makes me blush for shame,
+and I say to myself: 'How could I ever take any pleasure in making a
+beast of myself like that!'"
+
+"And your reading?"
+
+"That gives me a great deal of entertainment, too. But there are some
+things I have to read over two or three times, because I don't
+understand them right away."
+
+"Would you like me to give you some more books?"
+
+"Thanks, not to-day. I am doing an errand for my employer, and I had to
+pass your door; that's why I took the liberty of coming up."
+
+"You did well, for it's a pleasure to me to see you now."
+
+Ballangier smiled, then glanced furtively at Mignonne. We talked for
+some time; then he rose, saying that he must hurry, because his employer
+was waiting for him. I walked into the reception room with him, and
+there, after bidding me adieu, Ballangier murmured:
+
+"She's mighty pretty, that little woman sewing in there!"
+
+"Yes, she is pretty; and, what's better still, she's respectable."
+
+"Ah, yes! Is she a lady?"
+
+"I'll tell you another time who she is."
+
+When Ballangier had gone, I returned to Mignonne, who went on with her
+work and said nothing. Still, I would have bet that she was surprised to
+hear me, a young man of fashion, addressed thus familiarly by a man in
+cap and blouse.
+
+Pomponne handed me a huge envelope which the concierge had just brought
+upstairs. The enclosure was printed; evidently a wedding invitation. I
+read:
+
+     "Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon,
+     Chamouillet, and Cavalos have the honor to announce the marriage of
+     their niece, Mademoiselle Rosette Gribiche, to Monsieur
+     Jules-Cesar-Octave Freluchon, dealer in sponges."
+
+Ah! it was very amiable on Rosette's part to send me an announcement of
+her wedding. But something was written at the foot of the sheet:
+
+     "You are requested to attend the ball, which will take place at
+     Chapart's, Rue d'Angouleme; I rely on you for the polka."
+
+Ah! there I recognized my saucy grisette. She was quite capable of
+insisting on dancing all night with me; and I was not at all certain
+that she would not demand something else. But I would not accept her
+invitation, I would not go to her wedding feast. I would be more
+sensible than she was. I would not swear that, later on, I might not do
+myself the pleasure of buying a sponge of her. Meanwhile, I wished
+Monsieur Freluchon all happiness, and I was convinced beforehand that it
+would be his.
+
+One evening, when I went home, Pomponne said to me, rubbing his hands
+gleefully:
+
+"Monsieur had another visitor to-day. Mon Dieu! monsieur had only just
+gone out, when Madame Dauberny came."
+
+"Madame Dauberny? Oh! how sorry I am that I didn't see her!"
+
+"She came in; in fact, she waited for monsieur quite a long time,
+talking with your seamstress."
+
+"What do you mean by my seamstress? In heaven's name, can't you say
+Madame Landernoy?"
+
+"As that lady sews for monsieur, I thought she was his seamstress."
+
+"No matter! what did Frederique say when she went away? Will she come
+again to-morrow?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; she won't come again to-morrow nor any other day; for
+she said to me when she went away: 'You will tell your master that I
+shan't come again.'"
+
+"She said that she wouldn't come again! That's impossible, Pomponne; you
+are mistaken; Frederique could not have said that."
+
+"Beg pardon, monsieur; I'm sure she said it, because it surprised me;
+and I said to her: 'Why! is madame angry with monsieur?'"
+
+"Oh! I recognize you there! Always inquisitive and chattering! Well,
+what did she say to that?"
+
+"She said: 'That's none of your business!'--I didn't say any more."
+
+I could not understand why Frederique should have said what Pomponne had
+reported to me. If she had come often to see me without finding me, it
+might be conceivable; but, on the contrary, I had been more than ten
+times to inquire for her while she was in the country.
+
+"No matter!" I thought; "I will go to see her to-morrow, and obtain an
+explanation of all this, I hope."
+
+The next day, as soon as I had finished breakfast, I hastened to Madame
+Dauberny's. At last, she was at home! Her maid ushered me into her room.
+
+I found Frederique enveloped in a morning gown. Her lovely hair, falling
+in long curls on each side of her face, was without ornament. She was
+very pale, and her manner was cold and constrained; she greeted me with
+a smile that was not sincere, and said:
+
+"Ah! is it you, Charles?"
+
+"Yes, it is I. You came to see me yesterday, and I am extremely sorry
+that I was absent. But that fact does not seem to me a sufficient
+explanation of your saying to my servant that you would not come again.
+What did that mean? I have been here ten or fifteen times to see you
+since you went into the country, where it never once occurred to you to
+write me, to tell me where you were. I could not write to you, for I had
+no idea in what direction you had gone. But I came, nevertheless, again
+and again; for I could not tire of coming, when I hoped to see
+you!--Tell me, what is the matter? what have I done? Why are you
+offended? for you are offended, I can see by the cold way in which you
+receive me."
+
+Frederique listened to me attentively. She forced herself to smile and
+offered me her hand, saying in a faltering tone:
+
+"All that you say is true--I have no right to be angry--and I am not any
+longer."
+
+"But you are!"
+
+"No, I am not."
+
+"Why did you tell Pomponne that you would not come again?"
+
+"Why--because--as you have a woman installed in your rooms now--I
+thought that my visits could only----"
+
+"Upon my word, I can't understand you! Because a person comes to my
+rooms, a person who looks after my linen, takes it away and brings it
+back!--What has that to do with our friendship?"
+
+"Is she the--the young woman in whom you took such a deep interest?"
+
+"Yes, madame. She has lost her child, her little girl, who was her only
+joy! It seems to me that that is an additional reason for trying to
+lighten her sorrow."
+
+"Oh! most assuredly! It seems, too, that you have done wonders for her,
+for she says everything good of you! she extols you to the skies! Never
+fear, my friend, she is truly grateful!"
+
+"But that ought not to seem extraordinary to you, who maintain that
+ingratitude is the most shocking of vices."
+
+"No, no! I see nothing at all unusual in all that."
+
+"Mon Dieu! Frederique, you drive me mad! Do you know that, to hear you,
+one would think you were unkind and unfeeling, and yet I know that you
+are not."
+
+"She is very pretty, that young woman!"
+
+"I told you that before. And because she is pretty--is that a reason for
+not doing anything for her?"
+
+"Oh! quite the contrary! That is a reason for being deeply interested in
+her, for having her come to work in one's own rooms, and pass her days
+there.--Ha! ha! ha! Really, Rosette wasn't so foolish as I: she guessed
+the truth at once."
+
+"What do you mean by that, Frederique?"
+
+"I mean that you love that young woman, that you are in love with her,
+that you mean to make her your mistress! Oh! mon Dieu! it's all simple
+and natural enough, and I don't blame you. You are free, and so is she;
+you are perfectly entitled to--to live with her, if it suits you to do
+so! But what I don't like, what pains me, is that you always make a
+mystery to me of your sentiments and your intrigues; that I never learn
+your secrets except from others; that you haven't confidence enough in
+me to tell me of your new amours. That is what angers me. For, you see,
+being neither your mistress nor your friend, I am nothing at all to you!
+So I cannot see the necessity of continuing our acquaintance."
+
+My heart sank; I felt, not anger, but sorrow, genuine sorrow, to find
+that I was unjustly judged by a woman to whom I would have been glad to
+lay bare my whole heart, to whom I longed to tell my most secret
+thoughts, hoping to read her heart as she would read mine. That reproach
+of a lack of confidence in her touched and wounded me; as I was not
+guilty, I would not even try to justify myself.
+
+I took my hat and prepared to go.
+
+"Are you going already?" exclaimed Frederique.
+
+"Yes, madame. I consider it useless to remain longer with a person who
+believes neither in my words nor in my affection. I thought that you
+were able to judge me fairly, to appreciate my feelings. I was mistaken.
+Some day, I doubt not, you will realize your error. Then, madame,
+perhaps you will come to me and offer me again that friendship of which
+you now think me unworthy; and you will find me, as always, happy to
+deserve such a favor."
+
+Frederique looked at me; I believe that she was on the point of rushing
+toward me; but she repressed that impulse, which came from her heart,
+and I went away, determined to make no attempt to see her again. I had
+learned that one can no more rely on a woman's friendship than on her
+love; that there must inevitably be a strain of inconstancy or caprice
+in all their affections.
+
+On the day following my visit to Madame Dauberny, Mignonne came as usual
+to bring back my linen; but, contrary to her custom, she took another
+package and prepared to go away again at once.
+
+"Don't you propose to stay and work a while to-day?" I asked her. She
+seemed embarrassed, and hesitated before replying; at last she faltered,
+lowering her eyes:
+
+"Monsieur--it is--I am--I am afraid that staying here so often to
+work--I am afraid I am in your way."
+
+"What is the source of that fear to-day? Haven't I told you that I could
+receive in my bedroom anybody with whom I wished to be alone?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Why this fear, then? What new idea have you got into your head?"
+
+"It didn't come into my head."
+
+"Whose, then, pray?"
+
+"Monsieur--the fact is--that--it was day before yesterday that a lady
+came to see you. Didn't your servant tell you?"
+
+"Certainly he did."
+
+"That lady sat down; she stayed a long time with me, and examined me
+very closely. She had a strange way about her. When she mentioned you,
+she said just _Rochebrune_, or _Charles_. She is very intimate with you,
+it seems."
+
+"Well! what then?"
+
+"After looking at me so hard that I didn't know which way to turn, she
+began to talk to me. She asked a lot of questions about the beginning of
+our acquaintance. She asked me how long I'd known you, and--and--oh! a
+lot of things I don't dare tell you. I just told her the truth--all you
+had done for me, and all I had to be grateful to you for. You are not
+angry, are you, monsieur, because I told her all that?"
+
+"Why should it make me angry?"
+
+"The strange part of it was that the lady didn't seem pleased to hear me
+say all--all the good of you that you deserve! She kept shrugging her
+shoulders--I saw it plainly enough! And at last she cried: 'This is all
+very noble, it's magnificent; but it's easy to see what the end of it
+will be. When a young woman installs herself in a young man's bachelor
+apartment, there must be in the bottom of her heart a sentiment stronger
+than her care for her reputation; it must be that she isn't afraid to be
+looked upon by the world as that young man's mistress.'"
+
+"She said that?"
+
+"Yes, and then she went away, saying: 'I don't want to make you unhappy,
+mademoiselle; I simply mean to give you a little advice.'--Oh! but she
+did make me awfully unhappy!"
+
+"And is that the reason why you don't propose to work here to-day?"
+
+"Oh! it isn't on my own account, monsieur; it's on yours. That lady says
+it will keep all your friends from coming to see you. I wouldn't for the
+world have you quarrel with anyone."
+
+"You cannot believe anything so absurd, Mignonne! Say, rather, that you
+are afraid to be looked upon as my mistress--that it has occurred to you
+that----"
+
+"O monsieur! for heaven's sake, do not finish! After all you have done
+for me, the memory of my daughter alone would be enough to make me
+worship you. What do I care for anything the world can say? Do I know
+the world? Have I any reputation to preserve? Would life have any charm
+for me, were it not for you, who attached me to it by giving my daughter
+a last resting place? You, and the memory of Marie, that is all the
+world means to me! What do I care for all the rest? Oh! if it does not
+displease you to have me stay, tell me so again, monsieur, and I swear
+to you that I will obey you with happiness and joy."
+
+"In that case, stay, Mignonne."
+
+The young woman hastily unrolled the work she was about to take away;
+she took her needle and set to work in her usual seat, after looking at
+me with a smile.
+
+She at least showed undiminished confidence in me.
+
+
+
+
+XLIV
+
+LOVE ON ALL SIDES
+
+
+Mignonne continued to come to my rooms. I found already that my living
+expenses had diminished materially. I asked her to have an eye to a
+thousand and one details of housekeeping, to which I never paid any
+attention; she did it with a zeal and an intelligence that astonished
+me. I was like Ballangier, I was becoming too rich; and yet, nothing was
+ever lacking; on the contrary, I was as comfortable as I could wish. I
+discovered that a woman is very useful in a house.
+
+Mignonne's health was fully restored, and she had recovered her fresh
+color; she never laughed, but a sweet smile sometimes played about her
+lips. I was delighted with the change and congratulated her on it.
+
+"It is your work," she said.
+
+When we talked together, she always spoke of her daughter; she went to
+see her almost every day, and I often saw in her belt a flower which she
+constantly covered with kisses. I guessed where she had plucked that
+flower.
+
+Ballangier came to see me, and did not find me; but he found Mignonne,
+and Monsieur Pomponne told me that he sat in front of her more than an
+hour, without opening his mouth.
+
+"How do you know that?" I demanded, pulling Pomponne's ear; "did you
+listen at the door?"
+
+"I couldn't listen, monsieur, as they didn't say anything."
+
+Oh! these servants! Is there no way of finding one who is neither
+inquisitive, talkative, a liar, nor a gossip? When they are not all of
+these together, they are phoenixes!
+
+"You received a visitor for me, did you?" I asked Mignonne.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, that young mechanic; for he seems to be a mechanic."
+
+"Yes; he's a cabinetmaker. What did he say to you?"
+
+"He talks very little. But he told me enough for me to understand that
+you are his benefactor, too; that he owes you a great deal."
+
+"No, I am in no sense his benefactor. What I did for him was a duty. But
+he behaved very badly at one time; for a long while he led a life of
+idleness and dissipation. He was deaf to my entreaties and
+remonstrances. In those days, his presence was as distasteful to me as
+it is agreeable now. He has turned over a new leaf, become a respectable
+man once more, and a good workman; I have given him all my friendship
+again, and some day I hope--I hope that he will make a good husband.
+Then, if Ballangier could fall in with a woman like you, Mignonne,
+gentle and virtuous and hard-working, and if he could win her love, he
+would be altogether happy."
+
+Mignonne had become serious. She looked at the floor, murmuring:
+
+"Oh! as for me, monsieur, you know very well that I can never think of
+marriage! You know that I have been a mother!"
+
+"If you concealed nothing from the man who loved you, you would still be
+worthy of an honest man's love and esteem. Ought anyone to be so severe
+as that, Mignonne? Who has not sinned--more or less?"
+
+"However, monsieur, I shall never have any occasion to tell my story,
+for I shall never marry."
+
+"We cannot foresee the future."
+
+"Oh! I can safely take my oath to that!"
+
+I insisted no further, for it seemed to be a painful subject to the
+young woman. Probably, engrossed as she was by her daughter's memory,
+she did not choose to admit that anyone could divert her thoughts from
+her, even in the future.
+
+Nothing from Frederique. She did not come to see me, and I certainly
+should not go again to her. So it was all over; we had quarrelled--and
+for what? More than once, unconsciously perhaps, I had walked in the
+direction of her house and found myself in front of it; but at such
+times I made haste to retrace my steps. I would have been glad, however,
+to know if she were in Paris, or if she had gone away again. If chance
+should bring us together, surely we could not pass on the street without
+speaking. But I did not meet her.
+
+By way of compensation, I did meet Ballangier near my own house. He was
+on his way to see me; but as he had met me, he said that he would not go
+upstairs. Something made me think that he would have preferred to go up.
+I noticed a certain constraint in his manner. He asked about Mignonne,
+but he did it with the air of one who dared not reveal all of the
+interest he took in that young woman. Poor Ballangier! it was not
+difficult to divine what was going on in his heart; he was not an expert
+dissembler.
+
+Another day, I met him again near my abode, and he made haste to tell me
+that he had not come out without the permission of his employer, who was
+still content with him, because he always worked two hours later at
+night when he left his work in the morning. I looked him squarely in the
+eye, and said:
+
+"You don't tell me everything, my friend. You are concealing something
+from me at this moment!"
+
+He blushed, became confused, and stammered:
+
+"Concealing something? I? Why, I don't think so!"
+
+"You are not very sure, are you? But I'll tell you straight away what it
+is: you're in love!"
+
+This time he turned pale.
+
+"In love? with whom, pray?"
+
+"With whom? Why, with that young woman whom you have seen several times
+at my rooms, and whom I call Madame Landernoy--or Mignonne."
+
+"Oh! nonsense, Charles! you are mistaken. I consider her very
+good-looking, to be sure; and then, her manner is so sweet and so
+modest! But I certainly shouldn't presume to fall in love with her,
+especially as--as you might not like it! For, you see, you have a right
+to love her, you have done so much for her, and you give her work to
+do."
+
+"My friend, if that is all that prevents you, you may fall in love with
+Mignonne at your pleasure; for, so far as I am concerned, I look upon
+her as a sister; I have never dreamed of loving her in any other way;
+and for the very reason that I have been of some service to her and that
+she has enough confidence in me to come to my rooms to work, I should
+feel bound in honor not to love her otherwise than as a sister."
+
+Ballangier's face became radiant. He seized both my hands and squeezed
+them hard; he would have cut capers in the street, if I had not
+prevented him.
+
+"Is it possible?" he cried. "You don't love her! you don't think of
+loving her! Oh! if you knew what a weight you have taken off my
+breast!--For I do love her, Charles; yes, I do love that young woman!
+love her, do I say? why, I idolize her, I am mad over her! It took me
+all of a sudden when I first saw her, it struck me here! Since then,
+it's impossible for me to think of anything else. But I wouldn't ever
+have told you; I wouldn't ever have told her, either. You'll forgive me;
+for I thought that, with her always in your rooms--I thought you
+couldn't help loving her--but nothing of the sort! You see, I've never
+been in love before; I've known a lot of street walkers--but as to love,
+not a bit of it! And now, what a difference! And how proud I am to be a
+decent, hard-working man again! Perhaps I might take her fancy. Do you
+think she'll ever love me, Charles? Oh! if she could love me!"
+
+I strove to calm him; then I began by telling him Mignonne's whole
+story. He listened attentively, muttering from time to time:
+
+"Poor girl! the villains!"
+
+When he knew all, I asked him if he still deemed Mignonne worthy to be
+his wife.
+
+"Do I think her worthy? Yes, indeed, poor girl! The least she's entitled
+to is to find a man who'll make up for all the injury others have done
+her. But suppose I should begin by killing this Fouvenard? by smashing
+this Rambertin?"
+
+"No, no, Ballangier; we must forget those wretches. If an opportunity
+should offer, I don't say----"
+
+"Ah! how quickly we'd seize it! how we'd trounce those fellows!"
+
+"Now, all that you have to do is to try to please Mignonne; but even in
+that you must act with great circumspection, and, above all, with
+patience! That young woman, engrossed as she is with thoughts of her
+daughter, would take fright at a single word of love. You will need time
+to touch her heart. You must gain her confidence. In short, I cannot
+undertake to say that you will win her love; that is your affair; for
+you understand that I cannot intervene. I know enough of Mignonne's
+temperament to be sure that that would be no way to succeed with her."
+
+"Oh! never fear, Charles; I am very reserved, very shy. I will wait, I
+will wait as long as it's necessary. The hope of winning her some day
+will give me courage. I am going to read a lot; to try to educate
+myself, and to be less awkward in my talk; for she talks mighty well,
+and she has a very distinguished air. You'll see, Charles, you'll see!
+You will be better satisfied than ever with me!"
+
+Ballangier left me, drunk with joy. I prayed that he might be happy in
+his love, and determined that I would do all that lay in my power to
+help him.
+
+I had just left him, and was walking along, musing upon what he had said
+to me, when someone halted in front of me. It was Dumouton, the
+debt-ridden man of letters. He had no umbrellas this time, but he
+carried under his left arm an oval box, of bronzed tin, which seemed to
+be carefully fastened.
+
+"Bonjour, Monsieur Rochebrune! I recognized you at a distance. You
+didn't see me, for you were lost in thought. Are you pretty well?"
+
+"Very well, thanks, Monsieur Dumouton."
+
+"Were you thinking out the plot of a play? You seemed very much
+preoccupied."
+
+"Oh, no! I don't write plays, myself."
+
+"You are very wise! It's a wretched trade since so many people have
+begun to dabble in it."
+
+I attempted to salute Monsieur Dumouton and leave him; but he detained
+me, saying with an embarrassed air:
+
+"I beg pardon! I would like to say another word to you, as I have
+happened to meet you. It's like this. First of all, you must know that
+one of my children is sick; he's been--out of sorts for a week. And
+then, we were without a certain household utensil--mon Dieu! why not say
+it at once--a syringe! We needn't be more prudish than Moliere, need
+we?"
+
+"Surely not; you are perfectly justified in saying a syringe."
+
+"So I said to my wife: 'We must have a syringe!'--'Buy one,' said she.
+Very good! that's what I did this morning. I bought a _clyso-pompe_ with
+a constant flow--a new invention. It's exceedingly convenient; it comes
+in a box; this is it that I have under my arm. Who'd ever suspect there
+was a syringe in it? It might be lace, or prunes."
+
+"Or even a pie."
+
+"You are right; there are pies of this shape. And it's so easy to use;
+no one has any idea what it is. Why, you can even use it at the theatre,
+in a box. I know a lady who made a bet that she'd do it at the opera,
+during a ballet; she won her bet."
+
+"Did she have witnesses?"
+
+"Probably."
+
+"I must confess that I should have cried off."
+
+"In a word, I bought this delightful _clyso-pompe_. Well! Monsieur
+Rochebrune, would you believe that our child, whom his grandmother had
+accustomed to the old method, positively refused to adopt the new?
+Impossible to make him try the _clyso-pompe!_ Children are so obstinate!
+And as my wife spoils him, she bought him an old-fashioned syringe. The
+dealer who sold me this box refuses to take it back, and I am trying to
+dispose of it--at a loss, of course. If you happened to want such a
+thing----"
+
+"No, Monsieur Dumouton, I am sorry that I cannot oblige you as I did in
+the matter of the umbrella, but I won't buy your _clyso-pompe_."
+
+"You are making a mistake. It's always useful."
+
+"It is of no use for you to insist. But go and see our mutual friend,
+Monsieur Rouffignard. Who knows? perhaps he will be very glad to relieve
+you of this instrument."
+
+At the name Rouffignard, Dumouton's face lengthened, and, without
+another word, he bowed and disappeared. I was sure that he would not try
+to sell me anything more.
+
+
+
+
+XLV
+
+SECOND-SIGHT IN WOMEN
+
+
+It was three days after I had received Ballangier's confidence, and in
+the morning when I was still alone, that Pomponne announced Madame
+Dauberny.
+
+I could not believe my ears; but at the same instant Frederique hurried
+into the room, with the amiable, fascinating expression, the proud yet
+sweet glance, that always attracted and vanquished me; and, before I had
+recovered from my surprise, she ran to me, took my hand, then threw her
+arms about me and kissed me two or three times.
+
+I began by letting her do as she chose, because I found it very
+pleasant; but I gazed into her face, my eyes questioned her. She met
+them fearlessly and said:
+
+"Yes, Charles, I was wrong! Reproach me all you choose, overwhelm me
+with the harshest words--I deserve it, yes, I deserve it! you could not
+say too much. But here I am! I have come back to you, to ask your
+forgiveness, to swear to you that hereafter I will have no more
+caprices, that I will believe all that you say--all, do you hear? That I
+will approve of everything you do, that my friendship will no longer be
+selfish or exacting, and that it will be unchangeable! Indeed, do you
+suppose that it really ceased even for a moment? Oh! no, you never
+thought so, did you, Charles? You hadn't such a bad opinion of me, had
+you?"
+
+I was bewildered by what I heard. I would have liked to ask her why she
+had been angry, and why she was so no longer, but she put her hand over
+my mouth, crying:
+
+"No reproaches, my friend, since I agree that I was wrong and beg your
+pardon! Are you not willing now to throw a veil over the past?"
+
+"Oh, yes! I am, indeed! Besides, you have come back, and I am so happy
+to find you once more as you used to be, that I don't care to seek for
+the explanation of my good fortune. But we, or rather you, are no longer
+angry, are you, Frederique?"
+
+"I have sworn it, my friend. Tell me, what are you going to do to-day?
+Would you like to pass the day with me?"
+
+"Would I like it! You anticipate my dearest wish."
+
+"The weather is magnificent; what do you say to a ride? We can go and
+hire some horses at the riding school, where I usually hire; they have
+some very good ones."
+
+"A ride? delightful!"
+
+"Then get ready quickly, monsieur. I will wait for you in your salon."
+
+She left the room. I hastily finished dressing, and joined her in the
+salon.
+
+"Your young seamstress doesn't seem to be here to-day," said Frederique,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, she came yesterday. She doesn't come regularly, every day, but just
+when she pleases."
+
+"My friend, I was most unjust to that young woman. Such things as I said
+to her! Really, I don't know what had got into my head that day!"
+
+"As you're sorry for it, you mustn't think any more about it."
+
+"Oh! I shall try to make my peace with her, all the same. Let us go and
+have our ride, my friend."
+
+We were soon in the saddle, and started off at a gallop. Frederique rode
+with all the grace, assurance, and fearlessness of a circus rider. We
+went in the direction of the forest of Meudon, and Fleury. In that
+region one is more alone than in the Bois de Boulogne; the country is
+more rural, the landscape more diversified, and you can draw rein from
+time to time and indulge in pleasant converse.
+
+We passed a delightful day. At night we dined together at a restaurant,
+like two bachelors--that is to say, we dined in the main dining-room.
+And when we parted, Frederique said:
+
+"Not for long!"
+
+The next day, when I returned home after doing several errands, I found
+Mignonne in her usual place.
+
+She bade me good-morning as usual, but her glance seemed less frank than
+it usually was. We all have days when we are inclined to melancholy;
+perhaps she had just come from her child's grave.
+
+I chatted with Mignonne as usual. I fancied that I could see that she
+was waiting for Pomponne to leave us alone. But when I had company, that
+servant of mine always found some excuse for constantly going in and out
+and appearing every minute or two in the room where we were. I have
+known him to leave a pin on the mantel, as a pretext for returning, and,
+when he came for it, to leave another in its place. I had to call to him
+sternly: "When will you have done with that nonsense?"--He realized that
+I was losing patience, and he came no more to fetch his pins.
+
+At last, Mignonne decided to speak.
+
+"Has that lady who was here the other day been to see you again,
+monsieur?" she asked hesitatingly.
+
+"Yes, Mignonne, she has. We had had a little dispute, but we are
+reconciled now. She has a hot head, but an excellent heart."
+
+"Did she tell you that it was wrong of you to let me work here?"
+
+"On the contrary, she said several times that she was very sorry that
+she had said things to you that might have hurt you, and that she hoped
+to make her peace with you."
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! that isn't worth while, monsieur."
+
+Mignonne said that in a peculiar tone; then she returned to her work and
+did not utter another word. Soon the door opened and Frederique
+appeared, as affable, smiling, and fascinating as on the day before. She
+shook hands with me and nodded pleasantly to Mignonne, who returned her
+salutation much less graciously.
+
+I was sitting at the piano, jotting down an air that had come into my
+head. Frederique insisted that she would not disturb me; and while I was
+trying to pick out an accompaniment for my air, I saw that she went to
+Mignonne and tried to talk with her.
+
+I played a little for Frederique, who sang very well when she chose to
+take the trouble. Mignonne, perhaps because she was not fond of music,
+seemed to take little pleasure in listening to us.
+
+Frederique passed a large part of the day with me, and Mignonne went
+away earlier than usual.
+
+A fortnight passed. Frederique continued to come frequently to see me.
+Her mood with me never changed, her glance was always sweet; the most
+perfect harmony reigned between us.
+
+As for Mignonne, I was disturbed to see that her features had resumed
+their expression of gloomy melancholy, that the roses which had
+reappeared for a time on her cheeks had again given place to pallor. And
+I was distressed by that change, of which I could not guess the cause.
+
+Ballangier came twice. I urged him to remain, and gave him a seat near
+the pretty seamstress. Then I easily made an excuse for leaving them
+together, in the hope that they would become better acquainted. But both
+times Ballangier said to me, when he went away:
+
+"It will be a long job; she's still just as sad as ever, and she doesn't
+look at me at all; in fact, I'm not sure that she listens when I am
+talking to her. But, never mind, I'll be patient, and I'll have love
+enough for two, if necessary."
+
+One evening, when Frederique had come during the day, and, not finding
+me, had passed several hours with Mignonne, I was much surprised to
+receive a note from her containing these words only:
+
+"I have something to say to you, my friend, something important. I shall
+expect you."
+
+What could she have to say to me, of such urgency? However, I knew
+Frederique well enough to know that when she had anything to say, it was
+perfect torture to her to have to wait till the next day; so I went to
+her at once.
+
+My friend was in a very dainty neglige, which reminded me of the night I
+had supped with her. She smiled sweetly, as I entered the room, and gave
+me her hand, saying:
+
+"I was sure that you would come at once. You realized that I don't like
+to wait! Come, sit here by my side, and we will talk like two good
+friends."
+
+I did as she bade me. She began by putting her hand on mine.
+
+"My friend," she said, "it is rather embarrassing for me to tell you
+what I have to tell. I trust that you will not take my words in ill
+part, that you will not be angry, as I was. But, above all things, be
+persuaded that I am perfectly sure that I am not mistaken."
+
+"What a preamble! I thought that you and I could afford to go straight
+to the point; I have never liked the circumlocutions with which
+advocates confuse their arguments instead of stating them simply."
+
+"You are right; I will come to the point. To-day, my friend, I went to
+your rooms; you were absent, but that young woman, Mignonne, was there,
+working hard as usual."
+
+"Ah! so Mignonne is your subject, eh?"
+
+"Yes, Mignonne. I sat down beside her, although my presence was by no
+means agreeable to her. It did not require much discernment to see that.
+Haven't you noticed it, too, Charles? Haven't you noticed that when I
+appear her face changes and her eyes become sad? that she hardly replies
+to what I say to her?"
+
+"Yes, I have noticed all that. But I have seen nothing more in it than a
+bit of spite because of what you said to her one day."
+
+"Oh! there's something besides her remembrance of that. To-day, I
+determined to have it out with her. I succeeded, by several adroit
+questions, in making her betray the secret of her heart, which, by the
+way, had been no secret to me for a long time."
+
+"Well! what is this secret?"
+
+"You won't be angry, Charles? At all events, you are not in the least to
+blame for it. So I begin by telling you that I am not offended with you
+for it."
+
+"Oh! how cruel you are with your reflections, Frederique!"
+
+"Well! Mignonne loves you dearly. That is the secret that makes her
+melancholy and embarrassed--especially when I am there; because she has
+imagined, foolishly of course, but still she has imagined that you love
+me, that I am--your mistress! If she had heard Mademoiselle Rosette
+repeat your remark--that you would never love me--she wouldn't entertain
+that absurd idea."
+
+"Ah! Frederique, you know very well that----"
+
+"Don't interrupt me, my friend; besides, we are not talking about that,
+but about Mignonne. When she sees me come in, when I am with you, her
+eyes fill with tears, and she looks at the floor so that we may not see
+them. Yes, my friend, you can believe my extensive experience, believe
+my heart, which is never mistaken--that young woman has a profound
+affection for you. That which was only gratitude at first has become
+love! She is accustomed to see you almost every day. Perhaps she does
+not herself realize the strength of the sentiment that draws her toward
+you; but she yields to the fascination she feels; and that love will
+acquire greater force in her heart, if you yourself do not try to uproot
+it."
+
+Mignonne in love with me! It seemed improbable to me at first; but as I
+recalled a multitude of trivial circumstances, I became less
+incredulous.
+
+"Why, I have never lisped a word of love to her; nothing in my conduct
+can have given her any reason to think that I was in love with her."
+
+"I know that, my friend; oh! I am certain of that!" cried Frederique,
+pressing my hand. "But probably that is just why she loves you! Women
+are made that way; it's a congenital defect in them. If you had spoken
+of love to Mignonne, it is very probable that she would have taken
+offence at it, and would have ceased to come to your rooms. But when she
+found that you always treated her like a sister, confidence
+returned--she reproached herself for her distrust; well, at all events,
+she loves you, that is certain! We all know that that sentiment is not
+governed by reason."
+
+"Well, Frederique, if you have guessed right, if that young woman does
+love me--which would distress me greatly, I confess--what do you advise
+me to do? Of course, you do not want me to cease to help the unfortunate
+creature, to abandon her?"
+
+"Why, no; of course not!"
+
+"If I tell her not to come to my rooms any more--she is very sensitive,
+like all unfortunate people, and she will go away forever."
+
+"Are you willing to rely on me, my friend?"
+
+"I ask nothing better."
+
+"I will tell you what, it seems to me, would cure the whole trouble--but
+I am afraid you will not like my plan."
+
+"Oh! how terrible you are to-day with your reticences!"
+
+"Listen! While I was absent from Paris, you didn't know where I was, did
+you?"
+
+"No; you didn't tell me."
+
+"As you didn't ask me, I thought that you were not interested. Well,
+monsieur, I was at a charming country house that I had hired--and it is
+still mine, because I took it for a year, all furnished and equipped. I
+had nothing to do but to go there, and that was not much trouble; for
+the house is at Fontenay-sous-Bois, close to Vincennes--only two leagues
+and a half from Paris. I was not very far away, monsieur, as you see. So
+that I came often to Paris, and knew everything that happened here."
+
+"And you propose to send Mignonne to your country house?"
+
+"No, not that. In the first place, she would probably refuse to go to
+any house of mine. You must do the opposite of that--you must--that is,
+if it won't be too much of a bore to you--pass some time yourself in
+that retreat. It is only the last of July, and the weather is fine. But
+perhaps country life is tedious to you?"
+
+"Not at all! But you will go with me, of course; you will keep me
+company?"
+
+"Most assuredly! Must I not do the honors of my house?"
+
+"Your plan is delightful, Frederique, and I accept with the greatest
+pleasure!"
+
+"Really! you are really willing to go into the country with me? The
+prospect doesn't alarm you--you're not afraid of being bored?"
+
+"Is that possible, with you?"
+
+"Oh! how good you are, and how happy I am! But, never fear, my friend; I
+will try to arrange it so that the time won't seem too long to you. In
+the first place, it is a lovely spot, the whole neighborhood is
+charming; you would think that you were a hundred leagues from the
+capital. However, it is no desert, for there are several pretty estates
+in the neighborhood; but I don't care much for visiting neighbors,
+myself, especially in the country; for when you have once allowed your
+neighbors to call, they are always at your door, and that gets to be
+horribly tiresome. But wait till you see my house--it's an immense
+place, like a little chateau. The garden is very large and well shaded;
+there's a lake in which I have the right to fish--only there are no fish
+in it. There's a billiard room, and all sorts of games. And then, when
+you are bored beyond endurance, or when you have any business in Paris,
+we are so near--you can be here in an hour."
+
+"I am at your orders, Frederique. Let us start! let us start as soon as
+possible! I look forward with delight to living in the country with
+you."
+
+Madame Dauberny pressed my hand with all her strength and kissed me on
+the forehead.
+
+"Listen! listen!--Oh! mon Dieu! here I am beginning to address you
+familiarly again, as I used to."
+
+"Oh! I am very willing."
+
+"No, no! I won't do it! Listen, my friend: you must tell Mignonne that
+you are going to pass some time in the country; that is a perfectly
+natural thing for you to do; ask her to continue to come to your rooms
+as usual, to superintend your household; you might even give her to
+understand that you rely on her friendship to look carefully after your
+interests. She will be flattered by that mark of confidence. You need
+not tell her how long you expect to be away--nor whom you are going to
+visit. You are not accountable to her, after all. But, my friend, you
+mustn't come to Paris too often to see her; for that would destroy the
+effect of your sojourn in the country."
+
+"I understand that perfectly."
+
+"Then we must hope that absence--common sense---- That young woman will
+realize sooner or later that she does wrong to love you with love."
+
+"Surely she will! And then, if another man calls to see her, now and
+then----"
+
+"Ah, yes! That's the very thing! Perhaps he will succeed in winning her
+love!"
+
+I stared at Frederique in amazement, for I had never mentioned
+Ballangier's passion for Mignonne to her. She blushed and began to
+arrange her hair; that was her usual resource when she did not want to
+be examined.
+
+"Who do you think may succeed in winning Mignonne's love, pray?"
+
+"Why, the man who is paying court to her--that young man who comes to
+see you sometimes."
+
+"How do you know that, Frederique?"
+
+"Wonderful cleverness on my part! Did I not meet him one day when he was
+going to see you?"
+
+"And you guessed that he was in love with Mignonne, simply from seeing
+him come to my rooms?"
+
+"He has changed greatly, and to his advantage, that young man."
+
+"Ah! you recognized him, did you?"
+
+I watched Frederique closely, for a multitude of ideas had suddenly
+rushed into my mind; something told me that Madame Dauberny knew more
+about Ballangier than she chose to tell me. I think that she must have
+divined my thoughts, for she rose hastily and said:
+
+"It is getting late, my friend. We start to-morrow--is that settled?"
+
+"I ask nothing better."
+
+"Bring your servant; we have room enough for him. I have only a gardener
+and my maid there. Will Mignonne come to you to-morrow?"
+
+"I think so, as she didn't come to-day."
+
+"Wait for her and tell her that you are going to the country; then come
+to me, and we will start together."
+
+"Very good. I will go home to make my preparations, and to-morrow I will
+call for you. _O rus! quando te aspiciam?_"
+
+"I can guess what that means. You will see the fields to-morrow, my
+friend."
+
+On reaching home, I gave orders to Pomponne to prepare for our
+departure. I might take very few things to Fontenay, and send him to
+Paris whenever I needed anything. But that was just what I wanted to
+avoid, because I was acquainted with Monsieur Pomponne's loquacity.
+
+It was ten o'clock when Mignonne arrived. Since Frederique had opened my
+eyes to the young woman's secret sentiments, I had dreaded that
+interview; I was deeply moved, and it grieved me to think of causing her
+pain. Poor child! from whom I was fleeing because she loved me! We run
+after so many women who do not love us!
+
+Mignonne seemed to me even paler and more depressed than usual. However,
+she smiled when she saw me. I went to meet her and held out my hand.
+
+"Mignonne, I was waiting to say good-bye to you."
+
+She looked anxiously at me, did not take the hand I offered her, and
+faltered:
+
+"What! to say good-bye? Are you going on a journey?"
+
+"Oh, no! I am just going into the country--not very far away. I am not
+leaving you for long."
+
+"Ah! you are going to the country? You have never said anything about
+it. Is it something you have just thought of?"
+
+"I have been thinking of it for several days. I am in the habit of going
+into the country every year for a time; it does me good."
+
+"If it's for your health, you are wise. I will go away, then, and come
+again when you return--when you send me word."
+
+"No; on the contrary, if you wish to please me, to do me a favor, you
+will continue to come here. I am taking my servant with me, but I will
+leave you my keys, which you will hand to the concierge when you go
+away. I intrust the care of my establishment to you! There are many
+things to be done here. I would like to have my curtains renovated, and
+the furniture of my salon and bedroom covered. You will find money in
+the desk. Be good enough to attend to all these details. I take the
+liberty of looking upon you as if you were my sister; does that offend
+you?"
+
+"Offend me! no, indeed! You are too kind to me! you always find pretexts
+for keeping me busy, for heaping kindnesses on me. Oh! I see it plainly
+enough!"
+
+"Don't say that. On the contrary, it is due to you that my house has
+assumed an orderly, comfortable aspect that it never had before."
+
+"Will it be long before you return to Paris?"
+
+"I don't think so. But sometimes, when one has no business to attend
+to----"
+
+"Of course, and when one is enjoying one's self. Are you going to
+visit--friends?"
+
+"Yes, I am going to see several friends--to make a round of visits. By
+the way, Mignonne, I wanted to say---- That young man whom you have seen
+here several times--Ballangier--will probably come while I am away."
+
+"I will tell the concierge not to let anyone come up, as you won't be
+here."
+
+"That is all right, so far as most people are concerned; but I want
+Ballangier to be excepted from that prohibition. I take a very deep
+interest in that young man. He used to have none but evil acquaintances
+in Paris; he must not find a house closed to him where he can learn only
+profitable lessons. And then, too, my library is at his disposal; he may
+take whatever books he chooses. So you will please be kind enough to
+admit him. He's a fine fellow, and I am sure that he will do his utmost
+to deserve your esteem."
+
+"Very good, monsieur," Mignonne replied, in a cold and constrained tone;
+"your orders shall be followed."
+
+"But I am not giving you orders; I am simply expressing a wish, that's
+all!"
+
+"And if any letters should come for you, monsieur, where shall I send
+them?"
+
+"I don't expect any. At all events, my servant will call and get them
+from the concierge."
+
+"Oh! you will send your servant to Paris, but you won't come yourself?"
+
+She hastily lowered her eyes, but I saw that they were full of tears. I
+made haste to grasp her hand, which she did not withdraw, and pressed it
+affectionately.
+
+"I shall see you soon, Mignonne," I said. "Keep a sharp eye on my
+house!"
+
+And I hurried away, driving Monsieur Pomponne before me, for he seemed
+determined to return to the room where Mignonne was, probably to pick up
+a pin.
+
+
+
+
+XLVI
+
+FONTENAY-SOUS-BOIS
+
+
+We arrived at Fontenay about three in the afternoon. Frederique's
+country house was a little beyond the village; it was not isolated, for
+there were several pretty villas in the neighborhood; but it was far
+enough from the centre of population for us not to be annoyed by the
+singing of drunken men, the noise of children, and the barking of dogs.
+An iron fence surrounded a beautiful lawn bordered by flowers in front
+of the house. At the left was a small building, entirely separate from
+the main house, and Frederique said to me as we passed it:
+
+"That is where you are to sleep, my friend; there's a very nice little
+chamber over the billiard room, and you will be absolutely at home
+there, free to go in and out without disturbing anyone."
+
+"But I didn't come here to live alone! And you?"
+
+"I live in this huge structure. I will show you my apartments. But,
+never fear, my friend, I didn't bring you here to banish you from my
+presence. You will not be compelled to return to your own quarters
+except to sleep.--Adele, take Pomponne to the pavilion at once, with his
+master's traps."
+
+Adele was the lady's-maid. She was an excellent girl, who deigned to
+assume the functions of cook in addition to her own, in the country.
+Monsieur Pomponne followed her, peering inquisitively into every clump
+of bushes.
+
+Frederique showed me the house, which consisted of two stories, with six
+sleeping-rooms. It was furnished with taste, and would easily
+accommodate a large family.
+
+"What are you going to do with so much room, all alone as you are?" I
+inquired.
+
+"In the country, my friend, I find that one needs plenty of space. I saw
+this house, and it took my fancy; the rent was not high, so I hired it.
+I could not make it smaller; besides, you see that I am not alone now."
+
+"You will still be alone in your great caravansary, since you relegate
+me to a separate building!"
+
+"Ah! my friend, what about the proprieties? Is it not a very bold step
+at the best for me, a married woman, to bring a young man to stay at my
+house in the country? The world doesn't know that we are only Orestes
+and Pylades, Damon and Pythias. But I don't care a snap of my finger for
+what people may say!"
+
+"And your husband?"
+
+"My husband! I fancy that he doesn't even know that I am in the
+country.--You have seen the house, now come and see the garden. But wait
+a minute! wait! my rustic cap! Oh! it is so nice to be comfortable!"
+
+She substituted for her city bonnet a little straw cap with a visor,
+which she wore a little on one side; she was captivating so. I found in
+the hall several hats for the country, of different shapes.
+
+"Take your choice," said my hostess.
+
+"What! are these part of the furniture?"
+
+"No, I brought them all for my own use--to try--you know, I dress like a
+man sometimes."
+
+"So you told me; but I have never seen you in masculine costume."
+
+"I'll put it on some morning, to stroll about the fields with you. Oh! I
+look like a scamp then, I tell you! Come, monsieur, choose a hat."
+
+I donned a gray felt, with a pointed crown and a broad brim, in which I
+must have resembled an Italian bandit; all I needed was the ribbons.
+Frederique escorted me to the garden. It contained nearly two acres, and
+was laid out in an original fashion. There were none of the customary,
+broad, straight paths; on the contrary, they wound and twisted about in
+all directions--a veritable labyrinth. Shade trees, shrubbery, and
+thickets combined to make the garden a fascinating spot, which appeared
+four times larger than it really was.
+
+Our first day passed very quickly. I was installed in the small
+pavilion, and was very comfortable there; but it seemed to me that I
+should prefer to be in the main house, under the same roof with
+Frederique. My friendship for her developed so rapidly that when I was
+fifteen minutes without seeing her I felt that something was missing: I
+had never loved a mistress as I loved that friend.
+
+When I woke for the first time in that house to which I had come so
+unexpectedly, I was conscious of a feeling of contentment, of secret
+happiness, which I could not describe. Was it pleasure because I was in
+the country with a person who manifested such sincere friendship for me?
+Was it satisfaction because I had acted wisely in going away from
+Mignonne and being careful not to take an unfair advantage of the
+sentiment I had inspired? Or was it simply the change of air?
+
+I went to a window that looked on the garden, and I heard a voice
+calling me a sluggard. Frederique was already up. She wore a white
+dress, cut like a blouse, with a blue sash. I had noticed that blue was
+her favorite color. Her little straw cap was on her head, and her
+beautiful glossy black hair fell in dense curls on both sides of her
+face.
+
+It seemed to me that I had never seen her so lovely, so alluring. Ah! it
+is a fact that in the country, amid the green fields and trees,
+everything that appeals to our senses moves and excites us more keenly
+than elsewhere.
+
+Frederique put her arm through mine and we strolled about the garden.
+For the first time, I was conscious of a peculiar sensation at the
+contact of her arm with mine. Was it really the first time that I had
+experienced that sensation? No. But that morning it seemed sweeter to
+me; and yet, for some unknown reason, I was no longer so light-hearted,
+so at my ease with her; I was almost afraid to look at her. What
+thoughts were these that came into my head? I dared not heed them.
+
+Madame Dauberny had never been so amiable, so gay, so kind, so
+sparkling. I thought that I knew her; but to be able to appreciate fully
+all the resources of her wit, all the charm of her society, and all the
+seductiveness of her beauty, I found that it was necessary to be alone
+with her in that charming retreat.
+
+The time passed with extraordinary rapidity; and yet there were but we
+two. We made frequent trips in the saddle or on foot about the
+surrounding country. The horses that we hired were very ugly--but what
+did we care? We did not go out to exhibit ourselves. When the weather
+was bad, we played and sang, or I drew some landscape that I had
+sketched, while she read aloud to me. Every morning she said:
+
+"My friend, if you want to take a trip to Paris, don't hesitate; you can
+come back this evening; but don't go to your own rooms, if Mignonne is
+there. As we have undertaken to cure that young woman, we must not cause
+a relapse."
+
+"Do you mean that you are tired of me?" I would say; "would you like to
+be rid of me for to-day?"
+
+Her only reply was to give me a light tap on the cheek, and nothing more
+would be said about Paris.
+
+A fortnight passed. Suppose that in seeking to cure Mignonne I had made
+myself ill? That is what I was beginning to ask myself; for the more I
+saw of Frederique, the more strongly I felt that it would be impossible
+for me to renounce the pure and unalloyed happiness that I enjoyed with
+her. I was no longer the same man; in the midst of my pleasures, I had
+attacks of melancholy. When Frederique fixed her eyes on me, I became
+embarrassed, almost timid; but when she was not looking at me, with what
+joy I gazed at her! with what bliss my eyes feasted themselves upon
+every detail of her person! Was it love that I felt for her? I dared not
+confess it positively to myself, but I was terribly afraid that it was.
