I knew that he had not obtained it without diplomacy, and that he had made
my unquenchable thirst the excuse; but by this time I had perceived that
his solicitude was not wholly unselfish. He muttered something about
'charity' as he filled a glass for me, notwithstanding my refusal; then
vanished with the bottle. He had promised to wake me at two o'clock for
matins.

When left alone, I made an inspection of the bishop's room. It was spacious
enough for fifty people to dance in, and the furniture would not have been
greatly in the way. The stones which made the floor had no carpet, not even
the _descente de lit_, which in France is considered indispensable even
when the floor is of wood. In the corner was a low wooden bedstead with
dingy curtains suspended from a rafter, and a paillasse of maize-leaves
with a thin wool mattress above it. Coarse hempen sheets and a coloured
coverlet completed the bedding. By the side against the wall was a broad
_prie-Dieu_, with a lithograph just above it of the Holy Child bearing the
cross. A plain table in the centre without a cloth, a _secretaire_ with
high crucifix attached, another bare table with washing-basin, jug, and
folded towel, with a few chairs and several religious prints, made up the
furniture.

This room was on the ground-floor, and looked out upon a long covered
terrace, with the farmyard immediately beyond. I opened the sashes--I had
already prevailed upon the postulant not to fasten the shutters--and,
having blown out the candle, I lit my pipe. I suppose if I had had any
sense of propriety I should have refrained from smoking in the bishop's
room; but what was I to do, a prisoner there at nine o'clock in the
evening, and not a bit sleepy? If it had been a fine evening, I do not
think I could have resisted the temptation to jump out of the window and to
stroll back to the patch of imprisoned moor. First a cat and then a great