Year: 1874




possible; but all he has get for his pain,
was crack from the yellow parasol
whereupon he said no more, but mar
shaled us i'm two lines and took us al
back to school.


In the evening after study hours there
was grand commotion in the school
l can assure you. We had been called
reptiles, and every body knows that rep
tiles are the hardest things in the world
to swallow. We decided unanimously
that we would not stand being called
such names; but how could we avenge
ourselves? We did not know who the
woman was who had insulted us. There
was the question TO be settled first of all
Perhaps Anatole Clermont could tell us.
He was the oldest boy in school, and
went into company and even to balls in
the grand world, it was said, and he wore
an eye-glass and gloves with two buttons
So it was decided that the next day we
would pass note to Anatole; and the
next day at the morning class Adhemar
wrote the note and gave it to Victor, tell.
ing him to pass it up; Victor passed it to
George, who passed it to Robert, who
passed it to Paul, and so on. Meantime
the professor was reading a page OF
Caesars Commentaries aloud to the class,
and noticed nothing. From hand to
hand, from bench to bench, the note
went through the class, and reached its
destination at last. The oldest boy took
up his eye-glass, read our question, wrote
few words, and then passed the note to
Paul, who passed it to Robert, when sud-
denly the professor stopped reading.


"Monsieur Robert" he said, in his
cracked little sqeaky voice, "do me the
kindness to bring me the paper some one
has just given to you."


Paper, Sir! what paper?" inquired
Robert, looking very much astonished
and very innocent.


But the professor came down from
his chair, seized Robert, forced open his
hand, and took away the note.


At that we were terribly scared. If
the professor read the note to himself we
would have been dished, but, fortunately
for us, the force of habit impelled him
read it out loud, just as if he was reading
Caesars Commentaries. First, Adhemar's
question, "Who and what is Madame
Rose Topaze, who has the green dog, and
lives on the Avenue Montespan?
Thereupon the professor kept the whole
class in all recess, but we did not care
for that; We had learned all we wanted to
know.


That very day, by majority Of seven
teen votes to twelve, we decided that we
would avenge ourselves by contempt.


But" said Pierre, little fellow who
is not a fool by any means, how is she
to know that we despise her"


"We will send and tell her." we
answered. "One of lis will go to her
house next holiday, and will say to her,
. Madame, you called us reptiles, but the
reptiles know now what sort of woman
you are, and they despise your"


Very good" answered Pierre but
how will he manage to get to see her
Don't you know that you ought to have
money, great deal of money, or else
you will not be be received?"


Well" said Victor, who was furious
at her OH account of the pokes she had
given him with her parasol, off money
is all that is wanting, we will have it,"


So we made up pool, with tickets at
ten sous each, in order to discourage no
body; every body who wished to CO.
operate with the general vengeance was to
take one, and then we were to draw lots,
and the boy who got the money
was to go to Madame Rose Topaze, and
tell her the opinion of the whole
school. This proposition was adopted;
the pool produced twenty-four francs
and half, and when the lots were drawn
l was the boy who was designated as
being the one to 60 and speak for the
school.


1t was not business that liked one
bit; assure you that the idea did not
amuse me ut all. But / took the twenty
seven francs and half, and promised
that would do it, though all the time l
had a sneaking notion that would never
dare to go at all. For, you see, to say,
Madame, we despise YOU" among the
boys or quite into ones self is one thing,
and to go tell it right out to a woman's
face-ah, that is quite another. Besides,
/ remembered the yellow parasol and the
green dOg-and altogether l was not
happy in my mind at the thought of the
affair was to undertake.


So our first halfholiday came, and, as
mamma. All the boys got round me as |
went off, and kept saying, Don't forget,
Louis, Avenue Montespan look out for
the green dog, Louis; tip her the reptiles
strong, old fellow, say," until did not
know which way to look. For after all,
it was sneaking piece of work, don't
you see, to take charge of the poor fel-
lows money, and then to disappoint
them. Besides which, it would not be
pleasant to have to walk back with the
money and say, Here, boys, take back
the twenty-seven francs and the ten sous,
for / did not dare to go; / was afraid"
It is an ugly thing to say-that last word
is-and yet it was true; so j was in q
bad fix, whichever way took it.


But when got to the house forgot all
about Madame Rose Topaze and the rep
tiles and the twenty-seven francs and
half. For my godmamma looked, oh, so
badly! so changed from what she had
been just short time before She was
sadder than ever-and goodness knows
she had been sad enough beforehand her
pretty brown eyes, that used to think
were like diamonds laid on brown velvet
(they were so bright and yet 80 soft), had
grown half as big again. Her cheeks
had lost all their nice pink color, and
there were black circles around her eyes;
and though she smiled when she kissed
me and called me her dear little Louis,
there was something in her smile that
made me more sorry than if had seen
her crying. As soon as were alone to-
gether threw my arms around her neck,
and begged her to tell me what was the
matter.


"Godmamma," said /, "there is some
thing worrying you dreadfully, / can see
You think am little boy, but you are
mistaken. lam quite man, and if you
would only tell me what IL is that is
troubling you, I would soon put a stopto
it,"


She kissed me again once, twice,
thrice-very softly and gently, as if she
loved me very much indeed, but she
would not answer me, and all of sud
den she burst out crying. But in min
ute she dried her eyes and smiled again.
in the same sort of mOurnftl way. and