oreover, the grand arbiter in all the quarrels between the old
woman and Gervaise. Whenever the laundress, in a moment of impatience,
behaved roughly to her mother-in-law and the latter went and cried on
her bed, he hustled them about and made them kiss each other, asking
them if they thought themselves amusing with their bad tempers.

And Nana, too; she was being brought up badly, according to his idea. In
that he was right, for whenever the father spanked the child, the mother
took her part, and if the mother, in her turn, boxed her ears, the
father made a disturbance. Nana delighted at seeing her parents abuse
each other, and knowing that she was forgiven beforehand, was up to all
kinds of tricks. Her latest mania was to go and play in the blacksmith
shop opposite; she would pass the entire day swinging on the shafts of
the carts; she would hide with bands of urchins in the remotest corners
of the gray courtyard, lighted up with the red glare of the forge; and
suddenly she would reappear, running and shouting, unkempt and dirty
and followed by the troop of urchins, as though a sudden clash of the
hammers had frightened the ragamuffins away. Lantier alone could scold
her; and yet she knew perfectly well how to get over him. This tricky
little girl of ten would walk before him like a lady, swinging herself
about and casting side glances at him, her eyes already full of vice.
He had ended by undertaking her education: he taught her to dance and to
talk patois.

A year passed thus. In the neighborhood it was thought that Lantier had
a private income, for this was the only way to account for the Coupeaus'
grand style of living. No doubt Gervaise continued to earn money; but
now that she had to support two men in doing nothing, the shop certainly
could not suffice; more especially as the shop no longer had so good a
reputation, customers were leaving and the workwomen were tippling from
morning till night. The truth was that Lantier paid nothing, neither
for rent nor board. During the first months he had paid sums on account,
then he had contented himself with speaking of a large amount he was
going to receive, with which later on he would pay off everything in a
lump sum. Gervaise no longer dared ask him for a centime. She had the
bread, the wine, the meat, all on credit. The bills increased everywhere
at the rate of three and four francs a day. She had not paid a sou to
the furniture dealer nor to the three comrades, the