+Yes, I was afraid; for if I loved her with love, and she loved me with
+friendship only, I must constantly endure the torments of Tantalus in
+her presence; if I loved her with love, I should not always be able to
+control myself; and my feelings since I had been with her in the
+country, the perturbation that I felt when she put her arm through mine,
+the flush that rose to my face when I happened to place my hand on her
+knee--everything warned me that a time would come--and perhaps
+soon--when I should forget respect and social conventions--when the
+friend would vanish and be succeeded by the lover! How many times, when
+we were walking together along a narrow path, had I been tempted to
+press her to my heart! to steal a kiss from her lips! But I remembered
+the night that I had supped with her, when we had agreed to be good
+friends, when she adopted the familiar form of address, and granted me
+the same privilege.--Excited by the fumes of wine,--or perhaps already
+assailed by the first flames of the passion that was destined later to
+consume me,--I had kissed her passionately. She had taken offence; that
+kiss was the signal for our rupture; she forbade me to enter her doors
+again. Suppose that she should do the same now! She manifested the
+utmost confidence in me, because she believed me to be simply her
+friend, because she was persuaded that I would never have any other
+feeling than friendship for her. Suppose that upon learning that I
+really loved her she should take offence anew, leave me, deprive me of
+her presence! That thought froze the blood in my veins, and was
+sufficient to recall me to my senses whenever Frederique's lovely eyes
+were on the point of making me forget myself.
+
+Two old bachelors who lived in the nearest house were the only guests
+she had received thus far; the brothers Ramonet were very pleasant, and
+played billiards or whist with us when the rain compelled us to stay
+indoors.
+
+Several times I had had occasion to send Pomponne to Paris. I told him
+to say to Mignonne that I was visiting my friend Balloquet, at Fontenay;
+I did not know whether he had obeyed my orders strictly, but I doubted
+it.
+
+One evening, when the bad weather compelled us to resort to
+cards,--which, by the way, I would have been glad to dispense with, but
+Frederique, whether because she was afraid that I would be bored, or
+from pure coquetry, took care that our tete-a-tetes should not be too
+frequent,--the elder Monsieur Ramonet observed, as he was dealing:
+
+"We have a new neighbor. The small house close by--on the right."
+
+"With the terraces, in the Italian style?"
+
+"Yes. It has been let."
+
+"It must be very recently," said Frederique, "for all the shutters have
+always been closed until now."
+
+"It was only three days ago. A lady has hired it."
+
+"Is she alone?"
+
+"Alone, except for a maid. But it's a very small house, almost no room
+at all. It's very pretty, though; I went over it once?"
+
+"Have you seen the new neighbor yet?"
+
+"No, but my brother has.--Haven't you, Jules, seen the lady who has
+hired the little house?"
+
+"Yes, when I passed there this morning, she was at the window on the
+ground floor; I bowed, and she returned my bow most affably. She's very
+pretty--a young woman, with an air of distinction."
+
+"Ah! did you see all that at a glance, Monsieur Jules?"
+
+"Why, yes, madame! Oh! one glance is all I need; however, I bestowed
+more than one on her."
+
+"And, of course, you know already who she is, what she does, what her
+name is?"
+
+"No, not yet; but I shall know all those things to-morrow. She must be a
+widow; for the house would be too small for a lady with a husband and
+family. Being neighbors, we will call on her one of these days--eh,
+brother?"
+
+"To be sure."
+
+"You have that privilege, messieurs. As for myself, as I pay very few
+visits, I think that I shall not make this lady's acquaintance."
+
+After the brothers Ramonet had gone, Frederique, who seemed more
+thoughtful than usual, suddenly said to me:
+
+"You are not bored here, are you, my friend?"
+
+"How many times must I tell you that I am enjoying myself immensely;
+that I have never known such happy days as those that have just passed?"
+
+"And you don't regret Paris?"
+
+"I regret nothing."
+
+"And you don't care about making the acquaintance of new neighbors?"
+
+"Certainly not; indeed, I think sometimes that the brothers Ramonet are
+in the way."
+
+"Ah! how good you are to be so happy with your friend! Good-night,
+Charles; until to-morrow!"
+
+She gave me her hand, and looked at me with such a charming expression
+that I was ready to cover her hand with kisses. Ah! if I dared confess
+what was taking place in my heart! But she would have had no choice but
+to be angry and order me to go. I preferred to hold my peace and remain
+with her.
+
+
+
+
+XLVII
+
+THE NEIGHBOR
+
+
+On the following morning, Frederique and I were in the salon on the
+ground floor; I was trying to extort some melody from a wretched piano,
+and she was laughing at my impatience, when her servant appeared and
+informed her that a lady desired to see her.
+
+"A lady!" exclaimed Frederique, in surprise; "but I don't expect any
+lady. Where does she come from?"
+
+"It seems that she is the person who has hired the little house near
+by."
+
+"And she thinks that, being a neighbor, she owes me a visit. Well, I
+will receive her, if it must be; but I propose to show her in short
+order that I don't choose to be intimate with my neighbors. Admit this
+lady who is in such a hurry to see me!"
+
+The maid retired. I turned toward the door, curious to see the neighbor,
+who was said to be pretty; Frederique continued to sit nonchalantly on
+the couch. A lady appeared; I made a gesture of surprise, and Madame
+Dauberny uttered a cry; we recognized Madame Sordeville.
+
+Armantine seemed amazed to find me there; but she recovered herself at
+once and ran toward Frederique, saying:
+
+"It is I! You didn't expect to see me, did you? You had no idea that I
+had become your neighbor?"
+
+"Why, no, surely not; I had not the slightest suspicion of it!" replied
+Frederique, in a tone that was not precisely affectionate; "but who
+told you--how did you know that I lived in this house, where, by the
+way, I have been only a short time?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! servants, you know, find out instantly who one's neighbors
+are, and, in the country especially, that is the first thing one thinks
+about."
+
+"I promise you that I think very little about it."
+
+"My maid said to me this morning: 'Madame, this fine house next to us is
+let to Madame Dauberny.'--I needn't tell you that, when I heard your
+name, I asked for other particulars; I soon concluded that it must be
+you, so I lost no time in coming to see you and embrace you. Did I do
+wrong?"
+
+"No, indeed! certainly not!"
+
+The ladies embraced. I was not fully persuaded that their kisses were
+sincere. Frederique was much disturbed; she changed color every second.
+Madame Sordeville was still pretty and as great a coquette as ever; I
+saw that instantly. She soon turned to me and said:
+
+"When I came to see my friend, I did not expect, I must say, to find
+Monsieur Rochebrune here. That is an additional pleasure!"
+
+I contented myself with bowing coldly. Frederique, who was watching me,
+said:
+
+"Yes, Monsieur Rochebrune consented to pass some time with me here. I
+thought at first that he would not make a long visit, but he said to me
+lately that he did not regret Paris at all."
+
+"That is the truth, madame; you have made me love the country."
+
+Armantine bit her lips, and continued:
+
+"You receive a great deal of company here, no doubt? It's so near
+Paris!"
+
+"Why, no; on the contrary, I receive no one. Except for two gentlemen
+who live near,--and them we see only once or twice a week,--we are
+always alone, Charles and I."
+
+Armantine frowned slightly with vexation, but instantly tried to change
+the frown into a smile. It was the first time that she had heard
+Frederique call me Charles, and that evidence of familiarity did not
+seem to cause her the keenest pleasure.
+
+"So you have left your place of retirement at Passy?" said Madame
+Dauberny, after a pause.
+
+"Oh! a long while ago--I was bored to death there. One sees too many
+people in that region, and I prefer solitude now. I came here to take a
+house, because I thought it would be quieter, more like the country."
+
+"But, still, if you are bored----"
+
+"It is sometimes unwelcome visitors who bore one. One is happier alone
+with one's memories."
+
+As she said this, Armantine cast a melancholy glance in my direction.
+Frederique noticed it, and she at once rose, saying:
+
+"Come, inspect my house and garden.--Will you come with us, Charles?"
+
+"No, madame; I have some letters to write."
+
+I bowed, and returned to my pavilion. I had an idea that Frederique was
+quite willing that I should not attend them; besides, those two old
+friends might have innumerable things to say to each other after so long
+a separation, and I did not wish to intrude.
+
+The presence of that woman, with whom I had been deeply in love, had
+caused some disturbance in my mind, I admit; but it was of very brief
+duration; it was surprise, the emotion due to the evocation of the past,
+and there was nothing in my heart that at all resembled love for her.
+Armantine was still very pretty, there was no denying that; but her
+eyes, sometimes so expressive, and her seductive smile, could not efface
+from my memory the disdainful, insolent air with which she left me that
+day on the Champs-Elysees.
+
+I remained in my room all day. When I returned to the salon, Frederique
+was alone. I sat down beside her.
+
+"Has your friend left you?"
+
+"Yes. Did you hope to find her here?"
+
+"I? Why do you ask me that?"
+
+"You answer my question with another; that is very convenient. But do
+you think that I should regard it as a crime if it gave you great
+pleasure to meet a woman whom--whom you once adored--whom you still
+love, probably?"
+
+"Oho! so you think that I still love her, do you?"
+
+"What would there be extraordinary in that? When a passion has not
+been--satisfied--there is no reason why it should end."
+
+"And you think, do you, that it should end as soon as it is satisfied?"
+
+"I think--that I am only your friend, whereas Armantine----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! I don't know what I am saying! That unexpected visit, the
+idea of having her for a neighbor----"
+
+"You must have been glad to see your friend again?"
+
+"Oh, yes! of course, I am delighted! She will probably come every day;
+as she knows that you are here, she certainly won't miss a day."
+
+"Ah! you think that she will come on my account?"
+
+"On yours--or mine--I'm sure I don't know. However, we shall see."
+
+Frederique sighed. All the rest of the evening, she was sad and pensive;
+for my part, I too was preoccupied. We parted earlier than usual, and
+she did not look at me as she did the night before, when she said:
+
+"Until to-morrow!"
+
+On the following day, I proposed to Frederique that we should take a
+long walk; she assented, and we started. We had not walked fifty yards,
+when we saw Armantine coming toward us. I noticed that she was dressed
+more coquettishly than on the day before. Frederique could not restrain
+an angry gesture as she muttered:
+
+"Ah! it seems that she was watching us! This bids fair to be amusing!"
+
+"Are you going to walk?" asked Armantine, looking at me.
+
+"It looks rather like it," replied Frederique.
+
+"Will you allow me to go with you? As I don't know the country at all, I
+am very glad to find guides."
+
+"You have the right to come with us. But I warn you that I am a good
+walker, and Charles and I take very long walks."
+
+"Oh! I can walk very well!--Besides, if I get tired, I fancy that
+monsieur will kindly give me his arm."
+
+"It will be at your service, madame," I replied, with cold courtesy.
+
+But Frederique, who had my arm at that moment, instantly dropped it,
+saying:
+
+"In the country, people walk singly; that's the most convenient way."
+
+I looked at her in surprise, for we were not accustomed to walk so.
+
+We started again. Armantine went into ecstasies over the scenery; she
+kept exclaiming every minute:
+
+"Why, it is perfectly lovely here! I am delighted that I came; I am
+immensely pleased already!"
+
+Frederique said nothing, or replied only by a few curt phrases. I
+carried on the conversation with Madame Sordeville, who constantly asked
+me for information about the region, and was never at a loss for
+questions which enabled her to talk with me. I fancied that I could see
+that Frederique was irritated by it; but I could not be discourteous to
+the other, who talked to me incessantly.
+
+Our walk was gloomy enough. Frederique was the first to suggest
+returning. Thereupon Armantine complained of being tired. It was
+impossible to avoid offering her my arm, which she eagerly accepted. I
+offered the other to Frederique, but she refused it. I wondered what the
+matter was.
+
+Armantine left us at her door, having informed her friend that she would
+pass the evening with her.
+
+Frederique was pale and excited; I asked her the cause of her anger, and
+why she had refused my arm.
+
+"In order to leave you alone with the object of your love!" she replied,
+with a piercing glance that seemed to seek to read my inmost thoughts.
+That glance gave birth to a hope so delicious that a thrill of joy ran
+through my whole being; but I dared not dwell upon that thought. I
+should be too happy if I had guessed aright.
+
+Armantine passed the whole evening with her friend. She worked, while we
+played and sang. Frederique asked me to sing a ballad; I complied, and
+apparently acquitted myself creditably, for I saw that Armantine
+listened to me with amazement; and when I had finished, Frederique
+said:
+
+"That was very good, Charles; you were more successful than at
+Armantine's reception."
+
+I laughed at the remembrance of my false note; but Madame Sordeville
+lowered her eyes and did not laugh.
+
+She came the next day and the next; nor was there an evening that she
+did not pay her friend a visit. Frederique received her with formal
+rather than affectionate courtesy; she had altogether lost the
+playfulness and spirit that made our tete-a-tetes so delightful. When I
+was alone with her, she said little; when Armantine was there, she said
+nothing at all. But Armantine pretended to pay no heed to the melancholy
+or capricious humor of her friend; she was fond of talking, and she
+often sustained practically the whole burden of what could hardly be
+called conversation.
+
+Very often she bestowed a melting glance on me, but I pretended not to
+notice. She always seated herself near me. If we walked in the garden,
+she walked by my side and talked to me in undertones, as if she had
+something to say to me that she did not wish Frederique to hear.
+Frederique observed all her manoeuvring, and sometimes I saw her
+expression change two or three times in a minute. At such times, my
+heart beat violently, and I was tempted to throw myself at her feet and
+say:
+
+"It is you, you alone, whom I love!"
+
+But suppose that all that was nothing more than what she called the
+selfishness of friendship! She was such a peculiar creature! I should be
+so confused if I had misinterpreted her feelings! What would she think
+of me? That my self-esteem led me to see on all sides women who adored
+me!
+
+One morning, after passing an hour with us, Armantine remembered that
+she had something to do at home, and left us. I rejoiced to be left
+alone with Frederique, which had come to be a rare occurrence of late. I
+proposed a walk in the fields, but she refused on the ground of
+indisposition, a sick headache, and left me abruptly, to go to her room.
+
+Why that ill temper with me? If her friend's constant presence irritated
+her, was I responsible for it? Had I sought Madame Sordeville's company?
+On the contrary, she must have seen that in my intercourse with that
+lady I kept strictly within the limits of the most rigid courtesy. As I
+said this to myself, I left the salon and the house, hoping to find a
+solution of my conjectures while walking.
+
+I paid no attention to the direction I took. What did it matter, as I
+had no definite goal in view? But chance willed that I should turn to
+the right instead of the left; and to reach the woods I had to pass
+Armantine's house.
+
+I did not notice it, but was walking on, musing deeply, when suddenly I
+heard my name called. I raised my eyes and found myself in front of
+Madame Sordeville's house. She was at a window on the ground floor; it
+was she who had called me, and, as I looked up, she bowed affably to me.
+
+I returned her salutation, and was going on; but she called out:
+
+"Won't you do me the favor to come in a moment, Monsieur Rochebrune? I
+have long wanted to have a moment's conversation with you; but at Madame
+Dauberny's it is impossible; for she doesn't leave you for an instant.
+As chance has brought you to my door, will you not grant me this favor?"
+
+To refuse would have been discourteous and in wretched taste. Although
+one has ceased to be in love with a woman, one must still be polite to
+her, unless one is a wild Indian; and I had no desire to be looked upon
+as such.
+
+So I went into Madame Sordeville's house; I continued to give her that
+name in my mind. She came to meet me, ushered me into the room, sat
+down, and pointed to a chair near hers. I took it and waited to hear
+what she had to say to me. She hesitated and seemed embarrassed; but she
+looked at me often, and her flashing eyes seemed to try to force me to
+speak first. Despite the fire of her glance, despite the dangerous play
+of her eyes, I remained dumb. At last, Armantine decided to begin the
+interview:
+
+"When I went to call upon Frederique, monsieur, I did not expect, I
+confess, to find you there, and especially to find you established there
+as if you were at home."
+
+"What do you mean by that, madame?"
+
+"You must understand me. The familiarity now existing between you and my
+friend is evident enough; indeed, she makes no attempt to hide it! But,
+I repeat, I did not expect that--not that I presume to reproach you, for
+I have no right to do so. You love--you do not love--that happens every
+day. As for my friend"--Armantine dwelt significantly on the last
+word--"as for my friend, it seems to me that I might be a little
+offended with her without laying myself too much open to blame. Her
+conduct toward me is hardly that of a really sincere friend. In leading
+you on to make love to her, to become her--her lover, in short, she has
+not acted with delicacy, and----"
+
+At this point, I interrupted her.
+
+"I don't quite know what you mean, madame," I said; "I begin by
+informing you that I am not Madame Dauberny's lover, that I am simply
+her friend. But even if I were in love with that lady, and she should
+do me the honor to reciprocate my feeling for her, wherein, I pray to
+know, could it offend you, or even interest you in the least, madame?"
+
+Armantine was silent for a moment; she sighed, and murmured at last:
+
+"I see that you have not forgotten the way I left you one day on the
+Champs-Elysees. I was wrong, monsieur, very wrong; I have often
+regretted it since. But do you not know that women sometimes have
+caprices, moments of irritation, which they themselves cannot
+understand? It may be that I am more subject than other women to such
+freaks. But, when I confess my sins, will you continue to bear malice?"
+
+Armantine was really very fascinating; while "confessing her sins," she
+indulged in a thousand coquettish little manoeuvres which would have
+turned many a man's head. But I was in love with another woman, and that
+love must have been most sincere, for Armantine's tender glances had no
+effect whatever on my heart.
+
+"I bear you no ill will at all, madame," I said, with a smile. "That
+episode faded from my memory long ago, and I supposed that it was the
+same with you. You owe me no apology; indeed, as you know, time changes
+the aspect of many things. To-day, it seems to me that that old story
+does not deserve a moment's thought from either of us. Au revoir,
+madame! With your permission, I will continue my walk."
+
+I rose and bowed. Armantine was speechless, utterly crushed; she did not
+look at me, she did not even respond to my salutation.
+
+I had just left the house, and was about to resume my walk, when I saw
+Frederique standing a few steps away, with her eyes fixed upon me. I
+walked hastily toward her. Her pallor terrified me; the fixed stare of
+her eyes cut me to the heart. I tried to take her hand; she snatched it
+away.
+
+"What is the matter?" I asked.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"What were you doing here?"
+
+"I wanted to see you come out of her house. I was certain that you were
+there."
+
+"At Madame Sordeville's? It was the merest chance, my going in. I was
+passing, and----"
+
+"You have no need to apologize, or to try to invent excuses. I have told
+you a hundred times that you were your own master, that you might have
+ten mistresses if you chose, that I did not claim any right to interfere
+with your affections. But I do not like to have people lie to me,
+deceive me, disguise their thoughts."
+
+"I have done none of those things, Frederique; and if you will listen to
+me----"
+
+"Later--not now. Adieu!"
+
+"Are you going to leave me? Won't you come to walk with me?"
+
+"No! I have something to do, I am going home."
+
+"I am going home, too."
+
+"No; continue your walk, I beg you. It would annoy me if you should go
+home with me. You see that my nerves are all on edge, that a trifle
+upsets me. Leave me, my friend; au revoir!"
+
+She hurried away; I feared to vex her by following her. She was there in
+the road, watching for me; she wanted to see if I was with Armantine.
+And that sadness that I read in her eyes, and that she tried in vain to
+dissemble--was not that jealousy? If she had no warmer feeling than
+friendship for me, would she be jealous of Armantine? Even though I were
+mistaken, even though the result were to break off our relations again,
+I determined that I would no longer make a secret of my sentiments, of
+my consuming love for her. I resolved that I would tell her all, that
+very day. It was no longer possible for me to be content with the role
+of a friend.
+
+I wandered about the country a long while, recalling every trivial
+circumstance in Frederique's conduct that could possibly encourage my
+hope that she had something more than friendship for me. The dinner hour
+had arrived, when I returned to the house.
+
+I found nobody in the salon. I went into the garden, but Frederique was
+not there. I called Pomponne, who came with a letter in his hand.
+
+"Monsieur called me, and I was looking for monsieur; what a
+coincidence!"
+
+"Where is Madame Dauberny?"
+
+"She has gone, monsieur."
+
+"Gone! What do you say, idiot?"
+
+"I say, monsieur, that we're the masters of the house. Madame Dauberny
+has gone away with Adele, and here's a letter she left for monsieur."
+
+I took the letter, hastily tore it open, and read what follows:
+
+     "MY FRIEND:
+
+     "I am going away from this house, which has lost all its charm for
+     me since Armantine has been my neighbor and has passed all her time
+     with us. I say with us--I imagined that it was still that happy
+     time when there were only we two! That time passed too swiftly. I
+     realize that I am a selfish creature, and that it is natural that
+     you should be happy in having found again a woman whom you once
+     loved dearly, and whose presence has rekindled the fire which was
+     not extinct. So, be happy with her. Remain at my house, my friend;
+     remain there as long as you please, and believe that I go away
+     without murmuring, but not without regret."
+
+I had hardly finished reading the letter, when I called my servant.
+
+"Pack my valise, Pomponne, and your own things; we are going back to
+Paris."
+
+"Going back to Paris! When, monsieur?"
+
+"Instantly! make haste!"
+
+"What about dinner, monsieur? We haven't dined, and I know it's all
+ready; Adele told me so when she went away."
+
+"We will dine in Paris. I do not propose to remain another half-hour in
+this house. Come! you should have had everything ready before now."
+
+Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to Paris in the first _coucou_
+I could find; for there are still _coucous_ at Fontenay.
+
+
+
+
+XLVIII
+
+AT THE OPERA
+
+
+I reached Paris about seven in the evening. As I entered my house, the
+first person I saw was Ballangier, in a neat brown frock-coat and a
+round hat; his attire was noticeable for a sort of coquetry which
+indicated that the desire to please was still his first thought.
+
+He grasped my hand, crying:
+
+"Ah! here you are at last! I am so glad to see you! I have so much to
+tell you about all that has happened in the six weeks since you went
+away! For it is six weeks since you left Paris."
+
+"Is Mignonne in my room now?"
+
+"No; but she sometimes passes the whole day there and a large part of
+the evening. She enjoys being in your room."
+
+"Come up with me and tell me all about it."
+
+Ballangier accompanied me to my apartment; I got rid of Pomponne by
+telling him to get his dinner wherever he chose; and when I was alone
+with my friend, I asked how his love affairs were progressing.
+
+"In the first place, my dear Charles, when I came here, three days after
+you went away, I was very much surprised to learn that you were in the
+country; I was going away, sadly enough, when the concierge said to me:
+'There's somebody upstairs, and my orders are to let you go up.' I
+didn't wait to be informed twice; something told me that I should find
+Mignonne here. Sure enough, she was here; she was working, but she was
+very sad--indeed, I believe she was crying. She received me coldly. I
+sat a long while looking at her, without saying a word, and she didn't
+speak, either. At last I began to talk about you, of all that I owed
+you, of my affection for you. Then she listened to me and answered. On
+my next visit, I talked again about you; I saw that that was the only
+way of making her talk a little. I asked her if she knew where you were;
+she said, with a sigh, that she knew perfectly well, but, as you had
+made a secret of it, she didn't think that she ought to tell. I
+continued to come from time to time; and when I couldn't call during the
+day, on account of my work, I made up for it by waiting for her in the
+evening at the corner of the street. I watched for her to come away from
+your house; I didn't dare to speak to her, for fear of displeasing her,
+but I followed her at a distance till she was safely at home; and as she
+lives on Rue Menilmontant, my pleasure lasted some time. You will see,
+Charles, what an excellent idea it was of mine to act as her escort. For
+several days I had noticed a middle-aged man prowling about the street,
+a well-dressed man, but very fat; and I fancied that he too was on the
+watch for Mignonne; for he walked very near her--when he could keep up
+with her, that is, for she quickened her pace at his approach.--'Parbleu!'
+I said to myself, about a week ago; 'I must find out about this matter.
+I'll just keep out of sight and see what this fellow's intentions are.'
+The weather happened to be bad that night, and there were few people in
+the street. I waited; my man soon appeared, and he waited too. After a
+few minutes, Mignonne came out of the house. Then I saw my man, who was
+lurking in the darkest part of the street, speak to Mignonne, put his
+arm round her waist, insult her, in short, in spite of her entreaties
+and her shrieks. I tell you, his punishment wasn't long in coming! In
+three seconds I was on the fellow; I had grabbed him by the throat,
+thrown him into the gutter, and hammered him with feet and hands. I
+believe that I should be punching him yet, if Mignonne hadn't begged me
+to let him alone. You can imagine that I offered her my arm then to take
+her home, and she didn't refuse it. The poor child was so frightened!
+She thanked me a hundred times more than I deserved; and since then, I'm
+not sure, but it seems to me that she's more friendly with me."
+
+"Well done, Ballangier! that incident ought surely to have helped on
+your prospects. You have rendered Mignonne a great service, and she is
+grateful."
+
+"A great thing that was! to punch an impertinent blackguard's head!
+Anybody would do as much for a poor little woman who's being
+insulted--unless he has no blood in his veins! How is it with you,
+Charles, are you all right? Have you left the country for good?"
+
+"I don't know; that depends. Look you, my friend, I too am in love, and
+I don't know yet whether my love is returned."
+
+"Oho! Do you mean it? you are in love, too? Oh! she'll love you, I'll
+answer for that; it is impossible for anyone not to love you!"
+
+"God grant it! Meanwhile, I will admit that I haven't dined; and as it's
+the fashion in our day for lovers to dine, because dieting would not
+advance their affairs, I propose to regale myself. Have you dined?"
+
+"Oh! long ago. I came here to wait for Mignonne, but she must have gone
+away earlier than usual."
+
+I was in a hurry to dine, because I intended to go immediately after to
+Madame Dauberny's; as she had returned only a few hours ahead of me, it
+was impossible that she should not be at home.
+
+Ballangier went out with me; he would have left me when we reached the
+street, but I asked him to walk with me as far as the boulevard; and on
+the way I learned with pleasure that his conduct was still all that
+could be desired, that his love did not cause him to neglect his work,
+and that he had become one of his employer's head workmen.
+
+We had almost reached the boulevard, when, as we passed a brightly
+lighted shop, Ballangier started back, touched my arm, and said,
+pointing to a man who had just passed us:
+
+"There he is! That's the man! He didn't see me, but I recognized him."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"The man I thrashed so soundly for taking liberties with Mignonne."
+
+I looked at the person whom Ballangier pointed out to me; his figure
+impressed me, it reminded me of someone. I ran back and overtook him,
+then turned about and faced him. I was not mistaken: it was Monsieur
+Dauberny.
+
+I do not know whether he recognized me. He must have been surprised by
+the way I stared at him; but he simply frowned and went his way,
+quickening his pace. I let him go, and returned to Ballangier, who had
+stopped and was waiting for me a few steps away.
+
+"Well, Charles, you wanted to see that man; you succeeded, didn't you?"
+
+"Yes, and I recognized him perfectly."
+
+"Recognized? The deuce! do you know the old reprobate?"
+
+"Ah! if he were no worse than that! But he's an infernal villain! You
+did well, I assure you, to deliver Mignonne from his persecutions. Poor
+girl! If you knew of what that man is capable!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Continue to watch. The sight of that man makes me tremble for her! But
+the day of reckoning must come some time!"
+
+"Explain yourself! Do you want me to run after the fellow and arrest
+him?"
+
+"No, no! that's not the way I must deal with him. But we will watch him,
+and an opportunity will soon come--with that man they must come
+frequently--and then----"
+
+"Then we will annihilate him, won't we?"
+
+"Au revoir, Ballangier! I must dine. But, I repeat, watch over Mignonne
+more carefully than ever."
+
+"Oh! you have no need to urge that on me."
+
+I entered a restaurant, dined in hot haste, and went to Madame
+Dauberny's house.
+
+"Madame is not in," said the concierge.
+
+"You mean that she is not receiving, for she must be at home; did she
+not return from the country to-day?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; madame returned to-day. But I assure you that she went
+out this evening, not very long ago; and I believe I heard someone say
+that she was going to the Opera."
+
+"To the Opera?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; Mamzelle Adele told us that her mistress was going to
+the Opera."
+
+I was determined to find her. If I allowed that evening to pass without
+having an explanation with her, she would be quite capable of leaving
+Paris on the morrow; she would escape me again, and for a long time
+perhaps. I decided to go to the Opera. Frederique was not one of those
+women who are afraid to go to the theatre alone; more than once I had
+heard her say:
+
+"Why do I need a companion? When the fancy takes me to go to the
+theatre, I send and hire a box, and I go. In my box, I am alone, I am at
+home, and no one has the right to come there to annoy me."
+
+I arrived at the Opera; I went into the orchestra and stood at the
+entrance, from which I examined one side of the auditorium. I did not
+see Frederique. I walked to the other side of the orchestra; there was a
+large audience, and several men were already standing at that entrance.
+I slipped in behind them and began my inspection. That time my search
+was short: I saw her, alone, in a _baignoire_, leaning back a little.
+Was she listening attentively to the performance, or was she absorbed by
+her thoughts? Before joining her, I gave myself the pleasure of gazing
+at her for several minutes.
+
+Suddenly one of the men in front of me began to speak, so loudly that I
+did not lose a single word; indeed, I was speedily convinced that he
+intended that I should hear.
+
+"I say, do you see that lady yonder, in one of the _baignoires_--all
+alone in her box?"
+
+"In a pearl-gray dress, with black hair, and long cork-screw curls?"
+
+"Exactly. What do you think of her?"
+
+"Not bad--a Spanish type of face; but a little pale."
+
+"Perhaps that may be grief at losing me."
+
+"Oho! is she----?"
+
+"Yes, my dear fellow, she's an old flame of mine; she's still a----"
+
+I did not allow Saint-Bergame to complete his sentence; if I had not
+recognized his voice, I should have guessed his identity from his
+language. I grasped his arm, and said to him in an undertone:
+
+"Monsieur, the man who has been a woman's lover and tells of it is a
+conceited ass; the man who insults her in public is a coward!"
+
+Saint-Bergame turned, eyed me from head to foot with an insolent air,
+and rejoined in a loud voice:
+
+"Ah! you constitute yourself that lady's champion, do you? To be sure,
+it's your turn now."
+
+I could not contain my wrath; I struck him in the face. Saint-Bergame
+tried to rush at me; but our quarrel had attracted general attention;
+someone threw himself between us, and I noticed then for the first time
+that Saint-Bergame's companion was Fouvenard.
+
+We left the hall; several persons tried to adjust our difficulty, but I
+satisfied them that their mediation was useless, and that we knew
+perfectly well how the affair must end. I joined Saint-Bergame, who,
+with Fouvenard, awaited me in a corner of the vestibule. The latter
+stared at me in amazement, murmuring:
+
+"What! is it you? What is this quarrel about?"
+
+"There are no explanations to be given, messieurs. At what hour
+to-morrow?"
+
+"At nine o'clock--no, ten o'clock, at Porte Maillot," said
+Saint-Bergame, who was trembling with anger. "I don't like to rise
+early. I shall have time enough to kill you."
+
+"Very good, monsieur! Your weapon?"
+
+"The sword."
+
+"That is all."
+
+"I shall have monsieur and another second with me."
+
+"It seems to me that monsieur would suffice."
+
+"You evidently do not fight often, monsieur, and are not familiar with
+the customs of duelling."
+
+I did not consider it necessary to reply to this new insult.
+
+"Very good; I will have two witnesses," I said, and walked away.
+
+I returned to the hall and was going toward Madame Dauberny's box, when
+a lady rushed up to me. It was Frederique. She took my arm and led me
+away, saying:
+
+"Come! let us go! let us go!"
+
+I followed her from the building. She almost made me run; she squeezed
+my arm convulsively; I spoke to her, and she did not reply; but she
+wept, and hid her face in her handkerchief. At last we arrived at her
+house. Then she threw herself into a chair and her sobs burst forth
+anew. I knelt at her feet; I took her hand and begged her to tell me the
+cause of her grief.
+
+"The cause? the cause? You ask me that when you are to fight
+to-morrow--for me?"
+
+"I am to fight?"
+
+"Oh! no falsehoods! I recognized you at the entrance to the orchestra.
+You struck Saint-Bergame."
+
+"Yes, for he insulted you."
+
+She took my head in her hands and kissed me again and again, crying:
+
+"Ah! that was well done! Thanks, my friend! I expected nothing less from
+you."
+
+"Well! in that case, why these tears, this grief, when I am going to
+punish a man who had insulted you once before? I found this evening an
+opportunity that I have been looking for ever since our drive in the
+Bois de Boulogne."
+
+"Oh! of course, this duel would be an everyday affair, if---- Mon Dieu!
+it is my fault! always my fault! Why did I leave the country? why did I
+come back to Paris? All this would not have happened, if I had stayed at
+Fontenay. But you, my friend--why did you come back--why did you follow
+me? Why didn't you stay with that woman whom you love--and who has no
+idea of spurning you now?"
+
+"You are all astray, Frederique: it was to stay with the woman I love
+that I returned to Paris; it was to be with her that I followed you; for
+the woman I love--not with friendship, but with love--the most sincere,
+the most passionate love--with a love that will end only with my
+life--is you--you! Yes! though you banish me from your presence again, I
+can no longer content myself with the title of friend, beneath which I
+have with difficulty concealed all that I felt for you!"
+
+"He loves me! he loves me!" murmured Frederique, gazing at me with an
+expression of the purest ecstasy in her lovely eyes. Then, giving way to
+her emotion, lacking strength to say more, she fell into my arms. I will
+not try to describe my bliss. One cannot describe what one feels so
+keenly.
+
+When we had recovered the faculty of speech, Frederique said to me, with
+her head resting on my shoulder:
+
+"The least that I can do is to reveal all my secrets to you now; there
+must be no more secrets between us. I felt drawn toward you the first
+moment that I knew you. There are, I have no question, certain bonds of
+sympathy which we cannot understand, but which draw us toward those whom
+we are destined to love. But at that time you were engrossed by
+Armantine. Remember that I refused to allow you to call on me. I had no
+idea that you would fall in love with me, but I felt that your presence
+would be dangerous to me. I saw you again at Armantine's, depressed and
+disheartened by her coquetry; I determined to console you by offering
+you my friendship; I was acting in perfect good faith then, I proposed
+to be your friend and nothing more--when that kiss that you gave me
+while I was pretending to doze, that kiss which set my whole being on
+fire, proved to me that I had other sentiments for you than those of a
+friend. But you loved Armantine; I did not choose to be simply a passing
+caprice to you, so it was necessary to break off our relations
+altogether. And that is what I did, without ceasing for an instant to
+think of you. Later, I learned what Monsieur Sordeville was, and I lost
+no time in urging you not to go again to his house; you did not follow
+my advice, being still in love with Armantine.--Then came the scene on
+the Champs-Elysees; I had had nothing to do with bringing it about; but
+I am too honest not to confess that her treatment of you gave me some
+little hope. We met again, and again I offered you my friendship; but I
+had much difficulty in concealing the true state of my heart. Your
+liaison with Rosette made me unhappy, but I soon realized that it was
+not love. When I saw that other attractive and interesting young woman
+in your rooms, fresh torments assailed me, and I was very happy when you
+consented to go away from Mignonne. Finally, at Fontenay my secret was
+at my tongue's end every day; for I fancied that your eyes expressed
+something different from friendship. Then we fell in with Armantine
+again, and she recommenced her coquetries with you. Ah! that was too
+much! I no longer had the strength to carry on the struggle; I came
+away, fully determined to part from you forever. But you would not have
+it so; it is I whom you love. Ah! my friend, my bliss at this moment
+more than makes up for all the torture I have endured!"
+
+For more than an hour we abandoned ourselves to the ecstatic joy of two
+hearts which for the first time have declared their mutual love. But
+suddenly Frederique's brow darkened, and she looked sadly into my face,
+crying:
+
+"Mon Dieu! my happiness has made me forget. It is not a dream--you are
+to fight to-morrow!"
+
+"Yes, I am to fight to-morrow, at ten o'clock. But that fact cannot
+prevent my being the happiest of men to-night."
+
+"Is there no way of enjoying perfect happiness on earth? I was so happy,
+so happy! And you are to fight to-morrow!"
+
+"I shall be the victor, and I shall have avenged you! My happiness will
+be even greater--if that is possible!"
+
+"Oh! yes, yes, we must hope so! With what weapons do you fight?"
+
+"Swords."
+
+"Ah! Saint-Bergame chose that weapon, of course. I have often heard him
+boast of his fine swordsmanship."
+
+"I struck him, so he had the choice of weapons."
+
+"True; but are you a good fencer?"
+
+"I know how to defend myself."
+
+"We will see about that."
+
+She left me and went into her dressing-room, whence she soon returned
+with a pair of buttoned foils and handed one to me.
+
+"Let us see, my friend, if you really know how to defend yourself," she
+said.
+
+"What! can you handle a sword?"
+
+"Very well, according to Grisier, who was my teacher. Didn't I tell you
+that I received a man's education? Come, monsieur, on guard, and look
+out for yourself!"
+
+I took the foil. I thought, at first, that all I needed to do was to
+parry carelessly a thrust or two. But Frederique soon undeceived me; she
+was sharp and persistent in attack, quick in parrying. Twice I was
+touched, and she exclaimed:
+
+"Ah! so that's how you defend yourself, is it? Why, poor fellow, you
+will let him kill you! Attack--attack, I say!"
+
+These words recalled me to myself; my self-esteem was aroused. We
+continued for some time, and at last I touched her. She dropped her foil
+and embraced me, saying:
+
+"That's all right! that will do! But you must be careful; you must not
+be taken unawares. Whom shall you have with you to-morrow?"
+
+"You remind me. I shall get Balloquet. I can rely upon him, and I must
+go this evening and leave a letter for him. But I must have another
+second. Those fellows insist on having three on a side. Whom in the
+devil shall I get?"
+
+"Don't cudgel your brains, my friend. Your other second will be at your
+rooms at nine o'clock to-morrow."
+
+"Do you know of someone?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Ah! I'll wager that you are thinking of Baron von Brunzbrack?"
+
+"Perhaps so. However, I'll be responsible for your second. Now, write to
+Balloquet at once. Do you know the long-bearded individual who was with
+Saint-Bergame?"
+
+"Oh! yes, I know him! And if I could fight with him too, it would be an
+additional gratification."
+
+"Why, what has he done to you?"
+
+"Nothing to me. But I told you, did I not, that Mignonne was vilely
+insulted and then abandoned by her seducer? Well, it was that dastard,
+that low-lived scoundrel, that Fouvenard, in short, who was with
+Saint-Bergame at the Opera this evening."
+
+"Go, my friend, and carry the note to Balloquet; make sure of him, and I
+will answer for the other second. Then go home and rest. Until
+to-morrow!"
+
+"You will come to my rooms to learn the result of the duel?"
+
+"Yes, you will see me. Until to-morrow!"
+
+I pressed her to my heart. I was proud of her courage. She continued to
+smile as she looked after me. I found Balloquet's abode, not without
+difficulty, gave my letter to the concierge, and went home to bed. She
+loved me! I was so happy, that I had not a thought to spare for my
+duel.
+
+
+
+
+XLIX
+
+A DOUBLE DUEL
+
+
+I woke early. It seemed to me that the events of the preceding night
+were a dream. But, no--she loved me, she was mine, and I was to fight a
+duel!
+
+At half-past eight, Balloquet arrived, all out of breath.
+
+"What's up, my dear Rochebrune?" he cried. "You wrote me not to fail
+you, to drop everything--and here I am! Is there a duel on the carpet,
+by any chance?"
+
+"Just that! I have a duel on hand for this morning, at ten o'clock, at
+Porte Maillot. I tell you beforehand, my dear Balloquet, that the affair
+cannot be adjusted; I struck my opponent at the Opera last night."
+
+"The devil! it's a serious business, then. What caused the quarrel?"
+
+"It is about a lady, my friend."
+
+"A lady! I understand! that is to say, it's for her lovely eyes."
+
+"If I should tell you her name, I'll be bound that you also would fight
+for her."
+
+"Oho! do I know her, pray?"
+
+"Madame Dauberny."
+
+"Madame Dauberny! _Fichtre!_ But, tell me, are you in love with her
+now?"
+
+"I have always been, my dear Balloquet; but I dared not confess it to
+myself, or tell her, for fear I should be repulsed."
+
+"Like me! But it would seem that you haven't been repulsed. I was in
+love with her for a moment, after a good dinner. She sent me about my
+business, and I haven't given her a thought for a long time. But I am
+none the less enchanted that you have chosen me for your second. She's a
+charming woman, and, although she didn't listen to my nonsense, 'pon my
+honor! I'd be very glad to fight for her."
+
+"Give me your hand, Balloquet. I expected nothing less from you."
+
+"What is the weapon?"
+
+"The sword."
+
+"Have you one?"
+
+"Yes; here it is."
+
+"Are there to be only we two?"
+
+"I am expecting my other second."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"Frederique has undertaken to send him to me. I fancy that it will be a
+certain Prussian baron, an excellent and honorable man."
+
+I had finished dressing just as the clock struck nine. I was already
+beginning to fret over the baron's non-appearance, when my door opened
+and a slender, graceful young man, of most attractive aspect, stood
+before us. I looked at him several times, before I exclaimed:
+
+"Frederique!"
+
+"Myself, my friend."
+
+"What's that? Why, yes, on my word, it's Madame Dauberny!"
+
+"Why are you in this disguise?"
+
+"What! can't you guess? I am your other second."
+
+"You! Can you think of such a thing, Frederique?"
+
+"I thought of it instantly, when I knew that you were going to fight for
+me."
+
+"But it's impossible! A woman cannot act as second. I cannot consent to
+it.--Isn't that so, Balloquet?"
+
+"It certainly isn't customary, and----"
+
+"Listen, messieurs: I have but one reply to make--I propose to do it! If
+you don't take me with you, I will follow you and be there, all the
+same. All argument is useless. I propose to be your second."
+
+"But my adversary's seconds will laugh when they see a woman."
+
+"Never fear, they won't laugh long. But let us go, messieurs; we must
+not keep them waiting. I have a cab below."
+
+I saw that it was useless for me to try to change Frederique's
+resolution. We started. I took my sword; but I found a pair of foils
+without buttons in the cab. Frederique had thought of everything. We
+talked little on the way. However brave we may be, we are always
+assailed by a multitude of reflections when about to fight a duel.
+
+We reached the rendezvous. Saint-Bergame was already there, with
+Fouvenard and a little man who did not seem to enjoy the occasion at
+all. I went forward first, apologizing for my delay. Balloquet was
+behind me, and Frederique a little farther back.
+
+Saint-Bergame simply bowed and walked away, saying:
+
+"Let us look for a suitable spot."
+
+The little man suggested that we might fight behind the restaurant.
+
+Fouvenard recognized Balloquet, and they exchanged a formal bow. We went
+into the woods, and in a few moments came to a small cleared space. I
+removed my coat, and Saint-Bergame did the same. Then Frederique came
+forward with the foils, and my opponent at once exclaimed:
+
+"What is this? Is Madame Dauberny one of your seconds?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur," replied Frederique, with dignity; "for if Charles and
+his friend do not avenge me, then I will avenge myself."
+
+Saint-Bergame indulged in mocking laughter, and Monsieur Fouvenard
+deemed it fitting to join him.
+
+"Ha! ha!" he said; "a woman for second! Why, this is charming! I would
+be glad to cross swords with the lady myself."
+
+"Well! so you shall, if you're not a coward," retorted Frederique,
+offering him one of her foils.
+
+He was still pleased to jest and draw back, saying:
+
+"Nonsense! I would with pleasure, if it were a fan; but a foil--my dear
+lady, you wouldn't know how to handle that!"
+
+"Indeed! I shouldn't know how to handle it?"
+
+As she spoke, Frederique laid her foil across Fouvenard's face, leaving
+a red mark which seemed to cut it in two. The bearded man flew into a
+rage; he seized the weapon she offered him, exclaiming:
+
+"I no longer recognize your sex, and I will not spare you."
+
+"And I will avenge my sex, and poor Mignonne!"
+
+At the name of Mignonne, Fouvenard turned pale; but he prepared for the
+combat. Balloquet proposed to the little man that they should imitate
+us; he declined, saying that he considered it ridiculous for seconds to
+fight.
+
+When I saw Frederique cross swords with Fouvenard, I shuddered; I
+trembled for her safety.
+
+"Come on, monsieur," said Saint-Bergame; "I didn't come here to admire
+madame's prowess; on guard!"
+
+His words recalled me to myself. We began to fight. Saint-Bergame
+attacked me with violence. While defending myself, I listened to the
+other combatants. I fancied that Fouvenard uttered a cry of triumph. My
+adversary made the most of my distraction; I received a thrust which
+passed through the upper part of my left arm. That wound irritated,
+exasperated me; I attacked Saint-Bergame fiercely, and he soon fell at
+my feet; my sword had entered his breast.
+
+I turned and looked for Frederique. She had not been fighting for some
+time; in a few seconds, she had knocked Fouvenard's sword from his hand
+and wounded him in the side. He fell on the turf, and although his wound
+was trifling he had declined to fight any more.
+
+The little man went to call one of the cabs. Balloquet assisted in
+placing Saint-Bergame inside, and he was so seriously wounded that the
+young doctor thought it best to accompany him and his seconds. I
+returned to Paris alone with Frederique, who twisted a handkerchief
+round my arm and begged Balloquet to come to us as soon as possible.
+
+In the cab, she put her arm around my neck, and insisted that I should
+rest my head on her shoulder. She gazed at me, gazed at me incessantly.
+Dear Frederique! it seemed to me that we loved each other all the more
+dearly from having just escaped a great danger.
+
+When we reached my lodgings, we found no one there but Pomponne, who
+wept when he saw that I was wounded. I had much difficulty in making him
+understand that it amounted to nothing. I lay on a couch; Frederique
+seated herself beside me and made lint, expressing surprise at
+Mignonne's absence; for she relied upon her to nurse me zealously when
+she should be obliged to leave me. In about three-quarters of an hour
+Balloquet arrived.
+
+"Monsieur Saint-Bergame is in for a long siege," he said, "if he escapes
+at all. He has his own surgeon, so I left him. As for Fouvenard, he will
+be all right in a fortnight; but what irritates him most is that blow
+across the face with the flat of the foil. That was so well laid on,
+that it is probable that our seducer will carry the mark of it all his
+life. _Fichtre!_ madame, there's some strength in your hand!"
+
+"Now, Monsieur Balloquet, please examine Charles."
+
+Balloquet looked at my wound and dressed it, declared that there was not
+the slightest danger to be apprehended, but that it would be as well for
+me to keep my bed for a few days. I was about to obey my doctor, albeit
+with regret, when the doorbell rang violently. I supposed that it was
+Mignonne; but Ballangier appeared, pale as death and so excited that he
+could hardly speak.
+
+"In heaven's name, what's the matter?" I asked; "what has happened?"
+
+"Ah! a terrible misfortune, a---- Mon Dieu! are you wounded?"
+
+"It's almost nothing. Pray go on."
