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diff --git a/old/68758-0.txt b/old/68758-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1e2e0bc..0000000 --- a/old/68758-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5756 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The fortunes of Fifi, by Molly Elliot -Seawell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The fortunes of Fifi - -Author: Molly Elliot Seawell - -Illustrator: T. De Thulstrup - -Release Date: August 15, 2022 [eBook #68758] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by University of California - libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORTUNES OF FIFI *** - - - - - -THE FORTUNES OF FIFI - -[Illustration--Fifi Cuddling Toto] - - - - - THE - - FORTUNES OF FIFI - - - BY - - MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL - - The author of Francezka - The Sprightly Romance of Marsac - Children of Destiny - - - THE ILLUSTRATIONS BY - T. DE THULSTRUP - - - INDIANAPOLIS - THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1903 - MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL - - COPYRIGHT 1903 - THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY - - OCTOBER - - All rights reserved - - PRESS OF - BRAUNWORTH & CO. - BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS - BROOKLYN, N. Y. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I THE IMPERIAL THEATER 1 - II NUMBER 1313 31 - III THE GRAND PRIZE 51 - IV COURTSHIP AND CRIBBAGE 73 - V A PARCEL OF OLD SHOES 90 - VI THE BLUE SATIN BED 113 - VII A MOST IMPRUDENT THING 140 - VIII AN OLD LADY AND A LIMP 161 - IX BACK TO THE BLACK CAT 180 - X THE POPE WINS 200 - XI BY THE EMPEROR’S ORDER 222 - - - - -THE FORTUNES OF FIFI - - -CHAPTER I - -THE IMPERIAL THEATER - - -Although it was not yet six o’clock, the November night had descended -upon Paris--especially in those meaner quarters on the left bank of the -Seine, where, in 1804, lights were still scarce. However, three yellow -flickering lamps hung upon a rope stretched across the narrow Rue du -Chat Noir. In this street of the Black Cat the tall old rickety houses -loomed darkly in the brown mist that wrapped the town and shut out the -light of the stars. - -Short as well as narrow, the Rue du Chat Noir was yet a thoroughfare -connecting two poor, but populous quarters. The ground floor of the -chief building in the street was ornamented with a row of gaudy red -lamps, not yet lighted, and above them, inscribed among some decaying -plaster ornaments, ran the legend: - - _______________________ - | | - | THE IMPERIAL THEATER. | - | DUVERNET, MANAGER. | - |_______________________| - -Imperial was a great word in Paris in the month of November, 1804. - -Across the way from the theater, at the corner where the tide of travel -turns into the little street, stood Cartouche, general utility man in -the largest sense of the Imperial Theater, and Mademoiselle Fifi, just -promoted to be leading lady. The three glaring, swinging lamps enabled -Cartouche to see Fifi’s laughing face and soft shining eyes as he -harangued her. - -“Now, Fifi,” Cartouche was saying sternly, “don’t get it into your -head, because you have become Duvernet’s leading lady, with a salary -of twenty-five francs the week, that you are Mademoiselle Mars at the -House of Molière, with the Emperor waiting to see you as soon as the -curtain goes down.” - -“No, I won’t,” promptly replied Fifi. - -“And remember--no flirtations.” - -“Ah, Cartouche!” - -“No flirtations, I say. Do you know why Duvernet made you his leading -lady instead of Julie Campionet?” - -“Because Julie Campionet can no more act than a broomstick, and--” - -“You are mistaken. It is because Duvernet saw that Julie was going -the way of his three former leading ladies. They have each, in turn, -succeeded in marrying him, and there are three divorce cases at present -against Duvernet, and he does not know which one of these leading -ex-ladies he is married to, or if he is married at all; and here is -Julie Campionet out for him with a net and a lantern. So Duvernet told -me he must have a leading lady who didn’t want to marry him, and I -said: ‘Promote Fifi. She doesn’t know much yet, but she can learn.’” - -“Is it thus you speak of my art?” cried Fifi, who, since her elevation, -sometimes assumed a very grand diction, as well as an air she -considered highly imposing. - -“It is thus I speak of your art,” replied Cartouche grimly--which -caused Fifi’s pale, pretty cheeks to color, and made her shift her -ground as she said, crossly: - -“Everybody knows you lead Duvernet around by the nose.” - -“Who is ‘everybody’?” - -“Why, that hateful Julie Campionet, and myself, and--and--” - -“It is the first thing I ever knew you and Julie Campionet to agree -on yet--that the two of you are ‘everybody’. But mind what I say--no -flirtations. Duvernet beats his wives, you know; and you come of people -who don’t beat their wives, although you are only a little third-rate -actress at a fourth-rate theater.” - -Fifi’s eyes blazed up angrily at this, but it did not disturb Cartouche -in the least. - -“And you couldn’t stand blows from a husband,” Cartouche continued, -“and that’s what the women in Duvernet’s class expect. Look you. My -father was an honest man, and a good shoemaker, and kind to my mother, -God bless her. But sometimes he got in drink and then he gave my mother -a whack occasionally. Did she mind it? Not a bit, but gave him back as -good as he sent; and when my father got sober, it was all comfortably -made up between them. But that is not the way with people of your -sort--because you are not named Chiaramonti for nothing.” - -“It seems as if I were named Chiaramonti for nothing, if I am, as -you say, only a little third-rate actress at a fourth-rate theater,” -replied Fifi, sulkily. - -To this Cartouche answered only: - -“At all events, there’s no question of marrying for you, Fifi, unless -you marry a gentleman, and there is about as much chance of that, as -that pigs will learn to fly.” - -“So, I am to have neither lover nor husband, no flirtations, no -attachments--” Fifi turned an angry, charming face on Cartouche. - -“Exactly.” - -“Cartouche,” said Fifi, after a pause, and examining Cartouche’s brawny -figure, “I wish you were not so big--nor so overbearing.” - -“I dare say you wish it was my arm instead of my leg that is stiff,” -said Cartouche. - -He moved his right leg as he spoke, so as to show the stiffness of the -knee-joint. Otherwise he was a well-made man. He continued, with a grin: - -“You know very well I would warm the jackets of any of these -scoundrels who hang about the Imperial Theater if they dared to be -impudent to you, because I regard you as a--as a niece, Fifi, and I -must take care of you.” - -Cartouche had a wide mouth, a nose that was obstinacy itself, and he -was, altogether, remarkably ugly and attractive. Dogs, children and old -women found Cartouche a fascinating fellow, but young and pretty women -generally said he was a bear. It was a very young and beautiful woman, -the wife of the scene painter at the Imperial Theater, who had called -attention to the unlucky similarity between Cartouche’s grotesque name -and that of the celebrated highwayman. - -Cartouche had caught the scene painter’s wife at some of her tricks and -had taken the liberty of giving a good beating to the gentleman in the -case, while the scene painter had administered a dose out of the same -bottle to the lady; so the promising little affair was nipped in the -bud, and the scene painter’s wife frightened into behaving herself. -But she never wearied of gibing at Cartouche--his person, his acting, -everything he did. - -In truth, Cartouche was not much of an actor, and was further -disqualified by his stiff leg. But the Imperial Theater could scarcely -have got on without him. He could turn his hand to anything, from -acting to carpentering. He was a terror to evil-doers, and stood well -with the police. Duvernet, the manager, would rather have parted with -his whole company than with Cartouche, who received for his services -as actor, stage manager, and Jack of all trades the sum of twenty-two -francs weekly, for which he worked eighteen hours a day. - -The worst of Cartouche was that he always meant what he said; and -Fifi, who was naturally inclined to flirtations, felt sure that it -would not be a safe pastime for her, if Cartouche said not. And as -for marrying--Cartouche had spoken the truth--what chance had she -for marrying a gentleman? So Fifi’s dancing eyes grew rueful, as she -studied Cartouche’s burly figure and weather-beaten face. - -The night was penetratingly damp and chill, and Fifi shivered in her -thin mantle. The winter had come early that year, and Fifi had taken -the money which should have gone in a warm cloak and put it into the -black feathers which nodded in her hat. Pity Fifi; she was not yet -twenty. - -Cartouche noted her little shiver. - -“Ah, Fifi,” he said. “If only I had enough money to give you a cloak! -But my appetite is so large! I am always thinking that I will save up -something, and then comes a dish of beans and cabbage, or something -like it, and my money is all eaten up!” - -“Never mind, Cartouche,” cried Fifi, laughing, while her teeth -chattered; “I have twenty-five francs the week now, and in a fortnight -I can buy a cloak. Monsieur Duvernet asked me yesterday why I did not -pawn my brooch of brilliants and buy some warm clothes. I posed for -indignation--asked him how he dared to suggest that I should pawn the -last remnant of splendor in my family--and he looked really abashed. -Of course I couldn’t admit to him that the brooch was only paste; that -brooch is my trump card with Duvernet. It always overawes him. I don’t -think he ever had an actress before who had a diamond brooch, or what -passes for one.” - -“No,” replied Cartouche, who realized that the alleged diamond brooch -gave much prestige to Fifi, with both the manager and the company. -“However, better days are coming, Fifi, and if I could but live on a -little less!” - -The streets had been almost deserted up to that time, but suddenly -and quietly, three figures showed darkly out of the mist. They kept -well beyond the circle of light made by the swinging lamp, which made a -great, yellow patch on the mud of the street. - -All three of them wore long military cloaks with high collars, and -their cocked hats were placed so as to conceal as much as possible -of their features. Nevertheless, at the first sight of one of these -figures, Cartouche started and his keen eyes wandered from Fifi’s face. -But Fifi herself was looking toward the other end of the street, from -which came the sound of horses’ hoofs and the rattle of a coach in the -mud. It came into sight--a huge dark unwieldy thing, with four horses, -followed by a couple of traveling chaises. As the coach lurched slowly -along, it passed from the half-darkness into the circle of light of the -swinging lamps. Within it sat a frail old man, wrapped up in a great -white woolen cloak. He wore on his silvery hair a white beretta. His -skin was of the delicate pallor seen in old persons who have lived -clean and gentle lives, and he had a pair of light and piercing eyes, -which saw everything, and had a mild, but compelling power in them. - -Fifi, quite beside herself with curiosity, leaned forward, nearly -putting her head in the coach window. At that very moment, the coach, -almost wedged in the narrow street, came to a halt for a whole minute. -The bright, fantastic light of the lamps overhead streamed full upon -Fifi’s sparkling face, vivid with youth and hope and confidence, and a -curiosity at once gay and tender, and she met the direct gaze of the -gentle yet commanding eyes of the old man. - -Instantly an electric current seemed established between the young eyes -and the old. The old man, wrapped in his white mantle, raised himself -from his corner in the coach, and leaned forward, so close to Fifi -that they were not a foot apart. One delicate, withered hand rested on -the coach window, while with an expression eager and disturbing, he -studied Fifi’s face. Fifi, for her part, was bewitched with that mild -and fatherly glance. She stood, one hand holding up her skirts, while -involuntarily she laid the other on the coach window, beside the old -man’s hand. - -While Fifi gazed thus, attracted and subdued, the three figures in the -black shadow were likewise studying the face of the old man, around -which the lamps made a kind of halo in the darkness. Especially was -this true of the shortest of the three, who with his head advanced and -his arms folded, stood, fixed as a statue, eying the white figure in -the coach. Suddenly the wheels revolved, and Fifi felt herself seized -unceremoniously by Cartouche, to keep her from falling to the ground. - -“Do you know whom you were staring at so rudely?” he asked, as he stood -Fifi on her feet, and the coach moved down the street, followed by the -traveling chaises. “It was the Pope--Pius the Seventh, who has come to -Paris to crown the Emperor; and proud enough the Pope ought to be at -the Emperor’s asking him. But that’s no reason you should stare the old -man out of countenance, and peer into his carriage as if you were an -impudent grisette.” - -Cartouche had an ugly temper when he was roused, and he seemed bent -on making himself disagreeable that night. The fact is, Cartouche had -nerves in his strong, rough body, and the idea just broached to him, -that Fifi would have to go two weeks or probably a month without a warm -cloak, made him irritable. If it would have done any good, he would -cheerfully have given his own skin to make Fifi a cloak. - -Fifi, however, was used to Cartouche’s roughness, and, besides, she was -under the spell of the venerable and benignant presence of the old man. -So she gave Cartouche a soft answer. - -“I did not mean to be rude, but something in that old man’s face -touched me, and overcame me; and Cartouche, he felt it, too; he looked -at me with a kind of--a kind of--surprised affection--” - -“Whoosh!” cried Cartouche, “the Holy Father, brought to Paris by his -Imperial Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, is surprised at first sight into -so much affection for Mademoiselle Fifi, leading lady at the Imperial -Theater, that he means to adopt her, give her a title, make her a -countess or I don’t know what, and leave her a million of francs.” - -Fifi, at this, turned her shapely, girlish back on the presumptuous -Cartouche, while there was a little movement of silent laughter on the -part of the three persons who had remained in the little dark street, -after the passing of the Pope’s traveling equipage. - -Cartouche had not for a moment forgotten the face of the one he -recognized so instantly, but seeing them keeping in the shadow, and -having, himself, the soul of a gentleman, forbore to look toward them, -and proceeded to get Fifi out of the way. - -“Come now,” said he. “It is time for me to go to the theater, and you -promised me you would sew up the holes in Duvernet’s toga before the -performance begins. It split last night in the middle of his death -scene, and I thought the whole act was gone, and I have not had time -to-day to get him a new toga; so run along.” - -Fifi, for once angry with Cartouche, struck an attitude she had seen in -a picture of Mademoiselle Mars as Medea. - -“I go,” she cried, in Medea’s tragic tone on leaving Jason, “but I -shall tell Monsieur Duvernet how you treat his leading lady.” - -And with that she stalked majestically across the street and -disappeared in the darkness. - -One of the group of persons came up to Cartouche and touched him on -the shoulder. It was the one, at sight of whom Cartouche had started. -In spite of his enveloping cloak, and a hat that concealed much of his -face, Cartouche knew him. - -“Who is that pretty young lady with whom you have been quarreling?” he -asked. - -“That, your Majesty,” replied Cartouche, “is Mademoiselle Fifi, a very -good, respectable little girl who has just been made leading lady at -Monsieur Duvernet’s theater across the way.” - -Cartouche, although thrilled with happiness, did not feel the least -oppressed or embarrassed at talking with the Emperor. No private -soldier did--for was not the Emperor theirs? Had they not known him -when he was a slim, sallow young general, who knew exactly what every -man ought to have in his knapsack, and promised to have the company -cooks shot if they did not give the soldiers good soup? Did he not -walk post for the sleeping sentry that the man’s life might be saved? -And although the lightning bolts of his wrath might fall upon a -general officer, was he not as soft and sweet as a woman to the rugged -moustaches who trudged along with muskets in their hands? And Cartouche -answered quite easily and promptly--the Emperor meanwhile studying him -with that penetrating glance which could see through a two-inch plank. - -“So you know me,” said the Emperor. “Well, I know you, too. It is not -likely that I can forget the hour in which I saw your honest, ugly -face. You were the first man across at the terrible passage of the -bridge of Lodi.” - -“Yes, Sire. And your Majesty was the second man across at the terrible -passage of the bridge of Lodi.” - -“Ah, was it not frightful! We were shoulder to shoulder on the bridge -that day, you and I. Your legs were longer than mine, else I should -have been across first,” the Emperor continued, smiling. “Berthier, -here, was on the bridge, too. We had a devil of a time, eh, Berthier?” - -Marshal Berthier, short of stature and plain of face, and the greatest -chief of staff in Europe, smiled grimly at the recollection of that -rush across the bridge. The Emperor again turned to Cartouche; he loved -to talk to honest, simple fellows like Cartouche, and encouraged them -to talk to him; so Cartouche replied, with a broad grin: - -“Your Majesty was on foot, struggling with us tall fellows of the -Thirty-second Grenadiers. At first we thought your Majesty was some -little boy-officer who had got lost in the mêlée from his command; and -then we saw that it was our general, and a hundred thousand Austrians -could not have held us back then. We ate the Austrians up, Sire.” - -“Yes, you ate the Austrians up. Afterward, I never could recall without -laughing the expression on the faces of my old moustaches when they saw -me on the bridge.” - -“Ah, Sire, when the soldiers came to themselves and began to think -about things, they were in transports of rage at your Majesty for -exposing your life so.” - -The Emperor smiled--that magic and seductive smile which began with his -eyes and ended with his mouth, and which no man or woman could resist. -He began to pull Cartouche’s ear meditatively. - -“You old rascals of moustaches have no business to think at all. -Besides, you made me a corporal for it. One has to distinguish himself -to receive promotion.” - -“All the same,” replied Cartouche obstinately, “we were enraged against -your Majesty; and if your Majesty continues so reckless of your life, -it will be followed by a terrible catastrophe. The soldiers will lose -the battle rather than lose their Emperor.” - -The Emperor had continued to pull Cartouche’s ear during all this. - -“And where are your moustaches?” he asked. “And do you still belong to -the Thirty-second Grenadiers? For they were the fellows who got across -first.” - -Cartouche shook his head. - -“I did not get a scratch at Lodi, your Majesty; nor at Arcola, nor -Castiglione, nor Rivoli, nor at Mantua; but one day, I was ordered -to catch a goat which was browsing about my captain’s quarters; and -I, Cartouche, first sergeant in the Thirty-second Grenadiers, who -had served for nine years, who had been in seven pitched battles, -twenty-four minor engagements and more skirmishes than I can count, was -knocked down by that goat, and my leg broken--and ever since I have -been good for nothing to your Majesty. See.” - -Cartouche showed his stiff leg. - -“That is bad,” said the Emperor--and the words as he said them went to -Cartouche’s heart. “Luckily it did not spoil your beauty. That would -have been a pity.” - -Both the Emperor and Cartouche laughed at the notion of Cartouche -having any beauty to spoil. - -“And what are you doing now?” - -“I am an actor, your Majesty, at the Imperial Theater yonder in this -street.” - -“An actor! You! One of my old moustaches! What do you know about -acting?” - -“Well, your Majesty, if you could see the theater, you wouldn’t be -surprised that they let me act in it. A franc the best seat--twenty -centimes for the worst--eating and drinking and smoking--and -cabbage-heads thrown at the villain, who is generally an Englishman.” - -“But how do you manage on the stage with your stiff leg?” - -“Very well, Sire. I am always a wounded soldier, or a grandfather, or -something of the sort. And I do other work about the theater--of so -many kinds I can not now tell your Majesty.” - -“And the pretty little girl is your sweetheart?” - -“No, your Majesty; I wish she were. She is not yet twenty, and really -has talent; and I am thirty-five and look forty-five, and have a stiff -leg; and, in short, I am no match for her.” - -Cartouche would not mention his poverty, for he would not that money -should sully that hour of happiness when the Emperor talked with him. - -“What does Mademoiselle Fifi think on the subject?” asked the Emperor. - -“She does not think about it at all yet, your Majesty. She was but ten -years old when I took her. It was at Mantua. Your Majesty remembers -how everything was topsyturvy in Italy eight years ago. One day I saw -a child running about the market-place, calling gaily for her mother. -The mother did not come. Then the child’s cry changed to impatience, -to terror and at last to despair. It was Fifi. The mother was dead, -but the child did not know it then. She had no one in the world that -I could discover; so, when I was started for France in a cart--for I -could not walk at all then--I brought Fifi with me. She was so light, -her weight made no difference, and ate so little that she could live -off my rations and there would still be enough left for me. When we got -to Paris, I hired a little garret for her, in yonder tall old house -where I live, and Fifi lives there still. I made a shift to have her -taught reading and writing and sewing, and never meant her to go on the -stage. However, I caught her one day dressed up in a peasant costume, -which she had borrowed, acting in the streets with some strollers--a -desperately bad lot. I carried Fifi off by the hair of her head--she -had only been with them a single day--and frightened her so that I -don’t think she will ever dare to follow her own will again; but I saw -that acting was in her blood, so at last I got Duvernet, the manager, -to give her a small place. That was a year and a half ago, and to-day -she is his leading lady.” - -“And you are not in love with her?” - -“I did not say that, your Majesty. I said she was not my sweetheart; -but I wish I were good enough for her. However, Fifi knows nothing -about that. All she knows is, that Cartouche belongs to her and is -ready to thrash any rogue, be he gentleman or common man, who dares to -speak lightly to her, or of her, for, although the goat ruined my leg, -my arms are all right, and I know how to use them.” - -“Fifi will be a great fool if she does not marry you,” said the Emperor. - -“Your Majesty means, she would be a great fool if she thought of -marrying me--me--me! Her father was a Chiaramonti--that much I found -out--and my father was a shoemaker.” - -At the mention of the name Chiaramonti the Emperor let go of -Cartouche’s ear, and cried: - -“A Chiaramonti! And from what part of Italy, pray?” - -“From a place called Cesena, at the foot of the Apennines. That is, the -family are from there; so I discovered in Mantua.” - -“Do you know her father’s Christian name?” - -“Yes, your Majesty--Gregory Barnabas Chiaramonti. I have seen Fifi’s -baptismal certificate in the church at Mantua.” - -The Emperor folded his arms and looked at Cartouche. - -“My man,” he said, “I shall keep an eye on Mademoiselle Fifi of the -Imperial Theater--likewise on yourself; and you may hear from me some -day.” - -A sudden thought struck Cartouche. - -“Why does not your Majesty go to see Fifi act to-night? The theater is -in this street--yonder it is, with the row of red lamps. I put those -lamps up myself. I am due at the theater now, and if your Majesty -has not the price of the tickets with you for yourself and Marshal -Berthier and General Duroc”--for Cartouche knew both of these well by -sight--“why, I, Cartouche, as stage manager, can pass you in.” - -The Emperor threw back his head and laughed, and motioned to Berthier -and Duroc standing behind him to come nearer to him. - -“Listen,” he said to them--and told them of Cartouche’s invitation, and -accepted it with great delight. - -Marshal Berthier’s homely face lighted up with a smile at the notion -of attending a performance at the Imperial Theater in the street of -the Black Cat. General Duroc, silent and stolid, followed the Emperor -without a word, exactly as he would have marched into the bottomless -pit at the Emperor’s command. - -“But not a word to the manager until we leave the house,” said the -Emperor. - -Cartouche, walking with the Emperor, led the party a short distance -up the street to where the gaudy red lamps showed the entrance to the -Imperial Theater. Duvernet, the manager, in his shirt-sleeves, was -engaged in lighting these lamps. He called out to the approaching -Cartouche. - -[Illustration--Napoleon at the Imperial Theater] - -“Look here, Cartouche, this is a pretty business, if you have forgotten -my new toga. You were to have a new one ready for me to-night--I can’t -feel like a Roman senator, much less look like one in that old rag of -a toga I wore last night. It was made out of a white cotton petticoat -of Fifi’s, and she had the impertinence to remind me of it before the -whole company.” - -“Hold your tongue,” whispered Cartouche to the manager, coming up -close; and then he added, aloud: “These are some friends of mine, whom -I have invited to see the play as my guests.” - -The Emperor, a step behind Cartouche, fixed his eyes on Duvernet. No -use was it for Cartouche to refrain from mentioning who his first -guest was. Duvernet turned quite green, his jaw fell, and he backed up -against the wall. - -“My God!” he murmured. “The toga is a regular rag!” and mopped his brow -frantically. - -The Emperor evidently enjoyed the poor manager’s predicament, and -pushing back his hat, revealed himself so there was no mistaking him. -Duvernet could only mutter, in an agony: - -“My God! The Emperor! My God! The toga!” - -“Duvernet,” said Cartouche, shaking him, “you behave as if you were -drunk.” - -“Perhaps I am--oh, I must be,” replied Duvernet, continuing to mop his -brow. - -“Come, Duvernet,” said the Emperor, laughing, “never mind about the -toga. I am not going to eat you. I came to see my old acquaintance, -Cartouche, whom I have known ever since we met at the end of a bridge -on the tenth of May, 1796. And, although I have enough money to pay -for myself and my two friends, I accept Cartouche’s invitation to -see the performance as his guests. He has promised us the one-franc -seats--don’t forget, Cartouche--nothing under a franc.” - -“Certainly, Sire,” replied Cartouche. “But if Duvernet doesn’t come -to himself, I don’t know whether we can have any performance or not; -because he is the Roman senator in our play to-night--a tragedy -composed by Monsieur Duvernet himself.” - -Duvernet, at this, brought his wits together after a fashion, and -escorted the party within the theater, and gave them franc seats as -promised. It was then time for Cartouche to go and dress, but Duvernet, -not having to appear as the Roman senator until the second act, could -remain some time still with his guests. - -Afterward Duvernet said that in the half-hour which followed, the -Emperor found out all about theaters of the class of Duvernet’s, rent, -lighting, wages, and told him more than he had ever known before -about his own business. But Duvernet was in no way reassured, and his -complexion was yet green, when Cartouche, peeping through a hole in the -curtain, saw him still talking to the Emperor--or rather answering the -Emperor’s questions. - -The house was fast filling. It held only five hundred persons, and -there were but one hundred seats where the élite of the patronage paid -so much as a franc; and even these seats were filled. Fortune smiled on -the Imperial Theater that night. - -Behind the curtain, the agitation was extreme; the Emperor had been -remembered and so had Berthier and Duroc. Everybody knew that the -Emperor had recognized Cartouche, had walked and talked with him, had -pulled his ear, and had come to see the performance as his guest--that -is to say, everybody except Fifi. That grand lady, since acquiring the -dignity of leading lady, always contrived to be just half a minute -behind Julie Campionet, her hated rival; but, also, just in time -to escape a wigging from Cartouche. Cartouche himself, dressed as a -centurion of the Pretorian Guard, was the coolest person behind the -curtain, and was vigorously rearranging the barrels which represented -the columns of the Temple of Vesta. - -Julie Campionet, a tall, commanding-looking woman with an aggressive -nose, sailed in then, arrayed as a Roman matron. After her came Fifi, -tripping, and dressed as a Roman maiden. The air was charged with -electricity, and both Fifi and the hated Julie knew that something -was happening. Julie turned to the leading man, with whom she had an -ancient flirtation, to find out what was the impending catastrophe. - -Fifi, however, ran straight to the place where there was a hole in the -curtain--a hole through which Cartouche had strictly forbidden her to -look, as it was bad luck to look at the house before the curtain went -up. Fifi was terribly afraid of signs and omens, but curiosity proved -stronger than fear. She swept one comprehensive glance through the -hole, and then, wildly seizing Cartouche by the arm, screamed at him: - -“Cartouche! Cartouche! It is the Emperor! Give me my smelling-salts.” - -Instead of running for the smelling-salts, Cartouche shook Fifi’s elbow -vigorously. - -“Don’t be a goose, Fifi! The Emperor has come here as my guest--do you -understand? And it is the chance of your life!” - -But Fifi, quite pale under her paint, could only gasp: - -“Cartouche, I can never, never act before the Emperor!” - -“It isn’t likely you will ever have but this one opportunity,” was -Cartouche’s unfeeling reply. - -“Cartouche, within this hour I have seen the Holy Father--and now the -Emperor--oh, what is to become of me!” - -“Get yourself superseded by Julie Campionet, who has a walk like an -ostrich and a voice like a peacock,” answered Cartouche rudely, “but -who does not go about screaming like a cat because she has seen the -Pope and the Emperor both in one evening.” - -Now, Julie Campionet warmly reciprocated Fifi’s dislike, and was -looking on at Fifi’s doings and gloating over the prospect of her -failure. Fifi caught Julie’s eye--and she would much rather have been -flayed alive than oblige Julie by making a fiasco; so, instantly, Fifi -recovered her composure and declared she never felt more at ease in her -life, at which Julie Campionet’s spirits sensibly fell. - -Meanwhile, everybody, from Moret, the leading man, down to the old -woman who acted as candle-lighter, treated Cartouche as if he had -been a hero. Moret, who had given himself great airs with Cartouche, -embraced him and told him he would never be forgotten by the members of -the company, for whom he had procured such an honor. Julie Campionet -would likewise have embraced him, if he had encouraged her, and did, -in fact, come dangerously near kissing him on the sly, but Cartouche -managed to escape at the critical moment. Duvernet oscillated between -the stage and the theater, and made so much confusion that Cartouche -requested him to keep away from the stage until his cue came. - -In truth, but for Cartouche’s self-possession, the Emperor’s presence -would have simply caused a terrible catastrophe at the Imperial -Theater, and the manager’s Roman tragedy would not have got itself -acted at all that night; but, by coolness and the assumption of -authority, the curtain came up to the minute, the play began, and went -through without a hitch. - -As for Fifi, she acted as if inspired, and Julie Campionet saw her -hopes of becoming leading lady vanish into thin air. Duvernet, in spite -of two large rents in the toga made out of Fifi’s petticoat, was a most -imposing senator. In his dying speech, which bore a suspicious likeness -to one of Corneille’s masterpieces, his voice could be heard bellowing -as far as the corner of the street of the Black Cat. - -The Emperor sat through two whole acts and applauded vigorously, and -when the curtain came down on the second act, sent for Cartouche, -and paid the performance the highest compliments. Especially did he -charge Cartouche to say that he thought Duvernet’s death scene the -most remarkable he had ever witnessed on or off the stage. And then he -handed Cartouche a little tortoise-shell snuff-box, saying: - -“It is not likely I shall forget you, Cartouche--that is, not until I -forget the bridge of Lodi; though, really, you should have let me over -the bridge first.” - -Cartouche shook his head and spoke no word, but his stern countenance -and his obstinate nose said as plainly as tongue could speak it: - -“Your Majesty should not have been on the bridge at all.” - -The Emperor saw this, and looked significantly at his companions, who -laughed. Then he continued: - -“And this young lady, Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, I shall have some -inquiries made about, and the result may surprise you. Adieu. Remember, -you have a friend in your Emperor.” - -This was spoken at the corner of the street of the Black Cat. -Cartouche, with adoration in his eyes, watched the figure of the -Emperor disappear in the darkness. Then, being careful to note that -there were no onlookers, he kissed the snuff-box, exactly as he -had seen Fifi kiss her paste brooch when she was enamored with its -splendors, and hid his treasure in his breast. - -But Fifi saw it before she slept. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -NUMBER 1313 - - -It took Fifi a whole month to recover from the shock of delight which -she had experienced on the night she had acted before the Emperor. -Meanwhile, her little head became slightly turned, and she gave herself -airs of great haughtiness to Julie Campionet, and Moret, the leading -man, and even to Duvernet, the manager. Duvernet was one of those -unfortunates who are the victims of their own charms. He was reckoned -a handsome man, as beauty goes on the left bank of the Seine, and was -almost invincible with young ladies of the ballet, milliners’ girls -and the like. When convinced that a deserving young woman had fallen -in love with him, Duvernet felt sorry for her, and honestly tried, by -reciprocating her passion, to keep her from throwing herself in the -river. - -By virtue of this amiable weakness, he had married in turn, as -Cartouche had said, three of his leading ladies, and was only safe from -Julie Campionet as long as Cartouche kept watch, like a wolf, over -the lady. Separations always followed fast on Duvernet’s marriages, -and his three wives were in such various stages of divorce, that, as -Cartouche said, Duvernet himself did not know exactly where he stood -matrimonially. Of one thing only was he sure: that Fifi did not harbor -designs upon him. And for this, and on account of her cleverness with -her needle, which enabled her to convert her white cotton petticoat -into a toga for the manager, in an emergency, Duvernet put up with her -airs and graces. - -Fifi tried a few of these same airs and graces on Cartouche, but -Cartouche had the habit of command with her, and Fifi had the habit -of obedience with him; so these little experimental haughtinesses on -Fifi’s part soon collapsed. Every night, when the performance was over, -Cartouche would bring Fifi home, and after seeing that she was in her -own little garret, retired to his, which was at the head of the stairs, -and was the meanest and poorest of all the mean and poor rooms in the -mean and poor lodging-house. But it was respectable; and to Cartouche, -who had charged himself with the care of such a pair of sparkling dark -eyes as Fifi’s, and such a musical voice, and such a neat foot and -ankle as hers, this respectability was much. - -If he had had his way Fifi would have been locked up in a convent and -only let out to be married to a person of the highest respectability. -But Fifi, in her own gay little obstinate head, by no means relished -schemes of this sort, and was fully determined on having both -flirtations and a husband, _malgré_ all Cartouche could say. - -The curious part of it was she could not construct any plan of life -leaving out Cartouche. She had known him so long; he had carried her -many weary miles, in spite of his bad leg, in that journey so long ago, -when Fifi was but a mite of a child; he had often brought her a dinner -when she suspected he had none for himself; he had taught her all she -knew, and was always teaching her. - -The men in the company often spoke roughly to the women in it, and -oftener still, were unduly familiar, but none of them ever spoke so -to her, chiefly because there was nothing the matter with Cartouche’s -brawny arms, as he had told the Emperor. And if the man Fifi married -did not treat her right, Cartouche, she knew, would beat him all to -rags; and how could she, husband or no husband, settle anything in -the world, from a new part in a play, to the way to make onion soup, -without consulting Cartouche? So the question of a husband was full of -complications for Fifi. At last, however, a brilliant solution burst -upon her mind: she would have a great many flirtations--and then she -would marry Cartouche! - -Fifi was charmed with her own cleverness in devising this plan. It -occurred to her at the very moment that she was putting on her hat -with the black feathers to go out and buy herself a warm cloak. It was -Christmas Eve, late in the wintry afternoon, and she had time, before -she was due at the theater, to run around the corner to a shop where -she had seen a beautiful cloak for thirty francs. She had saved up -exactly thirty francs in the month since that stupendous evening when -she had seen both the Pope and the Emperor. - -The bargain for the cloak was quite completed; both she and Cartouche -had examined it critically, had made the shopman take off a franc for -a solitary button which was not quite right, and nothing remained -but to pay over the thirty francs. It was a beautiful cloak, of a -rich, dark red, lined with flannel--there was one like it, lined with -cotton-backed satin, which Fifi longed for--but when she mentioned the -flannel lining of the first one to Cartouche, he had promptly vetoed -the cotton-backed satin. - -Fifi set forth gaily, feeling warm in spite of her thin black silk -mantle. - -It was near dusk and a great silver moon was smiling down at Fifi -from the dark blue heavens. The streets were crowded and there was as -much gaiety in them as in the finer faubourgs across the river. The -chestnut venders were out in force, and on nearly every corner one of -them had set up his temporary kitchen, whose ruddy glow lighted up the -clear-obscure of the evening. - -Around these centers of light and warmth people were gathered, sniffing -the pungent odor of the roasting chestnuts, and spending five-centime -pieces with a splendid generosity. The street hawkers did a rushing -business; one could buy broken furniture, cheeses, toy balloons, -cheap bonbons and cakes tied with gay ribbons, within twenty feet of -anywhere. Three organ-grinders were going at the same time in front -of the brightly lighted shop where Fifi’s cloak was--for she already -reckoned it hers. But alas for Fifi! Directly in front of the shop -a crowd had collected around an Italian, who was exhibiting the most -entirely fascinating little black dog that Fifi had ever seen. He was -about as big as a good-sized rabbit, and was trimmed like a lion. -Around his neck was tied a card on which was written: - -_Toto is my name, and I am a dog of the most aristocratic lineage in -France, and I can be bought for twenty francs. See me dance and you -will believe that I would be cheap at a hundred francs._ - -Fifi edged her way to where this angel of a dog was being shown by his -owner, the Italian, and opening her arms wide, cried out in Italian: - -“Come here, my beauty. Come here, dear Toto.” - -The dog ran to her, and placing his paws on her gown, gazed up into her -shining eyes with that look of confiding friendship which only a dog’s -eyes can express. Fifi bent down, and Toto, putting out a sharp little -red tongue, licked her delicate, cold cheek. Fifi was enraptured. Toto, -with all his beauty, high descent and accomplishments, was not puffed -up, but had a dog’s true heart. - -Fifi and Toto became intimate at once, to the delight of the crowd, -as well as of Toto’s master. The Italian saw, in this evidence of -the dog’s gentle disposition, a better chance to sell him. A stout, -red-faced woman, showily dressed, immediately offered eighteen francs -for the dog. The Italian held out stoutly for twenty, and to clinch -the matter, brought out from his clothes somewhere a complete ballet -dancer’s outfit; and in the wink of an eye Toto was doing a beautiful -ballet, his skirts of pink spangled tulle waving up and down around his -slim, little black legs, a low-necked bodice showing a necklace around -his throat, earrings jangling in his ears, and his head affectedly -stuck on one side, while he ogled the gentlemen in true ballet-dancer’s -style. - -Oh, it was delicious! Fifi almost wept with delight as Toto pirouetted, -his tulle skirts waving and his earrings tinkling musically. And when -at last he retired and sat down, fanning himself with his skirts, -Fifi’s heart, as well as her hard-earned money, was Toto’s. - -The stout, red-faced woman was obviously impressed with Toto’s value, -for she immediately said to the Italian: - -“Nineteen francs, Monsieur.” - -The Italian shook his head; and then, scarcely knowing what she was -doing, Fifi cried out in her musical, high-pitched voice: - -“Twenty francs! Oh, Toto, you are mine!” - -And holding her arms open, Toto jumped into them and was cuddled to her -breast. - -It was all over in a minute. The crowd had dispersed, and Fifi, with -Toto in her arms, and his ballet dress in her pocket, where now -only ten of her thirty francs reposed, was rather dumfounded at the -success of her sudden venture. The cloak, of course, was out of the -question--and what should she say to Cartouche? But the touch of Toto’s -little black paws gave her courage, and it was plain that her love for -him at first sight was reciprocated. So Fifi started back to her garret -with Toto, inventing on the way her replies to the wigging Cartouche -was sure to give her. - -She had scarcely got Toto into her room, when a rap came at the door, -which Fifi recognized, and clapping Toto into the cupboard, she -prepared to face Cartouche. - -“Well,” said Cartouche, walking in. “Where is the cloak?” - -Fifi busied herself for a minute in lighting her one candle, before -she could summon up courage to answer, in a quavering voice: - -“I did not get the cloak, Cartouche. That is, not to-day.” - -“Why not?” demanded Cartouche. - -“B-b-because I spent twenty francs of the money upon--upon something I -wanted more than the cloak.” - -“What is it?” asked Cartouche in a tone that made little shivers run -down Fifi’s backbone. “More feathers? Or was it a fan to keep you cool, -when the snow is on the ground, instead of a cloak to keep you warm?” - -“N-no. It was not a fan. And it is something to keep me warm, too, it -is as good as a stove, sometimes.” - -“What is it?” - -There was no mistaking the note in Cartouche’s voice. Fifi began: - -“It is--don’t be angry, dear Cartouche--it is a little black--it is a -little black--it is something alive!” - -“Is it a little black ostrich? Or is it a little black giraffe?” - -Cartouche came toward Fifi then, looking exactly as he did the day he -caught her acting with the strolling players on the street. - -“Oh, no, Cartouche. It is a little--a little--I would much rather have -him than a cloak. It is a dear little--” - -But Toto himself revealed his species at that moment, by pushing the -cupboard door open; and bouncing out, he ran to Fifi’s protecting arms. - -Cartouche was too much staggered to say a word, but Fifi, in the -terrible silence, said timidly: - -“He can dance, Cartouche--and--and stand on his hind legs like a little -angel!” - -“I see,” cried Cartouche, recovering his speech and uncorking his -wrath. “It is for a little black angel that can stand on his hind legs -that you have sacrificed the cloak!” - -“Yes,” cried Fifi, likewise recovering her speech, now that the murder -was out. “Toto is worth a dozen cloaks to me, and he only cost twenty -francs. It is almost like buying a dear little child for twenty francs. -I shall love Toto so much and he will love me back--we shall love each -other better than anything in the world!” - -Cartouche drew back a little as if he had received a blow. He remained -silent--so silent that Fifi was a little scared. - -“You should see him dance,” she said; and slipping Toto’s ballet -costume on him, she began to sing in a very lively manner: - - _Le petit mousse noir._ - -Toto, evidently thinking that he was meant by the black cabin-boy of -whom the song treats, made his stage bow, and began his ballet dancing. -And as it went on, Cartouche, in spite of himself, began to laugh. That -was Fifi’s triumph--and springing up, she, too, began to dance as well -as sing. - -She was only a half-starved little actress on twenty-five francs the -week. She had no friend in the world but Cartouche, who was as poor as -she was, but her heart was light, and her fresh young voice caroled -merrily in the cold, bare little room. Cartouche sat, looking at her, -and trying to frown; but it was in vain. He knew nothing of that -newly-formed resolve in Fifi’s mind, to have a great many flirtations -and then to marry him; and then, a vast, a stupendous sacrifice came -into his mind by which he could still get Fifi a cloak. - -He had ten francs of his own, and there was the tortoise-shell -snuff-box the Emperor had given him. Cartouche himself would have -starved and frozen rather than take it to the pawnshop--but Fifi’s cold -and hunger was something else. There was no struggle in making the -resolve, sacrifice for Fifi was no sacrifice to Cartouche, but there -was a moment of sharp regret--a feeling that the only treasure among -his poor possessions was about to be torn from him. Presently he said -gently: - -“Fifi, I have two bundles of fagots in my room and a sausage, and I -will get a bottle of wine, and after the performance to-night, we will -have a little supper here. And I will forgive you for buying Toto.” - -“That will be best of all,” cried Fifi, remembering that in the end she -meant to marry Cartouche. - -Cartouche went out, leaving Fifi alone, for half an hour of rapture -with Toto, before it was time to go to the theater. He climbed up to -his garret under the roof, and taking his cherished snuff-box from his -breast where he always carried it, looked at it as a mother looks her -last on her dead child; and then, going quickly downstairs again into -the street, he made for a pawnshop close by, with which he was well -acquainted. - -Just as he turned the corner of the street of the Black Cat, he almost -ran into Duvernet’s arms. - -“Hey, Cartouche, you are the very man I want to see,” cried the -manager, buttonholing him. And then, noting that several persons on -the street stopped and looked at him, Duvernet swelled out his chest -and assumed an attitude in which he very much admired himself in his -favorite part of the Roman senator. - -Duvernet continued in a very impressive manner: “I contemplate both -raising your salary, Cartouche, and also making you a little gift. -You have worked hard for me; you got the Emperor to the theater, and -business has been remarkably good ever since, and you have kept Julie -Campionet from marrying me--so far, that is--and I feel the obligation, -I assure you. So your salary after this will be twenty-five francs the -week, and here are three ten-franc pieces which I beg you will accept.” - -With the air of a Roman emperor bestowing a province upon a faithful -proconsul, Duvernet thrust the thirty francs into Cartouche’s hand. -Cartouche, thoroughly dazed, mumbled something meant for thanks as he -accepted the three ten-franc pieces. Duvernet, suddenly dropping his -majestic manner, said, in Cartouche’s ear: - -“And remember, you have got to keep Julie Campionet from marrying me. I -don’t like the look in her eye--she shows she is bent on it--and stop -Fifi from reminding me of that infernal white petticoat she gave me.” - -Cartouche nodded, and Duvernet, resuming his air of benignant -magnificence, stalked off, happy. At least six persons had seen him -make this princely present. His heart was good, although his head was -indifferent, and he was sincerely glad to be able to reward Cartouche -for his faithfulness. - -In a minute or two Cartouche came to himself, and tore along the -street, as fast as his stiff leg would allow, to the cloak shop, where, -in two seconds, he had paid the money for the beautiful cloak, and had -it wrapped in a bundle under his arm. How happy was Cartouche then! - -He still had his ten francs, and he determined to make a little -Christmas feast for Fifi. So he bought a jar of cabbage-soup, and a -little bag of onions, and some chocolate. Then he went into a wine -shop for a bottle of wine. - -The wine shop was a cheerful, dirty, agreeable place that he knew well. -When he entered he found the shop full of men, standing around a table -on which was a blindfolded boy with a hat full of slips of paper in his -hand. - -A shout greeted Cartouche’s arrival. - -“You are just in time, Monsieur Cartouche,” cried the proprietor, a -jolly red-faced man. “You make the last and twenty-fifth man necessary -to join our lottery. I have bought a ticket in the Grand Imperial -Lottery, which is to be drawn in a fortnight, and for every bottle of -wine I sell, and a franc extra, I give my customers a chance in the -lottery ticket, limiting it to twenty-five chances. Come now--I see -good luck written all over you--hand me your franc.” - -Cartouche handed out his franc, bought his bottle of wine, and joined -the circle at the table. The little boy handed the hat around, and -every man took a slip out and read thereon a number. Cartouche took his -slip and read out: - -“Number 1313!” - -A roar of laughter greeted this, but when it subsided, the proprietor -advanced, and handing Cartouche a blue lottery ticket, said gravely: - -“You have won, Monsieur Cartouche, in our lottery, and I hope you will -win in the Imperial Lottery. The number of the ticket I offer you is -1313.” - -There was another shout of derision, and several of the disappointed -ones commiserated with Cartouche on the load of ill luck he was -carrying off with him in number 1313, but Cartouche stoutly maintained -that there was nothing to be afraid of, and hurried back to the street -of the Black Cat. - -There was just time for him to get to the theater and dress. The people -came pouring into the house, and the box office took in the enormous -sum of two hundred and ninety-eight francs. It was again Duvernet’s -Roman tragedy, and it went finely. Fifi again acted as if inspired, -and received any number of recalls, besides a wreath of holly, with -an imitation silver buckle in it, handed over the footlights from an -unknown admirer. - -During the waits between the acts she told her fellow actors of Toto’s -charms and accomplishments, so that the other women, some of whom -possessed nothing more interesting than babies, were furiously jealous. - -But at last the play was over, and Fifi and Cartouche were in Fifi’s -garret, with a good fire in the stove, made with Cartouche’s fagots, -the cabbage-soup, the onions, the wine, and the sausage, and the -chocolate on the table, and Toto to make the trio complete. Cartouche -had sneaked the cloak in, without Fifi’s seeing it, and just as they -were sitting down to the table he said carelessly, as if thirty-franc -cloaks were the most ordinary incidents in life: - -“Fifi, if you will open that bundle on the chair, you will find a -little gift from me.” - -Fifi ran and tore the parcel open, and there was the beautiful, warm, -crimson cloak. She flew to Cartouche, and with dewy eyes, although her -lips were smiling, gave him one of those hearty kisses she had given -him when she was a little, black-eyed damsel ten years old. Cartouche -did not return the kiss, but sat, first pale and then red, and with -such a strange look on his face that Fifi was puzzled. - -“Never mind,” she said to herself. “The next time it will be he who -kisses me--not I who kiss him.” - -But nothing could spoil the joy over the new cloak. - -“To think that I should have the red cloak and Toto, too! Oh, it is too -much!” cried Fifi. - -“Quite too much--too much by way of a dog,” remarked Cartouche; but -as Toto at that moment jumped from his chair at the table on to -Cartouche’s knee, it became impossible not to be friendly with the -little rogue, and perfect harmony reigned among the three friends. - -Cartouche and Fifi were among the poorest people in Paris; they worked -hard for a very little money; the room was small and bare, and although -Fifi had now a cloak for the winter, she would have been better off for -some warm stockings, and Cartouche for some flannel shirts. - -Nevertheless, they were as happy as the birds in spring. They ate, they -drank, they laughed, they sang. Fifi dressed Toto up in his ballet -costume, and together they did a beautiful _ballet divertissement_ -for Cartouche, which he liberally applauded. He told Fifi of his -twenty-five francs a week, as well as Duvernet’s present, and Fifi -concluded that he would be a desirable _parti_ for his money as well -as for his solid virtues, and determined to propose to him before -another year should pass. - -Cartouche had forgotten about the lottery ticket, but just as he was -leaving, he remembered it and handed it to Fifi. At the sight of the -numbers on it, Fifi shrieked: - -“Take it away! Take it away! It will bring bad luck! Take it away!” - -“I won’t,” replied Cartouche, “and do you, Fifi, take care of it. You -may draw the hundred-thousand-franc prize in the lottery yet. Just -as likely as not the prizes are put on the numbers that nobody would -choose.” - -This somewhat reconciled Fifi to the danger of keeping number 1313; so -she reluctantly put it away in the box where she kept her treasure of a -paste brooch, remarking meanwhile: - -“If it draws the hundred-thousand-franc prize, I will marry you, -Cartouche.” - -Again Cartouche turned red and pale. These jokes which seemed to amuse -Fifi so much, cut him to the quick. He only growled: - -“About as much chance of one as of the other.” - -And then a great melodious deep-toned bell in a neighboring church -began its chiming, solemn and glorious, proclaiming that Christmas Day -was at hand, and Fifi, falling on her knees, as her mother had taught -her long years ago, in Italy, thanked God for giving her Cartouche, and -Toto, and the red cloak lined with flannel. - -She forgot all about the lottery ticket. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE GRAND PRIZE - - -For the first fortnight of the new year, things went swimmingly at -the Imperial Theater, and several times the nightly receipts were -over three hundred francs. Duvernet wrote and produced a new play, in -which he took the part of Alexander the Great; and it was a screaming -success. Fifi as Queen Roxana was simply stunning, wearing her alleged -diamond brooch in a tiara made by her own hands, of beautiful glass -beads. The merry war between Julie Campionet and herself went on as -noisily as ever, but there was more noise than malignity about it. When -Julie was ill with a cold, Fifi went and cooked Julie’s dinner for her; -and when Fifi needed a scepter for her part of Queen Roxana, Julie -Campionet sent her a very nice parasol handle with a glass knob at the -top which made a lovely scepter. - -But they did not, for these trifles, deny themselves the pleasure of -quarreling, and Duvernet was treated about once a week to a threat -from each of them that if her rival were not immediately discharged, -the complainant would at once resign. Duvernet received these threats -with secret satisfaction, because, as he explained to Cartouche, as -long as the war was actively prosecuted, Julie Campionet did not have -time to make a serious demonstration against him. - -“But if ever they are reconciled,” he confided gloomily to Cartouche, -“the Campionet woman will marry me in a week.” - -As for Cartouche, he attended strictly to his business at the theater, -but his mind was so much taken up with certain possibilities of the -future that he did not keep the faithful watch over Duvernet which -the manager considered as his safeguard. Cartouche was even so -inconsiderate as to let Julie Campionet get into the manager’s private -office more than once, and remain there alone with him for at least -five minutes, without interrupting the tête-à-tête. - -It was the lottery ticket which in some way grievously disturbed -Cartouche’s mind. Suppose Fifi should win a prize? And from that -supposing, came a kind of superstitious conviction that number 1313 -_would_ win a prize. He found himself, without his own volition, -figuring upon what should be done with the money, so as to enure to the -greatest benefit of Fifi. - -“If it is a twenty-franc prize she draws, she must have a pair of -new shoes, and some good stockings”--he thought, for Cartouche knew -intimately the condition of Fifi’s wardrobe. “If it is as much as fifty -francs, the shoes and stockings must wait--it won’t do to fool away -such a sum as fifty francs; it must be put aside for a rainy day, for -Fifi, in the tin box in the cranny of the chimney”--where Cartouche -was beginning to save up also for a rainy day, for Fifi. If it were -five hundred francs--or possibly a thousand--Cartouche lost his breath -in contemplation of the catastrophe. In that case, Fifi would have a -_dot_, but whom would she marry? She knew no one but the men about the -theater, and Cartouche did not consider any of them a match for Fifi; -but perhaps he was prejudiced. She might, it is true, with five hundred -francs to her dowry, marry a tradesman; but how would Fifi get on with -a tradesman? - -Altogether, it was the most puzzling proposition Cartouche had ever -struggled with, and he began to wish the fateful day were over, and -that these strange dreams and hopes and fears about Fifi and the -lottery ticket would vanish like shapes in a mist, and leave him in -peace. - -Then, there was that veiled suggestion from the Emperor that he knew -something about Fifi’s family which might change her whole destiny; -and on the whole, Cartouche had good reason to go about looking like a -sick bull, which was his way of showing a passionate solicitude for the -being dearest to him on earth. And meanwhile, Julie Campionet went hot -foot after the manager, and Fifi wondered why Cartouche was so gentle -with her and so indulgent with Toto. - -The lottery drawing was to be held on the tenth of January, in a large -public hall of the _arrondissement_, the mayor presiding. The drawing -was to begin at noon, and last until all the tickets were drawn. As the -day drew near, Cartouche’s fever of excitement increased, and when the -morning of the tenth dawned he was as nervous as a cat. He knocked at -Fifi’s door early, and told her to be ready to go with him at twelve -o’clock to the lottery drawing. Fifi responded sleepily, but when the -hour came she was ready to accompany him. - -It was a lovely, bright morning, and Fifi’s looks were in harmony with -the morning. The red cloak was very becoming to her, and the black -feathers, for which her first thirty francs had gone, nodded over the -most sparkling, piquant face in Paris. Toto, of course, was along, led -by a long blue ribbon in his mistress’ hand; and so they set off. - -Fifi had not the slightest thought of drawing a prize. - -“As if 1313 would draw anything!” she sniffed. “If you had given me -that franc, Cartouche, which the ticket cost, I could have bought a -pair of gloves, or a fan, or a bushel of onions--” Fifi went on to -enumerate what she could have bought with Cartouche’s franc, until its -purchasing power grew to be something like her whole weekly salary. But -in any event, she liked the expedition she was on and Toto liked it; -so, on the whole, Fifi concluded she could at least get fifty centimes’ -worth of pleasure out of the lottery ticket. - -She looked so pretty as she tripped along that Cartouche mentally -resolved, if she drew a five-hundred-franc prize, she might aspire to a -notary, such as her father had been; and engrossed with the thought of -Fifi’s possible rise in the world, he was so grumpy, Fifi declared she -almost hated him. - -They were among the first to arrive, and secured good seats near -the tribune. There sat the officers of the lottery, the mayor with -his tricolored sash, and several representatives of the government, -together with a little fairy of a child, all in white, who was to draw -the numbers from the wheel, which was already in place. - -The crowd assembled in the hall was an orderly and well-dressed one, -but Fifi and Cartouche, who were used to crowds, felt in a subtile -way that it was quite different from the ordinary crowd. Most of the -people were, like Cartouche, in a state of acute tension. They were -strangely still and silent, but also, strangely ready to laugh, to cry, -to shout--to do anything which would take the edge off the crisis. - -When the drawing began, and one or two small prizes of twenty and fifty -francs were drawn, the winners were vociferously cheered. There was a -feeling that the grand prize of a hundred thousand francs would not be -drawn until late in the afternoon, and the people were letting off -their excitement over the little prizes, waiting for the thunder-bolt -to fall. But scarcely half an hour after the drawing began, there was a -sudden, deep pause--time itself seemed to stop for a moment--and then -the auctioneer, who was calling out the prizes, roared out: - -“Number 1313 draws the grand prize of one hundred thousand francs!” - -Cartouche sat stunned. Like persons near drowning, he saw in an -instant, by some inward vision, all his past and future with Fifi: she -was no more for him. A great gulf had opened between them. Had it been -thundered in his ears for a century, he could not have realized it more -than in the first two seconds after the announcement was made. Fifi had -a hundred thousand francs; then she could be Fifi, his little Fifi, no -more. He saw, in a mental flash, the little store he had saved up in -the cranny of the chimney--twenty-two francs. Twenty-two francs! What a -miserable sum! A blur came before his eyes; he heard a great noise of -men shouting and clapping; women were waving their handkerchiefs and -laughing and screaming out of sheer inability to keep quiet. As for -Fifi, she turned two wide, innocent, frightened eyes on Cartouche, and -stammered: - -“Dear Cartouche--shall we really have a hundred--thousand--francs--of -our own?” - -“You will have it, Fifi,” replied Cartouche, and thrusting the ticket -in her nerveless hand, he forced her to stand up and show it, which -Fifi did, then suddenly burst into a torrent of tears and a tempest of -sobs. - -Her youth, her beauty, her tears, her humility touched all hearts; and -this time there was a roar of sympathy. Fifi’s slight figure swayed and -would have fallen but for Cartouche holding her up. It was buzzed about -on all sides: - -“Who is that tall, ugly fellow with her?” Some said her father, some -her brother, but no one said he was her lover. - -The formalities were simple and brief; the drawing would still take -many hours; and Fifi, with her precious memorandum, duly signed and -countersigned, to be presented at a certain bank, was once again in the -street with Cartouche. - -It was a bright, soft January day, the sun gilding the blue river, -the quays and bridges, and lighting up with a golden glow the great -masses of the Louvre and the Tuileries. Fifi walked along, clutching -Cartouche’s arm tightly. She had forgotten Toto trotting soberly at her -side, and apparently crushed by the hundred thousand francs, forgotten -all but Cartouche, who seemed to her the only thing that was not -changed in all the wide world. It was Cartouche who held Toto’s blue -ribbon and who straightened Fifi’s hat when it fell over her eyes and -she was too agitated to know it. Cartouche proposed to her to stop and -rest in the Tuileries gardens--but Fifi would have none of it. - -“Take me home,” she cried. “Take me somewhere so I can cry as much as I -like!” - -This struck Cartouche as a perfectly natural way of receiving such -stunning news; he himself could have wept with pleasure. - -At last they were in Fifi’s shabby little room, and Fifi was taking off -her new cloak and folding it up mechanically. - -“No need to do that, Fifi,” said Cartouche, in a strange voice. “After -to-morrow you need not wear thirty-franc cloaks any more.” - -“Oh, you cruel Cartouche!” cried Fifi, and burst into the anticipated -fit of crying. She insisted on weeping on Cartouche’s shoulder, and -even kicked Toto when that sympathetic dog would have joined his grief -to hers, for Toto knew well enough that something was to pay, whether -it was the devil or not, he could not tell, but rather suspected it was -the devil. - -Cartouche tried to comfort Fifi--usually not a difficult