acting a very stupid, and, moreover, difficult part, for this woman was
maddening in her perfidy, inflamed by audacity, palpitating and excited.
Let the man who has never felt on his lips, the warm kiss of a woman who
is ready to give herself to him, throw the first stone at me ...

"... Well, a minute more ... you understand what I mean? A minute more
and ... I should have been ... no, she would have been ... I beg your
pardon, he would have been!... when a loud noise made us both jump up.
The log had fallen into the room, knocking over the fire-irons and the
fender, and onto the carpet which it had scorched, and had rolled under
an arm-chair, which it would certainly set alight.

"I jumped up like a madman, and as I was replacing that log which had
saved me, on the fire, the door opened hastily, and Julien came in.

"'I have done,' he said, in evident pleasure. 'The business was over two
hours sooner than I expected!'

"Yes, my dear friend, without that log, I should have been caught in the
very act, and you know what the consequences would have been!

"You may be sure that I took good care never to be overtaken in a
similar situation again; never, never. Soon afterwards I saw that Julien
was giving me the 'cold shoulder,' as they say. His wife was evidently
undermining our friendship; by degrees he got rid of me, and we have
altogether ceased to meet.

"I have not got married which ought not to surprise you, I think."

MARGOT'S TAPERS

I

Margot Fresquyl had allowed herself to be tempted for the first time by
the delicious intoxication of the mortal sin of loving, on the evening
of Midsummer Day.

While most of the young people were holding each others' hands and
dancing in a circle round the burning logs, the girl had slyly taken the
deserted road which led to the wood, leaning on the arm of her partner,
a tall, vigorous farm servant, whose Christian name was Tiennou, which,
by the way, was the only name he had borne from his birth. For he was
entered on the register of births with this curt note: _Father and
mother unknown_; he having been found on St. Stephen's Day under a shed
on a farm, where some poor, despairing wretch had abandoned him, perhaps
even without turning her head round to look at him.

For months Tiennou had madly worshiped that fair, pretty girl, who was
now trembling as he clasped her in his arms, under the sweet coolness of
the leaves. He religiously rememberd how she had da