+
+"You urged me yesterday to watch over Mignonne. When I left you, as I
+was still disturbed by what you had said, I walked in the direction of
+her home. When I reached Rue Menilmontant, although I was persuaded that
+Mignonne had not gone out, as she had not been at your rooms at all that
+day, something impelled me to go and ask the concierge. 'Madame
+Landernoy isn't in,' she said; 'she went out this morning to go and work
+at Monsieur Rochebrune's, on Rue Bleue, as usual.'--I knew that she
+hadn't been here, so you can imagine my anxiety. I told that to the
+concierge. She shared my uneasiness. We waited. The evening passed, and
+the night, and Mignonne did not return. This morning I went to
+Pere-Lachaise, where Mignonne often goes to visit her little girl's
+grave. I inquired there. The gate-keeper said that he did see her
+yesterday morning; he knows her well, she has such a gentle, courteous
+way! After passing half an hour, as usual, at her daughter's grave, she
+went away--to come here, no doubt. But since then she hasn't been seen."
+
+"Mon Dieu!" cried Frederique; "what can have happened to her?"
+
+"What has happened to her!" cried Ballangier, clenching his fists
+frantically; "ah! I suspect, and so does Charles! There's a man--a vile
+scoundrel--who looks respectable, unfortunately; he's been watching
+Mignonne a long while. I thrashed him some time ago, but it seems that
+that didn't sicken him. I ought to have killed him then and there! When
+you come away from Pere-Lachaise toward Paris, there are some deserted
+streets, nothing more than alleyways, where you don't meet anyone even
+in broad daylight. We don't know which streets Mignonne usually took,
+but he knew, no doubt; he must have been on the watch for her and
+abducted her, forced her into a cab. Here in Paris, with a little money
+one can always find a hundred vagabonds, miserable wretches, who are
+ready to do any rascally thing. It must be the man we met last night who
+has carried Mignonne off--it can't be anyone else; and you remember,
+Charles, when I pointed him out to you, how he was sneaking along,
+looking furtively on all sides, as if to see whether anyone was
+following him. And when he saw that you were looking at him, he scuttled
+away fast Oh! to think that if I had followed him then, I should know
+where Mignonne is! For he was going to her, I am sure of it! But you
+know the man, Charles; you told me last night that you knew him; you
+said: 'The day of reckoning must come some time.'--So tell me who he is,
+tell me where I can find him and kill him if he doesn't give Mignonne
+back to me!"
+
+Frederique and Balloquet gazed anxiously at me. Should I name that man?
+name him before her? Why should I spare the monster? Why should not his
+wife, as well as I, have the right to despise him utterly?
+
+"The man who was watching Mignonne," I said, at last, "was your husband,
+Frederique; it was Monsieur Dauberny."
+
+Ballangier was stupefied. Balloquet was no less surprised. Frederique,
+on the contrary, simply nodded her head, muttering: "I suspected as
+much!"--Then she said:
+
+"But it isn't enough to be convinced, to know that it was he? How are we
+to prove it? How can we discover in what place, in what out-of-the-way
+corner of Paris, he has concealed Mignonne? If you should ask him, he
+would deny having had any hand in the young woman's disappearance."
+
+"Just let me find your husband," I said; "tell me where I can see him
+and speak to him, and I am sure that he will deny nothing to me."
+
+Frederique looked at me in surprise; then she rose hurriedly, saying:
+
+"I will go home at once; my presence will not rouse his suspicions. I
+will find out what he did yesterday and to-day; I will find out whether
+he is at home. If he is, I will send word to you instantly; and to
+prevent his going out, I will go to his apartment, I will ask for an
+interview on business--in short, I will keep him at home."
+
+She said no more, but left the room at once. Then I said to Balloquet:
+
+"You remember Annette--and that Bouqueton?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Well?"
+
+"Well, that Bouqueton was Monsieur Dauberny."
+
+"What! the villain who----"
+
+I put my finger on my lips and pointed to Ballangier, who was sitting
+with his head in his hands; it would have been cruel to add to his
+suffering. Balloquet understood me; but he could not sit still; he paced
+the floor excitedly, muttering:
+
+"Ah! mon Dieu! but, in that case, we must make haste; we mustn't lose an
+instant! Poor young woman! Oh! it is ghastly to know that she is with
+him!"
+
+We counted the seconds. Ballangier went again and again to the window.
+At last he cried:
+
+"Here she is; she's coming back!"
+
+"What a pity!" said Balloquet; "that means that her husband isn't at
+home."
+
+Frederique entered and dropped into a chair, exhausted and gasping for
+breath.
+
+"Monsieur Dauberny isn't at home," she said; "but he passed the night
+there."
+
+"He passed the night at home?" cried Ballangier.
+
+"Yes; the concierge is certain of it; he saw him go in last evening,
+before dark, quite early in fact, and he is perfectly positive that he
+didn't go out again."
+
+"His meeting with us must have made him uneasy," said I; "if he was
+going to where he is detaining Mignonne, he was afraid of being watched
+and followed; so he probably went home."
+
+"That is probable. But he went out early this morning, saying that he
+was going to pass some time in the country, and might be away three
+weeks. Where shall we look for him? Where can we hope to find him now?"
+
+We were in despair. Ballangier, who was in a most desperate frame of
+mind, was still ignorant of all that Balloquet and I feared for
+Mignonne, who, I was sure, would not yield to Monsieur Dauberny's
+desires.
+
+For a long while we were silent, each cudgelling his brains to think how
+we could find Monsieur Dauberny's trail. Suddenly Frederique cried:
+
+"Ah! there is one hope!"
+
+We all looked anxiously at her.
+
+"During that trip of Monsieur Dauberny's, some time ago, one of his
+intimate friends, Monsieur Faisande, came often to inquire for him. One
+day, he found only Adele at home, and he said to her: 'If Dauberny
+returns soon, tell him to come at once to Monsieur Saint-Germain's, at
+Montmartre--a small house, with a green door, on the left-hand side of
+the square.'"
+
+"At Montmartre!" cried Ballangier; "he was going in that direction last
+night."
+
+I rose and held out my arm to Balloquet, telling him to bind it up with
+a handkerchief.
+
+"Come, messieurs, come," I cried; "this is a dispensation of Providence,
+let us not lose a minute!--You cannot go with us, Frederique, but you
+will soon see us again, and something tells me that we shall bring
+Mignonne back with us."
+
+Ballangier threw his arms about my neck and kissed me. Frederique bound
+up my arm, whispering:
+
+"You are wounded, and you are going out--when you need rest!"
+
+"Oh! if my recovery is a little slower, that makes no difference. I want
+all those whom I love to be as happy as I am!"
+
+"You are right, my friend. Go, but remember that I am waiting for you."
+
+I took from my desk the ring that came from poor Annette; on it I rested
+all my hopes. I pressed Frederique's hand, and we started. We took the
+first cab we saw, and I said to the driver:
+
+"Montmartre, the public square. Take us there quickly, and you shall
+have five francs an hour."
+
+We went like the wind, but the road seemed very long. At last we reached
+the square. I told the cabman to stop, and we all three alighted and
+turned to the left.
+
+"That must be the place!" cried Ballangier, pointing to a small house of
+poor aspect, with a narrow green door.
+
+"Stay in the square," I said to him, "and keep your eye on the house. If
+anyone comes out, run after him. You and I, Balloquet, will go in."
+
+I knocked at the little green door; it was opened and we entered a
+narrow passageway, at the end of which was a small yard. A
+shrewish-looking woman, who was sitting in a dark corner, called out to
+us:
+
+"Who do you want?"
+
+"Monsieur Saint-Germain."
+
+"He ain't in; he went away this morning, and won't be back to-day."
+
+"Monsieur Bouqueton must be here, then, and what we have to say to his
+friend Saint-Germain, we can say to him just as well."
+
+The woman looked at us distrustfully, then said:
+
+"Yes, Monsieur Bouqueton's here--since this morning. Wait, while I go
+and call him. Go into that room; I'll tell him some friends of Monsieur
+Saint-Germain want to see him."
+
+We entered a room on the ground floor, taking care not to go near the
+window, so that we might not be seen from outside.
+
+After a few minutes, we heard heavy steps coming downstairs; they
+stopped at the door of the room in which we were, and Monsieur Dauberny
+appeared.
+
+He gazed at us for several seconds in amazement; but, on scrutinizing me
+more closely, he seemed disturbed. However, he tried to recover himself,
+and said:
+
+"What can I do for you, messieurs?"
+
+"We have come in search of Mignonne Landernoy, a young woman whom you
+caused to be kidnapped yesterday morning as she was coming away from
+Pere-Lachaise."
+
+Dauberny could not control a sudden start; but he affected an air of
+tranquillity, and replied:
+
+"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, monsieur. I suppose that you
+mistake me for somebody else."
+
+"No, I know you quite well. Search your memory. You saw me once at your
+house in Paris; you are Monsieur Dauberny; Bouqueton is the name you
+assume in your love intrigues! I know you perfectly, monsieur, as you
+see!"
+
+Frederique's husband looked at me for some instants, then assumed a
+mocking expression, and rejoined:
+
+"And you are my wife's lover--the man who lives with her at
+Fontenay-sous-Bois. You see that I know you too."
+
+"If your wife has a liaison in which her heart is engaged, monsieur,
+your abominable conduct makes her only too excusable."
+
+"Monsieur!"
+
+"Let us have done with this! Where is Mignonne? Give that young woman up
+to us; we will not leave this house without her."
+
+"I don't know what you mean, and I order you to leave the house."
+
+Instead of complying, Balloquet and I walked up to Monsieur Dauberny,
+and I held before his eyes the hand in which was Annette's ring.
+
+"What about this--do you know what this means?" I said.
+
+At sight of the ring, Dauberny turned a greenish white and fell into a
+chair. Balloquet seized his arm.
+
+"It was I," he said, "who attended the unhappy Annette, the woman you
+murdered! She is dead; but I received her full confidence, and we are
+familiar with your crime to its smallest details."
+
+Dauberny could not speak. Great drops of sweat rolled down his forehead;
+he took a key from his bosom and held it out to us with a trembling
+hand, stammering almost inaudibly:
+
+"On the second floor. Mignonne is on the second floor."
+
+I motioned to Balloquet to stay with Dauberny, while I flew upstairs to
+the second floor. I found two doors; the one at the rear was locked. I
+opened it and found Mignonne on her knees, praying, in a corner of the
+room. When she heard the door open, she gave a shriek and ran toward the
+window; but I called her by name; she recognized my voice, and fell
+unconscious to the floor. Poor girl! joy sometimes kills. I took her in
+my arms and carried her downstairs. The air revived her; when we reached
+the yard, she opened her eyes and smiled at me.
+
+"You have saved me again!" she cried.
+
+Balloquet heard our voices and joined us. I told him to take Mignonne to
+the cab; then I returned to Dauberny, who was still in the lower room,
+pale and trembling, like a criminal awaiting his doom.
+
+"Monsieur," said I, "we will hold our peace concerning your crime; but
+you must go away, leave France, and never let your wife see you again."
+
+He motioned that he would obey me, and I made haste to join my friends.
+
+Ballangier was like one mad with joy; he seized Mignonne's hands and
+kissed them, and I made haste to tell the young woman that but for
+Ballangier we should have known absolutely nothing of her abduction, and
+that he was her savior.
+
+Thereupon she gave Ballangier her hand.
+
+"Poor boy!" she said.
+
+She told us that the night before, in a narrow, lonely street, two men,
+who doubtless were watching for her, had suddenly seized her and taken
+her to a cab which was waiting a few yards away. To prevent her crying
+out, one of them held a handkerchief over her mouth; but that precaution
+was unnecessary in the carriage, as terror had deprived her of the use
+of her senses.
+
+On recovering consciousness, she found herself in the little house at
+Montmartre. A man, whom from her description I identified as Faisande,
+was with her, and tried to allay her fears.
+
+"You will see my friend Bouqueton to-night," he said. "You will come to
+an understanding with him, for he's a good fellow; he seems to be in
+love with you."
+
+Mignonne threw herself at his feet, imploring him to set her free. He
+contented himself with locking her in a room, where the shockingly ugly
+old hag brought her food. The evening passed, and no one came. Mignonne
+did not close her eyes during the night. At last, about eight in the
+morning, another man, whom she recognized as the one who had insulted
+her on the street, appeared before her and informed her that she must be
+his mistress. Mignonne repulsed him with horror, and he left her,
+saying:
+
+"Weep, shriek--it will do no good; you will be much wiser to make the
+best of it; we will dine together this evening, and I will pass the
+night with you."
+
+Mignonne, alone once more, had determined to die rather than yield to
+that man; having no weapon, she had resolved to jump out of the window
+when he returned to her room. Then she prayed--and it was at that moment
+that I arrived. It was time.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At last we were at my rooms once more. Frederique was awaiting us; she
+embraced Mignonne, then insisted that I should tell her all. I had not
+the strength to speak. The intensely exciting scenes that I had passed
+through had inflamed my wound; I was in terrible pain, and I swooned.
+
+
+
+
+L
+
+A PRESENTATION
+
+
+It seems that I was ill a week; my wound threw me into a fever; then, I
+was delirious, and a scratch that should have amounted to nothing became
+a serious matter as a result of the events following my duel.
+
+But I became convalescent at last, I was restored to health and
+happiness; for Frederique was there, beside my bed, watching for my
+first glance. Tears fell from her eyes when I held out my hand to her.
+
+"Saved!" she cried; "saved! Ah! Balloquet was right when he said that
+you were cured; but I dared not believe him!"
+
+I saw two other persons stealing softly toward the bed; they were
+Mignonne and Ballangier. I shook their hands; I tried to thank them; but
+Frederique begged me not to speak yet. I could smile at them, and that
+was something.
+
+Madame Dauberny had learned from Balloquet how we had succeeded in
+rescuing Mignonne. He had not concealed from her that Monsieur Bouqueton
+was poor Annette's murderer. Frederique had taken an oath never again to
+live under the same roof with that man. For my part, I did not believe
+that he would ever venture to reappear in society.
+
+Health returns quickly when the heart is at peace. A few days later, I
+was walking on the boulevards, leaning on Frederique's arm.
+
+"My dear," she said, "Balloquet insists that the country air will
+complete your cure. To-morrow, if you feel strong enough to endure the
+journey, we will go to Fontenay and pass the rest of the season there."
+
+"To Fontenay?" I said, looking her in the face. "Why, aren't you afraid
+of meeting people there whose presence annoys you?"
+
+"Oh, no, no!" she said, fixing her lovely eyes on mine; "I am not afraid
+of anything now, for I am sure of your love."
+
+The next day, we went to Fontenay, and Frederique absolutely insisted
+upon taking Mignonne with us; she had become very fond of her; to be
+sure, Mignonne was much more amiable to Ballangier.
+
+Mignonne lived in the pavilion which I had previously occupied, and I
+was under the same roof with Frederique; a convalescent requires so much
+attention!
+
+Armantine came to see us soon after our arrival. Frederique received her
+with vastly more cordiality than before, notwithstanding which, Madame
+Sordeville came much less frequently; women have a tact which enables
+them to divine instantly when they have lost the game beyond recall.
+
+I went to Paris and made inquiries about Ballangier; all that I learned
+was in his favor. I went to see him at his employer's, and invited him
+to dine at Fontenay on the next day but one. At first he declined what
+he called an honor; but I did not leave him until I had made him promise
+to come. The poor fellow asked nothing better, for I told him that he
+would see Mignonne.
+
+I invited Balloquet to come into the country on the same day. On my
+return to Fontenay, I told Frederique of the invitations I had ventured
+to extend without asking her permission; she closed my mouth by
+informing me that I need not ask her permission for anything. Then,
+after a moment's reflection, she said:
+
+"I too propose to invite some people for that day. Will it annoy you if
+I have other company?"
+
+"On the contrary, on that day it will give me great pleasure."
+
+The next day, I went to Paris again; I had various purchases to make of
+gifts which I had in mind. As I passed through Rue du Petit-Carreau, I
+noticed a sponge shop. I thought of Rosette and stopped. Someone called
+me; it was my pretty brunette, enthroned at the desk.
+
+"Are you afraid to come into my shop, monsieur?" asked Rosette, who was
+as lively and alluring as ever. "You were going by without deigning to
+say good-day to an old acquaintance."
+
+And she began to sing:
+
+    "'Eh quoi! vous ne dites rien!
+      Mon ami, ce n'est pas bien!
+      Jadis c'etait different,
+      Souvenez-vous-en!'"[B]
+
+"Still as merry as ever, Rosette?"
+
+"Faith, yes! sponges ain't such a dismal trade as I thought; and then,
+my husband's such a good fellow! He's like putty in my hands!"
+
+"You are happy, are you?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very happy. Are you sorry for that?"
+
+"On the contrary, I am very glad."
+
+"And your lovely friend--does she still pretend to be nothing but a
+friend?"
+
+"Faith, no! we are on better terms than that now; we were both mistaken
+in thinking that our feeling for each other was only friendship."
+
+"Bah! I saw what was coming a long way off! It was a long time coming,
+that love!"
+
+"Adieu, Rosette!"
+
+"You will give me your custom, I hope? Send me your doctor _a la rose_
+too, with or without his gloves."
+
+"I will send all my acquaintances to you."
+
+"Oh! I haven't told you--on Sundays, I have my seven aunts in the shop,
+and people come in just from curiosity; we make a lot of money that
+day."
+
+I left Rosette and returned to Fontenay. I showed Frederique all that I
+had bought for Mignonne; I proposed that the young woman should wear a
+costume which would enhance the charms of her person, and I suggested
+that Frederique should superintend her toilet. She approved all that I
+had done; I fancy that she also divined a great part of what I intended
+to do.
+
+The reception day came in due time. The Ramonet brothers and several
+other neighbors arrived before dinner. Armantine was among those
+invited. I was very glad of it; I should have regretted her not being
+there on that day. Balloquet soon appeared, and then our old friend the
+Baron von Brunzbrack, who wrung my hand with great force, saying:
+
+"I vould like to pe your frent no more, but I vas, all te same."
+
+"Why should you not be my friend, monsieur le baron?"
+
+"Because, ven she haf sent me a letter of invitation, Montame Dauberny,
+she haf told me dat she loafe you, but dat she offer to me her
+frentship."
+
+"Well, baron, isn't it something to be her friend?"
+
+"Ja, ja; but I vas right, ven I haf susbect dat you pe in loafe mit
+her."
+
+"You had second-sight, baron."
+
+Mignonne appeared at last, in a lovely costume, which became her to
+admiration, and which she seemed ashamed to wear. It was Frederique
+herself who led her into the salon; she blushed when she came in,
+although Frederique whispered to her:
+
+"Don't be afraid, Mignonne; the men admire you and the women envy you;
+that is the most delightful part that one can play in society."
+
+Madame Sordeville bit her lips when she saw Mignonne; that was a tacit
+homage to her charms.
+
+Everybody had arrived, except Ballangier. He came at last, dressed
+without pretension, but very suitably for the occasion.
+
+The whole company was assembled in the salon on the ground floor. I took
+Ballangier's hand and led him to Madame Dauberny, saying:
+
+"Pray permit me, madame, to present my brother."
+
+Everybody loudly expressed surprise, except Frederique, who whispered to
+me:
+
+"I knew it."
+
+But the one upon whom my words produced the greatest effect was
+Ballangier himself. He stood as if rooted to the floor, trembling like a
+leaf; tears gathered in his eyes, and he said under his breath:
+
+"O Charles! why tell it? there was no need."
+
+"No need to acknowledge you as my brother?" I said, raising my voice.
+"Oh! be sure that this is a very happy moment to me! If I did for a long
+time conceal the ties that united us, do you suppose that it was because
+our positions were different, because you were only a workman, while I,
+more favored by fortune, chose to be an artist, a poet, a financier? No,
+my dear fellow; I forbade you to call me your brother, when, led astray
+by vicious men, you lived a life of idleness, drunkenness, and
+debauchery. Yes, I blushed to be the brother of a lazy vagabond! But now
+that you have reformed, now that you possess the esteem of your fellow
+workmen and your employers, I am proud to call you my brother; for one
+should always be proud to be related to an honest man, whatever rank he
+may hold in society."
+
+Balloquet shook hands with me, saying:
+
+"What you said was very fine, Rochebrune!"
+
+The baron complimented me too, but I fancy that he did not understand.
+
+I continued, addressing Frederique:
+
+"Yes, madame, Ballangier is my brother; not on the father's side--our
+names are not the same--but on the mother's side. My mother was a widow
+with one son when she married Monsieur Rochebrune, my father.--And now,"
+I added, turning to Mignonne, "allow me to solicit your hand for my
+brother, who loves you sincerely and who will devote his life to making
+you happy."
+
+Mignonne timidly gave her hand to Ballangier, saying to me with her
+customary gentleness:
+
+"I shall be very happy to be your sister."
+
+While all this was taking place, Armantine cut a peculiar figure. She
+left us early in the evening. The next day, she left Fontenay.
+
+"How did you know that Ballangier was my brother?" I asked Frederique,
+when we were alone.
+
+"My dear, have you forgotten that day on the Champs-Elysees? The poor
+fellow was tipsy, and, while I was trying to quiet him, he involuntarily
+told me the secret, although I asked him no questions."
+
+A few days after that festivity, Frederique received a letter, which she
+read with evident emotion. Then she handed it to me, murmuring:
+
+"See, my dear! you began the work, and Providence has done the rest."
+
+The letter was from Zurich, Switzerland, and contained these words:
+
+     "MADAME:
+
+     "Monsieur Francois Dauberny, travelling for pleasure, met his death
+     three days ago on one of our glaciers. The sad event occurred, it
+     is said, while he was pursuing a young Swiss girl, who had refused
+     to listen to him. The papers found upon him give the information
+     that he was your husband."
+
+"Well!" said I, taking Frederique's hand; "nothing can part us
+henceforth!"
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRL WITH THREE PETTICOATS
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE DANGER OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
+
+
+At first glance, you will think that this is a paradox, you have so
+often heard it said that: "There is nothing so good as sleep"; or:
+"Sleep is so beneficial"; or: "Sleep is the greatest of restorers"; or:
+"He who sleeps, dines."--I ask your pardon for this last quotation. I am
+persuaded that you have never experienced its truth.
+
+To all this I might reply that the best things have their bad side, and
+that we must never abuse them. But I will content myself with simply
+giving you some figures; you are aware that there is nothing so
+convincing as figures.
+
+I take people who go to bed at midnight; many, it is true, go to bed
+much later; but as there are vast numbers who go to bed earlier, the
+balance is preserved. You retire at midnight, then, and you get up at
+eight in the morning; you have slept eight hours, or one-third of your
+day. Consequently, if you live sixty years, you will have devoted twenty
+years to sleep. Frankly, doesn't that seem to you too much? Ah! but I
+can hear you retort:
+
+"But, monsieur, one doesn't sleep all night without waking; I never have
+eight hours' sleep!"
+
+Very good; I agree. Instead of twenty years, then, I will charge you
+with only fifteen; is not even that a good deal of time wasted?
+
+"Sleep," says Montaigne, "stifles and suppresses the faculties of our
+mind."
+
+You will say: "Rest is indispensable to mankind"--and to womankind, too,
+the ladies are so charming when they are asleep!--That is true; but
+habit is everything in a man's life; with four hours' sleep a day, or a
+night, you might be in as robust health as AEsculapius. I love to believe
+that the god of medicine was in robust health; however, I will not take
+my oath to it. But, to reach that result, you must get into the habit of
+not sacrificing more than four hours to oblivion of your surroundings.
+Now, as you adopt a contrary course, the result is that the more you
+sleep, the more you feel the need of sleep, which, by deadening your
+faculties, thickens your blood, deprives you of a part of your normal
+activity, and sometimes makes your mind indolent--that is to say, if you
+have one; but I am sure that you have.
+
+Sleep has another great disadvantage; it tends to produce obesity; and
+you will agree that you do not wish to be obese. That is a burden with
+no corresponding benefit. In general, nothing ages a man so quickly as a
+big paunch. Find me a man who desires one; I am inclined to think that
+you would search in vain. On the other hand, you will find men by the
+hundred who do their utmost to compress and abolish what stomach they
+have; to that end, they often employ means which impede their
+respiration; they wear corsets, like women; there are some who even go
+so far as to refrain from satisfying their appetites, who do not eat as
+their stomach demands, always in the fear that that organ will protrude
+unduly.
+
+Alexander the Great, or the great Alexander--no, I think it better to
+say Alexander the Great, because he stands by himself, and great
+Alexanders are very numerous--Alexander the Great often desired, even
+when he was in bed, to resist the attacks of sleep, for fear that it
+would make him forget the plans and projects that he had in mind.
+Perhaps you will ask me why he went to bed, that being the case. He went
+to bed to rest, but not to sleep. To that end, he caused a large copper
+basin to be placed on the floor beside his bed; he kept his arm extended
+over the basin, and held in his hand a big copper ball. If sleep
+overcame him, his fingers would relax, and naturally the ball would drop
+and make such a splash when it struck the water that it woke him
+instantly.
+
+You have the right to do as Alexander the Great did, when you wish to
+avoid going to sleep; but perhaps you will find it rather tiresome to
+hold your arm over a basin, with a heavy copper ball in your hand. I
+admit that one must needs be Alexander the Great, or Alexander Dumas, to
+do such things.
+
+There are other ways of keeping awake: sleep rarely assails you when you
+are enjoying yourself; therefore, you need only enjoy yourself, but that
+is not always so easy as one might think.
+
+A gentleman, whom I will call Dupont, with your permission, and who
+lived in the pretty little town of Brives-la-Gaillarde, had the
+unfortunate habit of sleeping too much. He was married, but it seems
+that that fact did not amuse him enough; there are some men who are
+capable of hinting that it was more likely to increase his infirmity.
+
+This much is certain: that Madame Dupont herself often said to her
+husband:
+
+"You sleep a great deal too much, monsieur; it's perfectly ridiculous!
+You're only forty years old; what in heaven's name will you do when
+you're fifty? You fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow,
+and don't wake up during the night; in the morning, I can hardly make
+you open your eyes. You're not a man any longer, you're a marmot. Let me
+tell you that when I married you I didn't think I was marrying a marmot!
+But never mind about me; this sleeping all the time will be the death of
+you; you're getting to be terribly fat, and you'll soon have a stomach
+like Punchinello."
+
+Monsieur Dupont was impressed by his wife's harangue; perhaps he would
+not have cared so much about the resemblance to a marmot, but he was not
+anxious to have a stomach like Punchinello.
+
+He did not hesitate, but went at once to his physician and said to him:
+
+"Doctor, I sleep a great deal too much; my wife complains about it, and
+I feel myself that it's making me lazy. What must I do to sleep less?"
+
+The doctor, who was very fond of smoking, shook his head and rolled a
+cigarette, as he asked:
+
+"Do you smoke?"
+
+"Yes, doctor, I smoke all the time; but I fall asleep even when I'm
+smoking."
+
+"That's a pity! because I was going to advise you to smoke."
+
+"Advise something else."
+
+"Do you take snuff?"
+
+"Yes, doctor; I have a collection of snuffboxes; but I don't take much
+pleasure in it."
+
+"That's too bad! for I would have advised you to take snuff."
+
+"Try something else."
+
+"Do you play cards?"
+
+"I know all the games, but I don't care for any of them; cards put me to
+sleep at once."
+
+"So much the worse! I would have advised you to play cards. For, after
+all, to avoid going to sleep, you must amuse yourself. Have you ever
+been to Paris?"
+
+"Yes, doctor, twice; but it was a long while ago, when I was in
+business. It was before my marriage. I have an idea that I rather
+enjoyed myself in Paris."
+
+"Well, then, go there again; spend a few weeks in Paris; that will wake
+you up, invigorate you, and amuse you. But be sure to go alone; don't
+take your wife."
+
+Dupont heartily approved this last injunction; he hastily made the
+necessary preparations, told his wife of the doctor's prescription, and
+started; nor did madame seem greatly distressed by his departure. But
+one does not care much for the society of a marmot, unless one is a
+marmot also.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+HOW DUPONT AMUSED HIMSELF AT THE BALL
+
+
+It was the year 1860, and it was the carnival season, which unluckily
+was very brief that year. We say unluckily, for we admit that we do not
+agree with the people who say:
+
+"Masks have gone out of fashion; it isn't the thing to disguise yourself
+now to drive or walk on the boulevards. No, no! That's all gone by,
+forgotten, bad form! Before long, there won't be any carnival."
+
+In the first place, we do not understand why such people frown upon
+something that tends to amuse and rejoice the common people. It may not
+make you laugh, monsieur, who seem always to be in a bad humor, and
+whose nerves are unstrung when you see other people enjoying themselves.
+I am very sorry for you! But I assure you that, in the old days, when,
+during the pre-Lenten season, a triple row of carriages filled with
+masks formed an immense Longchamp in the centre of Paris, the
+promenaders and idlers did not complain because they were furnished with
+that spectacle gratis.
+
+Everybody could not afford to go to the Opera ball, or even to the Salle
+Barthelemy; and the modest annuitant, as he strolled about the streets
+with his wife during the carnival days, returned home in high glee when
+he had rubbed elbows with Harlequins or Punchinellos; and if a Bear said
+to his wife: "I know you!" the delighted couple could not contain
+themselves; and madame would say proudly to her concierge: "A Bear said
+to me: 'I know you!'"
+
+You must see, you pessimists, who want to abolish the carnival, that by
+abolishing it you would grieve a great many people. I know that that is
+a matter of indifference to you; but, despite your efforts, so long as
+the world exists, there will be masks. Some people would tell you that
+there are masks all the year round; that you need not wait for carnival
+time to see them. But, as you hear that very often, I will not say it.
+
+The carnival is the season of intrigues and of mad pranks. Again, we
+might say that there are intrigues all the year round; but that has been
+said before, and we will not repeat it. We will take the liberty, in
+passing, of calling your attention to the fact that we say only novel
+things; that is very considerate on our part, and we are persuaded that
+we shall receive due credit therefor.
+
+Monsieur Dupont was, as we have said, a man of forty years; that is the
+age of passions, when one is destined to have any; but thus far the
+gentleman in question had not manifested the slightest symptom of
+anything of the sort. He smoked, took snuff, gambled, and drank, but
+without enthusiasm, and, we might say, without enjoyment. As for the
+women, you have seen that he slept most of the time beside his wife.
+Nevertheless, Monsieur Dupont was not insensible to the charms of
+beauty; what attracted him more than anything else in a woman was
+figure, shape, carriage; in short, he preferred a well-proportioned body
+to a pretty face; and unluckily for Madame Dupont, she was rather pretty
+than well made. Perhaps that was what had made her husband such a heavy
+sleeper.
+
+As for Dupont himself, he was neither handsome nor ugly, neither short
+nor tall, neither clever nor stupid; he was one of those men of whom
+nothing is said. He had rather a good figure, however, with a shapely
+foot and a small white hand. He was very proud of these advantages,
+considered himself a little Apollo, and was absolutely determined not to
+take on flesh; the fear of that catastrophe was mainly responsible for
+his decision to go to Paris; and since the doctor had recommended that
+he should go without his wife, it was evident that he wished him to lead
+the life of a bachelor there. Now, what is the life of a bachelor, if
+not to be constantly on the look-out for intrigues, amourettes, _bonnes
+fortunes;_ in a word, to pass one's time running after women--society
+women when opportunity offers, and grisettes when one can do no better?
+
+Speaking of grisettes, there are some writers who try to make us believe
+that there are none now; that they have gone out of fashion, like pug
+dogs; that the mould is broken. With due deference to those gentlemen,
+we maintain that the grisette still exists and always will exist in
+Paris. For, if you please, what are all the flowermakers, seamstresses,
+burnishers, illuminators, laundresses, waistcoatmakers, shirtmakers,
+trousermakers, etc., etc.?--They are neither coquettes, nor those
+exceedingly free and easy beauties who are always in evidence in the
+proscenium boxes of the smaller theatres, and are called, I do not just
+know why, lorettes; nor are they kept women, for it very often happens
+that their lovers can give them nothing but love; lastly, they are not
+virtuous bourgeois women, who never go out except on the arm of a father
+or brother. They are grisettes, genuine grisettes! Pray let us not
+demonetize them, they are such pretty coins! Why insist that they shall
+cease to be current?
+
+I wish that you gentlemen, who will have it that there are none left in
+Paris, would go now and then, during the summer, to the Closerie des
+Lilas, the favorite ball of the students who love dancing and love; you
+will see there grisettes of all categories, you will see them laughing,
+capering, fooling, dancing a cancan as graceful and much less indecent
+than the Spanish dances which are allowed at the theatres; you will hear
+them talk, making fun of one another, envying this one her lover,
+ridiculing that one's lover; and amid the brief sentences and bursts of
+laughter that fill the air on all sides, you will catch some piquant,
+clever remarks, original expressions, which you hear nowhere else, and
+which make it impossible for you to keep a serious face--unless, that is
+to say, you belong to that school which insists that no one shall laugh,
+and which dares to say that "laughter is a grimace"! What a pitiful
+school, good Lord! Take my advice and never send your children to it!
+You must surely see that the results are not desirable.
+
+Dupont, arriving in Paris during the carnival, began his bachelor life
+by betaking himself to the Opera ball.
+
+"The doctor ordered me to enjoy myself, and I can't fail of it in the
+midst of that crowd, largely composed of pretty women who are not
+absolute Lucretias, who ask nothing better than to make acquaintances,
+who, in fact, go to the ball for that sole purpose. I will take my
+choice, I will try to find a woman shaped like a Venus--yes, a Bacchante
+even, for all the Bacchantes I ever saw in pictures were of perfect
+shape; I will play the agreeable, the gallant; I have wit enough when I
+am started; to be sure, I have some difficulty in getting started, but
+with perseverance and punch I shall succeed; and I won't go to bed at
+ten o'clock, for I won't go to the ball till midnight."
+
+Dupont carried his plan into execution; he had some trouble to avoid
+falling asleep in his chair when the clock struck ten. Several times he
+was on the point of getting into bed instead of putting on his dress
+coat; but, luckily, just as he was about to yield to his old habit, he
+glanced at his stomach and remembered that he could no longer button the
+last button of his waistcoat; whereupon he sprang to his feet and
+dressed in haste, muttering:
+
+"You poor devil, do you want to turn into a Punchinello? I shan't have a
+hump behind, to be sure, but one in front is just as laughable and much
+more inconvenient. I'll go to the ball, cut capers, and have a jolly
+time! Sapristi! this isn't a joking matter, it's a matter of remaining
+young!"
+
+Behold, therefore, our friend at the ball, gliding amid the throng that
+walked back and forth around the dancing enclosure, because from there
+one can look at the women at close quarters; one can even speak to them,
+joke with them, and offer them an arm when they are without an escort;
+all that is permissible at a masquerade ball. Indeed, what is not
+permissible there?--Dupont saw divers pretty creatures dressed as
+boatmen, sailors, jockeys, and postilions. As a general rule, ladies who
+dress in masculine costume wear no masks and are very glad to show their
+faces. They also disclose their shoulders and breasts; sometimes,
+indeed, there is too much abandon in their attire; they do not
+understand that the eye likes to have something to divine, and that a
+man is especially enamored of what he does not see.
+
+Dupont selected a very attractive little blonde dressed as a Columbine.
+To become better acquainted, he invited her to polk; but our worthy
+friend from Brives-la-Gaillarde did not know what a risk he was taking;
+he fancied that the polka was danced at the Opera ball as it was danced
+in his province; above all, he was unaware that it always ended in a
+galop--and such a galop! it must be seen to be appreciated. It is a
+whirlwind; it is as if a sort of insane frenzy had taken possession of
+all the dancers, under the inspiration of the lively, rapid, deafening
+music that electrifies you and takes you off your feet; you no longer
+galop, you fly, you whirl madly about, you push and jostle everyone you
+meet! Be fearless and do not lose your head, or you will infallibly be
+thrown down.
+
+That is what happened to Dupont; he was not agile enough to hold his own
+in that bacchanalian dance; he fell and dragged his partner to the floor
+with him; she sprang quickly to her feet, and said in an angry tone:
+
+"When you don't know how to galop, my boy, you shouldn't ask a lady to
+dance."
+
+And the Columbine seized the arm of a Harlequin, and began to dance with
+him; while poor Dupont, who had not risen quickly enough, was struck by
+the feet of several dancers, and finally got up covered with bruises.
+
+As he was very lame in the knees, shoulders, and back, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying:
+
+"That's enough amusement for to-night!"
+
+But Dupont would not admit that he was beaten, although he really had
+been. A few days later, he tried his luck again at a ball; but this time
+he went to the Casino, which he had been told was the rendezvous of the
+women most in vogue. In truth, our provincial was agreeably impressed by
+the fine costumes and by the elegance of those ladies, most of whom were
+in party dresses instead of masks.
+
+"It is impossible," he said to himself, "that they dance such a
+dangerous galop here as they do at the Opera. However, I will be prudent
+and not galop; I will confine myself to taking a partner for a
+contra-dance; that's the wiser way, because the figures are always the
+same; I know them all, and it isn't possible that I can be thrown down
+doing the English chain or the _pastourelle_."
+
+And Dupont, after walking about the hall for some time in search of a
+particularly shapely partner, invited at last a rather attractive person
+whose languorous eyes gazed into his with infinite good humor.
+
+They stood up to dance; but Dupont had for vis-a-vis a _gaillarde_ who
+had been a pupil of the famous Rigolboche, and whose bold and eccentric
+dancing was so renowned that people fought for places to watch her.
+
+When Dupont executed his _avant-deux_ before that lady, he suddenly
+received a superb kick full in the face, amid the applause and roars of
+laughter of the spectators.
+
+Dupont alone did not laugh; his nose was crushed, and he attempted to
+complain; but the tall _gaillarde_ said to him:
+
+"It's your own fault! You're a donkey, my dear friend; you ought to have
+known that that was the time when I lift my leg! If you don't know my
+steps, you shouldn't dance opposite me! Bribri would never have let my
+foot hit him!"
+
+As Dupont's nose was bleeding and pained him severely, he left the ball
+and went home to bed, saying to himself:
+
+"I've amused myself enough for to-day."
+
+Several days passed, and, Dupont's nose having healed, he said to
+himself:
+
+"I'll go to the ball again; I'll stick to it; but this time I won't
+dance."
+
+Attracted by the length of a poster which almost covered a whole pillar
+on the boulevards, he went to the ball in the Salle Barthelemy. There
+the crowd was almost as great as at the Opera, but the company was
+infinitely less refined, and the tobacco smoke and the dust raised by
+the dancing, blended with the odor of the refreshments which were being
+served, gave to that ball a distinction peculiarly its own.
+
+Dupont discovered a pretty little brunette, whose dress resembled that
+of a grisette. She was alone; he offered his arm and a glass of punch.
+The girl hesitated, then replied:
+
+"You are very kind! I am very fond of punch, and I'd like to take a
+glass; but I'm afraid of Ronfland."
+
+"Who's Ronfland?"
+
+"He's--he's my friend, a cabinetmaker, a good fellow--but he gets drunk
+too often. I came to the ball with him, and he was to dance with me; but
+he didn't, and he left me here. That ain't a nice way to treat me!"
+
+"As Monsieur Ronfland left you, it seems to me that you're at liberty to
+do what you choose, and to accept my arm and a glass of punch; you can't
+stay alone in this crowd, you need an escort."
+
+"It ain't very good fun to be alone, that's true. I don't understand
+Ronfland; he left me near the orchestra, and he says: 'Stay here, and
+I'll come right back.'--That was more than an hour ago, and he hasn't
+come back."
+
+"He's forgotten you."
+
+"Oh! I'm sure he's gone to get a drink."
+
+"Without you? That isn't polite. Of course, you have the right to do the
+same."
+
+"Faith! yes, so I have. So much the worse for Ronfland! After all, it's
+his own fault!"
+
+Dupont put the little brunette's arm through his and took her to the
+cafe; he ordered punch and filled a glass for his new acquaintance, who
+drank it readily, but kept repeating:
+
+"After this you'll dance with me, won't you, monsieur? For one don't
+come to a ball to go without dancing."
+
+And Dupont, who was not at all anxious to dance, continued to pour out
+the punch, as he replied:
+
+"Yes, by and by; we have time enough. There are too many people here
+now; we should be too warm; it's better to drink punch."
+
+But suddenly a young man, with a cap cocked over one ear, rushed up like
+a bomb, brought his fist down on the table, upset the punch bowl and
+glasses, and boxed the little brunette's ears, crying:
+
+"Ah! that's how you behave, Josephine! I've caught you at it! I bring
+you to the ball, and you play tricks on me with other men! I'll bring
+you to the right-about, you vile street walker!"
+
+Mademoiselle Josephine began to weep.
+
+"You're still drunk, Ronfland," she cried. "I don't play tricks on you;
+you ought not to leave me; you're a drunkard; I don't love you any
+more!"
+
+But Dupont was not of a temper to allow a woman who was in his company
+to be maltreated; he rose, picked up the empty bowl, which was rolling
+about the table, and with it struck Ronfland on the nose.
+
+"Parbleu!" he said; "my nose was smashed the other day, and I'm not
+sorry to have my revenge."
+
+But the young man in the cap, infuriated by the blow, leaped upon
+Dupont, who lost his balance, and they rolled together on the floor,
+still striking each other.
+
+The police appeared and separated them. Ronfland and his companion were
+turned out of doors, and Dupont was obliged to pay for what was broken.
+As he had cut himself severely in the face while rolling about on the
+broken glass, he lost no time in taking a cab and returning to his
+hotel.
+
+"I've got what I deserve!" he said to himself; "I have gone about it the
+wrong way. I certainly shall not go to any more balls in search of
+amusement!"
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+MADEMOISELLE GEORGETTE
+
+
+Dupont was obliged to keep his room a week. He had taken rooms in an
+unpretentious hotel on Rue de Seine. To pass the time, which seemed very
+long, our provincial spent most of the day at his window. As his rooms
+were on the third floor, and as the opposite house was not high, Dupont
+was able to look into the chamber of a neighbor who lived opposite,
+under the eaves.
+
+"I haven't had any luck in Paris yet," thought Dupont, as he paced the
+floor slowly, with his head swathed in bandages. "I have done what I
+could to amuse myself, but I have had poor success; however, I must
+admit that I sleep less--especially since I received this wound in the
+face. I won't go to balls any more in search of _bonnes fortunes_. But
+sometimes one goes far afield in search of what one has close at hand.
+In one of those attic chambers opposite, I have noticed a young
+woman--very pretty she is, on my word! and, above all, well built. I am
+the better able to judge, because I see her in neglige costume--a
+morning jacket, and a short fustian skirt, as well as I can see from
+here. But how alluring that simple neglige is! It enables one to admire
+a shapely, flexible figure, and hips! oh! such well-rounded hips! She
+has a fine shape! It is impossible not to fall in love with such a
+shape!"
+
+And Dupont, opening his window, although it was quite cold, leaned
+bravely out, and fastened his eyes on his neighbor's window. It was
+closed, but the curtains were not drawn, and he could easily see the
+young woman who lived there, and who was at that moment engaged in
+arranging her hair before a mirror fastened to the window shutter.
+
+"Her face is captivating," said Dupont to himself; "wide-awake brown
+eyes, a turned-up nose--_a la_ Roxelane, as they say--and a mouth--hum!
+the mouth isn't small, but it's well furnished; and then, she has a very
+pleasant smile. But, on the whole, there's nothing extraordinary about
+the face, and I prefer the figure. Ah! good! now she's walking about the
+room--still in that charming costume, tight-fitting white jacket, and
+the little striped skirt that hangs so well over her rounded hips. I
+can't see her foot or leg, but they must be beautiful; a tall, graceful
+figure almost always means a good leg. I certainly am dead in love with
+that figure; I must make that girl's acquaintance. She must have noticed
+my assiduity in watching her. It doesn't seem to displease her; there's
+nothing savage in her manner; on the contrary, there's a merry, aye, a
+mischievous look about her face, which seems to be intended to encourage
+one to make her acquaintance. She is probably a seamstress. As soon as I
+can go out, I'll ask the concierge opposite; I know how to make those
+fellows talk."
+
+Meanwhile, being engrossed by his neighbor, Dupont slept much less, and
+sometimes even passed the night without sleep. That was good progress,
+and he said to himself:
+
+"What a change my wife will see in me when I go back to
+Brives-la-Gaillarde! All I'm afraid of is that there the desire to sleep
+will return."
+
+His wound being healed, Dupont was able to get rid of all the bandages
+in which his head was swathed. He made haste to leave the house,
+crossed the street to the house in which the girl with the striped skirt
+lived, and entered the concierge's lodge. In Paris, the porters have all
+become concierges; just as the shops have become _magasins_; the wine
+shops, _maisons de commerce_; the hair dressers' establishments, salons
+where one is rejuvenated; the groceries, depots for colonial produce;
+the bakers, pastry cooks; the _marchands de confection_, tailors; the
+book shops, _cabinets de lecture_; the cafes, restaurants; soup houses,
+_traiteurs_; indeed, even those gentry who haul refuse at night have
+assumed the title of _employes a la poudrette_.
+
+Dupont accosted the concierge most affably, and slipped his irresistible
+argument into the hand of that functionary, who, happening to be a
+woman, asked nothing better than to talk, and instantly laid aside her
+one-sou illustrated paper, and answered without stopping for breath:
+
+"The girl who lives on the third, second door at the left, is named
+Georgette; she embroiders for a living, and she has lots of talent; she
+embroiders like a fairy, so they say! She's twenty years old, I believe,
+and she hasn't been in Paris long. She's a Lorrainer, and she's full of
+fun, always ready to talk; and yet I think she's straight. Still, I
+wouldn't put my hand in the fire to prove it! it's never safe to put
+your hand in the fire about such things; you'd get burned too often! But
+I don't see any men go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's. Does she meet any
+of 'em outside? That's something I can't tell you. You see, when that
+girl goes out, I don't follow her. But she leads a regular life all the
+same, and never goes to balls, although I don't think it's the wish to
+go that's lacking, for I've heard her say more'n once: 'How lucky people
+are who can afford to enjoy themselves! When shall I have twenty
+thousand francs a year?'--But, although she hasn't got it, that don't
+seem to make her sad; for she sings all the time. That's all I can tell
+you about her, seeing that it's all I know."
+
+"Twenty thousand francs a year!" muttered Dupont, scratching his head.
+"The devil! it's not I who'll give it to her!--So she embroiders, you
+say?" he continued.
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"What?"
+
+"What do you mean by _what_?"
+
+"I mean, what does she embroider?"
+
+"Oh! collars, handkerchiefs, caps, whatever anyone wants her to
+embroider."
+
+"Then I might ask her to do something for me?"
+
+"That's your right."
+
+"Very good. I'll go up to Mademoiselle Georgette's."
+
+"Third floor, monsieur."
+
+"Oh! I know."
+
+"Yes, but there's two or three doors; it's the one where you see a
+toothbrush instead of a tassel on the bell cord."
+
+"I'll remember."
+
+As he mounted the stairs, Dupont said to himself:
+
+"What in the devil can I have her embroider? Ah! a cravat! I believe
+they're not in fashion, men don't wear embroidered cravats now; but, no
+matter, I'll tell her it's the fashion at Brives-la-Gaillarde; and,
+after all, what does she care, so long as I give her work?"
+
+He reached the third landing, where there were several doors; but he
+discovered the little toothbrush hanging at the end of a bell cord, and
+he boldly pulled it.
+
+The door was opened by Mademoiselle Georgette herself, who smiled
+mischievously when she saw who her visitor was. She was still dressed in
+the white jacket and short fustian skirt; that costume was very
+becoming to her, it showed off all her good points. If we dared, we
+would say that that costume is becoming to all women--but we should add:
+provided they are well built.
