l, and from him
to the bailiffs.

"I say, my girl," said Bourdin, approaching Rigolette, "as you do seem
to have the use of your senses, just make this good man hear reason,
will you? His child has just died. Well, that can't be helped now; but,
you see, he is a-keeping of us, because we're a-waiting to take him to
the debtors' prison, being sheriffs' officers, duly sworn in and
appointed. Tell him so!"

"Then it is true!" exclaimed the feeling girl.

"True? I should say it was and no mistake! Now, don't you see, while the
mother is busy with the dead babby--and, bless you! she's got it there,
hugging it up in bed, and won't part with it!--she won't notice us? So I
want the father to be off while she isn't thinking nothing about it!"

"Good God! Good God!" replied Rigolette, in deep distress; "what is to
be done?"

"Done? Why, pay the money, or go to prison! There is nothing between
them two ways. If you happen to have two or three thousand francs by you
you can oblige him with, why, shell out, and we'll be off, and glad
enough to be gone!"

"How can you," cried Rigolette, "be so barbarous as to make a jest of
such distress as this?"

"Well, then," rejoined the other man, "all joking apart, if you really
do wish to be useful, try to prevent the woman from seeing us take her
husband away. You will spare them both a very disagreeable ten minutes!"

Coarse as was this counsel, it was not destitute of good sense; and
Rigolette, feeling she could do nothing else, approached the bedside of
Madeleine, who, distracted by her grief, appeared unconscious of the
presence of Rigolette, as, gathering the children together, she knelt
with them beside their afflicted mother.

Meanwhile Morel, upon recovering from his temporary wildness, had sunk
into a state of deep and bitter reflections upon his present position,
which, now that his mind saw things through a calmer medium, only
increased the poignancy of his sufferings. Since the notary had
proceeded to such extremities, any hope from his mercy was vain. He felt
there was nothing left but to submit to his fate, and let the law take
its course.

"Are we ever to get off?" inquired Bourdin. "I tell you what, my man, if
you are not for marching, we must make you, that's all."

"I cannot leave these diamonds about in this manner,--my wife is half
distracted," cried Morel, pointing to the stones lying on his
work-table. "The person for whom I am polishing them will come to f