"There was an organ at one end of the ring, with a man playing upon it, to draw the crowd together. In front of the organ was a woman, with a baby in her arms, and another little child playing about her. The man said that this was his family, and that he had to support them by his experiments. In front of the woman was the box. In front of the box was the man, who stood there, generally, telling what he was going to do, and calling upon the people to throw in their sous. In front of the man was a carpet, on the pavement, and in the middle of the carpet a tin plate. From time to time the people would throw sous over into the circle. The man would then pick them up and put them into the plate, and tell the people how many there lacked. There must be fifteen, he said, or he could not perform the experiment. He kept talking all the time to the people, and saying funny things to make them laugh.
"At last all the fifteen sous were in, and then the man went to the box. He brought out a soldier who was standing among the people, and placed him near the box, so that he might shut the cover down when the man was in. The man then stepped into the box. The upper edge of it was not higher than his knees. He then began to kneel down in the box, crossing his legs under him; and then he crouched his body down into it, and curled in his head, and then——
"Jennie!" said Rollo, interrupting himself. He observed that Jennie was very still, and he was not sure that she was listening.
Jennie did not answer. She was fast asleep.
"She's gone to sleep," said Rollo, "without hearing the end of the story. However, the soldier put the lid down, and shut the man entirely in."
Rollo thought that, as he was so near the end, he might as well finish the story, even if his auditor was asleep.
Chapter XI.
Conclusion.
Rollo's adventures in Paris were brought, at length, for the time being, to a somewhat abrupt termination, by an invitation which he received suddenly at breakfast one morning, from his uncle George, to set off with him the next day for Switzerland. Rollo was very eager to accept this invitation from the moment that it was offered him. It is true that he was not at all tired of Paris; and there were a great many places, both in the city and in the environs, that he was still desirous to see.