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette--embroiderer?" inquired Dupont, assuming rather
+a patronizing air.
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Mademoiselle, I came--I should like--I was told----"
+
+"Pray come in, monsieur; I don't receive my visitors on the landing."
+
+Dupont asked nothing better than to accept the invitation. He entered a
+room of which he had only caught a glimpse from his window. It was
+simply furnished, but extremely neat and clean; the floor was scrubbed
+and waxed; there was not a speck of dust on the furniture; the bed was
+very white and smooth; all of which spoke loudly in favor of the
+occupant. Demosthenes, being asked what constituted an orator, replied:
+"Elocution, elocution, elocution!" A philosophical king, being asked
+what occasioned the fall of the ramparts of a city, replied: "Money,
+money, money!" And Ninon, being asked what was the most beautiful
+ornament of womankind, replied: "Cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness!"
+
+The girl offered Dupont a chair; she did the honors of her domicile with
+infinite ease, and seemed in no wise intimidated by her visitor. He, on
+the other hand, while he tried to assume an imposing manner, became
+exceedingly awkward, and had much difficulty in finding words,
+especially as Mademoiselle Georgette waited for him to speak, with an
+expression which seemed to indicate a powerful desire to laugh.
+
+"I came, mademoiselle, for----"
+
+"For something, I presume, monsieur."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle; I have been told--that you embroider."
+
+"You were told the truth. Have you something you wish to have
+embroidered?"
+
+"Yes--that is to say--I don't know whether embroidered cravats are worn
+in Paris?"
+
+"No, monsieur; they are not in style now."
+
+"Indeed! and cuffs?"
+
+"Nor cuffs either."
+
+"And--handkerchiefs?"
+
+"For ladies; oh! yes, monsieur, some beautiful embroidery is done on
+handkerchiefs."
+
+"Ah! very good! You do embroider handkerchiefs!"
+
+While they conversed, Dupont cast frequent glances at the young woman's
+feet, which were small and well arched; the lower part of the leg was
+very shapely; so that his thoughts were diverted, and he murmured again
+and again:
+
+"Ah! you embroider handkerchiefs!"
+
+In a moment Mademoiselle Georgette laughed heartily, and thereby
+completely disconcerted her visitor, who gazed at her in amazement,
+saying:
+
+"You are very merry, I see, mademoiselle."
+
+"It is true, monsieur, that I do not engender melancholy."
+
+"And might I ask what has aroused your merriment at this moment?"
+
+"Why, you, monsieur!"
+
+"I! Ah! it is I who make you laugh! Do you find me so very amusing,
+pray, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Amusing is not the word, monsieur; but, to speak frankly, you are far
+from clever in inventing a pretext."
+
+"A pretext! What do you mean? I don't understand."
+
+"Still, it's easy enough to understand. You wanted to have an excuse, a
+reason, for coming to my room--for you have nothing to be embroidered."
+
+"What makes you think that, mademoiselle?"
+
+"Do you suppose that I do not recognize you, monsieur?"
+
+"Ah! you recognize me, do you?"
+
+"To be sure; you live at the small hotel opposite, where you pass your
+time staring at me, making eyes at me----"
+
+"Ah! you have noticed that?"
+
+And Dupont puffed himself out like a turkey-cock; he was gratified to
+have been observed, and drew a favorable augury from that fact.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I have noticed that," the young embroiderer continued.
+"How could I have helped seeing it, unless I was blind? Why, the other
+day, when you came to the window, it was horribly cold, and your nose
+was all blue! I was strongly tempted to make faces at you."
+
+At this point, Dupont bit his lips and did not puff himself out.
+
+"I didn't do it, because I presumed, seeing your head all bandaged, that
+you were either sick or hurt; and one should always take pity on those
+who suffer; but you are cured now, it seems."
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle; I fought a duel, and was wounded in the head."
+
+"Ah! you fought a duel, did you, monsieur? May a body, without being too
+inquisitive, ask what was the cause of your duel?"
+
+"It was a lady, of great distinction, with whom I happened to be, and at
+whom an insolent knave presumed to look too closely."
+
+"You fought for a lady! That was very well done, and leads me to forget
+your glances at me; but tell me, monsieur, why you have come here
+to-day?"
+
+"Since you are so good at divination, mademoiselle, you ought to have no
+difficulty in guessing. I saw you from my window, I found you charming,
+and I desired to make your acquaintance."
+
+"Good! that is plain speaking! And with what purpose do you wish to make
+my acquaintance? Perhaps you hope to make me your mistress?"
+
+"I do not say that, mademoiselle."
+
+"No, but you think it! As if that wasn't always what men aim at, when
+they fall in with a poor girl who is weak and foolish enough to believe
+them! But I am generous enough to warn you that you will waste your time
+with me."
+
+"In any case, mademoiselle, it would be difficult to waste it more
+agreeably than in your company."
+
+"That is very prettily said. But, monsieur, I will confess that I have a
+fancy for knowing the people whom I receive. Now, I don't know you."
+
+"That is true, mademoiselle, that is very true; one must know with whom
+one is dealing."
+
+And Dupont, who had prepared his little story in advance, straightened
+himself up in his chair and continued:
+
+"I am an--an American; I was in business, but I have retired; I have
+money enough to be happy; I am a widower, without children, and
+therefore at liberty to do exactly as I please."
+
+"Very good, monsieur. And your name?"
+
+"My name is--Dupont."
+
+"Dupont--that is quite a French name; I thought Americans had names more
+like the English."
+
+"That depends on their origin; my family was French. Now that you know
+who I am, mademoiselle, will you allow me to pay court to you?"
+
+"I see no objection--provided that you haven't lied to me; for, I give
+you fair warning, I hate liars!"
+
+Dupont bowed, scratched his head, and rejoined:
+
+"You wished to know who I was, mademoiselle, and I have gratified your
+wish. In my turn, may I be permitted----"
+
+"To know who I am! Oh! that is soon told: you already know that my name
+is Georgette, and that I am an embroiderer. I was born at Toul, a pretty
+village in Lorraine, near Nancy. My parents are not rich, and I have two
+sisters, both older than I. My two sisters came to Paris in the hope of
+being better off here and of being able to help our parents, but they
+didn't succeed. Poor sisters! Then they came back again to us."
+
+"And you have come to Paris in your turn. I am surprised that your
+parents consented to let you leave them. They might well have been
+afraid that you would be no more fortunate than your sisters."
+
+"Oh! but I was determined to come to Paris; I had made up my mind to do
+it; and when I make up my mind to do a thing, it's got to be done."
+
+"That indicates a strong will."
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I have a very strong one."
+
+"And since you have been in Paris, have you found it pleasant?"
+
+"So-so; not too pleasant! Certainly there are plenty of means of
+enjoyment in Paris, one has such a choice of pleasures! Plays, balls,
+promenades, concerts--all of them are delightful to those who can afford
+such diversions. But when you stay in your chamber all day long, and
+pass your evening working or reading, you hardly enjoy life in Paris."
+
+"That is very true. But what prevents you from enjoying all these
+amusements that tempt you?"
+
+"Can a woman who is all alone go about to plays and promenades?"
+
+"No, certainly not; but you can have had no lack of cavaliers ready to
+offer you their arms."
+
+"True; but I don't go with everybody, monsieur; I don't accept the arm
+of the first comer! Certainly, if I had chosen to listen to all the
+young men who have followed at my heels and overwhelmed me with their
+silly declarations of love,--love that seized them all of a sudden when
+they saw me walk along the street,--I should have had plenty of
+opportunities! But that isn't what I want!"
+
+Dupont caressed his chin, saying to himself:
+
+"She is exacting; she doesn't choose to go about with every _gamin!_ She
+wants to make the acquaintance of a _comme il faut_ man. All the chances
+are in my favor."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette had resumed her embroidery, looking out of the
+corner of her eye to see how her visitor bore himself. He looked at her
+work and exclaimed:
+
+"Mademoiselle, you embroider superbly."
+
+"Do you think so, monsieur? Are you a connoisseur?"
+
+"Yes, my wi--my sister used to embroider."
+
+"Is she in America?"
+
+"Yes, she remained there."
+
+"It's not surprising, monsieur, that I know how to embroider well, for I
+come from a province renowned for its embroideries. The very best of
+that sort of work is done at Nancy."
+
+"And you are from Nancy?"
+
+"No; but Toul is quite near. Well! do you really want some handkerchiefs
+embroidered?"
+
+Dupont began to laugh, and replied:
+
+"Faith! no; and since you have so shrewdly guessed that I came here
+solely in the hope of making your acquaintance, shall I be so fortunate,
+mademoiselle, as to have your permission to cultivate it--to come again
+to see you--and perhaps to offer you my arm sometimes and take you to
+the play or to walk?"
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette reflected a few moments, gazed earnestly at
+Dupont, and said at last:
+
+"You have not lied to me in what you have told me about yourself? You
+are really a widower and free?"
+
+"No, mademoiselle, I have not lied to you," Dupont replied
+unhesitatingly.
+
+"In that case, monsieur, come to see me; I am willing."
+
+"Ah! mademoiselle, you make me the happiest of men!"
+
+"But you must not make your visits too long; that might compromise me."
+
+Dupont rose, bowed to the young woman, and took his leave, saying to
+himself:
+
+"She is mine! It may perhaps take longer than I should have liked, but
+it's only a question of time now. She is mine! and I haven't the
+slightest desire to sleep."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+YOUNG COLINET
+
+
+A fortnight had passed. Dupont called very frequently on his neighbor,
+of whom he was more enamored than ever; for to the charms of her person
+Mademoiselle Georgette added wit, high spirits, and entertaining
+conversation. Less than these were enough to turn the head of our
+provincial, who lost his appetite, and slept no more than two hours in
+succession during the night, because his love was in no degree
+satisfied, and his desires augmented with the presence of her who gave
+birth to them. But he was no further advanced in that direction than on
+the first day. If he took the girl's hand, she laughingly withdrew it;
+if he tried to kiss her, she pushed him away without ceremony; if he
+ventured to place his hand on her knee, or tried to put his arm about
+her waist, she assumed a severe expression and said to him in a very
+decided tone:
+
+"If you don't stop that, I'll turn you out and never admit you again!"
+
+Thereupon Dupont was fain to cease his audacious experiments, and said
+to himself again as he went away:
+
+"It will take a long time! it will take much longer than I thought!
+However, I shall certainly gain my end; for if the girl hadn't found me
+to her liking, she wouldn't have consented to receive my visits, she
+wouldn't go out with me and accept presents from me. She plays the
+cruel, to give greater value to her conquest. That is coquetry, yes,
+immodesty--but it can't last forever."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette did, in fact, accept Dupont's escort readily
+enough to the play, to concerts, and to go out to walk. As for balls,
+Dupont did not offer to take her to any, nor did she seem to desire it.
+One thing she had always refused: that was, to dine in a private
+dining-room at a restaurant.
+
+"I am willing to dine with you at a restaurant," she said; "but we will
+dine in the main dining-room, with other people."
+
+In vain did Dupont say:
+
+"The service isn't so good in the main dining-room; and then, too, it's
+bad form--ladies who dine at restaurants never go to the public room."
+
+Georgette was inflexible; she would not give way. As a general rule, she
+seemed to go with Dupont, not for the pleasure of being with him, but to
+see the people and to be seen herself.
+
+She dressed very modestly. Dupont had said to himself: "The way to
+capture a woman is by giving her things to wear, by encouraging her
+coquetry;" and he had sent the young embroiderer a pretty shawl, a silk
+dress, and a stylish bonnet. She had accepted his gifts without
+argument, and had arrayed herself in them that same day to go to the
+Opera-Comique with him. But when, after escorting her home at the close
+of the performance, he had asked permission to go up to her room for a
+moment, she had shut the door in his face, saying:
+
+"I should think not! it's quite enough to receive you in the daytime."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette made frequent conquests when she was on Dupont's
+arm; then our provincial became jealous, for it seemed to him that his
+companion was distraught at times, and that she paid too much attention
+to the men who ogled her, and not enough to him.
+
+Then, too, the young woman was very curious; at the play, she would call
+his attention to a stylishly dressed young dandy and say:
+
+"Do you know the gentleman in that box, just opposite us, with an opera
+glass in his hand?"
+
+"No; I haven't an idea who he is," Dupont would reply sourly; "I don't
+know anyone in Paris."
+
+"Ah! to be sure; I forgot that you had just come from America. It's a
+pity!"
+
+"Why is it a pity?"
+
+"Because you don't know anyone in Paris."
+
+"And even if I did know the young man you refer to, how would that help
+you?"
+
+"Oh! not at all. I simply wanted to know."
+
+Another time, it was a middle-aged man, but dressed in the height of
+fashion, and mimicking all the manners of a young dandy, whom
+Mademoiselle Georgette noticed on one of the public promenades and
+pointed out to her faithful attendant.
+
+"Do you know who that man is?"
+
+"How in the devil do you suppose that I know who he is?"
+
+"Ah! to be sure! you are just from America--I forgot that."
+
+On returning to his room, Dupont would say to himself:
+
+"Why does she question me about the men we meet walking, or at the
+theatre? That doesn't amuse me at all! She is a great flirt, is that
+girl; she doesn't lower her eyes when a man looks at her; she acts as if
+she was delighted to make conquests. And yet she's virtuous, perfectly
+virtuous! I know that better than anybody; but all she wants is to go
+out, to show herself. Ah! she has such a fine figure! When she's on my
+arm, everybody admires her carriage, her figure above all! and her foot,
+and her leg! How can a man help falling in love with all that? I can't
+eat or drink on account of it; and I lost the power to sleep long ago;
+I'm growing thin; to be sure, I'm not sorry for that, but I'm growing
+perceptibly thinner. If this goes on, I shall look like a Pierrot
+instead of a Punchinello."
+
+One day, Dupont had been in his pretty neighbor's room for several
+minutes; he was watching her work, and was doing his utmost to persuade
+her that he adored her, while the girl listened with manifest
+indifference, like one who was thinking of something other than what was
+being said to her, when there came two light taps at her door.
+
+"Someone is knocking," said Dupont, with an air of surprise.
+
+"Yes, I thought that I heard a knock."
+
+"Are you expecting company?"
+
+"No; but why shouldn't people come to see me? You came, whom I certainly
+did not expect."
+
+"Listen--they're knocking again. It is certainly at your door."
+
+"Come in!" cried Georgette; "the door isn't locked."
+
+In fact, the young woman was always careful to leave the key in the lock
+outside when Dupont was with her, in order to give less occasion for
+gossip.
+
+The door opened and a young man appeared and stopped on the threshold.
+He may have been about twenty years old, although he looked younger. His
+fresh, ingenuous face was exceedingly youthful; his great blue eyes,
+gentle and tender, had almost the charm of a woman's eyes; his chin was
+covered with an almost imperceptible down; his forehead was without a
+wrinkle, and his light chestnut hair grew naturally and at will, having
+never known the hand of a hairdresser. Take him for all in all, he was a
+very pretty fellow; of medium height, but slender and graceful.
+
+His dress was neither that of a peasant nor that of a Parisian youth. He
+wore broadcloth trousers, almost skin-tight, with long leather gaiters
+reaching to the knee, a velvet waistcoat with metal buttons, and a
+rough, long-haired hunting jacket. Lastly, he held in his hand a felt
+hat, with a round crown and broad brim, and a stout knotted stick.
+
+"Mamzelle Georgette, if you please?" said the young man, still standing
+in the doorway.
+
+At the sound of that voice, the young woman sprang to her feet, crying:
+
+"Colinet! it's Colinet!"
+
+And she ran to the new-comer, seized his hands, then his face, and
+kissed him again and again, with every indication of the keenest
+delight.
+
+"Dear Colinet!" she said. "Oh! how glad I am to see you!"
+
+"And I am very glad to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" the young man
+replied. "For they told me Paris was so big, I was afraid I wouldn't
+find you!"
+
+Dupont meanwhile looked on with a strange expression on his face, saying
+to himself:
+
+"It seems that she lets some people kiss her! More than that, she kissed
+him first! The devil! the devil! I wonder if I'm nothing better than an
+old fool! That would be humiliating!"
+
+Georgette took the young man's hand, and leading him into the room
+presented him to Monsieur Dupont, saying:
+
+"This is a friend of my childhood. We used to play together when we were
+children--didn't we, Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette."
+
+"Let us pray that they won't continue to play together, now they're
+grown up!" thought Dupont, who was forced to admit that the young man
+was very comely.--"Is monsieur from your province?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, to be sure, and he's just come from there.--Isn't that so,
+Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, mamzelle; I arrived last night at the Plat d'Etain, where I'm
+staying, on Carre Saint-Martin."
+
+"And my mother and father and sisters--do tell me about them."
+
+"They are all well, thank heaven! and they all told me to be sure and
+kiss you for them."
+
+"Well! kiss me for each of them."
+
+Young Colinet lost no time in kissing Georgette again; while Dupont's
+face became a yard long, and he said to himself:
+
+"Are they going to pass all their time kissing? That fellow has obtained
+more in two minutes than I have in a month. I simply must change my
+batteries."
+
+When young Colinet had delivered all his kisses, Georgette bade him sit
+down and said:
+
+"Didn't my sisters give you anything for me?"
+
+"Oh! yes, excuse me; Mamzelle Aimee, the oldest one, gave me a letter,
+which I've got here in my pocket."
+
+"Oh! give it to me, quick!"
+
+Monsieur Colinet handed a letter to Georgette, who eagerly seized it,
+broke the seal, and walked to the window to read it, regardless of her
+visitors. Thereupon Dupont turned to the new-comer and asked:
+
+"Have you been in Paris before?"
+
+"No, monsieur; this is the first time."
+
+"Do you mean to settle here?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur. In fact, I promised mother not to stay more than four
+days. I'm going home Saturday."
+
+This reply caused Dupont most intense satisfaction, for he had begun to
+fear that he should find the young man at his compatriot's every day. He
+continued, with a more amiable air:
+
+"Are you in business?"
+
+"I raise sheep, and my father calves."
+
+"That's a very fine trade! Our first parents raised cattle, more or
+less; we content ourselves nowadays with eating them, and that is all
+the more reprehensible because it's not the way to multiply the races."
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette finished reading her letter, which seemed to have
+interested her deeply; as she folded it, she uttered an "at last!" which
+seemed to say many things.
+
+Dupont, content to know that young Colinet was to remain only a short
+time in Paris, took his hat and said to his neighbor:
+
+"I leave you with your old friend. You must have many things to say to
+each other."
+
+"I will not keep you," Georgette replied, with a smile.
+
+"She won't keep me! parbleu! I can see that for myself!" said Dupont, as
+he took his leave. "She never does keep me! Oh! this is too long a job!
+I am drying up! That young Colinet kissed her more than ten times! It's
+high time that my turn should come!"
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+AN INGENUOUS YOUTH
+
+
+The next afternoon, when Dupont called upon his neighbor, he found
+Colinet there, apparently no less shy and embarrassed than before,
+sitting in front of Georgette and watching her work, without a word; but
+with the air of being perfectly happy simply to look at her.
+
+"Well, Monsieur Colinet," said Dupont, "have you been enjoying yourself?
+have you got a little acquainted with Paris?"
+
+"I've been to see the animals in the Jardin des Plantes, monsieur; but I
+like my sheep better than the lions and tigers. I wonder why they give
+them such fine cages, when my sheep often don't have any house even."
+
+"Tigers are kept in cages, Monsieur Colinet, because they are vicious
+and people are afraid of 'em. As for your sheep, as they never injure
+anybody, nobody worries about them, and they're allowed to feed where
+they will. That's worth something in itself."
+
+"My sheep don't always find enough to eat in the fields; but I saw them
+give great big chunks of meat to your ugly tigers."
+
+"For the very same reason! They're afraid of 'em, so they must keep 'em
+well fed."
+
+"You must go to the play while you're in Paris, Colinet."
+
+"With you, Mamzelle Georgette?"
+
+"Yes. Monsieur Dupont here will take us both."
+
+"The devil! it seems that I must amuse Monsieur Colinet too," thought
+Dupont. "But, after all, I prefer that to having her go alone with him."
+
+"Will you take us to the theatre to-night?" Georgette asked Dupont.
+
+"Why, certainly, mademoiselle, with the greatest pleasure! Am I not
+always at your service, and too happy if I can do anything to please
+you?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I know that you are extremely obliging; but I should
+dislike to abuse your good nature."
+
+"You cannot put it to the test too often. You know my sentiments for
+you, for I make no mystery of them; I am your loyal knight!"
+
+Young Colinet stared first at Dupont, then at Georgette, as if he were
+trying to fathom their meaning. The pretty embroiderer laughed heartily,
+as she said:
+
+"Then we'll go to the Cirque-National. They give fairy plays there, with
+transformation scenes;--you'll like that, Colinet."
+
+"I'll go wherever you say, Mamzelle Georgette."
+
+"It's strange," thought Dupont, "that she addresses this young man
+_thou_, while he uses _you_. After all, that's better than if it was the
+other way."
+
+That evening, he escorted Mademoiselle Georgette and young Colinet to
+the theatre of the Circus on Boulevard du Temple. I do not need to tell
+you that the numerous theatres that imparted so much animation to that
+boulevard were not then demolished. The play was a fairy extravaganza, a
+mixture of dancing and marvellous exploits, with frequent changes of
+scenery. The rather scant costumes of the female dancers made Colinet
+lower his eyes; sometimes he even turned his head away just when most
+of the spectators had their opera glasses fastened on the forms of those
+ladies.
+
+"Well, well! what are you thinking about?" Dupont would exclaim, nudging
+the young man; "you look away at the most delicious moment!"
+
+"I'm afraid of offending those ladies, if I look at them when they lift
+their legs in our direction," Colinet would reply, with a blush.
+
+"Poor fellow! he certainly isn't dangerous!" was Dupont's conclusion.
+"Still, my pretty embroiderer pays no attention to anyone else. When I
+speak to her, she hardly answers me, she doesn't seem to listen. I long
+for the time when her childhood's friend will return to his sheep."
+
+Dupont's wishes were soon gratified. On the Saturday Colinet said
+farewell to Georgette, who gave him two letters for her sisters and
+kisses for her parents. The young man took charge of them all, and went
+away sadly enough.
+
+"Why don't you come back with me?" he asked Georgette. "I should be so
+happy to take you back to the province! Do you enjoy yourself so very
+much in Paris, mamzelle?"
+
+"It isn't that I enjoy myself so much, Colinet; but I must stay here--I
+must!"
+
+"And will you have to stay long?"
+
+"I don't know; we will hope not. But I promise you, Colinet, that the
+day that takes me back to my parents will be the happiest day in my
+life."
+
+"And in mine too, mamzelle."
+
+"Really, Colinet? then you have much--friendship for me?"
+
+"I don't know what I have; but I would like never to leave you again."
+
+"We shall meet again, Colinet; don't forget me. I promise not to forget
+you."
+
+"Ah! Mamzelle Georgette, that promise makes me very happy!"
+
+And to prove his joy the poor boy burst into tears; then he kissed
+Georgette and ran away as fast as his legs would carry him, because he
+felt that if he delayed any longer he would not have the courage to go
+at all.
+
+Dupont called on his neighbor in the afternoon; he found her sad and
+thoughtful.
+
+"I opine that the young shepherd has gone," he said.
+
+"Yes, monsieur. He is very lucky: he is going to see my father and
+mother!"
+
+"No doubt. But it must be very monotonous to look at sheep all the time.
+You see, charming Georgette, there's nothing like Paris! It is the home
+of all pleasures; it is the place to which all the great talents, all
+the people of renown, come to be applauded! In a word, one really lives
+in Paris; elsewhere, one only vegetates!"
+
+"If that were true, monsieur, it would be most unfortunate for a great
+many people, for Paris isn't big enough to hold the whole world. But I
+think myself that one can be very happy elsewhere, when one is with
+those whom one loves and is able to confine one's desires within
+reasonable limits."
+
+"That is true, charming Georgette; you talk like Virgil, or Delille. It
+was the latter, I believe, who said:
+
+    "'Les vrais plaisirs aux champs ont fixe leur sejour;
+      On y craint plus les dieux, on y fait mieux l'amour!'[C]
+
+But as for making love, with all deference to Delille, that can be done
+very well in Paris; indeed, the art is carried to perfection here; and
+if you would only be less cruel to me---- But you are distraught! You
+don't seem to be listening!"
+
+"What did you say, monsieur?"
+
+"There! I was sure of it; you weren't listening to me! But I forgive
+you; the departure of your childhood's friend has saddened you. Come,
+you absolutely must have some diversion! To-morrow will be Sunday, and
+we must enjoy the day. Will you dine with me?"
+
+"With pleasure."
+
+"I will call for you at five o'clock; be ready then. We will dine at
+Bonvalet's, on the boulevard."
+
+"Wherever you choose; it's all the same to me."
+
+"Well, then, at Bonvalet's; they treat one very well there. Then we will
+go to one of the theatres opposite. It's all settled; and until then I
+leave you with your memories. Au revoir, dear neighbor, until
+to-morrow!"
+
+Dupont took his leave, rubbing his hands and saying to himself:
+
+"To-morrow will see my triumph! Between now and then, I will go to
+Bonvalet's, I will speak to one of the waiters, I will suborn him in my
+interest, and I will engage a private dining-room in advance, even
+though I have to pay its weight in gold!"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+A PRIVATE DINING-ROOM
+
+
+The next day, punctually at five o'clock, Dupont appeared. He found
+Georgette dressed in her best clothes, but still pensive and careworn.
+
+"Decidedly, you regret your childhood's friend too much," said Dupont,
+with a smile. "You were always so light-hearted, singing all the time--I
+should hardly recognize you now!"
+
+"It isn't Colinet's going away that makes me thoughtful."
+
+"Oho! it isn't that? Then there's something else, is there?"
+
+"Perhaps so."
+
+"Something which you will confide to me?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"In that case, let us go to dinner."
+
+They went to the restaurant on Boulevard du Temple. As they were about
+to ascend the flight of stairs leading to the first floor, three
+gentlemen who seemed to have dined very well came down. One of them,
+finding himself face to face with Dupont, uttered an exclamation of
+surprise as he looked at him, and slapped him on the back.
+
+"Well, upon my word!" he cried; "this is an unexpected meeting! It's
+Dupont, dear old Dupont! What does this mean? You are in Paris, and
+haven't been to see me?"
+
+Dupont turned scarlet, he hung his head, and stammered:
+
+"Ah! is it you, Jolibois? Bonjour! How are you? Adieu!"
+
+And he tried to pass with Georgette, who had his arm.
+
+But Monsieur Jolibois caught him by the sleeve, and continued:
+
+"Well! do you hurry away like this when you meet a friend? When did you
+leave Brives-la-Gaillarde? Is your wife with you? Don't run away, I say;
+I'm very glad to see you. Poor Dupont! Do you still sleep like a marmot?
+For that's all you did when I was at Brives-la-Gaillarde, and your wife
+complained of it. Ha! ha! she complained bitterly, did your dear
+spouse!"
+
+Dupont was on the rack; if he had dared, he would have struck his friend
+Jolibois, to make him relax his hold, at the risk of knocking him
+downstairs. He tried to release his arm, muttering:
+
+"You have been dining, Jolibois, and dining very well, I should judge.
+But madame and I have not dined, and we would like to join our friends,
+who are waiting for us upstairs. I'll call on you; but let me go now,
+Jolibois; I promise you that I'll call to see you.--Come, my dear
+madame, they are waiting for us."
+
+With another jerk, Dupont succeeded in shaking off his persecutor. He
+hurried Georgette upstairs, leaving his friend Jolibois, who looked
+after them, crying:
+
+"Ah! you rascal! you think you can fool me! But I can guess--I see
+what's up! You're a rascal, Dupont! But don't be afraid: I won't tell
+your wife."
+
+Georgette did not say a word; she took pity on her escort's pitiable
+state. They reached the landing on the first floor. Dupont recognized
+his waiter and said to him:
+
+"Waiter, we would like a table in one of the public rooms."
+
+"There isn't one, monsieur; they're all taken. It's very hard to get one
+on Sunday, unless you come much earlier than this. But I happen to have
+a private room, just vacated; I will give you that."
+
+Dupont glanced at Georgette, who replied:
+
+"We wish to dine in a public room. Let us take a turn on the boulevard;
+we will come back in a little while, and probably we shall find a table
+then."
+
+"As you please, my dear friend," replied Dupont, who dared not insist,
+because the meeting with his friend Jolibois had made him very sheepish;
+but as they went away he made a sign to the waiter.
+
+They returned to the boulevard; it was a dull, damp day, and there was
+some mud on the pavement; but, as it was a Sunday, there was a great
+throng on the boulevards, for there are multitudes of people in Paris
+who are determined to walk out on Sunday, whatever the weather, and who,
+when the rain begins to fall in torrents, vanish only to reappear a
+moment later, armed with umbrellas, and stroll along, looking in the
+shop windows, as if the sun were shining.
+
+Dupont offered Georgette his arm; he did not know how to begin the
+conversation, being sadly embarrassed. The girl enjoyed his confusion
+for some minutes, then began:
+
+"Well, Monsieur l'Americain from Brives-la-Gaillarde, has your meeting
+with your friend Jolibois made you dumb? Really, that would be a pity,
+you say such pretty things sometimes!"
+
+Dupont tried to recover his self-possession, and replied:
+
+"My charming neighbor, I confess that that meeting was not very
+agreeable to me!"
+
+"Oh! I believe you there!"
+
+"In the first place, Jolibois was drunk; it was easy enough to see that
+he'd been drinking too much, for he didn't know what he was saying. He
+recognized me--and then he took me for somebody else."
+
+Georgette stopped, looked her escort squarely in the face, and said in a
+very sharp tone:
+
+"Monsieur Dupont, do you take me for a fool?"
+
+"I, mademoiselle? God forbid! On the contrary, I have every reason to
+know that you have a very keen intellect, that you reason perfectly, and
+that you are also exceedingly shrewd and satirical."
+
+"In that case, monsieur, don't try to go on with the lies you have told
+me, in which, by the way, I never placed much faith: for you are much
+more like a Limousin than an American. You were never an American. You
+came to Paris from Brives-la-Gaillarde, as your friend Jolibois has just
+told you. But what I am least able to forgive is your passing yourself
+off as a widower while your wife is still living! Fie, monsieur! to deny
+your wife is a shameful thing!"
+
+Dupont saw that he must abandon falsehood.
+
+"Mademoiselle," he faltered. "Well, yes--it is true--I admit it. But I
+was so anxious to make your acquaintance! And if I had told you I was
+married, you wouldn't have consented to receive me."
+
+"Why not? On the contrary, it would have given me more confidence in
+you. I would have said: 'Here's a man who doesn't try to deceive
+me.'--But to pretend to be a widower--to attempt to play the bachelor
+here, while your poor wife is lamenting your absence, no doubt!"
+
+"Oh, no! you may be quite easy in your mind as to that! My wife doesn't
+lament my absence in the least. She was one of the first to urge me to
+come to Paris, and to come without her."
+
+"And to pretend to be a bachelor?"
+
+"I don't say that she went so far as that; but when a woman allows her
+husband to travel without her, that means that she is willing he should
+play the bachelor; for, after all, my dear little neighbor, men aren't
+nuns, and you understand----"
+
+"Enough, monsieur, enough! not another word on that subject!"
+
+"Very good; I ask nothing better.--But I think I felt a drop of rain."
+
+"Yes, it's raining. Let's go back to the restaurant; there will probably
+be room now."
+
+They returned to Bonvalet's, where the waiter made the same reply:
+
+"Everything's taken in the public room; but I happen to have a private
+room; I advise you to take it quick, or somebody else will get
+possession."
+
+Dupont looked at Georgette, who replied:
+
+"All right! let's take the private room, as we can't do anything else."
+
+Our gallant was overjoyed. The waiter escorted them into a warm,
+comfortable, well-closed room, where a table was already laid for two.
+
+"Really, one would think that they expected us!" said Georgette,
+removing her bonnet and shawl.
+
+"Guests are always expected at a restaurant."
+
+"Of course; but these two covers all laid!"
+
+"It is probably a room in which they never put more than two."
+
+"No matter. Give your order quickly, monsieur, for I am awfully hungry."
+
+"I would like to know what you prefer."
+
+"Oh! I like everything."
+
+"And there is nothing that I don't like; so the matter can be easily
+arranged."
+
+Dupont ordered a choice, toothsome dinner, with a great variety of
+wines. He attempted to sit on a sofa beside Georgette; but she compelled
+him to sit opposite her, on the other side of the table.
+
+"You would be in my way at dinner," she said; "and I don't like to be
+hampered when I am eating."
+
+"I must not annoy her," said Dupont to himself. "I must go softly, for I
+have much to be forgiven for. Let's wait till the generous wines
+arrive."
+
+Georgette did honor to the dinner; but she drank very little, although
+her companion did his utmost to induce her to, crying, as he filled her
+glass with beaune premiere:
+
+"Above all things, don't put water in this wine; it would be downright
+murder! It's the most delicious beaune there is."
+
+"That makes absolutely no difference to me," replied the girl. "I never
+drink pure wine. I prefer it with water."
+
+"That's all right with common wines. But this, which costs four francs a
+bottle--it's sacrilege to put water in it!"
+
+"In that case, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you shouldn't have ordered
+anything but common wines; then you wouldn't have exposed me to the risk
+of committing crimes."
+
+Dupont was vexed; but, to compensate himself for his disappointment, he
+was very careful to drink his own beaune pure, and he resorted to it
+frequently, to keep up his courage and his gayety. He was beginning to
+risk an affectionate word or two, when Georgette abruptly interposed,
+saying:
+
+"Is madame your wife pretty?"
+
+Dupont frowned, as he replied:
+
+"Quite--but not so well built as you--far from it! Ah! if she had your
+enchanting figure!"
+
+"Are her eyes black or blue?"
+
+"They are--they are green, like a cat's."
+
+"Oh! what a misfortune! You say that your wife has eyes like a cat's?"
+
+"What do I care?--And your mouth is so lovely! Your smile charms me
+beyond words!"
+
+"And her teeth--are they fine?"
+
+"Whose teeth?"
+
+"Your wife's."
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, don't you propose to talk about anything but my
+wife? I will confess that I didn't ask you to dine with me in order to
+hear you talk about her."
+
+"That may be; but the subject is very interesting to me."
+
+"Must I tell you again, my lovely Georgette, that in Paris I have no
+wife, that I am a bachelor again?"
+
+"True; I know perfectly well that you would like to make people think
+so. But, after all, my dear Monsieur Dupont, you may be quite sure of
+one thing, and that is that it's a matter of indifference to me whether
+you are married or single."
+
+Dupont wondered how he ought to take that. He concluded to look upon it
+as an omen favorable to his love, and filled his neighbor's glass with
+grenache, saying:
+
+"This is a lady's wine, very sweet, which won't stand water. Taste it, I
+beg you."
+
+Georgette took one swallow of grenache, then put her glass on the table.
+
+"I don't like sweetened wines," she said.
+
+"Sapristi! what in heaven's name does she like?" thought Dupont; and to
+console himself, he emptied his own glass at a draught.
+
+But by dint of trying to maintain his aplomb, he became as red as his
+friend Jolibois; and when the champagne was brought, he left his chair
+and proposed to Georgette to dance the polka with him. She laughed in
+his face and sent him back to his seat. He filled a glass with champagne
+and offered it to the girl.
+
+"Don't you like champagne either?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, no! it has an effervescence, a sparkle, that arouses---- Does your
+wife like it?"
+
+Dupont brought his fist down on the table, drank a glass of champagne,
+and cried:
+
+"Upon my word, you're laughing at me! But you shall pay me for it! That
+calls for revenge, and I propose to avenge myself by kissing you."
+
+As he spoke, he rose and rushed toward Georgette, and tried to put his
+arms about her. But she checked him with a firm hand.
+
+"None of this nonsense, Monsieur Dupont," she said, "or I shall be
+seriously angry."
+
+"What, dear angel! do you really mean to refuse me this?"
+
+"I shall refuse you everything; you may be sure of that."
+
+"Oho! why, then you have been laughing at me, making a fool of me!"
+
+"In what way have I made a fool of you, monsieur?"
+
+"In what way? Why, in every way! When a woman accepts a man's
+attentions, when she consents to receive presents from him,--a shawl, a
+bonnet, and heaven knows what!--she doesn't send him about his business
+afterward, do you understand, mademoiselle?"
+
+"I understand, monsieur, that you are as foolish as you are impertinent.
+Did I ever give you the slightest hope that I would be your mistress?
+You taunt me for accepting a few paltry presents. I have made you some
+much more valuable ones, by consenting to receive your visits, to go to
+walk and to the theatre with you, to put my arm in yours. Do you count
+all that as nothing, monsieur?"
+
+"I don't say that. But you consented to dine with me in a private room;
+and when a woman goes to a private dining-room with a gentleman--it
+isn't for the purpose of being cruel. Everybody knows that."
+
+"Oh! I could well afford to dine tete-a-tete with you, monsieur, for you
+have never been at all dangerous to me."
+
+"Then why have you always refused until to-day?"
+
+"Because I didn't choose to give you hopes that could not be realized."
+
+"And why did you accept to-day?"
+
+"Because it bored me to walk about in the rain with you. But, never
+fear, monsieur, I shall not be caught again."
+
+Dupont was terribly put out; but self-esteem, the wine he had drunk, and
+the mocking glances of the girl, who seemed to defy him--all these
+excited him beyond measure, and he determined to face even Mademoiselle
+Georgette's wrath. He said to himself that he was nothing but a
+simpleton, that the girl was laughing at him, that he would never have
+so favorable an opportunity again, and that he would be a fool not to
+take advantage of it. All these reflections passed through his mind like
+a flash of lightning; having failed in his attempt to kiss his intended
+victim, he ventured to attack her in a different fashion. Instantly he
+received a smart blow as the reward of his audacity.
+
+"Leave me, monsieur," said Georgette, rising from her seat; "you are an
+insolent fellow, and I will not remain with you another minute."
+
+"Oh! I am very sorry, my lovely neighbor, but I will not leave you,"
+replied Dupont, who had lost his head completely; and he succeeded in
+seizing the short striped petticoat that Georgette had on. "No, no; I
+have got hold of that charming little skirt which is so becoming to you,
+and which I have gazed at and admired so often! I've got it, and I won't
+let it go."
+
+"All right! then keep it, monsieur, for it's all you will ever have of
+mine!"
+
+As she spoke, Georgette found a way to let the skirt fall at her feet.
+She jumped over it, ran to where her shawl and bonnet were hanging, and
+left the room before Dupont, who still held the striped skirt in his
+hand, had recovered from his astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE SECOND PETTICOAT
+
+
+On the day following that dinner, Mademoiselle Georgette left her modest
+little chamber on Rue de Seine very early in the morning; for she had
+taken care to give notice in the middle of the quarter.
+
+This time she hired lodgings in the Marais, on Boulevard Beaumarchais,
+where rows of handsome houses, solidly constructed, now replace the
+paths, shaded by secular trees, which used often to serve as places of
+assignation for lovelorn couples.
+
+The young embroiderer exchanged her attic room for a small apartment,
+still very modest, but indicating a less precarious financial condition.
+The furniture, too, was more pretentious; it was not that of a
+_petite-maitresse_, but it was no longer that of a grisette.
+
+Mademoiselle Georgette changed her business also; she abandoned
+embroidery to become a shirtmaker; and as she sewed as well as she
+embroidered, she did not lack work.
+
+Lastly, the short fustian skirt gave place to a petticoat of black silk,
+which fell gracefully over her alluring figure and reached only halfway
+to her ankle, so that it disclosed the lower part of a very shapely leg
+and the beginning of a plump calf.
+
+In her own room, the pretty shirtmaker affected the costume that she
+wore in the attic on Rue de Seine, a tight-fitting white jacket, and the
+short skirt that was so becoming to her. Add to these, spotlessly clean
+white stockings, and a tiny foot neatly shod, and she was quite certain
+to turn the heads of all who saw her in that charming neglige.
+
+Georgette lived now at the rear of a courtyard; but that courtyard was
+spacious, airy, and well kept; it was square in shape, and the tenants
+of the building in front looked on the boulevard and on the courtyard,
+while those in the building at the rear had the latter view only; and
+when they sat at their windows, they could see nothing but one another.
+
+Georgette occupied two small rooms on the entresol. But above her was an
+elderly female annuitant, with her servant; their combined ages exceeded
+a century. On the next floor above, a family of honest bourgeois, who
+were always in bed at half-past ten. On the upper floor, a lady who gave
+lessons on the piano. In the building at her right lived an unmarried
+government clerk, who had a maid of all work. Above him, a lady of
+uncertain age, who had once been very pretty, and was still a great
+coquette; who covered her face with rice powder, cold cream, and red,
+blue, and black paint; who regretted the _mouches_ with which ladies
+used to spot their faces, but who had made, with the aid of a red-hot
+pin, two beauty spots--one on the left cheek, the other on a spot which
+is not seen. But, you will say, if it is not seen, why make the beauty
+spot there? Ah! you are too inquisitive! Pray, do not those persons who
+are gifted with second-sight see everything, even the most carefully
+hidden things? The second beauty spot was for them; magnetism is an
+invaluable science.
+
+Above this lady, whose name was Madame Picotee, were two young men who
+devoted themselves to literature, which did not prevent them from
+ogling their neighbors, when they were attractive.
+
+In the building at the left, on the first floor, was a dressmaker's
+establishment; on the second, a painter of miniatures; on the third, a
+photographer. In all the buildings, the rooms under the eaves were
+reserved for servants.
+
+The building that looked on the boulevard contained the handsomest
+apartments, and, consequently, the most important tenants of the house.
+
+On the first floor was a very rich gentleman with two servants: a maid
+and a valet. On the second, a young couple; the husband was engaged in
+business, the wife in coquetry; she was pretty and a flirt, he was ugly
+and a rake; they had a soubrette with a very wide-awake air, and a cook
+who drank too much.
+
+On the third floor was a young man who had just received his degree as a
+physician and who lacked nothing but patients; he looked for them and
+solicited them everywhere; he would have made some, if it had been
+possible, but only for the pleasure of taking care of them and the glory
+of curing them.
+
+After Mademoiselle Georgette took up her abode in the entresol at the
+rear of the courtyard, all eyes were fastened upon her, and the feminine
+glances were foremost in seeking to scrutinize and pass judgment on the
+new-comer; for women are more curious than men--that is a recognized
+fact.
+
+It was easy to obtain a sight of the latest arrival; it was April; the
+weather was very fine, the sun deigned to show his face frequently; and
+Mademoiselle Georgette, who was very glad to admit him to her little
+entresol, left her windows open almost all day, and, as her custom was,
+sat at her window working. You know what her costume was: the white
+jacket fitting close to her figure, and the skirt clinging about her
+hips.
+
+So that they could look at her and examine her at their ease; and as she
+was very attractive, very alluring in her simple costume, the women did
+not fail to discover that it was very unseemly, and that it was most
+unbecoming to her. They decided that the little shirtmaker did not know
+how to dress, and that she had no other beauty than her youth.
+
+The lady who painted her cheeks even went so far as to say that the
+girl's skirt was indecent, because it outlined her figure too plainly.
+To be sure, the lady in question no longer had any figure that could
+possibly be outlined by her garments; but, on the other hand, she was
+very fond of going to the Circus, where men perform daring feats on
+horseback, and she had never found any fault with the exceedingly tight
+nether garments worn by most of the riders.
+
+The men who lived in the house disagreed entirely with the opinion of
+the ladies. To a man, they voted the girl most attractive and
+exceedingly well built; and they rivalled one another in passing
+encomiums upon the grace with which she wore her modest costume. The
+short black petticoat was declared to be enchanting; and from the first
+to the topmost floor, the male tenants said to one another:
+
+"Have you seen the girl on the entresol, with her little short skirt?"
+
+"Yes, she's very piquant, is that young woman; she has such a
+well-set-up figure, and such well-rounded hips! She reminds me of the
+famous Spanish dancer, Camera Petra."
+
+"Yes, yes, there's a resemblance in her skirt. I saw her in the yard,
+drawing water at the pump."
+
+"Still in her simple neglige?"
+
+"Yes. Ah! messieurs, if you could have seen her pump! She was so
+graceful, and her skirt followed her motions so perfectly! It was enough
+to drive a man mad!"
+
+"She has a very pretty leg too, and a tiny foot."
+
+"She's a mighty pretty girl! I must try to make a conquest of her."
+
+"And I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"And I," said the photographer to himself; "I'll do it quicker than any
+of 'em, as I'll go to her and suggest taking her picture on a card; for
+all these young girls are delighted to have their picture."
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+A GENTLEMAN WHO DID NOT RUIN HIMSELF FOR WOMEN
+
+
+There was one man in the house who said nothing; to be sure, he was too
+lofty a personage to gossip with his neighbors! It was the man who
+occupied the first-floor suite in the building on the boulevard. His
+name was Monsieur de Mardeille; was he of noble birth, or was he not?
+that is of little consequence to us; but this much is certain: he had
+about twenty-five thousand francs a year and he never spent the whole of
+his income.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was at this time about fifty years of age, but he
+looked hardly forty-four. He had been a very comely person, and was
+still far from ill-looking. He was of commanding stature, well built,
+and had had the good fortune not to grow stout as he grew older; thus he
+was still capable of making conquests, his physical advantages being
+reinforced by those due to the possession of wealth. Always dressed in
+the height of fashion, but wise enough to avoid those extreme styles
+which, while they are endurable in a young man, are ridiculous in middle
+age, Monsieur de Mardeille had a distinguished bearing and the manners
+of the best society; and lastly, while he was no eagle, he had that
+social cleverness which often consists only in a good memory, and is
+infinitely more common than natural cleverness. With all the rest, he
+was exceedingly presumptuous, and believed himself to be very shrewd.
+
+It is almost superfluous to say that Monsieur de Mardeille took the
+greatest care of his health, for he was most solicitous to retain his
+good looks, and, consequently, his youth; which last is a decidedly
+difficult thing to do, as we grow older every day. But still, so long as
+a man has a youthful look he tries to persuade himself that he is really
+young; to be sure, there is always something in our inmost being that
+reminds us how old we are; but so long as that something does not let
+itself be seen, we are entitled to forget it.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, then, took the greatest care of his person; he
+took medicinal baths twice a week; he took all the laxatives that keep
+the complexion fresh; he indulged in no excess, either at the table or
+in love. In fact, as he was a man who thought of nothing but himself, he
+had never allowed himself to undergo the slightest annoyance because of
+a woman, for egotists never love. Moreover, this gentleman prided
+himself upon never having spent money on a mistress. We do not call it
+spending money when we take a lady to dine at a restaurant, or to the
+play, or to the Bois in a caleche; for, in such cases, as we have our
+share of the pleasure, and as we gratify our vanity by parading our
+conquest, the money is spent for our own behoof. So that Monsieur de
+Mardeille, having thus far succeeded in having _bonnes fortunes_ that
+cost him nothing, laughed at his friends, most of whom ruined
+themselves, or at least ran into debt, to satisfy the whims of the fair
+ones for whom they sighed.
