white in the brightness of the lamp. A great tabby cat, crouching at a
corner of the counter, watched her as she slept.

Lower down, on a chair, a man of thirty sat reading or chatting in
a subdued voice with the young woman. He was short, delicate, and in
manner languid. With his fair hair devoid of lustre, his sparse beard,
his face covered with red blotches, he resembled a sickly, spoilt child
arrived at manhood.

Shortly before ten o'clock, the old lady awoke. The shop was then
closed, and all the family went upstairs to bed. The tabby cat followed
the party purring, and rubbing its head against each bar of the
banisters.

The lodging above comprised three apartments. The staircase led to a
dining-room which also did duty as drawing-room. In a niche on the
left stood a porcelain stove; opposite, a sideboard; then chairs were
arranged along the walls, and a round table occupied the centre. At the
further end a glazed partition concealed a dark kitchen. On each side of
the dining-room was a sleeping apartment.

The old lady after kissing her son and daughter-in-law withdrew. The
cat went to sleep on a chair in the kitchen. The married couple
entered their room, which had a second door opening on a staircase that
communicated with the arcade by an obscure narrow passage.

The husband who was always trembling with fever went to bed, while the
young woman opened the window to close the shutter blinds. She remained
there a few minutes facing the great black wall, which ascends and
stretches above the arcade. She cast a vague wandering look upon this