problem when -one has to be reconciled to a fortune--but there is always something -staggering in contemplating another state of existence. Neither -Cartouche nor Fifi could at once become calm, and Fifi, too, felt in -some singular, but acute manner, that the hundred thousand francs stood -between her and Cartouche. - -“Now, mind, Fifi,” Cartouche said, “not a word of this to the people in -the theater. Wait until the money is actually in your hands.” - -“In my hands,” cried Fifi, tearfully and indignantly, “in _your_ hands, -you mean, you cruel Cartouche!” - -Fifi had called Cartouche cruel a dozen times since she had drawn the -prize, but Cartouche did not mind it. He would have liked to stay with -her but there were a dozen things awaiting him at the theater, and -Cartouche was not the man to neglect his work. He went off, therefore, -and had not a minute to himself, until just before it was time to dress -for the play. Then he went to his room, and taking his tin box from the -chink in the chimney, he counted over his twenty-two francs--saved by -doing without food and fire. - -Clothes and shoes he must have to keep his place in the theater. -Duvernet had been a good friend to him, and he could not go in rags, -so that people would say: “There goes one of Duvernet’s actors. That -man does not pay his people enough to give them decent clothes to their -backs.” - -But food and fire were a man’s own affairs, and, by keeping on the -near side of both, Cartouche had been able to save twenty-two francs -in three weeks of the coldest weather he had ever felt. And how little -it was! How contemptible alongside of a hundred thousand francs! -Cartouche, sighing, put the box back. It was all in vain: those days -when he battled with his hunger, those bitter nights when the snow lay -deep on the roofs below his garret, and his old, cracked stove was as -cold as the snow. And yet, there had been a tender, piercing sweetness -in the very endurance of those privations--it was for Fifi. And Fifi -would never more need his savings, which thought should have made him -happy, but did not. - -The next day, the whole story was out, the newspapers published the -numbers and names of the winners, and it was as if Fifi had been -transported to another planet. - -Duvernet came first to congratulate her. She was in a cold spasm of -terror for fear he had come to tell her that her services were no -longer needed at the theater. It seemed to her as if she were about to -be thrown headlong into an unknown abyss, and she thought that if she -could but remain at the Imperial Theater for a short while longer, long -enough to get accustomed to that stupendous change which awaited her, -it would become a little more tolerable. And Duvernet himself was so -strange, it frightened Fifi. He was so respectful; he did not strut as -usual, and he called her Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, instead of Fifi. And -Toto, who usually barked furiously at the manager, did not bark at all, -but sat on his hind legs, his fore legs dropping dejectedly, and looked -ruefully in Duvernet’s face, as much as to say: - -“See, Monsieur Duvernet; we have got a hundred thousand francs and we -don’t know what to do with it, or how to behave ourselves.” Toto, in -fact, had neither barked nor danced nor jumped since he heard the news, -and appeared thoroughly oppressed and abashed by his changed fortunes. - -Duvernet, it is true, felt some awe of Fifi in her new aspect, but the -active and enterprising manager was still uppermost with him. - -“Well, Mademoiselle,” he began, trying to assume an airy manner, “I -presume we shall have to dispense with your valuable services at the -Imperial Theater; you will probably abandon the stage altogether, and -certainly our humble place.” - -Duvernet, before this, had always spoken as if the Imperial Theater -were the rival of the Théâtre Française. - -Fifi burst into tears. - -“Yes,” she cried, “I shall have to go away--and that odious Julie -Campionet, who can no more act than a gridiron can act, will have all -my best parts--o-o-o-o-oo-h!” - -Then Duvernet played his trump card. - -“A few farewell performances, Mademoiselle, would put Julie Campionet’s -nose severely out of joint.” - -“Do you think so?” cried Fifi, brightening up at the thought of -putting Julie’s Roman nose out of joint; that, at least, seemed natural -and normal. - -“If Cartouche will let me--” for Fifi now, instead of opposing -Cartouche, seemed unable to come to the smallest decision without him. - -“I will see to that,” replied the manager eagerly, “and I will also see -to it that Julie Campionet is made to gnaw the file.” - -Just then Cartouche coming in, Fifi besought him to let her act for at -least two weeks more; and Cartouche, feeling himself that vague, but -intense strangeness of all things and people since Fifi got her hundred -thousand francs, consented. When it was decided, Toto laid his nose -down on his paws and uttered a short whine of relief, which sounded -like grace after meat. - -So Fifi was to play for two weeks more at the Imperial Theater, the -franc seats were to be two francs, and the cheapest seats, fifty -centimes. Fifi breathed again. It was a respite. - -Meanwhile Fifi had been formally notified that the money was awaiting -her at a certain bank, and she was requested to name a day for the -payment to her, in the presence of an official of the lottery, a friend -of her own, and a representative of the lottery company. Fifi, or -rather Cartouche for her, named a day a whole month from the day of the -lottery drawing. They were both frightened at the prospect of Fifi’s -receiving the money. - -She and Cartouche resumed their life exactly as it had been before -number 1313 was purchased. Cartouche, going about attending to his -business as usual, thought his head would crack. At the end of the -month, what was to be done? He was but little more experienced than -Fifi when it came to a hundred thousand francs. Fifi must find another -and a very different home--but where? She must be married--but when -and how and to whom? He knew of no one of whom he could ask advice, -except one, and he was not easy to reach--the Emperor. Cartouche was -as certain as he was of being alive, that if he could see his Emperor, -and could tell the whole story, a way out of all his perplexities could -be found. He had a shadowy hope that the Emperor might have discovered -something about Fifi, according to that mysterious hint he gave the -memorable night when he heard her name, but it did not materialize. - -At last Cartouche formed the desperate resolve of trying to see the -Emperor and telling all his trouble about Fifi. On certain mornings in -the week an inspection of the Imperial Guard was held in the courtyard -of the Tuileries; and on one of these mornings--a cold, dull, uncertain -morning, matching Cartouche’s feelings--he went and stationed himself -as close to the iron railings of the courtyard as the police would let -him. He thought to himself: “The Emperor sees everything and everybody. -He will see me, and he will know that I have something on my mind, and -then he will send for me, and I will make a clean breast of it; and the -Emperor will tell me what to do with Fifi and her money.” - -The guard was drawn up into a hollow square, their splendid uniforms -making a splash of color in the dull gray day, their arms shining, -their bronzed countenances and steady eyes fit to face the great god -Mars himself. Presently an electric thrill flashed through every -soldier and each of the crowd of onlookers, as when a demigod appears -among the lesser sons of men--the Emperor appeared, stepping quickly -across the courtyard. - -He was in simple dress uniform, and had with him only two or three -anxious-looking officers; for he was then the eagle-eyed general, who -knew if a button was missing or a strap awry, and incidentally read -the soul of the man before him. At once, he ordered this man and that -to open his knapsack; one piercing glance sufficed to see in it and -through it. He had a musket examined here and there, and in a flash he -knew if everything was as it should be. The inspection was rapid, but -nothing escaped the magic eyes of the Emperor. All was in order, and in -consequence, Jove smiled. - -Cartouche saw that the Emperor would pass within a few yards of -him, and he stood, erect and rigid, at “attention,” waiting for the -lightning glance to find him, and, just as he expected, the Emperor’s -eye swept over the waiting crowd, rested a moment on him, recognized -him instantly, and as Cartouche made a slight gesture of entreaty, -nodded to him. Five minutes after, a smart young aide stepped up, and -motioning to Cartouche, walked toward the palace; Cartouche followed. - -He did not know how he got into a small room on the ground floor, -which communicated with the Emperor’s cabinet. He was hot and cold and -red and pale, but said to himself: “Never mind, as soon as I see the -Emperor I shall feel as cool and easy as possible. For when was it -that a private soldier was not at his ease with the Emperor? It is the -bigwigs who think they know something, whom the Emperor frightens.” - -There was a long wait, but after a while the door opened, and the -same young aide ushered him into the Emperor’s cabinet; and just as -Cartouche had known, he felt as easy as ever in his life as soon as he -found himself alone with the Emperor. - -The Emperor sat at a table, leaning his elbow upon it. His pale and -classic face was luminous with a smile as he saw Cartouche; he had no -more forgotten the first man across the bridge at Lodi than Cartouche -had forgotten him. - -“Well, my friend,” he said, smiling. “I was about to send for you, -because I have found out some surprising things about your protegée, -Mademoiselle Fifi; and besides, I see by the newspapers that she has -drawn a prize of a hundred thousand francs in the lottery.” - -“Yes, Sire,” replied Cartouche, “and I want to ask your Majesty what I -am to do with Fifi’s hundred thousand francs.” - -“Good God!” cried the Emperor, getting up and walking about the room -with his hands behind his back, “I know no more what to do with a -hundred thousand francs than you do; I never had a hundred thousand -francs of my own in my life. I have a civil list of forty millions, -which I disburse for the benefit of the state, but it is as much as -I can do to keep myself and my wife in clothes. Women are expensive -creatures, Cartouche.” - -“True, your Majesty,” replied Cartouche, “and Fifi does not know what -to do with money when she gets it--” Then, in a burst of confidence he -told the Emperor about the thirty francs Fifi had saved up for a cloak -and invested in a little black dog instead. The Emperor threw back his -head and laughed heartily. - -“This Fifi must be a character. Well, I shall ask Lebrun, the -arch-treasurer, to give us his advice about Fifi’s hundred -thousand francs. But suppose she will not trust you and me and the -arch-treasurer with her money?” - -“I don’t know about the arch-treasurer, your Majesty, but I am sure -Fifi will trust you, Sire, and me. But what is to be done with Fifi -herself, is puzzling me.” - -“That can be easily settled, I think. You remember I told you, when -I found her name was Chiaramonti, that I might have some surprising -news about her. I was, this very morning, contemplating sending for -you. Well, this young lady, whom you found crying in the market-place -at Mantua, I have discovered is the granddaughter of Barnabas Gregory -Chiaramonti, who was the first cousin and playmate, in his boyhood, of -Gregory Barnabas Chiaramonti, now reigning over the Holy See as Pius -the Seventh, and at present, sojourning as my guest at the palace of -Fontainebleau.” - -Everything reeled before Cartouche, and he had to hold on to the back -of a chair to keep from falling. - -Some minutes passed. The world was changing its aspect so rapidly to -Cartouche that he hardly recognized it as the same old planet he had -known for thirty-five years. - -The Emperor waited until Cartouche had a little recovered himself, -although he was still pale and breathed hard. Then the Emperor said: - -“I shall cause the Holy Father to be informed of Fifi’s existence. He -is a good old man, although as obstinate as the devil. Oh, I am sure -we can arrange for Fifi; and then, Cartouche, how about a husband for -her?” - -The Emperor, as he said this, looked steadily at Cartouche; but -Cartouche, looking back as steadily, replied: - -“I should think the Holy Father would arrange that, your Majesty.” - -“True,” replied the Emperor, “but I wish one of my deserving young -officers might suit the Holy Father as Fifi’s husband. I say, -Cartouche, how hard life is sometimes! Now, because Fifi is rich -through the lottery ticket you bought her, you can never hope to marry -her.” - -“Oh, your Majesty, that could not have been in any event,” answered -Cartouche, a dull red showing through his dark skin. “I am sixteen -years older than Fifi, and I have a stiff leg, and although I make -what is reckoned a good living for a man like me, it is not the sort -of living for a notary’s daughter like Fifi. No, your Majesty; I love -Fifi, but I never thought to make her my wife. She deserves a better -man than I am.” - -“Another sort of a man, Cartouche, but not a better one,” replied the -Emperor, gently tweaking Cartouche’s ear. “I shall arrange for the -Holy Father to be told of Fifi’s existence, and we shall see about the -hundred thousand francs; and, Cartouche, if you are in any trouble or -perplexity, come to your Emperor.” - -And with that, Cartouche knew the interview was over, and he went away -with a heart both light and heavy. For Cartouche was a very human man -after all, and the thought of Fifi’s having a husband made the whole -world black to him. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -COURTSHIP AND CRIBBAGE - - -Behold Fifi, a fortnight afterward, installed in a quiet and correct -apartment in the Rue de l’Echelle, under the charge of a certain Madame -Bourcet, who was as quiet and correct as her apartment. And Madame -Bourcet had a nephew, Louis Bourcet, more quiet and more correct even -than herself, and he aspired to marry Fifi and her hundred thousand -francs. - -It was all like a dream to Fifi. The Emperor had been as good as his -word. He had consulted Lebrun, the arch-treasurer, who had advised, as -Fifi was likely to be provided soon with a husband, that the hundred -thousand francs be again deposited in the bank, as soon as it was -drawn, less a small amount for Fifi’s present expenses. He argued, that -it would simplify matters in her marriage contract to have her _dot_ in -cash--which recommended itself to all who knew, as sound doctrine. - -He had also been asked by the Emperor, if he knew of a respectable -person who would take charge of Fifi for the present. It would still -be some time before the day came which she and Cartouche had named -for the actual payment of the money. And besides it was necessary to -prepare for Fifi’s presentation to the Holy Father, and everybody, -including Fifi herself, agreed that certain preliminaries of dress and -custom be arranged for that momentous interview. Lebrun had bethought -him of Madame Bourcet, whose deceased husband had been a hanger-on of -the arch-treasurer’s. Thus it was that the day after Fifi finished her -engagement at the Imperial Theater, Cartouche had deposited her and her -boxes in the quiet apartment of the quiet Madame Bourcet. - -There was one box which she particularly treasured and would not let -out of her sight from the time it was put into the van until it was -placed in the large, cold, handsome room which was set aside for her -in Madame Bourcet’s apartment. No one but Fifi knew what was in this -box. It contained her whole theatrical wardrobe, consisting of three -costumes, and her entire assortment of wigs, old shoes, cosmetics and -such impedimenta. Fifi would not have parted with these for half her -fortune. They would be something real, substantial and familiar in her -new environment. They gave her a mystic hold upon the street of the -Black Cat, upon the Imperial Theater, and upon Cartouche, so Fifi felt. - -Toto was brought along with the boxes, but met with such a cool -reception from Madame Bourcet that he declined to remain; nor would -Madame Bourcet admit a dog of his theatrical antecedents in her family. -Nothing had been said about a dog; she disliked dogs, because they -barked; there was no place for him in the apartment. Toto showed his -understanding of Madame Bourcet’s attitude toward him by deliberately -turning his back on her, and walking out of the house after Cartouche. -Fifi said not a word. She was too dazed to make any protest. -Cartouche’s honest heart was wrung when he left her sitting silent and -alone in Madame Bourcet’s drawing-room. - -It was a large, dull room with a snuff-colored carpet on the floor, -snuff-colored furniture and snuff-colored curtains to the windows, -which overlooked a great, quiet courtyard. No wonder that Fifi, as soon -as Cartouche left her, rushed into her own room, which adjoined the -drawing-room, and opening her treasured box, took out an old white -wig, and clasping it to her bosom, rocked to and fro in an agony. -There was but one thing in the box that was not hers, and that was a -wooden javelin which Cartouche had used with great effect in his part -of the centurion of the Pretorian Guard. It was rather a commonplace -looking javelin in the cold light of day, but Fifi held that, too, to -her breast; it was those things that kept her from losing her mind; -they made her feel that after all, the old life existed, and was not a -nightmare, like the present. - -With the moral support of the wig and the javelin she was enabled to -compose herself, and to meet Madame Bourcet and Louis Bourcet, the -nephew, and as Fifi shrewdly suspected, the person assigned to become -the future owner of her hundred thousand francs. But Fifi had some -ideas of her own concerning her marriage, which, although lying dormant -for a time, were far from moribund. - -For this first evening in her snuff-colored house, Fifi, with a heavy -heart, put on her best gown; it was very red and very skimpy, but Fifi -had been told she looked charming in it, which was the truth: but -it didn’t seem to charm Madame Bourcet, when Fifi finally presented -herself. - -Madame Bourcet was a small, obstinate, kindly, narrow-minded woman, who -went about measuring the universe with her own tape line. Louis Bourcet -proved to be Madame Bourcet in trousers. Fifi thought, if Louis were -dressed up in his aunt’s petticoats and Madame Bourcet were to put on -Louis’ trousers, nobody could tell them apart. - -Before this interesting youth was presented to Fifi, Madame Bourcet -informed her that Louis was the most correct young advocate in Paris -and had not a fault. After this promising introduction, Fifi hated -Louis at first sight; but with that overwhelming sense of strangeness -and of being led blindly toward an unknown fate, Fifi gave no sign of -dislike toward the most correct young advocate in Paris, and the man -without a fault. - -As for Louis Bourcet, he thought that a discerning Providence had -dropped Fifi, with her hundred thousand francs, into his mouth, as it -were. He knew that she had been an actress in a poor little theater; -but she was a Chiaramonti, her grandfather was own cousin to the Holy -Father, and the hundred thousand francs covered a multitude of sins. - -And it was another of the rewards of a judicious Providence that Fifi’s -money had come to her as it had--dropping from the sky into her lap. -There was no prying father, no meddling trustee to interfere with her -prospective husband’s future control of it. Louis Bourcet was honest, -if conceited, and meant to do a good part by Fifi. He contemplated -making her exactly like his aunt, in every respect; and as Fifi -was only nineteen, Louis had not the slightest doubt that with his -authority as a husband, together with his personal charms, he would be -able to mold Fifi to his will, and make her rapturously happy in the -act of doing it. - -As soon as Fifi was established in Madame Bourcet’s apartment, Louis -began to lay siege to her. Regularly every evening at eight o’clock, -he arrived--to pay his respects to his aunt. Regularly did he propose -to play a game of cribbage with Fifi: a dull and uninteresting game, -which involved counting--and counting had always been a weak point with -Fifi--she always counted her salary at too much, and her expenses at -too little. - -Her counting at cribbage determined Louis to keep the family purse -himself, after they were married--for Louis looked forward securely -to this event. Regularly at nine o’clock Madame Bourcet fell asleep, -or professed to fall asleep, peacefully in her armchair. Regularly, -Louis improved the opportunity by telling Fifi how much his income was, -going into the minutest detail. That, however, took only a short time; -but much more was consumed in telling how he spent it. A very little -wine; no cards or billiards; a solemn visit four times the year to the -Théâtre Française to see a classic play, and a fortnight in summer in -the country. Such was the life which Louis subtly proposed that Fifi -should lead with him. - -Fifi listened, dazed and silent. The room was so quiet, so quiet, and -at that hour all was life, hustle, gaiety and movement at the Imperial -Theater. She knew to the very moment what Cartouche was doing, and -what Toto was doing; and there was that hateful minx, Julie Campionet, -being rapturously applauded in parts which were as much Fifi’s as the -clothes upon Fifi’s back--for Julie Campionet had promptly succeeded to -Fifi’s vacant place, in spite of Cartouche. All this distracted Fifi’s -attention from the nightly game of cribbage and made her count worse -than ever. - -And so Fifi began to live, for the first time, without love and without -work. Only the other day, she remembered, she had been hungry and -hard-worked and happy: and now she was neither hungry nor hard-worked, -but assuredly, she was not happy. - -She had not seen Cartouche since the day he left her and her boxes in -the Rue de l’Echelle, and had walked off with Toto, and, incidentally, -with all of Fifi’s happiness. She had directed him to come to see her -often, and he had not once been near her! At this thought Fifi clenched -her little fists with rage: Cartouche was her own--her very own--and -how dared he treat her in this manner? - -In the beginning, every day Fifi expected him, and would run to the -window twenty times in an afternoon. But he neither came nor wrote. -After a while, Fifi’s heart became sore and she burst out before Madame -Bourcet and Louis: - -“Cartouche has not come to see me; he has not even written.” - -“But, my dear child,” remonstrated Madame Bourcet, “you surely do -not expect to keep up a correspondence with a--a--person like this -Monsieur--what--do--you--call--him--” - -“Cartouche!” cried Fifi, opening her eyes very wide indeed. “Why, -Cartouche has done everything for me! He taught me all I know about -acting, and he always carried my fagots upstairs, and showed me how to -clean my white shoes when they became soiled, and--” - -Fifi stopped. She could have told a great deal more: not only that -Cartouche showed her how to clean her white shoes, but that he actually -took the shoes off her poor little feet when she was so, so tired; -and Cartouche must have been tired, too, having been on his legs--or -rather his leg and a half--all the day and evening. These, and other -reminiscences of Cartouche, in the capacity of lady’s maid, cook, and -what not, occurred to her quick memory, almost overwhelming her. It -seemed to her as if he had done all for her that her mother had once -done, but she could not speak of it before Madame Bourcet, still less -Louis Bourcet. Imagine the most correct young advocate in Paris taking -Fifi’s shoes off, because she was tired! Louis would have let her die -of fatigue before he would have committed this horrid crime, as he -conceived it. - -So Fifi checked the ebullition that was rising in her, and kept her -head and held her tongue. But when she was once alone in her own large, -solemn room, fitter for a dowager duchess than for little Fifi, she -poured out her soul in a letter to Cartouche--thus: - - “Cartouche--Why haven’t you been to see me? Cartouche, I believe you - have forgotten me--that odious Julie Campionet has played me some - trick, I know she has. Cartouche, having money is not all we thought - it was. It is very dull being rich and certain of one’s dinner every - day. Madame Bourcet and I went out yesterday and bought a gown. - Cartouche, do you remember when I had saved up the thirty francs to - buy a cloak, and bought Toto, my darling Toto, instead? And how angry - you were with me? And then you gave me the cloak out of your own - money? Don’t send Toto to see me--it would break my heart. The gown - I bought yesterday is hideous. It is a dark brown with green spots. - Madame Bourcet selected it. There was a beautiful pink thing, with a - great many spangles, that I wanted. It is just like the stuff that - Toto’s ballet skirt is made of. But the gown is for me to wear the - day I am presented to the Holy Father, and Madame Bourcet said the - pink spangled thing would not do. Then she bought me some black lace - to wear over my head that day, and she paid a cruel price for it, but - the shops where you get new things are very dear. Madame Bourcet will - not let me go to the second-hand shops. Do you remember the blue silk - robe that Monsieur Duvernet made me buy a year ago for forty francs, - and how it turned out to have a big grease-spot in the back, and I was - so afraid the spot would be seen, that it almost ruined my performance - as _Léontine_ in ‘_Papa Bouchard_’? And how do you get your costumes - to hang together when I am not there to sew them? I know you are - coming all to pieces by this time. Have you forgotten how I used to - sew you up? Oh, Cartouche, have you forgotten all these things? I - think of them all the time. I wake up in the night, thinking I hear - Toto barking, and it is only Madame Bourcet snoring. Cartouche, if you - don’t come to see me soon you will break my heart. - - FIFI.” - -Cartouche read this letter sitting on the edge of his poor bed. His -eyes grew moist, and the foolish fellow actually kissed Fifi’s name; -but he said to himself resolutely: - -“No, I will not go to her. It will only make the struggle harder. She -must separate herself from the old life, and the quicker, the better. -The pain is sharp, but it will not last--for her.” - -And he was such a fool that he read the letter aloud to Toto, who was -huddled close to him: and then the two who loved Fifi so dearly--the -man and the dog--rubbed noses, and mourned together, Toto uttering a -howl of distress and longing that cut Cartouche to the heart. - -“Come,” said he, putting the dog aside, and rising, “I can’t go on this -way. One would think I was sorry that Fifi is better off than she ever -hoped or dreamed.” - -Then he went to his cupboard, and took out a little frayed white satin -slipper--one of Fifi’s slippers--and held it tenderly in his hand, -while his poor heart was breaking. Next day, came a letter of another -sort from Fifi. She was very, very angry, and wrote in a large hand, -and with very black ink. - - “Cartouche: I will not stand your conduct. I give you warning; I - will not permit it. _You_ are responsible for my being here. But for - you and that--” here a word was erased, but Cartouche saw the faint - outlines of “devilish”--“lottery ticket, I should have still been - in my little room under the roof--I should still have you and Toto. - Oh, Cartouche, I shall have to marry Louis Bourcet--I see it, I know - it, I feel it. He has not a fault in the world, so Madame Bourcet - says. Imagine what a brute I shall appear alongside of him! He plays - cribbage. That is his only dissipation. But I see that I must marry - him, for this life I am leading can not last. Madame Bourcet tells me - she has four or five diseases, any one of which is liable to carry her - off any day; and then I should be left alone in Paris with a hundred - thousand francs. Something--everything seems to be driving me toward - marrying Louis Bourcet. Poor Louis! How sorry he will be after he gets - me! Next week, Madame Bourcet takes me out to Fontainebleau where I am - to be presented to the Holy Father. The gown has come home, and it is - more hideous than it was in the shop. If the Holy Father has any taste - in dress that gown will ruin my chances with him. Cartouche, I am not - joking--I can never joke any more. But I will not put up with your - behavior. Do you understand me? It is Fifi who says this. You know, - you always told me when I flew into a rage I could frighten Monsieur - Duvernet. You remember, he often ran into his closet and locked the - door when I was storming at him at the theater. I am much more angry - now. - - Fifi.” - -To this letter also Cartouche made no answer. He did not know the ways -of ladies who had dowries of a hundred thousand francs. He had heard -they were always supplied with husbands by some one duly empowered; -and these decisions, he imagined, were like the laws of the Medes and -Persians. He felt for his poor little Fifi; her vivid, incoherent words -were perfectly intelligible to him and went like a knife into his -heart. He mused over them in such poignant grief that he could hardly -drag himself through his multitude of duties. He had no life or spirit -to keep watch over Duvernet; and Julie Campionet, one fine morning, -took advantage of this and, walking the manager off to the _mairie_, -married him out of hand. The first thing Cartouche knew of it was when -the bridegroom, with a huge white favor in his buttonhole, marched into -Cartouche’s garret. - -“She’s done it, Cartouche,” groaned Duvernet. “They all do.” - -Cartouche knew perfectly well what poor Duvernet meant. - -“She has, has she?” he roared, “and did you tell her about the three -other women you have married, and got yourself in such a precious mess -with?” - -“Yes,” groaned Duvernet, seating himself on the side of the bed. “She -knows all about it--but I couldn’t explain which ones had sued me for -divorce, and which I had sued. But Julie didn’t mind. You see, she is -thirty-six years old, and never has been married, and she made up her -mind it wasn’t worth while to wait longer; and when women get that way, -it’s no use opposing them.” - -“The last time,” shouted Cartouche, quite beside himself at the -manager’s folly, for which he himself felt twinges of conscience, “the -last time you said it was because she was a widow! Duvernet, as sure as -you are alive, you will bring yourself behind the bars of Ste. Pélagie.” - -“If I do,” cried poor Duvernet, stung by Cartouche’s reproaches, -“whose fault will it be? If you had kept an eye on Julie Campionet, -this never would have happened. It was you who bought that cursed -lottery ticket for Fifi, and lost me the only leading lady I ever had -who didn’t insist on marrying me against my will.” - -Here was a cud for Cartouche to chew upon: young ladies reproaching -him bitterly for giving them a hundred thousand francs in cash, and -happy bridegrooms reviling him because through him they secured brides. -Cartouche was too stunned by it all to answer. The only thing he could -do was to try to keep Duvernet’s unfortunate weakness from landing him -in jail. Luckily, none of his wives had any use for Duvernet, after a -very short probation, and as he had no property to speak of, and the -earnings of the Imperial Theater were uncertain, there was no money to -be squeezed out of him. So, unless the authorities should get wind of -Duvernet’s matrimonial ventures, which he persisted in regarding as -mere escapades, into which he was led by a stronger will than his own, -he would be allowed to roam at large. - -“At all events,” said Cartouche, after a while, “I can make Julie -Campionet behave herself as long as she is willing to stay here by -threatening to lodge an information against both of you with the -magistrate.” - -“Do,” anxiously urged Duvernet. “I would not mind serving a short term -in prison if Julie gets troublesome. Well, all men are fools where -women are concerned.” - -“No, they are not,” replied Cartouche darkly; “there are a few -bachelors left.” - -“It is fate, destiny, what you will,” said the mournful bridegroom. -“That woman, Julie Campionet--or Duvernet she is now--meant to marry me -from the start, just like the rest. Oh, if only little Fifi were here -once more!” - -If only little Fifi were here once more! Poor Cartouche’s lonely heart -echoed that wish. