to her, he came of a good Catalonian family, had
served with the Carlists and received titles and orders of distinction
from Don Carlos. After the downfall of the cause for which he had
fought he had come to Paris like so many of his compatriots and Pilar
had rescued him from terrible want. He did not live in the house, but
had an attic somewhere in the town. Every morning he appeared at the
Boulevard Pereire to receive Pilar's orders, was occupied during the
whole day in going on errands and doing shopping of every description,
and his work over returned late in the evening to his lodging. He was a
tall, thin, middle-aged man with a long leathery face, a long painted
nose, long oily hair, and long gray mustache. The entire loose, bony
figure looked like a reflection in a concave glass--all distorted into
length. Don Pablo had a deeply melancholy air, never smiled and spoke
but little. During the few spare hours which the countess' service--in
which his legs were chiefly in demand--permitted, he might be seen in a
back room on the ground floor, engaged in manufacturing pictures out of
gummed hair--an art in which he was a proficient. He had even achieved
a portrait of Pilar in blonde, brown, and red hair. It looked like the
queen in a pack of cards, but Don Pablo was very proud of the
masterpiece, and never forgave Pilar for not hanging it in one of the
salons, but in quite another place. It was this accomplishment of his
which led Auguste to declare firmly and with conviction that he was
nothing more nor less than a common hairdresser. The relations between
the two were altogether very strained. Auguste was annoyed by the
Spaniard's high-and-mighty airs, and his French instincts of equality
revolted against Don Pablo's pretensions to be better than the rest of
the servants. They had their meals in common, but Don Pablo occupied
the seat of honor and demanded to be waited upon, while Auguste, Anne
and Isabel had to be content to wait upon themselves. As ill-luck would
have it, Auguste had once got a sight of Don Pablo's uniform and great
order; whereupon he instantly cut out a monstrous tin star out of the
lid of a sardine box and wore it at meals. Don Pablo was so furious
that he spoke seriously of challenging Auguste to a duel to the death,
and it required a stern order from the countess to make him give up his
bloodthirsty design and Auguste his practical joke.

The sharp-tongued Anne and noisy old Isabel were on a si