he symbol of charity, pardon, and everlasting hope; a
female, overwhelmed by every grief that can distress a wife and mother;
a young girl, hardly out of her infancy, and but recently thrown into an
abyss of vice through misery and the close contact with crime.

Rodolph got into the carriage, Murphy took his place by his side, and
the horses set off at speed.

CHAPTER XII.

THE RENDEZVOUS.

The day after he had confided the Goualeuse to the care of Madame
Georges, Rodolph, still dressed as a mechanic, was, at noon precisely,
at the door of a cabaret with the sign of the Panier-Fleuri, not far
from the barrier of Bercy.

The evening before, at ten o'clock, the Chourineur was punctual to the
appointment which Rodolph had fixed with him. The result of this
narrative will inform our readers of the particulars of the meeting. It
was twelve o'clock, and the rain fell in torrents; the Seine, swollen by
perpetual falls of rain, had risen very high, and overflowed a part of
the quay. Rodolph looked from time to time, with a gesture of
impatience, towards the barrier, and at last observed a man and woman,
who were coming towards him under the shelter of an umbrella, and whom
he recognised as the Chouette and the Schoolmaster.

These two individuals were completely metamorphosed. The ruffian had
laid aside his ragged garments and his air of brutal ferocity. He wore a
long frock coat of green cloth, and a round hat; whilst his shirt and
cravat were remarkable for their whiteness. But for the hideousness of
his features and the fierce glance of his eyes, always restless and
suspicious, this fellow might have been taken, by his quiet and steady
step, for an honest citizen.

The Chouette was also in her Sunday costume, wearing a large shawl of
fine wool, with a large pattern, and held in her hand a capacious
basket.

The rain having ceased for the moment, Rodolph, overcoming a sensation
of disgust, went to meet the frightful pair. For the slang of the
_tapis-franc_ the Schoolmaster now substituted a style almost polished,
and which betokened a cultivated mind, in strange contrast with his real
character and crimes. When Rodolph approached, the brigand made him a
polite bow, and the Chouette curtseyed respectfully.

"Sir, your humble servant," said the Schoolmaster. "I am delighted to
pay my respects to you--delighted--or, rather, to renew our
acquaintance; for the night before last you paid me two blows of the
fist