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A PARCEL OF OLD SHOES - - -The day arrived when Fifi’s hundred thousand francs was to be paid -over to her and deposited in the bank. Fifi had taken for granted that -Cartouche would be with her on that momentous occasion; but when the -day came no Cartouche appeared, so she was forced to ask Madame Bourcet -and Louis Bourcet to attend her. This they both agreed to do, with the -utmost alacrity. - -Fifi still remained perfectly and strangely docile, but her mind had -begun to work normally once more, and Fifi had a very strong little -mind, which could work with great vigor. She had the enormous advantage -of belonging to that class of persons who always know exactly what -they want, and what they do not want. She did not want to have her -money where she could not get it; and banks seemed to her mysterious -institutions which were designed to lock people’s money up and prevent -them from getting the benefit of it, but offered no security whatever -that somebody other than the owner should not get the benefit of it. -She had heretofore kept all her money--when she had any--sewed up in -her mattress, in a place where she could feel it, if she wished to; and -the mattress was perfectly safe; whereas, she had no guaranty that the -bank was. - -So Fifi quietly but decisively made up her mind that she would get -hold of her hundred thousand francs and put it in a safe place--that -is to say, the mattress. It might not be difficult to manage. Madame -Bourcet told her she must take a tin box with her, and kindly provided -the box; but it was not impossible--Suppose, thought Fifi, she could -quietly transfer the money to a large reticule she possessed, and put -something, old shoes, for example, in the tin box she would deposit in -the bank? She had plenty of old shoes in her mysterious trunk. Fifi was -charmed with this notion. - -On the morning of the great day she took the precaution to fill her -reticule with old shoes, fasten it to her belt, and it was so well -concealed by her flowing red cloak that nobody but herself knew she -had a reticule. Madame Bourcet, Louis and herself were to go in the -carriage of Madame Bourcet’s brother, a professor of mathematics, who -had married a fortune of two hundred thousand francs, and was held up -as a model of wisdom and a prodigy of virtue therefor. - -The carriage arrived, and the party set out. Louis Bourcet regarded -Fifi with an eye of extreme favor. She had never asserted herself, or -contradicted any one, or said a dozen words consecutively, since she -had been with Madame Bourcet; and she had a hundred thousand francs of -her own. - -Louis thought he could not have found a wife better suited to him if -she had been made to order. As she was the granddaughter to the Pope’s -cousin, her experiences in the street of the Black Cat were evenly -balanced by her other advantages. - -As they jolted soberly along, Fifi’s mind was busy with her provident -scheme of guarding against banks. When they reached the bank--a large -and imposing establishment--they were ushered into a private room, -where sat several official-looking persons. A number of transfers were -made in writing, the money was produced, counted, and placed in Fifi’s -tin box. - -This ended that part of the formalities. Then the box was to be sealed -up and placed in a strong box hired from the bank. Fifi herself -carried the tin box under her cloak, and, accompanied by Madame Bourcet -and Louis, went to another apartment in the bank, from which they were -taken to the strong room in the basement. There Fifi solemnly handed -over her tin box to be tied and sealed, and accepted a receipt for it; -and it was put away securely in a little dungeon of its own. - -Never was a parcel of old shoes treated with greater respect, for in -it reposed the contents of Fifi’s reticule, while in the reticule -peacefully lay a hundred thousand francs. It had been done under the -noses of Madame Bourcet and Louis--and with the utmost neatness--for -Fifi was accustomed to acting, and was in no way discomposed by having -people about her, but was rather steadied and emboldened. - -On the return home in the carriage Louis Bourcet treated her with such -distinguished consideration that he was really afraid his attentions, -including the numerous games of cribbage, were compromising, but Fifi -noted him not. Her mind was fixed on the contents of her reticule, and -the superior satisfaction it is to have one’s money safe in a mattress -where one can get at it, instead of being locked up in a bank where -everybody could get at it except one’s self. - -That night, while Madame Bourcet snored and snoozed peacefully, Fifi, -by the light of a solitary candle, was down on her knees, sewing her -money up in the mattress. She made a hard little knob of it right in -the middle, so she could feel it every time she turned over in bed. -Then, climbing into bed, she slept the sleep of conscious innocence and -peace. - -The next event in Fifi’s life was to be her presentation to the Holy -Father. For this Madame Bourcet severely coached Fifi. She was taught -how to walk, how to speak, how to curtsey, how to go in and how to -go out of the room on the great occasion. Fifi learned with her new -docility and obedience, but had a secret conviction that she would -forget it all as soon as the occasion came to use it. - -A week or two after Fifi had rescued her money from the bank the day -arrived for her presentation to the Holy Father, who had personally -appointed the time. Since Fifi’s journey from Italy in her childhood, -she had never been so far from the street of the Black Cat as -Fontainebleau, and the length and expense of the journey impressed her -extremely. Louis Bourcet did not accompany Madame Bourcet and Fifi on -the visit, but it was understood that Madame Bourcet should present his -application for Fifi’s hand. - -It was a soft, mild day in February, with a hint of spring in the air, -that they set forth in a rickety coach for Fontainebleau. Fifi wore -the hideous brown gown with the green spots in it, and felt exactly as -she did the night she played _Léontine_ in the blue silk robe with the -grease spot in the back. If the grease spot had been noticed everything -would have been ruined--and if the Holy Father should notice the brown -gown! Fifi felt that it would mean wholesale disaster. She comforted -herself, however, with the reflection that the Holy Father probably -knew nothing about ladies’ gowns; and then, she had never forgotten the -extreme kindness of the Holy Father’s eyes the night she peered at him -in the coach. - -“And after all,” she thought, “although Cartouche laughed at me for -thinking the Holy Father had looked at me that night, I know he -did--perhaps I am like my father or my grandfather, and that was why -he looked.” And then she remembered what Cartouche had said about the -private soldiers not being afraid when the Emperor talked with them. -“It will be the same with the Holy Father,” she thought. “He is so far -above me--why, it would be ridiculous for me to be afraid of him.” - -It took all of three hours to get to Fontainebleau, and Fifi felt -that the world was a very large place indeed. They drove through the -splendid park and dismounted before the great château. Then, Madame -Bourcet showing some cabalistic card or other token, it was understood -that the visit of the two ladies was expected by the Pope. They were -escorted up the great horseshoe stairs and into a small salon, where -luncheon was served to them, after their long drive. Madame Bourcet was -too elegant to eat much, but Fifi, whose appetite had been in abeyance -ever since she left the street of the Black Cat, revived, and she -devoured her share with a relish. It was the first time she had been -hungry since she had had enough to eat. - -Presently a sour-looking ecclesiastic came to escort them to the -presence of the Holy Father. The ecclesiastic was clearly in a bad -humor. The Holy Father was always being appealed to by widows with -grievances, real or imaginary, young ladies who did not want to marry -the husbands selected for them, young men who had got themselves -in discredit with their families or superiors, and the Holy Father -had a way of treating these sinners as if they were not sinners at -all. Indeed, he often professed himself to be edified by their pious -repentance; and the ecclesiastic never quite understood whether the -Holy Father was quietly amusing himself at the expense of his household -or not. But one thing was certain to the ecclesiastic’s mind: the Holy -Father had not that horror of sinners which the world commonly has, and -was far too easy on them. - -With these thoughts in mind, he introduced Madame Bourcet into the -Pope’s cabinet, while Fifi remained in the anteroom, guarded by another -ecclesiastic, who looked much more human than his colleague. This last -one thought it necessary to infuse courage into Fifi concerning the -coming interview, but to his amazement found Fifi not in the least -afraid. - -“I don’t know why, Monsieur, I should be afraid,” she said. “A friend -of mine--Cartouche--says the private soldiers are not the least afraid -of the Emperor, and are perfectly at ease when he speaks to them, -while the councillors of state and the marshals and the great nobles -can not look him in the eye.” - -“And may I ask who is this Cartouche, Mademoiselle?” asked the -ecclesiastic. - -“He is a friend of mine,” replied Fifi warily. - -At last, after twenty minutes, Madame Bourcet came out. She was pale -and agitated, but showed satisfaction in every feature. - -“The Holy Father approves of my nephew, provided you have no objection -to him,” she whispered. And the next moment Fifi found herself alone -with the Holy Father. - -Although the afternoon was mild and sunny, a large fire was burning on -the hearth, and close to it, in a large armchair, sat Pius the Seventh. -He gave Fifi the same impression of whiteness and benevolence he had -given her at that chance meeting three months before. - -As Fifi entered she made a low bow--not the one that Madame Bourcet -had taught her, but a much better one, taught her by her own tender -little heart. And instantly, as before, there was an electric sympathy -established between the old man and the young girl, as the old and -young eyes exchanged confidences. - -“My child,” were the Holy Father’s first words, in a voice singularly -young and sweet for an old man. “I have seen you before, and now I -know why it was that the sight of your eyes so moved me. You are my -Barnabas’ granddaughter.” - -And then Fifi made one of the most outlandish speeches imaginable for a -young girl to make to the Supreme Pontiff. She said: - -“Holy Father, as I looked into your eyes that night when your coach was -passing through the street of the Black Cat, I said to myself, ‘There -is an old man with a father’s heart,’ and I felt as if I had seen my -own father.” - -And instead of meeting this speech with a look of cold reproof, the -Holy Father’s eyes grew moist, and he said: - -“It was the cry of kindred between us. Now, sit near to me--not in that -armchair.” - -“Here is a footstool,” cried Fifi, and drawing the footstool up to -the Holy Father’s knees, she seated herself with no more fear than -Cartouche had of his Emperor. - -“Now, my child,” said the Holy Father, “the old must always be allowed -to tell their stories first,--the young have time to wait. I know that -you can not have seen your grandfather, or even remember your own -father, he died so young.” - -“Yes, Holy Father, I was so little when he died.” - -“I could have loved him as a son, if I had known him,” the Holy Father -continued, speaking softly as the old do of a bygone time. “But never -was any one so much a part of my heart as Barnabas was. We were born -within a month of each other, at Cesena, a little old town at the foot -of the Apennines. I think I never saw so pretty and pleasant an old -town as Cesena--so many fine young men and excellent maidens, such -venerable old people. One does not see such nowadays.” - -Fifi said nothing, but she did not love the Holy Father less for this -simplicity of the old which is so like the simplicity of the young. - -[Illustration--Fifi with the Holy Father] - -“Barnabas and I grew up together in an old villa, all roses and -honeysuckles outside, all rats and mice within--but we did not mind -the rats and mice. When we grew out of our babyhood into two naughty, -troublesome boys, we thought it fine sport to hunt the poor rats and -torture them. I was worse in that respect than Barnabas, who was ever -a better boy than I. But we had other amusements than that. We loved to -climb into the blue hills about Cesena, and when we were old enough to -be trusted by ourselves we would sometimes spend days in those far-off -hills, with nothing but bread and cheese and wild grapes to live on. -We slept at night on the ground, rolled in our blankets. We were hardy -youngsters, and I never had sweeter sleep than in those summer nights -on the hard ground, with the kind stars keeping watch over us.” - -Fifi said no word. The old man was living over again that sweet, young -time, and from it was borne the laughter, faint and afar off, the -smiles so softly tender, the tears robbed of all their saltness; he was -once more, in thought, a little boy with his little playmate on the -sunny slopes of the Apennines. - -Presently he spoke again, looking into Fifi’s eyes, so like those of -the dead and gone comrade of the old Cesena days. - -“Barnabas, although of better natural capacity than I, did not love -the labor of reading. He chose that I should read, and tell him what -I read; and so he knew all that I knew and more besides, being of -sharper and more observant mind. We never had a difference except -once. It was over a cherry tart--what little gluttons we were! When we -quarreled about the tart our mothers divided it, and for punishment -condemned us both to eat our share alone. And what do you think was the -result? Neither one of us would touch it--and then we cried and made up -our quarrel; it was our first and last, and we were but ten years old.” - -Fifi listened with glowing eyes. These little stories of his youth, -long remembered, made Fifi feel as if the Holy Father were very human, -after all. - -The old man paused, and his expressive eyes grew dreamy as he gazed -at Fifi. She brought back to him, as never before, the dead and gone -time: the still, ancient little town, lying as quietly in the sunlight -as in the moonlight, the peaceful life that flowed there so placidly -and innocently. He seemed to hear again the murmuring of the wind in -the fir trees of the old garden and the delicate cooing of the blue and -white pigeons in the orchard. Once more he inhaled the aromatic scent -of the burning pine cones, as Barnabas and himself, their two boyish -heads together, hung over the scanty fire in the great vaulted kitchen -of the old villa. All, all, were gone; the villa had fallen to decay; -the orchard and the garden were no more; only the solemn fir trees and -the dark blue peaks of the Apennines remained unchanged. And here was a -girl with the same eyes, dark, yet softly bright, of his playfellow and -more than brother of fifty years ago! - -Fifi spoke no word. The only sound in the small, vaulted room was the -faint crackling of the burning logs, across which a brilliant bar of -sunlight had crept stealthily. As the Holy Father paused and looked at -Fifi, there was a gentle deprecation in his glance; he seemed to be -saying: “Bear with age a while, O glorious and pathetic youth! Let me -once more dream your dreams, and lay aside the burden of greatness.” -And the old man did not continue until he saw in Fifi’s eyes that she -was not wearied with him; then he spoke again. - -“When we were ten years old we were taught to serve on the altar. -Barnabas served with such recollection, such beautiful precision, that -it was like prayer to see him. He was a handsome boy, and in his white -surplice and red cassock, his face glowing with the noble innocence -and simplicity of a good boyhood, he looked like a young archangel.” - -“And yourself, Holy Father?” asked Fifi. - -“Ah, I was very unlike Barnabas. I was but an ordinary-looking boy, -and I often fell asleep while I was sitting by the priest during the -sermon, and in full view of the congregation. We had a worthy old -priest, who would let me sleep during the sermon, but would pinch me -smartly to wake me up when it was over and it was time again to go on -the altar. So I devised a way to keep myself awake. I hid a picture -book in the sleeve of my cassock, and during the sermon, while the -priest who was on the altar had his eyes fixed on the one who was -preaching in the pulpit, I slipped out my picture book, and began to -look at it stealthily,--but not so stealthily that the priest did not -see me, and, quietly reaching over, took it out of my hand and put it -in the pocket of his cassock. I plotted revenge, however. Presently, -when the priest went up on the altar and is forbidden to leave it, he -turned and motioned to me for the water, which it was my duty to have -ready. I whispered to him, ‘Give me my picture book, and I will give -you the water.’ Of course, he had to give me the picture book, and -then I gave him the water. He did not tell my parents on me, wherein -he failed in his duty; but he gave me, after mass, a couple of sound -slaps--and I played no more tricks on him.” - -“Holy Father, you must have been a flesh-and-blood boy,” said Fifi, -softly. - -The Holy Father laughed--a fresh, youthful laugh, like his voice. - -“Formerly I judged myself harshly. Now I know that, though I was not -a very good boy, I was not a bad boy. I was not so good a boy as -Barnabas. He had no vocation for the priesthood; but in my eighteenth -year the wish to be a priest awoke in me. And the hardest of all the -separations which my vocation entailed was the parting with Barnabas. -He went to Piacenza and became an advocate. He married and died within -a year, leaving a young widow and one child--your father. They were -well provided for, and the mother’s family took charge of the widow -and of the child. But the widow, too, soon died, and only your father -was left. I often wished to see him, and my heart yearned like a -father’s over him, but I was a poor parish priest, far away from him, -and could hear nothing from him. Then in the disorders that followed -the French Revolution one lost sight of all that one had ever known -and loved. I caused diligent inquiry to be made--I was a bishop then, -and could have helped Barnabas’ son--but I could not find a trace -of him. He, like Barnabas, had married and died young, leaving an -only child--yourself--and, I knew it not! The great whirlpool of the -Revolution seemed to swallow up everything. But on the night of my -arrival in Paris, as we passed slowly along that narrow street, and -I saw your face peering into my carriage, it was as if my Barnabas -had come back to me. You are more like him than I believed any child -could be like its father. So, when I heard, through the agency of the -Emperor, that a young relative of mine, by name Chiaramonti, was in -Paris, earning her living, I felt sure it was the young girl who looked -into my carriage that night.” - -“But I am not earning my living now, Holy Father.” - -“So I hear. You have had strange good fortune--good fortune in having -done honest work in your poverty, and good fortune in being under the -charge of the excellent and respectable Madame Bourcet, since there was -no need for you to work.” - -“But--” Here Fifi paused and struggled for a moment with herself, then -burst out: “I was happier, far, when I was earning my living. The -theater was small, and ill lighted, and my wages were barely enough to -live upon, and I often was without a fire; but at least I had Cartouche -and Toto.” - -“And who are Cartouche and Toto?” asked the Holy Father, mildly. - -Then Fifi told the story of Cartouche; how brave he was at the bridge -of Lodi; how he had befriended her, and stood between her and harm; -and, strange to say, the Pope appeared not the least shocked at things -that would have paralyzed Madame Bourcet and Louis Bourcet. Fifi told -him all about the thirty francs she had saved up for the cloak, and -the spending it in buying Toto, and the Holy Father laughed outright. -He asked many questions about the theater, and the life of the people -there, and agreed with Fifi when she said sagely: - -“Cartouche says there is not much more of virtue in one calling than -another, and that those people, like poor actors and actresses, who -live from hand to mouth, and can’t be very particular, are in the way -of doing more kindnesses for each other than people who lead more -regular lives. Cartouche, you know, Holy Father, is a plain, blunt man.” - -“Like Mark Antony,” replied the Pope, smiling. Fifi had never heard of -such a person as Mark Antony, so very wisely held her peace. - -“But this Cartouche seems to be an honest fellow,” added the Pope. - -“Holy Father,” cried Fifi, earnestly, “Cartouche is as honest as you -are!” - -“I should like to see him,” said the Holy Father, smiling at Fifi. - -“If I could, I would make him come to you--but he will not even come -to see me,” said Fifi sadly. “Before he took me to Madame Bourcet’s -he told me I must leave my old life behind me. He said, ‘It will be -hard, Fifi, but it must be done resolutely.’ I said: ‘At least if I -see no one else of those people, whom I really love, now that I am -separated from them--except Julie Campionet’--I shall always hate Julie -Campionet--‘I shall see you.’ ‘No,’ said Cartouche, in an obstinate -voice that I knew well,--Cartouche is as obstinate as a donkey when -he wishes to be,--‘if you see me you will have a new struggle every -time we part. Years from now, when you are fixed in another life, when -you are suitably married, it will do you no harm to see me, but not -now,’--and actually, Holy Father, that mean, cruel, heartless Cartouche -has kept his word, and has not been near me, or even answered my -letters.” - -“Cartouche is a sensible fellow,” said the Holy Father, under his -breath. - -Luckily Fifi did not catch the words, or she would, in her own mind, -have stigmatized the Holy Father as also mean, cruel and heartless, -just like Cartouche. - -“Very well,” said the Pope aloud, “tell me about Julie Campionet. Why -do you hate her?” - -“Oh, Holy Father, Julie Campionet is a minx. She married the manager -against his will, and has stolen all my best parts, and has made -everybody at the theater forget there ever was a Mademoiselle Fifi. You -can’t imagine a person more evil than Julie Campionet.” - -“Wicked, wicked Julie Campionet,” said the Holy Father softly; and Fifi -knew he was laughing at her. Then he grew serious and said: “My child, -it is important--nay, necessary--for you to be properly married. You -are too young, too friendless, too inexperienced, to be safe until you -have the protection of a good husband. Madame Bourcet has brought me -proofs of the worth and respectability of her nephew, Monsieur Louis -Bourcet, and, as the head of your family, I urge you to marry this -worthy young man.” - -Fifi sat still, the dazed, submissive look coming back into her face. -Everything seemed to compel her to marry Louis Bourcet. As the Holy -Father had said, she must marry some one. She felt a sense of despair, -which involved resignation to her fate. The Holy Father looked at her -sharply, but said gently: - -“Is there no one else?” - -“No one, Holy Father,” replied Fifi. - -There was no one but Cartouche; and Cartouche would neither see her -nor write to her, and besides had never spoken a word of love to her -in his life. If she had remained at the theater she could have made -Cartouche marry her; but now that was impossible. Fifi was finding -out some things in her new life which robbed her of one of her chief -weapons--ignorance of convention. - -“And Monsieur Bourcet is worthy?” she heard the Holy Father saying, and -she replied mechanically: - -“Quite worthy.” - -“And you do not dislike him?” - -“No,” said Fifi, after a moment’s pause. There was not enough in Louis -Bourcet to dislike. - -Fifi rose. She could not bear any more on this subject. The Holy -Father, smiling at Fifi’s taking the initiative in closing the -interview, said to her: - -“Then you agree to marry Louis Bourcet?” - -“I agree to marry Louis Bourcet,” replied Fifi, in a voice that sounded -strange in her own ears. She did not know what else to say. Two -months ago she would have replied briskly, “No, indeed; I shall marry -Cartouche, and nobody but Cartouche.” Now, however, she seemed to be -under a spell. It appeared to be arranged for her that she should marry -Louis Bourcet, and Cartouche would not lift a finger to help her. And, -strangest of all, in saying she would marry Louis Bourcet she did not -really know whether she meant it or not. It was all an uneasy dream. - -The Pope raised his hand to bless her. Fifi, looking at him, saw that -the stress of emotion at seeing her was great. The pallor of his face -had given place to a dull flush, and his uplifted hand trembled. - -“You will come again, my child, when your future is settled?” he said. - -“Yes, Holy Father,” replied Fifi, and sank on her knees to receive his -blessing. - -As she walked toward the door, the Holy Father called to her: - -“Remember that Julie Campionet, in spite of her crimes toward you, is -one of God’s children.” - -Fifi literally ran out of the room. It seemed to her as if the Holy -Father were taking Julie Campionet’s part. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE BLUE SATIN BED - - -Two weeks after the visit to Fontainebleau came the crisis--for -Fifi was as surely tending toward a crisis as water flows downward -and sparks fly upward. Madame Bourcet, armed with the Holy Father’s -approval, represented to Fifi the necessity for her marrying Louis -Bourcet. Fifi listened silently. Then, Madame Bourcet, eagerly taking -silence for consent, said that Louis would that very evening accept -formally of Fifi’s hand. To this also Fifi made no reply, and Madame -Bourcet left the room fully persuaded that Fifi was reveling in rapture -at the thought of acquiring an epitome of all the virtues in Louis -Bourcet. - -It was during the morning, and in the snuff-colored drawing-room, that -the communication was made. Fifi felt a great wave of doubt and anxiety -swelling up in her heart. For the first time she was brought face to -face with the marriage problem, and it frightened her by its immensity. -If only Cartouche were there--some one to whom she could pour out her -trembling, agitated heart! But Cartouche was not there, nor would he -come. And suddenly, for the first time, something of the fierceness -of maidenhood overwhelmed Fifi--a feeling that Cartouche should, -after all, seek her--that, if he loved her, as she knew he did above -everything on earth, he should speak and not shame her by his silence. - -Then, the conviction that Cartouche preferred her good to his, that he -thought she would be happier married to another and a different man, -and held himself honestly unworthy to marry her, brought a flood of -tenderness to her heart. She had seen Cartouche turn red and pale when -she kissed him, and avoid her innocent familiarities, and she knew -well enough what it meant. But if he would not come, nor speak, nor -write,--and everybody, even the Holy Father, was urging her to marry -Louis Bourcet; and a great, strong chain of circumstances was dragging -her toward the same end--oh, what a day of emotions it was to Fifi! - -She knew not how it passed, nor what she said or did, nor what she ate -and drank; she only waited, as if for the footfall of fate, for the -hour when Louis Bourcet would arrive. He came at eight, punctual to the -minute. Punctuality, like every other virtue, was his. Madame Bourcet -whispered something to him, and Louis, for the first time, touched -Fifi’s hand and brushed it with his lips, Fifi standing like a statue. -The crisis was rapidly becoming acute. - -At nine o’clock, the cribbage board was brought out; Madame Bourcet -dutifully fell asleep, and Louis, with the air of doing the most -important thing in the world, took from his pocket a small picture of -himself, which he presented to Fifi with a formal speech, of which -she afterward could not recall one word. Nor could she remember what -he talked about during the succeeding half-hour before Madame Bourcet -waked up. Then Louis rose to go, and something was said about happiness -and economy in the management of affairs; and Louis announced that -owing to the necessity of procuring certain papers from Strasburg, -where his little property lay, the marriage contract could not be -signed for a month yet, and inquired if Fifi would be ready to marry -him at the end of the month. Fifi instantly replied yes, and then the -crisis was over. From that moment nothing on earth would have induced -Fifi to marry Louis Bourcet. - -She did not, of course, put this in words, but sent poor Louis off with -her promise to marry him in a month. Nevertheless, by one of those -processes of logic which Fifi could not formulate to save her life, but -which she could act up to in the teeth of fire and sword, the promise -to marry Louis Bourcet settled for all time that she would not marry -him. - -Up to that moment all had been vague, agitating, mysterious and -compelling. She felt herself driven, if not to marry Louis Bourcet, to -act as if she meant to marry him. But once she had promised, once she -had something tangible to go upon, her spirit burst its chains, and she -was once more free. She had no more notion of marrying Louis Bourcet -then than she had of trying to walk on her head. And she felt such -a wild, tempestuous joy--the first flush of happiness she had known -since the wretched lottery ticket had drawn the prize. She was so happy -that she was glad to escape to her own room. She carried in her hand -the picture of Louis Bourcet, and did not know she held it until she -put it down on her mantelpiece and saw in the mirror above it her own -smiling, glowing face. - -“No, Louis,” she said to the picture, shaking her head solemnly, “it is -not to be. I have been a fool heretofore in not saying outright that -I wouldn’t marry you to save your life. But now my mind is made up. -Nobody can make me marry you, and I would not do it if Cartouche, the -Holy Father and the Emperor all commanded me to marry you!” - -Then an impish thought came into Fifi’s head, for Fifi was in some -respects a cruel young person. She would make Louis himself refuse to -marry her and contrive so that all the blame would be visited upon the -innocent Louis, while she, the wicked Fifi, would go free. In a flash -it was revealed to her; it was to get rid of her hundred thousand -francs. Then Louis would not marry her--and oh, rapture! Cartouche -would. - -“He can’t refuse,” thought Fifi in an ecstasy. “When I have been jilted -and cruelly used, and have no money, then I can go back to the stage, -and everybody will know me as Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, granddaughter -of the Pope’s cousin, who won the great prize in the lottery; everybody -will flock to see me, as they did the last two weeks I played; and I -shall have forty francs the week, and Cartouche, and love and work and -peace and Toto, and no Louis Bourcet! And how angry Julie Campionet -will be!” - -It was so deliciously easy to get at her money--a rip and a stitch -afterward--ten thousand francs squandered before Louis Bourcet’s -eyes. Fifi thought the loss of the first ten thousand would rid her -of her fiancé, but she knew she could never get Cartouche as long as -she had even ten thousand francs left, and she realized fully that -it was Cartouche that she wanted most of anything in the world. The -Holy Father would probably scold her a little, but Fifi felt sure, if -she could only tell the Holy Father just how she felt and how good -Cartouche was, and also how odiously good Louis Bourcet was, he would -forgive her. - -The more Fifi thought of this scheme of getting rid of Louis Bourcet -and entrapping Cartouche the more rapturous she grew. She had two ways -of expressing joy and thankfulness--praying and dancing. She plumped -down on her knees, and for about twenty seconds thanked God earnestly -for having shown her the way to get rid of Louis Bourcet--for Fifi’s -prayers, like herself, were very primitive and childlike. Then, jumping -up, she danced for twenty minutes, kicking as high as she could, until -she finally kicked the picture of Louis Bourcet off the mantelpiece to -the floor, on which it fell with a sharp crash. - -Madame Bourcet, in the next room, stirred at once. Fifi again plumped -down on her knees, and when Madame Bourcet opened the door Fifi was -deeply engaged in saying her prayers. Madame Bourcet shut the door -softly--the noise could not have been in Fifi’s room. - -As soon as Madame Bourcet was again snoozing, Fifi, moving softly -about, lighted her candle and wrote a letter to Cartouche. - - “Cartouche, my mind is made up. This evening I promised Louis Bourcet, - in Madame Bourcet’s presence, to marry him. When I had done it I felt - as if a load were lifted off my mind, for as soon as the words were - out of my mouth I determined that nothing on earth should induce me - to keep my promise. I feel that I am