onsieur must not think of me. I shall do very well," dutifully
replied Joseph.

"It is a pity that you and Innocentina do not get on. Otherwise----"

"Ah, perhaps I should tell monsieur that I may have misjudged the
young woman a little. It seems a question of bringing up, more than
real badness of heart. It is her tongue that is in fault; and I am
not even sure that with good influences she might not improve. I have
been talking to her, Monsieur, of religion. She is black Catholic, and
I Protestant, but I think that some of my arguments made a certain
impression upon her mind."

After this, I gave myself no further anxiety about Joseph's to-morrow,
but went to bed, and dreamed of fighting for the Boy's life,
Gulliver-like, against a band of infuriated Brownies.

My first morning thought was to look out of all four windows at the
mountains; my next, to ring for a bath.

Now, as a rule, your morning tub is a function you are not supposed to
describe in detail; but not to picture the ceremony as performed at
Aosta, is to pass by the place without giving the proper dash of local
colour.

I rang. A girl appeared who struck me as singularly beautiful, but I
discovered later that all girls are more or less beautiful at Aosta.
The propriety of this morning visit was insured by the white cap,
which was, so to speak, an adequate chaperon. On my request for a
bath, the beauty looked somewhat agitated, but, after reflection, said
that she would fetch one, and vanished, tripping lightly along the
balcony.

Twenty minutes then passed, and at the end of that time the young lady
returned, almost obliterated by an enormous linen sheet which engulfed
her like an avalanche. She was accompanied by a man and a boy,
staggering under a strange object which resembled a vast arm-chair, of
the grandfather variety. When placed on the floor, I became aware that
it was a kind of cross between a throne and a bath-tub, and, having
seen the huge sheet flung over it, I still rested in doubt as to the
latter's purpose. The man and boy, who had not stood upon the order of
their going, returned after an embarrassing absence, with pails of
water, the contents of which, to my surprise, they flung upon the
sheet.

I tried to explain that, if this were a bath, I preferred it without
the family linen, but the _femme de chambre_ seemed so shocked at
these protestations, that I ceased uttering them, and determined to
make the best of things as they s