D.
 
 PIERRETTE
 
 BY MISS BOUVET. 
 
 A LITTLE HOUSE IN PIML1CO. Small 4 to. Illus 
 trated. $1.25. 
 
 PIERRETTE. Small 4 to. Illustrated. $1.00. 
 
 A CHILD OF TUSCANY. Small 410. Illustrated. $1.25. 
 
 MY LADY: A Story of Long Ago. i6mo. Illustrated. 
 $1.25. 
 
 LITTLE MARJORIE S LOVE STORY. Small 4 to. 
 Illustrated. $1.00. 
 
 PRINCE TIP TOP. A Fairy Tale. Small 4 to. Illus 
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 SWEET WILLIAM. Small 4 to. Illustrated. $1.25. 
 
 A. C. McCLURG AND CO., CHICAGO.
 
 " There is something I have wanted to ask you about for a 
 long time."
 
 PIERRETTE 
 
 BY 
 
 MARGUERITE BOUVET 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "A CHILD OF TUSCANY," "MY LADY," "SWEET WILLIAM, 
 
 "LITTLE MARJORIE S LOVE STORY," "PRINCE 
 
 TIP TOP," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 WILL PHILLIP HOOPER 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 
 1899
 
 COPYRIGHT 
 
 BY A. C. MCCLURG AND CO. 
 
 A. D. 1896. 
 
 All rights reserved.
 
 V *?,- "^>t^ 1 "** 4^ .^ |I V tV^t QltiSftft * 
 
 **". ^ v *>*- sl "-> <- .V* -^" oV 
 
 Illustrated 
 
 \f\\\ Philliis Hooper
 
 STACK 
 ANNEX 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 sure ive have done, if only half done, 
 The good / was ours to do ? 
 
 Hate have we conquered, and by love have we won, 
 Aye, won our enemy, toof" 
 
 VICTOR HUGO.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 " One evening Pierrette and her mother sat together 
 
 beside the window " 19 
 
 " Here is a piece of work that once belonged to the 
 
 Countess of B. " 37 
 
 " Ah, le monstre ! " 47 
 
 "She was just emerging from the big stone portal, 
 
 with her precious bundle in her arms " ... 55 
 
 " Even grumbling old Jeanneton said, when she came 
 in, that it was as if a sunbeam had entered her 
 room " 71 
 
 " Elize and Pierrette had been obliged to stand a 
 
 little aloof on account of the crowd " . . . . 83 
 
 " There is something I have wanted to ask you about 
 
 for a long time "" 97 
 
 " I know, I know, Monsieur, and I thank you in my 
 
 heart" 115 
 
 " As if all the airy sprites she had heard of in the 
 old fairy-book were dancing by her in gay 
 procession" 123 
 
 " They walked down the shady avenue " .... 131
 
 xii PIERRETTE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " He was obliged to have a serious tussle with Joy- 
 
 of-My-heart" 149 
 
 " But, Madame, he said in a feeble voice of apol 
 ogy, I do not understand ! " 161 
 
 " Look, look, petite mere, it is a Christmas basket " 1 73 
 
 " Ah, Madame, she said, tremulously, you make 
 
 me very happy ! " 185 
 
 " Pierrette did as she was bidden, and laid the cool, 
 
 wet cloth on the old man s head " 193
 
 PIERRETTE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 How was it that she had found her way into 
 that gloomy, narrow, crowded, noisy quarter of 
 the Luxembourg, that busy section of Paris 
 where the people are for the most part poor, 
 and must live all huddled up together in great 
 dismal houses, and have to labor very hard to 
 earn their meagre living! In that vast human 
 bee-hive where every one, child as well as man 
 or woman, has some art or trade at which he 
 toils for the glory and fame of his dear city ! 
 
 One would scarcely have expected to find 
 such a bright, pretty little creature as Pierrette 
 hidden away there under a high attic set in
 
 1 4- PIERRETTE. 
 
 the irregular roofs of one of the oldest houses 
 in old Paris. Yet I am not sure that these 
 humble surroundings did not serve the better to 
 set forth her fresh young beauty, her gentle 
 little graces, and the sunny nature that made 
 the dingy garret seem a home instead of a 
 prison, for a little light often shines brightest 
 in dark places. Pierrette had no recollection 
 of any other home. She could remember no 
 other days than those which she had spent with 
 " Petite Mere " in the little room under the 
 peaked roof of the old house. She was very 
 young when she was brought to it, and she 
 had grown up there contented, like a young 
 pigeon in a very small cote, never dreaming of 
 the wonders and splendors of the great city in 
 which she lived. 
 
 But the " Little Mother," who was all alone 
 in the world now save for Pierrette, could 
 remember a happier time, when she had had 
 her own little home in pretty Meudon, in the 
 beautiful open country, with a broad expanse 
 of sunshine and sky overhead, and an abun 
 dance of sweet air and flowers, and a kind 
 husband to love and care for her; and it was
 
 PIERRETTE. 15 
 
 very hard now to live in this wretched way 
 after having once known happiness and peace, 
 to sit beside her high window in the daytime, 
 and beside her lamp at night, working with 
 weary fingers and straining eyes at some bit of 
 fine lace for which she received scarcely enough 
 to keep herself and Pierrette from starving. 
 
 She was young, and knew very little of the 
 ways of the great world when she had been left 
 a widow, and she had thought, like many others, 
 that her only chance of earning a decent liveli 
 hood was in coming to Paris. To Paris, alas ! 
 that great refuge of struggling human beings. 
 She did not know what life was to the poor in a 
 great city; she could not foresee the loneliness, 
 the disappointments, the trials and hardships 
 she would have to endure. She had only seen 
 Paris from without, as it seems to all those who 
 first look upon its beauty, gay, brilliant, smil 
 ing and beckoning, promising many things. 
 And she had sold what little she possessed, and 
 come to this fair haven alone with her little 
 daughter, but full of hope and courage. 
 
 She was very deft with her fingers, as are 
 most of the women of France, and she had
 
 1 6 PIERRETTE. 
 
 learned the art of making beautiful laces from 
 rare old patterns, and she knew that in Paris 
 there were many people who paid large sums of 
 money for the lovely work, and that many 
 workers were employed by the big merchants 
 who supplied the luxurious wants and caprices of 
 the rich world. But the city was very crowded 
 when she came to live in it, for there were 
 nearly two millions of people there already, who 
 were trying to do just what she wanted to do, 
 to earn a few sous by their handiwork; and she 
 felt almost lost in that struggling, toiling multi 
 tude. They had to live very poorly, for their 
 resources were small and were soon exhausted ; 
 and many days and weeks went by before any 
 one came to offer them any work. 
 
 Ah, what despairing days those were for the 
 poor little mother, as she sat in the miserable 
 little room, her arms clasped about Pierrette, 
 weeping and asking God what was to become of 
 them ! Pierrette was too young to understand 
 or realize what they were suffering, and that 
 was indeed a blessing; but, young as she was, 
 she was a comfort to the little mother. For her 
 the young widow prayed and lived; without
 
 PIERRETTE. I/ 
 
 her life would hardly have been worth the effort 
 she was making to keep it going. The child s 
 very ignorance was a blessing, and her innocent 
 smiles and unconscious childish prattle cheered 
 many long and weary days of waiting. 
 
 They had been living in Paris now nearly five 
 years, living a life that would have seemed 
 miserable to many, for there was but little food 
 and scanty clothing, and scarcely any fire in the 
 wintry season, and no fresh, cool air in the hot 
 summer. Yet the little garret room under the 
 eaves had during that time grown to be their 
 home, and they had learned to care for it in 
 spite of its poverty; because it held all that was 
 most precious to them in the world, and that 
 was each other. 
 
 It was a bare little room enough, and dismal 
 enough, when the sun happened to be shining 
 on the other side of the house, or not at all, for 
 it had but one small square window; but there 
 were a few pale flowers doing their best to 
 bloom in bits of broken china that stood on its 
 ledge, and an old vine had crept up between 
 the stones from ever so far down below in the 
 street, as if purposely to keep them company,
 
 1 8 PIERRETTE. 
 
 and a golden canary hung in a cage above this 
 bit of verdure and sang merrily, all the day: all 
 of which showed that there was a gentle spirit 
 reigning there. The walls were dingy and dis 
 colored with age, and the floor was made of 
 chill gray stone, and what few necessities they 
 had were of the plainest kind; but everything 
 was well kept and exquisitely neat, for though 
 the little mother was poor, and a daughter of 
 the people, she was of the people of France, 
 who by some inborn, unconscious grace are able 
 to soften the cruel edges of necessity, and to 
 make poverty seem less hideous with them than 
 it is anywhere else in the world. 
 
 One evening Pierrette and her mother sat 
 together beside the window. It was too early 
 to light the lamp, and yet too dark to see the 
 fallen stitches in the lace that she was mending, 
 and the young woman lay back in her chair 
 with her eyes closed and her work in her lap, 
 enjoying one of those rare idle moments that 
 are so precious to weary workers. Pierrette 
 nestled closer and looked questioningly at the 
 pale young face. 
 
 " You are very tired, petite mere, let me
 
 One evening; Pierrette and her mother sat together beside 
 the window."
 
 PIERRETTE. 2 1 
 
 stroke your pretty head, and perhaps you will 
 fall asleep." 
 
 " Ah, that must not be until night comes, my 
 Pierrette ; the work must be finished first, and 
 if Pere Michel is pleased, and pays us our 
 money, we shall be sure of a dinner to-morrow, 
 and shall sleep all the better for it to-night," 
 said the little mother, with a smile. 
 
 " It is very bad of people to tear their laces 
 and take them to Pere Michel for you to mend. 
 I wish they would not do so any more," said 
 the child. 
 
 " Not so, my little Pierrette ; we must be 
 very grateful to them for taking the lace to 
 Pere Michel, otherwise there would be nothing 
 for us to do. It would be a sad time for us if 
 the rich people gave us no work." 
 
 " But the mending is tedious and hurts your 
 eyes, petite mere." 
 
 " Yes, it is hard to darn up the holes, and to 
 make them look like the rest ; and I could take 
 more pleasure in setting up a beautiful new 
 piece from one of the lovely patterns that I 
 have. But we must not complain as long as we 
 can earn a few sous. We are not so poorly off
 
 22 PIERRETTE. 
 
 as we might be, not so poorly off as old Jean- 
 neton, who is sick and who has no little girl to 
 comfort her, are we, Pierrette? " 
 
 " Oh, no, maman, we are not unhappy like 
 poor Jeanneton ; but then she is old and cross 
 and ugly, and you will never be old and ugly 
 like her. You are a sweet, pretty mother, and 
 of course you are never cross," and she stroked 
 the delicate hand that lay in hers. " Is it 
 not always the cross, bad people who are 
 unhappy? " 
 
 " Not always, dear; it is more often because 
 of their misfortunes that people grow cross and 
 ill-tempered ; but we all have a great deal to do 
 with our own happiness. It is safest to be 
 good, and to do the duty that God sends us to 
 do, and happiness will surely follow at some 
 time," said the little mother, who had a gentle, 
 pious nature, and whose faith alone had upheld 
 her through all her tribulations. 
 
 " That is what you always say, petite mere. 
 I should think that sometime would come 
 very soon for you ; for you are so good, so 
 good that even old Jeanneton calls you a saint." 
 
 The young mother bent down and kissed
 
 PIERRETTE. 23 
 
 Pierrette. To that tender little creature, it was 
 reward enough for all her goodness and self- 
 sacrifice that her dear Pierrette should love and 
 trust her so much. The thought that a little 
 child, innocent of all this world s wrongs, looks 
 to us for every good, and takes us for its model 
 of every virtue, has served to ennoble and 
 strengthen many of us when we might otherwise 
 have been cowardly and weak. 
 
 "Now, little mother dear, you must soon 
 teach me to do the mending; and then perhaps 
 I can do all of Pere Michel s work, and you need 
 only stitch at the beautiful new pieces." 
 
 "Not yet, my Pierrette; you are still too 
 young to do such work. You would not do it 
 well, perhaps, and Pere Michel would scold us. 
 You know how vexed he is if there is a thread 
 loose anywhere. You must be content to at 
 tend to your little duties at home ; and that is as 
 much help as you can give me for the present." 
 
 Secretly, the little mother had a dread of 
 Pierrette s beginning at her tender age to work 
 for wages as if she were obliged to earn her 
 own living. She had seen so many children in 
 the neighborhood, scarcely older than Pierrette,
 
 24 PIERRETTE. 
 
 with tired, careworn faces, bending at some 
 trade or other, perhaps till late in the night ; 
 and it seemed a terrible thing to her that a 
 child should know no childhood because of 
 poverty and want. She had striven hard that 
 Pierrette should never know such hardships ; 
 she cherished a hidden thought that somehow, 
 at some time, she did not exactly explain to 
 herself in what way, something would happen 
 that would bring about a change in Pierrette s 
 life, a change for something brighter and hap 
 pier than they had ever known. She felt, like 
 the fond little mother that she was, that Pier 
 rette was unlike other children whom she knew. 
 She was gentler, more thoughtful and more 
 loving. Her quiet, simple life had rendered 
 her not old and unchildlike, but sweetly serious 
 and reasonable, so that she and the young 
 mother were like companions, having no thoughts 
 apart from one another. 
 
 Pierrette rose at once and lighted the little 
 oil-lamp, for it had grown quite dark while they 
 sat talking. She drew the small round table 
 into the middle of the room, and set the light 
 upon it, and her mother s working chair close
 
 PIERRETTE. 25 
 
 beside it, ready for the evening s work. Then 
 she went about the room, like a little housewife, 
 closing the curtains, and covering the canary, 
 and stirring up the embers of the scanty fire 
 in the hollow of the old chimney. 
 
 The evenings were long, for it was just in the 
 fall of the year, when Paris looks very gray and 
 bleak after the sun has gone down, and when a 
 raw chill wind howls fiercely down the gables 
 of the old houses in the quarter of the Luxem 
 bourg, and when every man feels that his own 
 fireside, however plain and humble it may be, is 
 assuredly the best place to be in at that hour. 
 Pierrette and her maman made a very comfortable 
 and pleasing picture as they sat together under 
 the rosy glow of the lamp, the young mother 
 bending over her work, and the little girl prepar 
 ing her needles, or holding her frame and watch 
 ing intently the progress of every stitch. For 
 Pierrette s maman was in truth all that the child 
 had said of her, a sweet, tender, lovely little wo 
 man. She had no riches to set ofif her still girlish 
 beauty ; but her slender figure was graceful in 
 her neat black gown, and her pretty head and 
 throat rose like a flower from the folds of her
 
 26 PIERRETTE. 
 
 white kerchief. She had large gray eyes that 
 were both mild and fearless, and an abundance 
 of soft brown hair that waved of its own fancy 
 about her white temples, a sensitive mouth, and 
 the sweetest smile in the world, at least, so 
 Pierrette thought. And the little girl was 
 remarkably like her. 
 
 What wonder, then, that these two young 
 creatures were at peace and even happy, happy 
 in a little garret, with so few of the things which 
 the world counts necessary to happiness ! What 
 wonder, indeed ! For one can be happy almost 
 anywhere, almost anyhow, when one is young.
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 VERY early the next morning, Pierrette and 
 her mother were making their way through the 
 little narrow dingy street called the " rue des 
 Anges," where Pere Michel had his shop. Pier 
 rette had often wondered why this small busy 
 street, hardly more than a generous alley, should 
 have been given the comely name of " the street 
 of the Angels."" Truly the people who inhab 
 ited it could not be said to resemble angels in 
 any particular whatsoever. They were very 
 substantial, earthly-looking people, especially 
 the children, of whom the population seemed 
 chiefly to consist. Yet I am not sure that the 
 rue des Anges was not a paradise in its way, a 
 very dark, dingy, dirty sort of paradise, but well 
 enough, I dare say, for those who had no notion
 
 28 PIERRETTE. 
 
 of one better; for its people were about as easy 
 going and care-free a community as one could 
 wish to meet anywhere in Paris. 
 
 The street was hardly more than two hundred 
 yards long, and yet there were people enough 
 living in it to populate an ordinary sized village. 
 It was stocked with curious little shops of vari 
 ous small traffic, with all their wares displayed at 
 one window or case, and that was done with 
 such skill and grace that the eye of the passer 
 by could not but be arrested by their contents. 
 There was a number of distracting toy-shops, 
 with gay-colored polichinellcs dangling from the 
 ceiling, and capable of the most fascinating con 
 tortions ; and it was here that the gamins of the 
 neighborhood loved to congregate, and stare and 
 exclaim their admiration, and long in vain for 
 the airy nothings that the children of the rich 
 have without the asking and cast aside the next 
 moment. It was here that little Pierrette glanced 
 wistfully whenever she travelled back and forth 
 to Pere Michel s. There was so much in these 
 windows, although they were so small, to attract 
 the eye of a child, such brilliant coloring, such 
 quaint devices, such airy fabrications, as only 
 the artisan of Paris knows how to fashion.
 
 PIERRETTE. 29 
 
 At the very end of the street, underneath the 
 projecting arcades of an old square building, 
 was a large iron gate-way leading into a circular 
 court upon which Pere Michel s dwelling opened. 
 For Pere Michel s traffic was of that conserva 
 tive sort that he felt perfectly certain of his 
 patronage no matter how obscure or remote his 
 place of habitation might be. There was no 
 thing at the entrance of the old stone building 
 
 o o 
 
 to suggest the presence of so important a per 
 sonage as Pere Michel. The ignorant might 
 have gone on looking for him up and down the 
 rue des Anges, and never found him. But those 
 who patronized him, or, to speak more exactly, 
 whom he patronized, knew that they must walk 
 the entire length of the damp court and, turning 
 up a short flight of mouldy steps on the left, 
 knock, with due precaution, at a long glass door 
 on which was inscribed, in the smallest possible 
 letters : - 
 
 A. MICHEL 
 NEGOCIANT DE LUXE. 
 
 It was not every one, however, who knew by 
 this inscription just the nature of Pere Michel s
 
 30 PIERRETTE. 
 
 traffic. One had really to enter the little shop 
 in order to understand the true importance of 
 his business. But that was not an easy matter 
 to accomplish, for it was one of old Michel s 
 oddities never to admit anyone inside his dwell 
 ing until he knew precisely what their business 
 was, and had agreed with them about it before 
 hand. In this way he had grown to be a sort of 
 autocrat in the court; and his neighbors were 
 much puzzled concerning him, and looked upon 
 him as a mysterious, and therefore a dangerous, 
 character. But A. Michel gave them no satis 
 faction, and left them to their own conjectures. 
 All that they gleaned of his doings was from 
 watching the people who came and knocked at 
 his door. They were for the most part women, 
 ladies and working girls. The ladies came 
 in their carriages to the entrance of the court, 
 and were usually covered with long mantles and 
 closely veiled when they walked out, which did 
 not in the least disguise the fact that they were 
 ladies, as every observer at the windows could 
 tell, by their gait and demeanor. 
 
 The others were girls, shop-girls, working 
 girls of all classes, who made no attempt to dis-
 
 PIERRETTE. 3 1 
 
 guise their identity, being rather proud than 
 otherwise of their exploits at Fere Michel s, 
 and who always came away with delighted faces 
 and one or more mysterious bundles in their 
 arms. 
 
 Then there were yet a few others, like Pier 
 rette s mother, who came and went so quietly 
 that they were scarcely noticed by the dwellers 
 of the court ; for they came neither to sell nor 
 
 to buy, but to bring and take away the work 
 
 / 
 with which the old man supplied them. 
 
 The little mother gave a gentle tap at the 
 glass door which was no longer transparent, 
 because of the great quantity of dust that had 
 gathered and settled on its surface. In a few 
 moments a fat finger appeared on the inside of 
 the pane, and cleared a small round opening of 
 its dust, and a round red eye bleared at them 
 through it. Having satisfied himself that Pier 
 rette and her mother were no intruders, Pere 
 Michel immediately loosened the bolt and stood 
 before them in a red night-cap and long loose 
 dressing-gown. 
 
 o o 
 
 " Aie, aie, aie, it is you, Ma am Elize and 
 M amzelle Pierrette, very early and yet too
 
 32 PIERRETTE. 
 
 late," said the old man, with a threatening wrin 
 kle in his brow, and yet making a very polite 
 salutation. 
 
 " What do you mean, Monsieur Michel ? " 
 said the little mother, in anxious alarm. " You 
 told me to bring the lace back on Friday, and 
 it is only Wednesday." 
 
 " That is just like you women, Wednesday, 
 Friday, Thursday !" cried Pere Michel, in his 
 nasal tenor, and shrugging his shoulders so that 
 his neck almost disappeared between them. 
 " What is that to me, hein ! You think I can 
 wait till Wednesday or Friday to make a good 
 bargain ! I tell you if I had had that strip of 
 lace yesterday I might have sold it for thirty 
 francs. Do you comprehend that? thirty 
 good francs! a fortune that does not drop in 
 one s beak every day ; and yet you talk to me 
 of Friday! Aie, aie, aie ! " and Pere Michel 
 scratched his ear and frowned as he beckoned 
 them in and closed the door. 
 
