"They won't catch me singing at their house again!"

"I should think not. These people don't know what good music is."

"No, they must always have something new! We will go away after the punch."

"Yes, if there is any."

I left the salon and walked into the bedroom. I saw Montdidier talking with several men. I could detect nothing unusual in his face, but he was talking earnestly. I drew near with apparent indifference. Indeed, I was at liberty to listen with the rest; there was no secrecy about it.

"Yes, messieurs," said Montdidier, "I arrived just as the cab tipped over. My wife was coming from her aunt's and was on her way here. But the one who had the worst fright of all was poor Belan. He was pa.s.sing the cab, so it seems, when the hind wheel came off; when he saw the cab toppling over in his direction, he thought that he was a dead man; and as the window in the door was open, he jumped through into the cab in order not to be crushed. He is very small, you know. My wife told me that he came in as nimbly as a monkey. Then, finding that the cab didn't move, he opened the door and escaped. My wife is convinced that, in his excitement, he did not recognize her; and that is probably true, or else he would at least have offered his hand to help her out of the cab. Ha!

ha! ha! ha! Poor Belan! I will have a good laugh at him when I see him!"

And Monsieur Montdidier began to laugh again, as did his auditors; I followed their example with all my heart; in fact, I was the one to laugh the most heartily. And so Montdidier, seeing how greatly amused I was, came to me and put his hand on my shoulder, saying:

"Did you hear about my wife's adventure?"

"Yes."

"And her meeting with Belan? Wasn't it most amusing?"

"Exceedingly amusing!"

"I would give a napoleon if Belan would come here this evening, so that I could have a little fun at his expense."

I made no reply, but I disappeared in the crowd in order to obtain for that unfortunate husband the pleasure that he desired. It seemed to me no more than fair that he should have a little pleasure.

I left the house unnoticed. I hastened to the cafe where the anxious lover awaited me; I found him before his third gla.s.s of sugar and water, pale and disturbed, drawing no good augury from my long absence. I made haste to rea.s.sure him, and told him laughingly what I had learned.

While I was speaking, Belan's features recovered all their serenity.

Before I had finished he was leaning over the table and holding his sides with laughter.

"This is charming! It is delicious! That will do, Blemont, that will do.

I shall die with laughter.--So I jumped in through the window! Oh! these women! They have ideas, inventions for every emergency! I was a fool to be worried."

"That is what I told you a little while ago, but then you were not in a condition to listen to me."

"Yes, I admit, I was in torment--not for myself, but for her. But it is all right; let's not think any more about it, except to laugh at it.

Waiter, take out the price of three gla.s.ses of water. I can't be at Giraud's soon enough. Is it a brilliant affair? Are there many people there?"

"It is not exactly brilliant, but there are a great many people, and I noticed some very pretty women."

"Pretty women!--Wait till I arrange my cravat."

"But you know, Belan, that this adventure was to have reformed you; that you swore never again to have anything to say to the ladies."

"I did not include all ladies; those who are free are not included in my oath. And then, deuce take it! a man may say that in the first excitement. Let us go to Giraud's; I will sing; I know a new song. You will suggest to them to ask me to sing, won't you?"

"You evidently are determined that I shall be your confederate."

Belan replied only by making a pirouette; he was in a state of frantic gayety. We walked to Giraud's, and I advised him not to come in until a few moments after me; I did not wish to have the appearance of having gone to fetch him, and I tried to return unseen, as I had left.

I found Giraud in the reception room, staring in dismay at his two lamps, which were on the point of going out. He did not see that I came in from outside, for he was entirely engrossed by his wicks; and he said as he handed one of them to me:

"This is incomprehensible. You will bear witness that I am putting in new wicks; we will see if they char like the others."

"Yes, I see that you take a great deal of trouble to entertain us."

"Oh! when they once begin to burn well!--Theodore, Monsieur Theodore, will you be kind enough not to touch the cakes! For shame! A great boy of your age!--He is more of a glutton than his little brother."

"Let me take one, papa; I want it to play at having dinner."

"Play at having dinner, at eleven years! Aren't you ashamed? Don't touch the cake.--But it's very slow inside! My wife don't know how to keep things going. We ought to begin to dance. Monsieur Blemont, it would be very kind of you to start the dancing."

"You know very well that I don't play the piano."

"No, but you might tell my wife to ask somebody to play a contradance.

We don't lack players."

"Before I do your errand, pray tell me who that pretty young woman in pink is who was sitting near the piano?"

"In pink, near the piano--with gold ornaments in her hair?"

"No, she hasn't any gold in her hair; she is a blonde, rather pale, and exceedingly pretty."

"A blonde, pretty--you see there are several here in pink. Look you, when I have fixed my lamps, you must point her out to me."

I saw that there was nothing to be obtained from Monsieur Giraud at that moment, so I returned to the salon. A gentleman had seated himself at the piano, but not to play for dancing; it was to sing, to play preludes and detached pa.s.sages, as he happened to remember them. Beside him was a friend, who, when he had finished one fragment of a tune, instantly asked for another, saying:

"And that air from _Tancrede_. And the romanza from _Oth.e.l.lo_. And that pretty bit from the overture to _Semiramide_."

"Oh, yes!"

"Try to remember that."

And the gentleman played on, began, stopped, branched off to something else; in short, acted as if he were at home; you will understand how entertaining that was to the company. It had been going on for a long while, and the gentleman seemed to have no idea of stopping; it was as if the piano had been placed there for him, and we were too fortunate to have the privilege of listening to the preludes, the flourishes, and whatever he happened to remember. I have met in society many original creatures like that gentleman.

Belan had been in the salon for some time; he had gone in before me. I saw him talking and laughing with Montdidier, and I guessed the subject of their conversation. Madame Montdidier looked uneasily at Belan, for she did not know that he was forewarned of what he should say; but she was rea.s.sured when she saw that they seemed to be on the best of terms.

Poor Montdidier did not seem to me to be so ill-tempered and so jealous as his wife represented. The ladies like to say that a man is very jealous of them; it flatters their self-esteem; and then too there would be no pleasure in deceiving men who did not care.

In vain did Madame Giraud bustle about to find a singer of either s.e.x; every virtuoso had some reason for refusing. That annoyed the hostess, who was anxious to be able to say that she had had a concert before the ball, and who saw that everyone was doing his utmost to avoid listening to the essays of the gentleman at the piano. She made up her mind at last to say to him that the company desired a contradance; and the gentleman left the piano with a nonchalant air, running his hands through his hair and humming a fragment of Rossini.

I determined to invite the young woman whom I found so attractive; not that I intended to make a declaration during the contradance; such things are done only at a public ball, or possibly at a wedding party at a restaurant; but I proposed to try to talk a little, if she seemed to be in a talkative mood. There are many young women with whom it is impossible to obtain more than three words in succession when they are dancing. I arrived just in time and my invitation was accepted; we danced. I tried to say something besides: "It is very hot," or: "This is a very pretty dance." It is really very hard to think instantly of something to say to a person whom one does not know, especially when one would like to depart from the usual commonplaces.

But Giraud returned with his two lamps resplendent with light. There was a subject of conversation.

"We needed them; there is nothing so dismal as a badly-lighted ballroom; is there, mademoiselle?"

"That is true, monsieur."