"Yes, to a father, it must be perfectly charming; but to an uncle, you see, it hasn't quite the same fascination."

"Parbleu! it rests entirely with you to become acquainted with that pleasure; marry, and have children; they'll caress you as these little fellows caress me."

"Oh! I shall do it some day, no doubt."

"Come, my hearties, kiss your uncle and let him dress."

To prove their affection, the "hearties" threw themselves on my stomach, seized my head, and, while kissing me, rubbed their faces clean and wiped their noses on my cheeks and nose; they tried to see which would kiss me the more. I was suffocating, I cried for mercy; their papa was forced to order them to desist, but they listened to him no more than to me, and kept on as before. Luckily, my sister arrived and the scene changed.

"What!" she exclaimed, striding angrily toward her husband; "you brought the children to their uncle before I had washed and dressed them and combed their hair?"

"Well! what of that, my dear love? must they be in their Sunday best to bid their uncle good-morning?"

"It isn't a question of Sunday best; but I should have liked Eugene to see them first when they were decently clean; and when they have once begun to play, it isn't possible to keep them looking decent. But you do everything without consulting me!"

"I a.s.sure you, my dear sister, that I consider them very nice as they are."

"Come, young gentlemen, breakfast is waiting."

The word _breakfast_ caused my little rascals to decamp at once; they were soon off my bed, and I was able to rise.

It seemed to me that examples of wedded bliss succeeded each other rather swiftly under my sister's roof. But I was inclined to think that, if I should marry, I should not take them as patterns in the matter of bringing up children. But I had arrived only the night before, and it was fair to wait before forming a final judgment.

I went downstairs and joined the family in the dining room. While we breakfasted, Amelie and her husband described their daily life to me. In the morning, business, housekeeping, and a walk when they had any time to themselves; in the evening, Deneterre went to the cafe to play pool, while his wife dressed to go out. Every evening in the week was taken: Monday, at the notary's, a small and select party. The most notable of the townspeople met there. There was little card playing, but much political discussion, and one could learn there the news of all the cabinets in Europe; the interests of each of the powers were discussed, and the _Moniteur_ was read aloud. Tuesdays, at the house of a retired merchant; he was a rich man and entertained handsomely: beer, cake, and sweetened water flavored with orange. The play was for very high stakes: boston for six _blancs_, and ecarte for five sous; the bets sometimes went as high as seventy-five centimes! But all games were played there; whist and boston with great skill. No one called for six tricks unless he had eight, or stood unless he held an _independance_; so that it was very unusual to see a _remise_ in the course of the evening. Wednesdays, the evening was spent with the widow of the justice's clerk, who had four daughters to marry and no money to give them. There they played innocent games or acted charades or proverbs. In the first place, those games do not wear out cards, and require fewer candles; in the second place, the young men soon become well acquainted with the young ladies while playing such games. They talk and laugh together; and many a pa.s.sion has had its birth in crambo, or the little box of _amourettes_.

While whispering a _confidence_, one can easily put in a word of love; while pretending to sulk, one can say many things! That is the way more than one marriage is made; and when one has four daughters to look after, no means should be neglected. However, everything was all right at the widow's; the games were carried on with the strictest decorum, and blind-man's-buff seated was prohibited. Thursdays, the meetings were at an ex-councillor's. Everybody was not received there; only the cream of society. The guests were forbidden to talk politics, war, affairs of state, or newspaper rumors. There was no card playing, because that was a bad example for the young; there was no dancing, because madame la conseillere, who was old but coquettish, could never obtain a partner; there were no charades, because they disturb the orderly arrangement of a salon, and may result in marring the furniture and tearing curtains; there were no innocent games, because the councillor considered them indecorous; there were no refreshments, because well-bred people never need anything of the sort. With these restrictions, one could say and do whatever one chose, and, of course, enjoy one's self immensely. On Fridays they met at the house of an elector, whose wife, who was young and pretty, followed all the fashions of the capital. There you did whatever you chose; no restraint, no ceremony. Dancing was permitted, and singing, when anyone desired to sing. Sometimes there was instrumental music, because there was a piano. All sorts of games were played, from loto to chess; and you could risk a sou or a louis at your pleasure. Everybody said what came into his head; they laughed and joked and talked as they liked; opinions were free; almost all the newspapers were to be found there, and all sorts of refreshments were provided. It was after the style of the receptions in the Chaussee d'Antin at Paris.

On Sat.u.r.days--ah! that was the day when they all met at my sister's.