+
+"What the devil!" he would say, looking at himself in a mirror; "do as I
+do, messieurs! No woman ever resisted me, and yet I never gave them
+diamonds or cashmere shawls--still less, money, egad! And I have always
+taken good care not to pay their milliner's bills; whenever it has
+happened that a lady who had been kind to me has taken it into her head
+to send one of her purveyors to me with a little note begging me to help
+her out of a scrape by paying his bill, I have always begun by turning
+the man out of doors; and then I have ceased visiting my fair one, to
+whom I have written: 'I found it impossible to accommodate you, and I
+dare not see you again.'--Then my mistress was certain to come running
+after me, overwhelming me with tokens of affection, and crying: 'Can it
+be that you thought that I loved you from selfish motives? Why, it is
+you, you alone, whom I love! Oh! come back, come back!'--I have
+generally let them pull my ear for a while, and then gone back, amid
+transports of love on their part. For you may be perfectly sure,
+messieurs, that a woman will never love a man more because he is very
+gallant and very generous with her. She will take more pains about
+deceiving him, that's all; for she will hate to lose his gifts and his
+bounty; but what pleasure is there in possessing a woman who clings to
+you only from motives of self-interest?"
+
+"But," some of his friends would reply, "have you never felt the
+pleasure of giving? Are you insensible to the delight one feels in
+gratifying a woman's desires, in humoring her fancies, her caprices, and
+in the sweet smile with which she thanks you when you take her a
+present, whether it be some pretty trifle, or a magnificent jewel?"
+
+"Pardieu! I can readily believe that she smiles at you then; you
+wouldn't have her make a face at you, would you? But that gracious
+smile, which transports and intoxicates you, is not bestowed on you, but
+on the jewel or the shawl that you bring her. And perhaps you think that
+she loves you the more for it? Why, not at all; she will deceive you the
+next minute, making fun of you with the friend of her heart, to whom she
+will laughingly show the present you have just given her. No, messieurs,
+I do not know, nor have I any desire to know, what you choose to call
+the pleasure of giving. For that pleasure would deprive me of all
+confidence in my mistress; and if I am deceived, I can, at all events,
+say that it has cost me nothing.--And then," De Mardeille would add, "I
+must say that I have always chosen my conquests in good society, and
+that, consequently, my mistresses did not need to have me treat them
+generously."
+
+"That proves nothing. Whatever a woman's rank, she is always flattered
+to receive a handsome present."
+
+"Perhaps so; but, on the other hand, I am much more flattered when she
+loves me without any presents."
+
+Now you know the gentleman who lived directly opposite Georgette, and
+whose windows, being on the first floor, enabled him to look directly
+into the apartments in the entresol opposite; which entresol was
+occupied by the pretty shirtmaker, who, as we have already had the
+privilege of informing you, often left her windows open to enjoy the
+balmy spring air, and perhaps also to allow her neighbors to see her.
+When a woman is pretty, she does not hide herself, unless she is under
+the sway of a jealous tyrant. And even then she finds a way to let some
+portion of her person be seen, which may kindle a desire to see the
+rest.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille condescended occasionally to sit at a window in
+his dining-room, which looked on the courtyard; and there, in a stylish
+neglige, enveloped in a handsome dressing-gown, of velvet or dimity
+according to the season, his head covered with a dainty cap, the tassel
+of which fell gracefully over his right ear, and from beneath which
+escaped some stray brown locks, which were sternly forbidden to turn
+gray, my gentleman would bestow a glance or two on those of his
+neighbors who were worth the trouble of looking at. But thus far he had
+discovered nobody in the house who deserved to be scrutinized for more
+than an instant.
+
+When Georgette moved in, Monsieur de Mardeille's valet lost no time in
+informing his master that he had a new neighbor opposite, and added:
+
+"I thought she seemed to be very good-looking."
+
+"Ah! she seemed to you to be good-looking?" replied the old dandy, with
+a smile. "What sort of woman is this new tenant?"
+
+"She's an unmarried woman, so it seems, monsieur, and she makes men's
+shirts."
+
+"A shirtmaker! What! do you presume to praise a shirtmaker to me,
+Frontin?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille had insisted that his valet should consent to be
+called Frontin, although his real name was Eustache; for the name
+Frontin, which used to be employed in all comic operas, reminded our
+elegant seducer of a multitude of interesting and diverting love
+intrigues, wherein Frontin's master was always triumphant; and it was
+probably with a view to reproducing in actual life those scenes of the
+stage that Monsieur de Mardeille had dubbed his servant Frontin. If he
+had dared, he would have called him Figaro; but he himself was beginning
+to be a little mature to play Almaviva.
+
+Frontin, a great clown who deemed himself very shrewd, smiled as he
+answered:
+
+"Faith! monsieur, I thought that a pretty girl was a pretty girl, even
+if she was a shirtmaker!"
+
+"There may be some little truth in what you say, Frontin; but so far as
+I am concerned, you must understand that I look at women with other eyes
+than yours; that is to say, to appear pretty to me, a young woman, even
+a grisette,--for I do not absolutely debar grisettes,--must have
+something more than the commonplace beauties which charm you other men
+on the instant. She must have a--I don't know what--a certain peculiar
+fascination which we connoisseurs readily recognize, and to which the
+common herd of martyrs pay no heed. Tell me, Frontin, what you noticed
+especially alluring in this girl? I shall see at once whether you're an
+expert."
+
+"What I noticed, monsieur?"
+
+"Yes. And, first of all, where did you see her?"
+
+"I saw her pass this morning, monsieur, crossing the courtyard; I was in
+the concierge's lodge, and he said to me: 'See, there's the new tenant
+of the little entresol! That's Mamzelle Georgette; she's a shirtmaker,
+and she sews like a fairy, so they say.'--Naturally, I looked at her. I
+should say that she's about twenty, very well built, with very pleasant,
+attractive eyes; eyes of the sort that--that----"
+
+"Enough, Frontin, I understand. What else?"
+
+"_Dame!_ monsieur, her nose is a little turned up, and she has a very
+large mouth; I saw her teeth when she spoke to the concierge; there
+isn't one missing, monsieur."
+
+"Pardieu! if her teeth were decaying at twenty, that would be
+unfortunate!"
+
+"But I mean that her teeth are very white and even; and her cheeks are
+rosy and fresh."
+
+"I see! a simple, country beauty! she's probably just from the country."
+
+"Oh, no! she doesn't look in the least like a peasant; she carries
+herself too easily for that."
+
+"Well, I will see, I will examine her, I will run my eye over her. But I
+will wager--a toothpick--that your pretty neighbor is a mere ordinary
+beauty. Does she ever sit at her window?"
+
+"Oh! better than that, monsieur: she leaves all her windows wide open,
+and from ours we can look right into her room; we can even see her
+little bed in the rear!"
+
+"Ah! we can even see her bed? And she leaves her windows open?"
+
+"I presume that she shuts them when she goes to bed. And she has
+curtains."
+
+"Ah! Frontin, you knave, you have noticed all that! she has curtains!
+Parbleu! it would be a pretty state of things if she hadn't! Morals,
+Frontin, morals! However, I will take a look at this young woman whom
+you think pretty, and tell you if you know what you're talking about."
+
+"Oh! I am sure that monsieur will agree with me."
+
+A few moments later, Frontin ran to his master and said:
+
+"Monsieur, our young neighbor's windows opposite are wide open, and
+she's sewing at one of them; you can see her at your ease."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille arose, saying:
+
+"This devil of a Frontin! he insists that I must see his little
+shirtmaker. But beware! if you have disturbed me just to show me some
+commonplace face, I shall withdraw my confidence in your taste."
+
+Although he pretended that he went to look at his new neighbor solely to
+oblige his servant, he was not at all sorry to assure himself whether
+she was in fact as attractive as Frontin said; for Monsieur de Mardeille
+had always been very fond of the fair sex; to seek to attract women had
+been almost the sole occupation of his life; and for the last few years
+that occupation had been much more laborious, and had demanded much more
+time and trouble. It is useless to appear only forty-four years old when
+one is fifty; there are women who think forty-four too old--usually
+those who are about that age themselves. A middle-aged man finds it
+easier to make the conquest of a mere girl than of a woman who has known
+life. Why is it? Probably because the former lacks the experience of the
+other.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille took up his position at one of his dining-room
+windows; he assumed a graceful attitude, leaning on the window sill; he
+pushed his cap a little farther over his right ear, then turned his eyes
+to this side and that, not choosing to let anyone suppose that he had
+come there to look at the new tenant of the entresol.
+
+Soon, however, he carelessly cast a glance in that direction. Georgette
+was sitting at the window, sewing, and from time to time she too glanced
+into the courtyard; there is no law against a young woman's desiring to
+become acquainted with the faces of her neighbors.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille therefore was able to scrutinize the young
+shirtmaker's features at his leisure. She, when she raised her eyes from
+her work, saw plainly enough that her opposite neighbor was examining
+her; but that fact seemed not to embarrass her in the least, for she
+raised her head as often as before to look out of her window.
+
+"Not bad! not bad!" muttered Monsieur de Mardeille; "a little nose _a
+la_ Roxelane, fresh cheeks, eyes that look bright enough and saucy
+enough! But nothing extraordinary; I have seen all that a hundred times.
+She's rather a pretty girl, but nothing more. She doesn't deserve all
+your high-flown praise, my poor Frontin."
+
+But thus far he had only seen Georgette seated, so that he had no
+opportunity to admire the shapeliness of her figure or the grace of her
+carriage. Luckily, chance willed---- But was it really chance? We will
+not take our oath to it; women are so quick at divining what is
+calculated to seduce us! But, no matter! let us charge it to the account
+of chance that it occurred to the girl to leave her seat to water a
+small pot of violets that stood on the other window sill.
+
+Thereupon her opposite neighbor had an opportunity to watch her walk
+about her room; for one does not find on the instant all that one
+requires to water flowers, especially when one has no watering pot. So
+he saw Mademoiselle Georgette in her jacket and short petticoat; he
+could even see her foot and the lower part of her leg; for the
+girl--still by chance--went several times to the rear of the room,
+walking back and forth, after she had watered her flowers; and Monsieur
+de Mardeille, who was about to turn away from the window, remained
+there, and did not stir.
+
+"Ah! the devil!" he was muttering now; "ah! that's very pretty, that is!
+_Fichtre!_ what a figure! what hips! what a foot! what a leg! This is
+infinitely superior to all the rest. What a brisk walk! She reminds me
+of Beranger's ballad."
+
+And he began to hum:
+
+    "'Ma Fretillon! ma Fretillon!
+              Cette fille
+              Qui fretille,
+      N'a pourtant qu'un cotillon!'"
+
+Amazed to hear his master sing, Frontin said, with a downcast
+expression:
+
+"So, monsieur doesn't think that the little one opposite deserves all I
+said in her praise?"
+
+"Hush! hush! hold your tongue, Frontin!" replied Monsieur de Mardeille,
+without leaving the window or taking his eyes off his neighbor; "I said
+that, but I hadn't then seen her graceful, willowy form, or the little
+black skirt that outlines her voluptuous hips so perfectly. It is
+adorable! Indeed, it is well deserving of one's attention! And her foot!
+she has a charming foot! and the leg promises----"
+
+"Ah! I am very glad that monsieur sees that I was right, and----"
+
+"Hush, Frontin, hush! She's looking in this direction."
+
+Georgette had, in fact, raised her head at that moment, and her eyes had
+met her neighbor's of the first floor. Monsieur de Mardeille eagerly
+seized the opportunity to bestow a gracious salutation upon the new
+tenant, who replied with a courtesy and a very amiable smile.
+
+Thereupon Monsieur de Mardeille left his window, saying:
+
+"We must not be too lavish of our attentions at once! But from the way
+the little one smiled at me, I see that this conquest will not cost me
+much trouble."
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THE LITTLE BLACK SKIRT DOES ITS WORK
+
+
+While Monsieur de Mardeille deemed himself certain of triumphing over
+the young shirtmaker, almost all the other tenants of the house were
+trying to make a favorable impression on her. Georgette's little skirt
+had turned all their heads. The young men of letters were pleased to
+write verses in her honor, to commemorate her seductive figure in a
+ballad; they proposed to immortalize Georgette as Beranger immortalized
+Lisette, as all lovelorn poets have tried to immortalize their
+mistresses and their love affairs. Each of them believed himself to be a
+Virgil, a Catullus, a Tibullus, a Petrarch. There is no harm in that: we
+ought always to believe ourselves to be something; it affords one so
+much pleasure and costs so little!
+
+The miniature painter determined to propose to paint the girl's
+portrait. The photographer hoped that she would allow him to photograph
+her in all sizes and in different attitudes.
+
+The young doctor was bent upon attending her, and prayed heaven to
+inflict some trifling indisposition upon his pretty neighbor which would
+compel her to have recourse to his skill. The married man, who was very
+ugly and had a pretty wife, naturally considered the shirtmaker much
+better-looking than his wife. As he lived above Monsieur de Mardeille,
+he too had an excellent view of Georgette's apartment. So he frequently
+stationed himself at one of the windows in his dining-room; and from
+thence, not content with staring at his neighbor, he had no scruple
+about making signs and throwing kisses to her--in a word, indulging in a
+pantomime most discreditable to a married man. The truth was that he
+knew that his wife was not jealous, and that she paid little heed to his
+acts and gestures.
+
+In fact, even the old bachelor, who had a maid of all work, ventured to
+make eyes at the pretty shirtmaker, despite his fifty-five years; and as
+his windows were not opposite hers, in order to see her he was obliged
+to lean very far out of his window.
+
+Thereupon the maid of all work never failed to cry out:
+
+"Mon Dieu! monsieur, it's perfectly ridiculous to lean out like that!
+What is it you're trying to see, anyway? Is monsieur trying to throw
+himself out of the window on account of the little shirtmaker on the
+entresol? On my word, she isn't worth the trouble! She's no great
+wonder; and then, monsieur won't have anything to show for the crick in
+his neck, for the girl never looks in this direction."
+
+And the bachelor, irritated, but desirous none the less to deal gently
+with his maid, would reply:
+
+"You don't know what you are talking about, Arthemise! I don't look in
+one direction more than another. I stand at the window because it does
+me good to breathe the fresh air. I don't pay any attention to my
+neighbors; I didn't even know that there was a shirtmaker on the
+entresol."
+
+"Oh, yes! tell that to the marines! you can't fool me! Why, all the men
+in the house are getting cracked over that girl! It's easy enough to see
+that, for they pass about all their time at their windows, now."
+
+In truth, as soon as Georgette's window was open and she sat down by it
+to work, you would see a head appear on the fourth floor, then another
+on the second; and sometimes they all appeared at the same moment. It
+seemed to amuse Georgette, who would respond affably with a little nod
+to the salutations addressed to her from every floor.
+
+The female contingent was horrified by the conduct of the gentlemen; for
+no one of them had ever shown the slightest desire to gaze at one of the
+beauties of the establishment; to be sure, there were none, save the
+ugly man's wife, and she never appeared at any of the windows looking on
+the courtyard. Her bedroom faced the boulevard, and she would have
+considered that she compromised her reputation by showing herself at one
+of the rear windows.
+
+By way of compensation, her husband was one of the most enterprising,
+one of those who tried most frequently to see Georgette, and who
+indulged in telegraphic signals to which the young shirtmaker paid no
+attention whatever. But that did not discourage Monsieur Bistelle,--that
+was the gentleman's name,--who continued to throw kisses to the girl,
+which she pretended not to see; it scandalized all the neighbors,
+however.
+
+The young dressmakers amused themselves at Monsieur Bistelle's expense,
+and pointed him out to one another as soon as he appeared at his window.
+The lady of the beauty spot, Madame Picotee, always stationed herself
+at her window as soon as her neighbor came to his, and burst into roars
+of laughter, a little forced. At every kiss that Monsieur Bistelle threw
+to Georgette, she cried:
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! what fools some men are! but I never saw one quite so bad
+as this fellow! And a married man, too! why, it's shocking! The Bastille
+ought to be rebuilt on purpose for such people."
+
+Monsieur Bistelle heard it all; but it made no impression on him, and he
+often said to himself, in an undertone:
+
+"Bah! if I had chosen to send her a kiss, she wouldn't have thought it
+so shocking!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to act so foolishly as his
+neighbor on the second floor. He also stood at his window to look at
+Georgette; but, far from making signs and throwing kisses to her, he
+contented himself with a low bow, to which the girl never failed to
+respond with a pleasant smile. But as Bistelle was often looking out
+just as Georgette nodded and smiled, he took for himself the salutation
+addressed to the floor below; so that his hopes gained strength; he was
+enchanted; he would rub his hands in glee and sometimes go down to walk
+in the courtyard, where he would stop under the shirtmaker's windows,
+humming:
+
+    "''Tis here that Rose doth dwell!'"
+
+or:
+
+    "'When one knows how to love and please,
+      What other blessing doth he lack?'"
+
+And the young dressmakers never failed to clap their hands and demand an
+encore. One day, Madame Picotee had the bright idea of tossing him two
+sous, which he laughingly picked up and put in his pocket, saying:
+"This will buy me some rouge and rice powder."--Which remark maddened
+the lady of the beauty spot, who ran for her slop jar and would have
+emptied it on her neighbor, but for the presence of the concierge, who
+was sweeping the courtyard.
+
+Meanwhile Frontin, who soon discovered that his master was enamored of
+the damsel of the entresol, told him all that happened in the house, and
+all the foolish freaks to which Monsieur Bistelle resorted in his
+endeavors to commend himself to Mademoiselle Georgette.
+
+"What do you say? that ugly creature hopes to make a conquest of that
+pretty grisette?" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "didn't he ever look at
+himself in the glass?"
+
+"I don't know whether he knows how ugly he is," replied Frontin; "but I
+assure you, monsieur, that he flatters himself that he has made an
+impression on Mademoiselle Georgette; he declares that she smiles
+sweetly at him when he's at his window."
+
+"Smiles! Why, it's at me that the girl smiles, not at him! It's
+impossible that it should be at him! The conceited ass! the monkey! for
+the fellow looks very much like a monkey, doesn't he, Frontin?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; and he makes gestures like one, too."
+
+"What! do you mean to say that he presumes to do what monkeys do?"
+
+"Faith! monsieur, he goes through some very curious performances;
+they're very much like it! But that isn't all."
+
+"What else is there, Frontin?"
+
+"I know that Monsieur Bistelle sent a very fine bouquet to Mademoiselle
+Georgette this morning."
+
+"A bouquet! The popinjay! He had the assurance! And did the little one
+accept his bouquet?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; indeed, it's on her window sill now."
+
+"Can it be possible? I must look."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in going where he could see the
+shirtmaker's window; he not only saw a huge bouquet on the sill, but he
+saw Monsieur Bistelle walking in the courtyard and humming:
+
+    "And if I am not there,
+     At least my flowers will be."
+
+"Well, well! I must act, that is plain!" said the elderly dandy to
+himself; "I must declare myself in some other way than by standing at
+the window. Still, I can't make a straight dash for that grisette's
+rooms; that might compromise me. Ah! I have an idea! It's as simple as
+can be. She makes shirts. There's a pretext right at my hand.--Look you,
+Frontin."
+
+"Here I am, monsieur."
+
+"I want you to go to Mademoiselle Georgette's."
+
+"The pretty neighbor's?"
+
+"Yes; you will present yourself in my name, and most politely. You will
+say to her that, as I have heard that she is a shirtmaker and as I have
+some very fine shirts to be made up---- That isn't true; I don't need
+any, but they are always useful and I can safely order a dozen.--You
+will say to her then, that, as I have some work for her, I shall be much
+obliged if she will take the trouble to come to my rooms. You
+understand: in this way, I don't compromise myself, and I shall be able
+to talk to her much more freely than in her apartment."
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes; I will go and do your errand."
+
+"Be perfectly courteous and respectful; that flatters these little
+girls."
+
+"Yes, monsieur; and you don't want me to take her a bouquet too?"
+
+"Nonsense! what good do bouquets do? There's nothing so commonplace! Do
+you suppose that I intend to copy Monsieur Bistelle? No, no, never a
+bouquet; I don't need that sort of thing to succeed. Go, Frontin; if the
+young shirtmaker asks you at what time I can receive her, say that she
+is entirely at liberty to choose the hour that is most convenient to
+her, and that she will always be welcome. I think that's rather pretty,
+eh? That's worth more than a bouquet."
+
+Frontin departed, to perform the mission with which his master had
+intrusted him. But the bouquet sent to Georgette by Bistelle had been
+seen by the whole house. Instantly, as if he had lighted a train of
+powder, all the aspirants to the girl's favor had determined that they
+must not lag behind, and that the moment had come to try to make her
+acquaintance.
+
+The young literary man who dabbled in poetry purchased a small bunch of
+violets for two sous--we are all gallant according to our means;--but he
+wrapped it in a sheet of note paper, whereon he had written this
+quatrain:
+
+    "Je vous ai vue, agissant a la pompe;
+     En vous tout est charmant, tout est vrai, rien ne trompe;
+     Vous deployez alors des mouvements si doux,
+     Que l'on se damnerait pour pomper avec vous!"[D]
+
+The young poet gave his bouquet and his verses to the concierge, to be
+delivered, instructing him to say to the girl that she must read what
+was written on the paper. A little later, the poet's confrere also
+appeared with a modest bouquet; but his forte was vaudevilles rather
+than poetry, so that the offering which accompanied his flowers was a
+ballad, and he laid the same injunction on the concierge.
+
+Next came the photographer, who sent a package of photographs of the
+most popular actors. It is well known that young working girls, as a
+general rule, have a pronounced penchant for actors. Our photographer
+had no doubt that his gift would be most acceptable, and he told the
+concierge to say to Mademoiselle Georgette that he would be highly
+flattered if he might be permitted to photograph her.
+
+Next came the miniature painter, who sent a dainty pasteboard box on
+which he had painted a swarm of little cupids in exceedingly graceful
+attitudes. As he handed his box to the concierge, he said:
+
+"You will not fail to assure Mademoiselle Georgette that the artist who
+executed all these cupids would esteem himself very fortunate if he
+might paint his neighbor's portrait free of charge, and in whatever
+costume may be most agreeable to her."
+
+A few moments after the miniature painter, the young doctor appeared and
+handed the concierge a package, saying:
+
+"Be kind enough to hand this to Mademoiselle Georgette, with my
+compliments; it contains mauve, linden leaves, and poppy seeds; they are
+all excellent to take when one has a cold, and it rarely happens that a
+person goes a whole year without a cold. You will say to the young lady
+that I solicit her permission to attend her."
+
+Lastly, the old bachelor himself had purchased a box of candied fruit,
+without his maid-servant's knowledge. But he took care not to intrust
+his gift to the concierge, for if he did he knew that his servant would
+certainly be told of it. So he went out on the boulevard and found a
+little bootblack, to whom he handed his box and gave instructions where
+to deliver it; and as he did not choose to remain incognito, lest his
+pretty neighbor should attribute his gift to somebody else, he
+instructed his messenger to say to her:
+
+"Your neighbor, Monsieur Renardin, sends you this box, with his
+compliments.--Above all things," he added, "don't stop at the
+concierge's lodge, and don't speak to him; go straight to Mademoiselle
+Georgette's room on the entresol. You are paid, so take nothing from
+her."
+
+Affairs were in this condition when Monsieur de Mardeille sent his valet
+Frontin to Georgette's room. From early morning, the concierge, having
+received the presents one after another, had passed all his time going
+back and forth from his lodge to the entresol, where the young
+shirtmaker accepted without hesitation everything that was sent to her,
+simply saying to the concierge:
+
+"Say to monsieur that I thank him."
+
+"Don't forget to read the verses, mademoiselle; there's verses written
+on the paper," said the concierge, when he delivered the bunches of
+violets.
+
+"All right; I'll read everything, but I shall not answer anything."
+
+Georgette had read the quatrain, and was humming the vaudevillist's
+ballad, which was written to the tune of _La Boulangere_, laughing
+heartily at the words:
+
+    "Vous avez un minois fripon,
+     Une taille tres-fine;
+     L'oeil assassin, le pied mignon,
+     La tournure mutine;
+     J'admire enfin votre jupon
+     Et tout ce qu'on devine
+             De rond,
+     Et tout ce qu'on devine!"[E]
+
+when the concierge appeared once more, with the package of photographs
+of actors; and a few moments later with the box adorned with cupids.
+
+"What! more?" said Georgette. "Why, these gentlemen seem to have passed
+the word around to-day to pay compliments to me!"
+
+"Faith! yes, mademoiselle, they're standing in line at my door. But I
+don't complain; to tell you the truth, all these young men are well
+intentioned; all they want is to pay their respects to you; that's what
+they told me to tell you."
+
+"I accept the little gifts, monsieur; they serve to keep up--pleasant
+relations; but be good enough to say to these gentlemen that I do not
+want their respects, and beg them not to take the trouble of coming to
+offer them to me."
+
+"The devil!" muttered the concierge, as he went away; "the young
+shirtmaker is one of the virtuous kind, it seems; and these gentlemen
+won't have anything to show for their presents! But in spite of that,
+she accepts everything that comes!"
+
+Georgette had just received the package of simples presented by the
+young doctor and had repeated her previous reply to the concierge, when
+Monsieur de Mardeille's valet presented himself at her door.
+
+He saluted her with the unceremonious air commonly assumed by servants
+who think that their appearance is most welcome; and when Georgette
+asked him what he wanted, he replied in an almost patronizing tone:
+
+"I come, mademoiselle, from my master, Monsieur de Mardeille--the
+gentleman who lives opposite, on the first floor--an apartment that
+rents for three thousand francs. My master is very rich; he has more
+than twenty-five thousand francs a year; he might have a carriage if he
+chose; he has money enough. The only reason that he hasn't one is that
+he doesn't want it."
+
+Georgette laughed in the servant's face.
+
+"Well! what of it?" she retorted. "What do you suppose I care whether
+your master has a carriage or not, or how much he pays for his
+apartment? Did he send you here to tell me that? Oh! that would be too
+stupid!"
+
+Monsieur Frontin was a little disconcerted to find that he had not
+produced more effect. He continued, in a less lofty tone:
+
+"No, mademoiselle, no; my master didn't send me here to tell you that.
+But I thought--I supposed you would be glad to be informed. One likes to
+know with whom one is dealing."
+
+"Do your errand; that will be better than your long speeches."
+
+This time Frontin was altogether disconcerted; he expected to find a
+young seamstress only too delighted to receive a message from his
+master, and he found that he had to do with a young woman who seemed
+strongly inclined to laugh at him. So he decided to be very polite, and
+said in a respectful tone:
+
+"My master, mademoiselle, having occasion to have some shirts made, and
+knowing that you work in that line, requests you to be kind enough to
+call at his apartment, so that he may give you his order and be
+measured."
+
+"Monsieur," replied Georgette, in a very decided tone, "you will say to
+your master that I am not in the habit of calling upon unmarried men. If
+he were married, if his wife were with him, why, I would gladly comply
+with his request, there would be no difficulty about it; but as he is
+alone----"
+
+"He has a maid, mademoiselle, and myself."
+
+"Servants don't count, monsieur. I shall not go to your master's
+apartment; if he has an order to give me, he can take the trouble to
+come here; I will receive him and his twenty-five thousand francs a
+year, with or without a carriage!"
+
+Frontin was piqued; in the first place, because the young woman had said
+that servants did not count; and secondly, because she seemed to make
+very little account of his master's exalted position. He replied, with
+evident irritation:
+
+"Why, where would be the harm, mademoiselle? Suppose you should come to
+Monsieur de Mardeille's rooms; you wouldn't be the first one to do it!
+He receives ladies--a great many ladies! And they _are_ ladies, too, who
+don't work for everybody."
+
+"Monsieur le valet de chambre, you are a donkey! You talk nothing but
+nonsense!"
+
+"What's that? I am a donkey! Allow me----"
+
+"I don't doubt that your master receives many ladies, and for that very
+reason I don't propose to add to the number."
+
+"But----"
+
+"Enough of this! You have my answer; go and repeat it to Monsieur de
+Mardeille."
+
+Frontin was on the point of making some retort, when a great uproar in
+the courtyard attracted the attention of all the tenants of the house.
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+A BOX OF CANDIED FRUIT
+
+
+The reader will remember that Monsieur Renardin, one of Georgette's
+neighbors, who had a maid of all work, had purchased a box of candied
+fruit and had employed a little bootblack to deliver it to Georgette,
+and had told him that she lived on the entresol at the rear of the
+courtyard.
+
+But the young fellow, who was a messenger as well as a bootblack, was a
+child of Auvergne, and had just as much intelligence as he required to
+black boots or to carry a pail of water; almost all water carriers are
+Auvergnats. He put the box of candied fruit under his arm; it was
+carefully wrapped in white paper and tied with pink ribbon. He entered
+the designated house, and, passing the concierge's door with his head in
+the air, started across the courtyard; but the concierge, who had seen
+him pass, ran out of his lodge and stopped him, saying:
+
+"Where in the devil are you going, you young scamp? What do you mean by
+marching by my door without a word? That's no way to go into a house, do
+you hear, Savoyard?"
+
+"I ain't no Savoyard, I'm an Auvergnat."
+
+"Savoyard or Auvergnat! I don't care which, they're the same thing!
+Where are you going, I say?"
+
+"I'm not speaking to you! I'm going straight ahead."
+
+"I see that you don't speak to me; but I speak to you; I'm the
+concierge, and I have a right to question you, and you must answer."
+
+"I'm not to speak to the concierge, that's my orders. I'm going straight
+ahead."
+
+"What an obstinate little beggar! I tell you, you shan't pass till I
+know where you're going!"
+
+"But I tell you I'm going straight ahead to take this box."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"I won't tell you."
+
+"I'll make you tell me! What's in the box? explosive stuff, perhaps? If
+you won't answer, I'll take you and your box before the magistrate."
+
+The concierge seized the boy's arm; he struggled and wept, and shouted
+at the top of his lungs:
+
+"Let me be--you big thief! Monsieur Renardin, your neighbor, sent me
+here, and I'll tell him that you wouldn't let me do my errand!"
+
+Mademoiselle Arthemise, the old bachelor's servant, crossed the
+courtyard at that moment. Hearing her master's name, she stopped short,
+then ran to the messenger.
+
+"Monsieur Renardin!" she cried; "who wants Monsieur Renardin? This
+little fellow?--What do you want of him?"
+
+"Why, no, he doesn't want him; he says that he comes here from him,"
+said the concierge; "if the little donkey had only said that at first,
+I'd have let him pass."
+
+"From him--he comes from him? Then it's me he wants. Monsieur Renardin
+must have sent him to me. What do you want of me, my boy?"
+
+The little Auvergnat looked at Mademoiselle Arthemise, who was a
+strapping, red-faced wench of about thirty, with stray hairs on her chin
+and upper lip that made her look like a man disguised as a woman.
+
+"Be you Mademoiselle Georgette?" he asked.
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette!" replied the stout servant, with a savage
+glare. "Yes, yes, that's me."
+
+"And you live in the entresol yonder?"
+
+"Yes, yes, it's me, I tell you! Did Monsieur Renardin send you to bring
+that box to Mademoiselle Georgette, on the entresol?"
+
+"Yes; it's from your neighbor, with all his compliments, mademoiselle."
+
+"Ah! we'll just look and see what he sends to that hussy!"
+
+And Mademoiselle Arthemise seized the box and was beginning to tear off
+the wrapper, when the concierge called to her:
+
+"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle; you take that box when you know
+perfectly well it isn't for you."
+
+"What business is it of yours? What do you want to meddle in it for, you
+low-lived porter? Does the shirtmaker pay you to look after her lovers'
+presents?"
+
+"No, mademoiselle, the shirtmaker doesn't pay me, but I'm bound to do my
+duty; if that Auvergnat Savoyard had said what he wanted, I'd have let
+him pass and carry to Mademoiselle Georgette what he had for her."
+
+"Oh, yes! everybody knows that you look after the lovers; that's your
+business, you know."
+
+"My business is to see that the tenants get what's addressed to them.
+Give me that box, which isn't for you."
+
+"Not if I know it! Candied fruits! apricots! Look at this, will you! He
+gives candied fruits to that slut, and he says there's no need of my
+putting mushrooms in the chicken fricassee! that I spend too much money!
+that I ain't economical! Just wait! just wait! I'll give you candied
+prunes and cherries packed in straw!"
+
+"But I tell you again to give me that box, Mademoiselle Arthemise; you
+are not Mademoiselle Georgette!"
+
+The little Auvergnat, who was just beginning to understand that he had
+made a botch of his errand, interposed at that point.
+
+"What! ain't you the lady on the entresol?" he asked.
+
+"Bah! hold your tongue, you brat, it's none of your business! Here,
+here's an orange; put that down and show me your heels!"
+
+And Mademoiselle Arthemise stuffed a piece of candied orange into the
+bootblack's mouth. He accepted and ate it; but he was none the less
+determined to recover the box. He tried to take it away from Monsieur
+Renardin's maid, and the concierge seconded his efforts. But the stout
+Arthemise was a muscular wench, able to contend with more formidable
+antagonists. She began by throwing a slice of quince in the boy's face;
+then she planted a candied apricot on the concierge's left eye, whereat
+he cried out like an ass whose eye has been put out; then she dealt
+blows indiscriminately to right and left.
+
+It was the outcries of the concierge and the little Auvergnat, blended
+with roars of laughter from Mademoiselle Arthemise, that had brought all
+the tenants to their windows. To add to the uproar, Monsieur Renardin
+appeared at that moment, uneasy because his messenger had not returned,
+and curious to know how the pretty shirtmaker had received his gift.
+
+The bachelor was horrified when he saw the little Auvergnat on all
+fours, looking for the piece of quince, which had fallen to the ground;
+the concierge yelling and cursing as he removed the apricot from his
+eye, piece by piece; and lastly, the maid of all work, stuffing herself
+with candied fruit and saying:
+
+"It's mighty good, all the same! I never tasted it before, but I'll make
+him give me some now."
+
+"What does this mean, Arthemise? What are you doing here in the
+courtyard, instead of attending to your dinner?" inquired Monsieur
+Renardin, with a frown.
+
+"My dinner! Deuce take the dinner! it can take care of itself. I'm
+having a treat, I am! I'm eating candied cherries and pears! I say,
+monsieur, when you go about it, you send nice presents to young ladies!
+But you'd better choose a page who ain't quite so stupid as this one; he
+took me for the hussy of the entresol. Oh, my! I didn't say anything; I
+just took the box."
+
+"What's that? you little rascal! is this the way you do errands?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it wasn't my fault. Why wouldn't the concierge let me
+in?"
+
+"I did my duty; this Savoyard's a fool, and I was just going to send him
+to the entresol when Mademoiselle Arthemise told him she was
+Mademoiselle Georgette, and that the box was for her."
+
+"What, Arthemise! you dared----"
+
+"Hoity-toity! why should I have hesitated? This little brat brings a box
+from you--of course, I thought it was for me. As if I could suppose
+that a man of your age would pay court to young girls! that he'd lay out
+money for the first pert-faced minx that perches in the house! that he'd
+send boxes of candied fruit to a new-comer, a shirtmaker, when he growls
+every day because, as he says, I put too much butter in a sauce
+that----"
+
+"Enough, mademoiselle! that will do; come with me, and we will have an
+explanation upstairs. I don't choose to have the whole house know what
+goes on in my establishment."
+
+And Monsieur Renardin walked hastily toward the stairs, not daring to
+look at the windows of the entresol. Mademoiselle Arthemise followed her
+master, making faces behind his back; she still had the box of candied
+fruit in her hand, and she called out to the concierge, laughing in his
+face:
+
+"I don't care a snap of my finger! I always get the good things. As for
+monsieur, as he don't like bread soup, he can make up his mind to eat
+nothing else for a week!"
+
+"If my eye is injured, mademoiselle," said the concierge, "you'll have
+to pay the doctor!"
+
+"Count on it, my dear man; apply to Monsieur Renardin; he's the cause of
+it all! He's an old rake, and nothing else!"
+
+Georgette had overheard all this from her room, and it had amused her
+immensely. Monsieur Frontin, who was on the landing, had stopped there,
+in order not to lose a word of the altercation and to be able to report
+it faithfully to his master. When there was no one left in the
+courtyard, the little Auvergnat having decamped after picking up the
+piece of quince, the valet returned to the front building and to his
+master's apartment. He began by attempting to tell him what had just
+taken place in the courtyard; but Monsieur de Mardeille interrupted him:
+
+"I know all about that; I was at my window. I know that Monsieur
+Renardin sent a box of candied fruit to the little shirtmaker, and that
+Arthemise, his maid, got possession of the box and ate what was in it.
+That Arthemise is a bad one, and her master ought to discharge her at
+once. But when a man submits to be domineered over by his servant, he
+deserves to have her make a fool of him. However, that doesn't interest
+me much; this Monsieur Renardin is not a rival to worry about. You have
+been to see the little one? Well! She was flattered, enchanted by my
+proposition, of course? When is she coming?"
+
+Frontin drew himself up, assumed a solemn expression, and replied:
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette did not seem at all flattered by monsieur's
+proposition; on the contrary, she put on an air--well, an air as if she
+was a great swell!"
+
+"Cut it short, Frontin!"
+
+"Well, monsieur, this shirtmaker doesn't choose to measure you for
+shirts; do you understand that?"
+
+"I understand that you're an idiot, if that's the way you did my errand!
+I never said a word to you about taking my measure!"
+
+"But I supposed that was necessary, monsieur. When a tailor makes you a
+coat, he takes your measure first."
+
+"Enough! What did the girl say? She didn't refuse without giving any
+reasons, did she?"
+
+"She thought it was strange, monsieur, that you are not married. She
+said: 'Oh! if your master was married, if he had a wife, that would make
+a difference; I'd go and measure him right away; but I don't go to see
+bachelors. If he chooses to come to my rooms, I will receive him.'"
+
+"Aha! she wants me to go to her! You ought to have begun by telling me
+that, you clown! I understand--that flatters my young lady's vanity!
+These girls have so much self-esteem! She wants the whole house to know
+that Monsieur de Mardeille is paying court to her! Well, I don't care,
+after all; I will go; but I will go in the evening, because the
+neighbors aren't at their windows after dark."
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+DECLARATION AND OBSTINACY
+
+
+That same evening, Monsieur de Mardeille left his apartment about eight
+o'clock. It was quite dark, everything was quiet in the house, and he
+stole noiselessly downstairs and passed the concierge's lodge on tiptoe,
+unnoticed. Then he walked rapidly across the courtyard and went up to
+the entresol, where he could see a light.
+
+"No one will see me go to the little shirtmaker's," he said to himself,
+"and perhaps she will be quite as well pleased to receive me after dark.
+That saves appearances."
+
+He stopped at Georgette's door and knocked softly. In a moment, a sweet
+voice said:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"Open, if you please, Mademoiselle Georgette; it is someone who wishes
+to speak to you."
+
+"I don't receive visits at night. Come back to-morrow morning."
+
+"I am your opposite neighbor, mademoiselle--Monsieur de Mardeille; I
+sent my servant to you this morning. You know what it is that brings me;
+so be kind enough to open the door, I beg."
+
+"I am very sorry, monsieur; but I never let anybody in at night. Come
+back to-morrow. It will be light then."
+
+"What, mademoiselle! you leave me outside your door--me, Monsieur de
+Mardeille! You are quite certain, I presume, that I am not a robber?"
+
+"Perhaps you might be a more dangerous character! Good-night, monsieur!
+Until to-morrow, by daylight!"
+
+"It's because she considers me too dangerous that she won't let me in
+now!" said Monsieur de Mardeille to himself, as he returned to his own
+lodgings.
+
+That idea, by flattering his self-esteem, consoled him a little for
+having put himself out to no purpose.
+
+"It's plain," he thought, "that she wants the whole house to know that I
+am paying court to her.--Well! since it must be, mademoiselle, you shall
+receive a visit from me at midday."
+
+And the next day, after passing more than an hour at his toilet, because
+he was determined to be irresistible, Monsieur de Mardeille decided to
+defy the prying glances of the neighbors. He went downstairs as if he
+were going out; but as he passed the concierge, who was standing at his
+door, he said:
+
+"By the way, that girl who lives on the entresol makes shirts, doesn't
+she?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; she works for a linen draper; her sewing is perfect, so
+they say."
+
+"In that case, I am inclined to order some shirts of her. One ought
+always to employ one's neighbors, as far as possible."
+
+And our dandified friend turned on his heel, crossed the courtyard, and
+in an instant stood before Georgette's door, which was always unlocked
+during the day.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille tapped softly twice.
+
+"Come in, the door is unlocked," replied the same voice that he had
+heard the night before.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille entered with the ease of manner born of
+familiarity with society, and the nonchalance which a rich man always
+affects when he calls upon poor people--unless, that is to say, he is
+possessed of intelligence or tact; in which case, far from seeking to
+make his superiority felt, his endeavor will rather be to keep it out of
+sight. But men of tact and intelligence are rare, and Georgette's caller
+was deficient in both those qualities.
+
+However, he abated something of his lordly manner when he saw how
+unconcernedly the young woman received him. She seemed in no wise
+perturbed by his visit, but gracefully motioned him to a chair and
+coolly resumed her own, which was near the window, saying:
+
+"May I know, monsieur, to what I am indebted for the honor of your
+visit?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille settled himself comfortably in his chair, and
+replied:
+
+"Mademoiselle, I sent my valet to you yesterday; I ventured to request
+you to come to my apartment; it is not very far; I live just opposite."
+
+"Oh! I know it, monsieur; I recognize you perfectly. But your servant
+must have told you----"
+
+"That you would not call upon unmarried men--yes, he told me that. But,
+bless my soul! why do bachelors cause you such alarm? Have you had much
+reason to complain of them? Ha! ha! ha! Do you know that that might give
+rise to many conjectures?"
+
+And he laughed again, because he had fine teeth which he was very glad
+to exhibit, and because, moreover, he thought it quite clever to laugh
+like that. But Georgette remained unmoved, and replied:
+
+"I don't know what conjectures one might form, monsieur; but I act thus
+because it suits me, and I worry very little about what people may
+think."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, surprised at the girl's serious tone, smiled
+rather sheepishly and decided not to laugh any more. He moved uneasily
+in his chair as he rejoined:
+
+"I had no intention to offend you. The deuce! mademoiselle, it seems
+that one cannot safely jest with you."
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I am very ready to jest, when I know my
+man."
+
+"Ah! to be sure, and you know me only by sight as yet. I consider myself
+fortunate, mademoiselle, to have so charming a person as you are for my
+opposite neighbor; and it made me anxious at once to--to--to become
+better acquainted with you."
+
+"I thank you, monsieur; but there is too great a difference of rank
+between us."
+
+"Differences may be lessened; in fact, they very soon disappear between
+a lovely woman and a man who is fascinated by her charms."
+
+Georgette smiled and murmured:
+
+"Was it to tell me that that you came here, monsieur?"
+
+"Faith, yes! Look you! I won't beat about the bush; I prefer to go
+straight to the point. Indeed, why should I conceal the impression that
+your charms, your beauty, have made on my heart? Is it a crime to love
+you? especially as I am a bachelor, which certainly is no reason for
+spurning my homage. Yes, my lovely neighbor, you turned my head the very
+first time I saw you--in this charming neglige which is so becoming to
+you! I have not had a moment's repose since, I think of nothing but you!
+I used the pretext of wanting shirts made to try to lure you to my
+apartment; but what I wanted, what I want now, before everything, is to
+tell you that I adore you, and to beg you not to be insensible to my
+love!"
+
+It was Georgette's turn to laugh; and she did it so frankly, so
+unreservedly, that the old beau, who had leaned over toward her,
+straightened himself up and seemed completely taken back. As the pretty
+shirtmaker continued to laugh, he decided to say:
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, I am delighted to have afforded you so much
+amusement; but may I not know what it is that makes you laugh so
+heartily? It cannot be my avowal of my sentiments? You must be
+accustomed to receive such declarations, are you not? So far as I have
+been able to see, almost all the men in the house have told you or would
+like to tell you the same thing."
+
+"Ah! you know that, do you, monsieur?"
+
+"Did I not see the concierge pass the whole of yesterday bringing you
+bouquets, photographs, and heaven knows what? I even heard something of
+a box of candied fruit.--Ha! ha! ha! that was too absurd!"
+
+"It is quite true that all the gentlemen in the house have been most
+polite to me."
+
+"Faith! mademoiselle, I don't send bouquets myself; I consider it so
+commonplace, so vulgar, that I am not tempted to imitate these gentry. I
+speak out, I say frankly what I feel. Don't you consider that the
+better way?"
+
+"Why, it seems to me that it is very pleasant to receive bouquets and
+other presents."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lips and said to himself:
+
+"She likes her little presents; she's selfish; that's a pity!"
+
+But that did not prevent him from moving his chair nearer to
+Georgette's, and trying to assume a very affectionate, touching tone, as
+he murmured:
+
+"You have made no reply to my declaration, charming girl."
+
+"I beg your pardon; didn't you hear me laugh?"
+
+"What! is that the way you reply? What am I to conclude from that?"
+
+"That I took your declaration of love for what it was worth--that is to
+say, for a joke."
+
+"A joke! Oh! don't think it! I spoke most seriously. I love you! I adore
+you!"
+
+"On the instant, just from seeing me at my window?"
+
+"Does it take weeks or months to fall in love? We see a woman; she
+attracts us, fascinates us at once, or never. Love--what is it but
+electricity?"
+
+"Oh! I didn't know!"
+
+"Why, it is nothing else; a pretty woman's eyes contain the fluid that
+electrifies us. The moment that we feel the shock, it's all up with us;
+we are electrified."
+
+"Really! and the women, what electrifies them?"
+
+"Why, that is done by the same process; our glances do the business!"
+
+As he spoke, he tried to electrify the girl by fixing his eyes upon her,
+full of fire, and attempted to move his chair still nearer. But
+Georgette moved hers away, saying in a very sharp tone:
+
+"Don't sit so near me, monsieur, I beg you! it makes it hard for me to
+work, and, besides, it isn't proper."
+
+The old beau was speechless with surprise; he concluded that his eyes
+had not emitted enough of the magnetic fluid, and tried to make them
+still more inflammable as he exclaimed:
+
+"May not one venture to approach you, pray, in order to admire that
+divine figure at closer quarters?"
+
+"No, monsieur, one may not. What would the neighbors think if they
+should see you sitting so near me?"
+
+"The neighbors! the neighbors! Why do you leave your window wide open?
+It makes it very inconvenient to talk with you. I will close it, with
+your permission."
+
+"No, monsieur, no; I wish it to remain open; it does not interfere at
+all with my talking; and if the neighbors know that you are calling on
+me,--which they probably do, for everything that goes on in this house
+is seen,--why, they will see that nothing has happened that I need to
+conceal."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille frowned slightly; he shifted about in his chair,
+and said, after a brief pause:
+
+"What a strange idea it is, to subject yourself like this to the
+inspection of other people, to whose opinion you ought to be
+indifferent, in any event!"
+
+"Ah! so you think that one can afford to be indifferent to other
+people's opinion?"
+
+"I think--I think that you treat me very cruelly!"
+
+"And I, monsieur, think that I have conferred a great favor on you by
+consenting to receive you in my room--where I never receive any man. It
+seems that you are not at all grateful."
+
+"Oh! pardon me, my lovely neighbor; certainly I am very grateful; but I
+thought--I hoped---- By the way, you have not told me yet whether my
+sentiments are offensive to you?"
+
+"Why, monsieur, I hardly know you! And I don't allow myself to be
+electrified as easily as you do, I presume."
+
+"Cruel girl! you make sport of my torments."
