Several days passed and I heard nothing of my grisette. But I went to see FrÉdÉrique, whom I found at home, and who greeted me with evident pleasure.

I did not mention Rosette; but I saw in her eyes that she was burning to know the situation of my amour with her. At last, she could contain herself no longer.

"Well, my friend," she said, "you say nothing of your love affairs. I trust, however, that I am still your confidante; and you surely must have been content with my conduct the last time I came to see you."

"I did not speak of that, to avoid recalling unpleasant things; you were most kind, a thousand times too kind; but that did not surprise me, and I ask your pardon again for that girl, who didn't know what she was saying."

"I assure you that she didn't offend me in the least; far from it! her observations were so amusing, and her expressions so classic! But you are reconciled, I hope? My departure should have restored peace at once."

"No; that is where you are mistaken. We did not make peace. Rosette went away in a rage, and I haven't seen her since."

"Really? You surprise me. And haven't you made any attempt to see that fascinating grisette again?"

"No, not any."

FrÉdÉrique looked at me out of the corner of her eye. To change the subject, I asked her if her husband had returned.

"Not yet. You seem greatly interested in my husband's movements. I confess that that puzzles me a good deal."

"I beg you to believe that my interest in him has no connection with you."

"Oh! I am sure of that."

"Do you know that your husband's friend, he who called himself Saint-Germain, has lost his place?"

"I did not know it; but that explains why he comes here almost every day to inquire if Monsieur Dauberny has returned; indeed, he asked to see me once."

"Do not receive that man, madame; I take the liberty of giving you that advice."

"I will follow your advice, monsieur, which, by the by, is in perfect accord with my previous intentions. If I dared to give you advice, in my turn, I would say——"

"Well?"

"Oh, no! no! I won't say it! I prefer that you should follow the impulses of your heart; and then, too——"

FrÉdÉrique began to laugh, and I was somewhat annoyed; but she refused to say anything more. I took my leave, almost offended with her; but I pressed her hand affectionately.

Several more days passed, and still no news of Rosette. I was hurt by her desertion; she was very pretty, and she loved me, or, at all events, she pretended to, which often amounts to the same thing. If she was jealous, was not that a proof of affection? After all, I had let her go without saying a word, without trying to detain her.

"Come, come!" I said to myself; "no false shame! It is my place to make advances."

Rosette had said to me:

"If you should happen to have anything important to say to me, go to my aunt's—whichever one I am staying with—and ask for me. There's no danger; they won't see anything but smoke."

So I determined to hunt up Rosette, at her various aunts' abodes, praying that I should have less difficulty than Jason had in his quest of the Golden Fleece. Rosette, by the way, had not a golden fleece, and was to be congratulated therefor.

I hired a cab by the hour, and went first to Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol; that was where Rosette had her legal domicile. I knew the house, having taken her there quite often. I went in and asked an old tailor, presumably the concierge, if Mademoiselle Rosette was with her aunt, Madame Falourdin. I had remembered that aunt's name; as for the others, I had heard them named; but that conglomeration of more or less queer and unusual names had escaped my memory.

"Mamzelle Rosette?" replied the tailor, eying the seat of an old pair of trousers as a cook eyes eggs that are to be served in the shell; "Mamzelle Rosette? No, monsieur, I don't think she be to her aunt's, or I'd have seen her going out and coming in more'n once this morning. You see, monsieur, that girl's just like a worm as has been cut in two—always wriggling.—Bigre! that place is pretty nigh worn out!"

I saw that Rosette was recognized everywhere as being constantly in motion.

"So you think she isn't at Madame Falourdin's?" I said.

"I'd put my thimble in the fire on it. Ha! ha! To be sure, it wouldn't burn, being as it's wrought iron.—Oho! how thin this place is!"

The old fellow was inclined to jest. However, I must find out where to go in search of Rosette.

"Can you tell me, monsieur, where I shall find Mademoiselle Rosette?"

I added to my question the obligatory accompaniment of a piece of silver; but to my amazement the old tailor pushed my hand away, saying:

"That would be robbery, for I don't know where she is.—They want me to make a child's jacket out of this thing, and I couldn't make one gaiter!"

"But I must speak to that young woman."

