literature, tapestry, the use of the piano. They were, however, much
fonder of locomotion than their companion, and I often met them in
the Rue du Rhone and on the quays, loitering in front of the
jewellers' windows. They might have had a cavalier in the person of
old M. Pigeonneau, who possessed a high appreciation of their charms,
but who, owing to the absence of a common idiom, was deprived of the
pleasures of intimacy. He knew no English, and Mrs. Ruck and her
daughter had, as it seemed, an incurable mistrust of the beautiful
tongue which, as the old man endeavoured to impress upon them, was
pre-eminently the language of conversation.

"They have a tournure de princesse--a distinction supreme," he said
to me. "One is surprised to find them in a little pension, at seven
francs a day."

"Oh, they don't come for economy," I answered. "They must be rich."

"They don't come for my beaux yeux--for mine," said M. Pigeonneau,
sadly. "Perhaps it's for yours, young man. Je vous recommande la
mere."

I reflected a moment. "They came on account of Mr. Ruck--because at
hotels he's so restless."

M. Pigeonneau gave me a knowing nod. "Of course he is, with such a
wife as that--a femme superbe. Madame Ruck is preserved in
perfection--a miraculous fraicheur. I like those large, fair, quiet
women; they are often, dans l'intimite, the most agreeable. I'll
warrant you that at heart Madame Ruck is a finished coquette."