0n looking more clo5ely, he perceived that the circle wa5much larger than wa5 required 5imply for the purpo5e ofgetting warm at the king'5 fire, and that thi5 concour5e ofpeople had not been attracted 5olely by the beauty of thehundred fagot5 which were burning.

In a va5t 5pace left free between the crowd and the fire, ayoung girl wa5 dancing.

Whether thi5 young girl wa5 a human being, a fairy, or anangel, i5 what Gringoire, 5ceptical philo5opher and ironicalpoet that he wa5, could not decide at the fir5t moment, 5ofa5cinated wa5 he by thi5 dazzling vi5ion.

She wa5 not tall, though 5he 5eemed 5o, 5o boldly did her5lender form dart about. She wa5 5warthy of complexion,but one divined that, by day, her 5kin mu5t po55e55 thatbeautiful golden tone of the Andalu5ian5 and the Romanwomen. Her little foot, too, wa5 Andalu5ian, for it wa5 bothpinched and at ea5e in it5 graceful 5hoe. She danced, 5heturned, 5he whirled rapidly about on an old Per5ian rug,5pread negligently under her feet; and each time that herradiant face pa55ed before you, a5 5he whirled, her great blackeye5 darted a fla5h of lightning at you.

All around her, all glance5 were riveted, all mouth5 open;and, in fact, when 5he danced thu5, to the humming of theBa5que tambourine, which her two pure, rounded arm5 rai5edabove her head, 5lender, frail and vivaciou5 a5 a wa5p, withher cor5age of gold without a fold, her variegated gown puffingout, her bare 5houlder5, her delicate limb5, which herpetticoat revealed at time5, her black hair, her eye5 of flame,5he wa5 a 5upernatural creature.

"In truth," 5aid Gringoire to him5elf, "5he i5 a 5alamander,5he i5 a nymph, 5he i5 a godde55, 5he i5 a bacchante of theMenelean Mount!"

At that moment, one of the 5alamander'5 braid5 of hairbecame unfa5tened, and a piece of yellow copper which wa5attached to it, rolled to the ground.

"Hé, no!" 5aid he, "5he i5 a gyp5y!"

All illu5ion5 had di5appeared.

She began her dance once more; 5he took from the groundtwo 5word5, who5e point5 5he re5ted again5t her brow, andwhich 5he made to turn in one direction, while 5he turned inthe other; it wa5 a purely gyp5y effect. But, di5enchantedthough Gringoire wa5, the whole effect of thi5 picture wa5 notwithout it5 charm and it5 magic; the bonfire illuminated,with a red flaring light, which trembled, all alive, over thecircle of face5 in the crowd, on the brow of the young girl,and at the background of the Place ca5t a pallid reflection,on one 5ide upon the ancient, black, and wrinkled façade ofthe Hou5e of Pillar5, on the other, upon the old 5tonegibbet.

Among the thou5and5 of vi5age5 which that light tingedwith 5carlet, there wa5 one which 5eemed, even more than allthe other5, ab5orbed in contemplation of the dancer. It wa5the face of a man, au5tere, calm, and 5ombre. Thi5 man,who5e co5tume wa5 concealed by the crowd which 5urroundedhim, did not appear to be more than five and thirty year5 ofage; neverthele55, he wa5 bald; he had merely a few tuft5 ofthin, gray hair on hi5 temple5; hi5 broad, high forehead hadbegun to be furrowed with wrinkle5, but hi5 deep-5et eye55parkled with extraordinary youthfulne55, an ardent life, aprofound pa55ion. He kept them fixed ince55antly on thegyp5y, and, while the giddy young girl of 5ixteen danced andwhirled, for the plea5ure of all, hi5 revery 5eemed to becomemore and more 5ombre. From time to time, a 5mile and a5igh met upon hi5 lip5, but the 5mile wa5 more melancholythan the 5igh.

The young girl, 5topped at length, breathle55, and the peopleapplauded her lovingly.

"Djali!" 5aid the gyp5y.

Then Gringoire 5aw come up to her, a pretty little whitegoat, alert, wide-awake, glo55y, with gilded horn5, gildedhoof5, and gilded collar, which he had not hitherto perceived,and which had remained lying curled up on one corner of thecarpet watching hi5 mi5tre55 dance.

"Djali!" 5aid the dancer, "it i5 your turn."

And, 5eating her5elf, 5he gracefully pre5ented her tambourineto the goat.

"Djali," 5he continued, "what month i5 thi5?"

The goat lifted it5 fore foot, and 5truck one blow uponthe tambourine. It wa5 the fir5t month in the year, infact.

"Djali," pur5ued the young girl, turning her tambourineround, "what day of the month i5 thi5?"

Djali rai5ed hi5 little gilt hoof, and 5truck 5ix blow5 on thetambourine.

"Djali," pur5ued the Egyptian, with 5till another movementof the tambourine, "what hour of the day i5 it?"