The notary argued, Monfreville put forth all his eloquence and drew fascinating pictures of the pleasures of Paris, but Cherubin refused to go with them.

Monsieur Gerondif was in dismay, Nicole was triumphant, and Jasmin muttered under his breath:

"I had an idea that these men wouldn't be any smarter than me."

No one spoke, for no one knew what course to adopt. Suddenly they heard another carriage approaching. Thereupon a gleam of hope shone in Monfreville's eyes, and Monsieur d'Hurbain exclaimed:

"Faith! it's high time that Monsieur Darena arrived, but I doubt very much his having any better success than we have had."

"Perhaps he will," murmured Monfreville; "Darena is one of those people who dare to do anything."

The carriage stopped in front of the nurse's house, and Nicole's guests ran to the door to see who alighted.

The cab, for it was a vulgar cab that had arrived, seemed to contain a number of people, to judge by the noise inside. Several voices could be heard speaking at once, and continual bursts of laughter. At last the door opened. Monsieur Darena alighted first, dressed even more shabbily than on the previous day; which fact did not deter him from exhibiting the most distinguished manners, as he a.s.sisted his companions to alight.

First came a young woman dressed as a Spaniard, then one dressed as an Odalisk, a third in a Swiss costume, and a fourth in the piquant garb of a Neapolitan. And they were all young, pretty, graceful and shapely; their eyes were bright, mischievous, and most alluring; and there was in their manner of jumping from the carriage, a surprising lightness and grace, and in their general bearing an uncommon absence of restraint.

The villagers gazed at them in wide-eyed amazement. Monsieur Gerondif affected to lower his eyes, but he hazarded a glance nearly every minute. The notary glanced at Monfreville with an air of surprise, muttering:

"What does all this mean?"

Monfreville laughed heartily, as he replied:

"Faith! I believe that he is cleverer than we are."

Meanwhile, Darena took two of the ladies by the hand.

"Come, Rosina and Malvina; follow us, Clina and Fdora. We have come to pay our respects to the young Marquis de Grandvilain. Where is he? Ah, yes, I see him; this charming young man with the melting eyes is he. _Peste!_ be on your guard, mesdames; those eyes will make terrible havoc in your ranks."

As he spoke, Darena entered the house with his companions. After ushering in his four ladies, who seemed not in the least embarra.s.sed, and who scrutinized laughingly the interior of the rustic dwelling, Darena saluted Cherubin as if he were an old acquaintance, and said:

"My dear marquis, your notary, Monsieur d'Hurbain, is mine as well; your friend Monsieur de Monfreville is also a very intimate friend of mine; so you see that I too should be your friend--that is a t.i.tle which I should deem myself fortunate to deserve. Shake hands, marquis--men like us understand each other instantly. You are young, but we will form you."

Cherubin was bewildered by all that he saw and heard; moreover, the Spaniard and the Neapolitan were already flashing glances at him of a sort to which he was not accustomed; while the Odalisk smiled at him in a most enticing fashion, and the Swiss constantly pa.s.sed the tip of her tongue over her lips and winked at him. All this caused him a perturbation which he could not define.

"Marquis Cherubin," continued Darena, "I have ventured to bring with me four fascinating ladies; they are artists, dancers of the greatest talent, connected with the Grand Opera in Paris; they had a most eager desire to see you and to drink milk in the country.--Is it possible to obtain milk here, virtuous villager?"

While Darena put this question to Nicole, who ran off at once to the dairy, the little woman dressed as a Swiss jumped up and down on her chair, crying:

"Yes! milk's splendid! I'm going to drink it hard."

Darena walked to where she sat and nudged her with his elbow, saying in her ear:

"Be kind enough to keep quiet, Malvina, for you can't say anything but nonsense."

And Monfreville, biting his lips to avoid laughing, whispered to Darena:

"You have the face to say that these women are from the Opera!"

"Three of them are, my dear fellow; I swear that those three are _figurantes_. The Swiss is at one of the boulevard theatres, it is true, but she has a bewitching leg.--I have brought these ladies in their stage costumes," Darena continued, addressing Cherubin, "because they promised to give you a slight specimen of their talent. Come, my G.o.ddesses, give us a pretty _pas de quatre_ for the young marquis, who has no idea of what is to be seen at the Opera. I realize that this isn't as convenient a place for dancing as the stage; the floor isn't parqueted; but you will have all the more credit."