 " Oh, I am . so very sorry ! " said the little 
 mother, timidly. " If I had known you wanted 
 it, I could have worked at night and finished it; 
 and Pierrette might have brought it yesterday.
 
 PIERRETTE. 33 
 
 But I thought this was an order, not a piece 
 for sale." 
 
 " No, it was not an order this time, and I have 
 missed a rare chance of making a precious thirty 
 francs, that is all. It is of no use weeping over 
 it now," he added with sudden philosophy, ob 
 serving the look of confusion on the young 
 woman s face, "no use regretting what is past; 
 we have no time for that. Come, let us look at 
 the lace, a pestilence on it ! I shall always be a 
 poor beggar simply because I can never catch 
 a glimpse of my luck until it is just turning the 
 corner." 
 
 Elize untied her little paper parcel with ner 
 vous fingers, and displayed about three yards of 
 soft rich lace, of beautiful texture, and so exquis 
 itely wrought that no eye save that of sharp old 
 Fere Michel could ever have detected that once 
 its firm edge had been torn and that its roses 
 lost some of their petals. 
 
 The old man took it up in his fingers, and 
 examined it closely, inch by inch, and spread it 
 out upon his knees, and held it up to the light, 
 and then he laid it aside, saying, with rare con 
 descension, " It is not so bad, not so bad; " for 
 3
 
 34 PIERRETTE. 
 
 which the little mother felt exceedingly grateful, 
 for the old man never paid one sou for any 
 thing until he had thoroughly ascertained that it 
 was in every way satisfactory. " Is there some 
 thing else for me to take away this morning, 
 Monsieur Michel?" asked the little woman, with 
 hesitation. 
 
 But Pere Michel did not answer immediately. 
 He was busy dropping some eggs into a pot of 
 boiling water for his breakfast. He did not 
 know, or perhaps he only appeared not to know, 
 how anxiously his answer was awaited by the 
 two young creatures who depended so largely 
 upon him for their bread. Pere Michel was 
 such a surprising old person one could never 
 quite tell what he would do next. 1 1 is moods 
 were uncertain, and Elize was never sure whether 
 she had pleased him or not. He was now deeply 
 absorbed in a tussle with " Joy-of-My-Heart," 
 who was taking too active an interest in the 
 hard-boiled eggs. 
 
 Joy-of-My-Heart was a fat, ugly, snarling 
 poodle with a \voolly tangled coat and a most 
 idiotic expression of countenance as he lay on 
 his back, all fours in the air, wriggling and mak-
 
 PIERRETTE. 35 
 
 ing the most unseemly noises, which amused 
 Pierrette immensely, although she dared not 
 laugh, as she knew Fere Michel to be extremely 
 sensitive on the subject of his beast. It was 
 another of the old man s oddities that he had 
 more regard and affection for this uninteresting 
 brute than for any human being on earth. 
 
 While they sat waiting for him to speak, 
 Pierrette was looking about the little room to 
 see what changes had taken place since her last 
 visit; for the quaint old shop was always a 
 source of interest and wonder to her. It con 
 tained what Pere Michel called his " luxe," 
 which was a motley assortment of discarded fin 
 ery from the ladies of the faubourg. There were 
 faded silk gowns of several seasons past, and 
 fascinating ball-dresses whose first freshness 
 was more or less gone, but which were never 
 theless carefully displayed in long glass cases 
 that lined the walls of the room, and where they 
 hung with the most tempting effect. There were 
 old velvet mantles, and high-heeled gilt slippers, 
 and ostrich feathers of all colors, and indeed an 
 endless confusion of useless things which the 
 daughters of Paris love and labor to get, and
 
 36 PIERRETTE. 
 
 turn to account, no matter to what station in 
 life they belong. 
 
 In another part of the room, there was an old 
 wooden coffer with a glass top, in which Pore 
 Michel kept his articles of the most value. 
 These were odd bits of jewelry, brooches, 
 bracelets, fancy combs, rings, a few lockets, 
 and one or t\vo time-pieces. It was also where 
 he kept the valuable laces that were brought to 
 him to be repaired, or to be disposed of when 
 they had served their time. It was to this 
 coffer that Pere Michel now turned, having at 
 length decided to answer the little mother s 
 question about more work. 
 
 " Here is something," he said, opening the 
 chest and taking from it a small mantilla of 
 "point d Alenc_on" that was almost in shreds. 
 " Here is a piece of work that once belonged 
 to the Countess of B. and is now the possession 
 of Madame de L." Pere Michel never gave 
 full names. " This enchanting piece of an 
 tiquity is itself past all remedy. I told Madame 
 so. The cat has put her claws through it. But 
 it is a choice- relic as it is; I would not have 
 it mended for the world ; Madame is very
 
 Here is a piece of work that once belonged to the Countess 
 of B."
 
 PIERRETTE. 39 
 
 proud of it. Now, she wishes us to make a 
 new one from this model. It is a beautiful 
 one, and I have the design and all the neces 
 sary materials. How would you like to take 
 this with you, providing you can promise to 
 bring it to me finished in two weeks, hark you, 
 two weeks, and not a minute later?" 
 
 " Oh, I should like it above all things ! " 
 cried Elize, in happy surprise. This was a 
 mark of trust which she had hardly dared to 
 expect from Pere Michel. But the old man 
 was very shrewd. He knew very well that 
 of all the people who worked for him, there 
 was not one who was so honest, so conscien 
 tious, and withal so skillful, or who would be so 
 grateful for this rare piece of handiwork, as was 
 Elize. And while he appeared to be confer 
 ring a great favor upon her by placing it into 
 her hands, he was in reality serving his best 
 interests. 
 
 " I promise you it will be finished, Monsieur 
 Michel. I shall work at it all the time; it is 
 so beautiful, it will really be a pleasure," said 
 the young woman, her pretty face all flushed 
 at this unexpected good fortune.
 
 4O PIERRETTE. 
 
 " That is well," said the old man, beginning 
 
 O O 
 
 to take the shells from his boiled eg<is, and 
 
 o o 
 
 spreading himself comfortably in his one large 
 chair. " Take your pay, it is on the corner 
 of the chimney; and you know where I keep 
 the needles and the thread. Choose what you 
 need, and do your best; for Madame de L. is a 
 good patron, as you know." 
 
 Elize did as she was bidden, and promised to 
 do her best; and then she made a careful 
 bundle of the work, and, giving her hand to 
 Pierrette, rose to go. 
 
 As she laid her hand on the latch, the door 
 opened from without and some one entered at 
 whom Joy-of-My-Heart gave a sudden leap and 
 a surly growl, leaving his attractive place beside 
 the egg-pot to bite and snarl at the stranger s 
 shoes. The stranger was unmistakably a gen 
 tleman, an exquisitely dressed French gentle 
 man, who raised his hat with much elegance, 
 and stepped aside to let Elize and the little 
 girl pass out of Fere Michel s shop.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PIERRETTE and her mother could hardly help 
 looking a second time at the surprising mon 
 sieur, whose magnificent appearance in the 
 rue des Anges had indeed brought out the 
 whole population to comment thereupon from 
 their doorsteps and windows. Pierrette had 
 never seen any one quite like him before. 
 Such a very tall shining silk hat as he wore, 
 and such an immensely long mustache standing 
 out on each side of his face like the horns of a 
 big black beetle ! and such piercing eyes as he 
 looked at them with as they had passed him. 
 It would not have been in the least surprising 
 if he had turned out to be the president him-
 
 42 PIERRETTE. 
 
 self, or an exiled prince of the house of 
 Bourbon. 
 
 They made their way hurriedly across the 
 court into the street, so that they did not hear 
 Pere Michel s greeting of the fine strange gen 
 tleman, nor yet Joy-of-My-Heart s persistent 
 growls of discontent as the new-comer walked 
 into the little shop and seated himself in a 
 graceful attitude on one of Pere Michel s 
 wooden benches. 
 
 "You see me, Monsieur Michel," said the 
 exquisite person, taking a dainty pinch from 
 a little gold snuff-box which he drew from his 
 waistcoat pocket. " You see me again with a 
 request upon your indulgence." 
 
 " I see you, Monsieur Le Page," returned 
 Pere Michel, with a polite grimace, " with in 
 finite regret, if your request is of the same 
 nature as when you honored me with your last 
 visit." 
 
 " I must confess that it is," returned Monsieur 
 Le Page. " I would have you reconsider your 
 refusal. You know my reputation in Paris. I 
 have the largest traffic, in our line of busi 
 ness, in the city, and the richest and most
 
 PIERRETTE. 43 
 
 notable patronage. I must satisfy the caprice 
 of a wealthy enthusiast ; I resort to a little 
 harmless stratagem ; you assist me. Who is 
 harmed thereby? No one. I am well paid, 
 and you receive a munificent reward for 
 your share in the bargain. Come, Michel, 
 be reasonable ; do not lose sight of your 
 own interests ; you have nothing to lose by 
 my proposition," and he twirled the ends of 
 his long black mustache, and looked hard at 
 the old man. 
 
 " Nothing to lose, in effect, Monsieur, if I 
 belonged to your aristocracy, because I should 
 then have no scruples about doing a dishonest 
 thing," and Pere Michel straightened himself 
 with much dignity. " It may be difficult for 
 you to comprehend, but we poor, beggarly, 
 toiling creatures whom you despise, do some 
 times have a grain of conscience, and that 
 prevents us from seeing matters with your 
 vision." 
 
 " Chut, chut," rejoined the gentleman, with a * 
 suave wave of his gloved hand, " that is talk, 
 talk, Monsieur Michel. You and I cannot 
 afford to talk ; we must act. Once for all, will
 
 44 PIERRETTE. 
 
 you take my order for the work and bind 
 yourself to secrecy?" 
 
 " Assuredly not," responded Pere Michel, 
 with grim persistence. 
 
 "Ah, then you are immovable? My good 
 man, it is foolish, it is stupid. You will regret 
 your obstinacy some day, some clay when it 
 is too late," and he shrugged his shoulders 
 impatiently, and trod absently upon a crawling 
 spider near his foot, and killed it with that 
 same suave expression upon his face. 
 
 " I shall regret nothing but the time I am 
 wasting in listening to you," said Pere Michel, 
 dividing his fourth egg with Joy-of-My-Heart. 
 
 "Perhaps, then, you will be obliging enough 
 to address me to some one of your workers 
 who may not share your scruples, and who 
 would be grateful for the remuneration ? " 
 
 But Pere Michel remained silent, having 
 turned his attention entirely upon the snarling 
 poodle, which every now and then jumped up 
 and uttered a sharp yelp at the intruder, and 
 then lay wriggling on his back in a confusion 
 of egg-shells. 
 
 "The young person who was just leaving
 
 PIERRETTE. 45 
 
 your shop as I entered, it is possible she may 
 be one of your needle-women, and would be 
 glad of the work. Come, Monsieur Michel, 
 give me a little of your assistance. I have a 
 promise to fulfill, and a promise is a weight 
 upon a gentleman s honor. I will make the 
 offer a thousand francs ! " and the gentleman 
 moved a little closer to the old man, and 
 leaned forward so that the waxed ends of 
 his mustache barely escaped the ear of Pere 
 Michel, and uttered the last words in a most 
 persuasive whisper. 
 
 " Great thunders and blue lightnings ! " ex 
 claimed Pere Michel, bouncing out of his chair, 
 by this time exasperated to the point of quite 
 losing control of his French temper. " Will 
 you let me alone? Will you go?" and he 
 pointed to the door with his finger in a melo 
 dramatic manner. " You have always found 
 my abode clean ; pray leave it as you find it." 
 
 There was really nothing for the elegant 
 gentleman to do but to take himself away, 
 which he did with exquisite grace and a smile 
 that contrasted oddly with the red, indignant 
 face of old Michel, who stood with his arm
 
 40 PIERRETTE. 
 
 still uplifted, like an avenging spirit, until the 
 door had closed behind his visitor. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page stepped lightly over the 
 mud in the court, toying with his cane the 
 while, wearing that same mild expression of 
 countenance which never forsook him, even 
 under much, more trying encounters than the 
 one he had just had with Pere Michel. He did 
 not turn around to see the old tradesman shak 
 ing his fat fist at him and muttering between his 
 teeth, " Ah, le monstre ! " 
 
 Monsieur Le Page was a man of large inter 
 ests, the proprietor of one of the richest and 
 most noted antiquary shops of Paris. His busi 
 ness often took him into the very poor and 
 obscure quarters of the city, where he, in some 
 mysterious way, unearthed many of his choicest 
 treasures which the true lovers of antiquity 
 came from all parts of Europe to admire and 
 purchase, providing their wealth was great 
 enough. He often had to encounter much 
 that was disagreeable and repugnant to him, 
 when he came in contact with that low, igno 
 rant portion of Paris. But he nevertheless 
 maintained a polite and gentlemanly demeanor.
 
 "Ah, le monstre! "
 
 PIERRETTE. 49 
 
 It was all a necessary means to his prosperity ; 
 his traffic could not dispense with it, and he was 
 willing to sacrifice everything, even his own 
 personal feelings, to the success of his business. 
 Therefore as he passed the great iron gateway 
 of Pere Michel s court, and turned into the rue 
 des Anges, he only dusted the bottom of his 
 trousers a little more than usual, and scraped 
 the soles of his shoes a little longer, as if by 
 so doing he were ridding himself of some 
 
 o o 
 
 obnoxious contact. 
 
 As luck would have it, just as he was about 
 to hail a passing cab, he caught sight of Elize s 
 slender black figure, with the child s hand in 
 hers, just disappearing at the other end of the 
 street. They had loitered a little on their way, 
 for Pierrette s eyes could not help looking at 
 the fascinating shop-windows. They had stopped 
 at the bakery, too, to buy a couple of " petits 
 pains" and a sweet bun or two, and they had 
 entered one of those delectable little charcutcries, 
 or French meat-shops, where the most savory 
 of cooked meats are temptingly displayed on 
 immaculate paper with festooned edges, and 
 garnished all around with bits of green parsley 
 4
 
 5O PIERRETTE. 
 
 and red peppers and crisp \vatcr-cress. Here 
 they had bought something for their dinner, for 
 on the days when Pere Michel paid them they 
 must always make a little feast and take home 
 something out of the common, some little dainty 
 which they shared with their old neighbor 
 Jeanneton. They were very young at heart, 
 Pierrette and her little mother, these two chil 
 dren of Paris! young enough to enjoy the 
 simple pleasures that came in their way. Too 
 young perhaps to be launched alone in a great 
 brilliant city full of dangers and temptations. 
 But they had no thought of that to-day ; they 
 were happy because Pere Michel had not found 
 fault, and had given more work ; and they were 
 safe and provided for, at least for two weeks to 
 come. 
 
 The strange gentleman hastened his steps and 
 caught up with them just in time to sec them 
 leaving the broad avenue that fronts the palace 
 and gardens of the Luxembourg, and turn into 
 a narrow street where, after a few minutes walk, 
 they reached their own door. They crossed 
 the dark passage-way and climbed the long 
 flights of dingy stairs, not aware that any one
 
 PIERRETTE. 5 1 
 
 was watching them. Monsieur Le Page had 
 kept himself at a judicious distance ; but now 
 he knew where the young ouvrttre lived, in 
 spite of old Michel, and he was satisfied. He 
 rode back across the city, to his grand establish 
 ment in the rue cle Rivoli, well pleased with his 
 morning s errand.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IT was nearly two weeks since Pierrette and 
 her mother had come away from Pore Michel s 
 shop with the old lace mantilla ; and, true to her 
 promise, Elize had worked day and night, and 
 scarcely rested until the beautiful piece \vas fin 
 ished. She was very weary. Her pretty eyes 
 were red with straining them, and her head 
 ached, ached and burned as if it were on fire. 
 The exquisite work was a masterpiece, and 
 would have brought her a small fortune if she 
 had not been such a timid little woman, known 
 to very few people, and so very distrustful of 
 her own skill that she felt quite repaid if those 
 who employed her did not scold, never dream 
 ing of any praise from any one but little 
 Pierrette.
 
 PIERRETTE. 53 
 
 Hidden away there in her high garret, she 
 never suspected that the delicate, exquisite 
 work of her fingers had found its way into 
 many of the great and rich homes of Paris, 
 and had been admired and marvelled at. How 
 many of those lovely creations which we look 
 upon with pleasure are fashioned in some 
 dark, dingy room in some remote quarter of 
 a great city, by some obscure craftsman whose 
 lot it may never be even to enter the places 
 where the fruit of his toil is welcomed and 
 cherished ! 
 
 Elize was too \veary that morning to walk 
 to Pere Michel s, and Pierrette had begged to be 
 allowed to carry the finished work to him. It 
 was still very early, and the little girl, all 
 wrapped in her hood and cloak, for it was 
 beginning to be very wintry, was just emerg 
 ing from the big stone portal, with her precious 
 bundle in her arms, when she was met by a 
 gentleman, strangely enough, the same gentle 
 man whom she had seen going into Pere 
 Michel s some two weeks ago. Yes, it was un 
 mistakably he, the same elegant clothes, the 
 same glistening black eyes and long mustache,
 
 54 PIERRETTE. 
 
 the same air of graciousness as he bent down 
 and addressed Pierrette. 
 
 " My amiable child," he said, laying his fine 
 gloved hand upon the little red hood, " upon 
 what errand are you bound so early this wintry 
 morning? It is a raw, chill time for little peo 
 ple like you to be abroad." 
 
 Pierrette felt a thrill of delight as the hand 
 some gentleman who so much resembled a 
 prince touched her cheek and looked kindly 
 into her eyes. 
 
 " I am on my way to Pere Michel s to return 
 the lace for maman. Maman is not well ; she 
 has stitched so much her head is .very tired," 
 said the child, innocently. 
 
 " Ah, maman does the lace work for Monsieur 
 Michel? Indeed ! Now, that is a great pity, 
 for Michel is a hard-hearted old brute. Perhaps 
 you would let me look at maman s work. If it 
 pleased me I would furnish her plenty of em 
 ployment, and pay her five times as much as 
 Monsieur Michel." 
 
 " Oh, certainly, Monsieur," said Pierrette, 
 eagerly untying her bundle. " Maman would 
 be very happy, I am sure."
 
 ; She was just emerging from the big stone portal, with her 
 precious bundle in her arms."
 
 PIERRETTE. 57 
 
 They stepped into the court a few paces, 
 and the gentleman took up the piece of work in 
 his hands and examined it very carefully, saying 
 now and then, " Marvellous ! extremely ancient, 
 exquisite ! " and then he wrapped it up with 
 great care, and gave it back to Pierrette, saying, 
 " It is well ; I shall go up and see your maman 
 immediately, if you will tell me where I may 
 find her." 
 
 Pierrette led him to the first turn in the 
 spiral stairway, at the top of which there was 
 a miserable little sky-light whose feeble rays 
 of light were quite lost by the time they had 
 descended to the middle floors, and she pointed 
 up to it. 
 
 " On the eighth floor, Monsieur, the fifth door 
 to the left," she said. 
 
 " I must caution you," added Monsieur Le 
 Page, as Pierrette was taking leave of him, " not 
 to mention to Pere Michel what I have said 
 to you this morning, or that I have been here 
 at all." 
 
 " Indeed, I will not, if Monsieur so wishes it," 
 said Pierrette, who was naturally an obedient 
 child, and who had always been taught that
 
 58 PIERRETTE. 
 
 when she was forbidden anything it \vas because 
 of some very good reason. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page then waved his hand to 
 her and smiled, and began his steep ascent up 
 the eight flights of steps, while the little girl 
 sped on her way to the rue des Anges, her little 
 head full of pleasant fancies about the astonish 
 ing gentleman who had appeared to her in the 
 light of a fairy prince indeed. She did not stop 
 to look into the shop-windows this morning ; 
 her mind was too busy trying to imagine what 
 good fortune would come to them if this rich 
 and handsome monsieur became their patron 
 instead of Pere Michel, who was exacting and 
 not always easy to please, and who paid very 
 little money for a great deal of work. Then 
 maman would not have to work so hard to earn 
 the money for what they needed, and she might 
 have all the little comforts she wanted. For 
 although Pierrette was only a little girl, the 
 problem of life was already a serious thing to 
 her, as it is to most children who are brought 
 up in an atmosphere of necessity. The little 
 mother had taken Pierrette into her confidence 
 in everything. Whom else had she to help her
 
 PIERRETTE. 59 
 
 to bear the burden of responsibility of their two 
 young lives! And the little girl had always 
 proved herself a reasonable and helpful little 
 companion. 
 
