"A palace if you like; but such a dreary, gloomy one, that I should much rather dwell in a church-yard than take up my abode there. An old one-eyed porter, who had admitted me, kept me from going any farther, staring at me all the while as though he meant to eat me. 'What do you want?' said he at last. 'This is the Hôtel Lambert, is it not?' answered I. 'Yes,' says he, 'it is.' 'And I believe the Princess de Hansfeld lives here?' 'Well,' says Old Grumps, 'suppose she does.' 'Why, then,' replied I, 'I have come to shew her the laces selected yesterday by a very dark young lady who came to my shop about four o'clock in the day.' As the mulatto had been known to go out about that time, my tale appeared very probable, and the Cerberus let me pass on; but, scarcely had I taken half-a-dozen steps, than I heard some one whistling behind me, for all the world like a set of banditti, or cavern full of robbers, such as we see in a play. It was the porter himself, whistling to let the other folks know I was coming." "I remember now having heard, that there are still some houses in France where that sort of custom prevails." "It's a very odd one, however; and, naturally enough, surprised and rather frightened me, who had never dreamed of such ways. Well, up-stairs I went, till I reached the first floor, where I found a tall, conceited-looking jackanapes, dressed like a chasseur; his face half smothered with his huge moustache, while he tried to utter some sort of gibberish, I dare say he thought was French, to inquire again where I came from, and whom I wanted. I told him, very smilingly, that I had some lace for the princess; he then, very civilly, begged me to wait in an anteroom, as high as a house and supported with stone pillars; it sounded almost like going into a vast cathedral, and one's very footsteps echoed so hollow. I can tell you it gave me quite a chill; I felt, for all the world, as though something dreadful was going to happen to me. Well, after keeping me waiting for about five minutes, the same stuck-up, dandyfied fellow came back, and informed me his lady had not ordered any lace to be sent to her; after which he very significantly pointed to the door. I quickly replied, that it must have been the young mulatto girl who required them, since she it was who came to my magazine. 'You mean Mademoiselle Iris, I suppose,' said the laced dandy, 'she who is a sort of companion to the princess.' 'The very name,' said I, 'of the young person who bade me call. I had forgotten it; but now I hear it again, I have no hesitation in saying it was Mademoiselle Iris who ordered me to be here with my laces.' Away went the chasseur, grumbling at the fresh trouble, to repeat what I had said to Mademoiselle Iris. You perceive, I had already picked up two very useful pieces of intelligence,--one, that the tawny Moor was the princess's companion; and, secondly, that her name was Iris." "What a singular name!"