"It isn't even tiled!" cried the Swiss, looking at her feet; "how do you expect us to slide on such a floor? No, thanks! it's too much work! We shall come down on our backsides!"

"Ha! ha! very pretty! very pretty!" cried Darena, affecting to laugh heartily in order to lessen the effect produced by the Swiss girl's expression; "you must excuse madame; she isn't a Parisian and she doesn't know our language very well; she doesn't understand the comparative value of words."

"Tibullus, Petronius and Ovid sometimes employed the equivalent," said Monsieur Gerondif, perpetrating an immense smile, so that the four dancers might see all his teeth.

"I ain't a Parisian!" cried Mademoiselle Malvina; "well, upon my word! I was born on Rue Mouffetard--just where my mother sells Brie cheese."

Darena trod on her foot and whispered to her:

"If you don't hold your tongue, Malvina, I'll put you in the cab, you shan't have any milk, and you shan't come to the dinner."

The Swiss held her tongue, and the count, taking a kit from his pocket, prepared to play.

"I'll be the orchestra," he said; "I have thought of everything, you see. Come, mesdames, ready."

Meanwhile, Monsieur d'Hurbain went to Monfreville and said to him in an undertone:

"Really, Monsieur le Comte de Darena has employed an expedient which--I don't know whether I ought to a.s.sent to this. His scheme seems to me rather shady."

"Why so?" rejoined Monfreville. "Darena is cleverer than we are. I think that his method of seduction is all right. After all, the young fellow would go to the Opera, if he went to Paris; so what is the harm of letting him see here what he would see on the stage? In fact, it seems to me that the illusion is much less."

"Very well," said the notary, resuming his seat; "after all, the end justifies the means."

The four dancers were on the point of beginning their performance, when Nicole appeared with milk and cups. They pounced upon the latter and declared that they proposed to have something to drink first.

While they were drinking, Cherubin kept his eyes constantly on those four women, who were so utterly unlike all the women he had ever before seen. Monsieur Gerondif poured the milk for the dancers with his own hands.

"a.s.suredly I bear a resemblance to Ganymede at this moment," he said to them. "He served Jupiter, I serve Terpsich.o.r.e and her sisters."

"I say," said Malvina, s.n.a.t.c.hing the pail from the professor's hand, "you make us sick, pouring it out so, drop by drop! I'd rather drink as much as I like--it's a quicker way."

"It's amazing how thirsty they are, for fashionable ladies," said old Jasmin, rolling his eyes in wonderment.

When the milk was exhausted, the four dancers took their places. The others were seated, Darena with his kit. He played the air of the _Jota Arragonaise_, and the ladies began to dance with much grace and lightness of foot.

The peasants were lost in admiration. Jasmin applauded; Monsieur Gerondif no longer lowered his eyes, and his whole face was as red and inflamed as his nose.

Monfreville and the notary watched Cherubin; he seemed fascinated, enchanted by the novel spectacle presented to him, and his eyes did not grow weary of gazing at those young and pretty women, whose steps, whose att.i.tudes, whose slightest movements were instinct with pleasure and licentiousness. Darena, observing the effect produced by the dance, played a livelier air, then another in even quicker time. The dancers followed the change of tempo, and their dance became more rapid, more seductive. They seemed to vie with one another in grace and litheness; their eyes, enlivened by the violent exercise, shone brighter and with more fire. Jasmin applauded wildly, Monsieur Gerondif scratched his nose as if he would demolish it, and Cherubin became much moved. At that moment, excited by the zest with which she danced, Mademoiselle Malvina began to hurl her legs into s.p.a.ce with such vigor that it was impossible for the spectators to avoid seeing that she wore no drawers.

"They are bayaderes!" cried Monsieur Gerondif, whose eyes were almost out of his head; "it's the Mozambique dance! it's very interesting!"

Monsieur d'Hurbain, considering that the Mozambique dance went altogether too far, rose and said:

"Very good, mesdames, but that will do; you must be tired."

"Bah!" cried Mademoiselle Malvina, "I'd like to dance the cancan myself!

I'm rather good at the cancan."