 When Monsieur Le Page had reached the top 
 of the house, he was obliged to pause a few 
 minutes to catch his breath, before rapping 
 gently with his gloved knuckles at the fifth door 
 on the left, the door of the little attic. Elize 
 appeared at once, looking as neat and dainty as 
 any little lady, in her well-fitting black serge and 
 white apron. She was busy preparing the cafc- 
 an-lait for Pierrette s breakfast, on a little spirit 
 lamp, and steeping some tisane for her head 
 ache. Her pretty face was pale ; but it flushed 
 up suddenly when, on opening the door in 
 answer to the rapping, she saw the strange 
 gentleman. 
 
 "A thousand pardons, Madame," said the 
 polite visitor, taking notice of Elize s confusion. 
 " Pray do not let me disturb you from your 
 breakfast. You do not know me, it is evident. 
 My name is Joseph Le Page. I am come to 
 ask a favor, a little business favor. You will 
 honor me by giving me your attention for a 
 verv few minutes."
 
 60 PIERRETTE. 
 
 "Monsieur Le Page!" repeated Elize, in as 
 tonishment. She did not know him personally, 
 she only remembered having met him that once 
 coming out of Pere Michel s door. But she 
 knew the name well. Who in Paris did not ! - 
 the rich dealer in old treasures and works of 
 art, whose fine establishment occupied an envi 
 able portion of the brilliant rue de Rivoli, under 
 those old arcades immediately facing the Tuil- 
 eries gardens. Every one knew his name, knew 
 his wealth, had seen or heard of the little palace 
 that was his home on the broad road to the 
 Bois de Boulogne. And this was he standing 
 before her, in her little garret-room, to ask a 
 favor of her ! 
 
 " Monsieur is exceedingly good," said Elize, 
 in pretty confusion, and drawing a chair for 
 him. " I do not understand in what way I 
 may do Monsieur a favor, but I am entirely at 
 his service." 
 
 Monsieur Le Page sat down, and again drew 
 forth his little gold snuff-box. He could hardly 
 ever get on in any delicate matter of business 
 without this small talisman. He was in reality 
 wondering how he should broach the subject of
 
 PIERRETTE. 6 1 
 
 his visit to a simple, womanly little person like 
 Elize. He saw, with his naturally fine percep 
 tion, that although Elize was poor and belonged 
 to a lower condition of society than himself, 
 there was an atmosphere of delicacy and refine 
 ment about her and all that belonged to her. 
 He knew, by the look in her candid gray eyes, 
 that she was incapable of lending herself to any 
 fraudulent proceeding, that those calm eyes 
 might light up in anger at any suggestion of 
 wrong-dealing. He must be very circumspect 
 and approach her very cautiously. Just now, 
 she was all modesty and gratitude towards him 
 for his condescension in coming to find her, 
 a simple, obscure, unknown little ouvrierc like 
 her! 
 
 " Madame is an artiste at her trade," said the 
 handsome gentleman, " I have seen her work 
 manship ; it is exquisite ; such perfection in 
 every detail, such delicacy ! " 
 
 Elize blushed for pleasure. 
 
 "You have lately come to Paris? " inquired 
 Monsieur Le Page, with a show of interest. 
 
 " We have been here five years, Pierrette and 
 I, Monsieur."
 
 62 PIERRETTE. 
 
 " Five years ! it is incredible that I should 
 not have found you out before, such a skill 
 ful worker. There are plenty of people who 
 work in lace, Madame, indeed the city is full 
 of them, but there are not many who work 
 like you. Where did you learn the art, 
 Madame?" 
 
 " I had it of my mother when very young," 
 said Elize, simply, " she had acquired her 
 knowledge at the convent." 
 
 Monsieur Le Page mused a moment, and then 
 resumed, "With the proper patronage it is pos 
 sible for you to make a very good income, I 
 might truly say a little fortune, in a city where 
 the best of everything is sought and appre 
 ciated as it is in Paris." 
 
 At these words Elize s heart began to beat 
 very fast. A fair, vague vision rose before her. 
 Had it not been her one great hope that some 
 time, in this vast city of Paris, she would be 
 found out, and her work recognized and appre 
 ciated, that some time, through the labor of her 
 loving hands, she and Pierrette would be made 
 comfortable and happy, and perhaps be able to 
 buy again the little home at Meudon, and go
 
 PIERRETTE. 63 
 
 back to the dear country to live among the birds 
 and flowers ! 
 
 Monsieur Le Page was watching her closely 
 to see what effect his words produced. He 
 wanted, first of all, to win her confidence, and 
 make her believe thoroughly in his power to 
 help her. 
 
 " And you have been spending these five 
 years toiling for that old miser, Michel ! Ah, 
 if I had but known it!" 
 
 " It is only three years that I have worked for 
 Monsieur Michel. For a long time we knew 
 no one, and it was hard to get anything to do. 
 I was very grateful for the little money that he 
 let me earn," said Elizc. She felt that she could 
 almost smile now, at all her past hardships, so 
 bright and promising did he make the future 
 seem for them. 
 
 " And he has kept you hidden, and not 
 allowed anyone to know you, the old rascal! 
 It is like him. He will be mightily vexed when 
 he hears that I have discovered you and your 
 lovely work, in spite of him, and that I have 
 made you a fine offer. Nevertheless," pursued 
 Monsieur Le Page, resting his temple on his
 
 64 PIERRETTE. 
 
 forefinger, in a meditative attitude, " we must 
 not unduly aggravate the old man. An eccen 
 tric old personage like Pere Michel, is some 
 times dangerous, and his ill-will is not to be 
 disposed of at any price. It would not be 
 pleasant for you to offend him, perhaps." 
 
 " I would not offend Monsieur Michel for the 
 world," said Elize, with genuine sincerity. " He 
 has been very kind to us in his way; and 
 although he pays but little, I hardly know what 
 we should have done without that little." 
 
 " That is quite reasonable," complied Mon 
 sieur Le Page ; " the simplest way is not to men 
 tion the matter to him at all ; " to which Klize 
 agreed, for she knew no reason why she should 
 not keep her affairs to herself. She was natu 
 rally a quiet, reserved, little person. They had 
 but few friends in the neighborhood; Pere 
 Michel was really the only person whom they 
 saw often, and he was not inclined to be over 
 interested in anything besides the sale and pur 
 chase of his own wares and his ugly poodle. 
 
 " And now," said the merchant, feeling that 
 he had quite won the little woman s sympathy, 
 " I want you to do for me a real piece of antique.
 
 PIERRETTE. 65 
 
 We deal only in antiquities. The ladies are 
 crazy after them ; they will have nothing but 
 the oldest patterns in laces, and they come to 
 me for them, because they know that we have 
 the means of securing the genuine article, the 
 most delicate and rarest handiwork that can be 
 had in the city. You have models of ancient 
 pieces, did I understand you to say?" 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Elize, " I have some very 
 old models, and I have studied them all." 
 
 " You will be good enough to show me some 
 of them, and we shall then make a selection." 
 
 Elize drew a little key from her pocket and 
 opened a small wooden chest where she kept 
 her few treasures. She took from it a roll of 
 very yellow pieces of parchment upon which 
 were traced innumerable little holes, so close 
 and so intricate that only the most carefully 
 trained eye could have discerned the graceful 
 pattern that it was made to represent. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page put on his gold-rimmed 
 eye-glasses, and began to unfold and inspect 
 them one by one. 
 
 " Ah, this is chaste ! " he exclaimed, with 
 genuine enthusiasm, as his eye fell upon a very 
 5
 
 66 PIERRETTE. 
 
 ancient-looking piece, yellower and more worn 
 than the rest, " this is superb ! A device, I 
 should judge, of no later than the seventeenth 
 century. Quite such a piece as I have been 
 looking for; very ancient indeed ! " 
 
 "Yes, this is the oldest of all the designs. 
 I think it is a very rare pattern. It was left 
 me by my grandmother, who herself had it 
 of a woman who was lace-maker to one of 
 our queens many years ago, I cannot tell you 
 how many." 
 
 The antiquarian could hardly suppress his 
 agitation. He was not given ordinarily to vio 
 lent betrayal of any emotion. But it may 
 have been because of his great love and vener 
 ation for all that was old his fingers certainly 
 did tremble as he separated the parchment from 
 the other sheets, and said in a tone that had a 
 little more animation in it than usual, 
 
 " This must be the one ; we shall choose no 
 other for the present. I will trouble you for not 
 more than two such pieces a year, possibly not 
 more than one. But I will pay you liberally. 
 For this one, I will offer you the sum of one 
 thousand francs."
 
 PIERRETTE. 67 
 
 " Oh, Monsieur ! " cried Elize, clasping her 
 hands, and almost ready to fall at his feet, " you 
 are too good ! " 
 
 " One thousand francs," repeated Monsieur 
 Le Page, with crisp utterance, and not appearing 
 to notice the little mother s surprise. " I will 
 also furnish the materials, for the pearls must be 
 of the very choicest, and pay you two hundred 
 francs in advance each month until the work is 
 done." 
 
 Innocent, trustful little Elize, she thought she 
 had never seen any one so beautiful or so 
 benevolent, so magnanimous, as this slight gen 
 tleman with his pale face and thin features and 
 searching black eyes. She could only account 
 for the generosity of his heart by the prompt 
 ings of her own, if she had been rich and had 
 seen some fellow-creature in need. 
 
 " You are munificent, Monsieur," was all that 
 she could say, when suddenly the door opened 
 and Pierrette came in-with rosy cheeks and fly 
 ing curls, and eyes dancing with the freshness 
 of the morning She ran into her mother s 
 arms, and Elize laid her head on the little girl s 
 neck and wept for joy.
 
 68 PIERRETTE. 
 
 " Maman, maman, what is it?" cried the 
 child. 
 
 " Oh, Monsieur is so good, so kind to us, 
 Pierrette; thank him for me, I cannot." 
 
 Monsieur Le Page, perhaps made a little 
 uncomfortable by the pathos of the scene, 
 promptly took his leave, and promised to return 
 on the following day. For the first time in his 
 life, as he descended the dark stairway, he had 
 an ugly feeling somewhere in the remote locality 
 of his conscience. He could not account for it 
 to himself; but he felt as if he had just crushed 
 some innocent creature with his foot, and gone 
 off and left it dying ; and he almost wished that 
 he had not met Pierrette and her mother coming 
 out of Pere Michel s that morning.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHAT a happy prosperous time was now 
 dawning for the little mother and Pierrette ! It 
 seemed as if they had been suddenly led by 
 some kind fortune into a ne\v world where every 
 thing was bright and peaceful. They would 
 never again need to be anxious ; there would 
 be no more want and suffering; they would 
 always have enough to be comfortable, enough 
 for themselves and enough for others, perhaps. 
 Two hundred francs a month seemed such a 
 fortune for two little souls who had been ac 
 customed to do with a few sous a day. And 
 it had all come to them in a moment, as in 
 fairy-land, through this kind gentleman who
 
 7O PIERRETTE. 
 
 had sought them out and brought such a wealth 
 of happiness into their little home. 
 
 Pierrette and her little mother laughed and 
 cried and kissed each other many times after 
 Monsieur Le Page had gone, and prayed in 
 their simple hearts that Heaven would bless the 
 saintly gentleman, and keep and prosper him 
 always because of his goodness. 
 
 The season was advancing very fast, and 
 Paris grew cold and gray ; but Pierrette and the 
 little mother had never thought the city looked 
 so beautiful, for they minded not the snow and 
 sleet without, when there was a cheerful fire 
 within, and their hearts were warm with hope 
 and gratitude. Klize began to look younger 
 and prettier than ever, if that were possible, 
 with the sweet pink color returned to her cheeks 
 and a deeper warmth in her gray eyes. And 
 Pierrette was so full of joyous spirits, and her 
 little tongue was so active, that even grumbling 
 old Jeanneton said, when she came in to see her, 
 that it was as if a sunbeam had entered the 
 room. 
 
 " It is very easy to be good when one is 
 happy, is it not, petite mere?" said Pierrette,
 
 Even grumbling old Jeanneton said, when she came in, that it 
 was as if a sunbeam had entered the room."
 
 PIERRETTE. 73 
 
 when she had been especially lavish in her at 
 tentions to the sick old woman, and had taken 
 a portion of their warm supper to the chiffonnier 
 who lived on the floor below, and who was laid 
 up with rheumatism in his bones from having 
 been out so much in the damp and cold. 
 
 " Yes, my Pierrette, if one s heart is made for 
 goodness, then prosperity makes it grow richer 
 and better, as the warm spring sunshine makes 
 the young flowers sweeter and more beautiful. 
 You will always think of others, will you not, 
 Pierrette, no matter how happy you are 
 yourself ? " 
 
 " Yes, petite mere, I will try to be always as 
 good as you, as good as Monsieur Le Page," 
 said the child, who regarded the handsome gen 
 tleman as the author of all their good fortune. 
 
 As for Monsieur Le Page himself, his thoughts, 
 if he took the trouble to give them shape at all, 
 were not such simple and artless ones as the 
 little girl s and her mamma s. For many days 
 and weeks he could not forget the sight of the 
 pretty child and the sweet young mother weep 
 ing in each other s arms, weeping because of 
 his goodness to them. For a second, perhaps
 
 74 PIERRETTE. 
 
 the first time in his life, he had hesitated. The 
 thought had flashed across his mind that per 
 haps it would be better, better for them, if he 
 did not return to them on the following day to 
 fulfill his promise; but then it had been only 
 for one second. What had he to do with senti 
 mental scruples? He was a business man, full 
 of busy interests; he could not, for the sake of 
 an ignorant little woman and a pretty child, 
 sacrifice a great gain. It was absurd even to 
 think of it; besides it could mean no harm to 
 them as long as they remained ignorant ; and 
 he would see that they remained in ignorance 
 of his schemes. He would not be as frank with 
 them as he had been with Pere Michel; he 
 would not, if he could, dispel their little illusion 
 about him, and they should never have cause to 
 think him otherwise than good. 
 
 Strange it was that this man who had spent 
 most of his life in thinking of himself, and caring 
 nothing for what the rest of the world thought 
 of him, except that it should know him to be 
 wealthy and therefore powerful, who had known 
 no other love in all his life but the love of gain, 
 should of a sudden care to retain the admiration
 
 PIERRETTE. 75 
 
 and confidence of these simple young creatures. 
 It amazed and puzzled him, and as often as 
 these thoughts came to him, he would dismiss 
 them ; but they came back to him again and 
 again, like gentle spirits that will not be repelled. 
 Through the busy hours of the day, in the soli 
 tary grandeur of his home at night, the picture 
 of those two young faces rose before him, with 
 their innocence and trust appealing to him, and 
 at length he almost wished that he had not to 
 deceive them, that he might be and that he 
 had been all his life as good and noble as 
 they believed him. 
 
 It is a great thing to wish to become good ; 
 to have even a desire for justice and honesty is 
 the better part of the battle ; and to have 
 strength and determination enough to obtain 
 these virtues, after having lived a life of error, is 
 to become indeed a great conqueror. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page was thirty-eight years old. 
 Half of his life, or very nearly half of it, had 
 been spent in the pursuit of his own happiness. 
 To become good all at once, to give up his 
 selfish habits and little intrigues for gain, of 
 which he had never before been ashamed, meant
 
 76 PIERRETTE. 
 
 a great deal that was disagreeable, and a mighty 
 struggle for his better self. Monsieur Le Page 
 did not like struggles. He preferred that every 
 thing which came to him should come easily, 
 as his fortune had done. He had really never 
 thought before that his conduct needed reform 
 ing. What he did was only what thousands of 
 others were doing, or would do if they were 
 in his place. Still he felt that the little woman 
 whose candid eyes had met his so trustfully 
 would hardly approve his dealings, and still less 
 give her aid to further them ; and he wished 
 that nothing to his discredit should ever reach 
 her ears. Every time he visited the small dark 
 garret, which was perhaps oftener than once a 
 month, for he was quite anxious about the pro 
 gress of the work, the feeling in him grew 
 stronger that these two, in all their ignorance 
 and youth, were powerful, while he, with his 
 wealth and knowledge, was w r eak. He would 
 always place the money which he brought in pay 
 ment for the work upon the mantel. Somehow he 
 could not find the heart to put it in that honest 
 little woman s hand. And whenever Pierrette 
 looked up at him with her round childish eyes,
 
 PIERRETTE. 77 
 
 and said, " Oh, Monsieur, you are so good ! 
 You have made maman so happy ! " there was 
 an uncomfortable consciousness that he was 
 hardly deserving that childish trust. 
 
 How beautiful a thing is the trustfulness of 
 youth ; how powerful a thing it is when it can 
 change the current of a life, and by its sweet 
 unconscious influence turn a human heart from 
 its sordid and selfish ends to a just conscious 
 ness of right and truth !
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ONE bright morning in December, it was very 
 near the Christmas time, Pierrette and her 
 mother were on their way to church. It was 
 a saint s day, and they were going to attend the 
 later mass at the beautiful old church of Saint- 
 Germain des Pres, which was only a short walk 
 from where they lived. It was a clear, brisk, 
 sunny morning, and Paris is always gay when 
 the sun shines. The bright-colored omnibuses, 
 with their crowds of lively people a-top of them ; 
 the cabmen dashing by, cracking their whips 
 in the air; the busy tradespeople doing their 
 best to entice those whom the pleasant weather 
 had brought out of doors ; artists looking from 
 their high windows and whistling lustily over 
 their work ; young students hanging, with books
 
 PIERRETTE. 79 
 
 in hand, at the window of some old curiosity- 
 shop on their way to the Sorbonnc, all of 
 which made a very active scene in that most active 
 portion of Paris known as the Latin Quarter. 
 
 Pierrette and her mother walked with light 
 steps and joyous hearts, for they felt that they 
 had their full share of the morning s blessings. 
 The day before Monsieur Le Page had been to 
 see them, and had left a large gold coin which 
 he said was for Pierrette, as it was nearing 
 Christmas time, and the little girl would wish, 
 no doubt, for some of the pretty things which 
 the shops offered at that season, and might 
 perhaps want to make her young maman some 
 little gift to celebrate the feast, and he wanted 
 to gratify her wishes. He had no one at his 
 home whom he could please with a gift, no 
 little girl, no relatives of any kind, no one but 
 himself, and he was getting tired of pleasing 
 himself he said. 
 
 Pierrette s first thought had been, not of what 
 she should get for herself, for she was accus 
 tomed to giving up the simple pleasures that 
 most children enjoy, but of how, with her treas 
 ure, she should first of all buy something that
 
 SO PIERRETTE. 
 
 the little mother wanted very much, and with 
 the rest she should get a few things that would 
 please and surprise her friends in the neighbor 
 hood. There was the old chiffonnier, who really 
 needed some flannel for his rheumatism; and 
 poor little Francois, the hunchback, who painted 
 all day long at those wretched, cheap little bon 
 bon boxes, he must have a new box of colors, 
 which he could ill-afford to buy with the few 
 sous he earned. And for old Jeanneton, she 
 would buy some good tea to make her better- 
 natured; and the canary should have a brand- 
 new cage with gilded wires, and a leaf of fresh 
 lettuce every day, so that he, too, might have 
 a share in her good fortune. 
 
 Pierrette was telling all this to her mamma, 
 as they made their way through the narrow 
 streets leading to the church of Saint-Germain ; 
 and Elize was smiling with pleasure at the 
 child s unselfish delight in what she would do 
 for others. 
 
 " But you must get something for yourself, 
 my Pierrette," said the young mother; " and 
 what shall it be? " 
 
 " Oh, petite mere," cried Pierrette, laughing,
 
 PIERRETTE. 8 1 
 
 " I shall not want to buy anything for myself; 
 I am getting too old for toys and dolls," and 
 she smiled a demure little smile that amused 
 her mother greatly. " I would so much rather 
 buy something for you, something that you 
 have wanted very much, and wished you had 
 many times ; you can never guess what it is, 
 and you will be so surprised when you see it! " 
 and she clapped her hands merrily in her en 
 joyment of the thought. 
 
 " But will not Monsieur Le Page take it 
 unkindly that you should spend all his money 
 on gifts for others, when he meant you should 
 enjoy it yourself? " said Elize, in gentle 
 remonstrance. 
 
 " Oh, I shall enjoy seeing you open the little 
 box on Christmas morning more than anything 
 else. You cannot guess what it is I have chosen 
 for you, petite mere ! " and Pierrette s eyes were 
 so bright, and her cheeks so rosy with the ex 
 citement of keeping her secret, that several 
 persons were obliged to turn back to look at 
 her as she passed them on the street. 
 
 They were now turning into the open square 
 in front of the old church, when a carriage drove 
 6
 
 82 PIERRETTE. 
 
 up from the boulevard, a large open carriage 
 from which a very beautifully dressed lady 
 alighted, followed by her rnaid. She was about 
 to enter the church when she recognized a 
 gentleman picking his way through the crowd. 
 
