hat the back seat of the little
pony-carriage was unoccupied, he had, like a true artist, cleverly
seized the moment to give us a new proof of his talent in executing the
most brilliant of his former performances. In one jump he had placed his
fore-feet on the carriage, then, that done, he quietly continued
trotting on his two hind-legs. Bob, distracted, with his body thrown
over and his head thrown back, was making vain attempts to put the horse
back on his four legs.

"As to Mme. de Noriolis, she was so well frightened, that, letting the
reins drop from her hands, she had simply thrown herself in my arms. Her
adorable little head had rolled hap-hazard on my shoulder, and my lips
just touched her hair. With my left hand I tried to recover the reins,
with my right I supported Mme. de Noriolis; my leg hurt me frightfully,
and I was seized with a queer feeling of confusion.

"It was thus that Mme. de Noriolis made her first entry into La
Roche-Targe.

"When she returned there, one evening at midnight, six weeks later,
having during the day become Mme. de La Roche-Targe, she said:

"'What is life, after all? Nothing like this would have happened if you
hadn't bought the circus charger.'"

BLACKY

"Don't be alarmed, sir; you won't miss the train. For the last fifteen
years I've been carrying travellers to the station, and I've never yet
missed a train! Think of that, sir; never!"

"But--"

"Oh, don't look at your watch. There is one thing you don't know and
that you must learn, and that your watch will never be able to tell
you--that is, that the train is always a quarter of an hour late. Such a
thing as the train's being on time has never happened."

Such a thing happened that day, however, for the train was on time, and
so I missed it. My driver was furious.

"You should warn us," he said to the station-master, "if your trains are
suddenly going to start at the right hour. Who ever saw the like!"

And he turned to one or two of the porters for witnesses.

"Did you ever see such a thing? I don't wish to appear blamable before
the gentleman. A train on time--on time! You know it's the first time
it has ever happened."

There was a general cry of "Yes, indeed; usually there's some delay."
But, for all that, I had none the less three long hours to pass in a
very desolate village (in the Canton of Vaud) shut in by two sad-looking
mountains, which had their little topknots covered with snow.

But how k