ot to be exiled and proscribed in his ugliness. And
the ugliest, the most repugnant woman would have appeared beautiful to
him, if she would only have not consented to think him ugly, or, at any
rate, not to tell him so, and not to let him see that she felt horror
at him on that account.

The consequence was, that, when he one day met a poor, blear-eyed
creature, with her face covered with scabs, and bearing evident signs of
alcoholism, with a driveling mouth, and ragged and filthy petticoats, to
whom he gave liberal alms, for which she kissed his hand, he took her
home with him, had her clean dressed and taken care of, made her his
servant, and then his housekeeper. Next he raised her to the rank of his
mistress, and, finally, of course, he married her.

She was almost as ugly as he was! She really was; but only, almost.
Almost, but certainly not quite; for she was hideous, and her
hideousness had its charm and its beauty, no doubt; that something by
which a woman can attract a man. And she had proved that by deceiving
him, and she let him see it better still, by seducing another man.

That other was actually uglier than he was.

He was certainly uglier, that collection of every physical and moral
ugliness, that companion of beggars whom she had picked up among her
former vagrant associates, that jailbird, that dealer in little girls,
that vagabond covered with filth, with legs like a toad's, with a mouth
like a lamprey, and a death's head, in which the nose had been replaced
by two holes.

"And you have wronged me with a wretch like that," the poor cuckold
said. "And in my own house! and in such a manner that I might catch you
in the very act! And why, why, you wretch? Why, seeing that he is uglier
than I am?"

"Oh! no," she exclaimed. "You may say what you like, but do not say that
he is uglier than you are."

And the unhappy man stood there, vanquished and overcome by her last
words, which she uttered without understanding all the horror which he
would feel at them.

"Because, you see, he has his own particular ugliness, while you are
merely ugly like everybody else is."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Literally, "The bird flies"--a pun on the verb voler, which means
both "to fly" and "to steal."

[2] Nickname for Napoleon III.

[3] _Jevodre voir vo comment vo faites le painture? Vele vo? Je ete tres
curieux._

[4] _J'ete joujours avec vo la meme qu-autre fois._

[5] Munich beer--often brewed in France!--which