led him to the end of the corridor towards an apartment
which was blocked up with people.

He immediately recognised the two whatnots belonging to the office of
_L'Art Industriel_, her work-table, all her furniture. Heaped up at the
end of the room according to their respective heights, they formed a
long slope from the floor to the windows, and at the other sides of the
apartment, the carpets and the curtains hung down straight along the
walls. There were underneath steps occupied by old men who had fallen
asleep. At the left rose a sort of counter at which the auctioneer, in a
white cravat, was lightly swinging a little hammer. By his side a young
man was writing, and below him stood a sturdy fellow, between a
commercial traveller and a vendor of countermarks, crying out:
"Furniture for sale." Three attendants placed the articles on a table,
at the sides of which sat in a row second-hand dealers and old-clothes'
women. The general public at the auction kept walking in a circle behind
them.

When Frederick came in, the petticoats, the neckerchiefs, and even the
chemises were being passed on from hand to hand, and then given back.
Sometimes they were flung some distance, and suddenly strips of
whiteness went flying through the air. After that her gowns were sold,
and then one of her hats, the broken feather of which was hanging down,
then her furs, and then three pairs of boots; and the disposal by sale
of these relics, wherein he could trace in a confused sort of way the
very outlines of her form, appeared to him an atrocity, as if he had
seen carrion crows mangling her corpse. The atmosphere of the room,
heavy with so many breaths, made him feel sick. Madame Dambreuse offered
him her smelling-bottle. She said that she found all this highly
amusing.

The bedroom furniture was now exhibited. Maitre Berthelmot named a
price. The crier immediately repeated it in a louder voice, and the
three auctioneer's assistants quietly waited for the stroke of the
hammer, and then carried off the article sold to an adjoining apartment.
In this way disappeared, one after the other, the large blue carpet
spangled with camellias, which her dainty feet used to touch so lightly
as she advanced to meet him, the little upholstered easy-chair, in which
he used to sit facing her when they were alone together, the two screens
belonging to the mantelpiece, the ivory of which had been rendered
smoother by the touch of her hands, and a velvet