"It seems that it did him good."

Glumeau shot through his guests like an arrow and offered his arm to the baroness, who accepted it. They adjourned to the dining-room and took their seats at the table in the order established by the cards. Madame de Grangeville naturally was seated beside the host, and Monsieur Camuzard was on her other side. Madame Glumeau had seated Monsieur de Merval beside herself, so that that gentleman was at some distance from the baroness; not so far, however, that his eyes did not meet hers from time to time; and, strange to say, at such times Monsieur de Merval always lowered his first.

When their appet.i.tes were appeased sufficiently to permit the guests to be agreeable, or at least to try to appear so, the conversation became animated, and they turned at last to the subject which had led to that festivity--the performance to be given on Monsieur Glumeau's little stage in the country, and the distribution of parts.

"Unless something better is suggested, we propose to give _La Foret Perilleuse_," said Madame Glumeau.

"Very good," said Chambourdin; "but in addition to the speaking parts, we must have robbers, a band of robbers."

"We will find some," said Glumeau; "robbers are not what we lack."

"The deuce! are they abundant in the neighborhood of your country house?"

"Don't joke, Chambourdin; if you do, nothing will ever be decided, and we must arrange everything to-day; we go into the country next week, and we must give the play at the end of June, no later."

"Of course, with a theatre in the woods, we mustn't wait until the bad weather begins."

"Well then, we will say _La Foret Perilleuse_; my servants and my gardener will be the robbers."

"Oh! very good! excellent!"

"I will p--p--play the fair Ca--Ca--the fair Ca--Ca--Camille."

"You are ent.i.tled to."

"And my b--b--brother the robber chief."

"Better and better--just as it used to be at Nicolet's!"

"I say, I really believe Chambourdin is laughing at us! What do the company think?"

"No indeed! but it's lawful to laugh, isn't it?" said Chambourdin; "I don't imagine that you are going to act with sober faces all the time.

Besides, am I not one of your troupe? I will take whatever part you wish--a robber, a tyrant, a victim. But allow me to make one suggestion; instead of your _Foret Perilleuse_, which is not wonderfully clever, and in which there is only one female part--and that one doesn't come on in the first act--why don't you give _Roderic et Cunegonde_? That's a splendid parody on the fashionable melodrama, and full of wit from end to end; indeed, it's by the late Martainville, who had wit to sell, so I have been told; for I never knew him."

Chambourdin's suggestion was generally approved, except by Mademoiselle Eolinde, who regretted the fair Camille; but they gave her the part of Cunegonde, which was more in her line, because there are no long speeches in it.

"But there's a child in _Roderic et Cunegonde_," said Monsieur Mangeot.

"That's all right! we'll make one."

"What do you say? you'll make one?"

"To be sure, of pasteboard; with a doll; that's simple enough."

"But the child has something to say."

"That makes a difference; we will have one that can talk; at a pinch I will play the child myself."

"No, no," said Monsieur Glumeau, "we'll have my gardener's little one; he's a very smart child."

"Are there any other female parts?"

"There's a peasant--little Colas; we'll turn him into a girl--little Colette."

"That's right; and Mademoiselle Polymnie will take the part."

"She would have made a little Colas quite as well!" whispered Madame Dufournelle to Chambourdin, who replied:

"Such things are thought, not said."

"There's one piece chosen," said Mangeot, "so far so good; but you are going to give something besides that, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course; we must have a very lively farce."

"Have you made your selection? If not, I suggest _Il y a plus d'un Ane a la Foire_."

"Yes," said Dufournelle, "that's very amusing; we saw it, didn't we, Eleonore?--She laughed so much that we came near having to leave the theatre."

"I don't know that play," said Monsieur Camuzard. "Are there actually any a.s.ses in it?"

"There are three--but they're dressed as men."

"Ah! very good!"

And the old gentleman turned to the baroness and said: "I don't understand, do you, madame?"

The baroness looked at her neighbor with an ironical expression, and replied:

"Have you never seen any, monsieur?"

"Any what, madame?"

"a.s.ses dressed as men."

"I don't think so--that is to say--Ah! I see, it's a metaphor!--That's a very unkind thing to say."

"Do you think so, monsieur? I don't."

The play suggested was adopted; then they desired a third, to begin the performance.

"Yes," said Chambourdin, "when you take so much trouble to put yourselves in training, you must give full measure--a performance _complet_, like an omnibus. I am going to propose a jolly farce, a little one-act affair with three characters: _il et Nez_."

"Oh, yes!" cried Dufournelle; "do you remember, Eleonore? when we saw it, you laughed so hard that--really you laughed too heartily."

"I had already suggested that," said little Astianax; "I know the part of t.i.tyrus."

"And I will be the Eye, if you choose," laughed Madame Dufournelle.