right, Cartouche, and I have not - felt so pious for a long time. I don’t know how it will be managed. - I am only certain of one thing, and that is that Louis Bourcet will - never become Monsieur Fifi Chiaramonti--for that is just what it would - amount to, he is so good and so colorless. I am not in the least sorry - for Louis. I am only sorry for myself that I have been bothered with - him so long, and besides, I wish to marry some one else. Fifi.” - -Fifi crept into bed after writing this letter. For the first time she -found the hard lump in the middle of her mattress uncomfortable. - -“Never mind,” thought Fifi to herself, “I shall soon be rid of it, and -sleep in peace, as I haven’t done since I had it.” - -Fifi’s dreams were happy that night, and when she waked in the morning -she felt a kind of dewy freshness in her heart, like the awakening of -spring. It was springtime already, and as Fifi lay cosily in her little -white bed she contrived joyous schemes for her own benefit, which some -people might have called plotting mischief. She reasoned with herself -thus: - -“Fifi, you have been miserable ever since you got the odious, hateful -hundred thousand francs, and it was nasty of Cartouche to give you -the lottery ticket. Fifi, you are not very old, but you are of the -sort which does not change, and you will be Fifi as long as you -live. You can not be happy away from Cartouche and the theater and -Toto--unfeeling wretch that you are, to let Toto be torn from you! -So the only thing to do is to return to love and work. If you spend -all your money Louis Bourcet would not marry you to save your life, -and then you can go back to the theater and make Cartouche marry you. -Oh, how simple it is! Stupid, stupid Fifi, that you did not think of -this before!” And, throbbing with happiness at the emancipation before -her, Fifi rose and dressed herself. She was distracted by the riotous -singing of the robins in the one solitary tree in the courtyard. -Heretofore the little birds had been mute and half frozen, but this -morning, in the warm spring sun, they sang in ecstasy. - -Fifi not only felt different, but she actually looked so; and the -blitheness which shone in her eyes when she went to ask Madame Bourcet -if she might have Angéline, the sour maid-of-all-work, to go with her -to the shops that morning might have awakened suspicion in most minds. -But not in Madame Bourcet’s. Fifi slyly let drop something about her -trousseau, and Madame Bourcet hastened to say that she might take -Angéline. - -In a little while the two were ready to start. In her hand Fifi -carried a little purse, containing twenty-one francs, and in her -reticule she carried her handkerchief, her smelling-salts and ten crisp -thousand-franc notes. - -“How shall I ever spend it all!” she thought, with a little dismay; and -then, having some curious odds and ends of sense in her pretty head, -she concluded: “Oh, it is easy enough. I have often heard Cartouche say -that nobody ever yet tried to squander money who did not find a dozen -helpers on every hand.” - -Paris is beautiful on a spring morning, with the sun shining on the -splashing fountains and the steel blue river, and the streets full of -cheerful-looking people. It was the first, mild, soft day of March, -and everybody was trying to make believe it was May. The restaurants -had placed their chairs and tables out of doors, and made a brave -showing of greenery with watercress and a few little radishes. -Itinerant musicians were grinding away industriously, and some humorous -cab-drivers had paid five centimes for a sprig of green to stick behind -the ears of their patient horses. All Paris was out of doors, helping -the birds and leaves to make the spring. - -Fifi strolled along and found the streets almost as pleasant as the -street of the Black Cat, except that she knew everybody in the street -of the Black Cat and knew no one at all of all this merry throng. Her -first incursion was into a chocolate shop, where she treated both -herself and Angéline in a princely manner, as became a lady who had ten -notes of a thousand francs to dispose of in a morning’s shopping. - -While they were sipping their chocolate Fifi was wondering how -she could manage to leave Angéline in the lurch and slip off by -herself--for Angéline might possibly make trouble for her when she came -to dispensing her wealth as she privately planned. But in this, as in -all things else that day, fortune favored Fifi. Afar off was heard the -rataplan of a marching regiment, with the merry laughter and shuffle of -feet of an accompanying crowd. - -“What so easy as to get carried along with that crowd?” thought Fifi, -as she ran to the door, where the proprietor and all the clerks as -well as the customers were flying. It was the day of a grand review -at Longchamps, and the sight of the marching regiment, with the band -ringing out in rhythmic beauty, seemed the finest thing in the world. - -Fifi found herself, with very little effort on her part, pushed out on -the sidewalk, and the next thing she was being swept along with the -eager crowd following the soldiers. At the corner of a large street the -regiment turned off toward the Champs Elysées, the crowd parted, and -Fifi saw her way back clear to the chocolate shop. But staring her in -the face was a magnificent furniture and bric-à-brac shop, while next -it was a superb _magasin des modes_ with a great window full of gowns, -wraps and hats. - -Here was the place for Fifi to get rid of her ten thousand francs. It -seemed to Fifi as if a benignant Providence had rewarded her virtuous -design by placing her just where she was; so she walked boldly into the -_magasin des modes_. - -The manager of the place, a handsome, showily-dressed and bejeweled -woman, looked suspiciously at a young and pretty girl, arriving -without maid or companion of any sort--but Fifi, bringing into play -some of the arts she had learned at the Imperial Theater, sank, -apparently breathless, into a seat; told of her being swept away from -her companion, and offered to pay for a messenger to hunt up Angéline. -Meanwhile she artlessly let out that she was Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, -in search of articles for her trousseau. - -Her story was well known; everybody in Paris had heard of Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti, of the Imperial Theater, who had drawn the first prize in -the lottery, and instantly all was curiosity to see her and alertness -to attend her--except as to sending for Angéline. There was an -unaccountable slowness about that, except on the theory that it would -be well to show Fifi some of the creations of the establishment before -the arrival of the elder person, who might throw cold water on the -prospective purchases. And then began the comedy, so often enacted in -the world, of the cunning hypocrite being unconsciously the dupe of the -supposed victim. - -Fifi was careful to hint that her marriage was being arranged; and if -anything could have added to Fifi’s joy and satisfaction it was the -determination on the part of the shop people to embody in her trousseau -all the outlandish things they possessed. This suited Fifi exactly. -Louis Bourcet was as finically particular about colors as he was about -behavior, and both he and Madame Bourcet were privately determined that -Fifi should go through life in brown gowns with dark green spots, like -the one which had so excited her disgust in the first instance. Knowing -this, Fifi concluded to administer a series of shocks in every one of -her purchases, and went about to do this with a vim and thoroughness -characteristic of her. - -The first gown they showed her nearly made her scream with delight. -It was almost enough to make Louis Bourcet break their engagement -at sight. It was a costume of a staring yellow brocade, with large -purple flowers on it, and was obviously intended for a woman nine feet -high and three feet broad--and Fifi was but a slender twig of a girl. -One huge flower covered her back, and another her chest, while three -or four went around the vast skirt which trailed a yard behind. The -manager put it on Fifi, while her assistants and fellow conspirators -joined with her in declaring that the gown was ravishing on Fifi, which -it was in a way. - -Fifi paraded solemnly up and down before the large swinging mirror, -surveying herself. She was a quaint object in the great yellow and -purple gown, and she knew it. Her face broke into a shower of smiles -and dimples. - -“It will answer my purpose exactly,” she cried. This was true, as it -was calculated to give Madame Bourcet, and especially Louis Bourcet, -nervous convulsions. - -“Show me a hat to go with it--the largest hat you have.” - -The hat was produced--a nightmare, equal to the yellow and purple -brocade. Flowers, beads, ribbons and feathers weighed it down, but Fifi -demanded more of everything to be put on it, particularly feathers. -When she put the hat on, with the gown, one of the young women in the -establishment gave a half shriek of something between a laugh and a -scream. A look from the manager sent the culprit like a shot into the -back part of the shop. - -Fifi, gravely examining herself in the glass, declared she was charmed -with her costume and would wear it on the day of her civil marriage. -Then she demanded a cloak. - -“One that would look well on a dowager empress,” she said with a grand -air, knowing she had ten thousand francs in her pocket. - -One was produced which might have looked well on the dowager empress -of China, but scarcely on an occidental. It was a stupendous stripe of -red and green satin, which might have served for the gridiron on which -Saint Lawrence was broiled alive. It had large sleeves, which Fifi -insisted must be trimmed with heavy lace and deep fur. In a twinkling -this was fastened on, and Fifi approved. - -“And now a fan,” she said. - -Dozens of fans were produced, but none of them preposterous enough to -suit Fifi’s purpose and her costume. At last she compromised on a large -pink one with a couple of birds of paradise on it. - -Oh, what a picture was Fifi, parading up and down before the mirror, -and saying to herself: - -“I think this will finish him.” - -The amount, for the costume, cloak, hat and fan was nearly two thousand -francs. Fifi regretted it was not more. - -“And now,” she said, “some negligées, with rich effects; you -understand.” - -Fifi’s taste being pretty well understood in the establishment by this -time, some negligées were produced, in which Fifi arrayed herself and -looked like a parroquet. Then came evening gowns. There was one in -particular which Fifi thought might be the death of the Bourcets. It -was a short, scant, diaphanous Greek costume, which was so very Greek -that it could only have been worn with propriety in the days of the -nymphs, the fauns and the dryads. - -“This, without a petticoat, I am sure, will rid me of Louis Bourcet,” -thought Fifi, “but I must never let Cartouche see it, or he will kill -me.” - -Fifi, being fatigued with her exertions--for her purchases were -calculated to fatigue the eye as well as the mind, ordered the articles -selected to be sent that day to Madame Bourcet’s. - -“And the bill, Mademoiselle?” asked the manager in a dulcet voice. - -“Make it out,” replied Fifi debonairly, “and I will pay it now.” - -There was a pause for the manager and the clerks to recover their -breath, while Fifi sat quite serene. It did not take a minute for -the bill to be made out, however,--four thousand, nine hundred and -forty-four francs, twenty-five centimes. Fifi was cruelly disappointed; -she had reckoned on getting rid of more of her money. But still this -was a beginning, so she handed over five notes of a thousand francs -each, and gravely counted her change: fifty-five francs, seventy-five -centimes. - -Then, and then only, was a message sent after Angéline to the chocolate -shop. - -But Angéline could not be found. She had seen Fifi swept away, as she -thought, by the crowd, and had rushed out to join her; but Fifi had no -mind to be caught, and Angéline found herself flopping about wildly, -shrieking at the passers-by, without any stops whatever between her -words: - -“Have you seen Mademoiselle Fifi Mademoiselle Chiaramonti I lost her -in the chocolate shop oh what will Madame Bourcet say good people I am -sure she is lost for good and a hundred thousand francs in bank and -what is to be become of Monsieur Louis where _can_ Mademoiselle Fifi -be?” and much more of the same sort. - -Fifi, however, was half a mile away, and having exhausted the resources -of the shop for gowns, tripped gaily into the furniture shop next door. - -Here, thought Fifi cheerfully, she would be able to make substantial -progress toward getting rid of Louis Bourcet and marrying Cartouche. -She saw many splendid gilt tables, chairs, divans, cabinets and the -like, which she, with her limited experience in furniture buying in -the street of the Black Cat, thought must be very dear: some of the -most splendid pieces must cost as much as four hundred francs, thought -innocent Fifi. - -But it was not enough for a thing to be expensive; it must be -outrageous in taste and design to be available for her purpose, and -with this in view she roved around the establishment, attended by a -clerk of lofty manners and a patronizing air. At last, however, she -pounced upon an object worthy to be classed with the yellow and purple -brocade. This was a huge, blue satin bed, with elaborate gilt posts, -and cornice, vast curtains of lace as well as satin, cords, tassels, -and every other species of ornament which could be fastened to a bed. - -Fifi, who had never seen anything like it before, gasped in her -amazement and delight, the clerk meanwhile surveying her with an air of -condescending amusement. - -Here was the thing to drive Louis Bourcet to madness, thought Fifi, -surveying the bed rapturously. If she could once get it into the house, -it would be difficult to get it out, it was so large and so complex, -and so very formidable. Fifi’s resolution was taken in an instant. She -meant to have it if it cost a thousand francs. She rather resented the -air of patronage with which the clerk explained the beauties of the bed -to her. He seemed to be saying all the time: - -“This is but time wasted. You can never afford anything so expensive as -this.” - -Fifi, calling up her talents as an actress, which were not -inconsiderable, accentuated her innocent and open-mouthed wonder at the -size and splendor of the bed. Then, intending to make a grand stroke -which would paralyze the clerk, she said coolly: - -“I will give you fifteen hundred francs for this bed.” - -The clerk’s nose went into the air. - -“I have the honor to inform Mademoiselle that this bed was made with -a view to purchase by the Empress, but the cost was so great that the -Emperor objected and would not allow the Empress to buy it. The price -is five thousand francs; no more and no less.” - -Fifi was secretly staggered by this, but she now regarded the clerk as -an enemy to be vanquished at any price--and vengeance seemed to her -cheap at five thousand francs. Fifi had a revengeful nature, which did -not stop at trifles. So, after a moment’s pause to recover herself, she -said, still coolly: - -“Well, then, the price is exorbitant, but I will take the bed.” - -The clerk, instead of succumbing to this, retained his composure in the -most exasperating manner. He only asked, with a shade of incredulity in -his voice: - -“If Mademoiselle will kindly give us the money in gold or notes it can -be arranged at once.” - -Fifi, in the most debonair manner in the world, opened her reticule and -produced five notes for a thousand francs each. - -The clerk, unlike Fifi, knew nothing of the art of acting, and looked, -as he was, perfectly astounded. His limp hand fell to his side, his jaw -dropped open and he backed away from Fifi as if he thought she might -explode. Fifi, as calm as a May zephyr, continued: - -“I desire that this bed be sent between ten and two to-morrow to the -address I shall give. I shall only take it on that condition.” - -There was method in this. Fifi had suddenly remembered that the next -morning was Thursday. On that day, every week, Madame Bourcet indulged -in the wild orgy of attending a lecture on mathematics delivered by her -brother, the professor of mathematics, before a lyceum frequented by -several elderly and mathematical ladies, like Madame Bourcet. When she -was out of the house was clearly the time to get the preposterous bed -in; and Fifi made her arrangements accordingly. - -Nothing could have been more impressive than Fifi’s studied calmness -and coolness while giving directions about the bed. The clerk went -after the proprietor, who could not conceal his surprise at a young -lady like Fifi going about unattended, and with five thousand francs -in her pocket. Fifi finally condescended to explain that she was -Mademoiselle Chiaramonti. That cleared up everything. The proprietor, -of course, had heard her story, and rashly and mistakenly assumed that -Fifi was a little fool, but at all events, he had made a good bargain -with her, and he bowed her out of the establishment as if she had been -a princess as well as a fool. - -Once outside in the clear sunshine, Fifi was triumphant. She felt that -a long step had been taken toward getting rid of Louis Bourcet. And, -after all, it was just as easy to spend five thousand francs as five, -if one has the money. She had spent infinitely more time and trouble -over her thirty-franc cloak than over all her extraordinary purchases -of the last hour. - -“The gowns are frightful enough, as well as the bills,” she thought to -herself, walking away from the shop, “and the bed is really a crushing -revelation--but it is not enough--it is not enough.” - -Then an inspiration came to her which brought her to a standstill. - -“I must go to a monkey shop and buy a monkey--but--but I am afraid of -monkeys. However--”--here Fifi felt an expansion of the soul--“when one -loves, as I love Cartouche, one must be prepared for sacrifices. So I -shall sacrifice myself. I shall buy a monkey.” - -But it is easier to say one will buy a monkey than to buy one. Fifi -walked on, pondering how to make this sublime sacrifice to her -affections. - -The sense of freedom, the exhilaration of the spring day, made -themselves felt in her blood. And then, for the first time, she also -felt the berserker madness for shopping which is latent in the -feminine nature. The fact that reason and common sense were to be -outraged as far as possible rather added zest to the enjoyment. - -“This is the real way to go shopping,” thought Fifi, with delight. -“Spending for the pleasure of spending--buying monkeys and everything -else one fancies. It can only be done once in a blue moon; even the -Empress can not do it whenever she likes.” - -She walked on, drinking in with delight the life and sunshine around -her. The more she reflected upon the monkey idea the finer it appeared -to her. True, she was mortally afraid of a monkey, but then she was -convinced that Louis Bourcet was more afraid of monkeys than she was. - -“And it is for my Cartouche--and would Cartouche hesitate at making -such a sacrifice for me? No! A thousand times no! And I can not do less -than all for Cartouche, whom I love. It is my duty to use every means, -even a monkey, to get rid of Louis Bourcet.” - -But where should she find a place to buy a monkey? That she could not -think of, but her fertile mind suggested an expedient even better -than the mere purchase of a single monkey. She stopped at one of those -movable booths, wherein sat a man who did writing for those unable to -write as well as they wished, or unable to write at all. The booth was -plastered over with advertisements of articles for sale, but naturally -no monkeys were offered. - -The man in the booth, a bright-eyed cripple, looked up when Fifi tapped -on the glass of the little open window. - -“Monsieur,” said Fifi, sweetly, “if you please, I am very anxious for -a monkey--a dear little monkey, for a pet; but I do not know where -to find one, and my family will not assist me in finding one. If I -should pay you, say five francs, would you write an advertisement for -a monkey, and let it be pasted with the other advertisements on your -booth?” - -“Ten francs,” responded the man. - -Fifi laid the ten francs down. - -“Now, write in very large letters: ‘Wanted--A monkey, for a lady’s -pet; must be well trained, and not malicious. Apply at No. 14 Rue de -l’Echelle. Any person bringing a monkey will receive a franc for his -trouble, if the monkey is not purchased.’” - -“Do you wish any snakes or parrots, Mademoiselle?” asked the man, -pocketing his ten francs. - -“No, thank you; the monkey, I think, will answer all my purposes,” -responded Fifi with dignity. - -It was then past noon, and Fifi, having spent a most enjoyable morning, -called a fiacre and directed the cabman to take her home. - -Just as she turned into the Rue de l’Echelle she heard some one calling -after her: - -“Mademoiselle! Mademoiselle Fifi!” - -It was Angéline, very red in the face, and running after the fiacre. -Fifi had it stopped and Angéline clambered in. Before she had a chance -to begin the fault-finding which is the privilege of an old servant -Fifi cut the ground from under her feet. - -“Why did you desert me as you did, Angéline?” cried Fifi indignantly. -“You saw me swept off my feet, and carried along with the crowd, and -instead of following me--” - -“I did not see you, Mademoiselle--it was you--” - -“You left me to my fate! What might not have happened to me alone in -the streets of Paris!” - -“Mademoiselle has perhaps been alone in the streets of Paris before--” - -“Silence, Angéline! How dare you say that I have been alone in the -streets of Paris before! Your language, as well as your conduct, is -intolerable!” - -“I beg Mademoiselle to remember--” - -“I remember nothing but that, being sent out in your charge, you basely -deserted me, and you shall answer for it; I beg of you to remember -that.” - -Angéline was reduced by this tirade to surly silence, and, not bearing -in mind that Fifi was really a very clever little actress, actually -thought she was in a boiling rage. Fifi was meanwhile laughing in her -sleeve. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A MOST IMPRUDENT THING - - -Madame Bourcet sat in the snuff-colored drawing-room, nursing her -rheumatism, when in walked Fifi as demure as the cat after it has eaten -the canary. She mentioned casually that she had bought a few things -for her trousseau, and Madame Bourcet presumed that the sum total of -expenditure was something like a hundred francs. Still, with visions of -the pink spangled gown which Fifi wished to buy for her presentation to -the Holy Father, Madame Bourcet thought it well to say, warningly: - -“I hope your purchases were of a sober and substantial character, -warranted to wear well, and in quiet colors.” - -“Wait, Madame, until you see them,” was Fifi’s diplomatic answer. - -As soon as she could, she escaped to her own room, and, locking the -door, she opened her precious trunk with the relics of her theatrical -life in it, and began to handle them tenderly. - -“Oh, you dear old wig, how happy I was when I wore you!” she said to -herself, clapping the white wig over her own rich brown hair. “When I -put you on I became a marquise at the court of Louis le Grand, and how -fine it seemed! Never mind, I shall be a marquise again, and get forty -francs the week at least! And how nice it will be to be quarreling with -Julie Campionet again, the wretch! And Duvernet--I shall not forget to -remind him of how I gave him my best white cotton petticoat for his -toga--and sewed it with my own fingers, too! And I shall say to him, -‘Recollect, Monsieur, I am no longer Fifi, but Mademoiselle Josephine -Chiaramonti, granddaughter of the cousin of a reigning sovereign, and -I am the young lady who won the grand prize in the lottery, and spent -it all; you never had a leading lady before who knew how to spend a -hundred thousand francs.’ I think I can see Duvernet now--and as I say -it I shall toy with my paste brooch. I can’t buy any jewels, for that -wouldn’t help me to get rid of Louis Bourcet, or to get Cartouche; so -I shall tell Duvernet that nothing in the way of diamonds seemed worth -while after those I had already.” - -Fifi fondled her paste brooch, which was kept in the same shrine as -the white wig, and then she clasped to her breast Cartouche’s javelin, -made from a broomstick, and it seemed to her almost as if she were -clasping Cartouche. It put the notion into her head to write him a -letter, so she hastily closed her trunk, and sat down to write. - - “Cartouche, I went out this morning, and spent ten thousand francs of - that odious money I won through that abominable lottery ticket you - gave me. I should think you would never cease reproaching yourself - if you knew how miserable that lottery ticket has made me. I bought - some of the most terrible gowns you ever saw, and a bed that cost five - thousand francs, and which the Empress couldn’t buy. I shall tell poor - Louis and Madame Bourcet that these gowns are for my trousseau--but, - of course, I have not the slightest idea of marrying Louis. I made up - my mind not to last night, the very moment I promised--and so I wrote - to you before I slept. It is not at all difficult to spend money; it - is as easy to spend five thousand francs for a bed as five, if you - have the money. And I had the money in my reticule. I shan’t tell you - now how I got it, but I did, just the same, Cartouche. I long to see - you. I did something for you to-day that I would not do for any one - else in the world. You know how afraid I am of monkeys? Well, I can - not explain in a letter, but you will be pleased when I tell you all. - - Fifi.” - -It was not Louis Bourcet’s habit to appear in his aunt’s apartment -until eight o’clock, but at six o’clock, seeing a great van drawn up -before the door, from which was disgorged innumerable large parcels -addressed to his fiancée, Louis, like other good men, was vanquished by -his curiosity. He mounted the stairs, on which he was jostled at every -step by men carrying huge pasteboard boxes of every size and shape, all -addressed to Mademoiselle Chiaramonti. - -Fifi stood, with a brightly smiling face, at the head of the stairs, -directing the parcels to be carried into her own room. Louis, after -speaking to her, ventured to say: - -“The cost of your purchases must be very great.” - -“Yes,” answered Fifi, merrily, “but when one is about to make a grand -marriage, such as I am, one should have good clothes.” - -Louis Bourcet, thus openly tickled under the fifth rib, smiled rather -anxiously, and replied: - -“But one should be prudent, Mademoiselle. An extravagant wife would -give me a great deal of pain.” - -“Ah, a woman happy enough to be married to you could not give you a -moment’s pain,” cried Fifi tenderly. - -Louis started and blushed deeply,--this open lovemaking was a new -thing, and very embarrassing,--but it is difficult to tell the lady in -the case that she is too demonstrative. - -Fifi, with a truly impish intelligence, saw at a glance the misery -she could inflict upon poor Louis by her demonstrations of affection, -and the discovery filled her with unholy joy, particularly as Madame -Bourcet, sitting in the snuff-colored drawing-room, was within hearing -through the open door. - -“Only wait,” cried Fifi, as she skipped into her own room; “only wait -until you see me in these things I bought to-day, and you will be as -much in love with me as I am with you!” - -Louis, blushing redder than any beet that ever grew, entered the -snuff-colored drawing-room and closed the door after him. Madame -Bourcet’s countenance showed that she had heard every word. - -“In my day,” said she, in a severe tone, “young ladies did not fall in -love with their fiancés, much less proclaim the fact.” - -Louis shifted uncomfortably in his chair. - -“We must make allowances, Aunt, for Mademoiselle Chiaramonti’s early -training--and we must not forget that her grandfather was cousin to His -Holiness, and Mademoiselle has a hundred thousand francs of her own.” -Louis mentally added, “and a hundred thousand francs is not picked up -with every girl.” - -“She will not have a hundred thousand francs if she goes shopping like -this very often,” stiffly replied Madame Bourcet. “I should not be -surprised if she had squandered all of a thousand francs in one day.” - -Just then the door opened, and a tremendous hat, with eleven large -feathers on it, and much else besides, appeared. Fifi’s delicate -bright face, now as solemn as a judge’s, was seen under this huge -creation. The red and green striped satin cloak, with the large lace -and fur-trimmed sleeves, concealed some of the yellow brocade with the -big purple flowers, but some yards of it were visible, trailing on -the floor. The bird of paradise fan and a muff the size of a barrel -completed Fifi’s costume. - -Madame Bourcet gave a faint scream and Louis almost jumped out of his -chair at the show. Fifi, parading solemnly up and down, surveying -herself complacently, remarked: - -“This is the costume I shall wear when we pay our visit of ceremony to -the Holy Father, upon my marriage.” - -A dead pause followed. Both Madame Bourcet and Louis were too stunned -to speak. Fifi, seeing to what a state they were reduced, returned to -her room, and being an expert in quick changes of costume, reappeared -in a few minutes wearing one of the violently sensational negligées, in -which she looked like a living rainbow. - -Neither Madame Bourcet nor Louis knew what to say at this catastrophe, -and therefore said nothing. But Fifi was voluble enough for both. -She harangued on the beauty of the costumes, and their extraordinary -cheapness, without mentioning the price, and claimed to have a gem of a -gown to exhibit, which would eclipse anything she had yet shown. - -When she went to put this marvelous creation on, Madame Bourcet -recovered speech enough to say: - -“A thousand francs, I said a few minutes ago--two thousand I say now. -Only ninety-eight thousand francs of her fortune is left--of that I am -sure.” - -“I am not sure there is so much left,” responded Louis gloomily. - -The door opened and a vision appeared. It was Fifi in the spangled -white ball gown _à la grecque_. The narrow, scanty skirt did not reach -to her ankles. The waist, according to the fashion of the time, was -under her arms, and the bodice was about four inches long. There were -no sleeves, only tiny straps across Fifi’s white arms; and her whole -outfit could have been put in Louis Bourcet’s waistcoat pocket. - -Madame Bourcet fell back in her chair, with a groan. Louis rose, red -and furious, and said in portentous tones: - -“You will excuse me, Mademoiselle, if I retire behind the screen while -you remain with that costume on in my presence.” - -“Do you want me to take it off then?” asked Fifi airily; but Louis was -already behind the screen. - -“Aunt,” he called out sternly, “kindly let me know when Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti has retired.” - -“I can not,” responded Madame Bourcet, briefly, “for I shall myself -retire.” And Madame Bourcet marched away to her own room. - -“Louis,” said a timid, tender little voice, “don’t you think this gown -more suitable to wear than the yellow brocade when we go to pay our -visit of ceremony to the Holy Father?” - -Louis Bourcet was near choking with wrath at this. What right had she -to call him Louis? He had never asked her to do so--their engagement -was not even formally announced; he had never spoken to her or of her -except as Mademoiselle Chiaramonti. And that gown to go visiting the -Holy Father! - -“Mademoiselle,” replied Louis in a voice of thunder, still from behind -the screen, “I consider that gown wholly improper for you to appear -before any one in, myself included.” - -“Just come and take a look at it,” pleaded Fifi. - -[Illustration--Fifi and Bourcet] - -“I will not, Mademoiselle; and I give you warning I am now about to -leave this room.” - -“I thought you would contrive to get a look at me, and not stick behind -that screen,” remarked Fifi, with a sudden explosion of laughter, as -Louis stalked from behind the screen. But the injustice and impropriety -of her remark was emphasized by his indignantly turning his head away -from her as he made for the door. - -“Oh,” cried Fifi, impishly, “you can see me perfectly well in the -mirror, with your head turned that way!” - -An angry bang of the door after him was Louis Bourcet’s only answer to -this. - -Fifi surveyed herself in the mirror which she had accused the innocent -Louis of studying. - -“This gown is perfectly outrageous, and it would be as much as my life -is worth to let Cartouche see it,” she thought. “But if only it can -frighten off that odious, ridiculous thing, how happy I shall be!” - -Fifi retired to her room. Eight o’clock was the hour when tea was -served in the drawing-room, and both Madame Bourcet and Louis