not laughing, any more than I am one of the family. You
make me feel badly. You are too clever a fellow, you are made of too
good stuff, to spend your time in ups and downs over that class of
goods. The idea of splitting hairs about Miss Nioche! It seems to me
awfully foolish. You say you have given up taking her seriously; but you
take her seriously so long as you take her at all."

Valentin turned round in his place and looked a while at Newman,
wrinkling his forehead and rubbing his knees. "Vous parlez d'or. But
she has wonderfully pretty arms. Would you believe I didn't know it till
this evening?"

"But she is a vulgar little wretch, remember, all the same," said
Newman.

"Yes; the other day she had the bad taste to begin to abuse her father,
to his face, in my presence. I shouldn't have expected it of her; it was
a disappointment; heigho!"

"Why, she cares no more for her father than for her door-mat," said
Newman. "I discovered that the first time I saw her."

"Oh, that's another affair; she may think of the poor old beggar what
she pleases. But it was low in her to call him bad names; it quite threw
me off. It was about a frilled petticoat that he was to have fetched
from the washer-woman's; he appeared to have neglected this graceful
duty. She almost boxed his ears. He stood there staring at her with his
little blank eyes and smoothing his old hat with his coat-tail. At last
he turned round and went out without a word. Then I told her it was
in very bad taste to speak so to one's papa. She said she should be so
thankful to me if I would mention it to her whenever her taste was at
fault; she had immense confidence in mine. I told her I couldn't have
the bother of forming her manners; I had had an idea they were already
formed, after the best models. She had disappointed me. But I shall get
over it," said Valentin, gayly.

"Oh, time's a great consoler!" Newman answered with humorous sobriety.
He was silent a moment, and then he added, in another tone, "I wish you
would think of what I said to you the other day. Come over to America
with us, and I will put you in the way of doing some business. You have
a very good head, if you will only use it."

Valentin made a genial grimace. "My head is much obliged to you. Do you
mean the place in a bank?"

"There are several places, but I suppose you would consider the bank the
most aristocratic."

Valentin burst into a laugh. "My dear fellow, at night all cats ar