"Well, then, go up to the third, Mame Falourdin; she'd ought to know where her niece is."

He was right; that was my only resource. Rosette had said to me:

"When you ask for me at one of my aunts', you must always say that you come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon."—I bore that in mind.

There was but one door on the third floor, so that it was impossible to make a mistake. I rang. A tall, thin woman opened the door.

"Madame Falourdin?"

"That's me, monsieur. What can I do for you?"

"Is Mademoiselle Rosette with you, madame?"

"No, monsieur; what do you want of her?"

"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing——"

"I know, monsieur, I know! About a cashmere shawl, I suppose, that needs mending and must be mended right away?"

"I think that that's what it is, madame."

"Then, monsieur, you must be kind enough to go to her Aunt Riflot's, Rue du Pont-aux-Choux, No. 17. That's where Rosette is just now."

"Exceedingly obliged, madame; I will go there at once."

"Your servant, monsieur!"

I was not sorry to know that the finisher was supposed to send for Rosette to mend shawls; that would give me more self-assurance in my embassy.

I was driven to Rue du Pont-aux-Choux. There I did not stop to parley with the concierge; I asked for Madame Riflot, and went up at once to the fourth floor. I found a very active and wide-awake little old woman, who did not keep still an instant, but was constantly on the move from the stove to the kitchen table and cupboard while she talked with me.

"I would like to say a word to Mademoiselle Rosette, if possible, madame."

"Rosette? my niece Rosette?—Ah! mon Dieu! I believe it's burning! yes, I believe it's burning!"

And the old woman ran and turned over the tripe that was frying on the stove.

"She is here, is she not, madame?"

"Rosette? my niece Rosette?—Have I got any parsley? have I got any parsley? It would be just like me not to have any parsley!"

"Will you kindly tell me if I may speak to her? Will you call her?"

"Who? Rosette? my niece Rosette?—A body don't have a minute to herself! It must be after twelve. Is it after twelve?"

I began to lose patience, and, being convinced that Rosette was not far away, I shouted at the top of my voice:

"Mademoiselle Rosette, you're wanted!"

At that, the infernal old hag stopped, looked at me, and began to laugh. When she had laughed her fill, she said:

"It's no use for you to call and yell, as she ain't here; you might just as well sing!"

"She is not here? You should have told me that at once, madame."

"You didn't give me time.—And my fire, my fire——"

"In that case, madame, will you be kind enough to tell me where I can find mademoiselle your niece? I wanted to see her about mending a shawl—at Madame Berlingot's."

"Rosette told me, the last time I saw her: 'I'm going to work at Aunt Piquette's, Rue aux Ours, No. 35.'—Well, have I got any embers, I wonder? Let's look and see!"

"Exceedingly obliged, madame."

That old woman set my nerves on edge! Thank God! I was clear of her at last! I made all haste to Aunt Piquette's, Rue aux Ours.

I found no concierge at the number indicated; but a neighbor told me that Madame Piquette lived on the fifth floor. Fichtre! the flights increased in number! If I should have to visit all Rosette's aunts, how high should I have to ascend, at that rate? But I hoped that I should find that intangible niece this time.

I rang at Madame Piquette's door. A woman appeared who was fully sixty years of age, but who wore a cap overladen with flowers and pink ribbons. Where will not coquetry build its nest?

"Madame Piquette?"

"That's me, monsieur; take the trouble to come in."

And she made a formal reverence, as she stood aside to let me pass.

"It is useless for me to disturb you, madame; I have come to——"

"I certainly shall not receive you on the landing, monsieur; please walk in."

"But, madame, I have come for Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece, to——"

"You will offend me by staying out here, monsieur."

I had to give way. I went in, hoping to remain in the first room; but Madame Piquette pushed me toward a door at the farther end, making another reverence. I concluded to enter the second room, which with the first seemed to form the whole suite. And no Rosette! Could it be that I had made another fruitless journey?

"I come, madame, from——"

"Pray be good enough to sit down, monsieur."

"It is not worth while, madame. I wanted to see Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece——"

"You will mortify me by standing, monsieur."

