Theatre doors and frequented placed on the Boulevards were our favorite
spots.
One night we had taken up our station outside the Opera, when a gentleman
stopped on his way in, and asked Ninette for a button-hole. He was in
evening dress and in a great hurry.
'How much?' he asked shortly.
'Ten _sous_, M'sieu,' said exorbitant little Ninette, expecting to get two
at the most.
The gentleman drew out some coins hastily and selected a bunch from the
basket.
'Here is a franc,' he said, 'I cannot wait for change,' and putting a coin
into Ninette's hand he turned into the theatre.
Ninette ran towards me with her eyes gleaming; she held up the piece of
money exultantly.
'Tiens, Anton!' she cried, and I saw that it was not a franc, as we had
though at first, but a gold Napoleon.
I believe the good little boy and girl in the story-books would have
immediately sought out the unfortunate gentleman and bid him rectify his
mistake, generally receiving, so the legend runs, a far larger bonus
as a reward of their integrity. I have never been a particularly good
little boy, however, and I don't think it ever struck either Ninette or
myself--perhaps we were not sufficiently speculative--that any other course
was open to us than to profit by the mistake.
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