"But it's absurd, mademoiselle. It fits worse than ever. Just look how tight it is across the chest. I look like a wet nurse."
Denise, losing all patience, made a rather unfortunate remark. "You are slightly stout, madame. We cannot make you thinner than you are."
"Stout! stout!" exclaimed Henriette, who now turned pale in her turn. "You're becoming insolent, mademoiselle. Really, I should advise you to criticize others!"
They both stood looking at each other, face to face, trembling. There was now neither lady or shop-girl. They were simply two women, made equal by their rivalry. The one had violently taken off the mantle and cast it on a chair, whilst the other was throwing oil the dressing-table the few pins she had in her hands.
"What astonishes me," resumed Henriette, "is that Mon
