"Bring the game-pie that I saw in the pantry this morning," said the signora; and two minutes later the servant reappeared with an enormous pie, which he majestically placed on the piano at a sign from his mistress. A large salver, covered with dishes and all the accessories necessary for the refreshment of civilized beings, appeared as if by magic on the other side of the instrument, and the signora, with a strong but light touch, broke through the rampart of appetizing crust and made a large breach in the fortress. [Illustration: _THE STRANGE LUNCHEON._ "_This is a conquest in which our lords and masters the French shall have no share," she said, taking possession of a partridge which she placed on a Japanese plate; and she went with it to the other end of the room, where she squatted upon a velvet hassock with gold tassels, and proceeded to devour it._] "This is a conquest in which our lords and masters the French shall have no share," she said, taking possession of a partridge which she placed on a Japanese plate; and she went with it to the other end of the room, where she squatted upon a velvet hassock with gold tassels, and proceeded to devour it. I gazed at her in amazement, uncertain whether she was mad or was trying to mystify me. "You are not eating?" she said, without moving. "Your ladyship has not ordered me to do so," I replied. "Oh! don't stand on ceremony," said she, continuing to eat with great zest. The pie had such an alluring look and such a delicious odor that I listened to the philosophical arguments of common sense. I placed another partridge on another Japanese plate, which I rested on the keyboard of the piano, and began to eat with as much gusto as the signora. "If this is not the castle of the Sleeping Beauty," I thought, "and if this cruel fairy is not the only living being in it, we shall soon see an uncle or a father or an aunt or a governess, or somebody who is supposed, in the eyes of honest folk, to serve as chaperon to this untamed creature. In case of any such apparition, I should like to know just how far this eccentric fashion of breakfasting on a piano, tête-à-tête with the young lady of the house, will be considered seemly. It matters little after all; I must find out just where these extravagant whims are likely to carry me, and if there is a woman's spite behind them, I will have my turn if I have to wait ten years."