appeared -on the scene inwardly uncomfortable as to the meeting with Fifi. -There sat Fifi, but without the least appearance of discomfort; on the -contrary, more smiling and more at ease than they had ever seen her. -The door to her bedroom was open, and as soon as Madame Bourcet and -Louis entered they were saluted by an overwhelming odor of burning. -Madame Bourcet, who was a fire-fiend, shrieked at once: - -“Something is on fire! Go, go, inform the police; fetch some water, and -let me faint!” - -“There isn’t the least danger,” cried Fifi; “it is only my improper -ball gown which is burning in my grate.” And they saw, through the -open door, the ball gown stuffed in the grate, in which a fire was -smoldering. Some pieces of coal were piled upon it, to keep it from -blazing up, and it was being slowly consumed, with perfect safety to -the surroundings and an odor as if a warehouse were afire. - -Madame Bourcet concluded not to faint, and she and Louis stood staring -at each other. But they were not the only ones to be startled. The -other tenants in the house had taken the alarm, and the bell in Madame -Bourcet’s lobby was being frantically pulled. Fifi ran and opened -the door. There stood Doctor Mailly, the eminent surgeon, who had the -apartment above the Bourcet’s; Colonel and Madame Bruart, who lived -in the apartment below, and about half a dozen others of the highly -respectable persons who inhabited this highly respectable house. - -“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Fifi, in the tone of easy confidence which -the stage had bred in her, “there is nothing whatever to be alarmed -about. I am simply burning up a gown which Monsieur Louis Bourcet, my -fiancé, objected to--and as--as--I am madly in love with him, I destroy -the gown in order to win his approval. Can any of you--at least those -who know what it is to love and be beloved--think me wrong?” - -There was a dead silence. Louis Bourcet, his face crimson, advanced and -said sternly to Fifi: - -“Mademoiselle, I desire to say that I consider your conduct in regard -to the gown most uncalled for, most sensational and wholly opposed to -my wishes.” - -“So you wanted to see me wear it again, did you?” cried Fifi, -roguishly; and then, relapsing into a sentimental attitude, she said: -“But you don’t know how much pleasure it gives me to sacrifice that -gown for you, dear Louis.” - -At this, Louis Bourcet, with a flaming face, replied: - -“I beg of you, Mademoiselle, not to call me Louis; and your expressions -of endearment are as unpleasant to me as they are improper.” - -The lookers-on began to laugh, and turned away, except Colonel Bruart, -a fat old retired cavalry colonel, on whom a pretty face never failed -of its effect. - -“Mademoiselle,” he cried gallantly, “if I were as young as your fiancé, -you might call me all the endearing names in the dictionary and I -wouldn’t complain. Is this young gentleman a Frenchman?” - -“Yes, Monsieur,” replied Fifi, sweetly. - -“Then,” replied Colonel Bruart, turning his broad back on the scene, “I -am glad there are not many like him. Adieu, Mademoiselle.” - -Fifi, Madame Bourcet and Louis returned to the drawing-room. The -Bourcets were stupefied. Fifi was evidently a dangerous person to adopt -into a family, but a hundred thousand francs is a great deal of money. -Fifi, by way of administering a final shock, said: - -“Anyway, the gown only cost five hundred francs, and that seemed to me -little enough to pay for pleasing you, Louis. And yet, you do not seem -pleased.” - -“I am not,” responded Louis, who found Fifi’s singular endearments as -trying as her clothes. - -The evening passed with the utmost constraint on every one except Fifi, -who was entirely at her ease and in great spirits. - -Madame Bourcet and Louis each spent a sleepless night, and next morning -held a council of war in Madame Bourcet’s bedroom. Another startling -thought had occurred to them: where did Fifi get the money to pay for -the outlandish things? On each parcel Madame Bourcet had noted the -mark “Paid.” Fifi had not gone to the bank; and yet, she must have -had several thousand francs in hand. Possibly, she had more than a -hundred thousand francs. The Holy Father might have presented her with -a considerable sum of money the day he had the long interview with her. - -There were many perplexing surmises; and, at last, wearied with their -anxieties, both Madame Bourcet and Louis resolved that Madame Bourcet, -after attending her brother’s lecture, should consult that eminent -man, as an expert in managing heiresses. It had become a very serious -question as to whether Fifi should be admitted into the Bourcet family -or not, but then, there was the money! - -Madame Bourcet was not expected to return before half-past two, as her -conference with the professor was to take place after the lecture; but -at two o’clock, precisely, Louis Bourcet appeared. He had spent an -anxious morning. Whichever way the cat might jump would be disastrous -for him. If he went on with the marriage, he was likely to die of shock -at some of Fifi’s vagaries; and if the marriage were declared off, -there was a hundred thousand francs, and possibly more, gone, to say -nothing of the last chance of being allied to a reigning sovereign. -Poor Louis was beset with all the troubles of the over-righteous man. - -As he entered the drawing-room, Fifi, dressed in the yellow brocade, -which looked more weird than ever by daylight, ran forward to meet him. - -“How glad I am that you have come!” she cried. “I have something -beautiful to show you. Look!” - -She threw wide her bedroom door, and there, filling up half the large -room, stood the gorgeous blue satin and gold bed. - -Louis was stricken dumb. He had never seen such a machine before, -but being a practical person he saw at a glance its costliness. He -opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. However, Fifi remarked -rapturously: - -“It was made for the Empress, but the Emperor, thinking the price too -much, refused to take it; and it was only five thousand francs, too!” - -Then, running and exhibiting the lace, the gilt tassels and other -paraphernalia of the bed, Fifi concluded with saying: - -“Of course, I shan’t sleep in it--it’s much too fine. I don’t think it -was ever meant to be slept in--but see--” Here Fifi raised the valance, -and showed her own mattress, which she had substantial reasons for -holding on to, “that’s what I shall sleep on! No one shall call _me_ -extravagant!” - -Louis retreated to the drawing-room. Fifi followed him, shutting the -door carefully after her. - -Just then there was a commotion and a scuffle heard outside, in the -lobby, and Angéline’s shrill voice raised high. - -“That must be the monkeys!” cried Fifi, running out. - -Two Italians, each with a robust-looking monkey, were squabbling on -the stairs with Angéline. The Italians, each bent on getting in first, -had begun a scuffle which was growing perilously near a fight. Neither -paid the slightest attention to Angéline’s fierce demand that they and -their monkeys take themselves off. When Fifi appeared, both of the -monkey venders burst into voluble explanations and denunciations. Fifi, -however, had lost something of her cool courage. In her heart she was -afraid of monkeys, and had not meant to let them get so far as the -drawing-room door. - -“Ah,” she cried to the Italians, thinking to pacify both of them, “here -is a franc apiece for your trouble, and take the monkeys away. I don’t -think either will suit.” - -“No!” shrieked both of the Italians in chorus. “We have brought our -monkeys and Mademoiselle must at least examine them.” - -This was anything but an agreeable proposition to Fifi; nor was she -reassured by each of the Italians declaring vehemently that his rival’s -monkey was as fierce as a lion and a disgrace to the simian tribe. -Fifi secretly thought that both of them were telling the truth in that -respect, and totally disbelieved them when each swore that his own -monkey was a companion fit for kings. All Fifi could do, therefore, was -to say, with an assumption of bravado: - -“I will give you each two francs if you will go away and bring the -monkeys to-morrow.” - -“Three francs!” shouted one of her compatriots, while the other bawled, -“Five francs!” - -Fifi had as much as ten francs about her, so she gladly paid the ten -francs, and the Italians departed, each swearing he would come the next -day, and would, meanwhile, have the other’s blood. - -Fifi returned to the drawing-room. On the hearth-rug stood Louis, pale -and determined. - -“Mademoiselle,” he said, “there must be an end of this.” - -“Of what?” asked Fifi, innocently. - -“Either of the performances of yesterday and to-day, or of our -arrangement to marry.” - -“O-o-o-h!” wailed Fifi, “just as I had fallen so beautifully in love -with you!” - -Louis’s face turned paler still. - -“Mademoiselle, I do not know how to take such speeches.” - -“I see you don’t,” replied Fifi. - -“It is the first time I have ever been thrown with a young person of -your profession,” began Louis. - -“Or with an heiress worth a hundred thousand francs, and the relative -of a reigning sovereign--” added Fifi, maliciously. - -Louis hesitated, and changed from one foot to the other. It was hardly -likely that the Holy Father would let so desirable a match for his -young relative escape. Louis’s esteem for himself was as tall as the -Vendôme column, and he naturally thought everybody took him at his -own valuation. The Holy Father’s possible attitude in the matter was -alarming and disconcerting to poor Louis. - -“And besides,” added Fifi, “your attentions have been compromising. -Do you recall, Monsieur--since you forbid me to call you Louis--that -you have played a game of cribbage with me every evening since I have -lived under your aunt’s charge? Is that nothing? Is my reputation to -be sacrificed to your love of cribbage? Do you suppose that I shall -let my relative, the Holy Father, remain in ignorance of those games -of cribbage? Beware, Monsieur Louis Bourcet, that you are not made to -repent of the heartless way in which you entrapped my affections at the -cribbage-board.” - -And Fifi walked with great dignity into her bedroom and banged the door -after her. Once inside, she opened her arms wide and whispered softly: - -“Cartouche! Cartouche! You will not be any such lover as this creature!” - -Meanwhile, Madame Bourcet had returned from her conference with her -brother. Angéline had met her on the stairs with a gruesome tale of the -blue satin bed, and the two monkeys, who had been invited to call the -next day. It was too much for Madame Bourcet. She dropped on a chair as -soon as she reached the drawing-room. There Louis Bourcet burst forth -with his account, of the blue satin bed and the monkeys, adding many -harrowing details omitted by Angéline. - -“And what does my uncle say?” he asked, gloomily. - -“He says,” replied Madame Bourcet, more gloomily, “that Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti’s conduct is such as to drive any prudent man to -distraction; and that if you marry her with even more than a hundred -thousand francs’ fortune, you will be doing a most imprudent thing.” - -Madame Bourcet paused for Louis to digest this. Then, she continued, -after an impressive pause: - -“And my brother also says, and desired me particularly to impress -this upon you--that a _dot_ of a hundred thousand francs is something -enormous in our station of life; that he does not know of a single -acquaintance of his own who has been so fortunate as to marry so much; -and his own good fortune in marrying two hundred thousand francs is -absolutely unprecedented. Moreover, through Mademoiselle Chiaramonti’s -connection with the Holy Father, your prospects, no doubt, would be -splendidly advanced; and to throw away such a chance would be--a most -imprudent thing.” - -So all the comfort poor Louis got was, that, whatever he did, he would -be doing a most imprudent thing. The knowledge of this made him a truly -miserable man. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -AN OLD LADY AND A LIMP - - -Nearly a week passed, with the utmost constraint, upon the little -family in the Rue de l’Echelle, except Fifi. Nothing could equal the -airy _insouciance_ of that young woman. She was no more the dumb, -docile creature whose soul and spirit seemed frozen, whose will was -benumbed, but Mademoiselle Fifi of the Imperial Theater. Fifi delighted -in acting--and she was now acting in her own drama, and with the most -exquisite enjoyment of the situation. - -At intervals, during the week, Italians with monkeys appeared; but -Angéline adopted with these gentry a simple, but effective, method -of her own, which was secretly approved by Fifi. This was to appear -suddenly on the scene with a kettle of boiling water, which she -threatened to distribute impartially upon the monkeys and their owners. -This never failed to stampede the enemy. Fifi scolded and complained -bitterly of this, but Angéline took a firm stand against monkeys and -Italians--much to Fifi’s relief. - -The subject of Fifi’s marriage to Louis was not touched upon by either -Madame Bourcet or Louis in that week, although Louis continued to spend -his evenings with his aunt and Fifi, and did not intermit the nightly -game of cribbage. If it was imprudent to marry Fifi, it was likewise -imprudent not to marry her--so reasoned the unhappy Louis, who, like -Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, was of two minds at the same time, and -fairly distracted between them. - -But, if the Bourcets let the marriage question remain discreetly in the -background, not so Fifi. Having discovered that Louis suffered acutely -from her manifestations of affection, Fifi proceeded to subject him to -a form of torture in high repute among the most bloodthirsty savages -of North America. This consists in smearing the victim’s body all over -with honey, and then letting him be slowly stung to death by gnats -and flies. Figuratively speaking, she smeared poor Louis with honey -from his head to his heels, and then had a delicious joy in seeing him -writhe under his agonies. And the innocence and simplicity with which -she did it fooled the unfortunate Louis completely. - -One thing seemed clear to him: even if the Holy Father were willing to -give up so desirable a husband for his young relative, Fifi, herself, -would have to be reckoned with; and it all came, Louis thought, with -a rainbow of vanity athwart the gloom, of his being so dreadfully -handsome, fascinating and virtuous. - -To Fifi this was the comedy part of the drama--and she played it for -all there was in it. - -She reckoned the shopping episode as the first act of the play. That -was through, and there must be a second act. Fifi was too much of an -artist to repeat herself. She felt she had reached the limit of horrors -in shopping, and she still had nearly ninety thousand francs sewed up -in her mattress. Some new way must be devised for getting rid of it. -She thought of endowing beds in hospitals, of giving _dots_ to young -ladies, not so fortunate as herself in having a man like Cartouche, who -declined a fortune--and a thousand other schemes; but all involved some -vague and mysterious business transactions which frightened Fifi. - -But, by a turn of fate, most unexpected, it was Cartouche who showed -her a way out of her difficulties, and it filled her with delight. It -was in a letter Cartouche wrote her in response to the two she had sent -him, one after the other. Cartouche’s letter was written in very black -ink, in a large, slovenly hand, on a big sheet of paper, and Fifi knew -perfectly well that he was in a rage when writing it. - - “Fifi: What nonsense is this you write me, that as soon as you - promised to marry Louis Bourcet you determined not to marry him? What - have you been doing? Don’t you know if you squander your money neither - Louis Bourcet nor any man of his class will marry you? Four thousand - francs for your trousseau is outrageous; as for the blue-satin bed - the Empress could not buy, I can not trust myself to speak of it. If - you continue acting in this way, I will not come to your wedding, nor - let Toto come--that is, if Monsieur Bourcet or any other man will - marry you. You seem to be bitten with the desire to do everything the - Empress does, and a little more besides. You might follow the Empress’ - example, and going in your coach and six, with outriders, to the - banking-house of Lafitte, make a little gift of a hundred thousand - francs to the fund for soldiers’ orphans. Fifi, you are a goose, and - there is no disguising it. I hope Monsieur Bourcet will use the strong - hand on you, for your own good. Cartouche. - - “P. S. I could tell you many interesting things about Toto, but I am - so angry I can not write any more.” - -Fifi read this letter over, with a serene smile. Of course Cartouche -was angry--but that was rather amusing. - -She laid the letter down, and looked up at the patch of blue sky -visible from her bedroom window. She seemed to see in that blue patch -all her former life, so full of work, of makeshifts, of gaiety, of -vivid interest--and compared with it the dull and spiritless existence -before her--that is, which had lately been before her; because now -the determination to return to the old life was as strong as the soul -within her. - -She took Cartouche’s letter up and read it again, and a cry of joy came -from her lips. Give the money to the soldiers’ fund! She remembered -having heard Madame Bourcet and Louis speaking of this fund the night -before. The Empress had gone in state, as Cartouche said, to make her -splendid gift--and Lafitte’s banking-house was not fifteen minutes from -where she was in the Rue de l’Echelle. - -In a flash, Fifi saw she could do it. She had her white wig and outside -of her door was the press in which Angéline kept her best black bonnet, -black shawl and gown, in which any woman could look a hundred years -old. Oh, it was the simplest thing in the world! The next day was -Thursday, the morning Madame Bourcet always went out, and Angéline -always stayed at home. It could be done within twenty-four hours! - -Fifi danced about her room in rapture. It was now late in the -afternoon; she could scarcely wait until the next day. How precious was -her white wig to her then! - -“Cartouche said I was silly to bring all these things with me,” she -said to herself gleefully; “and I had to do it secretly--but see, how -sensible I was! The fact is, I have a great deal of sense, and I know -what is good for me, much better than Cartouche does, or the Bourcets, -or the Emperor, or even the Holy Father. How do they know what is -going on inside of my head? Only I know perfectly well. And to think -that Cartouche should have suggested such a good way for me to get rid -of the hateful money! What an advertisement it will be! Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti, granddaughter of the Pope’s cousin, winner of the first -prize in the grand lottery, and giving ninety thousand francs to the -soldiers’ orphans! Mademoiselle Mars, at the Théâtre Française, never -had half such an advertisement. She has only her art to advertise her! -I shall be worth fifty francs the week to any manager in Paris. No -doubt the high-priced theaters will try to get me, and all the people -who think they know, like the Emperor and the Holy Father, would say -I should go to a theater on the other side of the river. But I do not -understand the style of acting at the high-priced theaters. I should -be hissed. No. The cheap theaters for me, and the kings and queens and -Roman consuls and things like that. Oh, Fifi, what a clever, clever -creature you are!” - -The happier Fifi was the more she loved to torment Louis Bourcet, and -she was so very demonstrative that night, and made so many allusions to -the bliss she expected to enjoy with him, that both Louis and Madame -Bourcet were half distracted. But Fifi had such a lot of money--and was -the granddaughter of the Holy Father’s cousin! - -Next morning, Madame Bourcet, as usual, made ready to go to the -lecture, at twelve o’clock. Fifi had never once proposed going out -alone, and was at that moment engaged in needlework in her own room. -Madame Bourcet, therefore, started off, without any misgivings, except -the general gloom produced by the thought of either having Fifi in the -family, or not having her. - -Scarcely had Madame Bourcet’s respectable figure disappeared around -the corner, before another figure equally respectable, and apparently -a good deal older, emerged upon the street. It was Fifi, dressed in -Angéline’s clothes, and with a green barége veil falling over her face. -She knew how to limp as if she were seventy-five, instead of nineteen, -and cleverly concealed her mouthful of beautiful white teeth. On her -arm was a little covered basket which might have held eggs, but which -really held nearly ninety thousand francs in thousand-franc notes. - -Fifi knew the way to the banking-house of Lafitte perfectly well. It -was then in a great gloomy building in the Rue St. Jacques. In less -than fifteen minutes she was mounting the steps, and soon found herself -in a large room, around which was an iron grating, and behind this -grating were innumerable clerks at work. - -Fifi went to the window nearest the door, and asked of a very -alert-looking young clerk, at work at the desk: - -“Will you be kind enough, Monsieur, to tell me where I can make a -contribution to the fund for the soldiers’ orphans?” - -“Here, Madame,” replied the young clerk, eying superciliously the -little basket Fifi laid down on the ledge before him. People made all -sorts of contributions to this fund, and the spruce young clerk had -several times had his sensibilities outraged by offerings of old shoes, -of assignats, even of a live cock. The basket before him looked as if -it held a cat--probably one of the rare kind, which the old lady would -propose that he should sell, and give the proceeds to the fund. Out of -the basket the white-haired old lady with the green barége veil took a -parcel, and laying it down, said humbly: - -“Monsieur, this gift comes from one who has no husband and no son to -give to the empire.” - -“To whom shall I make out the receipt, and for how much, Madame?” asked -the clerk; but the old lady was already out of the room, and going down -the steps much faster than one would expect a person of her age to be -able to do. - -Once outside Fifi stepped into a dark archway, from which she emerged, -a minute later, wearing her own bonnet and red cloak and her own skirt. -All of Angéline’s paraphernalia, together with the white wig, was -squeezed into a bundle which Fifi cleverly concealed under her cloak. -The basket she had tossed down an open cellar under the archway. - -She called a closed cab, and stuffing her bundle under the seat, -ordered the cabman to drive her in a direction which she knew would -take her past the bank. She had the exquisite pleasure of seeing half -a dozen clerks rush distractedly out, inquiring frantically if any one -had seen in the neighborhood an old lady with a limp, a green veil and -a basket. Fifi stopped her cab long enough to get a description of -herself from one of the wildest-looking of the clerks. - -“But why, Monsieur, do you wish to find this old lady?” Fifi asked. - -“Because, Mademoiselle, she has stolen ninety thousand francs from -this bank a moment ago or given ninety thousand francs to something -or other,” cried the clerk, who had entirely confounded the story of -Fifi’s adventure, which had been imparted to him in haste and confusion. - -Fifi, nearly dying with laughter, rolled away in her cab. The last -glimpse she had of her late friend, the bank clerk, he had found the -basket in the archway, and was declaiming with disheveled hair and wild -gesticulations concerning the robbery, or the gift, he did not know -which. - -Fifi was not away from home more than half an hour, and when Angéline, -about one o’clock, passed through the snuff-colored drawing-room, she -saw Fifi, through the open door, sitting at the writing-table in her -bedroom, and scribbling away for dear life. This is what she wrote: - - “Cartouche: I have got your letter and I have followed your advice--I - will not say exactly how--but you will shortly see me, I think, in the - dear old street of the Black Cat. Fifi.” - -Madame Bourcet returned punctually at two o’clock, and as the weather -had become bad, she and Fifi spent the afternoon together in the -snuff-colored drawing-room. - -When eight o’clock in the evening arrived, Louis Bourcet, as usual, -appeared. He had news to communicate, and gave a fearful and wonderful -account of the proceedings at the banking-house, in which it was -represented that a mysterious old lady, with a basket and a limp, had -appeared, and had either stolen ninety thousand francs, or given ninety -thousand francs to the fund for the soldiers’ orphans, nobody outside -of the bank knew exactly which. The excitement in the neighborhood -of the bank had been tremendous, and such a crowd had collected that -the _gens d’armes_ had been compelled to charge in order to clear the -street. The basket had been found, but the limp, along with the old -lady, had vanished. - -All sorts of stories were flying about concerning the affair, some -people declaring that the troops from the nearest barracks had been -ordered out, a cordon placed around the banking-house, and the -mysterious old lady was nothing less than a determined ruffian, who had -disguised himself as an old woman, and was the leader of a gang of -desperate robbers, determined on looting the bank. Louis Bourcet held -firmly to this opinion. - -“It is my belief,” he said solemnly, “that it was a scheme which -involved not only robbery, but possibly assassination. The old woman -was no old woman, but a reckless criminal, who, by a clever disguise, -got into the bank, and was only prevented from carrying out some -dreadful design by the coolness and decision of the bank employees. -The basket, which is marked with the initials A. D., is held at the -bureau of the _arrondissement_, and at the investigation to-morrow -morning--mark my words, that basket will be the means of disclosing a -terrible plot against the banking-house of Lafitte.” - -Madame Bourcet listened to these words of wisdom with the profoundest -respect--but Fifi uttered a convulsive sound which she smothered in her -handkerchief and which, she explained, was caused by her agitation at -the sensational story she had just heard. - -Louis was so flattered by the tribute of attention to his powers of -seeing farther into a millstone than any one else, that he harangued -the whole evening upon this violent attempt on Lafitte’s banking-house -in particular and the dangers of robbery in general. He even forgot -the game of cribbage. When he rose to go, at ten o’clock, both Madame -Bourcet and Fifi protested that they expected to be murdered in their -beds by a gang of robbers before daylight. Louis promised to come to -the _déjeuner_ at eleven the next morning, to give them the latest -particulars of this nefarious attempt to rob the bank. - -Fifi alone in her own room went into spasms of delight. Her freedom was -close at hand--and soon, soon, she could return to that happy life of -hard work and deep affection she had once known. When she slipped into -bed, the hard lump was not in her mattress. - -“Think,” she said to herself, lying awake in the dark, “of the good -that hateful money will do now--of the poor children warmed and fed and -clothed. Giving it away like this is not half so difficult as spending -it on hats and gowns and monkeys, and I think I may reckon on getting -back to the dear street of the Black Cat soon--very soon.” - -And so, she fell into a deep, sweet sleep, to dream of Cartouche, and -Toto and all the people at the Imperial Theater, including Julie -Campionet. - -Next morning, Fifi awaited the _déjeuner_ with feelings of entrancing -pleasure. She loved to see Louis Bourcet make a fool of himself, and -longed to make a fool of him--this naughty Fifi. - -She was gratified, for at eleven o’clock, Louis appeared, looking, for -once, a little sheepish. The desperate robbery had been no robbery at -all, but a gift of ninety thousand francs to the fund for the soldiers’ -orphans. Louis had bought several newspapers, and each contained the -official announcement of the banking-house of Lafitte, with a request -that the generous donor come forward and discover her identity. - -Louis Bourcet, like a good many other people, could always construct -a new hypothesis to meet any new development in a case. He at once -declared that the donor must be a conscience-stricken woman, who had at -some time committed a crime and wished to atone for it. He harped on -this theme while Fifi was soberly drinking her chocolate and inwardly -quivering with delight. She waited until one of Louis’s long-winded -periods came to an end, when, the spirit of the actress within her, -and the piercing joy of making Louis Bourcet look like a guy, were too -much for her. Putting down her cup, therefore, and looking about her in -a way to command attention, Fifi said, in a soft, low voice: - -“Madame Bourcet--and dear Louis--” here Louis shuddered--“I have -something to say to you, concerning that mysterious old woman with the -limp and the basket. First, let me say, that until yesterday, I kept -my fortune of nearly ninety thousand francs in my mattress, and my old -shoes I kept in the bank. For people are always losing their money in -banks, but I never heard of any one losing a franc that was sewed up in -a mattress.” - -There was a pause. Louis Bourcet sat as if turned to stone, with his -chocolate raised to his lips, and his mouth wide open to receive it, -but he seemed to lose the power of moving his hand or shutting his -mouth. Madame Bourcet appeared to be paralyzed where she sat. - -“Yes,” said Fifi, who felt as if she were once more on the beloved -boards of the Imperial Theater. “I kept my money where I knew it -would be safe. And then, seeing I had totally failed to captivate -the affections of my fiancé, I determined to perform an act of -splendid generosity, that would compel his admiration, and possibly, -his tenderness. So, yesterday, when you, Madame, were out, I dressed -myself up in Angéline’s Sunday clothes, took her small fruit basket, -and putting all my fortune in the basket, went to the bank, and handed -it all over, in notes of the Bank of France, to the fund for soldiers’ -orphans.” - -There was not a sound, except Madame Bourcet’s gasping for breath. -Louis Bourcet had turned of a sickly pallor, his mouth remaining wide -open, and his cup still suspended. This lasted for a full minute, when -the door suddenly opened, and Angéline appeared from the kitchen. - -“Madame,” she cried excitedly, “there have been thieves here as well as -at the bank. My fruit basket is gone--I can swear I saw it yesterday -morning. It is marked with my initials, A. D., and I trust, by the -blessing of God, the thief will be found and sent to the galleys for -life.” - -At this apparently trivial catastrophe, Madame Bourcet uttered a loud -shriek; Louis Bourcet dropped his cup, which crashed upon the table, -smashing the water carafe; Angéline, amazed at the result of her simple -remark, ran wildly about the room shrieking, “Thieves! thieves! Send -for the police!” Madame Bourcet continued to emit screams at short -intervals, while Louis Bourcet, his head in his hands, groaned in -anguish. - -Fifi, alone, sat serene and smiling, and as soon as she could make -herself heard, cried to Louis: - -“Dear Louis, tell me, I beg of you, if you approve of my course?” - -“No!” bawled Louis, for once forgetting to be correct in manner and -deportment. Then, rising to his feet, and staggering to the door, he -said in a sepulchral voice: “Everything is over between us. If the Holy -Father takes measures to make me fulfil my compact to marry you, I -shall leave France--I shall flee my country. Mademoiselle, permit me to -say you are an impossible person. Adieu forever, I hope!” With this he -was gone. - -Madame Bourcet at this recovered enough to scream to Angéline, in a -rapid crescendo: - -“Get a van--_get a van_--GET A VAN!” - -Fifi knew perfectly well what that meant, and was in ecstasies. She -flew to her room, huddled her belongings together, saying to herself: - -“Cartouche, I shall see you! And, Cartouche, I love you! And, -Cartouche, I shall make you marry me--me, your own Fifi!” - -In a little while the van was at the door and Fifi’s boxes were piled -in. She threw to Angéline the odious brown gown, with the green spots, -and a ten-franc piece besides--which somewhat mollified Angéline, -without changing her opinion that Fifi was a dangerous and explosive -person to have about. She promised to send for the blue satin bed. Then -Fifi, reverting to her old natural self, climbed into the van along -with her boxes, and jolted off, in the direction of the street of the -Black Cat, and was happier than she had yet been since she had left it. - - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -BACK TO THE BLACK CAT - - -About three o’clock in the afternoon, the van, containing Fifi and her -wardrobe, drew up before the tall old house in the street of the Black -Cat where she had lived ever since she was a little, black-eyed child, -who still cried for her mother, and who would not be comforted except -upon Cartouche’s knee. How familiar, how actual, how delightfully -redolent of home was the narrow little street! Fifi saw it in her -mind’s eye long before she reached it, and in her gladness of heart -sang snatches of songs like the one Toto thought was made for him, -_Le petit mousse noir_. As the van clattered into the street, Fifi, -sitting on her boxes, craned her neck out to watch a certain garret -window, and from thence she heard two short, rapturous barks. It was -Toto. Fifi, jumping down, opened the house door, and ran headlong up -the dark, narrow well-known stair. Half way up, she met Toto, jumping -down the steps two at a time. Fifi caught him to her heart, and wept -plentifully, tears of joy. - -But there was some one else to see--and that was Cartouche, who was -always in his room at that hour. - -“Now, Toto,” said Fifi, as she slipped softly up the stairs, still -squeezing him, “I am about to make a formal offer of my hand to -Cartouche; and mind, you are not to interrupt me with barking and -whining and scratching. It is very awkward to be interrupted on such -occasions, and you must behave yourself suitably to the situation.” - -“Yap!” assented Toto. - -The door to Cartouche’s room was a half-door, the upper part of glass. -This upper half-door was a little ajar, and Fifi caught sight of -Cartouche. He was sitting on his poor bed, with a large piece of tin -before him, which he was transforming into a medieval shield. He was -hard at work--for who ever saw Cartouche idle? But once or twice he -stopped, and picked up something lying on the table before him, and -looked at it. Fifi recognized it at once. It was a little picture of -herself, taken long ago, when she used to sit on Cartouche’s knee and -beg him to tell her stories. Fifi felt a lump in her throat, and -called out softly and tremulously: - -“Cartouche! I am here. It is Fifi.” - -Cartouche dropped his tools as if lightning-struck, and turned toward -the door--and there was Fifi’s smiling face peering at him. - -He went straight to the door and opened the upper part wide. Fifi -saw that he was quite pale, though his dark and expressive eyes were -burning, and it was plain to her that he was consumed with love and -longing for her--but he was almost cross when he spoke. - -“What brings you here, Fifi?” he asked. - -“Everything that is good. First, Louis Bourcet has jilted me--” and -Fifi capered gleefully with Toto in her arms. - -“Is that anything to be merry about?” inquired Cartouche, sternly; but -Fifi saw that his strong brown hand trembled as it lay on the sill of -the half-door. - -“Indeed it is--if you knew Louis Bourcet--and he did it because of my -nobility of soul.” - -“Humph,” said Cartouche. - -“It was in this manner. You remember, Cartouche, the letter you wrote -me three days ago, in which you advised me to give all my fortune to -the fund for soldiers’ orphans?” - -“No,” tartly answered Cartouche. “I never wrote you any such letter.” - -“Listen,” said Fifi, sweetly, and taking from her pocket Cartouche’s -letter, she read aloud: - -“‘You might follow the Empress’ example, and going in your coach and -six, with outriders, to the banking-house of Lafitte, make a little -gift of a hundred thousand francs to the fund for the soldiers’ -orphans.’ - -“I did not have a coach and six, with outriders, nor even a hundred -thousand francs to give,” continued Fifi, putting the letter, for -future reference, in her pocket, “as I had spent almost ten thousand -on clothes and monkeys and beds. And I also saved enough to buy some -gowns that will put Julie Campionet’s nose out of joint--but I had -nearly ninety thousand francs to give--and I dressed myself up as an -old woman--” - -“It was all over Paris this morning,” cried Cartouche, striking his -forehead, “I read it myself in the newspaper! Oh, Fifi, Fifi, what -madness!” and Cartouche walked wildly about the room. - -“Madness, do you call it?” replied Fifi, with spirit. “This comes of -taking your advice. I had meant to spend the money on any foolish thing -I could find to buy that was worth nothing, and never could be worth -anything; and when your letter came, I thought, ‘here is a sensible way -to spend it’--for I was obliged to get rid of it. I never had a happy -moment since I had the money--and I must say, Cartouche, I think you -behaved very badly to me, in never making me the slightest apology for -giving me the ticket that drew the money, even after you saw it made me -miserable.” - -Here Fifi assumed an offended air, to which Cartouche, walking about -distractedly, paid no attention whatever, only crying out at intervals: - -“Oh, Fifi, what makes you behave so! What will you do now?” - -Fifi drew off, now genuinely contemptuous and indignant. - -“Do?” she asked in a tone of icy contempt. “Do you think that an -actress who has given away her whole fortune of ninety thousand francs -and whose grandfather was cousin to the Pope will want an engagement?” - -“But the newspapers don’t know who gave the money,” said Cartouche, -weakly. “All of them this morning said that--and the Emperor has had -published in the _Moniteur_ an official request that the giver will -make herself known, so that she may receive the thanks in person of -himself and the Empress.” - -“Better and better,” cried Fifi. “Ten francs the week more will -Duvernet have to pay me for receiving the thanks of the Emperor and -Empress.” And then with an access of hauteur she added: “You must know -very little of the theatrical profession, Cartouche, if you suppose I -intend to let the newspapers remain in ignorance of who gave the money. -Cartouche, in some respects, you know about as little concerning our -profession as the next one. You never had the least idea of the value -of advertising.” - -“Perhaps not,” replied Cartouche, stung by her tone, “all I know is, -the value of hard work. And now, I suppose, having thrown away the -chance of marrying a worthy man in a respectable walk of life, you will -proceed to marry some showy creature for his fine clothes, or his long -pedigree, and then be miserable forever after.” - -“Oh, no,” answered Fifi, sweetly. “The man I intend to marry is not -at all showy. He is as plain as the kitchen knife--and as for fine -clothes and a long pedigree, ha! ha!” Fifi pinched Toto, who seemed to -laugh with her. - -Cartouche remained silent a whole minute, and then said calmly: - -“You seem to have fixed upon the man.” - -“Yes, Toto and I have agreed upon a suitable match for me. Haven’t we, -Toto?” - -“Yap, yap, yap!” barked Toto. - -“Have you consulted any one about this?” asked Cartouche in a low -voice, after a moment. - -“No one but Toto,” replied Fifi, pinching Toto’s ear. - -Cartouche raised his arms in despair. He could only groan: - -“Oh, Fifi! Oh, Fifi!” - -“Don’t ‘Oh Fifi’ me any more, Cartouche, after your behavior to me,” -cried Fifi indignantly, “and after I have taken your advice and given -the money away, and Louis Bourcet has jilted me--as he did as soon as -he found I had no fortune--” - -“Didn’t I tell you he would?” - -“I didn’t need anybody to tell me that. Louis Bourcet is one of the -virtuous who make one sick of virtue. But at least after you made him -jilt me--” - -“_I_ made him jilt you!” - -“Certainly you did. How many times shall I have to prove to you that -it was you who put it into my head to give the money away? And now, I -want to ask, having caused me to lose the chance of marrying the most -correct young man in Paris, you--you--ought to marry me yourself!” - -Fifi said this last in a very low, sweet voice, her cheek resting upon -Toto’s sleek, black head, her elbow on the sill of the half-door. -Cartouche walked quite to the other end of the room and stood with his -back to Fifi, and said not one word. - -Fifi waited a minute or two, Cartouche maintaining his strange silence. -Then, Fifi, glancing down, saw on a little table within the room, and -close to the half-door, a stick of chalk. With that she wrote in large -white letters on Toto’s black back: - - _Cartouche, I love you_-- - -and tossed Toto into the room. He trotted up to Cartouche and lay down -at his feet. - -Fifi saw Cartouche give a great start when he picked up the dog, and -Toto uttered a little pleading whine which was quite human in its -entreaty. Being a very astute dog, he knew that Cartouche was not -treating Fifi right, and so, pleaded for her. - -Fifi, calmly watching Cartouche, saw that he was deeply agitated, and -she was not in the least disturbed by it. Presently, dropping Toto, -Cartouche strode toward the half-door, over which Fifi leaned. - -“Fifi,” he cried, in a voice of agony, “why do you torture me so? You -know that I love you; and you know that I ought not to let you marry -me--me, almost old enough to be your father, poor, obscure, half -crippled, Fifi. I shall never forget the anguish of the first day I -knew that I loved you; it was the day I found you acting with the -players in the street. You were but sixteen, and I had loved you until -then as a child, as a little sister--and suddenly, I was overwhelmed -with a lover’s love for you. But I swore to myself, on my honor, never -to let you know it--never to speak a word of love to you--” - -The strong man trembled, and fell, rather than sat upon a chair. Fifi, -trembling a little herself, but still smiling, answered: - -“And you have kept your vow. I remember that day well--it was the first -time you ever spoke an angry word to me. You have spoken many since, -you hard-hearted Cartouche.” - -To this Cartouche made no answer but to bury his face in his lean, -brown hands, that bore the marks of honest toil. Fifi continued briskly: - -“Cartouche, open this lower door. It is fast.” - -Cartouche only shook his head. - -Then Fifi, glancing about, saw a rickety old chair at the head of the -stairs, and noiselessly fetching it, she put it against the door, -stepped up on it; a second step on the little table by the door, and -a third step on the floor, brought her in the room, and close to -Cartouche. She laid one hand upon his shoulder--with the other she -picked up Toto--and said, in a wheedling voice: - -“Cartouche, shall we be married this day fortnight?” - -Cartouche made a faint effort to push her away, but the passion in him -rose up lion-like, and mastered him. He seized Fifi in his strong arms -and devoured her rosy lips with kisses. Then, dropping her as suddenly, -he cried wildly: - -“No, no! It is not right, Fifi--I can not do you so cruel a wrong!” - -“You are almost as bad as Louis Bourcet,” remarked Fifi, straightening -her curly hair, which was all over her face. “Nevertheless, I shall -marry you this day fortnight.” - -For answer, Cartouche vaulted over the half-door, in spite of his bad -leg, and was gone clattering down the stairs. Fifi listened as the -sound died away, and then ran to the window to see him go out of the -house and walk off, as fast as he could, down the street of the Black -Cat. - -“Toto,” said Fifi to her friend, taking him up in her arms: “We--you -and I--are not good enough for Cartouche, but all the same, we mean -to have him. I can not live without him--that is, I will not, which -comes to the same thing--and all the other men I have ever known seem -small and mean alongside of Cartouche--” which showed that Fifi, as she -claimed, really had some sense. - -As for Cartouche, he walked along through the narrow streets into -the crowded thoroughfare, full of shadows even then, although it was -still early in the soft, spring afternoon. He neither knew nor cared -where he was going except that he must fly from Fifi’s witching eyes -and tender words and sweet caresses. His heart was pounding so that -he could fancy others heard it besides himself. This marriage was -clearly impossible--it was not to be thought of. Fifi, in spite of her -rashness and throwing away of her fortune, was no fool. She had not, -as Cartouche feared, assumed a style of living that would have made -a hundred thousand francs a mere bagatelle. What she had squandered, -she had squandered deliberately for a purpose; what she had given had -been given to a good cause, for Fifi, of all women, best knew her own -mind. And to think that she should have taken up this strange notion to -marry him--after she had seen something so far superior--so Cartouche -thought. And what was to be done? If necessary, he would leave the -Imperial Theater, and go far, far away; but what then would become of -Fifi, alone and unprotected, rash and young and beautiful? - -Turning these things over tumultuously in his mind, Cartouche found -himself in front of the shop where he had bought Fifi the red cloak. -There was a mirror in the window, and Cartouche stood and looked at -himself in it. The mirror stiffened his resolution. - -“No,” he said. “Fifi must not throw herself away on such a looking -fellow. I love her--I love her too well for that.” - -A church clock chimed six. Cartouche came out of his troubled day-dream -with a start--he was already due at the theater. He ran as fast as his -bad leg would allow him, and for the first time in the eight years he -had been employed there, was late. - -Duvernet, the manager, was walking the floor of his dingy little office -and tearing his hair. He was dressed for the part of the Cid Campeador -in the drama of the evening. Duvernet never made the mistake of acting -a trivial part. He clattered about in a full suit of tin armor, but -had inadvertently clapped his hat on his head. Although there was but -little time to spare, the manager was obliged to pour out his woes to -Cartouche. - -“Julie Campionet saw Fifi return, with all her boxes,” he groaned; -“and--well, you know Julie Campionet--I have had the devil’s own time -the whole afternoon. Then Fifi marched herself over here--the minx. I -called her Fifi, at first. She drew herself up like an offended empress -and said, ‘Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, if you please.’ She then informed -me, with an air of grand condescension that she might return here as -leading lady, and told me, quite negligently, that she was the person -who gave the ninety thousand francs to the soldiers’ orphans’ fund. -You would have thought she was in the habit of giving ninety thousand -francs to charity every morning before breakfast. She swore she did not -intend to acknowledge it until she had got a place as leading lady at -a theater that suited her; likewise that she proposed to be billed as -Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, cousin to the Holy Father, and to have the -story of her relationship to the Pope published in every newspaper in -Paris, and demanded fifty francs the week. The advertising alone is -worth a hundred francs the week; but you know, Cartouche, no woman on -earth could stand a hundred francs the week and keep sane. Then, she -tells me that she has a magnificent wardrobe--she wore that brooch -in here, which I have never been able to satisfy myself is real or -not--and took such a high tone altogether that I began to ask myself -if I were the manager of this theater or was Fifi. And then the -last information she gave me was that she was to marry you this day -fortnight--” - -“Ah!” cried Cartouche, gloomily. - -“And said if I didn’t give her back her old place as leading lady that -I would have to part with you. I said something about Julie Campionet, -and being my wife, and so on, and then Fifi flew into a royal rage, -saying she would settle with Julie Campionet herself. Then Julie came -rushing into the room, and she and Fifi had it out in great style. -You never heard such a noise in your life--it was like killing pigs, -and Julie fell in my arms and screamed to me to protect her, and Fifi -started that infernal dog of hers to barking, and there was a devil -of a row, and how it ended I don’t know, except that both of them are -vowing vengeance on me. But one thing is sure--I can’t let a chance go -of securing the Pope’s cousin, who won the first prize in the lottery -and gave away ninety thousand francs. And then--what Julie--” - -The manager groaned and buried his head in his hands. Like the -unfortunate Louis Bourcet, all he could make out was, that whatever he -did would be highly imprudent. - -It was already late, and there was not another moment to lose, so -Cartouche had to run away and leave the manager to his misery. - -The performance was hardly up to the mark that night. Sensational tales -of Fifi’s return had flown like wildfire about the theater. She was -commonly reported to have come back in a coach and pair, with a van -full of huge boxes, all crammed with the most superb costumes. Such -stories were naturally disquieting to Julie Campionet, and together -with her scene in the afternoon, impaired her performance visibly. - -As for Fifi, she was at that moment established in her old room, -which luckily was vacant, and was cooking a pair of pork chops over -a charcoal stove--and was perfectly happy. So was Toto, who barked -vociferously, and had to be held in Fifi’s arms, to keep his paws off -the red-hot stove. There was a bottle of wine, some sausages, and -onions and cheese, and a box of highly colored bonbons, for which Fifi -had rashly expended three francs. But it is not every day, thought -Fifi, that one comes home to one’s best beloved--and so she made a -little feast for Cartouche and herself. - -Cartouche was late that night, and trying to avoid Fifi, he mounted -softly to his garret. As he approached Fifi’s door, he saw the light -through a chink. Fifi heard his step, quiet as it was, and opening the -door wide, cried out gaily: - -“Here is supper ready for you, Cartouche, and Toto and I waiting for -you.” - -Cartouche could not resist. He had meant to--but after all, he was but -human--and Fifi was so sweet--so sweet to him. He came in, therefore, -awkwardly enough, and feeling like a villain the while, he sat down at -the rickety little table, on which Fifi had spread a feast, seasoned -with love. - -“Cartouche,” she said presently, when they were eating and drinking, -“you must get a holiday for this day fortnight.” - -“What for?” asked Cartouche, gnawing his chop--Fifi cooked chops -beautifully. - -“Because that is the day we are to be married,” briskly responded Fifi. - -Cartouche put down his chop. - -“Fifi,” he said. “You will break my heart. Why will you persist in -throwing yourself away on me?” - -“Dear me!” cried Fifi to Toto, “how very silly Cartouche is to-night! -And what a horrid fiancé he makes--worse than Louis Bourcet.” - -Then Fifi told him about some of the tricks she had played on poor -Louis, and Cartouche was obliged to laugh. - -“At least, Fifi,” he said, “you shan’t marry me, until you have -consulted his Holiness.” - -“And his Majesty,” replied Fifi gravely. “Who would think, to see us -supping on pork chops and onions, that our marriage concerned such very -great people!” - -Cartouche went to his garret presently, still drowned in perplexities, -but with a wild feeling of rapture that seemed to make a new heaven and -a new earth for him. - -Fifi, next morning, proceeded to lay out her plans. She did not go near -the theater until the afternoon. Then she put on her yellow and purple -brocade, her large red and green satin cloak, her huge hat and feathers -and reinforced with the alleged diamond brooch, and sending out for a -cab, ordered it to carry her and her magnificence across the street to -the manager’s private office. - -Duvernet, thinking Fifi had come to her senses, and would ask, instead -of demanding, her place back, received her coolly. Fifi was charmingly -affable. - -“I only called to ask, Monsieur,” she said, “if you could tell me how -to catch the diligence which goes out to Fontainebleau. I wish to go -out to see his Holiness, who, as you know, is my relative, and as such, -I desire his formal consent to my marriage to Cartouche.” - -Fifi was careful not to say that she was the Pope’s relative; the Pope -was _her_ relative. - -Duvernet, somewhat disconcerted by Fifi’s superb air, replied that the -diligence passed the corner, two streets below, at nine in the morning, -and one in the afternoon. - -“Thank you,” responded Fifi. “I shall go out, to-morrow, at one -o’clock. I could not think of getting up at the unearthly hour -necessary to take the morning diligence. And can you tell me, Monsieur, -about the omnibus that passes the Tuileries? The Emperor has had a -request printed in the _Moniteur_, asking that the lady who made the -gift of ninety thousand francs to the soldiers’ orphans should declare -herself--and I have no objection to going in the omnibus as far as the -gates of the Tuileries. Then, I shall get a carriage.” - -Duvernet was so thunderstruck at Fifi’s grandeur, that he mumbled -something quite unintelligible about the omnibus. Fifi, however, -was perfectly well acquainted with the ways both of the omnibus and -diligence, and only inquired about them to impress upon Duvernet -the immense gulf between the Fifi of yesterday and the Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti of to-day. She finally rose and sailed off, but returned -to ask the amazed and disgusted Duvernet to get her a cab to take her -across the street. - -“I can walk, Monsieur,” she said condescendingly, “except that I am -afraid of ruining my clothes. I carry on my back nearly four thousand -francs’ worth of clothes.” - -Duvernet, still staggered by her splendors, had to search the -neighborhood for a cab--cabs were not much in demand in that quarter. -But at last he found one, which transported Fifi and her grandeur -across the way. It was clearly impossible that so much elegance should -go on foot. - -That night, again, she made a little supper for Cartouche, and -Cartouche, feeling himself a guilty wretch, again went in and ate it, -and basked in the sunlight of Fifi’s eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE POPE WINS - - -Now, Fifi really intended to go out to Fontainebleau the next day to -see the Holy Father, for, although she cared little for the opinion of -the world in general, she had been deeply impressed by the benignant -old man, and she secretly yearned for his approval. And besides, she -had an instinctive feeling that the Holy Father would understand better -than any one else in the world why she wished to marry Cartouche. That -tender, serene soul of the old man, who cherished the affections of his -youth and who had sounded the depths and measured the heights of human -grandeur and yet esteemed love the greatest thing in the world, would -understand a simple, loving heart like Fifi’s. It had been so easy to -tell him all about Cartouche and herself--and he had comprehended it -so readily; just the same, thought Fifi, as if he himself had lived -and worked and struggled as she and Cartouche had lived and worked and -struggled. Fifi knew, in her own way, that there is a kinship among -all honest souls--and that thus the Holy Father was near of kin to -Cartouche. - -Fifi did not mention this proposed expedition to Cartouche, because, in -her lexicon, it was always easier to justify a thing after it is done -than before. - -So, when on the morning after her return, the diligence rumbled -past the street below that of the Black Cat, Fifi was inside the -diligence--and, on the outside, quite unknown to her, was Duvernet. - -The manager, it may be imagined, had not had a very easy time of it, -either as a manager or a husband for the last twenty-four hours. -Julie Campionet had large lung power, and had used it cruelly on him. -Nevertheless, the idea of securing Fifi with all her additional values -for the Imperial Theater was quite irresistible to Duvernet; and the -thought that another manager, more enterprising than he, might get her -for ten francs more the week, was intolerable to him. He determined to -make a gigantic effort for Fifi’s services, and it would be extremely -desirable to him to have this crucial interview as far away from the -Imperial Theater as possible. - -Therefore, Duvernet was on the lookout when the diligence jolted past, -and when he saw a demure figure in black, with a veil over her face, -get inside the diligence, he recognized Fifi, and jumped up on the -outside. - -Fifi, sitting within, had no notion that Duvernet was on the same -vehicle. She kept her veil down and behaved with the greatest -propriety. She knew better than to wear any of her ridiculous finery in -the presence of the Holy Father, and as she had got rid of the brown -gown with the green spots, she wore a plain black gown and mantle which -became her well, and she scarcely seemed like the same creature who had -worn the yellow brocade robe and the striped satin cloak. - -The diligence rumbled along, through the pleasant spring afternoon, -upon the sunny road to Fontainebleau, and reached it in a couple of -hours. - -When Fifi dismounted, at the street leading to the palace, what was her -surprise to find that Duvernet dismounted too! - -“I had business at Fontainebleau, and so was fortunate to find myself -on the top of the diligence, while you were inside,” was Duvernet’s -ready explanation of his presence. - -Fifi was at heart glad of his protection, and hoped he would return to -Paris with her, but would by no means admit so much to him. - -“I,” said Fifi, with dignity, “also have business at -Fontainebleau--with the Holy Father. You may walk with me to the -palace.” - -“Thank you, Mademoiselle,” answered Duvernet, bowing; and Fifi could -not tell whether he was laughing at her or not. - -As they walked toward the vast old palace, gray and peaceful in the -golden sun of springtime, Duvernet said: - -“Well, Fi--” - -“What?” asked Fifi coldly. - -“Mademoiselle, I should say. Since we find ourselves together, we may -as well resume our business conversation of yesterday afternoon. If you -will take fifty francs the week, your old place at the Imperial Theater -is open to you.” - -“And that minx, Julie Campionet--oh, I beg your pardon.” - -“Don’t mention it,” gloomily replied Julie Campionet’s husband. “She -has told me twenty times since yesterday that she means to get a -divorce, just like the others. If she doesn’t, I can, perhaps, get her -to take her old parts by giving her an additional five francs the -week--for I assure you, when it comes to a question of salary, she is -not Madame Duvernet, but Julie Campionet.” - -“It would be against my conscience, Monsieur, to interfere with your -domestic peace--” said Fifi demurely, and that time it was Duvernet who -didn’t know whether or not Fifi was laughing at him. - -“Mademoiselle,” replied he, with his loftiest air, “do you suppose I -would let my domestic peace stand before Art? No. A thousand times no! -Art is always first with me, and last. And besides, if Julie Campionet -should get a divorce from me--well, I have never found any trouble yet -in getting married. All the trouble came afterward.” - -“Fifty francs,” mused Fifi; “and if I allow you to bill me as -Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, and the granddaughter of the Pope’s cousin, -that would be worth at least twenty-five francs the week more. -Seventy-five francs the week.” - -“Good heavens, no!” shouted Duvernet. “The Holy Father himself wouldn’t -be worth seventy-five francs at the Imperial Theater! Sixty francs, at -the outside, and Julie Campionet to think it is fifty.” - -[Illustration--Fifi and Duvernet at Fontainebleu] - -“I had better wait until I am married to Cartouche,” replied Fifi -innocently. - -But waiting was just what the manager did not want. So, still urging -her to take sixty francs, they reached the palace. - -Fifi had a little note prepared and gave it, together with a pink -gilt-bordered card, inscribed “Mademoiselle Josephine Chiaramonti,” -to the porter at the door. The porter evidently regarded Fifi, and -her note and card included, with the utmost disfavor, but, like most -underlings, he was well acquainted with his master’s private affairs, -and knew in a minute who Fifi was, and so, grudgingly went off with her -letter and card. - -Fifi and Duvernet kept up their argument in the great, gloomy anteroom -into which they were ushered. Fifi was saying: - -“And if I allow you to bill me as his Holiness’ cousin, and you give me -seventy-five francs--” - -“Sixty, Mademoiselle.” - -“Seventy-five francs, will you promise always to take my part when I -quarrel with Julie Campionet?” - -“Good God! What a proposition! I am married to Julie Campionet!” - -“Have you really and actually straightened out your divorces from your -other three wives?” asked Fifi maliciously. - -“N-n-not exactly. To tell you the truth, Fi--I mean, Mademoiselle--I -get those divorce suits and those leading ladies so mixed up in my -head, that I am not quite sure about anything concerning them. But if -you doubt that I am married to Julie Campionet, just listen to her when -she is giving me a wigging, and you will be convinced.” - -“Of course,” continued Fifi, dismissing Duvernet and Julie Campionet -and their matrimonial complications with a wave of the hand, “it is not -really necessary for me to act at all. I have a fortune in my diamond -brooch, any time I choose to sell it. I gave away ninety thousand -francs--but in my brooch I hold on to enough to keep the wolf from -the door.” Then, a dazzling _coup_ coming into her head, she remarked -casually, “I hope Cartouche is not marrying me for my diamond brooch.” - -Duvernet, a good deal exasperated by Fifi’s airs, replied, with a grin: - -“Cartouche tells me he isn’t going to marry you at all.” - -“We will see about that,” said Fifi, using the same enigmatic words -Cartouche had used, when the matrimonial proposition was first offered -for his consideration. - -After a long wait the porter returned, accompanied by the same -sour-looking ecclesiastic whom Fifi had met on her previous visit; and -he escorted her to the door of the Pope’s chamber. - -The door was opened for her, and Fifi found herself once more in the -presence of the Pope. She ran forward and kissed his hand, and the Holy -Father patted her hand kindly. - -“Well, my child,” he said, “I hear strange things of you. The Bourcets -conveyed to me early this morning that you have left their house, given -up the marriage with the respectable young advocate, Louis Bourcet, and -bestowed all your fortune on charity. I have been anxious about you.” - -“Pray don’t be so any more, Holy Father,” said Fifi, smiling brightly -and seating herself on a little chair the Holy Father motioned her to -take. “I never was so happy in my life as I am now. I hated the idea of -marrying Louis Bourcet.” - -“Then you should not have agreed to marry him.” - -“Oh, Holy Father, you can’t imagine how it dazes one to be suddenly -overwhelmed with riches, to be taken away from all one knows and -loves, to be compelled to be idle when one would work--to be, in -short, transplanted to another world. At first, I would have agreed to -anything.” - -“I understand. Now, open your heart to me as to your father.” - -“I was very wretched after I got the money. I was idle, I was unhappy, -I was unloved--and I had been used to being busy, to being happy, -to being loved. And what gave me the courage to rebel was, that I -found out I loved Cartouche. Holy Father, he is my only friend--” An -expression in the Holy Father’s eyes made Fifi quickly correct herself. -“_Was_ my only friend. And when I thought of being married, I could not -imagine life without Cartouche. So, I made up my mind to marry him. But -Cartouche said he was neither young nor rich, nor handsome, and with my -youth and newly-acquired fortune, I ought to marry above him. I do not -claim that Cartouche is what is called--a--” Fifi hesitated, the term -“brilliant marriage” not being known in the street of the Black Cat. -But the Holy Father suggested it with a smile-- - -“A brilliant marriage?” - -“Yes, Holy Father, that is what I mean. But he is the best of men; I -shiver when I think what would have become of me without Cartouche. And -he is as brave as a lion--he was the first man across at the bridge -of Lodi--and the Emperor was the second. And he serves Duvernet, the -manager, just as faithfully as he served his country. Cartouche has -charge of all sorts of things at the theater, and he would die rather -than let any one swindle the manager.” - -“I should like to have him for my majordomo,” said the Holy Father. - -“He is not much of an actor though, to say nothing of his stiff leg. -Cartouche is an angel, Holy Father, but he can not act. So he does not -get much salary--only twenty-five francs the week. However, I know two -things: that Cartouche is the best of men, and that I love him with -all my heart. Holy Father, was not that reason enough for not marrying -Louis Bourcet?” - -“Quite reason enough,” softly answered the Holy Father. - -“After all, though, it was Louis