onduct
had not made him any thinner; he still looked bloated; his eyes were
bleared, and his mouth was heavy. He seemed to be half asleep as he
repeated mechanically: "Home life! There's nothing like home life,
nothing in the world!"

"No doubt," said the major; "still, one mustn't exaggerate--take a
little exercise and come to the cafe now and then."

"To the cafe, why?" asked Burle. "Do I lack anything here? No, no, I
remain at home."

When Charles had laid his books aside Laguitte was surprised to see a
maid come in to lay the cloth.

"So you keep a servant now," he remarked to Mme Burle.

"I had to get one," she answered with a sigh. "My legs are not what they
used to be, and the household was going to rack and ruin. Fortunately
Cabrol let me have his daughter. You know old Cabrol, who sweeps the
market? He did not know what to do with Rose--I am teaching her how to
work."

Just then the girl left the room.

"How old is she?" asked the major.

"Barely seventeen. She is stupid and dirty, but I only give her ten
francs a month, and she eats nothing but soup."

When Rose returned with an armful of plates Laguitte, though he did not
care about women, began to scrutinize her and was amazed at seeing so
ugly a creature. She was very short, very dark and slightly deformed,
with a face like an ape's: a flat nose, a huge mouth and narrow greenish
eyes. Her broad back and long arms gave her an appearance of great
strength.

"What a snout!" said Laguitte, laughing, when the maid had again left
the room to fetch the cruets.

"Never mind," said Burle carelessly, "she is very obliging and does all
one asks her. She suits us well enough as a scullion."

The dinner was very pleasant. It consisted of boiled beef and mutton
hash. Charles was encouraged to relate some stories of his school, and
Mme Burle repeatedly asked him the same question: "Don't you want to
be a soldier?" A faint smile hovered over the child's wan lips as
he answered with the frightened obedience of a trained dog, "Oh
yes, Grandmother." Captain Burle, with his elbows on the table, was
masticating slowly with an absent-minded expression. The big room was
getting warmer; the single lamp placed on the table left the corners in
vague gloom. There was a certain amount of heavy comfort, the familiar
intimacy of penurious people who do not change their plates at every
course but become joyously excited at the unexpected appearance of a
bowl of whipped e