 " Ah, Monsieur Le Page ! " cried the lady, 
 arresting him, " it is so fortunate that I have 
 met you. I have been twice to see you and not 
 found you in. You know how anxious I am 
 about my antique lace; I shall be in despair if 
 you cannot procure it. My friends tell me it 
 will be quite impossible ; but you will not dis 
 appoint me, my dear Monsieur Le Page ; you 
 will obtain it if such a piece is really in 
 existence ! " 
 
 The lady spoke with much animation. She 
 was evidently one of those worldly deities who 
 are accustomed to having all their wishes and 
 whims gratified, however impossible these may 
 be. And Monsieur Le Page was certainly the 
 one to whom she could appeal with confidence ; 
 she knew that he had a miraculous way of pro 
 ducing even the impossible, when it became a 
 necessity. He was truly a remarkable man, this 
 Monsieur Le Paee.
 
 Elize and Pierrette had been obliged to stand a little aloof on 
 account of the crowd."
 
 PIERRETTE. 85 
 
 It was very strange, Elize and Pierrette had 
 been obliged to stand a little aloof on account 
 of the crowd at the doors, and Monsieur had 
 met their eyes at only a few paces from where 
 he and the lady stood ; but he had made no 
 sign of recognition to them, apparently taking 
 no more notice of them than if they had been 
 strangers to him. But Elize observed that the 
 natural pallor of his face deepened a little, and 
 his handsome features wore a singularly an 
 noyed expression, as he listened to the lady s 
 appeal. She did not hear his reply; it was 
 given in an undertone ; and by that time the 
 crowd at the door had moved in, and Pierrette 
 and her mother had disappeared within it. All 
 through the service Elize s devotions were 
 troubled. She could not tell why, but some 
 thing seemed to have come suddenly between 
 her and her new happiness. It was not exactly 
 because Monsieur Le Page had taken no notice 
 of them. She could hardly expect a gentleman 
 of his position to recognize a plain little work 
 ing-woman like her. Yet he had always been 
 so kind to them, so courteous, so considerate 
 in his dealings with her; she could not but
 
 86 PIERRETTE. 
 
 think it strange, and feel a little hurt that he 
 should have looked at her and ignored her as 
 if she had been a common beggar in the crowd. 
 
 oo 
 
 Her young nature was a sensitive one, per 
 haps too much so for a little woman who had to 
 battle for herself in a great heartless city like 
 Paris. She guessed at once that the richly 
 dressed lady was one of Monsieur s patrons. 
 Fortunately, or unfortunately perhaps, she had 
 not quite understood the drift of her words; 
 but she had seen the strange look that came 
 over the face of Monsieur Le Page, and she 
 fancied it had something to do with his meeting 
 her. She wondered sorrowfully whether there 
 was anything about her and the little girl that 
 could make any one feel ashamed to know 
 them. 
 
 Innocent little Elize, she was very far from 
 the truth. A careful observer would never have 
 mistaken her and the winsome Pierrette for 
 persons belonging to the common populace, 
 especially now, when, with the coming of their 
 new prosperity, she had been able to afford 
 many little comforts, and a few of the luxuries 
 of dress that are so dear to the French woman s
 
 PIERRETTE. 8/ 
 
 heart. In her trim black gown and cape as she 
 appeared that morning, always carrying herself 
 with modest dignity, few would have guessed 
 what very humble people they really were, and 
 how they passed their simple lives under the 
 eaves of an old, old house in one of the poorest 
 streets of the city. But Monsieur Le Page 
 knew all this, knew how poor they had been ; 
 and perhaps he did not care for them after all, 
 as she had thought he did by his great kind 
 ness, but only for her work, because it would 
 bring a large sum. 
 
 Was it not Pere Michel who had told her, in 
 his blunt but good-natured way, that she and 
 Pierrette reminded him of a portrait of a great 
 lady and her little daughter which he had seen 
 hanging in the galleries of the Louvre during 
 one of his Sunday ramblings there ! He had 
 stopped in front of it a long time, and called 
 upon his friend Francois to notice the resem 
 blance. That young mother with the pretty 
 child s arms thrown about her neck had the 
 same sweet Madonna-look he had seen on Elize 
 when he had chanced to surprise them with a 
 visit of an evening in their little garret. But
 
 88 PIERRETTE. 
 
 now she could not recall Pere Michel s words 
 with any comfort, although she had laughed a 
 pleased little laugh when he had said it a few 
 months ago. For Pere Michel was only a sim 
 ple, untaught old man who had very little knowl 
 edge or appreciation of social distinctions, and 
 whose opinion was only to be valued when it 
 came to judging of old silks and laces, and cer 
 tain trinkets of which his trade consisted. She 
 could not expect any one else, any one who 
 had moved in, and knew the great world, to 
 look upon her otherwise than as a common 
 little oui ricrc of Paris with no claim on the 
 regard of those who were above her. For she 
 belonged, alas ! to that army of patient souls 
 who must labor for their bread. 
 
 On their walk homeward, Elizc was silent and 
 thoughtful. A shadow seemed to have come 
 over the brightness of the morning, and later in 
 the day, as she sat bending over her lace work, 
 Pierrette noticed that there were tears falling 
 from her pretty eyes. 
 
 " Dearest maman," cried the child, running to 
 her and clasping her about the neck, " what is it 
 that makes you cry? Are you not happy any
 
 PIERRETTE. 89 
 
 more? What is it, tell me. Are you thinking 
 of poor papa? " 
 
 Elize drew the young head down on her 
 shoulder and kissed it many times. 
 
 " No, my Pierrette, I am thinking only of you, 
 thinking how I wish it were in my power to 
 make your life different." 
 
 " How do you mean different ? " asked the 
 little girl, wondering. 
 
 " Perhaps I am a silly little mother, Pierrette, 
 but I should wish to see you happy and rich, 
 and admired by all the world." 
 
 " Oh, petite mere," cried the child, with a 
 bright smile, and a little coaxing caress of her 
 mother s cheek, " if you love me, that is enough, 
 I do not care for all the world ; and if you will 
 only always be happy, and never cry, I shall 
 surely be so." 
 
 Pierrette s thoughts did not wander so far into 
 the future as did her young mother s. Her 
 little hopes and plans were all for the present ; 
 and she had begun to think of late that the 
 present was becoming very kind to them. 
 
 How fortunate a thing it is that youth takes 
 no thought for the future, that the hopes and
 
 90 PIERRETTE. 
 
 joys of to-day s sunshine are unclouded by any 
 shadow that may come to-morrow ! What were 
 the spring-time of youth worth, indeed, without 
 that glad hopefulness which sheds its warm 
 glow upon all the events and changes and even 
 the vicissitudes of our after life !
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE next day Pierrette could scarcely wait 
 until their little morning meal was over to has 
 ten to the old house in the rue des Anges. She 
 had an errand at Pore Michel s, a very impor 
 tant errand, in fact it was the purchasing of 
 her mother s Christmas gift. She had eyed 
 wistfully, during her frequent visits to the little 
 shop, something in that wonderful chest in 
 which Pere Michel kept his treasures that 
 strongly appealed to her childish taste, but 
 which she had never dared hope to possess. 
 It was a tiny gold watch hardly larger than 
 a locket, with one or two small jewels set 
 in the case, and so much gold tracery on 
 its small face that it was quite impossible to 
 tell the time of day at a single glance. To
 
 92 PIERRETTE. 
 
 be sure, the minute-hand \vas slightly broken, 
 but this was hardly a defect to one who was 
 well acquainted with it; and Pierrette admired 
 it above everything else in the old man s 
 shop. 
 
 When the surprisingly large gold coin was 
 put into her hand by their benefactor, and 
 she was told by him to do as she liked with 
 it, that little watch, lying on its old blue- 
 plush cushion ; with the fine linked chain wound 
 all around it, was the first thing that came 
 into her mind. How surprised and delighted 
 the little mother would be when she opened 
 her bundle on Christmas morning to find a 
 beautiful watch with a tiny gold key hanging 
 from its long chain, which she could always 
 wear about her neck, as did the ladies whom 
 she had seen sometimes riding in the Bois ! 
 Pierrette had no conception of the value of such 
 a trinket. She hoped to astonish Pere Michel 
 with the enormity of her wealth by showing 
 him the double-louis. She fancied that his eyes 
 would blink at sight of it, and that he would 
 place everything in his shop at her disposal ; 
 for Pere Michel had a passion for gold, and
 
 PIERRETTE. 93 
 
 liked nothing so well as the feeling of it between 
 his fingers. 
 
 There was a bit of work to be returned ; Pere 
 Michel had not provided much of late. He com 
 plained of the dullness of trade ; and, secretly, 
 Elize was rather glad of it, for the work of her 
 new employer was so fine and exquisite, and 
 had to be so carefully wrought, that it took 
 the most of her time. And she had really lost 
 interest in the old tiresome mending. Yet she 
 could not have refused the old man s work with 
 out some explanation, and so she was rather 
 thankful on the whole that no explanation was 
 necessary. 
 
 She did not suspect that Pere Michel had 
 formed his own conclusions about her, for he 
 was sharp, was Pere Michel, and had a way of 
 his own of finding everything out, and that 
 he was now sending the work he had always 
 given her to other ouvricrcs, much to his own 
 vexation, be it said, since he learned the cause 
 of her new prosperity. He did not care a fig, 
 he said to himself; she was a silly little creature 
 who knew nothing of the world, and would find 
 herself well pinched some of these fine days.
 
 94 PIERRETTE. 
 
 He was disappointed in her, that was all ; he 
 had always thought her a little woman of prin 
 ciple, but she preferred working for that genteel 
 rascal. Ah, well, women were all alike! and he 
 made a wry face and prophesied that she would 
 be glad enough to come back to him sometime, 
 for they always did. But then, that was only 
 Fere Michel s way of talking. 
 
 That morning the little mother was not in 
 clined to leave the house ; she had spent a 
 sleepless night, and she did not wish to see or 
 talk with any one. 
 
 " You will hasten there and return quickly, 
 my Pierrette," she said, as she placed the mended 
 laces in the little girl s hand. 
 
 " Yes, petite mere," said Pierrette, very glad 
 of the opportunity of going alone to Pere 
 Michel s in order to transact more freely her 
 business with him. 
 
 The little mother kissed her on both cheeks, 
 and wondered as she did so at the child s eager 
 look and the joyous excitement twinkling in her 
 bright eyes. She wondered too if there was 
 anywhere in all this great city of Paris a lovelier 
 child than Pierrette. She watched her down
 
 PIERRETTE. 95 
 
 the long flight of stairs, and then she went back 
 to her little window and looked out of it into the 
 street below until the little red hood had disap 
 peared around the corner. 
 
 Dear, fond little mother ! what was it that 
 made her tender heart overflow that morning, 
 as she watched the little girl out of her sight? 
 Was it a foreboding of something that was in 
 store for her, of a parting that was near at hand? 
 She sat with her head buried in her hands for a 
 longtime, whispering to herself, without knowing 
 why, " Heaven bless her ! " 
 
 But presently a knock at the door roused her 
 from her meditation ; and she rose to receive 
 her visitor. 
 
 Meanwhile little Pierrette was hastening to the 
 rue des Anges. When she reached the old 
 man s door she found Pere Michel in the act of 
 preparing his noon-day meal, and Joy-of-My- 
 Heart in his favorite attitude upon his back. 
 
 "Ah, little Rcd-Riding-Hood," croaked the 
 old fellow, as he opened the door with one 
 hand, and with the other flourished a long- 
 handled spoon with which he had been stirring 
 some batter, so that everything in the vicinity
 
 96 PIERRETTE. 
 
 caught a mild spatter of yellow dough. " You 
 must have scented my good crepes in the air, 
 little witch, eh?" 
 
 Pierrette looked around her for a minute, 
 quite out of breath with having walked so fast 
 and with the prospect of approaching Pere 
 Michel on the delicate subject of the watch. 
 
 "I did not know it was so late; maman and 
 I have had breakfast but a short time ago," said 
 the child, in some surprise. " I have brought 
 back the work; maman could not come herself, 
 she has the migraine" 
 
 " Humph, the migraine, indeed ! quite like a 
 fine lady," murmured old Michel, stirring his 
 batter vigorously. 
 
 " If I shall disturb you by staying, I can 
 leave the work now and come again at some 
 other time to speak to you about something ; 
 but but I wanted to do it this morning, very 
 much ; when maman was not here," she added, 
 with some hesitation. 
 
 " Now that you are here, you may stay," said 
 Michel, good-humoredly. "It is not late, it is 
 hardly ten o clock ; but Joy-of-My-Hcart and I 
 are bound by no rules, are we my beauty? We
 
 " There is something I have wanted to ask you about for a 
 long time."
 
 PIERRETTE. 99 
 
 cook our (Icjcuner-a-la-fonrchctte \V\\Q\\ we please, 
 and we eat when we are hungry. Have we not 
 the right? " 
 
 Pierrette could not dispute that fact, especially 
 as Joy-of-My-Heart was just then going through 
 a scries of most foolish contortions to empha 
 size his master s words. "Then I may wait till 
 you have finished?" ventured she, much re 
 lieved; "there is something I have wanted to 
 ask you about; it is a surprise for maman, and 
 it is a secret also ; she is not to know about it 
 until Christmas day." 
 
 " You need not wait until I have finished to 
 ask me. We do not eat our crepes with our 
 ears, My-Joy and I," said the old man, face 
 tiously. " Sit down, sit down, and tell me your 
 secret ; if it is a good one, I will keep it." 
 
 Pierrette laughed, and drew a little three- 
 legged stool near the big logs that were blazing 
 between two huge fire-dogs over which Pere 
 Michel s frying-pan was sizzling merrily. 
 
 " Some one, a very kind gentleman who has 
 been very good to maman and me I may not 
 tell you his name, I have been forbidden to do 
 that has made me a present of a great deal
 
 100 PIERRETTE. 
 
 of money!" and she opened her small palm 
 and showed the round coin, at which Pore 
 Michel s little round eyes made a pretence of 
 staring quite wildly, although the little explana 
 tion about the kind friend was unnecessary ; he 
 knew him very well. " He said I should buy 
 something for myself and maman with it ; and 
 what do you suppose I have thought of for her? 
 You cannot guess," she added, leaning forward 
 to look at the old man, and speaking in a 
 confidential undertone. 
 
 Pere Michel was just then in the act of send 
 ing a large batter-cake flying up in the air and 
 landing it safely back, right side up, in the fry 
 ing-pan, according to the most approved French 
 fashion, and this he did with much grace and 
 dexterity. 
 
 " No, I can t guess," he said, when he had 
 accomplished the feat. " What, for instance?" 
 
 Pierrette screwed up her rosy mouth, and 
 her round eyes shone with suppressed secrecy. 
 " You will not laugh at me, Monsieur Michel, nor 
 say that I am trying to play la grande dame, as 
 you sometimes do when I admire your pretty 
 things? "
 
 PIERRETTE. IOI 
 
 " Sapcrlottc ! you are making conditions, 
 Ma mzelle Pierrette ; do I ever laugh at my 
 customers when I know they want to buy in 
 good earnest? " said Pere Michel, with a feint of 
 excusing himself. " If it s anything I have that 
 you want to buy, then out with it, and we shall 
 see how good a bargain we can make together. 
 It is not the old red-velvet jacket trimmed with 
 gilt braid that you are dreaming of giving your 
 poor little mother? She is much too quiet and 
 too sensible to want such rubbish as that." 
 
 " No, it is not the red-velvet cloak," replied 
 Pierrette, eying that fetching article of apparel 
 with much reverence as it hung from its hook 
 in the tall glass case against the wall, and won 
 dering why Monsieur Michel spoke in such a 
 contemptuous way of it. 
 
 " Perhaps it is the amethyst ear-rings," sug 
 gested the old man; "but they are much too 
 long and too heavy for her pretty ears ; they 
 would make her look like a Hottentot, besides 
 they are all out of fashion." 
 
 " It is not the ear-rings, either," said Pierrette. 
 " Listen ! I will tell you," and she came closer 
 still to the old man, who was now rolling up his
 
 IO2 PIERRETTE. 
 
 batter-cake between his thumbs and forefingers, 
 and preparing to convey it to his longing 
 palate. " It is not any of those things ; it is 
 something useful, something that maman needs 
 and has wanted for a long time, only I never 
 thought we should ever be rich enough to buy 
 one. It is the little watch, the smallest one 
 with the jewels, in the blue case," concluded the 
 child, quite out of breath with her disclosure. 
 
 Fere Michel stood with the cake uplifted in 
 his fingers, his mouth wide open, his eyes pop 
 ping out of his head, as dumb as if he had 
 been struck by lightning. Pierrette was puz 
 zled. She wanted to laugh ; he did look so 
 droll with that look of astonishment on his face, 
 and his red night-cap rakishly askew on the 
 back of his bald head. 
 
 At length he burst out into an exclamation of 
 surprise. " Great thunder-r-r-r-rs," he roared, 
 rolling his eyes so dreadfully that Joy-of-My- 
 Heart gave a sudden leap and upset the frying- 
 pan. " Great thunders and blue lightnings ! " 
 was all he could say for several minutes. 
 
 When at last he recovered from his tremen 
 dous astonishment, Pierrette looked up at him
 
 PIERRETTE. IO3 
 
 archly, and ventured to ask, " Don t you care 
 to sell it?" 
 
 Old Michel threw back his head and laughed, 
 much to Pierrette s relief. She thought he 
 might be going to have a fit of apoplexy. 
 " Perhaps you don t know, Ma mzelle Pierrette, 
 what it is that you want, a gem, an antique, a 
 precious piece of bric-a-brac, as well as a most 
 remarkable time-keeper, having begun its tick 
 ing way back in the last century; worth three 
 or four times the gold-piece you have in your 
 hand ! " and he brought down his long spoon 
 with an emphatic thump. 
 
 Pierrette s expression became quite doleful as 
 she sat looking at her gold treasure which had 
 seemed so enormous to her and capable of pur 
 chasing almost anything in Paris. " So you 
 don t think this is enough?" she asked, not 
 willing to give up the idea altogether. " That 
 is a great pity. I thought it would be. It 
 seemed a great deal to me ; and I hoped 
 there would be enough left after paying for 
 the watch to get some things for little Francois 
 and Jeanneton and the ckiffonnier" and she 
 uttered a little sigh and let her hands fall in
 
 IO4 PIERRETTE. 
 
 her lap in a way that was very expressive 
 of her disappointment. 
 
 Pere Michel was not so hard-hearted an old 
 creature as he looked, or so much of a miser as 
 most people thought him to be. He was quite 
 touched with the little girl s desire to please her 
 mother. But, of course, he did not show his 
 emotion ; that \vas too unbusiness-like. He 
 only stirred the remainder of his batter more 
 energetically, and said, " Well, well, wait a few 
 days , I will see what I can do. There are three 
 weeks yet before Christmas. I will think about 
 it. Come in again in a day or two, and I will 
 tell you then whether I can let you have the 
 watch for your money." 
 
 " Oh, thank you many times, Monsieur 
 Michel, you are very good," she said, casting a 
 longing glance at the old chest containing the 
 coveted treasure. 
 
 Then she rose to go, and gathered the strings 
 of her little hood together. 
 
 " No, there is no other work this morning," 
 said Pere Michel, as he saw her hesitating 
 before unlatching the door. 
 
 She hurried home, for she had stayed much
 
 PIERRETTE. 105 
 
 longer than she expected, and maman might be 
 anxious and wonder at her delay. But the 
 little mother had scarcely taken any account of 
 the time since Pierrette had left. Something 
 very strange had happened while she was gone, 
 something that made the young woman feel 
 quite bewildered. When Pierrette opened the 
 door, she found a visitor in the room, and 
 maman s face looked troubled, and her eyes 
 looked as if she had been crying. Yet she was 
 thanking him and trying to smile even through 
 her tears.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TlIE knock at the door which had roused 
 Elize some moments before had come from 
 Monsieur Le Page. The little mother was 
 surprised to see him, for it was but two days 
 since he had been to pay her for the month s 
 work, and had given the gold coin to Pierrette. 
 
 o o 
 
 After what had taken place in front of the 
 church yesterday, she hardly knew how to greet 
 him. Perhaps something had happened to 
 make him displeased with her; a confusion of 
 doubts swarmed in her timid breast, and a 
 fearful dread came over her that he was come, 
 somehow, to rob her of some of her happiness. 
 She met him tremblingly; her fear lasted but a 
 moment, for Monsieur Le Page smiled at her 
 kindly, and gave her his hand in such a friendly
 
 PIERRETTE. IO/ 
 
 way, that she felt re-assured. He sat down and 
 began talking upon various subjects which had 
 nothing to do with his usual business. He did 
 not even mention the lace or ask to see it. 
 He inquired after Pierrette, and talked of her a 
 great deal ; and the little mother glowed with 
 pride at his praise of her, and began to reproach 
 herself inwardly for having supposed that this 
 kind gentleman who had so befriended them, 
 and shown such a great interest in them, should 
 have been ashamed to recognize them that 
 morning in front of the church. She had been 
 very foolish and wrong to think it of him. He 
 was such a busy man, and his mind was so pre 
 occupied with great interests which they could 
 not even try to understand, that it was very 
 possible he might have looked straight at them 
 and yet not seen them. It was very comforting 
 to the little mother to think that she had been 
 mistaken, and that the handsome gentleman 
 whom she and Pierrette had learned to honor 
 because of his goodness, was no less kind and 
 generous than they had thought him. 
 
