as safe as in the Rue Royal; which, by the way, is not saying
much, for it was only three days ago that a man was assassinated
there in broad daylight. He was a captain in the Picardy regiment,
and it was supposed that his murderer was a man who had been
dismissed from the regiment with ignominy. But, whoever it was, he
has got clear away, for your Parisian citizen takes good care not
to interfere in such matters, and no one thought of laying hands
on the villain, although it is said he walked quietly off.

"It is in the streets that I am speaking of that adventures may
most easily be met with. Here there are too many hotels of the
nobles, with their numerous retainers, for it to be safe to commit
crime, and the city guard are generally on the alert, for, were
harm to come to one of the gentlemen attached to the great houses,
the matter would be represented to the king, and the city
authorities would come in for a sharp reproof for their failure to
keep order in the city; whereas, anything that happens among the
bourgeois would pass wholly without notice. However, if you keep
out of the wine shops, you are not likely to become involved in
trouble. Nine-tenths of the quarrels and tumults originate there.
There is a dispute, perhaps, between a soldier and a citizen, or
between soldiers of different regiments, and in a minute or two
twenty swords are drawn, and the disturbance grows, sometimes,
until it is necessary to call out troops from the nearest barracks
to suppress it. However, I know that you are not likely to get
into trouble that way, for you are a very model of moderation, to
the corps."

"I have seen enough of the consequences of drink in Ireland,"
Desmond said, "to cure me of any desire for liquor, even had I a