eeing that Monsieur lived on the fourth floor, and
that the steps of the spacious staircase were of that shallow description
which disappoint the tread by falling short of its expectations, it was
no wonder that we were rather out of breath when we reached the necessary
elevation; and that we paused a moment to collect our thoughts, and calm
our respiration, before knocking at the little backroom door, which we
knew to be that of Monsieur Panpan.

Madame Panpan received us most graciously, setting chairs for us, and
apologising for her husband, who, poor man, was sitting up in his bed,
with a wan countenance, and hollow glistening eyes. We were in the close
heavy air of a sick chamber. The room was very small, and the bedstead
occupied a large portion of its space. It was lighted by one little
window only, and that looked down a sort of square shaft which served as
a ventilator to the house. A pale child, with large wandering eyes,
watched us intently from behind the end of the little French bedstead,
while the few toys he had been playing with lay scattered upon the floor.
The room was very neat, although its furniture was poor and scanty; and
by the brown saucepan perched upon the top of the diminutive German
stove, which had strayed, as it were, from its chimney corner into the
middle of the room, we knew that the pot-au-feu was in preparation.
Madame, before whom was a small table covered with the unfinished
portions of a corset, was very agreeable--rather coquettish, indeed, we
should have said in England. Her eyes were bright and cheerful, and her
hair drawn back from her forehead a la Chinoise. In a graceful, but
decided way, she apologised for continuing her labours, which were
evidently works of necessity rather than of choice.

"And Victor, that good boy," she exclaimed, when we had further explained
the object of our visit, "was quite well! I am charmed! And he had
found work, and succeeding so well in his affairs? I am enchanted! It
is so amiable of him to send me this little cadeau!"

Monsieur Panpan, with his strange lustrous eyes, if not enchanted, rubbed
his thin bony hands together as he sat up in the bed, and chuckled in an
unearthly way at the good news. Having executed our commission, we felt
it would be intrusive to prolong our stay, and therefore rose to depart,
but received so pressing an invitation to repeat the visit, that, on the
part of myself and friend, who was to leave Paris in