that has cost
many a husband dear!

On her side, Madame Leon proudly showed her dear young lady a very
pretty present which Madame de Fondege had given her. "So money is no
longer lacking in this household," thought Mademoiselle Marguerite, all
the more confirmed in her suspicions.

The General came in a little later, accompanied by a friend, and
Marguerite soon discovered that the worthy man had spent the day as
profitably as his wife. He too was quite tired out; and he had reason to
be fatigued. First, he had purchased the horses belonging to the ruined
spendthrift, and he had paid five thousand francs for them, a mere
trifle for such animals. Less than an hour after the purchase he had
refused almost double that amount from a celebrated connoisseur in
horse-flesh, M. de Breulh-Faverlay. This excellent speculation had put
him in such good humor that he had been unable to resist the temptation
of purchasing a beautiful saddle-horse, which they let him have for a
hundred louis. He had not been foolish, for he was sure that he could
sell the animal again at an advance of a thousand francs whenever he
wished to do so. "So," remarked his friend, "if you bought such a horse
every day, you would make three hundred and sixty-five thousand francs a
year."

Was this only a jest--one of those witticisms which people who boast
of wonderful bargains must expect to parry, or had the remark a more
serious meaning? Marguerite could not determine. One thing is certain,
the General did not lose his temper, but gayly continued his account of
the way in which he had spent his time. Having purchased the horses, his
next task was to find a carriage, and he had heard of a barouche which
a Russian prince had ordered but didn't take, so that the builder was
willing to sell it at less than cost price; and to recoup this worthy
man, the General had purchased a brougham as well. He had, moreover,
hired stabling in the Rue Pigalle, only a few steps from the house, and
he expected a coachman and a groom the following morning.

"And all this will cost us less than the miserable vehicle we have been
hiring by the year," observed Madame de Fondege, gravely. "Oh, I know
what I say. I've counted the cost. What with gratuities and extras, it
costs us now fully a thousand francs a month, and three horses and a
coachman won't cost you more. And what a difference! I shall no longer
be obliged to blush for the skinny horses the stable-keeper sends me,