 To a sensitive young thing like Elize, a kind 
 look from any fellow-creature was far more
 
 IO8 PIERRETTE. 
 
 precious than a more liberal reward of money. 
 She could not live without the latter, truly 
 enough ; but she could have been happier 
 without money than without kindness and gen 
 tleness and love. Monsieur Le Page had 
 treated them always with the utmost considera 
 tion, more as if he were their guardian and 
 friend than their task-master. How different 
 he was from old Michel, thought little Elize ! 
 Before Pere Michel she was always timid and 
 humbled ; with Monsieur Le Page she felt like 
 a real lady. For he had the faculty of raising 
 her to his level, and never letting her know that 
 he was their superior; but perhaps that was 
 because he was such a true gentleman. 
 
 While these simple thoughts were passing 
 through Elize s mind, Monsieur Le Page was 
 growing confidential and talking more about 
 himself than she had ever known him to do 
 before. It had often puzzled him, he said, to 
 know what he should do with all his wealth. 
 He was alone in the world, and he had worked 
 for himself alone ; and after all that brought 
 but little satisfaction. He had not thought that 
 he should ever take any special interest in any
 
 PIERRETTE. 1 09 
 
 of his fellow-creatures, enough so to wish to help 
 them and better their condition. Yet, since he 
 had known her and Pierrette, that wish had 
 seized upon him, and had grown stronger, until 
 now he felt that he could not be happy unless 
 she allowed him to show his interest for them in 
 some substantial way. 
 
 Elize was puzzled ; she could not quite under 
 stand him. " Monsieur has been so kind to us," 
 she said, with sweet gratitude glistening in her 
 eyes ; " we have already too much to thank you 
 for, Pierrette and I." 
 
 " Not so," interposed Monsieur Le Page, " it 
 is I who shall have cause to thank you if you 
 will look favorably upon the proposition I wish 
 to make in regard to the little girl." 
 
 " Anything that you may propose, Monsieur, 
 is sure to be wise and best ; you know that you 
 have my favor in advance." 
 
 " I have grown fond of Pierrette; one could 
 hardly see the child and not become so. Her 
 beauty is too rare to be hidden away in this 
 obscure quarter of Paris. Her mind too bright 
 not to be disciplined ; her nature too gentle to 
 be allowed to battle with the hardships of
 
 1 10 -PIERRETTE. 
 
 poverty. It has grown to be a strong desire 
 with me to give her the advantages that wealth 
 can procure, and make her happy in all that the 
 world deems happiness, and to see how far the 
 power of riches can go to achieve this end. It 
 is an interesting study to watch the growth and 
 expansion of natural gifts by means of proper 
 conditions and congenial atmosphere. I should 
 like to see this child blossom into the perfection 
 of womanhood, rise from her lowly surroundings 
 here to the highest position in the social world, 
 and to feel that I had been the means of ac 
 complishing this transformation." 
 
 Monsieur Le Page s generous offer was per 
 haps not unmixed with a little selfish pride. 
 He was proud indeed of his great wealth, 
 proud of his having achieved it alone, proud of 
 the power it gave him to obtain, as he firmly 
 believed, all things in this world. 
 
 The little mother had tried to follow him. 
 What he had said was such a sudden and com 
 plete realization of all the vague, unspoken 
 hopes she had so long cherished for little 
 Pierrette, that it seemed to her as if she must 
 be dreaming. She did not quite comprehend
 
 PIERRETTE. 1 1 I 
 
 all that he wished to do for the child. Her 
 ideas of worldly advancement were very small. 
 She was such a simple, artless little woman, and 
 knew so little of the life of the so-called great 
 people of a big city. She pressed her fingers 
 against her white temple, and her breath came 
 fast. It was very hard to grasp and understand 
 this burst of fortune that came upon her and 
 almost overwhelmed her by its suddenness. 
 
 "But how may this be, Monsieur?" she 
 asked; "must not one be born to such position 
 as you speak of ? My little child and I are 
 very humble. How is it possible that she could 
 ever become a lady? " 
 
 " With money, Madame, it is possible to 
 accomplish everything. Money is a very potent 
 thing; it can buy homage, rank, and the plaudits 
 of the great world. With it a man is powerful 
 for good or evil alike ; without it, one is help 
 less in spite of great talents, ambition, and even 
 genius," and Monsieur Le Page pressed the gold 
 knob of his cane tightly against his lips, as if to 
 emphasize the force of his conviction. 
 
 Poor little Elize could, in a small measure, 
 appreciate the value of these words. She had
 
 112 PIERRETTE. 
 
 never had the means of judging of the full 
 power of money; but she knew too well the 
 hardships and privations that come from the 
 lack of it. She had looked upon this quiet 
 gentleman as the embodiment of that very 
 power of which he spoke. She was convinced 
 that he could do anything, accomplish every 
 thing, with his wealth. Moreover, she admired 
 and respected him ; and it was easy to believe 
 his words, even though she could not quite 
 compass their meaning. 
 
 Ho\v was all this that he wished for Pierrette 
 to be accomplished? Monsieur Le Page ex 
 plained it in a few brief words. He would 
 make her the heir of his fortune ; and, in order 
 to fit her for so exalted a sphere, she must first 
 be taken from her lowly surroundings, and 
 placed in the care of those who would teach 
 her and train her in the ways that become a fine 
 lady. She must have a governess, and masters 
 in all the arts, and live at Monsieur Le Page s 
 magnificent house, where she should early be 
 brought under the refining influence of luxury, 
 and that she might learn to care for him as a 
 daughter.
 
 PIERRETTE. 113 
 
 The little mother s heart stood still. Would 
 she have to be separated from Pierrette? Would 
 Pierrette be taken from her, so that they would 
 never see each other? 
 
 Hardly that, Monsieur Le Page thought. Yet 
 a separation was inevitable. If he made Pier 
 rette his heir, she must become his charge, and 
 be entirely under his control; she must look to 
 him for everything. The young mother would 
 be handsomely provided for. She had spoken 
 of a home at Meudon, one should be bought 
 for her there ; and the little girl should be 
 allowed to see her from time to time, and they 
 should not be unhappy. Everything would be 
 done for the child s comfort and pleasure. But, 
 of course, it would be impossible for Elizc to 
 remain in the same house with her. 
 
 Poor little mother ! how strangely had her 
 hopes and longings for Pierrette shaped them 
 selves for her own misery; how could she give 
 up her little child into the hands of strangers, 
 and stand aside and see the only joy of her life 
 going from her, for the delight of others? Mon 
 sieur Le Page had been kind to them ; his wish 
 to take the little girl and do for her as for a
 
 114 PIERRETTE. 
 
 daughter was only another proof of his generos 
 ity ; and yet, what a price was this to pay for 
 her gratitude ! She could make no answer 
 now ; her lips trembled and her voice was 
 choked. She could not refuse him what he 
 asked. There was but one choice between such 
 a life as she and Pierrette were living, and the 
 one he offered them ; but her mother-heart was 
 wrung at the very thought of choosing. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page saw the look of anguish 
 that came into her eyes, and he could not under 
 stand it. He had never known such a love as 
 the one that filled the gentle mother s heart. 
 That she should hesitate to accept such an offer 
 as he had just made to her, on account of any 
 personal regret, had not entered into his calcu 
 lations. 
 
 " Monsieur must not think me ungrateful," 
 said the little woman, at length, "or believe that 
 I do not fully appreciate the honor he does my 
 little child. I wish to do all that is best for 
 Pierrette, without considering myself; but I 
 must ask Monsieur to let me think about it a 
 while alone. I shall be prepared to give Mon 
 sieur his answer in a few days."
 
 " I know, I know, Monsieur, and I thank you in my heart. 1
 
 PIERRETTE. 1 1/ 
 
 " Certainly; in a week, or even two. There 
 need be no haste," assented the gentleman. 
 "It is a serious matter for you, I understand. 
 You may take your own time for decision. But 
 rest assured that the little girl will receive the 
 best of care, and that everything shall be done 
 with a view to her happiness." 
 
 " I know, I know, Monsieur, and I thank you 
 in my heart," and she looked up at him with her 
 soft gray eyes from which two large tears over 
 flowed. 
 
 It was then that little Pierrette entered, and 
 immediately the young mother s arms were 
 around her, and she was holding the pretty 
 head on her bosom. No, they could not be 
 going to part from each other ; it could not be ! 
 She must have been dreaming. Every other 
 thought fled from her, save that her little one 
 was here again, nestling close to her, and the 
 joy of their old life, simple and humble as it had 
 been, presented itself to her with such force 
 that parting seemed a thing impossible.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ALL the rest of that day Elize went about 
 with a leaden weight in her heart. The sun 
 light looked- cold ; the song of the yellow canary 
 had a dismal note to it ; the new buds that had 
 blossomed in the night in her window bore a 
 sickening fragrance ; and all the little pleasures 
 that had given their simple home a charm and 
 grace seemed now, as she looked upon them, 
 to cause her pain instead of delight. They were 
 all associated with the child. What would they 
 all mean if she were taken away ! Where was 
 the use of living if the one thing that had 
 made life sweet was denied her! Oh, it was 
 cruel, cruel ! and yet she had wished it all, so 
 blindly, so foolishly, never suspecting that she
 
 PIERRETTE. 119 
 
 would have to make a sacrifice of her love in 
 payment for her ambition. 
 
 She could not meet Pierrette s inquiring eyes ; 
 she had not the heart to tell her yet. She must 
 reason with herself, and gain courage to do what 
 was best. Then she would break the news to 
 the little girl cheerfully, that she might not 
 look upon it as a hardship, but only as the ful 
 fillment of their brightest dreams. It had never 
 once occurred to the young mother that she 
 could refuse her patron s generous offer. She 
 knew that she must submit. Would it not be 
 selfish of her to stand in the way of Pierrette s 
 life-happiness and prosperity because of her 
 own foolish feelings? Had she not been taught 
 that to give up what we prize the most for the 
 good of those we love, is the truest way of 
 showing them our devotion ! Besides, she had 
 been forced by circumstances to give up much 
 that was dear to her. But making a sacrifice 
 because we are compelled to it by circumstances, 
 and making one of our own free-will, are two 
 very different things ; and it is the last that is 
 the true test of our nobler self. 
 
 So the little mother gathered up her courage
 
 I2O PIERRETTE. 
 
 through the whole of that long day, and gave 
 herself a score of reasons why it \vas best that 
 Pierrette should go ; how much happier the 
 child would be for it, and that she herself, in 
 time, might become accustomed to the separa 
 tion, and would find some little comfort, per 
 haps, in the birds and the flowers, her old 
 friends at Meudon. And Pierrette would come 
 to her now and then, for she should not be very 
 far off, and they would spend a day together ; 
 and the joy of those moments would keep her 
 happy for many days after. And when the 
 little girl grew up to womanhood, fair, beauti 
 ful, and accomplished, and understood what she 
 had given up for her sake, Pierrette would bless 
 her for it and love her the more. Yes, she was 
 sure that her little Pierrette would never forget 
 her quite, that she would always remember and 
 cherish her " petite mere," no matter how grand 
 and splendid a lady they made of her. 
 
 That night Elize told the little girl what had 
 been the purport of Monsieur Le Page s visit. 
 In simple terms, she made Pierrette understand 
 what he wished to do for her : how he would 
 give her a beautiful home, and everything that
 
 PIERRETTE. 121 
 
 could make her life happy ; how he would have 
 her taught many wise things, and make a lady 
 of her ; and how, when she was old enough, she 
 would have the means to do great good. She 
 dwelt on their patron s unspeakable kindness in 
 placing such fair fortunes within her reach ; for 
 she wished the child to love him, and look upon 
 him as her greatest benefactor, without any 
 jealous fears for herself. 
 
 " Will you not like to go and live with the kind 
 Monsieur in his beautiful house, Pierrette? and 
 drive behind splendid horses, and become a very 
 rich lady some day?" she asked, with a smile, 
 as the child listened with wondering eyes to the 
 strange revelations that were made to her. 
 
 "Without you, petite mere? How can that 
 be?" 
 
 " Oh, I shall not be very far away, my Pier 
 rette, and we shall see each other often. And 
 there will be a kind lady who will take care of 
 you and teach you many wise and useful things, 
 which I cannot do. And Monsieur Le Page, 
 you will care for him very much, because he 
 will give you so much that will make you 
 happy."
 
 122 PIERRETTE. 
 
 " And will it make you happy, petite mere?" 
 asked the child, a little doubtfully, seeing that 
 the young mother s eyes were moist even while 
 her lips were smiling. 
 
 " It would be very ungrateful of me to be 
 otherwise," she answered. 
 
 " And when I am grown, and may have every 
 thing I want, can I not have you with me 
 always ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, perhaps, my Pierrette, but that 
 time is many years hence. You are still a very 
 little girl, and until then we must do as Mon 
 sieur thinks best. You will not find it hard to 
 do his wishes. He is so kind and cares much 
 for you, and you love him too, do you not, 
 Pierrette?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, better than any one else, excepting 
 you, petite mere." 
 
 The little mother felt grateful that Pierrette 
 had learned to care for and admire the good 
 gentleman. It would have been so much harder 
 if he had not first won the child s confidence 
 and affection, and drawn her heart to him by 
 the many little kindnesses and attentions which 
 children love to receive from their elders.
 
 
 As if all the airy sprites she had heard of in the old fain- 
 book were dancing by her in gay procession."
 
 PIERRETTE. 125 
 
 Pierrette was too young to understand fully 
 the change this would make in her life, and how, 
 in spite of the tender love they bore each other, 
 she and her young mother must surely grow 
 apart, by reason of the very difference in their 
 lives ; how time and change and new interests 
 are the most powerful agents to make the young 
 forget their earlier and more humble blessings. 
 
 O O 
 
 Therefore she was not heart-sick, nor felt any 
 forebodings in the midst of her strange good 
 fortune, as did the young mother. That night 
 she dreamed that she slept on beds of roses, and 
 the world about her was bright, fresh, and green 
 as the country is at Meudon in the spring-time, 
 and the air filled with the loveliest bird-notes, 
 and the sound of trickling waters. And it 
 seemed as if all the airy sprites she had heard 
 of in the old fairy-book were dancing by her 
 in gay procession, and each one stooped to kiss 
 her as she passed, and left a blessing on her 
 lips. A strange dream it was for a little girl 
 to have, sleeping on a narrow cot in an old 
 garret, in that little room, all darkened save 
 for the glow of the dying embers in the great 
 chimney hollow, and the pale beams of a cold.
 
 1 26 PIERRETTE. 
 
 cold moon that came in through the small 
 window. 
 
 Elize sat beside the little bed, holding one 
 baby-hand in hers, and placing those fairy kisses 
 of her dreams on the lips of the sleeping child. 
 There was no sleep for her that night. She 
 could only look at her darling, and pray Heaven 
 to give her the strength she so much needed. 
 For she had now made up her mind to the part 
 ing. She herself could do so little for the child, 
 she must be willing and glad to let others do for 
 her what she could not. She had hoped and even 
 prayed that Pierrette s life might be different 
 from that of the other poor children she knew. 
 Was not this the fulfillment of her wish ! To 
 grieve for her own loss, to cast a shadow on 
 Pierrette s good fortune by any regrets of her 
 own, would make the little girl unhappy, and 
 she would be lacking herself in courage. That 
 little mother, though young and sensitive, and 
 frail of body, was very strong and brave in her 
 love. 
 
 She sat silent and alone through the long 
 hours of the night, trying to prepare herself for 
 the separation that was to come, and wondering
 
 PIERRETTE. I2/ 
 
 how it would seem when Pierrette was no longer 
 with her, and if all her days would be as lonely 
 and cheerless as that still night. The old bell 
 from the tower of St. Sulpice tolled out the 
 midnight hour over the sleeping city. Its rich, 
 mellow tones seemed to carry a nameless com 
 fort to her stricken soul. It seemed like a voice 
 from Heaven speaking to her, and bidding her 
 be of good cheer. She rose and went to the 
 window, and looked out upon the night. Here 
 and there, in the neighboring houses, a light 
 went out from one of the windows, some 
 weary worker, perhaps, whose daily task was just 
 done, and at length all around grew still, and 
 she and the white moon were left to keep their 
 vi^il alone.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NOW that the little mother had quite made 
 up her mind to give up her treasure, she became 
 anxious that Monsieur Lc Page should come 
 soon to get her answer; and now that the 
 struggle was over, and she had won the battle 
 over her foolish heart, she was eager that 
 Pierrette should enter as early as might be 
 upon her new dignities. She felt that every 
 day spent in the little garret-room was one day 
 robbed her of her good fortune. Pierrette had 
 many things to learn, she said, before Monsieur 
 came to take her away, and she wished to pre 
 pare her as well as she could for becoming 
 a lady. 
 
 But Pierrette was already a little lady; she 
 was that by nature, and her gentle mother s
 
 PIERRETTE. I2Q 
 
 teaching. She had never heard or known a 
 harsh word in her life; love and kindness had 
 been their teacher and their guide; and there 
 are no more refining influences anywhere than 
 these two gentle virtues. In spite of the lowli 
 ness of her surroundings, the little girl possessed 
 that inborn grace and charm of manner which 
 no amount of education can secure. It was 
 this, together with her childish trust and fond 
 ness for him, that had won the rich gentleman s 
 interest, and had given him the desire to raise 
 her to a position which he felt sure she would 
 adorn. The little mother had not been able to 
 teach Pierrette much of what the world calls 
 wisdom; but she had imbued her childish nature 
 with a love for truth and goodness, and that in 
 itself is a talisman for winning all hearts. 
 
 They spent many hours talking of the new 
 life that was in store for her, and trying to im 
 agine how it would be, and building airy castles 
 for a distant future. One day they had gone so 
 far as to ride out to the avenue of the Bois de 
 Boulogne, a long distance for them to go from 
 their home ; for they hardly ever crossed the 
 bridges of the Seine, and had scarcely any 
 9
 
 I3O PIERRETTE. 
 
 knowledge of that other side of Paris, with its 
 handsome buildings and broad avenues and 
 brilliant parks. When they reached the great 
 Arch of Triumph, they descended from the 
 omnibus and walked down the shady avenue, 
 past the splendid homes of the rich, and among 
 them that of Monsieur Le Page. 
 
 It was a veritable little chateau, built of gray 
 stone with innumerable little turrets that now 
 were mantled with a fresh fall of snow. The 
 red glow of the setting sun fell full upon its 
 windows, and it seemed to be enveloped in a 
 blaze of glory. 
 
 " Look, look, Pierrette, how beautiful it is ! " 
 whispered the little mother, as, passing the great 
 iron gate that led into its garden, the}" caught 
 glimpses of its splendor through the half-cur 
 tained windows. Rare and beautiful flowers 
 rearing their graceful heads to the light, white 
 marble statues and rich draperies, such sump- 
 tuousness as Pierrette and her little mother had 
 never dreamed of. 
 
 " To think that this shall be your home, Pier 
 rette, all yours some da)- ! and that some 
 time I may come walking by as we are doing
 
 " They walked down the shady avenue."
 
 PIERRETTE. 133 
 
 to-day, and shall see your face looking from one 
 of those great windows and smiling down at me. 
 Oh, does it not seem strange that such fortune 
 should come to you and me ; I cannot make it 
 seem true ! " 
 
 Pierrette pressed her mother s hand. " Oh, 
 petite mere, if you were only to be here too ! " 
 she said, wistfully; " it will be very strange for 
 me to be living in this great house, and you in 
 the little cottage at Meudon. I wonder why it 
 must be so ! " 
 
 " Monsieur wishes it, my Pierrette ; and there 
 are reasons why it is best." And Pierrette did 
 not doubt this. 
 
 They hastened on, hardly daring to look back 
 at the beautiful home that was of so great in- 
 
 o 
 
 terest to them both lest any one should see 
 them and wonder at their boldness. When 
 they returned to their little garret that night, it 
 seemed as if they had been off on a long 
 journey. They were so full of what they had 
 seen that they could talk of nothing else. 
 
