“Howsillytoputyourselfinsuchawayaboutnothing。There，youoldgoose，thatwilldoyougood；ithasbeennextmyheart——“
“Whatagoodcreature！“saidRougettoMax，whileFlorewenttofetchablackvelvetcaptocoverthenearlybaldheadoftheoldbachelor。
“Asgoodassheisbeautiful“；answeredMax，“butsheisquick-
tempered，likeallpeoplewhocarrytheirheartsintheirhands。“
Thebaldnessofthissketchmaydispleasesome，whowillthinktheflashesofFlore’scharacterbelongtothesortofrealismwhichapainteroughttoleaveinshadow。Well！thisscene，playedagainandagainwithshockingvariations，is，initscoarsewayanditshorribleveracity，thetypeofsuchscenesplayedbywomenonwhateverrungofthesocialladdertheyareperched，whenanyinterest，nomatterwhat，drawsthemfromtheirownlineofobedienceandinducesthemtograspatpower。Intheireyes，asinthoseofpoliticians，allmeanstoanendarejustifiable。BetweenFloreBrazierandaduchess，betweenaduchessandtherichestbourgeoise，betweenabourgeoiseandthemostluxuriouslykeptmistress，therearenodifferencesexceptthoseoftheeducationtheyhavereceived，andthesurroundingsinwhichtheylive。ThepoutingofafineladyisthesamethingastheviolenceofaRabouilleuse。Atalllevels，bittersayings，ironicaljests，coldcontempt，hypocriticalcomplaints，falsequarrels，winasmuchsuccessasthelowoutburstsofthisMadameEverardofIssoudun。