? She dressed her hair in a
grotesque manner with little old maid curls, most absurd; but beneath
this one could see a large, calm brow, cut by two deep lines, two
wrinkles of long sadness, then two blue eyes, large and tender, so timid,
so bashful, so humble, two beautiful eyes which had kept the expression
of naive wonder of a young girl, of youthful sensations, and also of
sorrow, which had softened without spoiling them.

Her whole face was refined and discreet, a face the expression of which
seemed to have gone out without being used up or faded by the fatigues
and great emotions of life.

What a dainty mouth! and such pretty teeth! But one would have thought
that she did not dare smile.

Suddenly I compared her to Madame Chantal! Undoubtedly Mademoiselle Pearl
was the better of the two, a hundred times better, daintier, prouder,
more noble. I was surprised at my observation. They were pouring out
champagne. I held my glass up to the queen and, with a well-turned
compliment, I drank to her health. I could see that she felt inclined to
hide her head in her napkin. Then, as she was dipping her lips in the
clear wine, everybody cried: "The queen drinks! the queen drinks!" She
almost turned purple and choked. Everybody was laughing; but I could see
that all loved her.

As soon as dinner was over Chantal took me by the arm. It was time for
his cigar, a sacred hour. When alone he would smoke it out in the street;
when guests came to dinner he would take them to the billiard room and
smoke while playing. That evening they had built a fire to celebrate
Twelfth Night; my old friend took his cue, a very fine one, and chalked
it with great care; then he said:

"You break, my boy!"

He called me "my boy," although I was twenty-five, but he had known me as
a young child.

I started the game and made a few carroms. I missed some others, but as
the thought of Mademoiselle Pearl kept returning to my mind, I suddenly
asked:

"By the way, Monsieur Chantal, is Mademoiselle Pearl a relative of
yours?"

Greatly surprised, he stopped playing and looked at me:

"What! Don't you know? Haven't you heard about Mademoiselle Pearl?"

"No."

"Didn't your father ever tell you?"

"No."

"Well, well, that's funny! That certainly is funny! Why, it's a regular
romance!"

He paused, and then continued:

"And if you only knew how peculiar it is that you should ask me that
to-day, on Twelfth Night!"

"Why?"

"Why? Well, list