embroidery. At one end, over a gas stove, stood porcelain pots,
decorated with circles of brass, and containing punch and hot wine. At
the other extremity was a tall and richly sculptured marble fountain,
from which a fine stream of water, so steady and continuous that it
looked as though it were motionless, flowed into a basin. In the centre,
edged on three sides by the sloping zinc surface of the counter, was a
second basin for rinsing and cooling purposes, where quart bottles of
draught wine, partially empty, reared their greenish necks. Then on the
counter, to the right and left of this central basin, were batches
of glasses symmetrically arranged: little glasses for brandy, thick
tumblers for draught wine, cup glasses for brandied fruits, glasses for
absinthe, glass mugs for beer, and tall goblets, all turned upside down
and reflecting the glitter of the counter. On the left, moreover, was a
metal urn, serving as a receptacle for gratuities; whilst a similar one
on the right bristled with a fan-like arrangement of coffee spoons.

Monsieur Lebigre was generally to be found enthroned behind his counter
upon a seat covered with buttoned crimson leather. Within easy reach of
his hand were the liqueurs in cut-glass decanters protruding from the
compartments of a stand. His round back rested against a huge mirror
which completely filled the panel behind him; across it ran two glass
shelves supporting an array of jars and bottles. Upon one of them the
glass jars of preserved fruits, cherries, plums, and peaches, stood out
darkly; while on the other, between symmetrically arranged packets of
finger biscuits, were bright flasks of soft green and red and yellow
glass, suggesting strange mysterious liqueurs, or floral extracts of
exquisite limpidity. Standing on the glass shelf in the white glow of
the mirror, these flasks, flashing as if on fire, seemed to be suspended
in the air.

To give his premises the appearance of a cafe, Monsieur Lebigre had
placed two small tables of bronzed iron and four chairs against the
wall, in front of the counter. A chandelier with five lights and
frosted globes hung down from the ceiling. On the left was a round gilt
timepiece, above a _tourniquet_[*] fixed to the wall. Then at the far
end came the private "cabinet," a corner of the shop shut off by a
partition glazed with frosted glass of a small square pattern. In the
daytime this little room received a dim light from a window that looked