has too much gold, but do not tell mother. And yours
has a clasp; I wish mine had a clasp! All the same,
she is kind, that lady in Paris.'
They both felt extremely self-conscious in their
clothes, a fact which seemed to draw them together.
Christophe's shoes were pinching abominably, and
he greatly disliked the feel of a waistcoat, though
Jan's gentleness more than made up for it all —he
could be like this sometimes, wonderfully gentle,
and perceptive too as he had been about the Prayer-
Book.
But now Madame Roustan was impatient to start:
cCome, my son, we will lead the way;' she said firmly,
and taking Jan's arm she stepped out into the street.
What could Marie and Jouse do, therefore, but
follow with Christophe between them? And they all
three eclipsed! cAh, how like her, the insolent female,'
thought Jouse, Then to make matters worse, Anfos
trod on their heels, in his doglike desire to keep close
to Christophe.
Yes, but what of Eusebe? The effrontery of him!
His callous, nay outrageous lack of fine feeling! He
was actually beating his old feather bed as hard as he
could from his bedroom window; grinning and
beating his shameful old bed while the air became
thick with its moth-eaten feathers.
'Will you stop that?' shouted Jouse, shaking his
fist as a feather lit upon Christophe's shoulder, 'Will
you stop that? We are being smothered in your filth!'
'Eh, what?' croaked Eusebe, turning an ear and
pretending that he was almost stone deaf, 'Go on
beating, you say? Beat harder, you say? But surely,
my friend, I will go on beating!' And he nearly tore
the bedding in half, so mighty a blow did he give with
his broomstick.
Madame Roustan ignored these unseemly pro-
ceedings, but Eusebe could never ignore Madame
222