the pleasures of the table. I hope to eat champignons every day, they are
better here than anywhere else."

"An excellent plan. I couldn't suggest a better. I am going to see what I
can do in the way of getting you a maid, mademoiselle."

"You sir? How can I deserve such great kindness?"

"My interest in you is the greater, as I think you come from Marseilles."

Rosalie blushed. She was not aware that she lisped, and that this
betrayed her. I extricated her from her confusion by telling the marquis
his conjecture was well founded.

I asked him how I could get the Journal de Savans, the Mercure de France,
and other papers of the same description. He promised to send me a man
who would get me all that kind of thing. He added that if I would allow
him to send me some of his excellent chocolate he would come and
breakfast with us. I said that both gift and guest were vastly agreeable
to me.

As soon as he had gone Rosalie asked me to take her to a milliner's.

"I want ribbons and other little things," said she, "but I should like to
bargain for them and pay for them out of my own money, without your
having anything to do with it."

"Do whatever you like, my dear, and afterwards we will go to the play."

The milliner to whom we went proved to be a Frenchwoman. It was a
charming sight to see Rosalie shopping. She put on an important air,
seemed to know all about it, ordered bonnets in the latest fashion,
bargained, and contrived to spend five or six louis with great grandeur.
As we left the shop I told her that I had been taken for her footman, and
I meant to be revenged. So saying, I made her come into a jeweller's,
where I bought her a necklace, ear-rings, and brooches in imitation
diamonds, and without letting her say a word I paid the price and left
the shop.

"You have bought me some beautiful things," said she, "but you are too
lavish with your money; if you had bargained you might have saved four
louis at least."

"Very likely, dearest, but I never was any hand at a bargain."

I took her to the play, but as she did not understand the language she
got dreadfully tired, and asked me to take her home at the end of the
first act, which I did very willingly. When we got in I found a box
waiting for me from M. Grimaldi. It proved to contain twenty-four pounds
of chocolate. Costa, who had boasted of his skill in making chocolate in
the Spanish fashion, received orders to make us three cups in the
morning.

At