Dirty he was beyond belief, and he was abominably fragrant of
vile tobacco. For my part, I could not endure this fellow; but Paton,
who had much more of what he called human nature in him than I had,
established friendly relations with him at once, and reported that he
found him very amusing. It was characteristic of Paton that, though he
knew much less about the German language than I did, he could
understand and make himself understood in it much better; and, when we
were in company, it was always he who did the talking.
It would never have occurred to me to wonder, much less to inquire, who
might be the occupants of the other _etages_; but Paton was more
enterprising, and before we had been settled three days in our new
quarters, he had gathered from his friend the portier, and from other
sources, all the obtainable information on the subject. The information
was of no particular interest, however, except as regarded the persons
who dwelt on the floor immediately below us. They were two--an old man
and a young woman, supposed to be his daughter. They had been living
here several years--from before the time, indeed, that the portier had
occupied his present position.
Pages:
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186