"Mamzelle, I came here to buy some violets and not for anything else. I buy them of you, because you're the only one that's got any good ones; if it wasn't for that----" "If it wasn't for that--well, what? Come, finish what you were going to say." "Well! I was going to say that if it wasn't for that I wouldn't have spoken to you." "What, you too, Chicotin? Why, has it gone so far that I must receive insults from everybody? that everybody is going to insult me? Ah! that's a shame! what have I done to you, that you should say that to me?" "To me--you haven't done anything to me personally, but you have to somebody else, somebody I'm very fond of, who's my friend; you've made him unhappy, and when anyone treat my friends bad, I always take a hand in it." "Ah! Georget has told you too----" "Yes, mamzelle, he has told me--mon Dieu! you know well enough what he must have told me,--that he couldn't love you any longer, because you--but no matter--How much for this big bunch, mamzelle?" "And you believed all that too; you are convinced that I am a girl without honor, without shame?" "Mamzelle, I give you my word that I didn't believe it right away; no, indeed; and that I didn't want to believe it at all; but when you are certain of a thing--look you, just consider that Georget and I followed that dandified Monsieur Jericourt a whole day, to make him speak; I begged him to tell me the truth about you." "Monsieur Jericourt--well?" "Well! he called me a fool; he said that when a girl went--How much for this bunch, if you please?" "Ah! the coward! the villain! but he lied, Chicotin, I swear to you that he lied!" "Oh! mamzelle, everybody knows that women never admit such things; if only nobody had seen you; but as someone did see you, nothing you can say will make me believe--Well, if you're not crying now! I'm sorry for it, I don't like to make anybody cry; but it ain't my fault; I didn't say a word about this; it was you who would talk about it; it worries me to see you cry, and I'll go away, as you won't tell me how much this big bunch of violets is." "Whatever you please," faltered the girl, holding her handkerchief to her eyes. "Mon Dieu! I can't pay more than twenty sous, mamzelle." "All right, that's enough; take it." "Yes, mamzelle, I will take it; here's the twenty sous. Adieu, mamzelle." Chicotin took the bouquet and walked away very fast, because he felt that if he remained longer with the flower girl he would be quite capable of crying with her.