 In the evening, when Pierrette went to take 
 old Jeanneton her dish of soup, she could not 
 refrain from mentioning her adventures. " You
 
 134 PIERRETTE. 
 
 cannot think where petite mere and I have 
 been to-day, Jeanneton. We have been to see 
 a gentleman s palace, a long way beyond the 
 Seine. Oh, it is such a beautiful place ! and 
 you would never believe it, Jeanneton, but I am 
 going there to live very soon, and I shall be 
 very rich, maman says, and I shall send you 
 your soup every day and a fowl on Sunday, and 
 plenty of wood to keep you warm in winter." 
 
 " What s all that rubbish ! " grumbled the old 
 dame, holding out her hand for the dish; " who 
 talks of being rich in this neighborhood, I 
 should like to know ! I have lived in it sixty 
 years, and have never seen anything but misery. 
 Don t talk to me of palaces ! This is a rat- 
 trap, I tell you, and we are all caught in it to 
 starve." 
 
 " Oh, but, Jeanneton, there is a dear, good 
 Monsieur who has been giving maman some 
 lovely lace work to do, and paying her a great 
 deal of money for it, and who makes me beauti 
 ful gifts. It is he who is rich, and is going to 
 take me to live with him." 
 
 " I don t know anything about your fine 
 Monsieur," persisted the old woman, with much
 
 PIERRETTE. 135 
 
 ill-nature. " The only Monsieur I ever see is 
 that miserly concierge who comes up every 
 month to plague me for the rent, when I 
 have n t a sou to give him. They are all alike, 
 your Messieurs, a rascally lot, who like riothing 
 better than to cheat the poor." 
 
 Pierrette knew that Jeanneton would be in a 
 more amiable mood when she had swallowed 
 her hot broth ; but she could not help laughing 
 at the thought of Jeanneton s comparing Mon 
 sieur Le Page to the old concierge downstairs. 
 If she could only see him once, with his hand 
 some features and long curling mustache, and 
 the kindly smile with which he always greeted 
 her when he came, and the elegant gold-top 
 cane he carried, and the curious eye-glass 
 through which he looked at her, she felt sure 
 that Jeanneton, even old, grumbling, ill-natured 
 Jeanneton, could not but think him a most 
 delightful gentleman. 
 
 It was now nearly two weeks since Monsieur 
 Le Page had been to see Elize, and the wonder 
 ful piece of lace had been finished for some 
 days, and she awaited his return with impatience. 
 As the days followed one another and he did
 
 136 PIERRETTE. 
 
 not come, she grew restless and uneasy. She 
 felt that she must talk to some one about the 
 thing that weighed most on her heart. 
 
 That evening, after Pierrette had gone to 
 sleep, Elize put on her bonnet and cape, and 
 made her way noiselessly down the dingy stairs 
 out into the frosty night. She was going to 
 Pere Michel s. He was not one whom she 
 would ordinarily have sought for confidence ; 
 he was not a very sympathetic listener. But 
 she must tell somebody, and she really knew 
 him better than any one of her neighbors, 
 and something seemed to lead her to him 
 that night. He was fond of Pierrette, in his 
 way, and she needed advice about her. There 
 would be no need of mentioning the name of 
 Monsieur Le Page, or speaking of the work she 
 had done for him. She would simply say that 
 it was a rich gentleman who had been very 
 kind to them, and who had offered to take 
 Pierrette and bring her up like a lacly, and 
 she had made up her mind to let him have 
 the child. 
 
 The little mother walked rapidly through the 
 idle crowd in the rue des Anges, for, it being
 
 PIERRETTE. 137 
 
 the week before the Christmas feast, every 
 one was out inspecting the brilliant little shops, 
 and making what purchases their small means 
 would allow. But Elize was not in touch 
 with that merry, laughing multitude to-night. 
 She scarcely heard the confused clatter of the 
 women s voices and the boisterous shouting 
 of the men and the shrill laughter of boys 
 and girls. As she hurried past them, she was 
 preparing her little speech to Pere Michel, 
 feeling, perhaps, a little frightened at her own 
 boldness. 
 
 When she entered the shop, she found the 
 old man seated in his armchair before the fire, 
 roasting chestnuts for the enjoyment of himself 
 and his dog. There was no light in the room 
 but the fitful flame that rose and fell from the 
 burning wood in the chimney. For, as Pere 
 Michel said, with a true sense of French econ 
 omy, " Joy-of-My-Heart and I can see each 
 other very well by the light of the fire, and 
 where is the use of burning tallow, when we 
 know the way to our mouths ! " 
 
 He did not appear in the least surprised to 
 see Elize at that hour of the night; somehow
 
 138 PIERRETTE. 
 
 it seemed as if he had been expecting her, and 
 knew beforehand the purpose of her visit. His 
 manner was kinder than usual. He bade her 
 take a seat; and, before she was aware of it, and 
 without a single question from him, she had 
 told him her story, and how her poor heart was 
 breaking at the thought of being parted from 
 her little girl, and yet that there was no other 
 choice for her ; that it was Pierrette s own good 
 and not hers that she must consider; and that 
 she had come to him that he might help to 
 convince her that she was doing right. For 
 with each day that passed she felt herself grow 
 ing weaker in her brave resolution, and needed 
 the help of some friend. 
 
 It might have seemed odd to a third person, 
 if there had been one in Pere Michel s shop, to 
 hear the timid little woman pouring out her 
 feelings to that crusty old man, wholly forgetful 
 of her old fears, indeed, of everything except 
 that she was in great need of human sympathy. 
 Pere Michel had not uttered a single word, or 
 shown any signs of impatience during her short 
 narrative; but he had watched the little mother 
 very attentively, and had seemed to take more
 
 PIERRETTE. 139 
 
 than ordinary interest in what she told him. 
 He had not once interrupted her to dispute with 
 Joy-of-My-Heart, who lay at the old man s feet 
 and followed his example by listening in 
 respectful silence.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " AH, ah, well, it is good you came to me for 
 advice," said Pere Michel, leaning forward to stir 
 up the burned sticks, when Elize had finished 
 speaking. " I should have said nothing, if 
 you had not come here of your own will. It 
 is no business of mine, and I am not one to 
 pry into other people s affairs ; but, since you 
 want advice, I will tell you the truth. You 
 would better know it now than later. Your fine 
 gentleman, I know who he is, I have known 
 him a long time, with all his kindness and fine 
 offers, is a rascal, a polite, elegant rascal, but a 
 rascal all the same, and the less you have to 
 deal with him, the better."
 
 PIERRETTE. 141 
 
 Elize gave a start. Pere Michel spoke too 
 seriously for her to mistake his words as only in 
 jest. 
 
 " Monsieur Michel, what do you mean? " she 
 asked, in a frightened voice. " I cannot hear 
 you speak so of Monsieur Le Page. What do 
 you know of him that is not worthy?" 
 
 " A great deal too much, my dear young 
 woman, a great deal more than you would 
 approve if you knew. If I am a good judge 
 of people, and I flatter myself that I have not 
 lived all the se years without becoming such, I 
 take it that you are not a woman to profit by 
 fraud and deceit. The rich can sometimes do it 
 with safety ; but we poor wretches cannot afford 
 to be anything but honest. Yet I am not sorry 
 that it is so, for the bread of honesty is sweet, 
 even if it is eaten in a miserable little second 
 hand finery-shop, and with only a dog for com 
 pany." 
 
 Poor Elize was stupefied. " I cannot under 
 stand you, Monsieur Michel. Pray, what is it? 
 Oh, tell me what it is you know about Monsieur 
 Le Page ! though I am sure I can never believe 
 any wrong of him," she added, unwilling to be
 
 142 PIERRETTE. 
 
 convinced, and yet feeling that she must know 
 what it was that Pere Michel accused him of, if 
 only that she might defend him. 
 
 The old tradesman moved impatiently in his 
 chair and faced Elize suddenly. " Look at me ! " 
 he said sharply. " Do I go about spinning tales 
 about my neighbors? Does A. Michel take the 
 trouble to invent lies for his amusement? I am 
 a man of few words. I tell you that what I 
 know of your Sieur Le Page is true. I had it 
 from his own lips. He would have had me to 
 help him in his fraud, and paid me well for it. 
 But I knew him for an old rascal, old at the art 
 of lying and deceiving, I mean, and he got no 
 assistance from me. Then he finds you out, 
 Heaven only knows how, and plays the benefac 
 tor to you, poor little fool ! and pays you a 
 thousand francs for making a piece of lace 
 which he is going to sell for ten times that 
 much to some silly woman who is crazy after 
 old laces, and is ready to pay a fortune for them. 
 With a little saffron clye, skillfully used, he will 
 make it look for all the world like a genuine an 
 tique piece, and pass it off as a century or so old, 
 and as having belonged to some celebrated
 
 PIERRETTE. 143 
 
 queen or duchess. Those are his tricks. That 
 is how he coins his money. He does not do it 
 very often ; it would kill his trade if he did. But 
 once in a while he makes a little fortune on a 
 deal like this, and no one is the wiser; for he 
 knows that I cannot hurt him, even though / 
 know how he dupes them all, for he deals with 
 the rich, and I with the poor. But I would take 
 none of his money ; ill-gotten gain never brings 
 any good with it, and one might better live in 
 poverty all one s days than soil his conscience 
 with it." 
 
 Pere Michel drew a large red handkerchief 
 from his pocket, and mopped his face, which had 
 grown very warm during this long speech, the 
 like of which he had not made for many days. 
 Then he blew his nose very loud, several times, 
 for he had taken a pinch of his favorite snuff 
 after each sentence. "You have heard me," 
 he concluded, holding out his hand before the 
 fire, "and now you are free to do as you choose. 
 I have done my duty," and he waved the subject 
 away, feeling that he had acquitted himself 
 rather creditably, on the whole, of some very 
 errave and disagreeable business.
 
 144 PIERRETTE. 
 
 He had not seen the poor little mother s face 
 while he made his grave disclosures to her. The 
 flames had fallen very low ; but now they flick 
 ered once or twice, enough to send a faint yel 
 low light about the room, and he could see that 
 she was very pale and that her lips trembled 
 and her eyes had a look of dismay in them that 
 smote him. 
 
 It had all come upon her so like a revelation. 
 She felt the terrible pang of seeing a fair idol 
 fallen down and shivered at her feet. One 
 whom she had looked to for every virtue, 
 courtesy, gentleness, integrity, whom she had 
 learned to admire and trust more than any one 
 else she knew he was capable of a base decep 
 tion ; he would stoop to a dishonest transaction 
 for the sake of mere gain ; and he had come to 
 her to help him ; and she had received his money 
 and his benefits, and had been on the eve of 
 giving up to him her dearest treasure, her little 
 Pierrette ! Ah, it was a bitter moment for the 
 little woman, bitter, because it is always a sor 
 rowful thing to find we have been deceived in 
 those we loved best, to learn that their seem 
 ing kindness was, perhaps, but a cover to hide
 
 PIERRETTE. 145 
 
 their own selfish and unworthy ends. She 
 was bewildered ; her thoughts could find no ex 
 pression. Her little hands were clasped tightly, 
 and she gazed vacantly from the fire to Pere 
 Michel and from Pere Michel to the fire. 
 
 " You are sure, Monsieur Michel, very sure 
 that all this is true? " she said, for she somehow 
 clung to the belief that there must be some fatal 
 misunderstanding somewhere, or that she had 
 not heard the old man aright. 
 
 " I have said it once," returned he, tartly, 
 " that is enough ; you may believe or not as you 
 choose. Perhaps it would suit your wishes bet 
 ter not to believe it. In that case, I have been 
 mistaken in you, that is all, and I wash my hands 
 of you," and there was a slight sneer in his 
 tones. 
 
 " Oh, how can you think that, Monsieur 
 Michel! " cried Elize, resenting it; "how can 
 you believe that I would let my little child go to 
 those who are not honest or noble, however much 
 might be gained by it ! " and she rose, and her 
 gentle face flushed up, and a look as nearly re 
 sembling indignation as ever came into her calm 
 eyes was in them now. The old man s words
 
 146 PIERRETTE. 
 
 had touched the most sensitive fibre of her 
 nature, and with them came a sudden turn of 
 feeling, and a determination to show him that he 
 had not been mistaken in her. 
 
 " He shall not have my precious little one, - 
 no, not if he had all the money in Paris ! And 
 he shall not have the lace, although it is finished 
 and has been waiting for him these eight days. 
 We will starve first." 
 
 " Ah, now you speak like a woman of sense 
 and honor," said Michel, softening a little. 
 
 " But, oh," cried poor Elize, suddenly remem 
 bering, " he has paid me nearly half the price 
 of it, and that is all spent. Where shall I find 
 that much money to return to him? What 
 shall we do?" 
 
 " If you have really made up your mind to 
 have no further dealings with that canaillerie, 
 then you can count on me for help. First of 
 all, the money must be refunded. I will find a 
 purchaser for your lace, one who will buy it 
 with his eyes open, for just what it is and 
 nothing else, a beautiful piece of handiwork, 
 made by one of the most skillful needlewomen 
 in Paris to-day, and who will pay for what it is
 
 PIERRETTE. 147 
 
 really worth, not for the number of centuries 
 that have passed over it, or the great hands that 
 have touched it. Until the buyer can be found, 
 I will, myself, advance the money. How much 
 is it?" asked the old man, abruptly. 
 
 " Nearly four hundred francs," said Elize, 
 quite overwhelmed by this sudden mark of 
 interest from him. And, indeed, it was a tre 
 mendous proof of the old tradesman s regard 
 for her that he should offer to advance any sum 
 whatsoever; for he was fond of his gold, and he 
 had the reputation of being a miser, and always 
 crying poverty. He disappeared as if by magic 
 into a little closet whose door was so neatly 
 fitted into the wall that one would scarcely 
 have suspected its existence, and re-appeared 
 promptly with four crisp, new bank-notes 
 between his fingers. 
 
 " There," he said, giving them to Elize, " is 
 enough to rid you of that monster. You can 
 pay me back when we sell the lace, or work for 
 me instead ; there is always plenty of work here 
 for those who want it, and who do it well." 
 Then he sat down again in his big chair, and 
 rubbed his palms together, and shook his head
 
 148 PIERRETTE. 
 
 dubiously, saying now and then, " Aic, aic, aic, 
 it is a hard world, this, a very hard world ! " 
 
 Elize went to him and held out her hand. 
 She could not thank him in words. Her voice 
 was choked with the conflicting emotions that 
 troubled her gentle breast. She looked up at 
 him with tears in her large eyes, and the pres 
 sure of her delicate fingers told him that her 
 heart was grateful, grateful for his help, 
 grateful for the generous impulse that had 
 prompted him to stretch out a friendly hand to 
 her, just as he saw her hovering on the brink of 
 a great danger. 
 
 " Have courage, my little woman," he said 
 kindly, as he opened the door for her to pass 
 out. " Heaven is bound to help those who do 
 right." 
 
 And when he returned to his fireside he was 
 obliged to have a serious tussle with Joy-of-My- 
 Heart, for no apparent reason, except perhaps 
 that his feelings had got the better of him, and- 
 he had no other way of giving vent to them. 
 
 That night he remained a long time shut up 
 in the little closet \vith the invisible door. He 
 took his candle with him, and what he did there
 
 He was obliged to have a serious tussle with Joy-of-My heart."
 
 PIERRETTE. 151 
 
 remained a secret even to Joy-of-My-Heart, who 
 was never admitted to that innermost place of 
 confidence. When he emerged from its depths, 
 several hours later, you might have guessed 
 that he had been about some very important 
 and perplexing business ; for his few locks of 
 hair were in a state of sad disorder, and his face 
 very red with suppressed emotion, and the 
 fingers of his right hand were bedaubed with 
 ink, and a tremendous blot adorned the end of 
 his nose. 
 
 Elize hurried out into the street. It had 
 grown late, and the night was very cold. Hardly 
 conscious of what she did, she made her way 
 through the little, narrow streets, and was soon 
 back to the old house, the old house that had 
 begun to look bare and dismal and poor to her, 
 since the prospect of leaving it for something 
 better had been held out to her. How much 
 more dingy and miserable it seemed that night, 
 now that she must come back to it with her 
 hopes and bright dreams of prosperity all fled ! 
 They must give up all their little comforts, and 
 she must work harder than ever now, in order 
 to pay Monsieur Michel. She felt that they
 
 15,2 PIERRETTE. 
 
 could never again bfe even as contented as they 
 had been before they knew Monsieur Le Page 
 and his benefits; for that is the especial cruelty 
 of broken hopes, they make the blindness of 
 past contentment no longer possible. They 
 open the eyes to such fair visions of happiness 
 that we can never go back to our old life and 
 be at peace with it. 
 
 But when she entered the little garret-room, 
 and felt its genial atmosphere of homeliness, 
 and saw the little girl asleep on her cot, smiling 
 in her dreams, the young mother fell upon her 
 knees and thanked Heaven for the comfort that 
 stole into her heart at the thought that she 
 might now keep Pierrette. No, there would be 
 no dreadful parting; they could still be together, 
 and live for each other alone; and was not this 
 better than all the treasures and riches in the 
 world?
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHEN the morning came, the little mother s 
 most painful task was to tell Pierrette of the 
 change that had come in their plans and hopes. 
 She could give the girl no reason for it ; she 
 could not bear to think that her trustful child- 
 nature should even hear of wrong-doing. Some 
 thing had happened, she could not explain to 
 Pierrette just what, for she was too young to 
 understand, but she would not go and live with 
 the rich gentleman ; and maman would not do 
 any more work for him; and they would per 
 haps never see him again. 
 
 The child was greatly puzzled ; but there was 
 no regret in her voice when she asked : " And 
 are we to go on living together, petite mere,
 
 154 PIERRETTE. 
 
 you and I, in this little room, always? Oh, that 
 is better than everything, better than living in a 
 beautiful house where you would not be ! " 
 
 " And, Pierrette," added the little mother, 
 taking the child in her arms, and lavishing 
 caresses upon her, as if to soothe what she 
 fancied might be a greater disappointment to 
 her, " I must ask you to give up the gold-piece 
 which Monsieur Le Page gave you ; it will not 
 be right for you to keep it now." 
 
 " Is Monsieur Le Page in trouble, petite 
 mere? Has he lost all his money? " asked the 
 little girl, with an anxious look. 
 
 " He has lost something that is worth more 
 than money," was all that Elizc said. 
 
 Pierrette thought, with a little pang, of how 
 she would have to go that very morning and 
 tell Pere Michel that she would not be able to 
 buy the watch for her mother after all. That 
 was, I think, her deepest regret. But she gave 
 up her coin cheerfully, and felt very sorry 
 for their kind friend, she said, and wondered 
 secretly what it all meant, and why she should 
 never again see the handsome monsieur who 
 had wanted to make her his little girl.
 
 PIERRETTE. 155 
 
 While Elize and Pierrette were trying to 
 reconcile themselves to their altered fortunes, 
 Monsieur Le Page was at that very moment on 
 his way to the attic of the old house. He was 
 coming, not without some misgivings, to receive 
 the little mother s answer about Pierrette, and 
 to get his beautiful piece of old lace, which was 
 to be delivered to its purchaser that very day. 
 He had meant to come sooner, for he knew the 
 work would be finished ; but, strangely enough 
 for him, he had dreaded taking the final step. 
 He almost wished that he had never entered 
 into this transaction about the lace. It was the 
 hardest thing he had ever done in his life to 
 deceive that little woman, and that pretty child 
 for whom he had conceived such an unusual 
 fondness. It pleased him that they should 
 admire him and trust him. He had never 
 before known a little child s love; and already 
 it was beginning to make a better man of him. 
 He thought of all that he would do to keep that 
 trust; in what ways he would make her happy, 
 and how carefully he would guard her from 
 knowing any wrong of him. 
 
 That was perhaps not the best way of retain-
 
 156 PIERRETTE. 
 
 ing any fellow-creature s trust and confidence, 
 to seem only to be worthy. He had not learned 
 that we can never be quite true to others if we 
 are not true to ourselves ; that time had not yet 
 come for him. But he was beginning to be 
 conscious of his deficiencies, and that was a 
 great point gained in his favor. Several times 
 during the weeks that passed, he had set out 
 with the intention of coming to Klize. He 
 wished first of all to settle that matter about the 
 lace ; when it was sold and out of his hands, he 
 would breathe more freely, and could talk to her 
 about taking the little girl with much better grace. 
 That transaction about the lace troubled him 
 more than he liked to acknowledge, even to 
 himself; and he made up his mind that he 
 would not soon again enter upon another such. 
 
 So the days had gone by, and he had not 
 come; each time something had held him back. 
 And Elize had waited for him and wondered, 
 and finally, in her anxiety, had been led to go to 
 Pere Michel, who had told her everything. And 
 now the tide of her feelings was turned, and she 
 could never greet him with that same friendly 
 trust, or forget that he had sought her help in a 
 dishonorable deed.
 
