quaintance, and crying "O,
look!" to each other, when they saw anything beyond common. I had enough
to do, I assure you, to steer a straight course; and M. Bourdinave
observing it, remarked that he hoped I should be equally vigilant in
steering a straight course through life, which made me cry "Ay, ay,
sir," and set me thinking.

When the road became a little quieter, I heard him and my father
discussing the price of cocoons, the superiority of good cocoons to
cocalons, dupions, and soufflons; which last, I need not tell you, are
very imperfect cocoons; dupions have two threads, and confuse one with
another; and pointed cocoons are apt to break in the winding. But all
these, as you know, are turned to account by the silk-spinner, and
worked up into stockings, sewing-silk, and handkerchiefs. But the good
cocoons that yield a strong, thick, compact filament, are appropriated
by the silk-throwsters.

But this trade-talk was interrupted by cries of amused delight from
the women, and on looking about to see what tickled their fancies, they
pointed out to us a most extraordinary figure, standing bolt upright
in a cart. He was tall and meagre, and wore a long black robe and tall
pointed cap, both of which appeared spangled with silver; instead of
which, they were studded with steel buttons, needles, and pins, of which
he was an itinerant vendor. I believe the women would have purchased
largely of him, had my father let me stop.

Next we came up with a little house upon wheels, drawn by a sorry horse,
and on the wooden wall of the said house was depicted, many sizes larger
than life, a great human tooth, with bleeding fangs. Beneath was an
inscription that the owner of the cart was a traveling dentist, who drew
teeth without the least pain.

Alice, the maid, had instantly a great desire to let him draw a
troublesome tooth of hers which, she took pains to assure us, was not
impaired by natural decay, but only accidentally broken in cracking
a cherry-stone. "The edge is so rough," said she, "that it hurts my
tongue; and since this honest gentleman can extract it painlessly,
I have a great mind to try his hand."

"Plenty of time for that when we get to Beaucaire," said M. Bourdinave.
"Sure, you would not have a tooth drawn in the middle of the high road?"

"Truly, I should not mind it, inside that nice little wooden house,"
said she.

But no, she was not allowed to do so; and, to console her, Madeleine
uncovered a little