de Penthievre, offered an engaging aspect, with its
bright facade and muslin-curtained windows. And Madame Bourdieu, then
two-and-thirty, rather short and stout, had a broad, pleasant white
face, which had greatly helped her on the road to success. She
expatiated to Mathieu on the preliminary training that was required
by one of her profession, the cost of it, the efforts needed to make
a position, the responsibilities, the inspections, the worries of all
sorts that she had to face; and she plainly told the young man that her
charge for a boarder would be two hundred francs a month. This was
far more than he was empowered to give; however, after some further
conversation, when Madame Bourdieu learnt that it was a question of four
months' board, she became more accommodating, and agreed to accept a
round sum of six hundred francs for the entire period, provided that
the person for whom Mathieu was acting would consent to occupy a
three-bedded room with two other boarders.

Altogether there were about a dozen boarders' rooms in the house, some
of these having three, and even four, beds; while others, the terms for
which were naturally higher, contained but one. Madame Bourdieu could
accommodate as many as thirty boarders, and as a rule, she had some
five-and-twenty staying on her premises. Provided they complied with the
regulations, no questions were asked them. They were not required to say
who they were or whence they came, and in most cases they were merely
known by some Christian name which they chose to give.

Mathieu ended by agreeing to Madame Bourdieu's terms, and that same
evening Norine was taken to her establishment. Some little trouble
ensued with Beauchene, who protested when he learnt that five hundred
francs would not suffice to defray the expenses. However, Mathieu
managed affairs so diplomatically that at last the other not only became
reconciled to the terms, but provided the money to purchase a little
linen, and even agreed to supply pocket-money to the extent of ten
francs a month. Thus, five days after Norine had entered Madame
Bourdieu's establishment, Mathieu decided to return thither to hand the
girl her first ten francs and tell her that he had settled everything.

He found her there in the boarders' refectory with some of her
companions in the house--a tall, thin, severe-looking Englishwoman, with
lifeless eyes and bloodless lips, who called herself Amy, and a pale
red-haired girl with a tip-t