+
+"You say that you love me, do you, monsieur? But why should I believe in
+your love? What proofs of it have you given me?"
+
+"What proofs? Do you mean to say, mademoiselle, that you must have
+proofs before you believe in it?"
+
+"Most certainly! Oh! I am very incredulous, monsieur, and I don't
+believe in anything until I have had proofs of it."
+
+"But it seems to me, mademoiselle, that the step I am taking at this
+moment ought to satisfy you that I am telling you the truth. When a man
+of my rank, a man accustomed to frequent only the best society, pays a
+visit to a--a simple working girl, he must be impelled thereto by a very
+powerful sentiment!"
+
+"That is to say, monsieur, that you think you do me great honor by
+calling on me?"
+
+"Why, no, I don't say that! You are cruel, and no mistake! you put a bad
+construction on everything I say!"
+
+Georgette made no reply, but continued to sew. Monsieur de Mardeille,
+sorely annoyed because he had failed to make such rapid progress as he
+hoped, said to himself:
+
+"Let us try changing the subject. The little one must like pleasure. All
+women want to be amused. Let us see if we can't dazzle her."
+
+After a moment, he added, aloud:
+
+"Have you been working long at this trade--for a linen draper?"
+
+"No, monsieur. Indeed, I have not been long in Paris."
+
+"Ah! then you are not a Parisienne? You surprise me! You have all the
+grace of one. May I, without being impertinent, ask you from what
+province you come?"
+
+Georgette hesitated a moment before she replied:
+
+"I come from a small village near Rouen."
+
+"Ah! you are a Norman! That is strange, for you haven't the Norman
+accent. How long have you been in Paris?"
+
+"Nearly five months."
+
+"Did you come alone?"
+
+"Yes, all alone. I said to my parents: 'I want to go to Paris; I will
+work hard there, and perhaps I may make my fortune--who knows?'"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille scratched his head as he repeated:
+
+"Fortune! hum! that's not so easy. Women don't often make their fortunes
+in Paris, when they have no other means of earning money than their
+needle. But, when you came to Paris, you probably knew that you would
+find a friend here, a wealthy protector, who could start you at once on
+the road to the fortune to which you aspire?"
+
+"No, monsieur," Georgette replied coldly; "I did not come to Paris to
+meet anyone, and I shall find a way myself to reach the end I have in
+view."
+
+Once more the old beau bit his lips and glanced about the room.
+
+"It's impossible to tell how to take the girl; she's always on her
+guard!" he said to himself. "I shall not succeed with her so quickly as
+I thought. But, it doesn't make much difference, I have plenty of time.
+I must find her sensitive spot.--Are you fond of the play,
+mademoiselle?" he asked.
+
+"Oh! yes, monsieur, very!"
+
+"Do you go often?"
+
+"Most rarely, monsieur. In the first place, I have no acquaintances in
+Paris; and for a young girl to go to the theatre alone is hardly
+proper."
+
+"I have found the weak point in the shield," thought Mardeille; and he
+rejoined:
+
+"Well, my charming neighbor, I will escort you to the theatre, with your
+permission. We will have a little screened box; it will be very
+comfortable, like being at home."
+
+"I don't know what your little screened boxes are, monsieur; but when I
+go to the play, I don't go to hide myself; I want to see and be seen."
+
+"Ah! you want to be seen! What a coquette!"
+
+"It is not from coquetry. But, monsieur, you cannot think that I would
+go to the play with such an elegant person as you, in the modest costume
+that I wear."
+
+"I presume that you would not go in this jacket and this short skirt,
+although the costume is divinely becoming to you! On my word, you are
+bewitching so!"
+
+"No, of course, I would not go out in a jacket; but my best costume is
+very modest: a cotton gown, a little cap, a knitted fichu--that's my
+attire!"
+
+"What! haven't you a bonnet--a tiny bonnet?"
+
+"No, monsieur, I haven't."
+
+The elderly dandy moved about in his chair, seemed to reflect, and said,
+at last:
+
+"After all, you must be fascinating in a cap. Besides, we can take a
+cab. Is it settled? I will take you to-night, if you agree."
+
+"What, monsieur! do you mean to say that you would take to the theatre a
+woman in a cotton dress, cap, and a fichu instead of a shawl?"
+
+"I do; I am entirely free from prejudices. I would like to take you in
+the costume you have on, if it were possible."
+
+"Well, upon my word! I wouldn't have believed that!"
+
+"That proves how dearly I love you, I hope."
+
+Georgette shook her head as she replied:
+
+"Why, no, it doesn't prove it at all. However, monsieur, I have more
+self-esteem than you. I have enough respect for your exalted rank to
+avoid compromising it. Fie, monsieur! what would people think of you if
+they saw you with a woman in a cap on your arm?"
+
+"But we shall take a cab."
+
+"We shall not go into the theatre in a cab! Ha! ha! And as I don't
+propose to hide myself in a screened box, when I am once in the theatre
+everyone will have plenty of time to admire my costume."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille rose and paced the floor, and for some time he did
+not speak; at last he said:
+
+"What do you need to go to the theatre with me, my lovely child?"
+
+"Why, almost everything: a silk dress; they have such nice things
+ready-made now, that it will be easy enough to find one that will fit
+me. And a pretty bonnet, and a fine shawl--cashmere, or something like
+it,--and gloves--nice kid gloves."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille began to pace the floor again, dissembling with
+difficulty the grimace that had replaced his amiable air. Suddenly he
+looked into the courtyard and exclaimed:
+
+"Ah! I believe I have visitors! Yes, they have come to see me. Au
+revoir, my charming neighbor; a thousand pardons for leaving you so
+abruptly!"
+
+"Oh! pray don't mind me, monsieur!"
+
+Our dandy was already at the door; he returned hurriedly to his own
+apartment, with an exceedingly ill-humored expression; and when Frontin
+inquired:
+
+"Did the shirtmaker take monsieur's measure?" he angrily replied:
+
+"Hold your tongue, you imbecile! I forbid you ever to mention that
+grisette to me."
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+LOVE! LOVE! WHEN THOU HAST TAKEN US CAPTIVE!
+
+
+A week passed. Monsieur de Mardeille had not called again upon
+Georgette; he had not stationed himself at his rear windows; but he had
+stolen many a glance through the glass, by raising a corner of the
+curtain. He had seen his young neighbor, as alert and alluring and
+graceful as ever, going to and fro in her modest apartment; then sitting
+down to work at her window; then rising and sitting down again; and
+every movement of the pretty shirtmaker made his heart beat fast. He had
+given Frontin a kick in the hind quarters, when that worthy ventured to
+laugh inanely because his master raised the curtain.
+
+He was somewhat flattered by the fact that, although Georgette responded
+affably enough to the salutations of her other neighbors, he had never
+seen one of them in her room; so that she had really done him a favor
+by consenting to receive him.
+
+At the end of a week, he said to himself:
+
+"After all, it was on my account, it was in my interest, to avoid
+compromising me, that the girl insisted upon being well dressed before
+she would go out on my arm. I can't be angry with her for that: it was a
+very excusable motive. But then I must send her all that she lacks.
+Pardieu! I am well able to do it! That is not the question--no--but it
+isn't my custom; I have never spent money on women. I know that once
+doesn't make a custom; but, for all that, I don't like it. But that girl
+is obstinate and strong-willed; if I don't send her what she wants, I
+shall have to abandon the pursuit. And I don't want to abandon it! I
+dream of her every night. I see her slender figure, her rounded hips,
+which her little black skirt hugs so closely. Well! I must buy her this
+finery. I won't go so far as the cashmere--no, indeed, I'm not such a
+fool! But when a man goes so far as to play the gallant, he must do
+things properly. At my age, it's very unpleasant to change one's habits.
+Why in the devil did that provoking grisette take up her abode in my
+house? right opposite me? under my nose? It's a fatality!"
+
+Love, and self-esteem, which is quite as strong as its brother, carried
+the day at last. One morning Georgette received the shawl, the bonnet,
+the dress, and even the kid gloves, with this brief note written by her
+stylish neighbor:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Now will you go to the theatre with me to-night?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And Georgette replied, to the messenger:
+
+"Yes, I will go."
+
+For Monsieur de Mardeille, who did not wish that anyone should know that
+he was spending money to gratify the shirtmaker, had not sent his gifts
+by Frontin.
+
+That evening, about seven o'clock, the dandy presented himself at
+Georgette's door. She was all dressed and ready, and probably less
+seductive in that guise than in her jacket and short skirt; but she was
+still very comely, because a young and pretty woman never becomes ugly
+in a stylish bonnet. Indeed, Monsieur de Mardeille was surprised at the
+ease with which his little neighbor wore her new costume.
+
+"On my honor!" he cried; "you are charming thus! You wear these clothes
+with such grace!"
+
+"Does that surprise you, monsieur?"
+
+"Nothing surprises me in you; I believe you to be adapted for any
+station."
+
+"I am ready; let us go."
+
+"Oh! we have plenty of time. Pray let me admire you a moment."
+
+"You may admire me all you please at the theatre; but as I don't often
+go, I want to see everything. Let us be off!"
+
+Georgette was already on the landing. Monsieur de Mardeille followed
+her, saying to himself:
+
+"She has a little will of her own that can't be resisted! But to-night,
+when we return from the theatre, I flatter myself that she won't dismiss
+me so quickly."
+
+It was still broad daylight when Georgette left her room, handsomely
+dressed and on Monsieur de Mardeille's arm. All the neighbors were at
+their windows; it is unnecessary to say that their tongues were in
+motion.
+
+"The ex-beau carries the day!" said the photographer; "he is rich and
+fashionable, and such advantages seduce these little girls, who are
+immensely flattered by hanging on a dandy's arm."
+
+"And then, he's very good-looking still," said the miniature painter. "I
+can understand that he may have taken the little one's fancy. These
+girls have a surprising taste for mature men."
+
+"The Lovelace of the first floor must have put out some money," said the
+two men of letters; "he's dressed the little neighbor from top to toe.
+Women can always be caught by flattering their coquetry."
+
+"And we couldn't offer her all that!"
+
+"It's very strange! this Mardeille has the reputation of being a stingy
+curmudgeon with women."
+
+"That's a report that he spreads himself, so as to get all the more
+credit."
+
+The young doctor said nothing; he simply sighed, as he thought:
+
+"She hasn't even had a cold!"
+
+Monsieur Bistelle was furious, for she had received his bouquets and had
+not received him, and had met all his propositions with a refusal,
+although they were most alluring. And so, when he saw Georgette pass in
+her new attire, he cried:
+
+"Bah! cheap stuff! Why, that shawl isn't a cashmere, nor even a Lyon;
+that dress isn't silk; that bonnet didn't come from one of our leading
+milliners! It's all trumpery; anyone can see that at a glance. I'd have
+dressed the girl a hundred times better; she's a fool to prefer that
+Mardeille, who never knew what it was to be generous to a woman!"
+
+This gentleman did not reflect that he himself was very ugly, whereas
+his rival was still very comely; but that is one of the things that one
+never considers. Moreover, we are so accustomed to our own faces that
+we never deem ourselves unattractive.
+
+Even Monsieur Renardin, the old bachelor, made a very pronounced grimace
+when he saw Georgette pass; especially as Mademoiselle Arthemise, his
+maid-servant, did not fail to say, with a sneer:
+
+"See, there goes your flame on the arm of the Joconde of the first
+floor! I advise you to send boxes of candied fruits to such hussies! The
+shirtmaker snaps her fingers at you."
+
+"In the first place, Arthemise, you're talking nonsense; that young
+woman didn't receive any candied fruit from me, as you ate it all."
+
+"Thank God! I was on hand to stop it as it passed--or else she would
+have got it. It's very lucky that I ate it, you see. I suppose you think
+that mincing thing would have put the box on her head to go out with
+you, don't you? Oh! she's a sly one! She's bleeding the ex-young man of
+the first floor; she's quite right, for he's a skinflint with women,
+they say; he's getting what he deserves."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille escorted Georgette to the Ambigu-Comique. He tried
+to take her to a small, dark box, but she refused to enter it, and he
+was obliged to take a seat in the balcony with her. There it was
+impossible to take the slightest liberty! As some consolation, our
+gallant kept trying to whisper words of love in the girl's ear, but she
+soon said to him impatiently:
+
+"Please be kind enough not to keep talking to me! You prevent me from
+hearing the play, and I suppose that is what people go to the theatre
+for."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille bit his lip and said to himself:
+
+"There's nothing so idiotic as these girls who have never been to the
+theatre! I won't bring you very often, I can tell you!"
+
+The play amused Georgette immensely, but was exceedingly tedious to her
+escort, who was overjoyed when it came to an end. He suggested returning
+home in a cab; but the girl refused, she was absolutely determined to go
+on foot.
+
+"But it's beginning to rain!" said Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Well, it will cool us off!"
+
+"But your new bonnet--won't the rain fade it and ruin it?"
+
+"What a terrible misfortune, if it is spoiled! There are other bonnets
+in the milliners' shops!"
+
+"I wonder if she thinks I am going to buy her one every day!" thought
+her companion, with difficulty restraining an outburst of temper; for he
+was obliged to return on foot, while Georgette, leaning on his arm,
+talked of nothing but the play and the actors she had seen.
+
+They reached home at last. Monsieur de Mardeille had impatiently awaited
+that moment. He flattered himself that it would mark his final triumph.
+They entered the house in which they both lived. In front of the
+concierge's lodge, which was at the foot of Monsieur de Mardeille's
+staircase, Georgette stopped and said, with a graceful courtesy:
+
+"Bonsoir, monsieur! a thousand thanks for the pleasure you have given me
+by taking me to the play."
+
+"What's that? Bonsoir?" cried Mardeille, with a smile. "But I am not
+going to bed yet; and you will allow me to come up and chat a moment
+with you, will you not?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur! for I am going to bed, and this is no time for
+conversation."
+
+"Going to bed? What difference does that make? I won't prevent you;
+indeed, I shall be too happy to assist you in making your _toilette de
+nuit_."
+
+"I don't need anyone to assist me. If I did, I wouldn't resort to a man
+for that purpose. Bonsoir, monsieur!"
+
+"Oh! I say--this is a jest! Surely, my charming neighbor, you don't mean
+that you won't receive me in your room a moment?"
+
+"To-morrow, monsieur, to-morrow during the day, I shall be greatly
+flattered to receive a call from you, if you choose to come; but at this
+time of night it would be very improper."
+
+With that, Georgette nodded and ran across the courtyard to her own
+staircase, leaving Monsieur de Mardeille, utterly taken aback, in front
+of the concierge's door. He was nonplussed by the girl's conduct.
+
+"This is too much!" he said to himself; "she accepts my presents--a
+whole toilette, which cost me a pretty penny--and she's just as cruel as
+she was before! So the young lady is making sport of me, is she?"
+
+But suddenly, the courtyard and staircase being still lighted, he saw
+the concierge in his lodge watching what was going on; whereupon our
+dandy struck his forehead, saying to himself:
+
+"What an idiot I am not to understand! That child has a hundred times
+more tact than I have! She doesn't want the concierge to see me go up to
+her room at midnight; for that would inevitably spread a report through
+the whole house that I had passed the night there! Yes, of course that's
+it; she's quite right; she has pointed out to me clearly enough what I
+have to do: go up to my room and pretend to go to bed; then, when
+everybody's asleep, and the gas is all out, go downstairs and steal up
+to her room, where I'll wager that I shall find the door unlocked as
+usual. There is my path all marked out for me: now I must follow it."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille went upstairs, purposely making a great noise. He
+entered his room, slammed the door, ordered Frontin to undress him, and
+then dismissed him with strict injunctions to go to bed at once. Half an
+hour passed, the gas was extinguished, there was no light to be seen in
+any of the neighbors' rooms, not even Georgette's.
+
+"That girl thinks of everything!" thought Monsieur de Mardeille. "She is
+prudence personified: she has put out her light. Very good! Darkness
+makes one more daring. I must make haste; the propitious moment is
+here!"
+
+And the gentleman stole from his room on tiptoe, enveloped in an ample
+robe de chambre, and with his jaunty cap on his head. He went
+downstairs, taking every precaution not to make any noise; he passed the
+concierge's lodge, where there was no light; darkness reigned on all
+sides, and as our seducer was feeling his way across the courtyard he
+ran against the pump; but that told him where he was; the door leading
+to the narrow stairway was close at hand; he found it and went upstairs,
+muttering:
+
+"Here I am, at last!"
+
+He soon stood in front of Georgette's door. He felt about on all sides;
+the key was not in the lock, and the door was securely fastened.
+
+"She didn't think of leaving the key outside!" thought Monsieur de
+Mardeille; "that was an oversight. Perhaps it was from modesty, so that
+she might not seem to be expecting me. However, I must let her know that
+I am here. I'll knock softly; she can't be asleep."
+
+And he gave two very soft taps, then a louder one, muttering:
+
+"She doesn't hear! Can she have gone to sleep already? It's very
+strange; there's not a sound anywhere in the house, and she ought to
+hear! Damn the odds! I must wake her up! If other people hear, it will
+be her own fault."
+
+And he knocked louder, then louder still, and shouted through the
+keyhole:
+
+"Little neighbor! it's I! open the door a minute; I left something in
+your room. Come, charming Georgette, you've teased me enough; you must
+let me in; I have some very interesting things to tell you. For heaven's
+sake! just long enough to say two words to you, and then I'll leave
+you."
+
+His trouble and entreaties were wasted; she made no reply, and the door
+did not open. After spending nearly three-quarters of an hour on
+Georgette's landing, the discomfited gallant angrily pulled his cap over
+his eyes and left the entresol, bumping against the walls.
+
+To augment his rage, when he was in the courtyard he heard roars of
+laughter from several windows; and he recognized Mademoiselle
+Arthemise's voice, saying in a very loud tone:
+
+"Ah! that's well done! The scented dandy's sold again! The little one
+makes fools of her lovers; that reconciles me to her! Ha! ha! now's the
+time to sing:
+
+    "'Ma chandelle est morte,
+      Je n'ai plus de feu;
+      Ouvre-moi ta porte,
+      Pour l'amour de Dieu!'"[F]
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+A BROOCH
+
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not close his eyes that night. He was terribly
+vexed, and he awaited the morrow with extreme impatience, in order to
+have an explanation with the little shirtmaker, whom he proposed to
+reproach in no measured terms. He firmly believed himself to be in the
+right, because he maintained that in love one gives nothing without some
+equivalent.
+
+At last the morning came; people began to stir in the house. Our dandy
+rose and looked at himself in the mirror. He found that he was horribly
+pale, that his eyes were red, and that he had a worn, jaded look. As he
+desired, before all else, to be handsome and fascinating, he passed more
+than an hour at his toilet, changing his cravat and waistcoat again and
+again; but he did not succeed in restoring his usual freshness of
+aspect. At last, weary of the struggle, he said to himself:
+
+"A little pallor makes one more interesting; women like a melancholy
+air. That cruel girl will be touched by my evident suffering. Decidedly,
+it is much better for me to be pale; it gives me the advantage at the
+outset."
+
+He betook himself to his little neighbor's apartment, crossing the
+courtyard as rapidly as possible to avoid the glances of the other
+tenants. This time the door was unlocked. Monsieur de Mardeille
+unceremoniously entered Georgette's room and found her already at work.
+She looked up at him with a sly smile, and said:
+
+"Good-morning, monsieur! it's very good of you to come to see me. Pray
+sit down, and we will talk about the play."
+
+But Monsieur de Mardeille did not sit down; he paced the floor
+excitedly, and rejoined in an angry tone:
+
+"I didn't come here to talk about the play, mademoiselle!"
+
+"Indeed? Very well, then we'll talk about something else."
+
+"Mademoiselle--you sleep very soundly!"
+
+"I? Oh! you are mistaken, monsieur; on the contrary, my sleep is very
+light; the slightest noise wakes me."
+
+"The slightest noise? How did it happen, then, that you didn't hear the
+noise I made last night, when I knocked on your door for half an hour,
+and you did not deign to reply?"
+
+"Last night? Why, I heard you distinctly, monsieur; much too distinctly,
+in fact!"
+
+"Then, mademoiselle, why didn't you let me in?"
+
+"Why? Because I didn't choose to; because I don't receive visits at
+midnight; because I considered the uproar you made at my door most
+unseemly!"
+
+"Uproar? But if you had opened your door at once, I wouldn't have made
+any uproar!"
+
+"True; but as I didn't choose to open it, you shouldn't have kept on
+knocking."
+
+"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I had the right to come to your
+room, that I might fairly expect to be admitted! When a woman accepts
+gifts from a man, it means that she consents--at all events, she
+shouldn't leave him at the door when he comes to see her."
+
+"The right! the right!" cried Georgette, rising, and casting such an
+angry glance at Monsieur de Mardeille that he was thoroughly abashed.
+"Let me tell you, monsieur, that you are most impertinent, and that I
+ought to turn you out of my room at once and forbid you ever to put your
+foot inside my door again. The right! What do you mean, monsieur? Is it
+because you have sent me a few paltry rags that you presume to speak to
+me in this tone? Understand, monsieur, that I did you much honor by
+receiving your superb gifts! If you had not wanted to go out with me,
+you wouldn't have given them to me, I presume. So that you did it much
+more to gratify your own vanity than to please me. And monsieur imagines
+that, because of those gifts, I will open my door to him at midnight!
+and perhaps give myself to him and esteem myself too happy to be his
+mistress!--Why, you are mad, monsieur! Here are your presents. I don't
+want them; you may take them back! Look, this will show you how much I
+care for them!"
+
+As she spoke, Georgette ran to her closet, took down the gown, shawl,
+and bonnet, threw them on the floor, and kicked them toward Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who was horrified and dared not move.
+
+Having done this, the girl returned to her chair by the window, which
+was open as usual, and resumed her work, paying no further heed to her
+neighbor, who stood in the same spot as motionless as a statue.
+
+Several minutes passed thus. The ex-beau had had time to reflect. He
+began by picking up the gown, the shawl, and the bonnet, and laid them
+all carefully on a table; then he went to Georgette and stammered
+confusedly:
+
+"Mademoiselle--I was wrong--I was very wrong--I admit it!"
+
+"It's very fortunate that you realize it, monsieur!"
+
+"I should not have believed--or rather, I should not have hoped----
+Certainly I do not attach any value to these gewgaws that I sent you; it
+wasn't on account of them that I knocked at your door last night; but I
+thought that you were touched by my passion for you, that you no longer
+doubted it--that was what led me to come here and knock last night,
+after the theatre. Forgive me, I beseech you, my dear neighbor; don't be
+angry with me; it would make me too unhappy."
+
+"As you admit your wrongdoing," Georgette answered, with a smile, "I
+forgive you. Oh! I am not one who bears malice! I say at once what I
+have on my heart; then it's all over and I think no more about it."
+
+The old beau took the girl's hand and respectfully put it to his lips.
+She withdrew it and pointed to a chair, saying:
+
+"Now sit down, and let us talk about something else."
+
+"Something else!" murmured Monsieur de Mardeille as he sat down. "When I
+am with you, it is hard for me to refrain from telling you of my love.
+Does it make you angry?"
+
+"No; but have you forgotten what I said to you?"
+
+"Faith! it's quite possible, my dear neighbor; what did you say to me on
+that subject?"
+
+"I told you that I did not believe in any man's love until he had given
+me proofs of it."
+
+Her neighbor frowned, and faltered:
+
+"Ah! yes--to be sure--I remember now--proofs. But I don't feel quite
+sure what you mean by that."
+
+"Oh! monsieur, I should consider that I insulted you if I explained my
+meaning any further!" retorted Georgette, satirically. "If you don't
+understand me, so much the worse for you!"
+
+"Did you enjoy the play last night?" hastily inquired Monsieur de
+Mardeille, anxious to change the subject.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, very much. I would go very often, if I had the means."
+
+"But if someone takes you, it's the same thing, isn't it?"
+
+"No, monsieur; it isn't the same thing to be able to give one's self
+pleasure when one chooses, as to take it only when it pleases others to
+offer it."
+
+"At all events, my pretty neighbor, when it is your pleasure to go
+again, I shall be at your service and delighted to escort you."
+
+"You are too kind, monsieur.--Did you notice that lady in pink who was
+in a box on the stage last night?"
+
+"In a proscenium box, do you mean?"
+
+"I don't know whether you call it a proscenium box, but the lady I mean
+had a sort of crown of flowers on her head--and she was very pretty,
+too."
+
+"Oh! yes, I remember--a lovely blonde. That was Irma, one of the women
+most in vogue at this moment."
+
+"Do you know her?"
+
+"Oh! as one knows a great many of the women one meets at all the balls
+at the Casino, at all the first performances--in short, at all the
+functions to which one can gain admission by paying for it."
+
+"Is she married?"
+
+"Married? the deuce! never!--As if those creatures ever married! She's a
+kept woman, that's the whole story."
+
+"Ah! she's a kept woman. At all events, she is kept handsomely. She had
+a magnificent diamond necklace and brooch. For they were diamonds,
+weren't they, monsieur?"
+
+"They were--or, at all events, they looked like it; but they may have
+been false. Nowadays, they make false gems that resemble real ones so
+closely that it's very hard to distinguish them. They're quite as
+handsome; indeed, they are often more effective, on account of the way
+they're mounted."
+
+"False diamonds! how horrible! I should never be willing to wear
+anything false, myself!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille looked at his watch, then rose, and said:
+
+"How the time flies with you, charming Georgette! But I have some
+business at my broker's, and I have only just time to go there. So, au
+revoir, my lovely neighbor! You are not angry any longer, are you?"
+
+"No, monsieur, no; I have entirely forgotten the past."
+
+The ex-beau bowed and left her, saying to himself:
+
+"She has forgotten the past! Therefore she has entirely forgotten that I
+gave her a complete toilette. She looks upon that as such a trifling
+matter! And now she's beginning to talk about diamonds! Oh! that is
+going too far! The little one has extravagant ideas! I wonder if she
+would like me to keep her like Irma? It's incredible! a shirtmaker
+wanting diamonds! The deuce! I didn't expect to encounter so many
+obstacles with a grisette; it never happened to me before! She talked
+with self-assurance! She's no fool, that's clear! And the worst of it is
+that, when she gets excited, her eyes have such fire and expression! She
+is enchanting! She's a little demon! But give her diamonds! never!
+never! I'd rather eat them!"
+
+Several weeks passed. Monsieur de Mardeille continued his visits in the
+daytime to Georgette, who always had her windows open, whatever the
+weather. But he did not make the slightest progress in his love affair.
+When he tried to move nearer to the girl, she compelled him to remove
+his chair; if he tried to take her hand, she withdrew it; if he tried
+to place his hand on the little skirt, at which he gazed with covetous
+eyes, she pushed him away roughly, and exclaimed in her sternest tone:
+
+"I won't have you touch my skirt; that is forbidden!"
+
+Thereupon our gallant heaved profound sighs, to which she replied by
+laughing heartily, and by mischievous glances which made her prettier
+than ever; for, while confining her neighbor strictly within the limits
+of respect, Mademoiselle Georgette did not hesitate to employ all the
+little coquettish arts that make a man more enamored than ever and put
+the finishing touch to his distraction.
+
+The result was that one day, on leaving Georgette, who had done nothing
+but walk about the room in her simple morning costume, Monsieur de
+Mardeille exclaimed:
+
+"Well! I can't do anything else! I'll send her a little brooch--in
+diamonds--rose ones--something not too expensive; and yet it must be
+pretty; for if it isn't, I know her well enough to know that she is
+quite capable of making a fool of me again. Oh! these women! to think
+that I never spent a sou on them! And this little hussy has made me
+depart from my custom, and now I'm as big a fool as other men."
+
+The next day, when he presented himself at his neighbor's door, Monsieur
+de Mardeille was amiable and lively and in high spirits; one would have
+taken him for a boy of twenty. Having taken a seat beside Georgette, he
+took a little pasteboard box from his pocket and handed it to her,
+saying:
+
+"Allow me, my charming friend, to offer you this token, this proof, of
+my affection; and be assured that in offering it to you I do not
+consider that it gives me the slightest claim to your love; I desire to
+owe that to your heart alone."
+
+"Good! that is very well said," replied Georgette, hastily opening the
+box, in which she found a little brooch, worth eight or nine hundred
+francs, and very effective.
+
+"Oh! this is most gallant of you!" she cried. "Really, monsieur, you are
+coming on!"
+
+"What's that? I am coming on?" thought Mardeille; "what does she mean by
+that? No matter! I won't ask any questions. This will touch her, and I
+am sure that to-morrow she will be the one to say: 'I expect you
+to-night.'"
+
+"This is a lovely brooch," said Georgette.
+
+"And you will deign to accept it?"
+
+"Will I accept it? Most assuredly, monsieur, and I am very grateful to
+you."
+
+"She is grateful for it; that's good!" said our seducer to himself; "the
+rest will go of itself. I won't commit the blunder of seeking payment
+now for my present; I'll go away, that will be more adroit.--I am
+obliged to leave you, my dear neighbor," he said, rising.
+
+"Already, monsieur?"
+
+"That word is very pleasant in your mouth!--Yes--I have some urgent
+business to attend to. I leave you so soon with the greatest regret, but
+to-morrow, I hope, I shall be more fortunate."
+
+"I hope so, too, monsieur."
+
+Mardeille bowed most respectfully to the young woman; without even
+taking her hand. He took his leave, enchanted with what he had done.
+
+"I have taken the right way," he thought. "Women are stubborn, as a
+general rule; to refrain from asking them for anything is enough to
+induce them to grant you everything. The little one is mine now!"
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+COLINET'S SECOND VISIT
+
+
+On the day following the gift of the brooch, Monsieur de Mardeille,
+buoyed up by the sweetest hopes, left his couch with this thought in his
+mind:
+
+"I will make a careful toilet, but I won't go to see my young friend too
+early; I must let her wish for my coming. After breakfast I will go to
+my window, and I am sure that Georgette will beckon me to come to her.
+Yes, that is the more adroit way."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille breakfasted slowly; he enjoyed his coffee as, in
+anticipation, he enjoyed his coming triumph; at last, after glancing
+over several newspapers, he went to one of the windows looking on the
+courtyard, thinking that he had given her time enough to wish for his
+coming and that he would do well to show himself.
+
+On opening his window he looked at once toward his little neighbor's,
+and saw a young man seated beside Georgette, holding both her hands and
+gazing at her most affectionately. Thereupon our gallant frowned,
+compressed his lips, and stared in dismay.
+
+"Sapristi!" he exclaimed; "with a young man! She's with a young man, and
+she pretends to receive visits from no man but me! And this is her
+gratitude for my brooch! Ah! we'll see about this! I won't allow myself
+to be fooled in this way! I must find out who this young man is who
+holds both her hands, when I can hardly induce her to let me hold one."
+
+The man whom he had discovered in his neighbor's apartment was young
+Colinet, whom we already know. His dress was almost exactly the same as
+he had worn on the occasion of his first visit to Georgette, except that
+his broadcloth trousers were replaced by linen ones, and that he carried
+a light switch instead of his stout stick. A much greater change had
+taken place on his face, however; in the intervening three months, his
+innocent, shy air had given place to one more sedate and thoughtful; it
+was still frank and open, but the artless expression had disappeared.
+
+"Oh! how glad I am to see you, Mamzelle Georgette!" said Colinet, taking
+the girl's hands.
+
+"And I to see you, Colinet! It makes me very happy, I can tell you! And
+you say that everybody at home is well--my father and mother and
+sisters?"
+
+"Yes, mamzelle, I left them all in good health; and here's a letter that
+Mamzelle Suzanne, your second sister, gave me for you."
+
+"Oh! give it to me, give it to me quick, Colinet!"
+
+Georgette eagerly seized the letter that the young man had brought her;
+she broke the seal and read it to herself inaudibly; the expression of
+her face betrayed her deep interest in its contents. While Georgette was
+reading, Colinet looked about, apparently making an inspection of the
+room.
+
+"It's very nice here," he muttered; "much finer than it was in the other
+place."
+
+Having finished reading the letter, Georgette put it in her bosom, then
+smiled anew at Colinet, who said:
+
+"Will that letter bring you back to the province?"
+
+"Not yet, Colinet."
+
+"Do you still enjoy yourself more in Paris?"
+
+"It is not that, my friend; but I came here for a certain purpose; and I
+shall not leave Paris until I have finished what I have begun."
+
+"Ah! you're doing some work here, are you?"
+
+"Yes, my friend."
+
+"And you won't tell me what it is? Perhaps I could help you."
+
+"No, you couldn't help me; and it's better that I shouldn't tell you now
+what I am trying to do; but you shall know some day; yes, I promise you
+that some day you shall know everything; and you won't blame me,
+Colinet; on the contrary, I am sure that you will approve of what I have
+done."
+
+"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, I shan't blame you; for I know you, I do, and I
+know that you ain't capable of doing anything wrong. But, dear me! your
+head's a little--what do they call it down home?--a little solid; and
+when you've made up your mind to do something, why, you've got to do
+it."
+
+"Mayn't one have a strong will, as long as it doesn't lead one to do
+wrong?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Oh! you can have anything; but you used to _thou_ me, and now
+I'm sorry to find that you've stopped doing it."
+
+Georgette blushed as she replied:
+
+"That is true, Colinet; but it ought not to hurt your feelings--far from
+it--for I don't like you any the less on that account. But it seems to
+me that I ought not to speak to you so familiarly as I used to when we
+were children."
+
+"If you like me just as much, I ought not to complain; but I love you
+more and more every day, Georgette."
+
+"Oh! so much the better! that's just what I want! Above all things,
+don't you ever change; for I count on your love, Colinet!"
+
+"Oh! Mamzelle Georgette, can a man ever change when he loves you?"
+
+"Kiss me, Colinet."
+
+"With all my heart!"
+
+The opposite neighbor did not see the kiss, because all this had taken
+place before he went to the window.
+
+"What about that Monsieur Dupont I saw in your room so often when I was
+here before?" queried Colinet; "do you still see him?"
+
+"No, Colinet, I don't see Monsieur Dupont any more."
+
+The young man smiled. He seemed delighted to hear that; but his brow
+grew dark when Georgette added:
+
+"No, I never see him now, but I do see another man."
+
+"Ah! you have made the acquaintance of another man?"
+
+"Yes, a very stylish gentleman who lives in this house; he comes to see
+me very often."
+
+"Very often?"
+
+"You'll probably see him very soon. Then, as I shall tell him, which is
+perfectly true, that you are an old playfellow of mine, don't forget
+that I am supposed to be a Norman."
+
+"A Norman! But that isn't true; you are from Toul, in Lorraine."
+
+"I know that very well, Colinet; but that is just what this gentleman
+mustn't find out; and, above all things, don't mention my parents' name
+before him--remember that."
+
+"Why on earth do you make all this mystery with this man? You haven't
+ever done anything wrong, I know; so why do you conceal your family
+name, mamzelle?"
+
+"You told me that you had confidence in me, Colinet."
+
+"To be sure--I have it still."
+
+"In that case, my friend, don't ask me questions that I can't answer
+now. I have told you that it will all be explained some day, and that
+ought to be enough for you."
+
+"That's true, mamzelle; I was wrong to ask you questions; I won't say
+any more about it.--So you're a Norman, are you?"
+
+"Yes; from a little village near Rouen."
+
+"What's the name of the village?"
+
+"The name? I haven't an idea; what difference does it make? any name
+will do. That man doesn't know all the suburbs of Rouen. Call it
+Belair--there are Belairs in every province."
+
+"All right; and I'm a Norman, too, I suppose?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And may I still raise calves?"
+
+"Why not? cattle are raised everywhere. Hush! I hear my neighbor coming
+upstairs."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille had crossed the courtyard like a rocket; he ran up
+the stairs without stopping for breath, entered Georgette's room like a
+shot out of a catapult, and, without even acknowledging the salutation
+of Colinet, who rose as he entered, he took his stand in front of the
+young woman and exclaimed in a hoarse voice:
+
+"It is I, mademoiselle!"
+
+"So I see, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile.
+
+"You didn't expect me--that is to say, not at this moment, I fancy."
+
+"Why not, pray, monsieur? I never expect you. You come when you please;
+neighbors don't stand on ceremony."
+
+"Yes--but I thought--I didn't expect to find you with company, as you
+said you never received anybody but me."
+
+The girl's face became grave and stern; she looked at Monsieur de
+Mardeille with a wrathful expression, exclaiming:
+
+"Let me tell you, monsieur, that I consider that what you have just said
+is in the worst possible taste. If, up to the present time, it has
+suited me to receive no other visits than yours, you may be perfectly
+sure that it hasn't been from any desire to be agreeable to you."
+
+"Mademoiselle, I----"
+
+"Upon my word, to hear you, anyone would think that I am dependent on
+you, that you have some claim over me! You make me blush for you,
+monsieur!"
+
+The ex-beau turned as red as a gobbler; he shuffled his feet about and
+tore his gloves, but did not know what to reply.
+
+"To-day," continued Georgette, "my old playfellow, the friend of my
+childhood, who has just come from our province to bring me news of my
+relatives, has called on me. He will always be welcome in my home. I was
+about to introduce him to you, monsieur, when you began to say such
+nonsensical things! You were not polite enough to acknowledge the bow my
+friend Colinet gave you when you came in. You know so well what is
+customary and proper, monsieur, that you will allow me to believe that
+you are not in your ordinary frame of mind this morning, and that
+something has happened to upset you.--Sit down again, Colinet, my
+friend."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not know where he was; Georgette's haughty
+glance had rooted him to the floor. At last, he turned to Colinet and
+made him a low bow; then he concluded to take a chair, muttering, as he
+did so:
+
+"Yes, it is true, I have a sick headache this morning, a very bad one;
+it makes me feel wretched."
+
+"All right! tell us that, and we will excuse you for being in an ill
+humor.--Colinet, my friend, are you in Paris for long?"
+
+"Oh! no, Mamzelle Georgette; I can only stay one day; I must go back
+to-morrow afternoon."
+
+The neighbor's face became amiable once more; he straightened himself up
+in his chair.
+
+"What makes you in such a hurry, Colinet?"
+
+"I have several places to stop at on my way back--to collect the price
+of cattle we've sold."
+
+"Monsieur is a cattle raiser?" Mardeille inquired.
+
+"Yes, monsieur; I deal in horned cattle mostly, because there's always a
+market for them."
+
+"Yes, yes, it's an excellent business," said Monsieur de
+Mardeille.--Then he leaned toward Georgette and said to her, almost
+timidly:
+
+"You're not wearing your brooch?"
+
+"Well, I should think not--with my jacket!" laughed Georgette. "Is it
+customary to put on a brooch so early in the morning?"
+
+"Have you got a chicken to roast?"[G] queried Colinet. "I'll help you,
+if you want; I know all about chickens."
+
+Georgette laughed aloud, and Monsieur de Mardeille tried to do the same;
+but his laughter was not sincere.
+
+"We're not talking about chickens, my dear Colinet, nor of the kind of
+_broche_ you have in mind," said the young shirtmaker, when her
+merriment had somewhat abated. "Oh! I don't live so magnificently as
+that; my repasts are more modest. Still, my friend, if you will
+breakfast with me to-morrow, before you go away, I will have a sausage
+and a meat pie; with those and a good appetite, one can breakfast
+perfectly--isn't that so?"
+
+"To be sure, mamzelle; I won't fail to be here."
+
+"If Monsieur de Mardeille would like to join us, and doesn't consider
+our breakfast unworthy of him, he would give us great pleasure by
+accepting my invitation."
+
+Our dandy's face became radiant. He bowed and said:
+
+"Unworthy of me! A repast over which you preside! Why, on the contrary,
+it will seem delicious to me, and I accept your kind invitation with all
+my heart. But I will ask your permission to bring a few bottles of wine
+from my cellar; that will do no harm."
+
+"Oh! bring whatever you choose; we are not proud; we accept whatever
+anyone offers us."
+
+"In that case, my charming neighbor, it's a bargain; I will breakfast
+with you to-morrow. Meanwhile, I will leave you, for you may have a
+thousand messages to give monsieur for your relations and friends,
+commissions to intrust to him, and I should be very sorry to incommode
+you. Au revoir, my dear neighbor!--Bonjour, monsieur, until
+to-morrow!--At what hour do you breakfast, neighbor?"
+
+"At ten o'clock, monsieur."
+
+"Very good; I will be on time."
+
+And the ex-beau retired, as well pleased as he had been furious when he
+arrived; a few words from Georgette had sufficed to effect this
+revolution in his humor; to be sure, she had a way of saying them which
+precluded the possibility of a reply.
+
+After Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet seemed to be reflecting
+profoundly, and Georgette asked him:
+
+"What are you thinking about, my friend?"
+
+"About that gentleman who was here just now. How he spoke to you when he
+came in!"
+
+"And you heard how I answered him."
+
+"Oh! that did my heart good! Is that old beau making love to you?"
+
+"Yes; but don't be alarmed, Colinet; he's no more dangerous to me than
+Monsieur Dupont was."
+
+"I believe you, as you say so. But what made you ask him to breakfast
+with us to-morrow? I should have liked it better to be with you alone."
+
+"And so should I, my friend; but I did what I thought it best to do, for
+I don't want to break with my neighbor yet, and that is what would have
+happened if I hadn't invited him. I am going to answer my sister
+Suzanne's letter now, and then write to Aimee. I'll give you the letters
+to-morrow."
+
+"Then, I'll go out and do some errands; for you know how it is in the
+country: when anyone comes to Paris, people try to see who can give him
+the most errands to do. I promised to dine with some friends; so I
+shan't see you again till to-morrow."
+
+"Come early, then, so that we can have time to talk a little before
+breakfast."
+
+"Yes, Mamzelle Georgette. Oh! what a pity that we two aren't going to
+breakfast all alone together!"
+
+"A time will come, Colinet, when we two shall often be alone; but
+perhaps you won't be so anxious for it then."
+
+"Ah! Georgette! you don't think that!"
+
+The girl's only reply was to hold out her hand to her old playfellow. He
+squeezed it, then covered it with kisses; and Georgette was obliged to
+remind him of all his commissions before he could make up his mind to
+leave her.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+A DAINTY BREAKFAST
+
+
+At nine o'clock the following morning, Frontin carried to Georgette's
+apartment a _terrine_ de foie gras, a small Reims ham, cakes, some
+superb fruit, bordeaux, madeira, and champagne. The valet, remembering
+the tone in which the shirtmaker had spoken to him, was as polite to her
+now as he had formerly been impertinent.
+
+Georgette received all these supplies with no indication of surprise,
+whereas Colinet, who had already arrived at his compatriot's rooms,
+opened his eyes in amazement and exclaimed:
+
+"What! are we going to eat all that? Why, what a feast, Mamzelle
+Georgette! what a feast! That gentleman must be head over heels in love
+with you to send you so many good things!"
+
+"Do you think that that proves his love, Colinet?"
+
+"Well! it must prove something, anyway!"
+
+"Yes, it proves that he would like to seduce me; for there are women who
+allow themselves to be seduced through their appetite."
+
+"Oh, yes! there are lots of 'em. Why, at home, there's Manette, who went
+into the woods with Blaise for a plum tart! But you ain't one of that
+kind, Georgette!"
+
+"Not I! I will eat all these things, and my neighbor won't be any
+further ahead. You won't forget to give my sisters the letters I gave
+you, will you, Colinet?"
+
+"I should think not! Do I ever forget anything you tell me? Especially
+as Suzanne and Aimee are always terribly impatient to get your letters."
+
+"I can believe it. Poor sisters!"
+
+"Have you told them that you're coming home soon?"
+
+"Not yet, my friend, not yet."
+
+"Are you going to stay in Paris much longer?"
+
+"Mon Dieu! I haven't any idea."
+
+"And your mother, dear Maman Granery! Oh! she longs so for you!"
+
+"My mother! Oh! Colinet, please tell her that I love her as dearly as
+ever, that she will never have to blush for me, and that I---- But,
+hush! I hear Monsieur de Mardeille."
+
+The neighbor from the first floor entered the room, all smiles and
+amiability and merriment. He presented his respects to Georgette and
+slapped Colinet familiarly on the shoulder.
+
+"Really, monsieur, you are very kind to us," said Georgette; "you have
+sent us so many things! My poor little pie won't dare to appear beside
+your gifts!"
+
+"You are jesting, my dear neighbor! We will punish your pie with the
+rest--eh, Monsieur Colinet?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I ask nothing better."
+
+"In that case, messieurs, let us begin."
+
+They took their seats at a table which was not elegantly furnished, but
+was exquisitely neat. Flowers took the place of the wonderful _surtouts_
+which adorn the tables of the wealthy; and women have the art of
+arranging flowers with so much taste, that they always achieve lovely
+decorative effects with them. And then, too, Georgette did the honors of
+the table without embarrassment or awkwardness; and lastly, she still
+wore her little silk petticoat and her jacket, which made her
+altogether fascinating.
+
+"You will excuse me, monsieur, for not dressing for the occasion," she
+said to her neighbor; "but I am more comfortable this way; and then I
+should have been afraid of spoiling my beautiful gown."
+
+"You are enchanting in this costume, my little neighbor; I should have
+been terribly distressed if you had made your toilet.--Don't you agree
+with me, Monsieur Colinet? don't you think that Mademoiselle Georgette
+is very seductive in this charming neglige?"
+
+Colinet was busy eating; however, he replied, shaking his head:
+
+"I am used to seeing mamzelle like this! At home, we never dress up,
+except for the church festivals."
+
+"Where is your home, Monsieur Colinet?"
+
+The young man glanced at Georgette, who guessed that he had forgotten
+the name she had told him; so she replied for him:
+
+"Belair, monsieur."
+
+"Belair! I don't know of any town of that name in Normandie."
+
+"It isn't a town; it's a village."
+
+"Oh! if it's only a village, that makes a difference. Drink, Monsieur
+Colinet. Are you fond of wine?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; especially when it's as good as this."
+
+"And then, you don't drink much of anything but cider in your province,
+I suppose?"
+
+"Cider?"--And Colinet looked surprised; but Georgette kicked him, under
+the table, saying:
+
+"Why, yes! cider, of course. Cider is much more common at home--in
+Normandie--than wine. So I advise you not to drink too much of this,
+Colinet, for it would soon make you tipsy!"
+
+"Oh! no, you need have no fear," rejoined Monsieur de Mardeille;
+"natural wines never do any harm."
+
+"Well! that's his business. But if you make him tipsy, he won't be able
+to start for home to-day."
+
+This suggestion from Georgette checked the ex-dandy, who was about to
+fill the young man's glass, but reflected that it would be very foolish
+to prevent the old playfellow from going away from Paris.
+
+The breakfast lasted a long while; Colinet succeeded in retaining his
+reason, while doing honor to the neighbor's wines. Georgette was careful
+to change the subject when Monsieur de Mardeille mentioned Normandie.
+When the clock struck one, the latter rose and said:
+
+"I must go to the Bourse."
+
+"And I," said Colinet, "must think about starting for home."
+
+"A pleasant journey, Monsieur Colinet! We shall meet again, I hope."
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Georgette; "you will certainly see him again."
+
+When Monsieur de Mardeille had gone, Colinet said, with a sigh:
+
+"He's luckier than I am, that man is; for he stays with you, and I am
+going to leave you again!"
+
+"No, Colinet, he isn't luckier than you, for I love you, and I shall
+never have either love or friendship for that man."
