n't refuse me; it is my dream!"

Newman gave a loud laugh. It seemed to him hardly worth while to be the
wife of the Marquis de Bellegarde, a daughter of the crusaders, heiress
of six centuries of glories and traditions, to have centred one's
aspirations upon the sight of a couple of hundred young ladies kicking
off young men's hats. It struck him as a theme for the moralist; but
he had no time to moralize upon it. The curtain rose again; M. de
Bellegarde returned, and Newman went back to his seat.

He observed that Valentin de Bellegarde had taken his place in the
baignoire of Mademoiselle Nioche, behind this young lady and her
companion, where he was visible only if one carefully looked for him.
In the next act Newman met him in the lobby and asked him if he had
reflected upon possible emigration. "If you really meant to meditate,"
he said, "you might have chosen a better place for it."

"Oh, the place was not bad," said Valentin. "I was not thinking of that
girl. I listened to the music, and, without thinking of the play or
looking at the stage, I turned over your proposal. At first it seemed
quite fantastic. And then a certain fiddle in the orchestra--I could
distinguish it--began to say as it scraped away, 'Why not, why not?'
And then, in that rapid movement, all the fiddles took it up and the
conductor's stick seemed to beat it in the air: 'Why not, why not?' I'm
sure I can't say! I don't see why not. I don't see why I shouldn't do
something. It appears to me really a very bright idea. This sort of
thing is certainly very stale. And then I could come back with a trunk
full of dollars. Besides, I might possibly find it amusing. They call me
a raffine; who knows but that I might discover an unsuspected charm in
shop-keeping? It would really have a certain romantic, picturesque side;
it would look well in my biography. It would look as if I were a strong
man, a first-rate man, a man who dominated circumstances."

"Never mind how it would look," said Newman. "It always looks well to
have half a million of dollars. There is no reason why you shouldn't
have them if you will mind what I tell you--I alone--and not talk to
other parties." He passed his arm into that of his companion, and
the two walked for some time up and down one of the less frequented
corridors. Newman's imagination began to glow with the idea of
converting his bright, impracticable friend into a first-class man of
business. He felt for the moment a