I had no desire to mortify Madame Piquette, but I was inclined to regret little Aunt Riflot at that moment. At last we were both seated. Madame Piquette put a small rug under my feet. Did she think that I had come to pass the day with her? She glanced in the mirror, and rearranged her cap strings on her breast. That pantomime alarmed me; I looked about in dismay; but for some unknown reason, I did not let my eyes rest on Madame Piquette, who had partly unfastened her neckerchief. Mon Dieu! what was the woman thinking of? At last, she finished her manoeuvring, and I hastened to say, without stopping for breath:

"I have come from Madame Berlingot's finishing shop on Rue Pinon, to ask Mademoiselle Rosette to mend a cashmere shawl."

Madame Piquette courtesied again; I glanced in the mirror and thought that she was preparing to remove her neckerchief. Great heaven! what was I about to see?

But, no; I had taken fright without cause; she rearranged her pink ribbons about her neck, and replied:

"It is with the deepest regret, monsieur, that I find myself compelled to inform you that Rosette is not here. I believe that she is at her Aunt Dumarteau's at this moment."

"Will you kindly give me Madame Dumarteau's address?"

"It's a long way, monsieur, a long way from here!"

"I have a cab, madame."

"In that case, monsieur, take the trouble to go to Rue Verte, Faubourg Saint-HonorÉ, No. 12."

"Exceedingly obliged, madame!"

"But if you would be pleased to rest a moment longer, monsieur, I should be charmed to——"

I listened to no more; I rose, left the room, and went down the stairs by leaps and bounds; I fancied that I could still see Madame Piquette baring her neck before me.

"Rue Verte, No. 12," I said to my cabman.—Oh! Rosette, what a dance you were leading me! But, no matter! As I had begun, I would persevere to the end.

"Madame Dumarteau?" I said to the concierge.

"Sixth floor, door at the left."

Sixth floor! I would have bet on it! And this was only the fourth aunt! What fate was in store for me?

I knocked at Madame Dumarteau's door, as she had no bell. A woman of some fifty years, with a morose face, half opened the door, and asked in a hoarse voice:

"What do you want?"

"Madame Dumarteau."

"That's me! Well?"

"I have come to see Mademoiselle Rosette, from——"

"Mamzelle Rosette ain't here."

"Where is she, then?"

"At her Aunt Lumignon's, Rue du Petit-Muse, Quartier Saint-Antoine."

"Very good! What number, please?"

But the lady had already closed her door in my face. Should I knock again, to find out the number? No; Rue du Petit-Muse was short, I knew, and I could inquire. My conversation with Madame Dumarteau was not long; she had not an amiable look, but I preferred her ill humor to Madame Piquette's coquetries. At all events, I lost no time there.

I started for Rue du Petit-Muse. If I had not known my Paris, Mademoiselle Rosette could have undertaken to instruct me. I told the cabman to stop at the corner of Rue Saint-Antoine, and went into one of the first houses, where I said to the concierge:

"Madame Lumignon?"

"This is the place, monsieur."

Faith! I was in luck. The next step was to inquire which floor; I was afraid that I could guess beforehand: I should surely be directed to the seventh.

"Which floor, concierge?"

"At the rear of the courtyard, to the left, ground floor."

Ah! I breathed again! The aunts were coming down in the world.

Madame Lumignon was a little hunchback with a bright eye and a shrill voice, like most hunchbacks. As soon as I mentioned her niece's name, she smiled.

"Ah! you want Rosette," she said; "for Madame Berlingot, I suppose? Yes, yes, I'm used to that; it's always the same song! If I was evil-minded, I might suspect something! But I wash my hands of her. In the first place, Rosette don't pay any attention to us; she's such a wilful creature! So much the worse for her! I've warned her!"

"But, madame, she is wanted to mend a cashmere shawl."

"I know! I know! A fine thing, that cashmere shawl is!"

"Well, madame, is mademoiselle your niece with you?"

"With me! oh, yes! of course! When she comes here, she don't stay long enough to mould."

"Where can I find her, then?"

"At her Aunt Chamouillet's, perhaps; but I won't swear to it."

"Madame Chamouillet's address, if you please?"

"Rue Madame, No. 4, near the Luxembourg."

I took leave of the hunchbacked aunt, who looked after me with a cunning leer. I returned to my cab, and said to the driver:

"Rue Madame, near the Luxembourg."

"I say, monsieur, if you've got many more trips like this to make, my horse will leave us on the road."

