mp, high-walled
courts, so common in the capital. In one of these small houses, looking
out upon the sunny, cheerful yard, I had my room, and as I often sat at
the window, I began by degrees to take some interest in the movements of
my neighbors, as we can hardly help doing when the same persons pass in
and out before our eyes for many days in succession. The house was
rented or owned by an elderly lady, who, with her niece and an old
servant-woman, seemed to be its only occupants, with the exception of
two American boys, attending school by day at one of the large
_Pensions_ so numerous in Paris. Kinder people can not be found any
where, and fortunate indeed is the sojourner in a strange land who falls
in with such good hearts. Their history was a singular one, and I did
not really learn it till my return to Paris, after a long absence. They
interested me very much, from the first day. The lady and her niece had
seen better days, and were notable partisans of the Orleans family,
whose memory they deeply reverenced. Politics, indeed, could make but
little difference to them, passing, as they did, most of their lives in
their quiet rooms; but such interest as they had in it clung to what
they considered the model royal family of Europe, a family that carried
its affections and virtues equally through the saddest and most splendid
experiences. They could not sympathize with the oppressive and military
character of the present dynasty and the crowd of time-serving
adventurers that swarmed around it. The life of the younger lady was
devoted to her aunt, and all the spare hours that remained to her from
those occupied by the lessons she was compelled to give, to increase
their scanty income, were passed in her society. I have seldom seen a
life of such entire self-denial as that led by this refined and delicate
woman. The third figure of this family group, the old servant, Marie,
was a character peculiar to France. She seemed rather a companion than a
servant, though she performed all the duties of the latter, keeping the
rooms in neatest order, and making better coffee than I found at the
most splendid restaurants. She had a clear blue eye, with one of the
most faithful expressions I ever saw on human face, and seemed to take
as much interest in me and the two American boys as if we had been her
children. She was the housekeeper, buying all their little supplies; but
when her labors were over, passing her leisure hours in the