yed
itself even in their handshakings.

From this moment the hatter would covertly watch the Coupeaus whilst
eating their dry bread, and becoming very talkative again, would deafen
them with his continual jeremiads. All day long Gervaise moved in the
midst of that poverty which he so obligingly spread out. _Mon Dieu!_ he
wasn't thinking of himself; he would go on starving with his friends as
long as they liked. But look at it with common sense. They owed at least
five hundred francs in the neighborhood. Besides which, they were two
quarters rent behind with the rent, which meant another two hundred and
fifty francs; the landlord, Monsieur Marescot, even spoke of having them
evicted if they did not pay him by the first of January. Finally the
pawn-place had absorbed everything, one could not have got together
three francs' worth of odds and ends, the clearance had been so
complete; the nails remained in the walls and that was all and perhaps
there were two pounds of them at three sous the pound. Gervaise,
thoroughly entangled in it all, her nerves quite upset by this
calculation, would fly into a passion and bang her fists down upon the
table or else she would end by bursting into tears like a fool. One
night she exclaimed:

"I'll be off to-morrow! I prefer to put the key under the door and to
sleep on the pavement rather than continue to live in such frights."

"It would be wiser," said Lantier slyly, "to get rid of the lease if you
could find someone to take it. When you are both decided to give up the
shop--"

She interrupted him more violently:

"At once, at once! Ah! it'll be a good riddance!"

Then the hatter became very practical. On giving up the lease one
would no doubt get the new tenant to be responsible for the two overdue
quarters. And he ventured to mention the Poissons, he reminded them
that Virginie was looking for a shop; theirs would perhaps suit her. He
remembered that he had heard her say she longed for one just like it.
But when Virginie's name was mentioned the laundress suddenly regained
her composure. We'll see how things go along. When you're angry you
always talk of quitting, but it isn't so easy when you just stop to
think about it.

During the following days it was in vain that Lantier harped upon the
subject. Gervaise replied that she had seen herself worse off and had
pulled through. How would she be better off when she no longer had her
shop? That would not put bread into their mou