be
able to purchase them."

"I really will buy some tea and chocolate," she said.

"Get in a good stock," he said. "Especially of chocolate. I am quite
serious, I can assure you. Unfortunately, you have no place for keeping
a sheep or two, or a bullock; and bread, at the end of a couple of
months, could scarcely be eaten; but, really, I should advise you to
invest in a dozen of those big square boxes of biscuits, and a ham or
two may come in as a welcome addition some day."

Mary laughed incredulously, but she was much more inclined than before
to look at matters seriously, when, on fetching Madame Michaud in, that
lady, in the course of conversation, mentioned that her husband had that
morning bought three sacks of flour and a hundred tins of preserved
meats.

"He is going to get some boxes," she said, "and to have the flour
emptied into them, then the baker will bring them round in a cart, so
that no one will guess it is flour. He says it is likely that there will
be an order issued that everything of that sort is to be given into a
public store for general distribution, so it must be brought here
quietly. He tells me that every one he knows is doing the same thing. My
servant has been out this morning eight times and has been buying eggs.
She has brought a hundred each time, and we are putting them in a cask
in salt."

"Do you really think all that is necessary, madame?" Mary asked,
doubtfully.

"Most certainly I do. They say everything will go up to such prices as
never were heard of before. Of course, in a month or two the country
will come to our rescue and destroy the Prussians, but till then we have
got to live. Already eggs are fetching four times as much as they did
last week. It is frightful to think of it, is it not, monsieur?"

"If I were in your place, madame, I would not reckon too surely on
relief in a month. I think that there is no doubt that, as you say,
there will be a prohibition of anyone keeping provisions of any sort,
and everything will be thrown into the public magazines. Likely enough
every house will be searched, and you cannot hide your things too
carefully."

"But why should they insist on everything being put in public
magazines?" Mary asked. "It will not go further that way than if people
keep their own stocks and eat them."

"It will be necessary, if for nothing else, to prevent rioting when the
pinch comes, and people are starving in the poorer quarters. You may be
sure if