ng-places, for then she went out with her father
constantly. The fair-haired, brown-eyed little girl was almost
as well-known in the Kursaals of Homburg and Wiesbaden as the
famous gambler himself, as evening after evening they entered
the great lighted salons together, and took their places
amongst the motley crowd gathered round the long green tables.
There she would remain contented for hours, sometimes sitting
on his knee, sometimes herself staking a florin or two--"to
change the luck," M. Linders would say laughingly,--sometimes
wearied out, curled up fast asleep in a corner of one of the
sofas. Then there were the theatres, to which her father often
took her, and where, with delighted, wondering eyes, she made
acquaintance with most of the best operas and learnt to sing
half Bellini's and Weber's music in her clear little voice.
More than once, too, she was taken behind the scenes, where
she saw so much of the mysteries of stage-working and
carpentering as would have destroyed the illusions of an older
person; but it did not make much difference to her; the next
time she found herself in the stalls or balcony she forget all
about what was going on behind, and was as much enchanted as
ever with the fine results prepared for the public gaze.

On other nights there would be the balls, always a supreme
enjoyment. It must be owned that Madelon took great pleasure
in seeing her small person arrayed in a smart frock; and she
was never weary of admiring the big rooms with their gilded
furniture, and mirrors, and brilliant lights, and polished
floors, where a crowd of gay people would be twirling about to
the sound of the music. She danced like a little fairy, too,
with pure delight in the mere motion, was never tired, and
rarely sat down; for Mademoiselle, who generally held herself
rather aloof from strangers, would be pleased on these
occasions to put on a little winning graciousness, giving her
hand with the air of a small princess to any one soliciting
the honour of a dance; and she was seldom without some tall
partner, attracted by her _gentillesse_ and naive prattle--a
moustached Austrian or Prussian officer, perhaps, in white or
blue uniform, or one of her counts or barons, with a bit of
ribbon dangling from his button-hole; or, if all else failed,
there was always her father, who was ever ready to indulge her
in any of her fancies, and never resisted her coaxing pleading
for one more dance.

These were the e