"Yes, yes; I've seen lately a little rococo Pompadour one, second-hand." "Take care! you don't go back far enough; I didn't say Pompadour, which would land you in the middle of Louis XV's reign! I said Louis XIV." "Fourteenth or fifteenth! so long as it ain't too dear.--But what's all this? when I said you were in funds, I wasn't mistaken, was I? You've bought a new hat! I must say, you did well; for yours wouldn't have lasted out a storm." "A new hat! What are you talking about, my fair hostess? I have thought of it more than once, but I have not yet carried out my project." "Why, what's this, then?" Madame Louchard took a hat from the commode and handed it to Cherami, who stared at it with wide-open eyes; for the hat was quite new and of a stylish shape. "What the devil! is that my hat? That's a surprising thing; it has changed, much to its advantage; it has grown at least two years younger; and it fits me, pardieu! Yes, it fits me nicely; it's just the shape of my head." "Of course you bought it yesterday?" "Oh! no, I didn't buy it, I tell you again. Ah! I see: when I left that wedding ball, I was a little excited--a little angry; I seized the first hat that came under my hand, thinking it was mine." "Well, there's no denying that you've got a lucky hand; you haven't lost by the change." "Oh! dear me, such mistakes occur so often at balls and evening parties, that, frankly, I shall not demand mine back." "You will make no mistake; but the man who found your hat in place of his--he may want his back." "Very well! let him come; I am ready for him; I'll return his old tile, and give him others to boot." "Ah! but that isn't all." "What else is there, Widow Louchard? Can it be that I came home with two hats? I admit that that would astonish me." "No, it isn't a hat this time; but this cane--this isn't your clothes-beater, which wasn't worth six sous." Madame Louchard picked up a cane which lay in a corner of the room; it was a genuine rattan, with an agate head surrounded by gold rings, and cut in very peculiar fashion. She showed it to Cherami, who exclaimed in admiration: "Oho! why, that's a beauty! A charming cane, excellent style--not too heavy; I like this sort of cameo for a head very much." "So you got your cane the same way you did your hat, eh?" "Pardieu! that goes without saying. It stood beside the hat. You see, I had placed my switch beside my beaver--so the joke was complete." "Well, you're mighty lucky in your mistakes; that's sure. This cane must have cost a lot of money." "Oh! I have seen much finer ones than this, in the old days. What the devil are you looking for on the floor and on the furniture, Madame Louchard?" "_Dame!_ I'm looking to see if you haven't brought something else home, by mistake." Cherami instantly sat up in bed, crying: