up to the table, in accordance with the poor old soul's
invitation; and while partaking of what turned out to be a very savoury
meal, did my best to cheer her up with the hope of speedily seeing her
Jean once more.

My meal concluded, she conducted me up a rickety, worm-eaten staircase,
to a small room above that which we had just left; and indicating one of
the two beds therein as the one belonging to her Jean, and the one,
therefore, which I was to occupy, bade me good-night and retired.

I must admit that, now I had fairly embarked upon my adventure, I found
there were certain physical discomforts incidental to it, which were by
no means to my taste. Thus, the disguise upon which my safety to a
great extent depended, consisted of clothing the reverse of clean, and
though it was certainly odoriferous enough, the perfume was by no means
that of "Araby the blest." Then there was my lodging. It was
moderately clean, perhaps, compared with the condition of a few of the
places in the immediate neighbourhood; but ideas of cleanliness, like
ideas upon many other matters, vary, and this place, though doubtless
considered scrupulously clean by the rightful occupants, was
sufficiently the reverse to make me really uncomfortable; and for a
short time I abandoned myself to reflections the reverse of self-
complimentary with regard to the impulse which had led me into such a
situation. But the fact remained that I was there; and common-sense
suggested the desirability of making the best of the situation; I
accordingly arranged matters as comfortably as I could, and flinging
myself upon the coarse pallet was soon wrapped in a dreamless slumber.

My first business in the morning was to find out and report myself to
the _maire_. I had given a great deal of consideration to this matter
while rowing ashore on the previous night, weighing carefully the
arguments for and against such a course; and had finally arrived at the
conclusion that, though such a proceeding would undoubtedly be fraught
with great danger, yet it would in reality be the safest thing to do.
The great thing to avoid was the exciting of suspicion; and the surest
means of achieving this seemed to me to be, not the actual _courting_ of
observation, certainly, but the careful avoidance of anything which
seemed like shunning it.

Accordingly, after an early breakfast, during the discussion of which I
easily extracted from my unsuspicious hostess all the informati