+
+"Ah! if that's so, you're right, I am luckier than he is! His breakfast
+was mighty good! But, for all that, I'd rather have nothing but
+potatoes, with nobody but you!"
+
+"So would I, my friend."
+
+"Then you ought not to have invited him!"
+
+"Are you going to begin your questions again, Colinet?"
+
+"Oh! no, no! forgive me; I'm done."
+
+"Then kiss me and go; and kiss my father and mother and sisters for me."
+
+"Oh! never you fear; I won't fail."
+
+Colinet kissed Georgette and went away, weeping as bitterly as on the
+previous occasion.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+TWELVE THOUSAND FRANCS
+
+
+About five o'clock in the afternoon, Monsieur de Mardeille returned to
+Georgette's room, having seen her sitting at the window, alone.
+
+"Well, so your young compatriot has gone?" he said, taking a seat by her
+side.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, a long while ago; almost as soon as you went."
+
+"That young man seems to be very fond of you."
+
+"Yes; he's a true friend."
+
+"But isn't he your lover?"
+
+"I have told you, monsieur, that I have no lover; and I can add, without
+lying, that I have never had one."
+
+"I believe you, my dear neighbor, I believe you; although it's a rare
+thing to find in Paris a girl of twenty--for you are twenty, are you
+not?"
+
+"And six months, monsieur."
+
+"And six months! that makes it all the more remarkable! A girl who is
+virtuous and always has been. Oh! that is very pretty! But, after all,
+I suppose that you do not intend to retain your--heart always?"
+
+"I don't know, monsieur; one cannot tell what may happen."
+
+"Bravo! very well answered!"
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille moved his chair nearer to Georgette's, and
+murmured:
+
+"And suppose circumstances should bring you in contact with a man who
+adores you, whose happiness consists in making you happy,--like myself,
+for instance,--then would you yield to him?"
+
+"But women are so weak!"
+
+"Ah! fascinating girl, I am the happiest of men! you fill my cup to the
+brim!"
+
+As he spoke, Monsieur de Mardeille extended his hand toward the little
+black petticoat; but Georgette quickly moved her chair away and struck
+him a smart blow on the fingers, saying in a very serious tone:
+
+"Well! monsieur, what sort of manners are these? I have told you before
+that I did not like that!"
+
+The ex-beau stamped on the floor in a rage, crying:
+
+"Sapristi! mademoiselle, so you propose to make a fool of me to the end!
+You give me reason to hope that you will cease to be cruel, and then you
+forbid me the slightest liberty! What does it all mean? Where do we
+stand? I would like very much to know what to expect."
+
+"I am not making a fool of you, monsieur; but what led you to think that
+I was about to yield to you already?"
+
+"Already! _already_ is very pretty, on my word! When I have been making
+love to mademoiselle more than two months! when I have made great
+sacrifices for her! I am not talking about the dress--that was a trifle;
+but you seemed to want a diamond brooch, and I sent it to you
+instantly. That was no trifle, allow me to tell you; and when a woman
+accepts such presents----"
+
+"She immediately becomes the mistress of the man who gives them; is that
+it, monsieur?"
+
+"Faith, yes! at least, that's the general rule."
+
+"Well, monsieur, it isn't according to my ideas!"
+
+"In that case, mademoiselle, what are your ideas, or rather your
+demands? for, really, I don't understand you."
+
+"Look you, Monsieur de Mardeille, do you wish me to explain myself
+frankly? do you wish me to tell you what I have resolved upon?"
+
+"Oh, yes! pray explain yourself! that will give me great pleasure!
+Speak! I am impatient to hear you."
+
+"Listen to me, then, monsieur. If I, being touched and flattered by your
+present of a brooch, should yield to you to-day, as you claim that I
+ought to do, what would happen, monsieur? This: that when your love, or
+rather your caprice, was once satisfied--for, with most men of your
+stamp, this ardent love is only a caprice----"
+
+"Oh! can you believe----"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, yes, I do believe it; indeed, I haven't the least doubt
+of it; but let me finish, I beg.--Well! if I were weak enough, foolish
+enough--let us not mince words--to cease to resist, then, in a month, or
+two months, say three months, if you choose, you would have had enough
+of your little grisette; she would bore you, and you would cease to see
+her; more than that, you would avoid her as zealously as you now seek
+her. So the girl is abandoned by the man to whom she sacrificed
+everything, whose oaths she believed! And that man, after making her
+unaccustomed to work by a life of idleness and dissipation, leaves her,
+in most cases, with no resource against destitution! But even that is
+not all! If the girl alone were unhappy, that would be much, no doubt,
+but still she alone would be punished for her fault. It is not always
+so. Often, too often, a wretched child is born of that passing
+connection. Then the poor girl, who can hardly support herself by her
+labor, has no means of supporting her child! Isn't that horrible? Ought
+not one to shrink in dismay from such a terrible future?"
+
+"Oh! mademoiselle, you are imagining chimeras! You are romancing!"
+
+"No, monsieur, I am not romancing; I am simply stating what is seen,
+what happens every day! And you yourself, monsieur, who claim that I am
+inventing chimeras, be frank, if such a thing is possible, and tell me
+if you never seduced and then abandoned a girl in the situation I have
+just sketched? Think over your life, your love affairs, your numerous
+conquests, and tell me, monsieur, if you are quite sure that such a
+thing never happened to you?"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille changed color; he rose, with a sullen expression
+on his face, and paced the floor, muttering:
+
+"Mon Dieu! mademoiselle, my numerous conquests, my adventures, aren't in
+question here. I can't go over everything that has happened to me; it
+would take too long. Besides, I don't remember."
+
+"Say, rather, that you don't choose to remember."
+
+"In heaven's name, let us drop this and return to you. According to what
+you have said, if I understand you, you will not yield to anyone----"
+
+"Until he has placed me in such a position that I need have no fear of
+poverty, and that I can support and educate my child--if I should have
+one. Yes, monsieur, that is my firm and irrevocable resolution, and I
+promise you that I shall not change."
+
+The dandified neighbor made a horrible grimace, and continued to pace
+the floor, mumbling:
+
+"The devil! the devil! you look ahead, mademoiselle; you take your
+precautions."
+
+"Is that forbidden, monsieur?"
+
+"No; but it's very uncommon--luckily. For you, love, sentiment, a man's
+attractions--everything that ordinarily captivates a young girl glides
+over your heart without stirring it. Sensibility is not your strong
+point."
+
+"Do you think so? And are you yourself so very sensitive, monsieur?"
+
+"I am--to your charms, most assuredly. But my love does not touch you;
+you are very cruel to me."
+
+"I am less stupid than other women, that's all!"
+
+"However, mademoiselle, if one must settle a fortune on you in order to
+obtain your favors, you must understand that everybody can't afford to
+indulge in such a passion."
+
+"A fortune! Oh! no, monsieur, I am not so ambitious as all that; a
+fortune is not what I ask, but simply the means to bring up the child
+that is so often the result of a woman's fault."
+
+"Ah! you have in mind only the result! But suppose there isn't any
+result?"
+
+"Why, then it will be for the poor girl herself, who will at least be
+secure against want."
+
+"Ah! it will be for the girl, if it isn't needed for the child! Very
+good! You think of everything! You would make an excellent cashier for a
+broker!"
+
+"Why, I should not object to that. As a general rule, men earn more with
+the pen than women do with the needle."
+
+"That is why women don't look to their needle to satisfy their
+coquetry."
+
+"They have no choice, since they are forced to it."
+
+"Nobody forces them to be coquettes."
+
+"But you would be very sorry if they were not!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille continued to pace the floor, humming between his
+teeth:
+
+  "'When one knows how to love and please, what other boon can one desire?'
+
+No, no! that song isn't appropriate!--
+
+    'A bandage covers the eyes of the god that makes men love!'
+
+That is nearer the truth.--
+
+    'Come, lady fair, I await thee, I await thee, I await thee!"
+
+Georgette went on with her work, as if he were not there. When he was
+tired of singing, he went to the shirtmaker's side and said to her
+abruptly:
+
+"What ought it to cost for a child's porridge?"
+
+Georgette replied, with a smile:
+
+"Seek and ye shall find."
+
+"Ah! now you are quoting the Gospel at me! But Saint Peter was scoffing
+at us when he said that; for there's one thing that I have constantly
+sought and have never found. I won't tell you what it is, out of respect
+for your sex, but any man will guess my meaning. But I return to what I
+asked you just now. It seems to me that with two or three thousand
+francs one ought to be able to provide porridge in large quantities and
+for a long time!"
+
+"Do you expect a child to live on nothing but porridge?"
+
+"That or something like it. A child eats so little!"
+
+"But food isn't the only thing it needs. When it grows up, its education
+must be attended to, mustn't it? and then, it must be apprenticed and
+taught a trade. It must know how to earn its living, so that it can help
+its mother when the time comes."
+
+"Oh! tra la la! there's no reason why you shouldn't go on! Why don't you
+ask me at once to buy a substitute for him if it's a boy, or to give her
+a dowry if it's a girl?"
+
+"Why, that would be no more than right!"
+
+"Didn't I tell you, mademoiselle, that you demanded a fortune?"
+
+"No, monsieur, you exaggerate. For it seems to me--yes, let us suppose
+that there's a boy to be brought up--I am inclined to think that with
+twelve thousand francs it might be done."
+
+"Twelve thousand francs!"--And Monsieur de Mardeille jumped so high that
+his head nearly struck the ceiling.--"Twelve thousand francs!" he
+repeated. "Do you think that that is nothing, mademoiselle?"
+
+"I think that it is no more than is necessary to make a child into a
+man. Why, by putting that sum in the savings bank at once, one would
+have a little income, which would keep increasing. Oh! you may be sure,
+monsieur, that the mother would keep nothing for herself; but she would
+at least be at ease with respect to her child's future."
+
+"And as she would use none of that little income for herself, she would
+still have to be supported, I suppose?"
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur! That sum, once given, would be the whole; she would
+accept nothing more."
+
+The elderly beau began once more to stride back and forth, ejaculating
+from time to time:
+
+"The world is getting to be a curious place; it's a good school; one
+learns something every day!--But women are becoming sharper and sharper!
+We're nothing but children beside them! Twelve thousand francs! Why, not
+long ago, a man might have had more than a hundred mistresses with that
+money! I am not speaking for myself, for God knows I never ruined myself
+for women! I always triumphed without untying my purse strings. I prefer
+that way; at all events, I was sure that I was loved on my own account.
+They didn't offer to break the bargain!"
+
+"Do you know, monsieur, that these reflections of yours are not very
+polite!" said Georgette, annoyed by his soliloquies.
+
+"Why, mademoiselle, it seems to me that I might at least be permitted to
+complain!"
+
+"No, monsieur, you may not. You criticise my conduct! But if I choose,
+monsieur, I should have to say but a word to make you blush for yours;
+to force you to lower your crest before me and ask my pardon for all
+your impertinence."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille stared at her and stammered:
+
+"I don't understand a word of what you say, mademoiselle. If you would
+explain yourself a little more clearly----"
+
+"It doesn't suit me to do so at this moment; but, never fear, you won't
+lose anything by waiting."
+
+The neighbor took his hat to go, saying to himself:
+
+"I won't lose anything? That's a question. I am very much afraid I shall
+have nothing to show for my brooch. If I dared, I'd ask her to give it
+back; but I don't dare, especially as I have an idea that she wouldn't
+do it. This little vixen holds me in awe; she has such a way of
+speaking, such a decided tone! What an idiot I have been! This will
+teach me to make sacrifices for women!"
+
+He turned to Georgette, and with a curt nod to her left the room,
+infinitely less radiant than he had been in the morning, and muttering
+between his teeth:
+
+"Twelve thousand francs! a little shirtmaker! What are we coming to?
+Great God! what are we coming to?"
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+A PARCEL
+
+
+For a week following this interview, the tenant of the first floor front
+was in an unapproachable humor. He went in and out at all hours of the
+day, scolded his servant, ate hardly anything, slept badly, and did not
+once go to the windows looking on the courtyard. One day Frontin
+attempted to speak of the young tenant of the entresol; but his master
+abruptly interposed, saying:
+
+"If you so much as refer to the shirtmaker, if you venture to repeat a
+single word relating to her, I'll put you out of doors with a kick--you
+know where!"
+
+But at the end of the week, Monsieur de Mardeille, alarmed by his loss
+of appetite and his inability to sleep, and observing in dismay that his
+rosy, smiling face was assuming the semblance of a baked apple, that his
+brow was becoming wrinkled and his cheeks sunken, and that, if that sort
+of thing continued, he would soon appear at least as old as he really
+was, said to himself:
+
+"Things can't go on like this! I try to divert my thoughts, and I can't
+do it! I pay court to other women, they welcome me with open arms, yet
+I don't go back to them! The image of that little Georgette is always
+before my eyes! I see her going back and forth in her chamber, in her
+jacket and short skirt. Her voluptuous shape turns my head! Decidedly I
+am mad over that girl. And after all, I should be a great fool to pine
+away with longing, when it is in my power to be that girl's happy lover!
+I know what it will cost me. But, still, twelve thousand francs won't
+ruin me; especially as she said in so many words that she would not ask
+for anything more after that. And there are women who ask all the time.
+You don't give them so much at one time, but it amounts to the same
+thing, indeed it costs more in the end!"
+
+While making these reflections, Monsieur de Mardeille walked about the
+room, and finally said to Frontin:
+
+"Frontin, is it long since you met our little neighbor?"
+
+The valet, recalling his master's prohibition, stared at him in
+amazement, and then replied:
+
+"Madame Picotee? No; I met her in the courtyard no longer ago than this
+morning."
+
+"What's that? who said anything about Madame Picotee, you idiot? Didn't
+I say our little neighbor? What do you suppose I care for that old
+party? I am talking about the girl on the entresol, the charming
+Georgette."
+
+When he heard the pretty shirtmaker's name, Frontin said to himself:
+
+"This is a test; monsieur forbade me to speak of her; he is trying to
+test me."
+
+Whereupon he put a finger to his lip and turned to his master, shaking
+his head and laughing, as if to say:
+
+"Not such a fool as you think!"
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille, thoroughly out of patience, shook his
+servant's arm, crying:
+
+"Will you answer me, you clown?"
+
+"You forbade me to mention the young girl on the entresol, monsieur."
+
+"I retract that order, numskull!"
+
+"Oh! I couldn't guess that!"
+
+"I want you to mention her now, and to tell me everything you know about
+her. And you must know something, for you're always in the concierge's
+lodge."
+
+"Bless me! monsieur, it's the same old story: Monsieur Bistelle keeps
+sending Mamzelle Georgette bouquets and billets-doux, begging her to
+receive him; but, _nisco!_ she won't receive him, and she sends back his
+billets-doux."
+
+"Really? Georgette refuses to receive that fellow? That's good! She
+received me; and my neighbor is rich and must have made her handsome
+offers! So she gave me the preference; therefore she must have a
+penchant for me! She resists me only because she's got that wretched
+notion of dread of possible results in her head. But I am preferred;
+therefore she loves me; it's just the same thing. Is that all you know,
+Frontin?"
+
+"Oh! the gentleman--the old bachelor, Monsieur Renardin, has been trying
+to send something else to our little neighbor. He ordered a superb Savoy
+biscuit. I don't know how Mademoiselle Arthemise found out about it, but
+she did. So then she did sentry duty in the concierge's lodge, and
+stopped the pastry cook's boy as he passed, got possession of the Savoy
+biscuit, hollowed it out, and put it on her head, so that she looked
+like a Turk. She went all over the house with the biscuit on her head,
+and waited on her master at dinner that way. He happened to have
+company, too!"
+
+"That was well done! Think of that man flattering himself that he could
+seduce her with biscuits! What a jackass!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille went to the window and raised the curtain.
+Georgette was in her usual place, and seemed to him even more seductive
+than ever. He feared that she might be offended with him; however, he
+could not resist the desire to open the window and seat himself at it;
+then he watched for a glance from her. It was not long before she raised
+her eyes in his direction; whereupon he made her a low bow, to which she
+replied by a most affable smile. He was enchanted, radiant; he passed an
+hour at the window; and Georgette looked at him and smiled several
+times.
+
+"She isn't angry; she will receive me kindly--I saw that in her eyes,"
+he said to himself. "Yes, I can call on her without fear. True; but if I
+don't follow out her suggestion, I shall not make any progress."
+
+The day passed, and Monsieur de Mardeille had been unable to decide what
+course to pursue. He went to his desk several times, looked through his
+cashbox, counted the banknotes, gazed at them with a sigh, then restored
+them to their place. Love and avarice were fighting a battle to the
+death in his heart, and his long-standing habits were being subjected to
+a cruel shock.
+
+The next day he was still wavering, hesitating, unable to decide upon
+any plan, when Frontin suddenly came to him and said:
+
+"Do come and look out of the window, monsieur; Mamzelle Georgette is in
+the courtyard, pumping; if you could see how gracefully she pumps!"
+
+"Yes, yes, let's see that!"
+
+Our lover hastened to take his place at a window that overlooked the
+pump. Georgette was there, in the little petticoat that clung about her
+hips; and the exercise of pumping developed all her good points most
+happily. Did the girl suspect it? Probably, for she seemed to take
+pleasure in what is to most people tiresome labor.
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille, having gazed for several minutes at the animated
+picture before him, hurried to his cashbox and took out a bundle of
+banknotes. His hesitation was at an end; he stuffed them hastily into a
+wallet, which he put in his pocket; then, making a rapid toilet, he left
+his room and betook himself to Georgette's apartment, saying to himself,
+like Caesar as he passed the Rubicon: "_Alea jacta est!_"
+
+The young shirtmaker had hardly time enough to leave the pump, reach her
+room, and resume her work, ere she saw Monsieur de Mardeille enter,
+eager, agitated, and throbbing with hope. He rushed toward Georgette,
+took a seat near her, and said:
+
+"My dear little neighbor, I have come to ask your pardon----"
+
+"My pardon! Why, I have no recollection that you have offended me,
+monsieur."
+
+"Oh! yes, yes! The last time that I was here I said things to you that I
+shouldn't have said."
+
+"If you did, monsieur, I have forgotten them."
+
+"Ah! that is well done! how amiable of you! But I could not live away
+from you, charming Georgette; I was too unhappy!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+"It is so true, that to prove my love I have decided to submit to every
+sacrifice--which I never did before for any woman. But what would one
+not do to touch that bewitching petticoat, which always flies when I
+try to catch it! See, fascinating girl; take this wallet; it contains
+twelve thousand francs in banknotes! Will this put an end to your
+rigorous treatment of me?"
+
+Georgette's cheeks flushed; a gleam of joy, of triumph, shone in her
+eyes; she took the portfolio, looked at it without opening it, and said
+in an uncertain voice:
+
+"As you have done this, I must needs yield to you. But I ask you for a
+respite of one more day. I want to think of my family to-day, to recall
+my childish memories; but to-morrow, oh! to-morrow, you will no longer
+find me cruel!"
+
+"I cannot refuse anything to her who promises me perfect bliss! So
+to-morrow you will not be wild and shy any more--you will let me touch
+that little villain of a skirt that puts my heart in a flutter?"
+
+"Oh! I promise you that you shall touch it all you choose to-morrow, and
+that I shall not object!"
+
+"Enough, enough, my divinity! I do not care to hear any more, and I
+leave you until to-morrow; for if I should stay with you, I would not
+answer for my self-restraint. Until to-morrow! We will breakfast
+together, and your windows will be closed, won't they?"
+
+"They will be, you will see."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille took his leave; he was in raptures, and said to
+himself:
+
+"She put me off till to-morrow. I have an idea that, before yielding to
+me, she wanted to know by count if there really was the amount I
+mentioned in the wallet. She's a cautious damsel; she won't allow
+herself to be caught very easily! But what difference does it make to
+me? She will find that I haven't deceived her; and this time she will
+keep her promise, I am sure."
+
+An afternoon and evening are interminable when the next day is to
+witness the fulfilment of all one's hopes. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+what he could to kill the time: he called on some friends, dined at a
+restaurant, looked in at several theatres, went home very late, went to
+bed, and fell asleep at last, dreaming of Georgette.
+
+The so ardently desired day broke at last. Our gallant awoke rather
+late, and rang for Frontin, who came in on tiptoe.
+
+"What time is it, Frontin?"
+
+"Nearly ten o'clock, monsieur."
+
+"What! you let me sleep so late as this without waking me?"
+
+"Wake monsieur! He did not tell me to, and I should never think of
+taking the liberty!"
+
+"No matter! prepare everything for my toilet. You must curl my hair, and
+take pains with it; I want to be very handsome this morning."
+
+"Oh! monsieur always is that!"
+
+"Not bad, for a numskull!"
+
+"I mean that when a man is rich he is always handsome."
+
+"You are talking nonsense now. By the way, Frontin, look out of the
+dining-room window and tell me if my little neighbor Georgette is at her
+window."
+
+Frontin obeyed; in a moment he returned and said:
+
+"It's very extraordinary, monsieur; all the windows are closed in
+Mamzelle Georgette's rooms, and usually they're all wide open!"
+
+"Closed!" repeated Monsieur de Mardeille, with a smile. "Oh! I remember;
+that's what I asked her to do, yesterday; that proves that she is
+expecting me. Stupid of me to sleep so late!--Come, Frontin, be quick
+about my hair."
+
+The servant dressed his master's hair in haste. When he had put the
+finishing touches to it, Monsieur de Mardeille said to him:
+
+"Now, go to the sideboard and get some madeira, bordeaux, and champagne,
+which you will carry to my little neighbor, and tell her that I am at
+your heels. I will be at her room in five minutes."
+
+Frontin disappeared; but he returned before his master had finished
+dressing; he had two bottles under his arms and the third in his hand,
+and his face wore a more inane expression than usual.
+
+"How is this, imbecile? Haven't you done yet what I told you? Why don't
+you carry those bottles to Georgette's?" shouted Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur; I've been there, but I couldn't find
+anyone. That's why I've come back with my bottles."
+
+"Couldn't find anyone! She has gone out to buy something, no
+doubt.--Couldn't you wait on her landing a minute?"
+
+"That is what I thought of doing at first, monsieur; but it was just as
+well I didn't, for it seems that I should have wasted my time."
+
+"Wasted your time? What do you mean? Come, come! explain yourself!"
+
+"When I was coming back, monsieur, I met the concierge.--'Has Mamzelle
+Georgette gone out already?' I said. 'Do you know whether she'll be back
+soon?'--At that he began to laugh, and he said: 'Pardi! if you wait for
+her, you'll waste your time; she went away last night.'"
+
+"Went away last night? Nonsense! you don't know what you're saying; you
+misunderstood! Went away! where did she go?"
+
+"That's what I asked, monsieur. It seems that the girl has moved. She
+paid the concierge last night; she sent for an upholsterer, and sold him
+all her furniture; then she took a cab, and off she went without saying
+where she was going."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille turned green, red, and ash-colored in turn.
+
+"A glass of water, Frontin! a glass of water!" he stammered, dropping on
+a chair. "I think I am going to faint."
+
+The servant hastily gave his master a glass of water, saying:
+
+"Was monsieur so very much in love with our little neighbor?"
+
+At that, Monsieur de Mardeille threw the water in Frontin's face.
+
+"Hold your tongue, you brute! I am robbed, that's what I am! Fetch the
+concierge; I must speak to him."
+
+"He has something for you from Mamzelle Georgette, monsieur; for he said
+to me: 'Is your master awake? I've got something to give him in person
+from this young woman, who gave me the parcel before she went away.'"
+
+"And you didn't tell me that, you idiot! Go, run, and tell him to come
+up instantly!"
+
+"Hark! monsieur, someone's ringing; that must be him. I'll go and let
+him in."
+
+The old beau was still wavering between hope and fear.
+
+"This package--why, she must have returned me my banknotes," he thought.
+"She has probably reflected, and concluded to remain virtuous. If that's
+how it is, I must make the best of it."
+
+The concierge entered his tenant's apartment, bringing a rather large
+parcel, carefully wrapped in paper; he carried it on his outstretched
+arms, as if he were delivering the keys of a city on a salver, and
+handed it to Monsieur de Mardeille, who looked at it, scrutinized it,
+and at once said to himself:
+
+"I didn't give her enough banknotes to make so large a parcel as this!"
+
+"This is what the young woman on the entresol told me to give you,
+monsieur, when she went away."
+
+"Went away! But why did you let the girl go away? Did you give her
+notice to quit?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but she paid in full and one quarter ahead, so I couldn't
+prevent her from going, especially as she seemed in a great hurry."
+
+"And you didn't ask her where she was going?"
+
+"I beg your pardon; she told me that she was going back to her province,
+but that she should come to Paris again in a week."
+
+"And she didn't leave you her address?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but she left me this little note for you."
+
+"Give it to me! you should have begun with that! Leave me now.--You go,
+too, Frontin."
+
+The concierge and the valet left the room together, agreeing that it was
+too bad that he had not opened the parcel in their presence.
+
+"I should have liked to know what it was the little shirtmaker sent
+him," said the concierge.
+
+"You had it in your hands; couldn't you feel what there was inside the
+paper?"
+
+"Faith, no!"
+
+"Was it hard?"
+
+"No; it was soft."
+
+"Then it's probably a cheese that she had sent to her from her
+province."
+
+When he was alone, Monsieur de Mardeille lost no time in opening the
+parcel; it contained the little black petticoat that Georgette usually
+wore.
+
+"Her petticoat! She sends me her petticoat!" cried Monsieur de
+Mardeille. "What bitter mockery!"
+
+Then he unsealed the letter and read these words:
+
+"I told you that to-day you would be able to hold and fondle my little
+petticoat at your leisure. You see that I keep my word; here it is. You
+will think very badly of me, will you not, monsieur? Before you condemn
+me, wait until you have seen me again, which will be as soon as I can
+possibly arrange it. Yes, have no fear; you shall hear from me."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was speechless; the letter dropped from his hands.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+A BLASE YOUNG MAN
+
+
+It was a fortnight after the events we have narrated.
+
+In a very handsome apartment on Rue de la Chaussee-d'Antin, a young man
+attired in a superb robe de chambre was strolling listlessly from one
+room to another, smoking a cigarette.
+
+This young man was the Vicomte de Sommerston. The descendant of a very
+wealthy Irish family, Edward de Sommerston was born in France and had
+never chosen to visit the home of his ancestors. He had come into
+possession of an income of eighty thousand francs at the age of
+twenty-one, and had immediately plunged into the life of pleasure,
+dissipation, and debauchery which ages men so rapidly.
+
+He was tall, well built, handsome, and rich--this was twice more than
+enough to kill in ten years a man who was unable to resist his passions.
+The viscount was now twenty-nine; he was not dead yet, but he was not
+much better than that; he had not only used, but abused everything. The
+list of his mistresses was enormously long, especially as there were
+many of them whom he had known no more than a week, as he was an
+essentially fickle and capricious youth. The woman he adored to-day was
+an object of indifference to him to-morrow. Unluckily for him, he had
+never fallen in with any cruel charmers, his reputation as a rake and
+_mauvais sujet_ being, on the contrary, a powerful recommendation with
+the ladies to whom he addressed his homage.
+
+Edward had run through the half of his fortune; he had enough remaining
+to enable him to live comfortably, if he had known how to make a wise
+use of it; but he did not know how to do anything, even to amuse
+himself: everything was a burden and a bore to him. He was no longer
+capable of loving; he had ruined his stomach by flooding it with
+champagne and malvoisie; he still gambled from time to time, but without
+enjoyment unless luck was exceedingly unfavorable to him; when he lost
+heavily, he experienced a sort of excitement which brought a little life
+to his pallid, wasted face.
+
+A single passion retained its power over him: he still smoked. It was
+impossible to meet him without a cigarette in his mouth; and that was
+followed by another and another and another; wherever he might be, at
+home or elsewhere, he smoked continually; he could not do without it,
+he said. He owed that lamentable habit to the foolish good nature of
+those ladies who allowed him to smoke in their rooms, and sometimes
+smoked with him. What do you think about the fair sex smoking?
+
+To no purpose had the doctors told the viscount:
+
+"You make a mistake to smoke so much; it's injuring your health; you
+cough constantly, your lungs are weak, and you'll dry them up completely
+by smoking as you do; you'll go into a consumption."
+
+These warnings, instead of being acted upon, had produced the opposite
+effect on the young man, who insisted that he knew better than the
+doctors.
+
+"Bah!" he said to himself; "they tell me not to smoke. Well! I'll smoke
+more than ever, to let them see how much I think of their advice."
+
+In fact, the number of cigarettes he smoked in a day reached such a
+fabulous figure, that his valet's sole occupation was to make them for
+his master.
+
+From time to time, Edward had travelled, hoping to find new sensations
+amid new scenes. He had visited Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and England;
+but, unluckily, the man who can scatter gold along his path meets with
+no obstacles to his desires in any country; women are coquettish, men
+are selfish, innkeepers have an eye to the main chance, servants are
+flatterers, everywhere. In Spain, thanks to the national jealousy, the
+viscount had fought several duels; but as he handled both sword and
+pistol with skill, he was always victorious, which fact afforded him no
+pleasure at all.
+
+Once, as he was travelling in Switzerland, and trying to climb some
+glacier, he fell over a precipice, and lay there nearly six hours before
+he was rescued by guides, by means of rope ladders. He was half frozen,
+but well content, and he remembered that day as one of the pleasantest
+during his travels.
+
+He had returned to Paris, after a trip to Italy, only three weeks before
+we first meet him strolling about his apartments, smoking cigarettes,
+which he rarely finished, and followed at a distance by his valet,
+Lepinette, preparing others. Suddenly he halted in the middle of his
+salon, and asked:
+
+"What time is it, Lepinette?"
+
+"Nearly three o'clock, monsieur le vicomte."
+
+"Really? Give me a cigarette."
+
+"Here it is, monsieur."
+
+"I will finish dressing.--What in the devil am I going to do to-day,
+Lepinette? Do you know?"
+
+"I think that monsieur told three of his friends, Messieurs Florville,
+Dumarsey, and Lamberlong, to call for him to ride in the Bois."
+
+"Ah, yes! you are right. Yes, those gentlemen were to call for me.--This
+one isn't well made; give me another."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"To ride in the Bois--always the same thing; it's horribly
+monotonous.--Lepinette, you must find something to amuse me."
+
+"I should like nothing better; but monsieur le vicomte is so exacting!
+Things that would delight other gentlemen are indifferent to him, or
+displease him."
+
+"That is true; I am hard to amuse. I resemble Louis XIV in that. I hoped
+to find something new when I came back to Paris.--This one draws badly;
+give me another."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"But no--nothing new or exciting!"
+
+"There are some very pretty women in the quarter, monsieur."
+
+"Bah! according to your taste, not mine!--But don't I hear horses in the
+courtyard?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; they are your friends, who have called for monsieur le
+vicomte, no doubt."
+
+"Bigre! and I am not dressed! Never mind! they can wait.--Give me a
+cigarette."
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE VISCOUNT'S FRIENDS
+
+
+The viscount's friends entered his salon in riding costume, hunting crop
+in hand.
+
+The first was a tall youth of nearly six feet, and so slender and frail
+that he seemed in danger of breaking in two when he stooped; especially
+as he was always dressed in the latest style, and squeezed and pinched
+himself so that not the slightest crease could be detected in his
+clothes. Many ladies envied that young man his figure. His name was
+Florville, and his face was not unattractive.
+
+The second was a young man of medium stature, whose hair was bright red,
+as were the rims of his eyes; which did not prevent him from esteeming
+himself a very good-looking fellow; he dared not turn his head, for fear
+of rumpling his collar or disarranging the knot of his cravat. He was an
+habitue of the Theatre-Italien; he never missed a performance, insisted
+on posing as a great connoisseur in music, and declared that he could
+easily have reached high C, if his voice had been cultivated; but it had
+not been. This individual, so laughable by reason of his manners and
+his pretensions, was Monsieur Lamberlong.
+
+The third of the viscount's visitors was a man of about thirty,
+remarkable neither for beauty nor ugliness, rather stout than thin, with
+a good-humored, smiling face, and all the manners of a high liver. His
+name was Dumarsey.
+
+Florville and Dumarsey had enormous cigars in their mouths. The young
+man with the red hair did not smoke; by way of compensation, he had a
+little square glass over his right eye, and kept it in place almost all
+the time; his kind friends declared that he ought to wear one on the
+left eye as well, in order to conceal both his albino-like lids.
+
+"Here we are! here we are, Edward!--The deuce! he's not ready!"
+
+"I was sure he wouldn't be; I'd have bet on it."
+
+"Well! what's your hurry, messieurs? In the first place, it's too early
+to go to the Bois. We have time enough. I will finish dressing.--Lepinette,
+give me a cigarette."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"Will you allow me to complete my toilet in your presence?"
+
+"Go on, go on, take all the time you want!" said Dumarsey; "I have a
+good londres; that's enough for me."
+
+"For my part," said Florville, "I am not satisfied with this so-called
+Havana."
+
+"If you would like a cigar, Monsieur Lamberlong, you'll find a box on
+the console yonder. I smoke nothing but cigarettes myself, but I always
+keep a few cigars for my friends."
+
+"Exceedingly obliged, dear viscount; but I don't care about smoking;
+there was a man at the Bouffes last night who smelt very strongly of
+tobacco; it made a number of ladies ill."
+
+"As there is no performance at the Bouffes to-night, you have nothing to
+fear."
+
+"Oh! but I am going to a concert to-night, at which Alboni is to sing."
+
+"You stick to music, don't you?"
+
+"It's my element."
+
+"You know, Edward," laughed Dumarsey, "Lamberlong would have been able
+to reach high _C_, if his natural faculties had been cultivated. What a
+pity to have neglected them!"
+
+"Is there any chance of catching the lost note, if we should take an
+express train?"
+
+"You are pleased to jest, messieurs. None the less, it is true that a
+gentleman in the balcony at the Bouffes said to me not long ago: 'This
+is where you ought to be!'"
+
+"In the balcony?"
+
+"No; but at the Bouffes, with a salary of sixty thousand francs!"
+
+"Had he heard your high _C_?"
+
+"Yes; just as I left school."
+
+"It can't be denied that there are some very fortunate mortals. There
+was a man who had heard Lamberlong's high _C!_ And we poor devils might
+pay fabulous prices, yes, hire the whole auditorium of the Bouffes, and
+not hear it! It's heartrending!"
+
+The red-haired young man rose impatiently, and began to inspect the
+pictures that adorned the salon.
+
+"What do you hear that's new, messieurs?" said Edward, tying his cravat.
+
+"Oh! nothing piquant or interesting. There's been a great scarcity
+lately of scandalous intrigues in which we know the leading parties."
+
+"Who is the woman most in vogue? Remember that I am just from Italy,
+messieurs, and that I am not at all posted as to what is going on in
+Paris."
+
+"There are five or six in high favor; but you must have seen them, for
+you were at Saint-Phar the banker's great crush night before last."
+
+"I saw nothing wonderful. If that's all you have to offer me, why----"
+
+"There was a dazzling blonde at the Bouffes last night. She attracted
+every eye."
+
+"Well! of course, you made inquiries about her, Lamberlong?"
+
+"Yes; she's the wife of a rich Spaniard, who is taking her to Brazil."
+
+"If he's taking her to Brazil, that's too far to follow her. But you
+must have had some romantic adventures in Italy, viscount? The women
+there are very revengeful, they say."
+
+"No more so than in France! I saw two or three little stilettos glisten
+in the girdle or the garter, but I didn't feel the point of one."
+
+"No great passions, then?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing! it's maddening! Love is vanishing, messieurs."
+
+"That isn't what says a young man who is always in the orchestra chairs
+at the Bouffes; he's in a fair way of dying of love for an actress; he
+won't say who she is."
+
+"Oh! but one must be an habitue of the Bouffes to do that sort of
+thing!--A cigarette, Lepinette."
+
+"Here is one, monsieur."
+
+"How many do you smoke a day, Edward?"
+
+"I don't know; I never counted them."
+
+"I'll bet that it's two dozen!"
+
+"I'll bet it's three!"
+
+"Pardieu! all you have to do is to ask my valet; he can give you more
+accurate information than anyone else on that subject."
+
+"Lepinette, how many cigarettes does your master smoke in a day--about?"
+
+Lepinette reflected a moment, then replied:
+
+"I have sometimes given monsieur le vicomte as many as sixty, messieurs;
+but it's never less than forty."
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! that is magnificent! sixty cigarettes a day! You deserve a
+prize, Edward. We'll order a wreath of cigarettes for you!"
+
+"Well, messieurs, what would you have? a man must do something; and when
+one has no other amusement----"
+
+"Oh! viscount, you can't make us believe that you haven't some beauty to
+whom you are devoted."
+
+"No, Florville, at this moment I love nobody. I am so utterly blase on
+the subject of love! It is all over; my heart has lost the power of
+taking fire; the incendiary glances of my fair friends leave it as cold
+as ice. And then, when one knows women, one knows how much reliance may
+be placed on their oaths."
+
+"Oh! there are exceptions," said Dumarsey. "I remember, Edward, when you
+had a pretty young girl for a mistress--I think you had abducted her,
+found her at a linen draper's. She came from Lorraine. She was almost a
+peasant, and you sophisticated her."
+
+"Oh! yes, I remember! You mean Suzanne, don't you?"
+
+"Suzanne, yes, that was what you called her. She seemed to be very fond
+of you."
+
+"In other words, she loved me too much; it got to be insufferable. She
+was far too sentimental."
+
+"What did you do with the girl?"
+
+"What did I do with her? Faith, nothing! What do you expect a man to do
+with a girl of that sort, when she has once been his mistress, and he
+has had enough of her? I don't see that there's anything for him to do
+with her."
+
+"Then you don't know what became of her?"
+
+"No, indeed; and I should be very sorry to know. I had enough trouble to
+rid myself of the little one's importunities.--Give me a cigarette,
+Lepinette."
+
+And the viscount, with a testy exclamation, threw on the floor the
+cigarette he had in his mouth, which he had smoked only a few seconds.
+Since the mention of the young woman named Suzanne, his brow had
+clouded, and his face had assumed an ill-humored expression. But young
+Lamberlong brought back a smile to his lips by exclaiming:
+
+"Oh! mon Dieu! I have entirely forgotten what they give at the Bouffes
+to-morrow. Can you tell me, messieurs?"
+
+"Oh! give us a moment's peace with your Bouffes, Lamberlong!--Can you
+understand, messieurs, how a man can attend every blessed performance at
+the Italiens, when he doesn't know a word of that language?"
+
+"Who told you that I don't know a word of Italian? It's false; I
+understand it quite well."
+
+"You understand it, but you don't comprehend it."[H]
+
+"You say you understand it; very well! answer this: _Pone nos recede_."
+
+The young man with red hair scratched his head, looked at the ceiling,
+and muttered:
+
+"I never heard those words at the Bouffes."
+
+Thereupon the dandy laughed heartily, and Florville exclaimed:
+
+"Didn't you know that Dumarsey was talking Latin to you?"
+
+"Latin! How do you suppose I could understand him, then? What do I know
+about Latin--a dead language! They don't sing in Latin at the Bouffes."
+
+"Monsieur le vicomte's horse is saddled," said a little groom, putting
+his nose in at the door.
+
+"All right!--Let us go, messieurs.--By the way, Lepinette, have you
+filled my pockets with cigarettes?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I have put some everywhere, even in your fob."
+
+"That's right.--To horse, messieurs!"
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE THIRD PETTICOAT
+
+
+Two days after this riding party, Edward de Sommerston was in his
+smoking room, stretched out on a divan, smoking and intensely bored, as
+usual, and watching the puffs of smoke ascend and float about the room
+until they formed a fog so dense that one could hardly see from one side
+to the other. Suddenly the door was softly opened; Lepinette appeared,
+and, trying to distinguish his master through the clouds that filled the
+room, said in an undertone:
+
+"Is monsieur le vicomte asleep?"
+
+"What! No, I'm not asleep! I wish I were, but smoking never puts me to
+sleep! What do you want of me?"
+
+"I came to tell monsieur that I have just made a find."
+
+"A find! Have you found a treasure? So much the better for you; keep
+it!"
+
+"Oh! monsieur, it isn't a treasure in money; it's something of another
+sort, which will be much more to monsieur's taste."
+
+The viscount half rose, saying:
+
+"What in the deuce is it?"
+
+"It's a woman, monsieur; or rather, an enchanting girl!"
+
+The viscount fell back on the couch, muttering:
+
+"And you came here and disturbed me for that, did you? That's what you
+call a treasure!"
+
+"I thought that monsieur would not be sorry to learn that there is in
+the house a young woman who is really deserving of a moment's
+attention."
+
+"Aha! so this beauty lives in the house, does she?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur. The concierge, who represents the owner, has several
+rooms at the top of the house which he furnishes neatly and rents on his
+own account."
+
+"Oh, yes! his little perquisites; I understand. Well?"
+
+"Well, it's one of those rooms that he has rented to Mademoiselle
+Georgette, an exceedingly virtuous person, so it seems, who rarely goes
+out and receives no visitors."
+
+"Ah! very good! So it's a real model of virtue, is it? Did the concierge
+undertake to swear to that?"
+
+"No, monsieur, the concierge didn't say positively that it was so; I
+simply repeat what I heard."
+
+"And what does this chaste creature do?"
+
+"She makes small articles in embroidery, monsieur; charming little
+things, such as mats for candlesticks, little rugs to put under your
+feet, and cigar cases--oh! lovely cigar cases!"
+
+"How do you know? Have you bought something of the girl already?"
+
+"No, monsieur; but the concierge showed me one that his new tenant made
+for a present to him; it is exceedingly pretty."
+
+"The concierge smokes, does he?"
+
+"Oh! like a porter, monsieur."
+
+"Those knaves take every conceivable liberty!--Well! how does all this
+concern me?"
+
+"I thought that monsieur might be curious to see the little one from
+upstairs."
+
+"Just an ordinary face, I am sure; one of those affected little
+minxes--the grisette who wants to be followed; I know all about it."
+
+"Oh, no! this one has no ordinary face. I will not say that she is
+precisely a beauty; that would not be true; but it is the whole aspect
+of her that attracts--and, above all, a figure so well set up--superb
+outlines--a shapely leg and such a tiny foot!"
+
+"Really! has she all those things? You have examined her very closely,
+haven't you?"
+
+"I was on the landing just now, monsieur, as she came upstairs, in a
+jacket and a short petticoat, both white; and the petticoat has an
+embroidered hem. Oh! she doesn't seem to be at all hard up! And she was
+humming between her teeth as she came up. I stood aside to let her pass;
+at that, she gave me a very pleasant bow; and as she was going on, I
+said: 'Are we to have the good fortune to have you for a neighbor,
+mademoiselle?'"
+
+"This devil of a Lepinette doesn't waste any time; he makes
+acquaintances at once!"
+
+"When one has the honor of being in monsieur le vicomte's service, one
+should understand how to deal with the fair sex."
+
+"That's not bad. Go on!"
+
+"The young woman stopped, and answered very pleasantly: 'Yes, monsieur,
+I live in the house.'--Then she bowed again and went on upstairs."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"No, monsieur. As that meeting was very agreeable to me, I went out on
+the landing several times. It was a happy thought. A moment ago, the
+young woman came downstairs very fast."
+
+"It seems to me that she spends a good deal of time on the stairs for a
+girl who never goes out!"
+
+"She had forgotten to buy some coffee, monsieur; coffee is her passion,
+it seems; she can't do without it!"
+
+"Did she tell you that?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; but she didn't stop; she went on downstairs. She'll
+probably come back very soon; if monsieur chooses, I will keep watch on
+the landing, and as soon as I see Mademoiselle Georgette in the hall
+below I will let him know."
+
+"Nonsense! Do you suppose I am going to put myself out to see this
+grisette? You are crazy, Lepinette!"
+
+"I would just like to have monsieur see her in her jacket and short
+petticoat; they're so becoming to her!"
+
+"Pardieu! there's a very simple way for me to see this girl without
+disturbing myself. She embroiders cigar cases, you say? I'll order one
+of her. Go out and watch for her, and, when she comes, ask her to step
+into my apartment a moment. You may tell her why."
+
+"Very good, monsieur; I will go on sentry duty, in order to give her
+your message."
+
+"If you don't see her pass, you may as well go up to her room; there's
+no need of standing on ceremony with a mere working girl."
+
+"Very well, monsieur; if she has already come in, I will go up and do
+your errand."
+
+Lepinette left the room, and Edward de Sommerston surrendered anew to
+the charms of the cigarette; but five minutes had not passed when the
+valet reappeared and said to him:
+
+"The young person is here, monsieur."
+
+"Whom do you mean?"
+
+"The girl from upstairs who makes cigar cases."
+
+"Oh! I had already forgotten your protegee. Well! show her in."
+
+"Here, monsieur?"
+
+"To be sure; you don't suppose I am going to put myself out to go into
+the salon to receive this grisette, do you?"
+
+"Then I will show her in here."
+
+The servant went out, returned in a moment, and announced: "Mademoiselle
+Georgette!"--And the Georgette with whom we are already acquainted,
+having seen her on Rue de Seine and Boulevard Beaumarchais, entered the
+smoking room in her morning costume; but this time there was something
+in the simple neglige that denoted more thought, more coquetry: the
+jacket was trimmed with lace, the white petticoat had an embroidered
+hem; and the hair was arranged according to the prevailing style;
+plainly, she realized that she was now in the Chaussee d'Antin.
+
+Georgette advanced three steps and retreated two, crying:
+
+"Mon Dieu! what a horrible smell!"
+
+Thereupon the viscount turned over on his couch, and said:
+
+"So you don't like the smell of tobacco, my girl?"
+
+"Hallo! there's someone here. But I can't see anything; it's like being
+in the clouds! Well! I won't stay here! I don't propose to have people
+think that I've been in barracks!"
+
+And Georgette walked quickly from the smoking room, followed a corridor,
+opened the first door she saw, and found herself in a charming salon,
+where she paused a moment.
+
+"This is better! one can at least see something here, and it isn't
+reeking with tobacco smoke!"
+
+Meanwhile, the young man, surprised by his visitor's abrupt exit, rose
+from his couch, laughing, and saying to himself:
+
+"This is a most amusing creature! But, after all, I couldn't have seen
+her here. Where in the devil has she gone! Let's look for her, let's
+play hide-and-seek; it will remind me of my boyhood!"
+
+Passing from one room to another, the young dandy arrived at last in
+that one in which Mademoiselle Georgette had taken refuge; he discovered
+her seated in an easy-chair and turning the leaves of an album that lay
+on a table near by. The girl's utter lack of ceremony, and her perfect
+ease of manner in that elegant salon, astonished Edward, who gazed at
+her for several seconds, then said:
+
+"It seems to amuse you to look at caricatures?"
+
+Georgette rose and courtesied gracefully, as she replied:
+
+"I was waiting for you to come, monsieur, and I thought there was no
+harm in looking through this album."
+
+"No, indeed! you have done nothing wrong, except running away from my
+smoking room, as if it were a bear's den."
+
+"Faith! monsieur, I am not sure that I should not prefer a bear's den to
+a room where the smoke is so thick that you can't see, and makes your
+eyes smart and your head ache, to say nothing of the insufferable odor!"
+
+While Georgette was speaking, Edward examined her from head to foot; and
+his examination was evidently favorable to her, for he muttered from
+time to time:
+
+"Very good, on my word! very seductive! That devil of a Lepinette didn't
+deceive me!"
