easant maiden! You can see the pins gleaming in her hair. She is
laughing very heartily."

He still leaned towards her, her cool breath playing on his cheek.
Till now no confession had escaped them; preserving silence, their
intimacy had only been marred for a few days past by a vague sensation
of discomfort. But amidst these bursts of happy laughter, gazing upon
the little folks before her, Helene became once more, in sooth, a very
child, surrendering herself to her feelings, while Henri's breath beat
warm upon her neck. The whacks from the cudgel, now louder than ever,
filled her with a quiver which inflated her bosom, and she turned
towards him with sparkling eyes.

"Good heavens! what nonsense it all is!" she said each time. "See how
they hit one another!"

"Oh! their heads are hard enough!" he replied, trembling.

This was all his heart could find to say. Their minds were fast
lapsing into childhood once more. Punch's unedifying life was
fostering languor within their breasts. When the drama drew to its
close with the appearance of the devil, and the final fight and
general massacre ensued, Helene in leaning back pressed against
Henri's hand, which was resting on the back of her arm-chair; while
the juvenile audience, shouting and clapping their hands, made the
very chairs creak with their enthusiasm.

The red curtain dropped again, and the uproar was at its height when
Malignon's presence was announced by Pauline, in her customary style:
"Ah! here's the handsome Malignon!"

He made his way into the room, shoving the chairs aside, quite out of
breath.

"Dear me! what a funny idea to close the shutters!" he exclaimed,
surprised and hesitating. "People might imagine that somebody in the
house was dead." Then, turning towards Madame Deberle, who was
approaching him, he continued: "Well, you can boast of having made me
run about! Ever since the morning I have been hunting for Perdiguet;
you know whom I mean, my singer fellow. But I haven't been able to lay
my hands on him, and I have brought you the great Morizot instead."

The great Morizot was an amateur who entertained drawing-rooms by
conjuring with juggler-balls. A gipsy table was assigned to him, and
on this he accomplished his most wonderful tricks; but it all passed
off without the spectators evincing the slightest interest. The poor
little darlings were pulling serious faces; some of the tinier mites
fell fast asleep, sucking their thumbs. The older