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Women, to him at least, were of two kinds and two kinds only. There were les femmes honnetes and there were les putains. In La Ferte, he informed us and as balayeur he ought to have known whereof he spoke there were as many as three ladies of the former variety. One of them he talked with often. She told him her story.

He was called by B. and myself, after a somewhat exciting incident which I must not describe, but rather outline, by the agreeable title of Meme le Balayeur. Only a few days after my arrival the incident in question happened.

The petit balayeur, an eye-witness of the proceeding, described it to me as follows: "The Directeur roared 'COMMENT? He was horribly angry. 'Oui, Monsieur, said the maitre de chambre humbly 'Pourquoi? thundered the Directeur. 'Because it's undrinkable, the maitre de chambre said quietly. 'Undrinkable? Nonsense! cried the Directeur furiously.

Upon which ground the balayeur in this case a well-knit keen-eyed agile man, with a sense of humour and sharp perception of men, women and things in particular and in general was called before the bar of an impromptu court, held by M. le Surveillant in The Enormous Room after the promenade.

Anyway it was accomplished, and that in several fifths of a second. Now let the curtain fall, and the reader be satisfied with the significant word "Asbestos," which is part of all first-rate performances. The Surveillant, I fear, distrusted his balayeur. For this deplorable reason they inevitably carried notes to and fro between les hommes and les femmes.

Thousands overran the Grand Canal, which at its greatest depth was scarcely more than a yard to the bottom, and so, despite of monarchial decree, Republican France still skates on the ornamental waters of Versailles when occasion offers. "N'oubliez pas le petit balayeur, s'il vous plait," was as often heard as "Allez vous-en." On the whole it was rather a picturesque sight.

I shall not enter in detail into the nature of the charges pressed in certain cases, but confine myself to quoting the close of a peroration which would have done Demosthenes credit: "Meme le balayeur a tire un coup!" The individual in question mildly deprecated M. le Surveillant's opinion, while the audience roared and rocked with laughter of a somewhat ferocious sort.

If as balayeur he could lay hands on a morceau de pain or de viande, he bore it as before to our beds; but Jean was always called over to partake of the forbidden pleasure. As for Jean, one would hardly have recognised him. It was as if the child had fled into the deeps of his soul, never to reappear.

B. got Jean to sit down beside him on his bed and we talked for a few minutes, avoiding the subject of the recent struggle. Then Jean went back to his own bed and lay down. It was not till later that we learned the climax not till le petit belge avec le bras casse, le petit balayeur, came hurrying to our end of the room and sat down with us.

Well, when they took him downstairs, I slipped out too Je suis le balayeur, savez vous? and the balayeur can go where other people can't." I gave him a match, and he thanked me. He struck it on his trousers with a quick pompous gesture, drew heavily on his squeaky pipe, and at last shot a minute puff of smoke into the air: then another, and another.