“What would you, then? Set him up in a field for the crows to reverence? At least remove him from my room.”
My room! But this young woman was beginning to interest me.
“It shall be done,” I said. “In fact I will empty out my whole wardrobe for yours to take its place. If you will only tell me what to get.”
She stood up.
“You know very well for one thing, Monsieur. For its quality, and that of all the rest, you will be guided, if you please, by your knowledge of my position.”
I bowed, with profound gravity.
“It is necessary, I suppose,” I said, “first to take your measurements. I should guess your height at five foot six, and your waist at twenty-two inches.”
She looked surprised. “That is very accurate. How do you know?”
“I am a sculptor, Cousin, and, I pray God, an artist. My eyes have had to train themselves to a nice perception of proportions.”
“C’est la?” She exclaimed it, with the pretty understanding of French lips, and stuck out her foot. “What size for that, then?”