lancholy truth in the announcement. A dismal silence seemed
to settle down on the great establishment, which was even threatened
with a seizure of the furniture, when Jack appeared upon the scene. It
of course was no very great sum, this quarter in advance, but Moronval
understood certain prospective advantages, and even had a very clear
perception of Ida's true nature, having cross-examined Constant with
very good results. This day, therefore, witnessed a certain armed
neutrality between masters and pupils. A good dinner in honor of the new
arrival was served, all the professors were present, and "the children
of the sun" even had a drop of wine, which startling event had not
happened to them for a long time.

CHAPTER III.~~MADOU.

If the Moronval Academy still exists, I desire to stigmatize it now and
forever as the most unhealthy spot I ever knew. Its dampness makes it
most objectionable for children.

Imagine a long building all _rez-de-chaussee_, without windows, and
lighted only from above. About the room hung an indescribable odor of
collodion and ether, as if it had once been used by a photographer. The
garden was shut in by high walls covered with ivy which dripped with
moisture. The dormitory stood against a superb hotel; and on one side
was a stable, always noisy with the oaths of grooms, the trampling of
horses' feet, and the rattling of pumps. From one end of the year to
the other the place was always damp, the only difference being that,
according to the different seasons of the year, the dampness was either
very cold or very warm. In summer it was filled with moisture like a
bathroom. In addition, a crowd of winged creatures, who lived among the
old ivy on the walls, attracted by the brightness of the glass in the
low roof, introduced themselves into the dormitory through the smallest
crevice, and struck their wings against the glass, humming loudly, and
finally falling on the beds in clouds.

The winter's humidity was worse still; the cold crept into the dormitory
through the uneven floors and the thin walls, but after two hours of
shivering the pupils might succeed in getting warm if they drew their
knees up to their chins and kept the bedclothes well over their heads.
The paternal eye of Moronval saw at once the propriety of utilizing this
otherwise unemployed building.

"This shall be the dormitory," he said.

"May it not be somewhat damp?" Madame Moronval ventured to ask.

"What of that