her curly ears so long that
they trailed upon the ground. Georgette seemed to be as brisk and
petulant as Frisky, and shared her sportiveness,--now scampering after
the happy little spaniel, and now retreating, in order to be pursued upon
the greensward in her turn. All at once, at the sight of a second person,
who advanced with deliberate gravity, Georgette and Frisky were suddenly
stopped in their diversion. The little King Charles, some steps in
advance of Georgette, faithful to her name, and bold as the devil, held
herself firmly upon her nervous paws, and fiercely awaited the coming up
of the enemy, displaying at the same time rows of little teeth, which,
though of ivory, were none the less pointed and sharp. The enemy
consisted of a woman of mature age, accompanied by a very fat dog, of the
color of coffee and milk; his tail was twisted like a corkscrew; he was
pot-bellied; his skin was sleek; his neck was turned little to one side;
he walked with his legs inordinately spread out, and stepped with the air
of a doctor. His black muzzle, quarrelsome and scowling showed two fangs
sallying forth, and turning up from the left side of the mouth, and
altogether he had an expression singularly forbidding and vindictive.
This disagreeable animal, a perfect type of what might be called a
"church-goer's pug," answered to the name of "My Lord." His mistress, a
woman of about fifty years of age, corpulent and of middle size, was
dressed in a costume as gloomy and severe as that of Georgette was gay
and showy. It consisted of a brown robe, a black silk mantle, and a hat
of the same dye. The features of this woman might have been agreeable in
her youth; and her florid cheeks, her correct eyebrows, her black eyes,
which were still very lively, scarcely accorded with the peevish and
austere physiognomy which she tried to assume. This matron, of slow and
discreet gait, was Madame Augustine Grivois, first woman to the Princess
Saint-Dizier. Not only did the age, the face, and the dress of these two
women present a striking contrast; but the contrast extended itself even
to the animals which attended them. There were similar differences
between Frisky and My Lord, as between Georgette and Mrs. Grivois. When
the latter perceived the little King Charles, she could not restrain a
movement of surprise and repugnance, which escaped not the notice of the
young lady's maid. Frisky, who had not retreated one inch, since the
apparition of My Lo