It was shut up for the night--had been shut up apparently for a week--and was in the possession of the cats of the town, and the flies of Egypt.

Two monstrous hounds entered with us; and the cats fled hastily by a window which was slightly open at the top, spitting and howling with fear when they missed the first spring, and came within the cognisance of their mortal foes.
The first thing to be done was to wash off some of the accumulated dust; but when I asked for a bedroom for that purpose, I was conducted to a copper in the kitchen, the water in which had been a permanency for some time past, and was told to wash there.

As for supper, there was some cold mutton; but the landlady unfortunately opened the door of the cupboard as she said so, and displayed a state of things which decided the point against the mutton.

There was nothing else in the house, and there was no fire for cooking anything; but when they discovered that I really would not wait till the next morning, they proposed to light a fire and warm some soup, which I declined to see in its present state.
In the way of wine, I had been recommended to make a great point of the _clairette de Die_, an excellent species of _vin mousseux_; but the chief of the women rather recommended the ordinary wine of the country, as the monsieur might not like to give a strong price.

'Was it, then, so strong ?' 'Yes, the price was undoubtedly strong.' 'How much, then ?' 'A franc a bottle.' With an eye to the future bill, the monsieur pretended to ponder awhile, as if in doubt whether his resources could stand such a strain, and then, with a reckless air, decided upon the extravagance.
The clairette proved to be quite worthy of the praise which had been bestowed upon it, being a very pleasant and harmless sparkling white wine.[93] The neighbours kept dropping into the kitchen, to see how the landlady got on with the stranger of uncouth speech; and four of the female part of her company brought in at various times to the _salle-a-manger_ some piece of table-furniture, in order to indulge in a closer view than the open door of the room afforded.