+
+Then the viscount began to walk around the girl, who was standing in the
+middle of the salon; and he smiled as he observed the little white
+petticoat that outlined her hips so perfectly; until at last, vexed by
+this inspection, she exclaimed:
+
+"Haven't you nearly finished staring at me, monsieur?"
+
+"Why, you are exceedingly pleasant to look at!"
+
+"Is that why you sent for me?"
+
+"Well! suppose it were? My valet had praised your face and figure, and I
+wanted to see if he told the truth."
+
+"If I had known that, I certainly would not have come into your
+apartment. Adieu, monsieur!"
+
+"One moment, I pray! What a hurry you're in, Mademoiselle
+Georgette!--for Georgette is your name, I believe?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"From what part of the country do you come?"
+
+"From Bordeaux, monsieur."
+
+"From the South. I'd have bet on it."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because you seem to have a little head that is very quick to take
+offence."
+
+"Oh! I have a very good head."
+
+"Do you live alone upstairs?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"How many lovers have you, Mademoiselle Georgette?"
+
+The girl stared at the viscount with an impertinent expression, and
+finally answered:
+
+"I have none, monsieur."
+
+"What! not one? not the least little bit of a one?"
+
+"No, monsieur."
+
+"That is very strange."
+
+"What is there strange about it, monsieur? Do you think that a girl
+cannot remain virtuous, and live without a lover?"
+
+"It seems to me to be very difficult, to say no more, in Paris."
+
+"No more difficult in Paris than elsewhere; a woman always does just
+what she chooses."
+
+"Oh! not always! There is the desire to please, the instinct of
+coquetry, which is inborn in woman. She wants to have pretty gowns, and
+she can't buy them with what she earns. She wants to wear silk dresses
+and cashmere shawls! You are fascinating in this deshabille; still, you
+wouldn't go to Mabille's in such a costume."
+
+"Oh! I have no desire to go to Mabille's."
+
+"You don't mean what you say."
+
+"Yes, I do, monsieur."
+
+"No lover! what a phenomenon! Surely, with that figure, that dainty
+foot, you must have made many conquests?"
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"And you have never listened to any man?"
+
+"Never."
+
+"Then you must have a lover in your province--some secret passion that
+fills your heart?"
+
+"No, monsieur; I have no secret passion."
+
+"In that case, I say again, you are a phenomenon, and I am very proud to
+have such a rarity for a neighbor. Are you afraid of loving, pray?
+afraid of love?"
+
+"I! I am not afraid of anything."
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! you are very amusing!"
+
+"You think me amusing, monsieur? How lucky for me!"
+
+"I think you provoking, alluring, fascinating!"
+
+And the young man tried to take Georgette in his arms; but she quickly
+extricated herself and pushed him away, saying in a very decided tone:
+
+"I don't like such manners, monsieur; and they will never succeed with
+me, I warn you."
+
+"Pardon, mademoiselle, pardon! I forgot that I was dealing with a
+Lucretia."
+
+"Is this all you have to say to me, monsieur?"
+
+"Why, no; I wanted to order an embroidered cigar case; my servant tells
+me that you make lovely ones."
+
+"I do my best, at all events. Would you like one?"
+
+"If you will make it for me."
+
+"What color do you want?"
+
+"Oh! I leave all those details to you."
+
+"Very good, monsieur! I charge fifteen francs."
+
+"Whatever you choose! The price is of little consequence to me."
+
+"Very well, monsieur; in three days, you shall have your cigar case."
+
+"All right. Will you be kind enough to bring it yourself?"
+
+"Certainly, monsieur."
+
+"Don't be afraid; I won't receive you in my smoking room."
+
+"So much the better! for, really, that smell of tobacco makes my head
+ache. I have the honor to salute you, monsieur!"
+
+Georgette executed a bewitching little reverence, and the viscount said
+to himself as he looked after her:
+
+"Pardieu! that little brunette must be mine, for she is really a most
+original creature!"
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+AN ATTACK
+
+
+Edward de Sommerston did not believe what Georgette had told him on the
+subject of lovers; he was sceptical concerning the virtue of a girl who
+lived alone and worked for a living.
+
+"This girl," he said to himself, "tries to pass herself off for a model
+of virtue so as to secure more generous treatment; that's a trick that
+doesn't fool me. She will submit like the others; for she's a woman, so
+she must love finery; that's the bait to catch them with."
+
+During the three days that elapsed before she brought him what he had
+ordered, the young man asked his servant several times if he had
+happened to meet on the stairs the young woman who lived at the top of
+the house; but Lepinette had not seen Georgette, which fact seemed to
+vex him; he flattered himself, perhaps, that he could make a conquest of
+the girl more easily than his master could.
+
+On the day that Georgette had appointed, Edward, attired in a coquettish
+morning neglige, awaited the young woman in a pretty little salon which
+might at need have passed for a boudoir. He was smoking cigarettes, but
+had ordered them made of a very mild tobacco, in which there was a touch
+of perfume.
+
+About noon, Lepinette announced: "Mademoiselle Georgette!" and the young
+woman appeared, still in her little morning costume.
+
+"I beg your pardon, monsieur," she said, as she courtesied to the
+viscount, "for presenting myself in this neglige; but I have none too
+much time to work, and I never dress when I expect to stay at home."
+
+"The hussy knows perfectly well that she is more alluring in this
+dress," thought Edward, "and that is why she comes in her short
+petticoat. If she weren't so well built, she'd be all bundled up in
+clothes. We know all about that. Mademoiselle Georgette desires me to
+admire her good points; therefore, she desires to please me."
+
+And the young man, without stirring from his couch, pointed to a chair
+and said:
+
+"Take a seat, I beg! You are very attractive thus. Besides, one doesn't
+dress to call on a neighbor. Will it annoy you if I continue to smoke?"
+
+"Oh! I didn't come here to interfere with your pleasures, monsieur."
+
+"This tobacco is very mild, and the odor is not disagreeable, even to
+people who don't like tobacco."
+
+"That is true; it smells like patchouli."
+
+"Have you been good enough to remember my cigar case?"
+
+"Here it is, monsieur."
+
+And Georgette handed him a lovely little affair, lined with silk.
+
+"Why, this is delicious! it's an admirable piece of work!" cried Edward.
+
+"Do you like it? So much the better!"
+
+"I should be very exacting if I did not like it. The colors of the
+little diamonds are blended perfectly. You have no less taste than
+talent. And it took you only three days to make it?"
+
+"That was quite long enough."
+
+"It should be worth fifty francs, at least."
+
+"No, that would be too much; I am content with the price I told you."
+
+"But in that case you earn less than five francs a day, for you have to
+buy your wool and your silk."
+
+"Oh! if I earned five francs a day, that would be too fine; I should be
+too rich!"
+
+"So you are not ambitious, eh? You have no desire to change your
+position?"
+
+"Hum! that depends. To change it for a short time would hardly be worth
+while. Sometimes I have had dreams: at such times, I see myself in a
+superb apartment; I have diamonds and handsome dresses, a carriage, and
+servants to wait on me; oh! it's magnificent!"
+
+"I understand the moral!" said Edward to himself. "We would like to
+obtain all those things! The damsel seems to be decidedly calculating!"
+
+While making these reflections, the young man left his couch and planted
+himself in front of the chair occupied by Georgette; and there, with his
+head thrown back and one hand on his hip, he eyed her coolly and
+laughed in her face, saying:
+
+"Do you know that you're nobody's fool, my dear?"
+
+Georgette supported his stare and his question without the slightest
+trace of emotion; she simply rose from her chair and said:
+
+"I am very glad that you have so good an opinion of me, monsieur."
+
+"Pray keep your seat; do you think of running away already?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; for I don't pass my time doing nothing, myself; I can't
+afford it."
+
+"One moment--let us talk a little. In the first place, you can't go away
+till I have paid you."
+
+"Oh! I am not worried! I'll trust you."
+
+"You might make a mistake.--Do give me a few seconds. It affords me much
+pleasure to talk with you."
+
+Edward took her hand, and she consented to resume her chair; whereupon
+he seated himself very close to her, saying:
+
+"Shall I tell you something?"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"I am in love with you!"
+
+"Ha! ha! ha! what folly!"
+
+"It may perhaps be folly! But, whatever it is, it's the truth all the
+same! Yes, I am in love with you. That rather surprises me; for I
+haven't been able to fall in love for some time past. It must be that
+there is in you something--I don't know what--more enticing than in
+other women. Look you! I verily believe, God forgive me! that it's your
+little petticoat that has turned my head!"
+
+"Then, monsieur, I will run upstairs and send you the petticoat, so that
+you may have nothing more to wish for."
+
+"Hum! you scamp! No, that would not be enough for me! I want the
+petticoat and all it contains!--What a sweet little hand!"
+
+"Oh! monsieur, don't touch me, I beg! I have told you before that I
+don't like such manners."
+
+"That is true; I keep forgetting that you are a vestal! I am so
+unaccustomed to meeting such!"
+
+"Oh! you have a very bad opinion of women! Surely you must have met some
+virtuous ones, whom you seduced and then deserted, like the others!"
+
+"It is possible; I don't remember. With me the past is always in the
+wrong."
+
+"Oh! I am sure of that! That is why it is necessary to take precautions
+for the future."
+
+"What an amusing creature! Do you [_tu_] know that you [_tu_] are most
+amusing?"
+
+"I forbid you to _thou_ me, monsieur. You have no excuse for doing it."
+
+"Because you are not my mistress yet? That is true; but you will be
+before long; it amounts to the same thing."
+
+"No, monsieur, I shall not be your mistress. I tell you again not to
+talk to me in that way; if you do, I shall go away and not come again."
+
+"Come, come, be calm, Mademoiselle Georgette! you shall be treated
+respectfully. Tell me, darling, you will take me for your lover, won't
+you?"
+
+"No, monsieur."
+
+"What! Am I so very disagreeable to you?"
+
+"Oh, no! it isn't that."
+
+"Oho! as long as it isn't that, then you will listen to me."
+
+"No, I will not listen to you; because I know that you are too fickle,
+that you never keep a mistress more than a month at the longest; and I
+don't choose to be cast aside like that."
+
+"Somebody has been telling you fairy tales. I won't say that I love
+forever. Pardieu! my fair, if we did not leave them, they would leave
+us. Someone must begin, and I prefer that I should be the one."
+
+"You have a way of settling matters which doesn't cause me to change my
+opinion about you. You are too much run after, too popular in good
+society, to attach yourself to a grisette!"
+
+"There's some truth in what you say! You argue well, my charming friend;
+but allow me to tell you that I've had my fill and more of great ladies,
+and that I am absolutely indifferent to what people may say and think of
+me."
+
+"I don't believe you.--Adieu, monsieur! I must go home."
+
+"Oh! I don't let you go until I have an answer from you."
+
+"Later--we will see."
+
+"Then you will come again to see me? By the way, I must have two more
+cigar cases; I want them to give to my friends. Meanwhile, let me pay
+you for this one."
+
+And the young man took a purse full of gold from his pocket and tossed
+it into Georgette's lap. She looked at it for a moment, then weighed it
+in her hand, and said:
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"It's what I owe you."
+
+The pretty creature opened the purse and amused herself by counting its
+contents.
+
+"Almost five hundred francs! Really, that's a high price for a cigar
+case!"
+
+"But you are going to make me two more; that will pay for them all."
+
+"Oh! no, monsieur; I can't accept so much; I will take what is due me,
+but no more."
+
+As she spoke, Georgette took fifteen francs in gold from the purse,
+which she proceeded to place on the table. Then she ran from the room,
+crying:
+
+"Adieu, monsieur le vicomte! I will come again when your cigar cases are
+done."
+
+Edward was so surprised by the girl's abrupt departure, that he did not
+even think of detaining her.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+TERTIA SOLVET
+
+
+As may be imagined, Georgette's refusal to accept the purse of gold had
+not diminished in the least degree the rich young man's caprice for the
+maiden; on the contrary, it was certain to intensify it, as she who had
+adopted that course of action well knew. The desires that are quickly
+satisfied last but a short time; our passions do not increase in force
+and deprive us of repose altogether, unless they encounter obstacles in
+their path. Good fortune that comes of itself--bah! no one cares for
+that! It is an unseasoned dish.
+
+But, thanks to this new fancy, which rapidly became tyrannical in its
+demands, the viscount ceased to be bored, and smoked a few less
+cigarettes; which proves that love is always of some benefit. His
+friends noticed the change.
+
+"My dear fellow, you have some new passion on the brain," said
+Florville; "I would stake my head on it!"
+
+"Oh! that is visible to the naked eye," added Dumarsey. "We have a new
+intrigue on hand, which is waxing warm."
+
+"Faith! messieurs, you have guessed right!" replied Edward. "Yes, I have
+a very violent fancy. Deuce take me! I believe I am really in love!"
+
+"Really! Is she so very pretty?"
+
+"She's better than pretty; she is piquant--enchanting!"
+
+"Did you see her at the Bouffes?" inquired the simpering Lamberlong.
+
+"At the Bouffes? Oh! she never goes there, I can promise you that!"
+
+The red-haired worthy made a wry face.
+
+"A woman who never goes to the Bouffes!" he murmured; "mon Dieu! what
+sort of a creature can she be?"
+
+"I say, Edward, what style of woman is your new passion?"
+
+"What style? Oh! the most modest that you can imagine; but I adapt
+Boileau's verse to women:
+
+"'Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre ennuyeux.'"[I]
+
+"When will you show us your charmer?"
+
+"Oh! messieurs, I'll show her to you when I am her fortunate
+vanquisher."
+
+"Then it isn't a finished affair?"
+
+"No; and I shall be careful not to let you see her now; for I know
+you--you would try to steal her from me."
+
+"To be sure; that is done among friends."
+
+"Do you expect to sigh for long?" asked the tall Florville; "you, my
+dear viscount, who ordinarily put a love affair through at railroad
+speed?"
+
+"Ah! this time I have to do with a little minx who is not so easily
+brought to terms."
+
+"Well! Edward, tell us when you will show her to us, as a proof that you
+have triumphed? I'll give you three days; is that enough?"
+
+"Hum! I am not sure."
+
+"Come, messieurs, let's do the square thing; we'll give him a week; and
+if, within a week, he doesn't invite us to dinner with his new conquest,
+why, we will assign him a place among the gulls.--Is it a bargain,
+Edward?"
+
+"Yes, messieurs, within a week. I accept that proposition."
+
+"If you bring your lady, we are to pay for the dinner; if you don't, you
+are to treat us."
+
+"Agreed--within a week!--Oh! I hope to be on firm ground before that."
+
+This agreement was made two days after the conversation which had
+resulted in Georgette's refusal of the purse containing five hundred
+francs.
+
+When his friends had gone, the viscount said to himself:
+
+"Now I must act. The little one refused gold--but gold doesn't take the
+eye like fine clothes. She had a magnificent outburst of pride. But this
+time I'll send her some things that she won't be able to resist."
+
+The young man ordered his carriage and drove to the most fashionable
+shops. He bought a handsome shawl, silks and velvets for dresses, and
+even a pretty little bonnet which he considered well adapted to the face
+he desired to seduce. He returned home with his purchases, and said to
+Lepinette:
+
+"Take all this to the girl upstairs, Mademoiselle Georgette. Give her my
+compliments, and tell her I would like to have the cigar cases I ordered
+from her; that I shall expect her to-morrow, during the morning, even
+if she has only one finished."
+
+Lepinette took the handsome gifts in his arms with great care, and went
+to do his master's errand, while the latter sallied forth again to go to
+the races.
+
+On returning home at night, the viscount's first thought was to ask his
+servant how his presents had been received. Lepinette replied, assuming
+a serious expression:
+
+"Monsieur, I saw something to-day that I never saw before!"
+
+"What did you see? You remind me of a sibyl."
+
+"Well, monsieur, I saw a young girl, a mere working girl, who lives in
+an attic, refuse a cashmere shawl, velvets, silks--in a word, a
+magnificent outfit!"
+
+"What! you saw that? Do you mean to say that Georgette----"
+
+"Yes, monsieur; Mademoiselle Georgette refused your presents."
+
+"Impossible!"
+
+"It is true, monsieur."
+
+"Then you must have gone about it awkwardly."
+
+"No; monsieur is well aware that I am accustomed to such commissions. I
+spread the things out--the shawl on a table before that amazing
+creature's eyes; she let me go on at first, and watched me without
+saying a word; but finally she exclaimed: 'What am I to do with all
+this, monsieur?'--'Whatever you please, mademoiselle,' I replied; 'my
+master begs you to accept it all, and he presents his compliments and
+requests you to bring him the cigar cases to-morrow, even if they are
+not done!'"
+
+"That's very clever of you! Go on."
+
+"Then Mademoiselle Georgette walked to where I had put the presents, and
+said: 'All these things are very pretty, very elegant, but I don't want
+them. You may thank monsieur le vicomte for me, take all these beautiful
+things back to him, and tell him that I will bring what he ordered
+to-morrow.'--'But I can't take them back, mademoiselle,' I said; 'my
+master told me to leave them with you.'--'Because your master thought it
+would make me very happy to receive such beautiful things; but, as he
+has made a mistake, you must take them back.'--'Mademoiselle,' I added,
+with a supplicating expression, 'you may do whatever you choose with
+these garments and materials; but for heaven's sake keep them, or my
+master will scold me.'--'I am very sorry, but I will not keep
+them.'--And with that, the young woman, who struck me as being
+exceedingly obstinate, piled them all on my arms: the shawl, the
+fabrics, and the bonnet box, and pushed me gently toward the door, which
+she closed behind me. That is just what happened."
+
+"So that you brought back my presents?"
+
+"I had to do it, monsieur."
+
+"No, you weren't obliged to; you're a fool! You ought to have thrown
+them all on the floor and run away."
+
+"I am sure that she'd have thrown them out on the landing."
+
+"Well, suppose she had? we should have seen whether she would or not.
+However, she said that she would come to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Very good!"
+
+Edward was surprised beyond words by the girl's behavior. He paced the
+floor of his apartment in great agitation. At times he was tempted to go
+up to Georgette's room himself; but she might refuse to admit him, and
+he did not choose to make an exhibition of himself before the other
+tenants; so he went to bed at last, saying to himself:
+
+"She will come to-morrow; I shall see her and find out why she refused
+my presents; for I had not as yet asked her for anything in exchange. To
+be sure, the request may be foreseen. Ah! Mademoiselle Georgette, you
+will not resist me forever! I believe that I am really in love with her!
+At all events, my honor is involved in the affair now. I must not be the
+one to pay for that dinner with my friends."
+
+All night the viscount was haunted by the image of the girl who had
+refused his splendid gifts. He rose early, attempted to smoke, and threw
+away several cigarettes as soon as he lighted them. The things he had
+sent to Georgette, he ordered taken into the small salon; and as he
+gazed at the rich fabrics spread out on a couch, he said to himself:
+
+"Perhaps she doesn't like these colors! But the shawl is lovely! No,
+that cannot be her reason. Can it be that she really means to remain
+virtuous? But there was that dream of hers, in which she imagined that
+she was very rich. The little minx has something in her head, and she
+will have to tell me what it is."
+
+At last, about noon, Mademoiselle Georgette arrived. Lepinette ushered
+her at once into the small salon, where the viscount was impatiently
+awaiting her. She bowed to him, with a charming smile; while he, on the
+contrary, pretended to be sulky. He pointed to a chair, saying:
+
+"Be seated, mademoiselle."
+
+"Your cigar cases are finished, monsieur; here they are."
+
+"Very well! but I am not thinking about them."
+
+"Your servant told me that you wanted them."
+
+"My servant is an ass!--However, you are well aware that the cigar cases
+are only a pretext for seeing you. What is the use of beating about the
+bush, when one can speak frankly?"
+
+"Why, no, monsieur, I didn't know----"
+
+Edward pointed to the objects spread out on the couch, and asked
+abruptly:
+
+"Why did you refuse those?"
+
+"Why did you send them to me?" she rejoined, in the same tone.
+
+The young man did not know what reply to make; he began to laugh, and
+finally exclaimed:
+
+"Gad! one can never get the last word with you! Come, charming girl, let
+us play with our cards exposed--what do you say?"
+
+"I don't know how to play cards."
+
+"Oh! you know perfectly well what I mean by that. However, I will
+explain my meaning literally. I adore you."
+
+"So you told me before."
+
+"In love, one may be allowed to repeat one's self; indeed, that is one
+of its great charms. I was saying, then, that I adore you."
+
+"And I say that I don't believe you."
+
+"I will compel you to believe me. You don't expect to pass your whole
+youth without knowing what love is, do you?"
+
+"I can't say, monsieur; but I have always heard that it isn't safe to
+swear to anything."
+
+"Now you're talking reasonably. Very well! let me be the fortunate
+mortal to make love known to you. I am in a position to make you happy,
+to make your lot an enviable one."
+
+"A man always says that to the poor girl he is trying to seduce--but
+afterward----"
+
+"I always keep my promises. In the first place, I will give you a pretty
+apartment, which I will furnish with taste. You shall have handsome
+clothes and jewels. I will take you to the play and to drive; you shall
+have a carriage at your disposal. I will pay all your tradesmen's bills,
+and in addition you shall have a thousand francs a month to spend.--Tell
+me, isn't that attractive?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, most attractive! But how long will it last?"
+
+"So long as you love me."
+
+"You mean, so long as _you_ love _me_; and you gentlemen who are able to
+gratify all your whims--your love affairs never last long."
+
+"I have but one whim henceforth, and that is to please you. Well,
+Georgette, you have heard what I have to offer; you consent to make me
+happy, do you not?"
+
+And the viscount tried to seize the girl's hand; but she hastily pulled
+it away.
+
+"No, monsieur, no!" she replied.
+
+"What! you refuse my offers?"
+
+"I refuse them."
+
+"In heaven's name, have you some ground for hating me? Do you detest
+me?"
+
+"Not at all, I assure you!"
+
+"Then it must be that what I offer doesn't satisfy you, eh? Well! tell
+me what you want--what you desire. In short, explain yourself, I entreat
+you!"
+
+Georgette was silent for a moment, then said in a low tone:
+
+"If I should tell you what I want, you would think me very ridiculous, I
+am sure."
+
+"Oh! no, no! tell me; women are entitled to have caprices without
+number."
+
+"Oh! this is no caprice; it is simply forethought for the
+future.--Monsieur le vicomte, how much do you think it would cost to
+bring up a little girl, from the cradle till she was about sixteen years
+old--that is to say, to make a woman of her?"
+
+The young man stared blankly at her, as he replied:
+
+"What in the devil does that question mean? what connection has it with
+my offers?"
+
+"Much, I assure you. At all events, be good enough to answer; what is
+the probable cost of a girl's education, and her support--everything?"
+
+"As if I knew! As if I ever paid any attention to such things!"
+
+"No, I suppose you never have paid any attention to them; but, no
+matter! make a guess at it."
+
+"Well! about three or four thousand francs, I suppose."
+
+"No, monsieur, you're a long way off. I reckon that it would cost fully
+twenty thousand francs."
+
+"Twenty thousand francs! Nonsense! that isn't possible! Twenty thousand
+francs for a child?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, when that child is a daughter; when one wishes to give
+her a good education, and to cultivate her talents until she is a woman
+grown. Really, monsieur, I should have said that you were more generous!
+Forty thousand francs a year is too little for your pleasures, and you
+think that twenty thousand is too much for bringing up and educating a
+woman, and assuring her of a bare existence! Ah! that's just like you
+men!"
+
+"No, no, you are right: twenty thousand francs is none too much. But,
+for God's sake, let us drop this subject and return to you--to you, who
+will not always be so cruel to me, I trust. What do you want? you
+haven't told me yet."
+
+"Well, monsieur le vicomte, if I should yield to your solicitations, as
+I might have a little girl, I want the means of bringing her up, of
+giving her an education; and as I have no faith in a seducer's promises,
+I want it--before I give myself to him.--Do you understand me now?"
+
+The viscount was speechless with surprise; he frowned, moved his chair
+away from Georgette's, and muttered at last:
+
+"Hum! all this means that you want twenty thousand francs before you
+surrender?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, that's it exactly."
+
+"That's a little expensive, mademoiselle."
+
+"It's not I who am expensive, monsieur," retorted the girl, with a
+glance of disdain, almost of contempt; "it's the little girl--the
+child."
+
+"The little girl! the little girl! but you haven't one yet! Wait at
+least until you have it, before you make such a demand!"
+
+"No, no! for it would be too late then, and I should be very sure of
+being refused."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"I don't think so; I am certain of it."
+
+As she spoke, Georgette fixed her eyes on the young man's face with such
+a meaning expression that he could not support it but lowered his eyes
+and faltered:
+
+"In truth--it is possible."
+
+After a brief pause, Georgette rose, saying:
+
+"Adieu, monsieur!"
+
+"What! are you going, mademoiselle?"
+
+"To be sure; I believe that we have nothing more to say to each other."
+
+"I beg your pardon, but we have; only, your _ultimatum_ requires
+reflection. Will you allow me to consider it a little?"
+
+"Oh! as much as you please! You have compelled me to put my thoughts
+into words. It is a foolish idea; let us think no more about it."
+
+"Why so? Unless you said it as a joke."
+
+"No, I spoke most seriously; but I am fully persuaded that you will not
+make a sacrifice for me--of which I am not worthy."
+
+"But I don't say that. Only, one hasn't such a large sum always at his
+disposal."
+
+"There is no hurry, monsieur; we shall see each other again. Excuse me;
+I cannot stay any longer, I have work to do. Au revoir, monsieur le
+vicomte!"
+
+Georgette eluded the grasp of the young man, who tried to detain her,
+and who exclaimed when she had gone:
+
+"I suspected as much; she's a sly little fox, as cunning as a demon! As
+bright as she is mischievous! But, twenty thousand francs--all at one
+stroke! No, no! I won't make such a fool of myself for a grisette; that
+would be too absurd! With her talk about a little girl, she reminded me
+of that poor Suzanne, who had one, I believe. But what the devil am I
+mooning about? I'll go to the club and forget it all!"
+
+The viscount went to his club, then to a friend's house, where there was
+sure to be high play. He tried to divert his thoughts, took a hand at
+baccarat, lost ten thousand francs at the outset, then wound up by
+winning three thousand.
+
+"I might have lost twenty thousand," he said to himself, as he left the
+game, "and I should have had to pay it within twenty-four hours. Oh! I
+can obtain the money easily enough--it isn't that; I have only to sell a
+few railroad shares. But, no, no! it would be too asinine! I am sure
+that I should be sorry afterward!"
+
+Two days passed, during which the viscount did his utmost to avoid
+thinking about Georgette; but on the third day, being still haunted by
+her image, he rose early, saying to himself:
+
+"Pardieu! I am a great fool to torment myself like this, when it rests
+entirely with me to obtain the pleasure I crave! After all, what do a
+few banknotes more or less amount to? I'll save money in some other
+direction. I may as well go to my broker and settle the matter. Besides,
+I am to dine with those fellows the day after to-morrow; it shall not be
+said that I had to pay for the dinner."
+
+Edward called at his broker's and procured the sum that he needed by
+selling certain securities. He returned home, placed the twenty thousand
+francs in a dainty pocketbook, and, having ordered Lepinette to burden
+himself anew with all the things that he had previously sent to
+Georgette, said to him:
+
+"Go up to that young lady's room; give her first this pocketbook, then
+all this finery, and ask her when I shall see her. Go; I propose to
+watch you from the hall; so no stupid blunders this time!"
+
+The valet went up the two flights of stairs, and the viscount
+impatiently awaited his return. Lepinette's face was fairly radiant when
+he appeared.
+
+"Well?" said Edward.
+
+"The young woman opened the pocketbook. I was not inquisitive enough to
+look at what she was counting, but I think it was banknotes."
+
+"Idiot! What next?"
+
+"She seemed delighted, and she said to me, with a most amiable
+expression: 'Please inform your master that if he can come up to-night,
+between eleven o'clock and twelve, it will give me great pleasure. I
+wish to thank him in person.'"
+
+"Bravo! at last! _tandem! denique tandem felix!_ Ah! I knew that I
+should attain my ends! And those fellows won't have the laugh on me!"
+
+The young man was insanely hilarious. He instantly demanded cigarettes,
+which he had neglected utterly since he had had something to occupy his
+mind; then he went out to try to kill time.
+
+He returned to his apartment at eleven o'clock, but had the patience to
+wait until midnight, so that he might not meet anyone in the hall. Then
+he took a candle, and ran quickly up the two flights. He had learned
+from Lepinette which was Georgette's door: it was the last on the right;
+there was no possibility of a mistake. The viscount soon found the door,
+and saw that the key was in the lock.
+
+"She thinks of everything!" he said to himself; "there is no need of
+knocking, and I don't have to wait on the landing; it's well done of
+her."
+
+He softly opened the door and entered the room, where it was absolutely
+dark.
+
+"So she has gone to bed already!" thought the viscount, walking toward
+the bed, which was at the back of the room. He put forward his light: no
+one; the bed was empty and had not been slept in. Utterly at sea, the
+young man looked in all directions; at last, he discovered on a table
+near the fireplace all the dry goods he had sent to Georgette a second
+time; nothing was missing, not even the bonnet; but the little white
+petticoat was laid on a piece of material, and on the petticoat was a
+letter addressed to Monsieur le Vicomte Edward de Sommerston.
+
+Our lover seized the letter and hurriedly ran his eye over it.
+
+     "MONSIEUR LE VICOMTE:
+
+     "I have gone away; do not look for me. I carry with me your
+     pocketbook and its contents; I need only that, so I leave you all
+     the rest. I leave you, in addition, my little white petticoat,
+     which seemed to please you immensely; but some day I shall ask you
+     to return it to me; for I expect to see you again, in order to
+     explain my conduct; then, perhaps, you will consider that it was
+     perfectly natural, rather than blamable."
+
+The viscount stood for some time, lost in amazement, gazing alternately
+at the letter and the petticoat; but suddenly he burst into a laugh,
+saying to himself:
+
+"Gad! she's a most amusing little hussy! And it has been a racy
+adventure. I will regale my friends with it when I give them that
+dinner, the day after to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE THREE PETTICOATS
+
+
+Toward the close of the month of September following, one fine day,
+about two o'clock in the afternoon, a gentleman was walking back and
+forth along the path in front of the monkey house at the Jardin des
+Plantes.
+
+This gentleman was no other than our old acquaintance Monsieur Dupont,
+of whom we lost sight some time ago. We left him in the private
+dining-room, where he had dined with Georgette, who quitted him abruptly
+because he thought that he could easily triumph over a girl who had
+consented to dine with him alone at a restaurant; so that his _bonne
+fortune_ was limited to the possession of a little striped petticoat
+which had been left in his hands.
+
+Dupont had returned to his wife at Brives-la-Gaillarde. He had carried
+the little petticoat with him, but had been careful not to show it to
+his wife, who might have thought it strange that her husband should
+bring nothing back from Paris save a second-hand petticoat. However,
+Dupont had been much less inclined to sleep since his return; that was
+something in favor of the capital. From time to time, when he was alone,
+he took the grisette's little petticoat from its hiding place and gazed
+fondly at it, sighing as he remembered her who had worn it and to whom
+it was so becoming. On those days, Dupont was even less sleepy than
+usual, and his wife would say to him:
+
+"My dear, it was an excellent idea for you to pass a few weeks in Paris;
+you came back much more wide awake; it did you good."
+
+Finally, about the middle of September, Dupont received a letter thus
+conceived:
+
+     "If you desire to see Mademoiselle Georgette again, whose
+     acquaintance you made during your stay in Paris last spring,
+     monsieur, be good enough to be at the Jardin des Plantes, on the
+     path facing the monkey house, about two o'clock in the afternoon of
+     the 25th of this month; she will join you there. You will confer a
+     great favor by bringing with you the little striped petticoat that
+     Mademoiselle Georgette left in your hands."
+
+Dupont quivered with joy when he read this letter:
+
+"The charming girl wants to see me again!" he thought "The petticoat is
+only a pretext; she regrets her ill treatment of me and means to reward
+my love at last. Yes, indeed; I will certainly keep the appointment she
+gives me."
+
+He went to his wife, and said to her:
+
+"My dear love, I must make another little trip to Paris. It is necessary
+for me to see Jolibois, and I believe that it will be good for my health
+too. I could hardly wake up this morning."
+
+"Yes, my dear, yes, go to Paris," replied madame; "it can't help doing
+you good; but don't stay so long as you did the last time."
+
+That is why our old acquaintance was walking in the Jardin des Plantes,
+on the designated avenue, on the 25th of September, feeling from time to
+time in the pocket of his full-skirted coat, in which he had bestowed
+the little striped petticoat he was requested to return.
+
+Ere long Dupont noticed that he kept passing a person of mature years,
+but dressed with much elegance; this was no other than Monsieur de
+Mardeille, who had received the following note a few days before:
+
+     "If Monsieur de Mardeille will take the trouble to be at the Jardin
+     des Plantes, on the path in front of the monkey house, on the 25th
+     of this month, about two o'clock in the afternoon, he will find
+     there Mademoiselle Georgette, who will explain her conduct toward
+     him. It would be very obliging on his part if he would bring with
+     him her little black petticoat."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille was very careful not to miss that appointment, for
+he was consumed by a longing to see Georgette once more.
+
+"Perhaps she means to return the twelve thousand francs I was stupid
+enough to give her," he said to himself.
+
+And having made a neat parcel of the little black petticoat, he put it
+in his overcoat pocket and betook himself to the place indicated in the
+note.
+
+After a little time, a third personage appeared on the same path; this
+was the young Vicomte Edward de Sommerston, who had received a letter of
+precisely the same tenor as Monsieur de Mardeille's, except that he was
+requested to bring with him a _white_ petticoat. As our young dandy was
+not inclined to carry a petticoat in his pocket, he was accompanied by a
+very diminutive groom, who carried the garment in question under his arm
+and had an abundant supply of cigarettes in his hand.
+
+As these three gentlemen were walking back and forth along the same
+path, they soon noticed one another.
+
+"Anyone would say that those two dandies also have appointments here,"
+said Dupont to himself.
+
+"Those two fellows are evidently waiting here for someone," thought the
+viscount, as he puffed at his cigarette.
+
+And Monsieur de Mardeille made a similar reflection as he passed the
+other two.
+
+Before long there was a smart shower. Instantly all the promenaders and
+monkey fanciers disappeared, except the three gentlemen with the
+petticoats. They continued to walk to and fro on the same path; and as
+there was no one else left there save themselves and the little groom,
+they could not doubt that they were all there by appointment. They began
+to smile as they passed one another; it was easy to see that they
+divined one another's motives for being there, and that they had at
+their tongue's end some such words as:
+
+"How tedious this waiting is! Gad! if it weren't for a charming woman,
+I'd have gone away long ago!"
+
+Dupont had been tempted more than once to enter into conversation with
+his fellow promenaders, but he had not dared.
+
+"The time wouldn't seem so long, if I were talking with these
+gentlemen," he said to himself; "that would divert my thoughts and make
+it easier to be patient; but perhaps they are not in a mood for
+talking."
+
+Suddenly Edward stopped and drew his watch. Monsieur de Mardeille did
+the same; whereupon Monsieur Dupont walked up to them, drew his own
+watch, and ventured to say:
+
+"I beg pardon, messieurs, but will you allow me to ask what time you
+make it? My watch may be a little fast, and I should like to be certain
+of the time. I say twenty-two minutes past two."
+
+"Two twenty-two; that's my time, too," said Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Faith! messieurs, we go better than Charles the Fifth's clocks," said
+the viscount, after consulting his watch; "I agree with you exactly."
+
+"Didn't Charles the Fifth's clocks go well?" inquired Dupont.
+
+"Don't you know that that monarch, after abdicating, cultivated a
+passion for clockmaking? He amused himself mending and improving clocks;
+he had an enormous number of them, and they went so well together that
+sometimes, as a reward of his labors, he had the pleasure of hearing
+them strike twelve for a whole hour!"
+
+They laughed heartily over Charles the Fifth's clocks; then Dupont
+observed:
+
+"I had a rendezvous for two o'clock, here in this path."
+
+"So had I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"But women are never on time!"
+
+"No, never!"
+
+"Especially when they are young and pretty; they know that we'll wait
+for them."
+
+"Yes, they are too anxious to make us long for them to come."
+
+"As for myself," said Edward, "I propose to wait just five minutes more;
+but if Mademoiselle Georgette hasn't arrived at the half-hour, I am
+going away!"
+
+"Georgette!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille.
+
+"Georgette!" muttered Monsieur Dupont. "On my word! this is strange;
+it's a Georgette I am waiting for, too!"
+
+"And I."
+
+"Pardieu! this is rather unique! A dark girl, medium height, but built
+like a Venus! And such a foot! and a leg! altogether enchanting!"
+
+"That is the exact portrait of the person I am waiting for."
+
+"It is the exact portrait of the Georgette who wrote to me."
+
+"This becomes decidedly interesting!" said the viscount. "I have her
+letter here."
+
+"So have I."
+
+"And I."
+
+"Let us compare them. Yes, it certainly is the same writing! Well,
+messieurs, I have a petticoat of hers here, which she left in my hands
+and asked me to bring back to her.--Tom! come here and show what you
+have under your arm."
+
+The little groom drew near and unfolded the white petticoat; Monsieur de
+Mardeille and Dupont instantly took the petticoats out of their pockets,
+and exhibited them, saying:
+
+"I also have brought her a petticoat."
+
+"And so have I, as you see."
+
+Thereupon the three gentlemen laughed so uproariously that the monkeys
+tried to imitate them. When their outburst of hilarity had subsided, the
+viscount said:
+
+"Don't you believe that the girl has made fools of us by writing to us
+all to meet her at the same place?"
+
+"I begin to think so," said Mardeille.
+
+"And she made us come in front of the monkeys!" exclaimed Dupont. "She
+selected this place purposely."
+
+"She certainly won't come; it is past the half-hour. I am going away."
+
+"Wait a moment, monsieur; there's a lady coming in this direction."
+
+"But she is with a gentleman."
+
+"Mademoiselle Georgette didn't write us that she would come alone."
+
+"I can't distinguish her features yet, for she has on a bonnet. But it
+isn't her figure at all. This one has an enormous funnel-shaped skirt."
+
+"That's a hoopskirt--the latest fashion."
+
+"Great God! how ugly she is! The Georgette I am expecting used to dress
+in such excellent taste! One could see how she was built."
+
+"Still, the nearer she comes, the more I think that I recognize her."
+
+"Why, yes, that's so! I would swear that it is she."
+
+"It is she! it certainly is, messieurs. See, she's coming toward us!
+There's no doubt about it now."
+
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+THE MOTIVE
+
+
+It was, in fact, Georgette, dressed in good taste, but very simply, and
+wearing one of the skirts then in fashion, which transformed a woman
+into a sugar loaf. She was arm in arm with Colinet, who had entirely
+laid aside his artless, timid manner.
+
+Georgette and her escort walked up to the three gentlemen, and the young
+woman bowed pleasantly to them, saying:
+
+"Excuse me, messieurs, for having kept you waiting. It was our driver's
+fault, for his horses hardly crawled. Allow me, first of all, to present
+my husband, Monsieur Colinet."
+
+Colinet gravely saluted the three men, who returned his salutation.
+
+"Did she send for us to introduce her husband?" they said to themselves.
+"That was hardly worth while!"
+
+"I asked you to meet me in this garden, messieurs," continued Georgette,
+"because I know that there are paths here where very few people pass,
+and where we can talk as if we were at home. I see one on the other side
+of these flower beds, where we shall be very comfortable; will you have
+the kindness to go there with me?"
+
+The three gentlemen bowed, and the whole party walked to a path, usually
+quite deserted, where there were benches. Georgette and her husband
+having seated themselves, the others did the same, and the little groom
+stood at some distance. Then the young woman turned to Messieurs de
+Sommerston and de Mardeille, and addressed them thus:
+
+"A few words will suffice to inform you why I acted as I did with
+respect to you. In the first place, messieurs, I am neither from
+Normandie nor from Bordeaux; I am a Lorrainer; Toul is my native place;
+my parents, who are poor but honorable farmers, are named Granery; I am
+the sister of Aimee and Suzanne."
+
+The viscount and Monsieur de Mardeille made a gesture of surprise and
+their brows grew dark when they heard those names; while Dupont thought:
+
+"What has this to do with me?"
+
+"Yes," continued Georgette, addressing Mardeille, "I am the sister of
+that poor Aimee, who came to Paris, where she hoped, by means of her
+skill in embroidery, to be able to help her parents. As ill luck would
+have it, she fell in with you. Aimee was beautiful, and she caught your
+fancy; being innocent and inexperienced, she believed your fine
+speeches, your promises, your oaths--in short, she allowed herself to
+be seduced. A child, a son, was the result of her misstep. But you had
+already begun to act differently toward her, your visits became more
+rare; and when she asked you for the means to support and bring up her
+child, then you ceased entirely to see her. Ah! monsieur, a man must be
+very hard-hearted to behave like that. To stop loving a person is
+possible, I admit; but to spurn a mother who asks you for bread for her
+child! Oh! that is shameful!"
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille hung his head and made no reply. Thereupon
+Georgette turned to the viscount:
+
+"Do I need to remind you, monsieur, that your treatment of my sister
+Suzanne was exactly the same as this gentleman's treatment of Aimee? You
+seduced a poor girl who was innocence itself--you cannot deny it; then,
+after making her the mother of a daughter, you abandoned her, and, to
+avoid seeing her tears and hearing her complaints, you went away, you
+left Paris. My sisters returned to the province, in utter despair. They
+threw themselves at our parents' feet, with the children they were
+nursing; and, instead of cursing them, my parents wept with them and
+tried to comfort them; for with us, people don't curse their children
+when they are unfortunate. Isn't it more natural to forgive them? But I,
+seeing my sisters weep every day over their children's cradles, said to
+myself: 'I will go to Paris, too, but I will go to avenge them!'--I was
+twenty years old, I was well and strong, and I was especially noted for
+a resolute will. My parents tried in vain to oppose my determination. I
+started for Paris. Unfortunately, Aimee did not know Monsieur de
+Mardeille's address, and Suzanne did not know whether Monsieur de
+Sommerston had returned to Paris. But nothing could deter me.--'I shall
+succeed in finding them,' I said to myself; 'and something leads me to
+hope that my enterprise will be successful.'--I flattered myself that I
+should be able to make your acquaintance, messieurs. You know whether I
+succeeded.--Now, Monsieur de Mardeille, is it necessary for me to tell
+you that the twelve thousand francs I asked of you was for your son,
+that it has been invested in his name, and will be used to bring him
+up?--And you, monsieur le vicomte, whom I asked for twenty thousand
+francs, because I knew that you were a richer man, and because a girl's
+education costs more than a boy's--you know now that that sum will be
+used to bring up Suzanne's daughter, and to provide her with a
+dowry.--Well, messieurs, do you consider now that my conduct was so
+blamable? That money, with which you intended to seduce and ruin me, as
+you ruined my sisters, I have put to a good use. It will make it
+possible to bring up your children carefully; and what you would have
+employed in an evil action will accomplish a result that will do you
+honor. Tell me, messieurs, do you bear me a grudge now?"
+
+"Faith! no," cried the viscount; "the play was well acted! You performed
+your part perfectly! Accept my congratulations, madame, together with
+this petticoat, which I hasten to restore to you.--Here, Tom! hand that
+garment to madame."
+
+Monsieur de Mardeille did not seem to have accepted the inevitable so
+gracefully as the viscount; however, he realized that he must resign
+himself, and at least pretend to repent of his wrongdoing. Consequently,
+he said to Georgette:
+
+"Madame, I judged you ill, that is true. I did treat your sister Aimee
+somewhat inconsiderately, and you have repaired my neglect, my fault.
+We men are drawn on by the current of business and pleasure, and are
+sometimes at fault when we do not mean to be. Present my compliments to
+your sister. Here is the little petticoat that became you so well!"
+
+"But why am I mixed up in this affair, madame, I who never seduced any
+of your sisters?"
+
+"You, monsieur," replied Georgette, with a smile--"I took you at first
+for an honorable, loyal man, whose arm I could accept without fear, for
+I was alone in Paris. I did not then know the addresses of these
+gentlemen, which my sisters succeeded in obtaining for me later. I
+wanted to go to the play and to the fashionable promenades, hoping to
+discover, to meet there, the persons I was absolutely determined to
+find."
+
+"I understand; you used me as an escort."
+
+"Something like it, monsieur. As for your love, that didn't frighten me.
+When I learned that you had lied to me, that you were married, as it was
+a matter of perfect indifference to me, I might have forgiven you; but
+you attempted to take most unbecoming liberties with me! So then,
+monsieur, I left you without ceremony, abandoning in your hands a little
+petticoat--which you have brought to me, I hope?"
+
+"Yes, madame, here it is."
+
+And Dupont, hanging his head rather sheepishly, produced his little
+parcel and handed it to Georgette. She took it and gave it to her
+husband; then she rose, and, with a graceful courtesy to the three men
+who had been in love with her, said:
+
+"Now that I am rehabilitated in your eyes, messieurs, it remains for me
+only to wish you whatever may be most agreeable to you."
+
+And, after bowing once more, Georgette took her husband's arm and walked
+away with him.
+
+Her three ex-lovers looked after her, and the viscount exclaimed:
+
+"Sapristi! what a difference between that huge funnel and the little
+petticoat that outlined her form so perfectly! Ah! if I had seen her
+dressed as she is to-day, all this wouldn't have happened!"
+
+"Indeed, it wouldn't!" cried Monsieur de Mardeille; "indeed, it wouldn't
+have happened; I should still have my twelve thousand francs."
+
+"I agree with you entirely, messieurs," said Dupont; "what a difference
+in her shape! And the change is not to her advantage! The idea of
+getting into that sugar-loaf affair, instead of letting us see her
+graceful outlines! Ah! madame! what a scurvy trick to play on us!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] Naught save the true is beautiful or lovable.
+
+[B]
+
+    How now! you say nothing!
+    My friend, 'tis not nice of you!
+    Once it was different,
+    Remember, I pray you!
+
+
+[C] True joys have fixed their abiding place in the fields; We fear the
+gods more there, and there make love more at our ease.
+
+[D]
+
+    I saw you of late, as you worked at the pump;
+    In you all is charming, all is true, nothing false;
+    'Tis then you display in your movements such grace that
+    One would gladly be damned, if he might pump with you.
+
+
+[E]
+
+    You have a saucy countenance,
+    A graceful figure;
+    A killing eye, a tiny foot,
+    And piquant bearing;
+    Your petticoat, too, I admire,
+    And all that one divines
+    Beneath,
+    And all that one divines!
+
+
+[F]
+
+    My candle's gone out,
+    No fire have I;
+    Pray open your door,
+    For the love of the Lord!
+
+
+[G] Colinet is misled by the twofold meaning of the French word
+_broche_.--_Mettre une broche_--to put on a brooch. _Mettre a la
+broche_--to put on the spit; _i.e.,_ to roast.
+
+[H] This play upon words cannot be reproduced in English. L. says: _Je
+l'entends tres-bien!_ But _entendre_ means to _hear_, as well as to
+_understand;_ so the other retorts: _Tu l'entends, mais tu ne le
+comprends pas;_ you hear, but you don't understand.
+
+[I] All styles are good, except the tiresome style.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Frederique; vol. 2, by Charles Paul de Kock
+
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