{"id":"01KG8AKHKYTZEKX15JNS9DXW9J","cid":"bafkreifxrzsavs6gvpaayw4mflcqcnneabxi4bv432cdw6tpa2lk3rwfhq","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":2177,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:05.590Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 1","source_file":"01KG89J1DKC9HHJRKY25JZBEXW","start_line":2114,"text":"CHAPTER IX.\r\nISRAEL IS INITIATED INTO THE MYSTERIES OF LODGING-HOUSES IN THE LATIN\r\nQUARTER.\r\n\r\n\r\nClosing the door upon himself, Israel advanced to the middle of the\r\nchamber, and looked curiously round him.\r\n\r\nA dark tessellated floor, but without a rug; two mahogany chairs, with\r\nembroidered seats, rather the worse for wear; one mahogany bed, with a\r\ngay but tarnished counterpane; a marble wash-stand, cracked, with a\r\nchina vessel of water, minus the handle. The apartment was very large;\r\nthis part of the house, which was a very extensive one, embracing the\r\nfour sides of a quadrangle, having, in a former age, been the hotel of\r\na nobleman. The magnitude of the chamber made its stinted furniture\r\nlook meagre enough.\r\n\r\nBut in Israel’s eyes, the marble mantel (a comparatively recent\r\naddition) and its appurtenances, not only redeemed the rest, but looked\r\nquite magnificent and hospitable in the extreme. Because, in the first\r\nplace, the mantel was graced with an enormous old-fashioned square\r\nmirror, of heavy plate glass, set fast, like a tablet, into the wall.\r\nAnd in this mirror was genially reflected the following delicate\r\narticles:—first, two boquets of flowers inserted in pretty vases of\r\nporcelain; second, one cake of white soap; third, one cake of\r\nrose-colored soap (both cakes very fragrant); fourth, one wax candle;\r\nfifth, one china tinder-box; sixth, one bottle of Eau de Cologne;\r\nseventh, one paper of loaf sugar, nicely broken into sugar-bowl size;\r\neighth, one silver teaspoon; ninth, one glass tumbler; tenth, one glass\r\ndecanter of cool pure water; eleventh, one sealed bottle containing a\r\nrichly hued liquid, and marked “Otard.”\r\n\r\n“I wonder now what O-t-a-r-d is?” soliloquised Israel, slowly spelling\r\nthe word. “I have a good mind to step in and ask Dr. Franklin. He knows\r\neverything. Let me smell it. No, it’s sealed; smell is locked in. Those\r\nare pretty flowers. Let’s smell them: no smell again. Ah, I see—sort of\r\nflowers in women’s bonnets—sort of calico flowers. Beautiful soap. This\r\nsmells anyhow—regular soap-roses—a white rose and a red one. That\r\nlong-necked bottle there looks like a crane. I wonder what’s in that?\r\nHallo! E-a-u—d-e—C-o-l-o-g-n-e. I wonder if Dr. Franklin understands\r\nthat? It looks like his white wine. This is nice sugar. Let’s taste.\r\nYes, this is very nice sugar, sweet as—yes, it’s sweet as sugar; better\r\nthan maple sugar, such as they make at home. But I’m crunching it too\r\nloud, the Doctor will hear me. But here’s a teaspoon. What’s this for?\r\nThere’s no tea, nor tea-cup; but here’s a tumbler, and here’s drinking\r\nwater. Let me see. Seems to me, putting this and that and the other\r\nthing together, it’s a sort of alphabet that spells something. Spoon,\r\ntumbler, water, sugar,—brandy—that’s it. O-t-a-r-d is brandy. Who put\r\nthese things here? What does it all mean? Don’t put sugar here for\r\nshow, don’t put a spoon here for ornament, nor a jug of water. There is\r\nonly one meaning to it, and that is a very polite invitation from some\r\ninvisible person to help myself, if I like, to a glass of brandy and\r\nsugar, and if I don’t like, let it alone. That’s my reading. I have a\r\ngood mind to ask Doctor Franklin about it, though, for there’s just a\r\nchance I may be mistaken, and these things here be some other person’s\r\nprivate property, not at all meant for me to help myself from. Cologne,\r\nwhat’s that—never mind. Soap: soap’s to wash with. I want to use soap,\r\nanyway. Let me see—no, there’s no soap on the wash-stand. I see, soap\r\nis not given gratis here in Paris, to boarders. But if you want it,\r\ntake it from the marble, and it will be charged in the bill. If you\r\ndon’t want it let it alone, and no charge. Well, that’s fair, anyway.\r\nBut then to a man who could not afford to use soap, such beautiful\r\ncakes as these lying before his eyes all the time, would be a strong\r\ntemptation. And now that I think of it, the O-t-a-r-d looks rather\r","title":"Chunk 1"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJJ212KH6VW4PD96ZS3YF","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1DKC9HHJRKY25JZBEXW","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKHKYDR8GPVVGTEXEBGEA","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:07.806Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:14.907Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}