rld who
is governed by refined and elegant tastes. His linen was spotlessly
white, his cloth extremely fine, and his well-brushed hat shone smartly
in the sunshine. Occasionally, as some one passed on the road, he might
be seen to draw forth a handsome gold snuff-box and inhale a pinch with
so graceful an air that an observer would be convinced he belonged to
the highest classes of society. A malicious eye, it is true, might have
discovered by close inspection that the brush had been too familiar with
his coat and worn it threadbare, that his silk hat had been doctored to
preserve its lustre and smoothness, and that his gloves were elaborately
darned. If an inquisitive critic could have pried into the bottom of the
vehicle, he would have detected a large crack in the side of the left
boot, beneath which a gray stocking had been carefully masked with ink.
Still, all these signs of poverty were so artfully concealed, and his
dress worn with so careless an air of opulence and ease, that every body
might have supposed the traveller did not put on better clothes only
because he had a whim for bad ones.

The _caleche_ had rolled along rapidly for about two hours, when the
driver suddenly drew up at a small inn on the dike outside of the city
of Antwerp. The landlady and groom instantly sallied forth, and by their
profound salutations and civility exhibited their marked respect for a
well-known stranger.

"It's a fine day, Monsieur Vlierbeck, isn't it?" said the dame; "yet
it's a trifle warm, however. Don't you think it would be well for the
high-grounds if we had a sprinkle more of rain, Monsieur Vlierbeck?
Shall we give the horse some hay, Monsieur Vlierbeck? But stay: I see,
now, your coachman has brought his hay with him. Will you take anything,
Monsieur Vlierbeck?"

While the hostess was pouring forth this torrent of questions, Monsieur
De Vlierbeck got out of the vehicle, and, entering the house, addressed
the most flattering compliments to the dame about her good looks,
inquired as to the health of each of her children, and finished by
apprizing her that he was obliged to be in town instantly. Thereupon,
shaking her cordially by the hand, yet with a condescending air that
marked and preserved the distance between them, he gave his orders to
his lackey, and, with a farewell bow, walked toward the bridge leading
into the city.

At a solitary spot on the outer rampart Monsieur De Vlierbeck stopped,
looked round as if