"Oh! really, Duchess, you force me to speak of persons and things,
which ..."

"Yes, yes, I force you to; we understand that. But tell me! Bluntly,
without mincing matters, if necessary. You know that I have no objection
to that sort of thing, so go on. Do not keep me in suspense like this. I
am burning with curiosity. What does Julot do?"

"Very well, little volunteer, if you insist on knowing, I will tell you.
Julot, generally called _Fine-Gueule_, is a trier of women."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I will explain it to you. There are a few of us old amateurs in Paris,
who are too old and impatient to hunt for truffles, but who want them of
such and such a flavor, exactly to our taste. Now, Julot knows our
tastes, our various fancies, and he undertakes ..."

"Capital! Capital!"




MADEMOISELLE


He had been registered under the names of Jean Marie Mathieu Valot, but
he was never called anything but _Mademoiselle_. He was the idiot of the
district, but not one of those wretched, ragged idiots who live on