M. PELET could not of course object to the proposal made byMdlle. Reuter; permission to accept such additional employment,should it offer, having formed an article of the terms on whichhe had engaged me. It was, therefore, arranged in the course ofnext day that I should be at liberty to give lessons in Mdlle.Reuter's establishment four afternoons in every week.

When evening came I prepared to step over in order to seek aconference with Mademoiselle herself on the subject; I had nothad time to pay the visit before, having been all day closelyoccupied in class. I remember very well that before quitting mychamber, I held a brief debate with myself as to whether I shouldchange my ordinary attire for something smarter. At last Iconcluded it would be a waste of labour. "Doubtless," thought I,"she is some stiff old maid; for though the daughter of MadameReuter, she may well number upwards of forty winters; besides, ifit were otherwise, if she be both young and pretty, I am nothandsome, and no dressing can make me so, therefore I'll go as Iam." And off I started, cursorily glancing sideways as I passedthe toilet-table, surmounted by a looking-glass: a thinirregular face I saw, with sunk, dark eyes under a large, squareforehead, complexion destitute of bloom or attraction; somethingyoung, but not youthful, no object to win a lady's love, no buttfor the shafts of Cupid.

I was soon at the entrance of the pensionnat, in a moment I hadpulled the bell; in another moment the door was opened, andwithin appeared a passage paved alternately with black and whitemarble; the walls were painted in imitation of marble also; andat the far end opened a glass door, through which I saw shrubsand a grass-plat, looking pleasant in the sunshine of the mildspring evening-for it was now the middle of April.

This, then, was my first glimpse of the garden; but I had nottime to look long, the portress, after having answered in theaffirmative my question as to whether her mistress was at home,opened the folding-doors of a room to the left, and havingushered me in, closed them behind me. I found myself in a salonwith a very well-painted, highly varnished floor; chairs andsofas covered with white draperies, a green porcelain stove,walls hung with pictures in gilt frames, a gilt pendule and otherornaments on the mantelpiece, a large lustre pendent from thecentre of the ceiling, mirrors, consoles, muslin curtains, and ahandsome centre table completed the inventory of furniture. Alllooked extremely clean and glittering, but the general effectwould have been somewhat chilling had not a second large pair offolding-doors, standing wide open, and disclosing another andsmaller salon, more snugly furnished, offered some relief to theeye. This room was carpeted, and therein was a piano, a couch,a chiffonniere--above all, it contained a lofty window with acrimson curtain, which, being undrawn, afforded another glimpseof the garden, through the large, clear panes, round which someleaves of ivy, some tendrils of vine were trained

"Monsieur Creemsvort, n'est ce pas?" said a voice behind me; and,starting involuntarily, I turned. I had been so taken up withthe contemplation of the pretty little salon that I had notnoticed the entrance of a person into the larger room. It was,however, Mdlle. Reuter who now addressed me, and stood closebeside me; and when I had bowed with instantaneously recoveredsang-froid--for I am not easily embarrassed--I commenced theconversation by remarking on the pleasant aspect of her littlecabinet, and the advantage she had over M. Pelet in possessing agarden.

"Yes," she said, "she often thought so;" and added, "it is mygarden, monsieur, which makes me retain this house, otherwise Ishould probably have removed to larger and more commodiouspremises long since; but you see I could not take my garden withme, and I should scarcely find one so large and pleasant anywhereelse in town."

I approved her judgment.

"But you have not seen it yet," said she, rising; "come to thewindow and take a better view." I followed her; she opened thesash, and leaning out I saw in full the enclosed demesne whichhad hitherto been to me an unknown region. It was a long, notvery broad strip of cultured ground, with an alley bordered byenormous old fruit trees down the middle; there was a sort oflawn, a parterre of rose-trees, some flower-borders, and, on thefar side, a thickly planted copse of lilacs, laburnums, andacacias. It looked pleasant, to me--very pleasant, so long atime had elapsed since I had seen a garden of any sort. But itwas not only on Mdlle. Reuter's garden that my eyes dwelt; whenI had taken a view of her well-trimmed beds and buddingshrubberies, I allowed my glance to come back to herself, nor didI hastily withdraw it.

I had thought to see a tall, meagre, yellow, conventual image inblack, with a close white cap, bandaged under the chin like anun's head-gear; whereas, there stood by me a little and roundlyformed woman, who might indeed be older than I, but was stillyoung; she could not, I thought, be more than six or seven andtwenty; she was as fair as a fair Englishwoman; she had no cap;her hair was nut-brown, and she wore it in curls; pretty herfeatures were not, nor very soft, nor very regular, but neitherwere they in any degree plain, and I already saw cause to deemthem expressive. What was their predominant cast? Was itsagacity?--sense? Yes, I thought so; but I could scarcely as yetbe sure. I discovered, however, that there was a certainserenity of eye, and freshness of complexion, most pleasing tobehold. The colour on her cheek was like the bloom on a goodapple, which is as sound at the core as it is red on the rind.

Mdlle. Reuter and I entered upon business. She said she was notabsolutely certain of the wisdom of the step she was about totake, because I was so young, and parents might possibly objectto a professor like me for their daughters: "But it is oftenwell to act on one's own judgment," said she, "and to leadparents, rather than be led by them. The fitness of a professoris not a matter of age; and, from what I have heard, and fromwhat I observe myself, I would much rather trust you than M.Ledru, the music-master, who is a married man of near fifty."

I remarked that I hoped she would find me worthy of her goodopinion; that if I knew myself, I was incapable of betraying anyconfidence reposed in me. "Du reste," said she, "thesurveillance will be strictly attended to." And then sheproceeded to discuss the subject of terms. She was very cautious,quite on her guard; she did not absolutely bargain, but shewarily sounded me to find out what my expectations might be; andwhen she could not get me to name a sum, she reasoned andreasoned with a fluent yet quiet circumlocution of speech, and atlast nailed me down to five hundred francs per annum--not toomuch, but I agreed. Before the negotiation was completed, itbegan to grow a little dusk. I did not hasten it, for I likedwell enough to sit and hear her talk; I was amused with the sortof business talent she displayed. Edward could not have shownhimself more practical, though he might have evinced morecoarseness and urgency; and then she had so many reasons, so manyexplanations; and, after all, she succeeded in proving herselfquite disinterested and even liberal. At last she concluded, shecould say no more, because, as I acquiesced in all things, therewas no further ground for the exercise of her parts of speech. Iwas obliged to rise. I would rather have sat a little longer;what had I to return to but my small empty room? And my eyes hada pleasure in looking at Mdlle. Reuter, especially now, when thetwilight softened her features a little, and, in the doubtfuldusk, I could fancy her forehead as open as it was reallyelevated, her mouth touched with turns of sweetness as well asdefined in lines of sense. When I rose to go, I held out my hand,on purpose, though I knew it was contrary to the etiquette offoreign habits; she smiled, and said--

"Ah! c'est comme tous les Anglais," but gave me her hand verykindly.

"It is the privilege of my country, Mademoiselle," said I; "and,remember, I shall always claim it."

She laughed a little, quite good-naturedly, and with the sort oftranquillity obvious in all she did--a tranquillity which soothedand suited me singularly, at least I thought so that evening.Brussels seemed a very pleasant place to me when I got out againinto the street, and it appeared as if some cheerful, eventful,upward-tending career were even then opening to me, on thatselfsame mild, still April night. So impressionable a being isman, or at least such a man as I was in those days.