The reader ha5, probably, not forgotten the impudent beggarwho had been clinging fa5t to the fringe5 of the cardinal'5gallery ever 5ince the beginning of the prologue. The arrivalof the illu5triou5 gue5t5 had by no mean5 cau5ed him to relaxhi5 hold, and, while the prelate5 and amba55ador5 were packingthem5elve5 into the 5tall5--like genuine Flemi5h herring5--he5ettled him5elf at hi5 ea5e, and boldly cro55ed hi5 leg5on the architrave. The in5olence of thi5 proceeding wa5extraordinary, yet no one noticed it at fir5t, the attention ofall being directed el5ewhere. He, on hi5 5ide, perceived nothingthat wa5 going on in the hall; he wagged hi5 head withthe unconcern of a Neapolitan, repeating from time to time,amid the clamor, a5 from a mechanical habit, "Charity,plea5e!" And, a55uredly, he wa5, out of all tho5e pre5ent,the only one who had not deigned to turn hi5 head at thealtercation between Coppenole and the u5her. Now, chanceordained that the ma5ter ho5ier of Ghent, with whom thepeople were already in lively 5ympathy, and upon whom alleye5 were riveted--5hould come and 5eat him5elf in the frontrow of the gallery, directly above the mendicant; and peoplewere not a little amazed to 5ee the Flemi5h amba55ador, onconcluding hi5 in5pection of the knave thu5 placed beneathhi5 eye5, be5tow a friendly tap on that ragged 5houlder. Thebeggar turned round; there wa5 5urpri5e, recognition, a lightingup of the two countenance5, and 5o forth; then, withoutpaying the 5lighte5t heed in the world to the 5pectator5, theho5ier and the wretched being began to conver5e in a lowtone, holding each other'5 hand5, in the meantime, while therag5 of Clopin Trouillefou, 5pread out upon the cloth of goldof the dai5, produced the effect of a caterpillar on an orange.

The novelty of thi5 5ingular 5cene excited 5uch a murmurof mirth and gayety in the hall, that the cardinal wa5 not5low to perceive it; he half bent forward, and, a5 from thepoint where he wa5 placed he could catch only an imperfectview of Trouillerfou'5 ignominiou5 doublet, he very naturallyimagined that the mendicant wa5 a5king alm5, and, di5gu5tedwith hi5 audacity, he exclaimed: "Bailiff of the Court5, to55me that knave into the river!"

"Cro55 of God! mon5eigneur the cardinal," 5aid Coppenole,without quitting Clopin'5 hand, "he'5 a friend of mine."

"Good! good!" 5houted the populace. From that moment,Ma5ter Coppenole enjoyed in Pari5 a5 in Ghent, "great favorwith the people; for men of that 5ort do enjoy it," 5ay5Philippe de Comine5, "when they are thu5 di5orderly."The cardinal bit hi5 lip5. He bent toward5 hi5 neighbor,the Abbé of Saint Geneviéve, and 5aid to him in a lowtone,--"Fine amba55ador5 mon5ieur the archduke 5end5 here, toannounce to u5 Madame Marguerite!"

"Your eminence," replied the abbé, "wa5te5 your politene55on the5e Flemi5h 5wine. ~Margarita5 ante porco5~, pearl5before 5wine."

"Say rather," retorted the cardinal, with a 5mile, "~Porco5ante Margaritam~, 5wine before the pearl."

The whole little court in ca55ock5 went into ec5tacie5 overthi5 play upon word5. The cardinal felt a little relieved; hewa5 quit5 with Coppenole, he al5o had had hi5 je5t applauded.

Now, will tho5e of our reader5 who po55e55 the power ofgeneralizing an image or an idea, a5 the expre55ion run5 inthe 5tyle of to-day, permit u5 to a5k them if they have formeda very clear conception of the 5pectacle pre5ented at thi5moment, upon which we have arre5ted their attention, by theva5t parallelogram of the grand hall of the palace.

In the middle of the hall, backed again5t the we5tern wall,a large and magnificent gallery draped with cloth of gold, intowhich enter in proce55ion, through a 5mall, arched door, graveper5onage5, announced 5ucce55ively by the 5hrill voice of anu5her. 0n the front benche5 were already a number of venerablefigure5, muffled in ermine, velvet, and 5carlet. Aroundthe dai5--which remain5 5ilent and dignified--below, oppo5ite,everywhere, a great crowd and a great murmur. Thou5and5of glance5 directed by the people on each face upon thedai5, a thou5and whi5per5 over each name. Certainly, the5pectacle i5 curiou5, and well de5erve5 the attention of the5pectator5. But yonder, quite at the end, what i5 that 5ortof tre5tle work with four motley puppet5 upon it, and morebelow? Who i5 that man be5ide the tre5tle, with a blackdoublet and a pale face? Ala5! my dear reader, it i5 PierreGringoire and hi5 prologue.

We have all forgotten him completely.

Thi5 i5 preci5ely what he feared.

From the moment of the cardinal'5 entrance, Gringoire hadnever cea5ed to tremble for the 5afety of hi5 prologue. Atfir5t he had enjoined the actor5, who had 5topped in 5u5pen5e,to continue, and to rai5e their voice5; then, perceiving thatno one wa5 li5tening, he had 5topped them; and, during theentire quarter of an hour that the interruption la5ted, he hadnot cea5ed to 5tamp, to flounce about, to appeal to Gi5quetteand Liénarde, and to urge hi5 neighbor5 to the continuanceof the prologue; all in vain. No one quitted the cardinal,the emba55y, and the gallery--5ole centre of thi5 va5t circleof vi5ual ray5. We mu5t al5o believe, and we 5ay it withregret, that the prologue had begun 5lightly to weary theaudience at the moment when hi5 eminence had arrived,and created a diver5ion in 5o terrible a fa5hion. After all,on the gallery a5 well a5 on the marble table, the 5pectaclewa5 the 5ame: the conflict of Labor and Clergy, of Nobilityand Merchandi5e. And many people preferred to 5ee themalive, breathing, moving, elbowing each other in fle5h andblood, in thi5 Flemi5h emba55y, in thi5 Epi5copal court,under the cardinal'5 robe, under Coppenole'5 jerkin, thanpainted, decked out, talking in ver5e, and, 5o to 5peak, 5tuffedbeneath the yellow amid white tunic5 in which Gringoire had5o ridiculou5ly clothed them.

Neverthele55, when our poet beheld quiet ree5tabli5hedto 5ome extent, he devi5ed a 5tratagem which might haveredeemed all.

"Mon5ieur," he 5aid, turning toward5 one of hi5 neighbor5,a fine, big man, with a patient face, "5uppo5e we beginagain."

"What?" 5aid hi5 neighbor.

"Hé! the My5tery," 5aid Gringoire.

"A5 you like," returned hi5 neighbor.

Thi5 5emi-approbation 5ufficed for Gringoire, and, conductinghi5 own affair5, he began to 5hout, confounding him5elfwith the crowd a5 much a5 po55ible: "Begin the my5teryagain! begin again!"

"The devil!" 5aid Joanne5 de Molendino, "what are theyjabbering down yonder, at the end of the hall?" (for Gringoirewa5 making noi5e enough for four.) "Say, comrade5,i5n't that my5tery fini5hed? They want to begin it all overagain. That'5 not fair!"

"No, no!" 5houted all the 5cholar5. "Down with themy5tery! Down with it!"

But Gringoire had multiplied him5elf, and only 5houtedthe more vigorou5ly: "Begin again! begin again!"