left but her childish feet, every one began to remark that Buvat
was young--that the tutor and the pupil were living under the same roof.
In fact, the gossips who, when Bathilde was six years old, worshiped
Buvat's footsteps, now began to cry out about his criminality because
she was fifteen. Poor Buvat! If ever echo was innocent and pure, it was
that of the room which adjoined Bathilde's, and which for ten years had
sheltered his good round head, into which a bad thought had never
entered, even in dreams.

But on arriving at the Rue du Temps-Perdu it was still worse. In the Rue
Pagevin, where his admirable conduct to the child was known, this
remembrance had protected him against calumny; but in their new quarter
this was quite unknown, and their inscribing themselves under two
different names prevented any idea of very near relationship. Some
supposed that they saw in Bathilde the result of an old passion which
the Church had forgotten to consecrate, but this idea fell at the first
examination. Bathilde was tall and slender, Buvat short and fat;
Bathilde had brilliant black eyes, Buvat's were blue and expressionless;
Bathilde's face was white and smooth, Buvat's face was bright red. In
fact, Bathilde's whole person breathed elegance and distinction, while
poor Buvat was the type of vulgar good-nature. The result of this was,
that the women began to look at Bathilde with contempt, and that men
called Buvat a lucky fellow. The previsions of the clerk who resigned
were realized. For eighteen months Buvat had not touched a sou of his
pay, and yet had not relaxed for a moment in his punctuality. Moreover,
he was haunted with a fear that the ministry would turn away a third of
the clerks for the sake of economy. Buvat would have looked on the loss
of his place as a great misfortune, although it took him six hours a day
which he might have employed in a lucrative manner. They took care not
to dismiss a man who worked the better the less they paid him.

Bathilde began to think that there was something passing of which she
was ignorant. She thought it would be no use to ask Buvat, and
addressing herself to Nanette, who, after a short time, avowed all to
her, Bathilde learned for the first time all she owed to Buvat; and that
to pay her masters, and to amass her dowry, Buvat worked from morning
till night; and that in spite of this, as his salary was not paid, he
would be obliged sooner or later to tell Bathilde that they must