--"Come, now, you are silly! what does it matter to you?"--

She seemed indignant and replied:

--"No, my friend, there are times when we cannot do such things,
and why, here, it would be a shame!"

Apparently, he failed to understand and asked why.--Then she became
excited and speaking louder, she said:

--"Why? Don't you understand why? When Prussians are in the house,
maybe in the next room?" He had a newspaper which he unfolded on
his knees. A hussy who denied herself to the solicitations of a
man while they were near the enemy, must have aroused in his heart
his failing dignity, for, after having kissed her, he went back
stealthily to his room.

Loiseau, quite excited, left the keyhole, and quickly jumped into the
conjugal bed to seek solace near the hard carcass of his espoused.

Then the whole house became silent. But soon there arose from
somewhere, from some indeterminate direction, which might have
been the cellar as well as the attic, a powerful monotonous snore,
a deep and prolonged noise, like the throbbing of a boiler under
pressure--Mr. Follenvie was sleeping.

As it had been decided that they would start at eight o'clock the
next morning, at that hour everybody was in the kitchen; but the
coach, the hood of which formed a roof of snow, stood solitary