in his behalf. But though he replied Yes or No to the inquiries,
natural under the circumstances, which the good woman made as to
his accident, and the friendly intervention of the tenants
occupying the fourth floor, he could not hinder her from
following the instinct of her kind; she mentioned the two
strangers, speaking of them as prompted by the interests of her
policy and the subterranean opinions of the porter's lodge.

"Ah," said she, "they were, no doubt, Mademoiselle Leseigneur and
her mother, who have lived here these four years. We do not know
exactly what these ladies do; in the morning, only till the hour
of noon, an old woman who is half deaf, and who never speaks any
more than a wall, comes in to help them; in the evening, two or
three old gentlemen, with loops of ribbon, like you, monsieur,
come to see them, and often stay very late. One of them comes in
a carriage with servants, and is said to have sixty thousand
francs a year. However, they are very quiet tenants, as you are,
monsieur; and economical! they live on nothing, and as soon as a
letter is brought they pay for it. It is a queer thing, monsieur,
the mother's name is not the same as the daughter's. Ah, but when
they go for a walk in the Tuileries, mademoiselle is very smart,
and she never goes out but she is followed by a lot of young men;
but she shuts the door in their face, and she is quite right. The
proprietor would never allow----"

The coach having come, Hippolyte heard no more, and went home.
His mother, to whom he related his adventure, dressed his wound
afresh, and would not allow him to go to the studio next day.
After taking advice, various treatments were prescribed, and
Hippolyte remained at home three days. During this retirement his