My Library

woolly, teeth very white and regular; and he wore low shoes, green cap, knee breeches, red vest, and purple jacket!’ “It is difficult to say which of us two looked most astonished when Joseph finished his portrait of my companion. Joseph was the man who conducted us around the garden. We were the only visitors of the day, and— “ ‘Damn it, Joseph, you must be crazy! for the man was’—— “ ‘Hold on!’ said I to the gardener; ‘remember the terms of our wager, and say nothing till all have been questioned on the subject;’ then, turning to the man, I said: ‘Go to your corner, Joseph. Pierre, come hither;’ and he came. “ ‘Now, my friend, we want you to accurately describe the individual who accompanied me to these gardens to-day. Tell us exactly how the person appeared to you. Will you, my friend?’ “ ‘Oui, certainement. The old lady you mean. Malateste! It makes me laugh—pardonez moi, monsieur, but I can’t help it—it makes me laugh to think about her, ma foi! What a queer old lady it was, to be sure! Such a little pinched-up face; and what a nose and chin, look you! Ecod! it was for all the world la casse-noix—a regular pair of nut-crackers! Certes, I took her to be the grandmother of Methusalah, or sister to Adam’s first wife. Oh, ho, ho—he, ha, peste! I shall die o’