he dining-room, which had no rival in
Paris except that of the Baron de Nucingen, was at the end of a short
gallery decorated in the manner of the middle-ages. This gallery opened
on the side of the courtyard upon a large antechamber, through which
could be seen the beauties of the staircase.

The count and countess had just finished breakfast; the sky was a sheet
of azure without a cloud, April was nearly over. They had been married
two years, and Clementine had just discovered for the first time that
there was something resembling a secret or a mystery in her household.
The Pole, let us say it to his honor, is usually helpless before a
woman; he is so full of tenderness for her that in Poland he becomes her
inferior, though Polish women make admirable wives. Now a Pole is still
more easily vanquished by a Parisian woman. Consequently Comte Adam,
pressed by questions, did not even attempt the innocent roguery of
selling the suspected secret. It is always wise with a woman to get
some good out of a mystery; she will like you the better for it, as a
swindler respects an honest man the more when he finds he cannot swindle
him. Brave in heart but not in speech, Comte Adam merely stipulated that
he should not be compelled to answer until he had finished his narghile.

"If any difficulty occurred when we were travelling," said Clementine,
"you always dismissed it by saying, 'Paz will settle that.' You never
wrote to any one but Paz. When we returned here everybody kept saying,
'the captain, the captain.' If I want the carriage--'the captain.' Is
there a bill to pay--'the captain.' If my horse is not properly
bitted, they must speak to Captain Paz. In short, it is like a game of
dominoes--Paz is everywhere. I hear of nothing but Paz, but I never see
Paz. Who and what is Paz? Why don't you bring forth your Paz?"

"Isn't everything going on right?" asked the count, taking the
"bocchettino" of his narghile from his lips.

"Everything is going on so right that other people with an income of two
hundred thousand francs would ruin themselves by going at our pace, and
we have only one hundred and ten thousand."

So saying she pulled the bell-cord (an exquisite bit of needlework). A
footman entered, dressed like a minister.

"Tell Captain Paz that I wish to see him."

"If you think you are going to find out anything that way--" said Comte
Adam, laughing.

It is well to mention that Adam and Clementine, married in December,
1