Charles after dinner, seeing her gloomy, proposed, by way of

distraction, to take her to the chemist's, and the first person she

caught sight of in the shop was the taxcollector again. He was standing

in front of the counter, lit up by the gleams of the red bottle, and was

saying-"Please give me half an ounce of vitriol."

"Justin," cried the druggist, "bring us the sulphuric acid." Then to

Emma, who was going up to Madame Homais' room, "No, stay here; it isn't

worth while going up; she is just coming down. Warm yourself at the

stove in the meantime. Excuse me. Good-day, doctor," (for the chemist

much enjoyed pronouncing the word "doctor," as if addressing another by

it reflected on himself some of the grandeur that he found in it). "Now,

take care not to upset the mortars! You'd better fetch some chairs from

the little room; you know very well that the arm-chairs are not to be

taken out of the drawing-room."

And to put his arm-chair back in its place he was darting away from the

counter, when Binet asked him for half an ounce of sugar acid.

"Sugar acid!" said the chemist contemptuously, "don't know it; I'm

ignorant of it! But perhaps you want oxalic acid. It is oxalic acid,

isn't it?"

Binet explained that he wanted a corrosive to make himself some

copperwater with which to remove rust from his hunting things.

Emma shuddered. The chemist began saying-"Indeed the weather is not propitious on account of the damp."

"Nevertheless," replied the tax-collector, with a sly look, "there are

people who like it."

She was stifling.

"And give me--"

"Will he never go?" thought she.

"Half an ounce of resin and turpentine, four ounces of yellow wax,

and three half ounces of animal charcoal, if you please, to clean the

varnished leather of my togs."

The druggist was beginning to cut the wax when Madame Homais appeared,

Irma in her arms, Napoleon by her side, and Athalie following. She sat

down on the velvet seat by the window, and the lad squatted down on a

footstool, while his eldest sister hovered round the jujube box near

her papa. The latter was filling funnels and corking phials, sticking on

labels, making up parcels. Around him all were silent; only from time

to time, were heard the weights jingling in the balance, and a few low

words from the chemist giving directions to his pupil.

"And how's the little woman?" suddenly asked Madame Homais.




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