 PIERRETTE. 157 
 
 How strangely does fate sometimes interpose 
 in the best laid plans of men ! If Monsieur Le 
 Page had not waited, if he had come but three 
 days before, he would have found the little 
 mother with her feelings towards him un 
 changed, and ready to serve him and believe 
 him in everything. She would not have gone 
 to Pere Michel with her confidence, and might 
 never have known exactly what Monsieur Le 
 Page purposed doing with the beautiful piece 
 of lace. Ah, and she would still have intrusted 
 to him her little girl, to the child s greater 
 happiness? who shall say! 
 
 But Monsieur Le Page suspected nothing of 
 all this, as he ascended the stairs of the old 
 house. He had no idea that those few days of 
 procrastination could work such a change in his 
 plans and life, as well as in those of the little 
 mother and Pierrette ; that through them he 
 was to learn a great lesson in righteousness. 
 
 He knocked at the door of the little room, 
 and it was some minutes before Elize appeared. 
 But the moment he saw her face, he knew that 
 something had happened ; and he felt an uncom 
 fortable tremor in her presence. She had known
 
 158 PIERRETTE. 
 
 it was he ; she recognized his gentlemanly rap. 
 So few persons ever came to see them, it was 
 not strange ; and no one else ever visited them 
 at that early hour of the morning. Pierrette 
 had gone down to see how old Jeanneton had 
 fared during the night, and Elize was thankful 
 that the child was not near to hear what she 
 said to Monsieur Le Page. Her heart was beat 
 ing very fast, and her breath came quickly. She 
 needed all her courage to meet him now, and to 
 hold fast to her resolution. For this gentleman 
 had a quiet, persuasive manner, a gentle firm 
 ness, that made it almost impossible for people 
 to resist him. He sat down, as was his wont, 
 before beginning to speak, and then made a few 
 vague excuses about his delayed return. 
 
 " I have been detained," he said, " by a mul 
 titude of circumstances. Business, Madame, is 
 a most absorbing thing. Now, if you please, 
 we will attend first to the matter of the lace. It 
 is finished, is it not? Ah, I knew it; you never 
 fail in your promises, and that is the secret of 
 success in any line of business ; it has been the 
 secret of mine. I have brought you the remain 
 ing six hundred francs, That sum may help you
 
 PIERRETTE. 159 
 
 and Pierrette to pass the Christmas feast pleas 
 antly to-morrow. Ah, Madame! what is it? 
 You are very pale ; are you not well " Mon 
 sieur Le Page broke off suddenly, when he saw 
 the look that came into her face. 
 
 Elize was standing in the middle of the room ; 
 she had made no movement to greet him. Her 
 tongue clung to the roof of her mouth; she 
 could scarcely find her voice. Oh, how could she 
 believe it of him ! of this kindly, courteous 
 gentleman whose gentle manner had won their 
 young hearts; how could she believe any ill of 
 him as he stood there before her now, so kindly 
 solicitous, and, to her innocent eyes, so noble- 
 looking ! Poor little woman, she was so full of 
 sensibility herself, that it caused her a greater 
 pang to have to confront him with an accusa 
 tion than she had ever felt in her simple life 
 before. " Monsieur," she said at length, making 
 a great effort to speak steadily, " it is a very 
 difficult thing for me to speak to a gentleman 
 of your position as I must speak to you this 
 morning. It is doubly hard after all your past 
 generosity. Believe me when I say that I do it 
 only for my honor s sake. You found us poor,
 
 160 PIERRETTE. 
 
 Pierrette and me ; we shall be still poorer now, 
 but we will remain honest. Our honor is all we 
 have ; but it is very precious to us, more pre 
 cious than your wealth." 
 
 Elize had spoken rapidly, and with quickening 
 breath, as if every word had cost her an effort. 
 But she had gathered courage as she went on ; 
 and the firm belief that she was doing right 
 made her seem, as she stood before him with 
 her young face flushed and her candid eyes 
 looking straight into his, by far the stronger of 
 the two. 
 
 For the first time since she had known him,, 
 she saw Monsieur Lc Page lose his rigid self- 
 control. A deathly pallor overspread his fea 
 tures, and a frightened look came into his eyes, 
 and his fingers began to twitch nervously. He 
 made an effort to appear calm, but it was use 
 less ; and if poor, trusting little Elize had cher 
 ished any lingering doubt as to the truth of 
 Pere Michel s accusation, that sudden transfor 
 mation in him was quite enough to dispel it. 
 
 "But, Madame," he said, in a feeble voice of 
 apology, " I do not understand your meaning 
 explain yourself, pray! "
 
 " But, Madame, he said, in a feeble voice of apology, I do not 
 understand. "
 
 PIERRETTE. 163 
 
 " There is little to explain, Monsieur, it is sim 
 ply that I cannot consent to let you have the 
 lace ; I was ignorant of your purpose when I 
 promised to make it. I did not know that you 
 intended to pass it for something that it is not. 
 If you had told me, I should never have given 
 my work to further a dishonorable dealing, any 
 more than would Monsieur Michel. It is bet 
 ter for me to work for him at thirty sous a day, 
 than to earn a thousand francs deceitfully. I 
 will keep the lace; it will never bring as much as 
 you have offered me ; but some one will surely 
 buy it, for it is beautiful, and I have taken pains 
 in making it, and and now, Pierrette and I 
 will not part, even though we remain poor 
 always. Oh, Monsieur ! " and here the little 
 mother s voice broke into sobs, " I would have 
 given you my treasure ! I would have parted 
 with my darling because I trusted you and 
 believed in your goodness ! " 
 
 Monsieur Le Page felt a cold stream about 
 his heart, and a sickening sense of fear and dis 
 appointment seemed to envelop him. For once 
 he was himself. His ghastly pallor and the ex 
 pression of intense anguish upon his features
 
 164 PIERRETTE. 
 
 showed that now, at least, he was not dissimu 
 lating. There is always something about genu 
 ine emotion that excites compassion. The little 
 mother s heart ached for him at that moment 
 more than it had ever done for her own misfor 
 tunes. She wished that she might help him in 
 some way, wished that she were strong enough 
 and good enough to turn his heart into the ways 
 of righteousness. She did not know how much 
 her brave, upright spirit had already done for 
 him : how in one short moment the power of 
 her innocent young nature had had its gentle, 
 benign influence upon his hard one. She could 
 see that he was suffering some terrible mental 
 anguish. Was it at the loss of his worldly 
 gain? Ah, no, he had quite lost sight of that 
 now ! It was the loss of that young woman s 
 respect, the loss of that little child s love when 
 they told her ill of him, the loss of those two 
 dear simple creatures trust, which had grown 
 sweet to him, that most appalled him. He 
 could not meet her candid gaze now; he knew 
 that he could not clear himself in her eyes by 
 a denial of the charge brought against him, or 
 any feeble explanations. And he realized how
 
 PIERRETTE. 165 
 
 precious a thing her trust had been, now that 
 he had lost it. 
 
 That little woman, hidden away there in that 
 old attic, simple and untaught as she was, had 
 been able to teach him the worth of honor. 
 She was poor, and ignorant of many things, 
 perhaps ; but she had opened the way of truth to 
 him. He saw now the worthlessness of worldly 
 pomp. She had preferred to remain poor rather 
 than profit by gain that was ill-acquired. What 
 were all his riches to her? She had her honor, 
 and everything that was in conflict with it 
 seemed miserable and contemptible to her. 
 
 Monsieur Le Page could not account for the 
 sudden turn of his long established feelings. 
 Indeed, he did not try to account for it. He 
 only yielded to the gentle influence of good, 
 and found some comfort in doing so. He knew 
 that this woman, with all her youth and timidity 
 and her lowly condition, was his superior. 
 
 What was it, indeed, that gave these simple 
 people so strong a sense of right? Had not 
 even old Michel shown himself strong in his 
 adherence to it? But the old man s example 
 alone had not been sufficient to move this fine
 
 1 66 PIERRETTE. 
 
 gentleman s sensibilities. It had taken little 
 Elize, with her pure young soul shining in her 
 lovely face, to touch the eyes of this cold un 
 scrupulous man with a colly rium that made his 
 blindness to justice and truth no longer possible. 
 When he turned away from the little garret that 
 morning, he was a changed man. lie had come 
 
 o * o 
 
 purposing to continue in his deceit, seeking 
 only to hide it more skillfully from those whose 
 good opinion he wished to retain ; but when 
 he went away, he had made the brave resolve 
 to undeceive himself, first of all, and then deceit 
 to others would no longer be necessary. And 
 a resolution with Monsieur Le Page was always 
 a serious thing, and one that must be achieved 
 at all costs.
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 THE morrow was Christmas-day, a white, 
 clear, joyous Christmas, when every thing and 
 creature in the gay city should have been 
 blessed with a glad heart. But poor little 
 Elize s heart that morning was heavier than it 
 had been for many a day. She had spent the 
 night in tears. She had wept, not so much at 
 the loss of what had seemed to be such a fair 
 future for them, not at the thought of the old 
 life of hardship and labor that she must return 
 to, for she was a brave little woman, but at the 
 loss of a friend. She had known so few friends 
 in the course of her simple, quiet life, so few 
 people who really understood her, and gave her 
 the gentle consideration which she loved, until
 
 168 PIERRETTE. 
 
 she had known Monsieur Le Page. And now, 
 alas, it must all come to an end. She must 
 never see him again ; she must not even remem 
 ber him, remember his benevolence, and the 
 pleasure his brief friendship had brought. Ah, 
 it was a pitiful thing ! and the little mother, 
 with her strong, affectionate nature, her grateful 
 knowledge of all his kindnesses to them, found 
 it very difficult not to think of him often, and in 
 her heart to forgive him. For it is the better 
 part of good women to deal less harshly with 
 others wrongs than with their own. She prayed 
 for him, it was all that she could do ; but who 
 shall say that those silent, fervent prayers were 
 not heard and answered? 
 
 They spent a very quiet day in the little attic, 
 Pierrette and her mother. They had been to 
 the early mass, and come home to their simple 
 morning meal, which was even more frugal than 
 usual. There were no Christmas gifts for them, 
 no merry-making and feasting such as might 
 have been found in almost any home that bright 
 morning, for they were entirely alone in the big 
 city, and the few persons they knew were even 
 worse off than themselves. Elize was sad, and
 
 PIERRETTE. 1 69 
 
 her smile was cheerless all that day ; and little 
 Pierrette could not be quite her happy self, 
 when she thought of the little watch in Pere 
 Michel s shop, that should have been maman s, 
 if everything had not happened so strangely; 
 and that poor little Francois and Jeanneton and 
 the chiffonnier would none of them receive the 
 little tokens she had planned for their surprise. 
 
 In the evening they two sat beside the small 
 round table, under the lamp, and the young 
 mother repeated to Pierrette the story of the 
 Nativity: how the Infant Jesus himself was 
 born in lowliness; how He, the king of all 
 men, had come to this earth as an innocent 
 babe that we might all be saved, and to teach 
 us to bear all our woes with courage. Elize, 
 who had a sweet pious nature, found comfort 
 in this thought; for she had great need of that 
 example of courage now. 
 
 Pierrette had heard the story many times, 
 but she never grew tired of listening to it. It 
 was all a beautiful mystery to her young im 
 agination. She had gazed that morning at the 
 brilliant lights and the flowers in the church, 
 and heard the angelic music of the choristers,
 
 I/O PIERRETTE. 
 
 and she felt that it was a time of great rejoicing, 
 and that although they had had no gifts from 
 one another, and maman had seemed sorrowful 
 all day, she knew that she had cause to be glad 
 because of the great love that had been given to 
 all the world in the coming of that little Child. 
 
 They had been talking together some little 
 time, when they were interrupted by a strange 
 sound out in the hall, as if some one were grop 
 ing in the dark. There was a heavy bumping 
 and scratching against their door, and then a 
 mighty scrambling down the narrow stairway, as 
 if a very stout man and a troublesome dog were 
 fighting for the right of way. Elize and Pier 
 rette started up at once and ran to the door. 
 The corridor was perfectly black, and they 
 could see nothing. The little mother brought 
 the lamp, and held it over the banister; but 
 by this time there was no one to be seen. 
 They could only hear the retreating steps of 
 the intruders away down on the lower flights, 
 and now and then a suppressed sh ! and a 
 little yelp that reverberated against the damp 
 stone walls as if the sounds had come from 
 some very deep well.
 
 PIERRETTE. I/I 
 
 "Who can it be at this hour of the evening!" 
 said the little mother, wondering, as they turned 
 back to re-enter their room. 
 
 " Oh, perhaps it is Pere Noel ! " l cried Pier 
 rette, laughing as she caught sight of a large 
 basket that stood almost in the doorway ; it 
 was a wonder they had not upset it when they 
 ran out into the hall. " Look, look, petite mere, 
 it is a Christmas-basket ; there are flowers on 
 top ! It must be Pere Noel who brought it to 
 us ; and that is why he is running away so fast," 
 and Pierrete laughed again, for she was such a 
 wise and sensible little girl that she had long 
 since outgrown that childish belief. " Come, 
 let us open it and see what is in it ! " and she 
 clapped her hands with delight. 
 
 They brought the mysterious basket under 
 the light of the lamp, and emptied its contents 
 on the table. They found underneath the few 
 homely flowers and green leaves a variety of 
 objects that made little Pierrette s eyes round 
 with astonishment. If you will believe me, it 
 contained nearly all the things that Pierrette 
 had wished for: a little box of colors, with 
 1 Santa Claus.
 
 1 72 PIERRETTE. 
 
 several different sizes of brushes, and all the 
 shades of the rainbow, for Francois ; a pair of 
 warm woollen wristlets of a beautiful red, for 
 the old chiffonnier ; a little package of fragrant 
 tea-leaves for Jeanneton ; and a large cornuco 
 pia of Christmas bonbons for herself; and in 
 the centre of it was just such another yellow 
 coin as Monsieur Le Page had given her some 
 weeks ago, quite as large and brilliant, wrapped 
 in a piece of white paper, on which was written, 
 in very singular chirography, " For a little girl 
 with a golden heart." 
 
 Pierrette was mystified. It really seemed as 
 if some sly little fairy had peeped into her eyes 
 that morning and seen all her wishes there ; but 
 she was inclined to believe that it all came from 
 the kind monsieur who had sometimes sent them 
 little surprises ; but Elize shook her head and 
 said, " Oh, no, that could not be ! " but when 
 they carne to the very bottom of the basket, 
 and brought out a little leather box with a tiny 
 gilded padlock and key, and upon opening it 
 found the little watch that Pierrette had coveted 
 for her mother, the treasure of Pere Michel s 
 shop, then Pierrette danced about the room for
 
 " Look, look, petite mere, it is a Christmas basket."
 
 PIERRETTE. 1/5 
 
 joy, like a little elf, and clapped her hands, and 
 cried, " Oh, petite mere, now we cannot say 
 that this has not been a merry Christmas, can 
 we?" and she kissed her maman ecstatically. 
 And the poor little mother was all but in tears 
 when she heard Pierrette s account of her inter 
 view with the old man about the watch. 
 
 " We still have a friend, my Pierrette, it is 
 Pere Michel; how kind and generous of him ! " 
 
 And who indeed but Pere Michel had such a 
 remarkable way of finding out people s thoughts 
 and wishes, and such an eccentric way of grati 
 fying them ! It must be confessed, however, 
 that this was the first time in Pere Michel s life, 
 perhaps, that he had played the part of a bene 
 factor. He was usually regarded as an old miser 
 who cared for no one but himself and his 
 poodle ; but this had been an exceptional case 
 with the old man, the case of Pierrette and the 
 little mother, and these two simple souls had a 
 way, all unconscious to themselves, of drawing 
 even the hardest hearted people to them and 
 making themselves beloved. 
 
 Pere Michel had not been to church that 
 Christmas day, or said many prayers. Indeed, I
 
 1/6 PIERRETTE. 
 
 doubt if he ever said any at all. But he went 
 back to his little shop with the feeling that he 
 had done a religious duty. He had seen the 
 spirit of self-sacrifice and unselfishness in both 
 the mother and the little girl, and he had wished 
 to reward it ; because, as he afterwards explained 
 to himself, with a wise nod, Providence does not 
 always look to these things, and he did not 
 mean to run any chances of their being disap 
 pointed. 
 
 Pierrette went down, as soon as her joy was a 
 little under control, and distributed her presents 
 to her friends. And these felt, no doubt, that her 
 bright little face and merry laugh, and the kind 
 words she brought them, were the best part 
 of her gifts. She related to each one how mys 
 teriously the basket was brought to their door, 
 just as they were beginning to think that they 
 should have no presents at all. And so it was 
 that the day ended happily for Pierrette and her 
 little mother, even though it had begun in sad 
 ness; for the little girl s dearest wish had been 
 realized, and Elize discovered that they had 
 made another friend.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE rest of that winter was a busy time for 
 them. Elize was obliged to work very hard ; for 
 she must pay her debt to Pere Michel, and make 
 enough for herself and Pierrette to live upon 
 besides. The old man was more lenient than 
 usual, and often told her not to be over-anxious, 
 that some fine day he would find a purchaser 
 for her beautiful piece of lace, and then he 
 should pay himself, and all would be right. But 
 the winter melted into spring, and no one came 
 to buy, for most of Pere Michel s customers were 
 of the poorer classes, and had no use for such a 
 bit of luxury, nor would they have paid its 
 price ; and the old man would not let it go for 
 a paltry sum, because he knew its worth.
 
 178 PIERRETTE. 
 
 Once in a while the ladies who came to him 
 to dispose of their old finery, being no doubt in 
 need of money themselves, would stop and eye 
 the exquisite piece of work, and would hold up 
 their hands in despair at the price he had set 
 upon it. So it lay there in the old chest, month 
 after month, and Elize sighed every time she 
 went into the old man s shop and saw it there ; 
 for it recalled many bright hopes she had 
 stitched into it, and the brief happiness she had 
 known and could not forget. 
 
 One day in the spring, when Paris is at its 
 gayest, and the broad smooth avenues of the 
 city are delicately shaded with the new growth 
 of leaves, and the flower-vendors display their 
 brilliant masses of blossoms at the foot of some 
 old gray stone palace, and the air is filled with 
 sunshine and the songs of young birds, Pere 
 Michel, no doubt stirred into a spirit of adven 
 ture by the joyous awakening of all nature 
 around him, was strolling across one of the 
 arched bridges of the Seine, the one leading to 
 the Place de la Concorde, which is the centre and 
 rendezvous of all the brilliant world on a pleas 
 ant April day. It was not a holiday, except that
 
 PIERRETTE. 179 
 
 with the Parisians all days are holidays in the 
 early spring-time, and every one looks upon it 
 as a duty to enjoy to his utmost these first 
 sweet pleasures of nature. To one who like 
 old Michel spent so many of his days in a dingy 
 little shop in that damp, gray court of the rue 
 des Anges, a day on the other side of the Seine, 
 where all seems bright and festive, and has the 
 aspect of being entirely given up to enjoyment, 
 is a veritable treat. He glanced approvingly 
 down at the innumerable little boats shooting 
 under the graceful bridges of the Seine, filled with 
 the gay crowd bound on some pleasure trip be 
 yond the city ; at the throng of carriages rolling 
 up and down the avenue of the Champs Elysees ; 
 at the waters of the fountains in the gardens of 
 the Tuileries dancing in the sunlight, and the 
 children playing around their basins; at the 
 nursemaids listening to the confidences of some 
 gay young soldier in uniform ; at old citizens 
 sitting about on benches, quietly reading their 
 newspapers : and Pere Michel s bosom swelled 
 with pride, and he felt, as every Parisian of the 
 poorer classes always feels in the midst of such a 
 scene, that he was in a great measure responsible
 
 I SO PIERRETTE. 
 
 for this splendor and display, and general atmos 
 phere of life and prosperity. 
 
 But while Pere Michel was enjoying his out 
 ing conscientiously > he was not on this side of 
 the Seine wholly without purpose. He seldom, 
 if ever, failed to couple business with pleasure. 
 He made his way after a little time to the rue de 
 Rivoli, which fronts the palace gardens, sauntered 
 leisurely under its wide arcades, looking in at the 
 shop-windows, and humming a tuneless air to 
 himself. He was meditating a bold venture. He 
 knew of several rich dealers in the rue. The}- did 
 not know him, but that was an accident. They 
 made a specialty of laces, of beautiful fine 
 hand-work, which they did not pass off for famed 
 antiques, like that handsome rogue, Le Page. 
 On the contrary, they dealt only in novelties. 
 He had thought for some time of taking Elize s 
 work to them, to see how much they would 
 offer for it. On his way thither he had to pass 
 the fine establishment belonging to Monsieur 
 Le Page, and he was preparing to shake his fist 
 at it, and to call down a thousand maledictions 
 upon its proprietor, by the way, when, to his 
 amazement, as he neared the well-known corner,
 
 PIERRETTE. l8l 
 
 he found that the place was closed, that the 
 lar-ge sign with its golden letters had been taken 
 clown, and that every trace of Monsieur Le Page 
 and his traffic had disappeared. 
 
