an artist."

Hearing this gave him great happiness because he had been afraid that
she might be scornful of him after seeing the machines. _Mon Dieu!_ He
might be stronger than Salted-Mouth, otherwise Drink-without-Thirst, but
the machines were stronger yet. When Gervaise finally took her leave,
Goujet was so happy that he almost crushed her with a hug.

The laundress went every Saturday to the Goujets to deliver their
washing. They still lived in the little house in the Rue Neuve de la
Goutte-d'Or. During the first year she had regularly repaid them twenty
francs a month; so as not to jumble up the accounts, the washing-book
was only made up at the end of each month, and then she added to the
amount whatever sum was necessary to make the twenty francs, for the
Goujets' washing rarely came to more than seven or eight francs during
that time. She had therefore paid off nearly half the sum owing, when
one quarter day, not knowing what to do, some of her customers not
having kept their promises, she had been obliged to go to the Goujets
and borrow from them sufficient for her rent. On two other occasions she
had also applied to them for the money to pay her workwomen, so that the
debt had increased again to four hundred and twenty-five francs. Now,
she no longer gave a halfpenny; she worked off the amount solely by the
washing. It was not that she worked less, or that her business was not
so prosperous. But something was going wrong in her home; the money
seemed to melt away, and she was glad when she was able to make both
ends meet. _Mon Dieu!_ What's the use of complaining as long as one gets
by. She was putting on weight and this caused her to become a bit lazy.
She no longer had the energy that she had in the past. Oh well, there
was always something coming in.

Madame Goujet felt a motherly concern for Gervaise and sometimes
reprimanded her. This wasn't due to the money owed but because she
liked her and didn't want to see her get into difficulties. She never
mentioned the debt. In short, she behaved with the utmost delicacy.

The morrow of Gervaise's visit to the forge happened to be the last
Saturday of the month. When she reached the Goujets, where she made a
point of going herself, her basket had so weighed on her arms that she
was quite two minutes before she could get her breath. One would hardly
believe how heavy clothes are, especially when there are sheets among
them.

"Are you sure you've brought every