She was very short, very dark and slightly deformed,
with a face like an ape's: a flat nose, a huge mouth and narrow greenish
eyes. Her broad back and long arms gave her an appearance of great
strength.
"What a snout!" said Laguitte, laughing, when the maid had again left
the room to fetch the cruets.
"Never mind," said Burle carelessly, "she is very obliging and does all
one asks her. She suits us well enough as a scullion."
The dinner was very pleasant. It consisted of boiled beef and mutton
hash. Charles was encouraged to relate some stories of his school, and
Mme Burle repeatedly asked him the same question: "Don't you want to
be a soldier?" A faint smile hovered over the child's wan lips as
he answered with the frightened obedience of a trained dog, "Oh
yes, Grandmother." Captain Burle, with his elbows on the table, was
masticating slowly with an absent-minded expression. The big room was
getting warmer; the single lamp placed on the table left the corners in
vague gloom. There was a certain amount of heavy comfort, the familiar
intimacy of penurious people who do not change their plates at every
course but become joyously excited at the unexpected appearance of a
bowl of whipped egg cream at the close of the meal.
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