urt-yard. It was so large that the dinner table (we were fourteen)
seemed lost in space. The talk was almost exclusively political and
amusing enough. All the men were, or had been, deputies, and every
possible question was discussed. Mme. A. was charming, very
intelligent, and animated, having lived all her life with clever
people, and having taken part in all the changes that France has gone
through in the last fifty years. She had been a widow for about two
years when I first stayed there, and it was pretty to see her children
with her. Her two sons, one married, the other a young officer, were
so respectful and fond of their mother, and her daughter perfectly
devoted to her.

The men all went off to smoke after coffee, and we women were left to
ourselves for quite a long time. The three ladies all had
work--knitting or crochet--and were making little garments,
brassieres, and petticoats for all the village children. They were
quite surprised that I had nothing and said they would teach me to
crochet. The evening was not very long after the men came back. Some
remained in the billiard-room, which opens out of the salon, and
played cochonnet, a favourite French game. We heard violent
discussions as to the placing of the balls, and some one asked for a
yard measure, to be quite sure the count was correct. Before we broke
up M. A. announced the programme for the next day. Breakfast for all
the men at eight o'clock in the dining-room, and an immediate start
for the woods; luncheon at the Pavilion d'Hiver at twelve in the
woods, the ladies invited to join the shooters and follow one or two
battues afterward. It was a clear, cold night, and there seemed every
prospect of a beautiful day for the battues.

The next morning was lovely. I went to my maid's room, just across the
corridor to see the motors start. All our rooms looked out on the
park, and on the other side of the corridor was a succession of small
rooms giving on the court-yard, which were always kept for the maids
and valets of the guests. It was an excellent arrangement, for in some
of the big chateaux, where the servants were at the top of the house,
or far off in another wing, communications were difficult. There were
two carriages and a sort of tapissiere following with guns, servants,
and cartridges. I had a message from Mme. A. asking if I had slept
well, and sending me the paper; and a visit from Comtesse de B. who, I
think, was rather anxious about my