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 the charge of the excellent and respectable Madame Bourcet, since there was no need for you to work."

"But—" Here Fifi paused and struggled for a moment with herself, then burst out: "I was happier, far, when I was earning my living. The theater was small, and ill lighted, and my wages were barely enough to live upon, and I often was without a fire; but at least I had Cartouche and Toto."

"And who are Cartouche and Toto?" asked the Holy Father, mildly.

Then Fifi told the story of Cartouche; how brave he was at the bridge of Lodi; how he had befriended her, and stood between her and harm; and, strange to say, the Pope appeared not the least shocked at things that would have paralyzed Madame Bourcet and Louis Bourcet. Fifi told him all about the thirty francs she had saved up for the cloak, and the spending it in buying Toto, and the Holy Father laughed outright. He asked many questions about the theater, and the life of the people there, and agreed with Fifi when she said sagely:

"Cartouche says there is not much more of virtue in one calling than another, and that those