"I didn't expect to be paid in full!" said Monsieur Jarnouillard, who was annoyed because the farmer's house had not fallen to him.

"Madame Dalmont gave Guillot's wife everything that she bought!" said the doctor. "That was a very pretty idea!"

"Pray don't tire us out with your pretty ideas, doctor! Those people were acting a comedy--nothing else; they were all in concert, like thieves at a fair! Don't you think so, Monsieur Luminot?"

"I do; and I will say more; I am entirely of your opinion!"

"_Bobonne_, this bellows won't work; I can't get any wind!"

"Very good, monsieur, that will do; you say that just to annoy me!

Beware! there are other bellows than that!"[A]

[A] _Soufflet_--a bellows--means also a box on the ear.

VIII

HOW CHAMOUREAU HONORS HIS NEW PROPERTY

A short time after the sale on execution, the result of which was so favorable to the Guillot family, an exciting piece of news gained currency in the little village of Ch.e.l.les, and set the tongues of all the gossips of the locality in motion once more. For, you know, the smaller a place is, the more pleasure the people take in meddling with other people's business.

It was the former dealer in wines, the facetious Luminot, who appeared at Madame Droguet's one morning, crying:

"Have you heard the news--the great news?"

"Dear me! no, we haven't heard anything; how do you expect me to hear anything, with Monsieur Droguet thinking of nothing but his horrid Lancers quadrille, which he will never learn.--Tell me, Monsieur Luminot, what is it about?"

"You know that delightful estate, located in the pleasantest spot in the whole neighborhood--that lovely villa which was built for a former artiste from the Vaudeville, who sold it to a Parisian confectioner, who became insolvent?"

"The Goldfish Villa, you mean? so called because there's a pond full of them there."

"I didn't know that; that's an additional advantage of the property."

"Well, what about the house?"

"It was sold a few days ago--to some very distinguished people, so it seems, and necessarily very rich, for n.o.body else could indulge in such a country house."

"Mon Dieu! it's no chateau; I believe they wanted sixty thousand francs for it; they probably sold it for fifty."

"Well, fifty thousand francs for a country house, where you don't live all the time, is no trifle; and think of all you have to spend when you buy a place! There's a park of ten acres----"

"It isn't a park, it's a garden with a clump of trees."

"I beg pardon--a garden of ten acres! that's too big for a garden."

"If you insist on calling it a park, I've no objection. Well, who are these distinguished people who have bought the Goldfish Villa?"

"They have a carriage."

"They have a carriage!--with horses?"

"Yes, indeed, with real horses! There are just the husband and wife--no children. They live in great style, and they say the lady's extremely pretty--and so stylish!"

"All right; we shall see how that is. I doubt whether this person dresses any better than I do. Did you see the dress I had on last Tuesday, Luminot?"

"I must have seen it!"

"The man didn't so much as notice it! a gray damask with green stripes."

"Oh, yes! it was magnificent; you were at least twelve feet round."

"I am not talking about how large round I was; I am talking about the material of my dress, which cost twenty francs a yard; and it's so stiff that it stands alone! it's superb!"

"You were simply gorgeous!"

"Bah! you men think of nothing but novelty; you go into ecstasies beforehand over a woman you don't know."

"I am not going into ecstasies over her; I am simply repeating what I have been told; and I am very glad to see nice people flocking to our part of the country."

"What are the names of these nice people?"

"Wait a moment--they told me the person's name--it's an odd name--that of a place in the outskirts of Paris--a well-known place."

"What! these distinguished people bear the name of a place?"

"Why not?--It isn't Saint-Cloud."

"Ha! ha! Monsieur and Madame Saint-Cloud! that would be amusing!"

"It isn't Vaugirard--the devil! I did know the name. It isn't La Villette!"

Luminot was interrupted by the arrival of Madame Remplume, who rushed into the room as eagerly as he had done.

"Madame Droguet, I've heard some news----"

"My dear woman, I fancy that your news isn't news to me. The Goldfish Villa is sold, isn't it?"

"Ah! you know it! but it's just out."

"I have only known it a minute; neighbor Luminot came to tell us."

"How in the world does he make out to get all the news first?"

"Oh! I walk about here and there and everywhere, mesdames."

"The new owners are to come to-day to take possession of their property, where they mean to pa.s.s the whole summer."