On returning home, Auguste, from long habit, stopped on the first floor. He rang, and waited in vain for Bertrand to admit him; then he remembered that he no longer lived there, and went on upstairs; but, in spite of himself, a sigh escaped him as he left his former apartment behind; and when he entered his new abode, the cramped space and the prospect of roofs from all the windows, extorted another sigh from his breast. We are men before we are philosophers, and the knowledge that we owe to the arguments of reason does not win an easy victory over our natural inclinations. However, Auguste did his best to smile when Bertrand said to him: "We shall be very comfortable here, lieutenant; shan't we? The rooms are small, but we have everything under our hand. And what's the use of having so many useless rooms? For, now that we're not rich any more, almost nobody comes to see us. If we want to exercise, we can go out. But the air's better here than it is on the first floor. And the view! Why, we overlook all the houses round." "Yes, this is all that we need," Dalville replied; and Bertrand, observing that his master's smile was a little forced, made haste to add: "I have already noticed, at that window in the roof over there, a very good-looking young girl." "Where? where?" cried Auguste, running to the window. "See, close by us, where the window is open. We can look right into her room, which is very convenient. And there's the girl I saw just now. She has evidently noticed that she has a new neighbor, and she isn't sorry to be looked at." "She is really very good-looking: a good figure, and a saucy expression, eh, Bertrand?" "So it seems to me, lieutenant." "She's working with a frame; she must be a lace-maker." "Oh! you can hardly expect to find duchesses living in chambers under the eaves." "Somebody's opening a window just beyond her--do you see--where there are clothes hanging on a line?" "Yes, lieutenant." "Oh! what a lovely blonde, Bertrand! Do you see her?" "I can't see so well as you, but I should say that she's young, too." "She is lovely, I give you my word; much more so, in fact, than the first one, who is still looking at us. Gad! Bertrand, we shall do excellently well here, and I like the rooms very much." "They're very nice, aren't they, lieutenant?" "The view alone is enough for me; I couldn't see all these sweet creatures from downstairs, could I?" "It would have been rather hard." "I am delighted to live on the fifth floor." "And I'm overjoyed to have you satisfied, lieutenant." Bertrand rubbed his hands, because he had restored Auguste's good spirits by flattering his weakness; and Auguste, whom the sight of all those roofs had depressed at first, could not tear himself away from his window, because from it he could look into the rooms of his two charming neighbors.