Then the Countess，turning toward Mrs．CarréLamadon，broke the difficult silence：

“I believe you know Madame d'Etrelles？”

“Yes，she is one of my friends．”

“What a charming woman！”

“Delightful！A very gentle nature，and well educated，besides；then she is an artist to the tips of her fingers，sings beautifully，and draws to perfection．”

The manufacturer chatted with the Count，and in the midst of the rattling of the glass，an occasional word escaped such as“coupon-premiun-limit-expiration．”

Loiseau，who had pilfered the old pack of cards from the inn，greasy through five years of contact with tables badly cleaned，began a game of bezique with his wife．

The good sisters took from their belt the long rosary which hung there，made together the sign of the cross，and suddenly began to move their lips in a lively murmur，as if they were going through the whole of the “Oremus．”And from time to time they kissed a medal，made the sigh anew，then recommenced their muttering，which was rapid and continued．

Cornudet sat motionless，thinking．

At the end of three hours on the way，Loiseau put up the cards and said：“I am hungry．”

His wife drew out a package from whence she brought a piece of cold veal．She cut it evenly in thin pieces and they both began to eat．

“Suppose we do the same，”said the Countess．

They consented to it and she undid the provisions prepared for the two couples．It was in one of those dishes whose lid is decorated with a china hare，

rivers of lard cross the brown flesh of the game，mixed with some other viands hashed fine．A beautiful square of Gruyère cheese，wrapped in a piece of newspaper，preserved the imprint“divers things” up－on the unctuous plate．

The two good sisters unrolled a big sausage which smelled of garlic；and Cornudet plunged his two hands into the vast pockets of his overcoat，at the same time，and drew out four hard eggs and a piece of bread．He removed the shells and threw them in the straw under his feet；then he began to eat the eggs，letting fall on his vast beard some bits of clear yellow，which looked like stars caught there．

Ball-of－Fat，in the haste and distraction of her rising， had not thought of anything； and she looked at them exasperated，suffocating with rage，at all of them eating so placidly．A tumultuous anger swept over her at first，and she opened her mouth to cry out at them， to hurl at............