for their wives' follies--it's quite possible there are--but I'm
not made of that kind of stuff. I allow Madame Trigault eight
thousand francs a month for her toilette--that is sufficient--and
it is a matter for you and her to arrange together. What did I
tell you last year when I paid a bill of forty thousand francs?
That I would not be responsible for any more of my wife's debts.
And I not only said it, I formally notified you through my private
secretary."

"I remember, indeed----"

"Then why do you come to me with your bill? It is with my wife
that you have opened an account. Apply to her, and leave me in
peace."

"Madame promised me----"

"Teach her to keep her promises."

"It costs a great deal to retain one's position as a leader of
fashion; and many of the most distinguished ladies are obliged to
run into debt," urged Van Klopen.

"That's their business. But my wife is not a fine lady. She is
simply Madame Trigault, a baroness, thanks to her husband's gold
and the condescension of a worthy German prince, who was in want
of money. SHE is not a person of consequence--she has no rank to
keep up."

The baroness must have attached immense importance to the