 Pere Michel scratched his head and winked 
 very hard several times; he could not believe 
 his eyes. What could it all mean ! The wealthy 
 shop that had stood there for so many years, 
 with its rare collection of treasures, where had it 
 gone? It was not possible that Le Page could 
 have failed, and he, Michel, not have heard a 
 word of it. Xo, that could hardly be ; Le Page 
 was too rich for that. He was moved to step 
 into the neighboring shop and make a few 
 indifferent inquiries. 
 
 No, Monsieur Le Page had not met with bank 
 ruptcy, the shopkeeper next door told him, and 
 rather smiled at the idea. He had simply 
 closed his business and retired. Xo one knew 
 just why. Some thought he was in ill-health ; 
 others that he was losing his mind, he had been 
 doing such very queer things of late, for in 
 stance, he had given up his magnificent home 
 on the avenue des Bois de Boulogne, and gone 
 to one of the smaller faubourgs to live in a cot-
 
 1 82 PIERRETTE. 
 
 tage with only one servant! Prosperity had 
 turned his head, and made an eccentric of him. 
 But all the other merchants in the rue were glad 
 that he was gone, for it left them something of a 
 chance now ; he had been altogether too suc 
 cessful a rogue for them. 
 
 Pere Michel s face was a picture as he 
 listened to these mystifying revelations. He 
 could hardly disguise his surprise. He drew 
 his thumbs from his vest-pockets, and snapped 
 his fingers in the air several times, saying, in a 
 voice that was husky with emotion, "Aie, aie, 
 aie, I did not expect this! Wonders will not 
 cease!" and he was so overcome with his 
 reflections that he quite forgot his errand, and 
 hurriedly made his way back to his own dwell 
 ing in the rue des Anges, where he might 
 ponder at his ease, in the quiet companionship 
 of his faithful dog. 
 
 While Pere Michel was trying to account for 
 Monsieur Le Page s .singular proceedings, and 
 making up his mind that he would go to see 
 the little mother no later than that evening, 
 and acquaint her with these strange facts, Elize 
 was making discoveries of her own. If the old
 
 PIERRETTE. 183 
 
 man had stepped into the little garret at that 
 moment, and heard what was going on there, he 
 would have been still more surprised. A lady 
 was sitting in the room with Elize, a hand 
 some lady, richly dressed, unlike any one who 
 came to visit the old house, in fact it was the 
 same lady whom Elize and Pierrette had seen 
 at the door of the church, that morning nearly a 
 year ago, talking with their benefactor. She 
 was the patron for whom Elize had, without 
 knowing it, worked the beautiful piece of old 
 lace. She knew the whole story, and she was 
 relating to Elize how Monsieur Le Page had 
 come to her himself, and acknowledged his 
 guilt. He told her how he had planned to 
 deceive her, until this little woman, who was 
 only a plain, humble, working-girl of Paris, had 
 refused to lend herself to his unfair dealings; 
 how she had taught him the price and worth of 
 virtue, and made him feel that nothing in this 
 world could take the place of it ; how she had 
 spurned his money, his offers of advancement 
 for herself and her little girl, and preferred to 
 live in a miserable little garret, working hard to 
 earn thirty sous a clay, rather than be enriched
 
 1 84 PIERRETTE. 
 
 by money that had been obtained through fraud ; 
 how her upright and strong young nature had 
 shamed him, and brought him to a sense of his 
 own weakness. 
 
 "He came to me with his story," the lady 
 went on, as Elize listened to her every word 
 with flushed cheeks and beating heart, " because 
 it was I whom he had planned to deceive, and 
 by this you may judge how sincere is his 
 repentance. He might have given some excuse 
 for not procuring the lace, and no one would 
 have doubted him, I least of all. But he is 
 a different man; and it is you and your little 
 child who have made him so. He has given up 
 all his wealth, and made reparation wherever 
 he could, and has followed your example, in 
 choosing rather to live in honest poverty than 
 in luxury that is obtained through dishonor. I 
 honor him for it. I honor you, my dear young 
 woman, let me call you my friend. It is not 
 often that the people of our world meet with 
 such noble, honest hearts," and she held out 
 her arms and took both Elize s hands in hers, 
 and pressed them affectionately. 
 
 The little mother s eyes were running over
 
 " Ah, Madame, she said, tremulously, you make me very 
 happy ! "
 
 PIERRETTE. l8/ 
 
 with glad tears. "Ah, Madame," she said, 
 tremulously, "you make me very happy ! Mon 
 sieur was so very kind to us, and taught my 
 little girl and me to care for him very much ; I 
 could not bear to know any ill of him. And 
 now, now, I may think well of him again ; and 
 my dear Pierrette may still love him, for she 
 knows nothing." 
 
 "Monsieur Le Page will be greatly com 
 forted to learn this, and I shall tell him of it; 
 for -I think he values your good opinion more 
 than anything else in the world. And now," 
 she said, trying not to notice the young woman s 
 emotion, "you will be good enough to send 
 me the lace. I will buy it, even though it is 
 not a relic of some great personage. It will 
 remind me of you and your good deed, and 
 become as precious to me for that reason," 
 and the stately lady rose, and kissed the little 
 mother, and went away from the small garret 
 room leaving a genial atmosphere of kindli 
 ness and smiles behind her. 
 
 From that day Elize and Pierrette s star of 
 good fortune seemed to shine brightly once 
 more; and the little mother realized then, more
 
 1 88 PIERRETTE. 
 
 than she had ever done before, how surely a 
 righteous deed brings its own reward, aye, 
 even tenfold, and sheds its silent influence 
 on others, and brings contentment to ourselves. 
 It is a blessed lesson ; and fortunate are we if 
 we learn to know its worth while we are still 
 young, and may use the power and charm of 
 youth to bring others to a sense of its truth.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SOME months later, Pierrette came into Pere 
 Michel s shop, one very warm morning, about 
 noon, and was greatly surprised to find the old 
 man stretched out in his arm-chair, his feet 
 resting on the little wooden stool before him, 
 his head bandaged with a dripping red hand 
 kerchief whose dyed moisture trickled dismally 
 down his face and ears, and gave him a most 
 dejected aspect. He was groaning lamentably, 
 and making the most alarming grimaces; and 
 Joy-of-My-Heart was mingling his wails of 
 distress with those of his master. The whole 
 scene might have appeared ludicrous to little 
 Pierrette if she had not feared that he had met 
 with some dire calamity.
 
 IQO PIERRETTE. 
 
 "Oh, pray, Monsieur Michel, what is the 
 matter?" she cried; "has anything happened 
 to you?" and she ran to him, and laid her 
 little hand soothingly on his temple, as she 
 was wont to do for old Jeanneton when she had 
 her crises dc ncrfs. 
 
 "Aie, oh, aie, oh!" bellowed the old fellow, 
 " it is spasms, spasms in the back of my neck. 
 I must have caught a sunstroke when I went 
 out to fetch my eggs. Ah. ta, ta, there goes 
 another one over my left eye ! " 
 
 " Oh, is it so bad as that ? Do let me run for 
 the apothecary; he will make you well at once, 
 I know. He gives maman tisanes for her head 
 ache very often." 
 
 "No, no, do not call him ; I have a horror of 
 the brutes. There, I shall be better soon ; 
 perhaps it is not quite a sunstroke after all ; 
 but there are hammers in my head, and they are 
 all pounding in different ways, and there are 
 little saws, a dozen of them, sawing my cranium 
 in two. Oh, la, la ! " 
 
 Pierrette shivered at these blood-curdling 
 sensations. "What can I do for you," she 
 asked. " Oh, let me go for maman ! "
 
 PIERRETTE. IQI 
 
 "Yes, yes, you may do that," he said; "the 
 sight of your little mother alone, and you too, 
 for that matter, would cure a fit of apoplexy. 
 But first, clip this into that cold water," and he 
 handed her the red bandana. 
 
 Pierrette did as she was bidden, and laid the 
 cool, wet cloth on the old man s head; at which 
 he gave a tremendous sigh of relief, and declared 
 that he was better already. 
 
 In a few moments the little girl returned 
 with her mother, who was quite alarmed at the 
 child s description of Pere Michel s dire con 
 dition. She had brought her tisanes and her 
 spirit-lamp, and began at once to administer 
 the soothing remedies. 
 
 Pere Michel was in no very great danger, a 
 little headache, perhaps, from having sat up too 
 late the night before to reckon up his profit and 
 loss, for it was just at the close of his busy 
 season; but he was usually so hale and robust 
 that the slightest symptom of a pain alarmed 
 him immeasurably ; and he always imagined 
 himself the prey of some fatal malady, and 
 knew that he was going to die immediately. 
 He would not own up to a simple migraines, or
 
 1 92 PIERRETTE. 
 
 headache, for that was the complaint of the 
 genteel world. Besides, he contended that he 
 had very little in his head to ache. It must be 
 sunstroke, or apoplexy, or something equally 
 malignant. 
 
 When Elize had pacified the old man, and 
 reassured him about himself, he eyed her 
 shrewdly as he handed her the empty cup of 
 tea. "So you think I am not likely to die this 
 time? " he inquired of her, as seriously as if she 
 were the one to decide that matter. 
 
 "Oh, dear, no," replied Elize, cheerfully. 
 "You will be all well in a few hours, and quite 
 like yourself again. You have a great many 
 more years to live, I hope, Monsieur Michel." 
 
 "Nevertheless, it is always well to be pre 
 pared for the worst. Life is uncertain ; and I 
 have made all my arrangements. I do not pro 
 pose to be taken unawares." 
 
 "Of course not," said E*lize, not quite com 
 prehending the drift of his words, but not wish 
 ing to fatigue him with explanations. 
 
 " I had not meant to tell you so soon ; but 
 after such an attack as this, there is no telling 
 what hour may be my last ! "
 
 " Pierrette did as she was bidden, and laid the cool, wet cloth on 
 the old man s head."
 
 PIERRETTE. 195 
 
 "Oh, pray don t, Monsieur Michel, it pains 
 me to hear you talk so/ said Elize, in gentle 
 remonstrance. 
 
 " You shall not have cause to grieve when I 
 go, neither you nor Pierrette." 
 
 " Indeed we should, Monsieur. You have 
 been a good friend to us." 
 
 " Are you sure of that ? " asked the old man, 
 remembering what they had lost of worldly 
 prosperity through his revelations about Mon 
 sieur Le Page a few months ago. 
 
 " Yes, very sure ; are we not, Pierrette ? " 
 
 The little girl answered by dancing around 
 the back of the old man s chair, and deposit 
 ing a butterfly kiss on the top of his bald head. 
 And this seemed to revive the old fellow more 
 than his three cups of tea. 
 
 " Very well, " he said, "then you may come 
 with me, and I will let you into a secret. Take 
 this," and he gave her a lighted candle; "you 
 must learn to find the way alone." 
 
 He pressed a little spring in the wall, and 
 immediately the little trap-door flew open. 
 They went into the little dark room, he lead 
 ing the way; and Elize saw, by the dim light of
 
 196 PIERRETTE. 
 
 the tallow, that it contained only one chair and 
 a small, old-fashioned escritoire to which Pere 
 Michel retired in secrecy whenever he wished 
 to draw up any important document. On one 
 side of the wall were three deep drawers; 
 each one was numbered, and was closed with 
 a padlock. "These," he said, pointing to 
 the upper two, "contain my gold, the little 
 I have been able to save from a whole life 
 of hard work and economy. In the last, you 
 will find my testament." He opened this 
 drawer and brought out a very official-looking 
 document bearing the seal of the republic, 
 and allowed Elize to touch it. " If anything 
 happens to me, you will remember this and 
 take charge of it." 
 
 "Oh, Monsieur!" cried timid little Elize, 
 "you frighten me. I know nothing at all about 
 such things. Really, yoli must not talk about 
 things happening to you, and dying! It is 
 dreadful," pleaded the little mother, who felt 
 that the old man s mysterious proceedings were 
 indeed grewsome. 
 
 "When I make ready to decamp " pursued 
 Pere Michel, jocosely, "we must all come to it
 
 PIERRETTE. 
 
 some day, you as well as I, though the probabil 
 ities are that I shall go first, am I not forty 
 years in advance of you! -when I slip through 
 the narrow gate, I cannot take this with me! " 
 and he shrugged his shoulders and spread out 
 his palms with a deprecatory air, and then 
 added, in a confidential whisper, close to the 
 little woman s ear, " She shall have it all, the 
 little Pierrette, I mean that she shall have it. 
 There is no one else to dispute it to her, no 
 one but Joy-of- My- Heart, and he knows better 
 than to go against my wishes. Do you under 
 stand me? It shall all be hers; there- is not a 
 great fortune, but it will make a neat little dot 
 for her when she grows up." 
 
 Elize was amazed. She wondered why peo 
 ple were so thoughtful of them. Even this old 
 man, who was generally believed to be selfish 
 and unsympathetic, had shown to them the 
 softer side of his nature, and done them 
 many acts of kindness; and now he was think 
 ing of providing for her little child, when 
 he should be with them no more ! She was 
 deeply touched. 
 
 "You must not think of that for a Ions: time
 
 198 PIERRETTE. 
 
 to come," she said, gently. "See, you have 
 forgotten all about your bad head; and when I 
 have made you another cup of tea, you will be 
 quite well again," and she led the way back 
 into the little shop, where Pierrette and the 
 poodle were amusing themselves with a lively 
 game of catch. 
 
 That afternoon, Pere Michel treated them to 
 a half-holiday in the country, which was one of 
 the little mother s rare delights. He said she 
 was working too hard, and her eyes looked tired, 
 and the sight of the green grass and trees, and a 
 draught of the pure, fresh country air would do 
 her good after the long hot months in the city. 
 So he sent them off to Meudon, that gay little 
 paradise of flowers and sunshine which Klize 
 loved because she had once been happy there. 
 They wandered about through its still woods 
 and flowered paths, gathering the sweet wild 
 strawberries and long coils of foliage to take 
 home to their little garret. They sat down on 
 the cool moss to rest, under some broad shady 
 trees, listening to the varied notes of songful 
 birds and all the sweet harmony of sound that 
 soothe the ear on a quiet summer day; and to
 
 PIERRETTE. 199 
 
 these two children of the city whose young 
 natures had had nothing to make them bloom 
 but old gray walls and scanty rays of sunlight, 
 this was like the fleeting glimpse of a lost 
 heaven. 
 
 Elize was pensive; her large soft eyes were 
 dreamy. She seemed to see something in that 
 bank of purple and golden clouds resting yonder 
 on the summit of those green slopes; while 
 Pierrette, with flushed cheeks and flying curls, 
 was chasing the yellow butterflies, and her clear 
 childish voice rang in merry laughter upon the 
 quiet landscape. 
 
 They did not know, as they were there 
 together, what a pretty picture they made, or 
 that some one had been standing at a little 
 distance watching them, some one whose 
 heart was beating very fast at the sight of 
 those two innocent faces, and whose lips trem 
 bled. He tried to turn away from them ; a 
 twig snapped under his feet ; a flock of birds 
 flew frightened from a neighboring tree, and 
 Elize and Pierrette looked around and beheld 
 Monsieur Le Page! 
 
 The great lady had spoken truly. He was
 
 2OO PIERRETTE. 
 
 indeed a different man. His face was softened, 
 and his eyes had lost their piercing, searching 
 look. He stood and gazed at them; and his 
 face broke into a happy smile as the little girl, 
 uttering a cry of joy, ran to him with her 
 arms outstretched. I think there were tears 
 in his eyes as he stooped down and kissed 
 her. 
 
 "And so you are not afraid to come to me, 
 my little Pierrette," he said. "And you, too, 
 you have forgiven? " and he hekl out his hand 
 to the little mother, who had risen and followed 
 Pierrette. 
 
 "I know, I know," she said tremblingly, 
 "you arc noble and good; you have tried to do 
 right, and sacrificed much for it." 
 
 "I have done it all for you," he returned. 
 " It is you that has taught me the beauty of 
 truth ; it is you alone who can make me all 
 that I would be." 
 
 Elize understood him, for his look said more 
 than his words. She gave him her hand. 
 
 "I am very weak and ignorant; but I will 
 help you if you so wish it," she said. 
 
 " Always ? "
 
 PIERRETTE. 2OI 
 
 "Yes, always," and they walked away to 
 gether; and suddenly the little mother was 
 in that truly golden world of her dreams, and 
 the glory of the dying day seemed to shed its 
 rays upon all things about her. 
 
 They walked a short distance down a pretty 
 winding road, and he showed them the little 
 home where he now dwelt, and told them how 
 much happier he had been there than he had 
 ever been in his grand palace in the big city. 
 And when he had shown them all the simple 
 things that now gave him pleasure, and taken 
 them through the Tittle house and garden, he 
 turned to Pierrette and said: 
 
 "Ask your mam an if she will come and be 
 the mistress of this little home, and give me 
 the right to call you my own little girl?" 
 
 "Oh, petite mere," cried the child, throw 
 ing her arms about her mother s neck, "will 
 you ? " 
 
 To this clay Pere Michel will tell you about 
 it with as much relish and enjoyment as if it 
 were a fairy-tale ; and the neighbors are never 
 weary of listening to it. How the little mother
 
 2O2 PIERRETTE. 
 
 and Pierrette caused the rich gentleman to give 
 up his wealth, and to become honest and good 
 for their sake; and he is not wholly disinclined 
 to admit that it was all brought about through 
 his own fine management. And he speaks of 
 "Ma mzelle Pierrette" as an heiress; but no 
 one suspects him of being the author of her 
 expectations, or has the least idea of the sur 
 prisingly neat little fortune which this old 
 miser has hoarded up and destined to be her 
 portion. And now the pleasantest hours of the 
 old man s life are the Sundays which he spends 
 with Joy-of-My-Heart at the little cottage in 
 Meudon. 
 
 The pretty cottage is still there, and you 
 may see it yourself if you happen to be passing 
 through the lovely village, a little cottage 
 whose quaint roofs are mantled with the white 
 snow in the wintry season, and overgrown with 
 vines and climbing roses, and shaded by the 
 fragrant acacia-trees in the pleasant summer, 
 with a little brooklet running through its gar 
 den, and the happiest of faces looking from its 
 windows; a little home where only peace and 
 contentment are to be found, for the old days
 
 PIERRETTE. 203 
 
 in the garret of the dingy city house are for 
 gotten, and its inmates believe themselves the 
 three very happiest people in all the great city 
 of Paris. For one of them, at least, has learned 
 that true happiness is not to be found in riches, 
 or power, or worldly renown, but only where 
 Love dwells ! 
 
 THE END.
 
 Miss Marguerite Bouvet s Books. 
 
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 THE STORY OF TONTY. 
 
 An Historical Romance. By MARY HARTWELL 
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 Profusely Illustrated from original drawings by 
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 into a tale as thrilling and romantic as the descriptive portions 
 are brilliant and vivid. It is superbly illustrated with twenty- 
 three masterly drawings bv Mr. Enoch Ward. 
 
 For sale by booksellers generally, or will be sent, post-paid, on 
 receipt of the priit, by 
 
 *A. C. McCLURG AND CO., Publishers, 
 
 CHICAGO.
 
 CHORT HISTORY o* ENGLAND 
 
 V_x 
 
 FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. By Miss E. S. 
 KIRKLAND, author of " A Short History of France," 
 " Speech and Manners," etc. 
 
 i2mo, cloth, price, $1.25. 
 
 IN reviewing Miss Kirkland s " Short History of France," 
 the " Nation " said Miss Kirkland had " composed it in the way 
 in which a history for young people should be written." It is 
 therefore natural that many admirers of the earlier work should 
 have urged its author to write a history of England on the same 
 plan. This seemed especially desirable to those who think that 
 no history of England adapted to the needs of young people 
 now exists. Miss Kirkland has yielded to the urgency, and this 
 book is the result ; but it was not written until after years of 
 careful preparation. 
 
 It is believed that the book will be found to be even an 
 improvement upon her admirable history of France, as the 
 experience gained in writing that volume has greatly aided Miss 
 Kirkland in preparing this. It will not be found a book for 
 adults simply put into childish language, nor will it be found full 
 of the divine right of kings nor of the unwisdom of the American 
 colonies in breaking away from the good and parental govern 
 ment of the mother country; but it will be found very inter 
 esting, calm, judicial, and somewhat original in its judgments, 
 thoroughly abreast with the results of recent investigations, 
 and making the effort at least to tell the entire story justly and 
 dispassionately, and with thought and language alike adapted 
 to the capacity and the needs of the young. 
 
 Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by 
 
 *A. C. McCLUR.G AND CO., Publishers, 
 
 Cor. Wabash Ave., and Madison St., Chicago.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 

 
 A 000160631