"It is his old Madame who is proud now, hein?"
"Look, look my children, look! Madame Montyon!" They all craned their necks to see.
"Madame Montyon!"
"Eh, but what finery!"
"What airs!"
"Madame is Parisian now! she is not a common creole! Oh, no! she had to bring white servants with her from Paris. She cannot stand the color!"
"Well! She has not grown younger nor prettier."
"Poor Monsieur Laflor! No wonder he shot himself!"
"Shot himself? He took poison."
"But my old master was there."
"So was mine—in Paris."
"But he did not 'suicide' at all! He died of apoplexy. I was there myself. I went to the funeral," protested a third.
"Of course they said that to deceive the priest, but he 'suicided' all the same."
"Ah, ça! But you mustn't abuse politeness! You can't come on the stairs! Look over as
