be there in two
hours to inspect the asylum, with the Nabob and a gentleman from the
Tuileries. He gave strict injunctions that everything should be ready
for their reception. The plan was formed so suddenly that he had not
had time to write; but he relied on M. Pondevez to make the necessary
arrangements.

"Deuce take him and his necessary arrangements! muttered Pondevez in
dismay. It was a critical situation. That momentous visit came at the
worst possible moment, when the system was rapidly going to pieces.
Poor Pompon, in dire perplexity, tugged at his beard and gnawed the
ends of it.

"Come, come," he said abruptly to Madame Polge, whose long face had
grown still longer between her false curls. "There is only one thing
for us to do. We must clear out the infirmary, carry all the sick ones
into the dormitory. They'll be no better nor worse for spending half a
day there. As for the scrofulous ones, we'll just put them out of
sight. They're too ugly, we won't show them. Come, off we go! all hands
on deck!"

The dinner-bell rang the alarm and everybody hurried to the spot.
Seamstresses, nurses, maid-servants, came running from every side,
jostling one another in the corridors, hurrying across the yards.
Orders flew hither and thither, and there was a great calling and
shouting; but above all the other noises soared the noise of a grand
scrubbing, of rushing water, as if Bethlehem had been surprised by a
conflagration. And the wailing of sick children torn from their warm
beds, all the whimpering little bundles carried through the damp park,
with a fluttering of bedclothes among the branches, strengthened the
impression of a fire. In two hours, thanks to the prodigious activity
displayed, the whole house from top to bottom was ready for the
impending visit, all the members of the staff at their posts, the fire
lighted in the stove, the goats scattered picturesquely through the
park. Madame Polge had put on her green dress, the manager's attire was
a little less slovenly than usual, but so simple as to exclude any idea
of premeditation. Let the Empress's secretary come!

And here he is.

He alights with Jenkins and Jansoulet from a magnificent carriage with
the Nabob's red and gold livery. Feigning the utmost astonishment,
Pondevez rushes forward to meet his visitors.

"Ah! Monsieur Jenkins, what an honor! What a surprise!"

Salutations are exchanged on the stoop, reverences, handshakings,
introductions. Jenki