her
offer, at which he was much amused, and at which he laughed heartily;
but that only made her more obstinate, and she said: "Very well, then, I
shall take it to your house immediately. Where do you live?"

He refused to give her his address, but she got it from the shop-keeper,
and when she had paid for her purchase, she ran out to take a cab. The
writer went after her, as he did not wish to accept a present for which
he could not possibly account. He reached her just as she was jumping
into the vehicle, and getting in after her, he almost fell onto her, and
then tumbled onto the bottom of the cab as it started. He picked himself
up, however, and sat down by her side, feeling very much annoyed.

It was no good for him to insist and to beg her; she showed herself
intractable, and when they got to the door, she stated her conditions.
"I will undertake not to leave this with you," she said, "if you will
promise to do all I want to-day." And the whole affair seemed so funny
to him that he agreed. "What do you generally do at this time?" she
asked him; and after hesitating for a few moments, he replied: "I
generally go for a walk." "Very well, then, we will go to the _Bois de
Boulogne_!" she said, in a resolute voice, and they started.

He was obliged to tell her the names of all the well-known women, pure
or impure, with every detail about them; their life, their habits, their
private affairs, and their vices; and when it was getting dusk, she said
to him: "What do you do every day at this time?" "I have some absinthe,"
he replied, with a laugh. "Very well, then, Monsieur," she went on,
seriously, "let us go and have some absinthe."

They went into a large _cafe_ on the boulevard which he frequented, and
where he met some of his colleagues, whom he introduced to her. She was
half mad with pleasure, and she kept saying to herself: "At last! At
last!" But time went on, and she observed that she supposed it must be
about his dinner time, and she suggested that they should go and dine.
When they left _Bignon's_, after dinner, she wanted to know what he did
in the evening, and looking at her fixedly, he replied: "That depends;
sometimes I go to the theater." "Very well, then, Monsieur; let us go to
the theater."

They went to the Vaudeville with an order, thanks to him, and, to her
great pride, the whole house saw her sitting by his side, in the balcony
stalls.

When the play was over, he gallantly kissed her hand, and