In fact he hummed a Creole ditty, something about "La belle Jeanette, qu' a brise mon coeur." Days passed, and at last the time of the great event arrived.

It was a frosty night, clear, sparkling with stars, a keen breath cutting down from the northwest.

M.Roussillon, Madame Roussillon, Alice and Lieutenant Beverley went together to the river house, whither they had been preceded by almost the entire population of Vincennes.

Some fires had been built outside; the crowd proving too great for the building's capacity, as there had to be ample space for the dancers.

Merry groups hovered around the flaming logs, while within the house a fiddle sang its simple and ravishing tunes.