continue, agreeable old gentleman, to lecture us, if you like. It is
done in the best society, and you know the proverb: 'we must 'owl with
the wolves.'"

"I had heard marvellous things of Dalmatia," resumed Schinner, "so I
went there, leaving Mistigris in Venice at an inn--"

"'Locanda,'" interposed Mistigris; "keep to the local color."

"Zara is what is called a country town--"

"Yes," said Georges; "but it is fortified."

"Parbleu!" said Schinner; "the fortifications count for much in my
adventure. At Zara there are a great many apothecaries. I lodged with
one. In foreign countries everybody makes a principal business of
letting lodgings; all other trades are accessory. In the evening,
linen changed, I sat in my balcony. In the opposite balcony I saw a
woman; oh! such a woman! Greek,--_that tells all_! The most beautiful
creature in the town; almond eyes, lids that dropped like curtains,
lashes like a paint-brush, a face with an oval to drive Raffaelle mad,
a skin of the most delicious coloring, tints well-blended, velvety!
and hands, oh!--"

"They weren't made of butter like those of the David school," put in
Mistigris.

"You are always lugging in your painting," cried Georges.

"La, la!" retorted Mistigris; "'an ounce o' paint is worth a pound of