broke off her engagement, and then was sorry; but soon she thought only of me....  One day Alice and I were nearly caught.  I had just left her on the sofa and had commenced drawing at a table with my back to her when suddenly her mother came in without her shoes, while Alice had one hand up her clothes arranging her underclothing.  The mother stopped dead and shot me one glance I shall never forget.  ’Why, Alice, you frighten me!’ she said.  I feigned surprise and asked ‘What is the matter?’ Alice, although she was frightened out of her wits, managed to stammer:  ’He couldn’t see me—­you couldn’t see me, could you?’ appealing to me.  But I had managed to collect my senses a bit and although still under that maternal eye I asked,—­at last turning slowly around to Alice:  ’See?  What do you mean?  See what?’ And I looked so mystified that the mother was deceived, and contented herself with scolding Alice and telling her to run no risks of that sort.  I breathed again.

“But I was near the end of my tether.  Alice and I talked about everything now.  She told me about her life at boarding school and the strange ideas some of the girls had about men and marriage.  After leaving school she had been sent to a large millinery or drapery establishment to learn sewing and dressmaking.  Here, she said, the talk was awful at times, and one girl had a book with pictures of men’s organs of generation, which was passed around and excited their curiosity to the highest pitch.

“I had days of tenderness and contrition, and even told her I would get on and marry her.  Then the tears would come into her eyes and she would say:  ’I seem to feel as if you were my husband now.’ ...

“I had to see a man on business and went to his cottage.  The door was opened by his wife, a handsome, dark-eyed young woman, who looked as if butter would not melt in her mouth.  After leaving a message I went on talking to her on other subjects.  She piqued my vanity in some way, and made me feel curious and restless.  I found myself thinking of her after I left and looking back I saw she was still looking at me.

“To make a long story short, she encouraged me.  It ended by my leaving the S. family and going to board with them.  T.D., the husband, was glad of my company and my money.  They had a little boy—­whose father T. was not.  I soon understood her inviting looks at me.  For she was a general lover, and an old man, in a good government billet, visited her often when T.D. was away:  I will call him Silenus.  There was also a dark, handsome man who built organs.  The latter came one day and sent for some beer.  I was working in my room, and it so happened that before he knocked she had been going further than usual in her talk with me; in fact, as good as giving me the word.  When her friend was admitted he had to pass my open door and he gave me a look with his black eyes and I gave him a look which told each what the other’s