Bourcet who got rid of me. It was -like this, Holy Father. I knew as long as I had a hundred thousand -francs that Louis Bourcet would marry me, no matter how outlandish -my behavior was; and I also knew, as long as I had a hundred thousand -francs, Cartouche never would marry me. And as I wanted to be happy, I -concluded to get rid of my hundred thousand francs, and that horrid, -pious, correct, stupid, pompous Louis Bourcet at the same time--” - -And then Fifi burst into the whole story of her adventures, beginning -with her putting the box of old shoes in the bank, and sewing her money -up in the mattress. Through it all the Holy Father sat with his hand to -his lips and coughed occasionally. - -Fifi knew how to tell her story, and gave very graphic pictures of her -life and adventures in the Rue de l’Echelle. She told it all, including -her return to the street of the Black Cat in the same van with her -boxes, her proposal of marriage to Cartouche and Toto’s share in the -proceedings. The Holy Father listened attentively, and after an extra -spell of coughing at the end, inquired gravely: - -“And what did Cartouche say to your proposition to marry him?” - -“Holy Father, he behaved horridly, and has not yet agreed, although -the poor fellow is eating his heart out for me. He says still, I am far -above him--for, you see, Holy Father, as soon as I have it published -that I am the giver of ninety thousand francs to the orphans’ fund, -all Paris will flock to see me act--and then--I shall be billed as -Mademoiselle Chiaramonti--cousin of the Holy Father, the Pope. That -alone is worth twenty-five francs the week extra.” - -A crash resounded. The Holy Father’s footstool had tumbled over -noisily. The Holy Father himself was staring in consternation at Fifi. - -“On the bills, did you say?” - -“Yes, Holy Father. On the big red and blue posters all over the quarter -of Paris.” - -“It must not be,” said the Holy Father, with a quiet firmness that -impressed Fifi very much. “How much did you say it was worth?” - -“I say twenty-five francs. Duvernet, the manager, says only fifteen.” - -“Where is this Duvernet?” - -“Waiting for me in the anteroom below, Holy Father. He came out to -Fontainebleau to try to get me to make the arrangement at once.” - -The Pope touched a bell at hand, and a servant appeared, who was -directed to bring Manager Duvernet to him at once. Then, turning to -Fifi, he said: - -“Monsieur Duvernet must give up all ideas of this outrageous -playbill--and in consideration, I will secure to you an annuity of -twenty-five francs the week as long as you live.” - -“How good it is of you, Holy Father!” cried Fifi. Then she added -dolefully: “But I am afraid if Cartouche knows I am to be as rich as -that, I shall have more trouble than ever getting him to marry me. What -shall I do, Holy Father, about telling him?” - -The Pope reflected a moment or two. - -“It is a difficult situation, but it must be managed,” he answered. - -Then Fifi, eager for the Holy Father’s approval of Cartouche, told many -stories of his goodness to her in her childish days--and presently -Duvernet was announced. - -Duvernet was an earnest worshiper of titles and power, but not to the -extent of forgetting his own advantage; and, although on greeting the -Pope he knelt reverently, he rose up with the fixed determination not -to do anything against the interests of the Imperial Theater, or its -manager, not if the Pope and all the College of Cardinals united in -asking him. - -“Monsieur,” said the Holy Father, gently, but with authority: “This -young relative of mine tells me that her salary is to be increased -fifteen francs the week at your theater if her name and relationship -to me shall be exploited. I offer her twenty-five francs the week if -she will forego this. It does not appear to me to be proper that such -exploitation should take place.” - -Duvernet bowed to the ground. - -“Holy Father,” said he, with deepest humility, “it rests with -Mademoiselle Chiaramonti.” And he whispered to Fifi behind his hand, -“Thirty francs.” - -“Thirty francs!” cried Fifi indignantly, “only just now you were -telling me that it was not even worth twenty-five francs!” - -The Holy Father’s voice was heard--gentle as ever-- - -“Thirty-five francs.” - -Duvernet, being found out, and seeing that he had the Supreme Pontiff -on the other side of the market, concluded it was no time for -diffidence, so he cried out boldly: - -“Thirty-eight francs.” - -There was a pause. Fifi looked toward the Holy Father. - -“Forty francs,” said the Holy Father. - -Duvernet, with the air and manner of a Roman senator acknowledging -defeat, bowed superbly and said: - -“Your Holiness wins,” and backed toward the door. - -Fifi turned to the Pope, and said with shining eyes: - -“Holy Father, I thank you more than I can ever, ever say--I promise -never to do anything to dishonor the name I bear. And Duvernet,” she -added, turning to where the manager stood with folded arms and the -expression of a martyr: “Recollect, even if it is not put on the bill -that I am the granddaughter of the Holy Father’s cousin, that I am -still valuable. Did I not win the first prize in the lottery? And did I -not give ninety thousand francs to the soldiers’ orphans? And shan’t I -be thanked in person by the Emperor and Empress? Match me that if you -can. And besides, have I not the finest diamond brooch in Paris?” - -“If it is diamond,” said Duvernet under his breath, but not so low -that the Holy Father did not hear him. However, without noticing this, -the Pope asked of him: - -“Monsieur, will you kindly give me your opinion of Monsieur Cartouche, -whom my young relative wishes to marry?” - -Duvernet paused a minute, trying to find words to express what he -thought of Cartouche, but in the end could only say: - -“Your Holiness, Cartouche is--well, I could not conduct the Imperial -Theater without Cartouche. And he is the most honest and the most -industrious man I ever saw in my life.” - -“Thank you, Monsieur. Good afternoon,” said the Pope, and Duvernet -vanished. - -“My child,” said the Holy Father, after a little pause: “What is this -about your having the finest diamond brooch in Paris?” As he spoke, the -Holy Father’s face grew anxious. The possession of fine diamonds by a -girl of Fifi’s condition was a little disquieting to him. - -“It is only paste, Holy Father,” replied Fifi, whipping the brooch -out of her pocket. “I always carry it with me to make believe it is -diamond, but it is no more diamond than my shoe. Duvernet thinks it -is diamond, and I encouraged him to think so, because I found that it -always overawed him. Whenever he grew presumptuous, all I had to do -was to put on this great dazzling brooch and a very grand air, and it -brought him down at once.” - -“My child,” said the Holy Father--and stopped. - -“I know what you would say, Holy Father--I am deceiving Duvernet--but -that is what is called in the world--diplomacy.” - -With that she handed the brooch to the Holy Father. It was a brazen -imposture, and the Pope, who knew something about gems, could but smile -at the size and impudence of the alleged stones. - -Then Fifi said timidly: - -“Holy Father, how about Cartouche? I so much want to marry Cartouche!” - -“Then,” said the Pope calmly, “you can not do better than marry -Cartouche, for I am sure he is an honest fellow, and loves you, and you -must bring him out to see me.” - -“Oh, Holy Father,” cried Fifi joyfully, “when I bring Cartouche out -to see you, you will see what a _very_ honest, kind man he is! But -you must not expect to see a fine gentleman. My Cartouche has the -heart and the manners of a gentleman, but he has not the clothes of a -gentleman.” And to this, the Pope replied, smiling: - -“The time has been when I was a poor parish priest, that I had not -the clothes of a gentleman, so I can feel for your Cartouche. So now, -farewell, and be a good child--and forty francs the week as long as you -are simply Mademoiselle Fifi. Do you understand?” - -“Yes, Holy Father, and I can not thank you enough, and I am the -happiest creature in the world.” - -And then Fifi fell on her knees, and received a tender blessing, and -went away, thinking with pride and joy of the visit she was to make -after she was married to Cartouche. - -“I know the Holy Father will like him,” she thought, as she tripped -along the grand avenue toward the town. “The Holy Father is kind and -simple of heart, and honest and brave, and so is Cartouche, and each -will know this of the other, so how can they help being satisfied each -with the other?” - -Thinking these thoughts she almost walked over Duvernet, who was -proceeding in the same direction. Duvernet’s manner had undergone a -complete change in the last half-hour, and he spoke to Fifi with an -offhandedness which took no account of her ruffled feathers when he -addressed her by her first name. - -“Fifi,” said Duvernet, “for it is all nonsense to call you Mademoiselle -Chiaramonti now--Fifi, I say, I will give you fifty francs the week on -the strength of having drawn the first prize in the lottery, of having -given your fortune to the soldiers’ orphans and of being thanked, as -you will be, by the Emperor and Empress in person. It is a liberal -offer. No other manager in Paris would do so well.” - -“And my art?” asked Fifi, grandly. - -“Oh, yes, your art is well enough, as long as I have Cartouche to -manage you. With the Pope’s forty francs the week you will be the -richest woman in our profession on the left bank of the Seine.” - -Fifi considered a while, walking briskly along. Ninety francs the week! -What stupendous wealth! But it would never do to yield at once. - -“And I am to have all of Julie Campionet’s best parts? And you are to -be on my side in all my quarrels with Julie?” - -“Certainly,” replied Duvernet. “You don’t suppose I would stand on a -little thing like that? Now, you had better take what I offer you, or -Julie will certainly spread the report that you wished to come back to -the Imperial Theater and I would not let you.” - -“Bring the contract to me this evening,” replied Fifi. - -“And to-morrow it is to be published in the newspapers?” - -“Of course. In all the newspapers. But, Monsieur, there are some things -you must not expect of me now as formerly, such as constructing togas -for you out of my white petticoats, and making wigs for you out of tow. -I am above that now.” - -“So I see--for the present--” replied Duvernet, laughing -disrespectfully, “but just let Julie Campionet try her hand at that -sort of thing in your place, and you would burst if you did not outdo -her. Come, here is the diligence. In with you.” - -Fifi got back to her old quarters in time to prepare supper again for -Cartouche. This time they had cabbage-soup and a bit of sausage. - -Poor Cartouche, who had alternated between heaven and hell ever since -Fifi’s return, was in heaven, sitting opposite to her at the rickety -table, and eating Fifi’s excellent cabbage-soup. She herself fully -appreciated their menu. - -“When I was with the Bourcets I could not eat their tasteless messes,” -she cried. “No garlic, no cabbage, very few onions--and everything -sickly sweet. No, Cartouche, one must live as one has lived, and one -must have a husband who likes the same things one likes, so that is why -I am marrying you a week from Thursday.” - -“Fifi,” said Cartouche, trying to be stern, “haven’t I told you to put -that silly idea out of your head?” - -“Yes, but I haven’t though, and to-day I went to Fontainebleau to see -the Holy Father, and--now listen to reason, Cartouche--he told me to -marry you. Do you understand?” - -This was the first Cartouche had heard of the visit to Fontainebleau. -Fifi described it glibly, and if she represented the Holy Father as -urging and commanding her marriage to Cartouche much more strongly than -was actually the case, it must be set down to her artistic instinct -which made her give the scene its full dramatic value. When she paused -for breath, Cartouche said, glumly: - -“But the Holy Father hasn’t seen me and my stiff leg yet.” - -“Oh,” cried Fifi, “I am to take you out to Fontainebleau as soon as we -are married.” - -“You are afraid to show me before we are married.” - -“Not in the least. I told the Holy Father that you were neither young -nor handsome; for that matter, the Holy Father himself is neither young -nor handsome. But I am glad you have at last agreed that we are to be -married--not that it would make any difference.” - -“You have not married me yet,” Cartouche weakly protested, gazing into -the heaven of Fifi’s eyes, while eating her delicious cabbage-soup. - -“Have you no respect for the Holy Father?” asked Fifi, indignantly. - -“Yes, but suppose the Holy Father to-day had advised you to marry some -one--some one else--Louis Bourcet, for example.” - -“I shouldn’t have paid the least attention to him; but it is your duty, -Cartouche, when the Holy Father says you ought to marry me to do so -without grumbling.” - -And with this masterly logic, Fifi helped herself to the last of the -soup. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -BY THE EMPEROR’S ORDER - - -The next day but one, the mystery was solved of the old lady who gave -the ninety thousand francs to the soldiers’ orphans’ fund. It was not -an old lady at all, but the young and pretty actress, Mademoiselle -Fifi, who had drawn the great prize in the lottery. She had temporarily -retired from the stage of the Imperial Theater, in the street of the -Black Cat, but would shortly resume her place there as leading lady. So -it was printed in the newspapers, and known in the salons of Paris. - -There was very nearly a mob in the street of the Black Cat, so many -persons were drawn by curiosity to see Fifi. Fifi, peeping from -her garret window, would have dearly liked to exhibit herself, but -Duvernet, for once stern, refused to let her show so much as an -eyelash, except to those who bought a ticket to see her at the theater, -when she was to appear in her great part of the Roman maiden on the -Thursday week, the very day she had fixed upon to marry Cartouche. - -In this determination to keep Fifi in seclusion until the night of her -reappearance on the stage, Duvernet was backed up by Cartouche, who -reminded Fifi of the enormous salary she was receiving of fifty francs -the week. He had no inkling of the further rise in her fortunes of -forty francs the week from the Holy Father. - -Meanwhile rehearsals were actively begun, and Fifi had had the -exquisite joy of seeing that Julie Campionet was furiously jealous -of her. Duvernet, in spite of his unceremonious behavior to her in -private, treated her at rehearsals with a respect fitting the place she -held on the programme and the stupendous salary she received. All of -her fellow actors were either stand-offish with her or over-friendly, -but this, Fifi knew, was only a phase. Cartouche alone treated her as -he had always done, and even scolded her sharply, saying that in three -months she had forgotten what it had taken her three years to learn. -But this was hardly exact, for Fifi, being a natural actress, had -forgotten very little and had learned a great deal during her exile -from the Imperial Theater. - -On the morning after the announcement made in the newspapers about -Fifi’s gift a great clatter was heard in the street of the Black Cat. -An imperial courier came riding to Fifi’s door and handed in a letter -with the imperial arms and seal. It was a notification that the next -day, at noon, an imperial carriage would be sent for her that she -might go to the Tuileries and be thanked personally by the Emperor and -Empress for her magnificent generosity to the soldiers’ orphans. - -Fifi turned pale as she read this letter. She did not mind the Emperor, -but the Empress. And what should she wear? - -While considering these momentous questions, Duvernet rushed into the -room. He had seen the courier and suspected his errand. - -Fifi, with blanched lips, told him. Duvernet was nearly mad with joy. - -“Oh,” he cried. “If I was not already married to Julie Campionet and -three other women I would marry you this moment, Fifi.” - -“Marry me!” cried Fifi, turning crimson, and finding her voice, which -rose with every word she uttered. “Marry _me_! _You_, Duvernet! Marry -Mademoiselle Josephine Chiaramonti! No! A thousand times no! Julie -Campionet is good enough for you.” - -“I am as good as Cartouche,” growled Duvernet, stung by this vicious -attack on himself and his wife. - -“Monsieur Duvernet,” screamed Fifi, stamping her foot, “if you wish me -to appear at the Imperial Theater a week from Thursday you will at once -admit that Julie Campionet is good enough for you, and that I--I am far -too good for you--but not too good for Cartouche.” - -Duvernet hesitated, but the manager in him came uppermost. He conceded -all that Fifi claimed, but on returning to the theater cuffed the -call-boy unmercifully by way of reprisal on somebody, after Fifi’s -exasperating behavior. - -That night, at supper, Cartouche was oppressed and depressed by this -new honor awaiting Fifi. Presently he said to her seriously: - -“Fifi, it’s out of the question--your marrying me. Why, you might -marry an officer--who knows? Now, Fifi, don’t be a fool and insist on -marrying me.” - -“I won’t be a fool,” answered Fifi promptly, “and I will marry you. The -Holy Father told me to, and I expect the Emperor will do the same. At -all events, you, too, are to go to the Tuileries.” - -“I!” - -Cartouche fell back in his chair. - -“Certainly. I could never get along without you.” - -“But I couldn’t go in the coach with you.” - -“No. You can be in the gardens, though, and if the Emperor wants you he -can send for you.” - -Cartouche in the end concluded he might as well go, not that he -expected the Emperor to send for him, but simply because Fifi wished -him to go. And he decided a very important point for Fifi--what she -should wear. - -“Now, don’t wear any of your wild hats, or that yellow gown, which -can be heard screaming a mile away. Remember, the Emperor is not a -Duvernet, and the Empress is not Julie Campionet. Wear your little -black bonnet, with your black gown and mantle, and you will look like -what you are--my sweet little Fifi.” - -This was the first word of open lovemaking into which Cartouche had -suffered himself to be betrayed, and as soon as he had uttered it he -jumped up from the supper table and ran to his own garret as quickly -as his stiff leg would allow. Fifi caught Toto to her heart in lieu of -Cartouche and murmured, “He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!” - -At noon, next day, a splendid imperial carriage drove into the street -of the Black Cat and stopped before Fifi’s door. Fifi, dressed modestly -and becomingly in black, appeared. She could not forbear carrying -her huge muff, but as it was the fashion it did not detract from the -propriety of her appearance. - -The street was full when, assisted by a gorgeous footman, she took her -seat in the carriage. Duvernet was a rapturous spectator of Fifi’s -splendor, and she had the ecstasy of feeling that Julie Campionet was -watching the whole magnificent event. - -She sat up very straight as she drove through the bright and sunny -streets toward the Tuileries. As she entered the great gates she -watched for Cartouche, who was to be there. Yes, there he was, looking -out for her. Fifi’s heart gave a great throb of relief, for she was -really frightened half to death, and the nearness of Cartouche made her -feel a little safer. The look in his face as their eyes met was full of -encouragement--it did not seem to him a dreadful thing at all to meet -the Emperor. - -This courage of Fifi’s only lasted until the carriage door was opened, -and she had to alight and walk an interminable distance through miles -of gorgeous rooms, of mirrors, of paintings, of gilding, and, worse -than all, in the company of the very polite old gentleman-in-waiting -who escorted her. - -She knew not how she found herself in a small boudoir, and presently -the door opened and the Emperor and Empress entered, and at the first -word spoken to her by the Emperor, as with the Holy Father, fear -instantly departed from her, and it seemed the most natural thing in -the world for her to be there. - -Fifi made a very pretty bow to both the Emperor and Empress. The -Empress seated herself, and her kind eyes, her soft Creole voice, her -charming grace, captivated Fifi, as it had done many of the greatest of -the earth. But when the Emperor spoke--ah, Fifi was one of the people, -after all--and like the old moustaches in Cartouche’s regiment, she -would have died for the Emperor after having once seen him. He said to -her: - -“The Empress and I wish to thank you for your splendid gift to the -soldiers’ orphans, Mademoiselle. Was it not your whole fortune? For -I remember well hearing that you had drawn the grand prize in the -lottery.” - -“Yes, Sire,” replied Fifi, “but I am still well off.” - -“I am glad to hear it, Mademoiselle.” - -“Sire, the manager of the Imperial Theater is to give me fifty francs -the week, and the Holy Father, to whom my grandfather was cousin, is -to give me forty francs the week as long as I live; that is, if I do -not put it on the bill-boards that I am Mademoiselle Chiaramonti, -granddaughter of the Pope’s cousin.” - -“It was I who caused that relationship to be established, after having -heard your name, the evening that my good friend Cartouche invited me -to see you act. But what ingenious person was it who dreamed of putting -your relationship to the Pope on the bill-boards?” - -“I and our manager, Monsieur Duvernet, Sire. Monsieur Duvernet knows -how to advertise.” - -The Emperor laughed a little. - -“I should think so. I have met Monsieur Duvernet--the same evening, -Mademoiselle, that I had the pleasure of seeing you act. So the Holy -Father interfered with yours and Duvernet’s little plan--ha! ha!” - -“Yes, Sire. First, Monsieur Duvernet said he would give me twenty -francs to be billed as the Pope’s cousin, and the Holy Father said he -would give me twenty-five francs to be billed simply as Mademoiselle -Fifi. Then Monsieur Duvernet said thirty francs, and the Holy Father -said thirty-five; and Monsieur Duvernet said thirty-eight, and the -Holy Father said forty. That was such a large sum, Sire, that Monsieur -Duvernet could not meet it.” - -“And what does our friend Cartouche say to this? Cartouche,” he -explained to the Empress, “is my old friend of Lodi, the only man who -crossed the bridge before me, and he came to see me and consulted me -about this young lady’s fortune.” - -“Cartouche, Sire, does not know it.” - -“Why? Have you fallen out with Cartouche?” - -“Oh, no, Sire. Cartouche and I are to be married a week from Thursday,” -replied Fifi, smiling and blushing. - -“Then explain why he does not know about the Pope’s forty francs, -since you are to marry him so soon?” - -“Because, Sire, Cartouche does not want to marry me--I mean, that is, -he thinks he is not young enough or rich enough or well-born enough for -me--which is all nonsense, Sire.” - -“Yes--I know something about you and Cartouche.” - -“And I never could have married him if I had not got rid of my money. -But I am afraid if Cartouche knows of my forty francs the week he will -make a difficulty.” - -“In that case we must not let him know anything about it. But I was -told by my arch-treasurer Lebrun that a marriage had been arranged for -you with a young advocate here whom Lebrun knows well, by name Bourcet. -What becomes of that?” - -Fifi smiled and blushed more than ever, and remained silent until the -Empress said, in her flute-like voice: - -“Perhaps, Mademoiselle, you could not love him.” - -“Your Majesty, I hated him,” answered Fifi, with the greatest -earnestness. “He was the most correct person and the greatest bore -in the universe. Unlike Cartouche, he thought himself much too good -for me, but was willing to take me on account of my hundred thousand -francs. At first I tried to frighten him off.” - -“How, Mademoiselle?” asked the Emperor, now laughing outright. - -“Sire, by--by--buying things. Dreadful clothes, and--and--monkeys, but -I was afraid of the monkeys and would not keep them--and a blue satin -bed made for the Empress--” - -“I know that diabolical bed--so they swindled you into buying it?” - -“No, Sire, it was only a way of squandering money and frightening -that ridiculous Louis Bourcet. And--I made love to him very -outrageously--which was nearly the death of him. Louis Bourcet is not -the sort of a man to be first across the bridge of Lodi. The only way -to have got him across would have been to carry him. But in spite of -all I could do he would have married me if I had not found a way to get -rid of my money.” - -“Tell me how you contrived to get your money in your own hands?” - -Then Fifi told about putting the box of old shoes in the bank and -sewing the money up in the mattress, just as she had told the Pope, and -both the Emperor and the Empress laughed aloud at it. And Fifi further -explained how Cartouche’s letter had showed her the way to make a good -use of her uncomfortable fortune instead of merely throwing it away. - -The Empress then asked, in her charming manner, some questions about -Fifi’s life, and both the Emperor and Empress seemed excessively amused -at the simplicity of Fifi’s answer. - -“I shall have to tell Lebrun, the arch-treasurer, about this,” cried -the Emperor; “and now, what can I or the Empress do for you?” - -Fifi reflected a moment. - -“If you please, Sire,” she replied after a moment, “to send for -Cartouche--he is just outside in the gardens--and order him to marry me -a week from next Thursday. For, if he should happen to find out that I -have forty francs the week as long as I live, there’s no telling what -he will do, unless your Majesty gives him positive orders.” - -The Emperor rang, and his aide appearing, he was directed to find the -fellow named Cartouche. - -“He is very homely and has a stiff leg,” said Fifi, by way of -description of her lover. - -While Cartouche was being found, the Emperor, after his wont, began to -ask Fifi all manner of questions, especially about the Holy Father, and -listened attentively to her replies. His only comment was: - -“A good old man, a dreamer, who lives in his affections.” - -When Cartouche was ushered into the room the Empress spoke to him with -the greatest kindness, but the Emperor, frowning, said: - -“Mademoiselle Fifi tells me she has a mind to marry you a week from -Thursday, and you are hanging back.” - -“Sire,” replied Cartouche, respectfully, but without the least fear, -“I am too old and ugly for Fifi, and I have a stiff leg. Your Majesty -knows what I say is true.” - -“No, I do not know it, and Cartouche, obey what I say to you. A week -from Thursday, or before, if Mademoiselle Fifi requires, you are to be -ready to marry her, and if you balk the least in the world I shall have -a sergeant and a file of soldiers to persuade you. Do you understand?” - -[Illustration--Fifi, Cartouche, Napoleon and Josephine] - -“Oh, Sire,” replied Cartouche, with shining eyes, “how good of your -Majesty to command me! For, otherwise, I never could have thought it -anything but wrong to tie Fifi to me for life. But one must obey the -Emperor.” - -“Yes,” cried Fifi, quite forgetting herself in her joy, “one must obey -the Emperor.” - -And then the Emperor kissed Fifi on the cheek, and pulled Cartouche’s -ear, saying to him: - -“You mutinous rascal, you would disobey your Emperor; but remember the -sergeant and the file of soldiers are ready when Mademoiselle Fifi -calls for them. So, good by, and good fortune to you both, and if -anything befalls you, you know where to find your Emperor.” - -The Empress gave Fifi her hand to kiss and said, smiling: - -“I shall not forget a little present for your wedding,” and Fifi and -Cartouche went away, the two happiest creatures in Paris. - -Fifi returned in the imperial carriage, and Cartouche returned on the -top of an omnibus, but each of them was in a heaven of his own. - -Fifi reached home first, and when Cartouche arrived she was hard at -work on a white bonnet for her wedding. - -“Cartouche,” she cried, as he opened the door, “there are a million -things to be done if we are to be married a week from next Thursday.” - -“I know it,” answered Cartouche, “and Fifi--you need not send for the -sergeant, I think.” - -Fifi threw herself into his arms. She was bubbling over with joy. -Cartouche’s saturnine face was more saturnine than ever. He kissed Fifi -solemnly, and broke away from her. It was too much joy for him. - -The preparations for their wedding were simple enough, as became an -insignificant actress and a poor actor, whose home was to be in two -little rooms very high up; for Fifi, having been bred under the tiles, -declined to come down lower, in spite of her improved fortunes. They -had a great many rehearsals at the theater, too, and Cartouche, as -stage manager, had lost none of his strictness, and ordered Fifi about -as peremptorily as if he were not to be married to her on Thursday. -Fifi obeyed him very sweetly and had a new humility toward him. - -All of their fellow actors showed them great good-will--even Julie -Campionet, who behaved in the most beautiful manner, considering what -provocation Fifi had long given her. Everybody connected with the -theater gave them a little present--poor and cheap enough, but rich -in kindness. Even the old woman who lighted the theater brought Fifi -a couple of pink candles for a wedding present, and Fifi thankfully -accepted them. - -Two days before the wedding came three splendid presents--a fine shawl -from the Empress, a watch from the Emperor and a purse from the Holy -Father. Fifi was charmed, and took up so much time at rehearsal in -exhibiting these gorgeous gifts that she failed to answer her cue, and -subjected herself to a fine, according to the rules of the theater, -which Cartouche rigorously exacted. - -Fifi worked so hard preparing for her wedding on the Thursday morning, -and her return to the stage on the Thursday evening, that the hours -flew as if on wings--and the day came almost before she knew it. - -The morning was fair and bright as only May mornings can be fair and -bright. Fifi and Cartouche, with Duvernet and Julie Campionet, now -completely reconciled with Fifi for a short time, walked to the -_mairie_ and then to the parish church, and were married hard and fast. -From thence they went to a cheap café to breakfast, and Duvernet, in -honor of the occasion, had a two-franc bouquet of violets on the table. -All of the waiters knew that two of the party were bride and groom, but -Cartouche was so solemn and silent, and Duvernet so gay and talkative, -that everybody supposed Duvernet the happy man and Cartouche the -disappointed suitor. - -It was then time for the rehearsal, which lasted nearly all the rest of -the day, Cartouche being unusually strict. When the curtain went up in -the evening never was there such an audience or so much money in the -Imperial Theater. The best seats were put at the unprecedented price of -two francs and a half, and Duvernet gnashed his teeth that he had not -made them three francs, so great was the crowd. The play was the famous -classical one in which Duvernet had worn the toga made of Fifi’s white -petticoat. This time he had a beautiful toga, bought at a sale of third -and fourth-hand theatrical wardrobes, and it had been washed by Julie -Campionet’s own hands. - -Everybody in the cast made a success. Even Cartouche as the wounded -Roman centurion of the Pretorian Guard, got several recalls, and he -was no great things of an actor. Duvernet covered himself with glory, -but all paled before Fifi’s triumph. Never was there such a thunder of -applause, such a tempest of curtain calls, such a storm of bravos. Fifi -palpitated with joy and pride. - -When at last the performance was over, and Cartouche and Fifi came out -of the theater into the dark street, under the quiet stars, Fifi said, -quite seriously: - -“Cartouche, my heart is troubled.” - -“Why, Fifi?” - -“Because I am not half good enough for you. I am only Fifi--you know -what I mean. I am ashamed that I am not something more and better than -merely Fifi.” - -And Cartouche, who was usually the most matter-of-fact fellow alive, -replied softly: - -“As if a rose should be ashamed of being only a rose!” - - - - - BY - MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL - - FRANCEZKA - - “A STORY OF YOUTH AND - SPLENDOR” - - ILLUSTRATED BY - HARRISON FISHER - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - -On page 233, mattrees has been changed to mattress. - -On page 226, love-making has been changed to lovemaking. - -All other spelling, hyphenation and languages other than English have -been left as typeset. - -The illustrations in the printed book had no captions; captions have -been added to this text to give the reader of a sense of their value. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORTUNES OF FIFI *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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