with me.

"So, every Saturday, when work was over, I had thirty sous to carry home
to mother; and tired though I was, I walked merrily the two leagues to
our village, to see her again. On the road there was a great wood to
pass through, and this frightened me; for if a thief should come and rob
me of my whole week's earnings, what could a poor lone girl do to help
herself? But I found a remedy for this too, and no thieves ever came
near me; I used to begin saying my prayers as I entered the forest, and
never stopped until I was safe at home; and safe I always arrived, with
my thirty sons in my pocket. Ah! you may be sure, Sunday was a merry day
for us all."

This is the whole of Beatrice's history which is worthy of publication;
the rest of it only relates to her arrival in Paris, and the various
masters and mistresses whom she there had the honor to serve. As soon
as she enters the capital the romance disappears, and the poor girl's
sufferings and privations luckily vanish with it. Beatrice has got now
warm gowns, and stout shoes, and plenty of good food. She has had her
little brother from Picardy; clothed, fed, and educated him: that young
gentleman is now a carpenter, and an honor to his profession. Madame
Merger is in easy circumstances, and receives, yearly, fifty francs from
her daughter. To crown all, Mademoiselle Beatrice herself is a funded
proprietor, and consulted the writer of this biography as to the best
method of laying out a capital of two hundred francs, which is the
present amount of her fortune.

God bless her! she is richer than his Grace the Duke of Devonshire; and,
I dare say, has, in her humble walk, been more virtuous and more happy
than all the dukes in the realm.

It is, indeed, for the benefit of dukes and such great people (who, I
make no doubt, have long since ordered copies of these Sketches), that
poor little Beatrice's story has been indited. Certain it is, that the
young woman would never have been immortalized in this way, but for the
good which her betters may derive from her example. If your ladyship
will but reflect a little, after boasting of the sums which you spend
in charity; the beef and blankets which you dole out at Christmas;
the poonah-painting which you execute for fancy fairs; the long,
long sermons which you listen to at St. George's, the whole year
through;--your ladyship, I say, will allow that, although perfectly
meritorious in your line, as a patroness of the C