hey had debated whether they should enter it or not. He thought no, she
thought yes; but he would not insist and she would not insist; she
wished him to do as he thought best, and he wished her to do as she
thought best, and they had made two or three false starts and retreats
before they got inside. But they were in there at length, and busily
engaged inquiring into the availability of a small, lace-curtained,
front room, when Richling took his wife so completely off her guard by
addressing her as "Madam," in the tone and manner of Dr. Sevier, that
she laughed in the face of the householder, who had been trying to talk
English with a French accent and a hare-lip, and they fled with haste
to the sidewalk and around the corner, where they could smile and smile
without being villains.

"We must stop this," said the wife, blushing. "We _must_ stop it. We're
attracting attention."

And this was true at least as to one ragamuffin, who stood on a
neighboring corner staring at them. Yet there is no telling to what
higher pitch their humor might have carried them if Mrs. Richling had
not been weighted down by the constant necessity of correcting her
husband's statement of their wants. This she could do, because his
exactions were all in the direction of her comfort.

"But, John," she would say each time as they returned to the street and
resumed their quest, "those things cost; you can't afford them, can
you?"

"Why, you can't be comfortable without them," he would answer.

"But that's not the question, John. We _must_ take cheaper lodgings,
mustn't we?"

Then John would be silent, and by littles their gayety would rise again.

One landlady was so good-looking, so manifestly and entirely Caucasian,
so melodious of voice, and so modest in her account of the rooms she
showed, that Mrs. Richling was captivated. The back room on the second
floor, overlooking the inner court and numerous low roofs beyond, was
suitable and cheap.

"Yes," said the sweet proprietress, turning to Richling, who hung in
doubt whether it was quite good enough, "yesseh, I think you be pretty
well in that room yeh.[1] Yesseh, I'm shoe you be _verrie_ well;
yesseh."

[1] "Yeh"--_ye_, as in _yearn_.

"Can we get them at once?"

"Yes? At once? Yes? Oh, yes?"

No downward inflections from her.

"Well,"--the wife looked at the husband; he nodded,--"well, we'll take
it."

"Yes?" responded the landlady; "well?" leaning against a bedpost and
smi