enevolence, this handsome young girl received me, so poor, and so
unfortunate. It does not astonish me, for she is attached to the person
of Mdlle. de Cardoville. She must be worthy to reside with Agricola's
benefactress. It will always be dear and pleasant to me to remember
her name. It is graceful and pretty as her face; it is Florine. I am
nothing, I have nothing--but if the fervent prayers of a grateful heart
might be heard, Mdlle. Florine would be happy, very happy. Alas! I am
reduced to say prayers for her--only prayers--for I can do nothing but
remember and love her!"

These lines, expressing so simply the sincere gratitude of the
hunchback, gave the last blow to Florine's hesitations. She could no
longer resist the generous temptation she felt. As she read these last
fragments of the journal, her affection and respect for Mother Bunch
made new progress. More than ever she felt how infamous it was in her
to expose to sarcasms and contempt the most secret thoughts of this
unfortunate creature. Happily, good is often as contagious as evil.
Electrified by all that was warm, noble, and magnanimous in the pages
she had just read, Florine bathed her failing virtue in that pure and
vivifying source, and, yielding, at last to one of those good impulses
which sometimes carried her away, she left the room with the manuscript
in her hand, determined, if Mother Bunch had not yet returned, to
replace it--resolved to tell Rodin that, this second time, her search
for the journal had been vain, the sempstress having no doubt discovered
the first attempt.

(26) In the Ruche Populaire, a working man's organ, are the following
particulars:

"Carding Mattresses.--The dust which flies out of the wool makes carding
destructive to health in any case, but trade adulterations enhance the
danger. In sticking sheep, the skin gets blood-spotted; it has to be
bleached to make it salable. Lime is the main whitener, and some of it
clings to the wool after the process. The dresser (female, most often)
breathes in the fine dust, and, by lung and other complaints, is far
from seldom deplorably situated; the majority sicken of it and give up
the trade, while those who keep to it, at the very least, suffer with a
catarrh or asthma that torments them until death.

"As for horsehair, the very best is not pure. You can judge what the
inferior quality is, from the workgirls calling it vitriol hair, because
it is the refuse or clippings from goats a