"You will see what fun we have," she said to me; "such a noise, such _go_! You can't hear what anyone says, but we laugh, and everyone tries to be merrier than the rest. Why, sometimes the time pa.s.ses so quickly, that they are still here at half-past ten!"

"Half-past ten in the morning?"

"Why, no! in the evening. Are you mad?"

"Do you call that late?"

"I should say so! the custom is to go home at ten o'clock precisely."

"Great heaven! I am no longer surprised that your children wake you up at seven o'clock! But on Sundays?"

"Oh! on Sundays we meet at monsieur le maire's. There are always a lot of people there. He has a billiard table, and, besides that, the young people dance. You can judge for yourself what fun we have. That, my dear Eugene, is the way we employ the week. As you see, there is some new pleasure every day, and we have no time to be bored."

"You have no theatrical performances?"

"Very seldom; but we get along without them."

"No concerts?"

"Why, what about those we give among ourselves? And then, in fine weather, there are the drives about the neighborhood, which are beautiful: the little forest of La Rochette, Trois-Moulins, and a thousand delicious spots. And fishing and hunting, and the news of the town; the little intrigues that everybody knows about after a week, the quarrels, the gossip, the comments, the fashions, which we think about here even more than they do in Paris; and the parties, dinners, baptisms, weddings; ah! the weddings above all! they give us something to talk about for a month!--Oh! you'll see, my dear brother, that we have a much better time in the provinces than they do in Paris."

My sister did not interrupt her enumeration of the pleasures of provincial life until she saw her husband giving coffee to the little boys, when a slight discussion ensued.

"Why do you give those children coffee? it won't do them any good."

"Bah!"

"It excites them."

"Bah!"

"And then, they don't sleep at night."

"Bah! bah!"

"Oh! how you tire me with your _bah! bah!_ I tell you, I don't want them to drink it!"

"Just a drop."

"It makes no difference."

"It's three-fourths milk."

"If there were twice as much, it would make no difference.--Come here, messieurs, and don't drink any more."

"I want some more!"

"Here, my boy, drink this."

"Will you obey me this minute!"

"Come, come, let them alone."

"No, I don't want them to drink it."

And my sister seized the cup, her husband held fast to it, and the children squealed. Luckily, between them the cup was broken and the coffee spilled, which fact put an end to this scene of domestic bliss, to which I found it difficult to accustom myself. The day was employed in showing me the town and taking me to see my sister's intimate acquaintances. I let her take me wherever she wished; I was so complaisant and docile that she was enchanted. She found me much more staid and reasonable than at my last visit.

After dinner, Deneterre took me to play a game of pool at his cafe; then we went home to get my sister to go to a reception. It was Thursday, unluckily for me. I had fallen upon the ex-councillor's day, and I saw none but cold, forbidding faces, and stiff, formal figures. Fortunately, the guests did not arrive until half-past eight and left at a quarter to ten, so that the soiree lasted only an hour and a quarter; the first third was occupied in salutations and reverences, the second in exchanging commonplaces and nodding the head in a.s.sent, and the last in yawns, concealed with the hand, the handkerchief, or the snuffbox.

The next evening belonged to the elector; it compensated me to some extent for the boredom of the preceding one. I found there several pretty women and a little less formality and more merriment. In the course of a week I ran the whole gamut of receptions and knew the whole town. I was well received everywhere; I was rich and unmarried: that was more than was necessary to a.s.sure me a warm welcome.

I began to become accustomed to the conjugal discussions, and to the pranks of my nephews, who were little demons in very truth. I saw that, taking everything together, my sister and her husband were happy; in the finest weather of one's life storms may arise; a picture must have shadows to bring out the lights. Their little quarrels did not prevent their loving each other, and their children's defects were graces in their eyes. However, I hoped that, if I ever married, I should have fewer petty _discussions_ with my wife, and I resolved to bring up my children in an entirely different way; but perhaps I should have troubles which my sister and her husband had never known.

I had been in the province a fortnight. I cannot say that I enjoyed myself exactly, but at least I was not discontented. The novelty of the life, the original faces that I saw every night, my sister's affection and her husband's--all these served to divert my thoughts; time produced its inevitable effect, my melancholy disappeared, and I became what I used to be. However, I had not entirely forgotten Nicette; I felt that I still loved her; but when the thought of her came to my mind, I had the strength to put it aside, and I imposed silence on my heart.

I would have been glad to fall in love anew--were it only a caprice, one of those flames which used to set me on fire so quickly; perhaps that would cure me entirely. But long for it as I would, I could not compel any such feeling! I looked about me; I saw some good-looking women, some few faces formed to please; but I saw n.o.body who resembled Nicette.