"No; whatever happens, this is the last but one."

We reached Rue Madame with difficulty; the horse was at his last gasp. I unearthed Aunt Chamouillet. I was told to go up to the second floor, where I found a woman washing on the landing; and just as I was climbing the last stairs, that woman, who, I presume, had not heard me coming, turned and emptied a large pail of soapsuds on the staircase. I was drenched to the waist.

I swore like a pirate, whereupon the woman calmly observed:

"Why are the gutters all stopped up? It don't do any good to complain, they don't clean 'em out; and I must empty my water somewhere."

"But you might at least look before you empty it."

"Did you get any of it?"

"Parbleu! I am drenched!"

"That'll dry, and it don't spot."

"Madame Chamouillet, if you please?"

"That's me. Have you got something you want washed?"

"No, madame; I am sufficiently washed now! I would like to speak with Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece."

Madame Chamouillet had returned to her washing; she paid much more attention to her linen than to what I said to her.

"I come, madame, on the part of Madame Berlingot, on Rue——"

"All right, monsieur, all right!—How can anyone soil linen like that! Look, monsieur, I leave it to you!"

And she took from her tub a shirt, which she started to spread out for my inspection. I evaded that demonstration; but, as she put the shirt back in the tub, she threw a wet stocking in my face. I tried to take it calmly; I wiped my face and continued:

"Will you kindly tell me where Mademoiselle Rosette is?"

"Where Rosette is? How do you suppose I know? Oh, yes! on my word! As if anyone ever knows where she is!"

"What, madame! isn't she here?"

"No, monsieur.—It breaks my back to scrub this!"

"But where shall I go to find her?"

"Try at her aunts'."

"I have already seen six of them, counting you, madame. I have called on Mesdames Falourdin, Riflot, Piquette, Dumarteau, Lumignon, and yourself. Who is the one that's left for me to see?"

"Madame Cavalos, Rue de la Lune, No. 19. But I won't answer——"

As she spoke, Madame Chamouillet let a piece of soap slip out of her hands, and my waistcoat had the benefit of it. I had had enough; I fled from the laundress; I seemed to be pursued by soapsuds.

"Rue de la Lune, No. 19," I said to my cabman. Luckily, that took us back into my own neighborhood, and I was sure that this last quest could not be fruitless: Rosette must be there. That was the last of the aunts, and she had told me positively that when she was not with one of them I would find her with another. What a pity that I had not been sent to Rue de la Lune at the outset!

I reached the end of my journeyings. I was directed to Madame Cavalos's lodging on the entresol. I found a very stout, thickset, little old woman, who greeted me with an affable bow and waited for me to speak.

"Madame Cavalos?"

"Bonjour, monsieur! very well, I thank you."

"I wanted to speak to your niece, Mademoiselle Rosette."

"Yes, monsieur, I don't change much; that's what everybody tells me."

"I come from Madame Berlingot."

"You thought I didn't live so low? I used to be higher up, but I've moved down."

What did that mean? Madame Cavalos seemed to be stone deaf. I stepped nearer to her, and shouted at the top of my lungs:

"I want to see Mademoiselle Rosette, your niece!"

"You say you have come about my lease?"

That was most trying. The woman was a fool. I gave up speaking and made a lot of strange gestures, trying to arouse her curiosity at least. Motioning to me to wait, she left the room, and returned with an ear trumpet, which she held to her ear, saying:

"I ain't deaf; but some days I can't hear so well as others."

Poor old woman! she ought never to have laid aside her trumpet. I repeated my question, and that time she replied:

"My niece Rosette? Why, she ain't here, monsieur."

"What, madame! not here? Why, where on earth can I find her, then?"

"Oh! that's easily done, monsieur. She must be with her Aunt Falourdin, Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."

At that, I gave up all hope of finding my grisette; I had no desire to begin the circuit of the aunts anew; I had had quite enough of them. I bade my cabman take me home. It was five o'clock, and we had been on the road since noon! Ah! Mademoiselle Rosette! Mademoiselle Rosette! you had shown me aunts of all colors! What a day! Jason was certainly more fortunate than I: after many perils, he obtained the Golden Fleece; I had faced seven aunts, and had not obtained Rosette!