avory
smells of hot viands, and much helping and pressing of one another; much
talk of the price of silks, velvets, and serges; of the credit of such
and such a house; of the state of trade; of the court; and of the
country. I, wedged between Madeleine and her sister, had the opportunity
of giving her many tender looks, though few words passed between us.
Among the strangers at table was a strangely unpleasant Englishman, who
prefaced every speech with "I want to know--" and would not be satisfied
with a short answer. At length my father mildly said--

"Sir, you seek to know trade secrets. You know there are secrets in all
trades."

"That is precisely why I want to know them," said he, laughing.

"But a good reason why we should not tell them," said my father; who
then turned from him, and addressed some one else. Gabrielle whispered,
"I shall call that man Monsieur I-want-to-know."

"Ah, well, I know already what I chiefly want," pursued the Englishman,
who, had he not been drinking more freely than was good for him, would
probably have been less communicative. "I've been to Italy, and have
seen the Italian machinery for throwing silk, and shall carry back a
pretty good idea of the process."

"That man shall never carry anything back," whispered a
vindictive-looking Italian, whose eyes glittered like fire.

"Hush! he is only an empty boaster."

"We want no empty boasters. We will not let him steal our trade
secrets."

That night, going home to his lodging, the Englishman was set upon by
the Italian, and pricked with his stiletto, narrowly escaping with his
life. He gave him what he called "a good English black-eye," and bawled
loudly for justice. The Italian ran off, and was no more seen; and the
Englishman, whose ugly name was Hogg, talked big about applying to his
ambassador, Sir William Trumbull, but was induced to let the matter
drop. The ambassador shortly had worse things to complain of.

The next day was the Catholic Feast of St. Magdalen, which, though we
Huguenots felt no manner of respect for, we were obliged to conform to
outwardly, by not selling or working in open shops, till the services
of the day were over. We made up to ourselves for it by having a
prayer-service of our own in-doors, followed by a long exposition and
exhortation from a godly minister named Brignolles, who warned us of
times of trial that should soon be revealed, and adjured us to put on
the whole armor of God, that we might