the walls, and he winded up with a piece of eloquence in which he
condemned masterfully that "scoundrel of Napoleon III."

But Boule de Suif became angry immediately because she was a partisan
of the Bonapartes. She turned as red as a cherry and stuttering
with indignation:--"I should have like to see you in his place,
you and your friends! It would have been nice, oh yes! It is you
who betrayed the poor man! If we were ruled by rascals like you,
there would remain nothing else to do for us but leave France."--Impassive,
Cornudet kept a superior and contemptuous smile, but one could feel
that big words were impending, when the Count interposed and, not
without some difficulty, calmed the exasperated girl by proclaiming
authoritatively that all sincere opinions should be respected.
However, the Countess and the wife of the Cotton manufacturer, who
bore in their hearts the unreasoning hatred of all decent people
for the Republic, and that predilection which all women have for
the pomp of despotic Governments, felt irresistibly attracted toward
this dignified prostitute whose opinions were very much like theirs.

The basket was empty. The ten of them had easily consumed its
contents, regretting that it was not larger. The conversation
continued for some time, though it flagged since they had finished
eating.

The night was falling; darkness gradually grew deeper and deeper,
and the cold, felt more during digestion, made Boule De Suif shiver
notwithstanding her corpulence. Then Madame de Breville offered
her her foot-warmer, the coal of which had been renewed several
times since the morning, and she accepted it willingly, for she felt
her feet frozen. Mesdames Carre-Lamadon and Loiseau gave theirs