er as he
painted her. To be sure the thousand and one little details that made up
our conversation do not bear repetition. The facts that I elicited were
these: At his uncle's bidding Claude came, Claude saw, and Claude was
conquered. Was she conquered too? That was a question not easily
answered. During the four days they were together she sometimes accepted
his attentions very graciously; at other times she was anything but
encouraging, and even showed so marked a preference for the uncle that
it seemed as if the young widow had preserved a taste for elderly
husbands. He, l'oncle Auguste, inclined as he was under ordinary
circumstances to lord it over friend and foe alike, was unmistakably
cowed in the presence of the Polish fascinator. She not only showed
interest in the tanner's work, but also fearlessly indulged in
criticism; this more especially in reference to the ventilation of some
of the workshops. That she should have selected this particular subject
for her adverse comments rather surprised me, for I had been brought up
in the belief that the Poles might ventilate their grievances, but not
much else.

The subject led to a rather lively discussion between Madame Rabachot
and Claude's uncle, she being of the very advanced opinion that a man,
even if he only worked from ten to twelve hours a day in an enclosed
space, was entitled to a fair amount of pure air, whereas the
distinguished head of the concern, who was of the good old school,
maintained that in his experience of many years' standing he had always
gone by the golden rule that the amount of fresh air provided for the
workman should be in exact proportion to the wages he is paid. The fair
advocate of man's rights, however, stood her ground so well that the
unfortunate employer had to give way, and promise the desired reforms.

This episode made a great impression on Claude, as well it might.
Perhaps, though, he went a little far, when he said she was a noble
creature, the champion of the great cause of suffering humanity, and the
like. To be sure the chief factor of her strength was the splendid gift
she possessed of using her eyes.

I elicited that even whilst skirmishing with the uncle she always had at
least one eye on the nephew; that one was evidently enough to hold him
in subjection, for with it she had condescended to say many pleasant
things that she did not deem it desirable to entrust to the
indiscretions of the lips. Taking it all in all,