s a hushed silence. Then all at once Punch sprang
in, with so ferocious a yell that baby Guiraud could not restrain a
responsive cry of terror and delight. It was one of those bloodthirsty
dramas in which Punch, having administered a sound beating to the
magistrate, murders the policeman, and tramples with ferocious glee on
every law, human and divine. At every cudgelling bestowed on the
wooden heads the pitiless audience went into shrieks of laughter; and
the sharp thrusts delivered by the puppets at each other's breasts,
the duels in which they beat a tattoo on one another's skulls as
though they were empty pumpkins, the awful havoc of legs and arms,
reducing the characters to a jelly, served to increase the roars of
laughter which rang out from all sides. But the climax of enjoyment
was reached when Punch sawed off the policeman's head on the edge of
the stage; an operation provocative of such hysterical mirth that the
rows of juveniles were plunged into confusion, swaying to and fro with
glee till they all but fell on one another. One tiny girl, but four
years old, all pink and white, considered the spectacle so entrancing
that she pressed her little hands devoutly to her heart. Others burst
into applause, while the boys laughed, with mouths agape, their deeper
voices mingling with the shrill peals from the girls.

"How amused they are!" whispered the doctor. He had returned to his
place near Helene. She was in high spirits like the children. Behind
her, he sat inhaling the intoxicating perfume which came from her
hair. And as one puppet on the stage dealt another an exceptionally
hard knock she turned to him and exclaimed: "Do you know, it is
awfully funny!"

The youngsters, crazy with excitement, were now interfering with the
action of the drama. They were giving answers to the various
characters. One young lady, who must have been well up in the plot,
was busy explaining what would next happen.

"He'll beat his wife to death in a minute! Now they are going to hang
him!"

The youngest of the Levasseur girls, who was two years old, shrieked
out all at once:

"Mamma, mamma, will they put him on bread and water?"

All sorts of exclamations and reflections followed. Meanwhile Helene,
gazing into the crowd of children, remarked: "I cannot see Jeanne. Is
she enjoying herself?"

Then the doctor bent forward, with head perilously near her own, and
whispered: "There she is, between that harlequin and the Norman
p