Basochians! You come here to insult ladies! you're good for nothing
else! The idea of moving for such gentry!"
"Oh! mon Dieu! madame seems to be getting excited! because she has a
fine new petticoat with fal-lals on it, and a silver buckle on her
belt!--I say, Plumard, I thought there was an edict providing that only
strumpets and pickpockets might wear gold or silver on their clothes?"
"Oh, yes! an edict of Henri IV. But perhaps this stout lady is within
her rights!"
"Ah! you little villains, if the watch was passing, I'd have you
apprehended!"
"Oho! the watch!"
"Aha! apprehended! she must be an attorney's wife."
"Don't push me, or I'll box your ears!"
"If you don't choose to be pushed here, you should come in a sedan
chair."
"Or on your husband's mule."
"With his junior clerk.--Well! I must pass, all the same."
"You are treading on my foot, monsieur!"
"Why do you put your feet on the ground? in a crowd like this, you
should stand on the air or perch on your neighbors."
"Oh! look yonder, Bahuchet! there's a lady with a mask!"
"Because she is ugly; that is why she doesn't choose to show her face."
"Or else she is here on the sly."
"Look you! I prefer to look at the faces of those two little hussies in
blue caps."
"Yes, they are very pretty; but I know them by sight; they come here to
meet a couple of pages; I often meet them walking with their lovers on
the Pré-aux-Clercs."
"I say, Plumard, do you know whether they are going to broil any cats in
the fire to-night?"
"Why, no; don't you see that there isn't a single basket hung on the
great tree?"
"Well, if they have stopped burning cats, there's no more sport! That's
the way that all our noblest customs are being allowed to fall into
decay! If I had known that, I'd have brought a bag of mice!"
"Do you sell mice?"
"No; but my landlord is very fond of them, for his house is always full;
I believe he eats them."
The two young blades who were conversing thus in the midst of the crowd
as unconcernedly as if they were alone were two attorney's clerks, but
of the class that one meets more frequently in the streets, in front of
shops and open-air theatres, than in the employer's office; genuine
idlers, who, in the excitement of playing a joke on some passer-by,
entirely forget the errand on which they have been sent, important
though it may be, and who always remain under clerks, unless their
parents have the means to buy them an office.
Bahuchet was very short--less than four feet nine; he had a wretched
figure, in addition to his shortness, and an ugly face as well; his
forehead was low, his too retroussé nose displayed two nostrils of
enormous size, which played a very important rôle in his countenance;
his mouth was too wide and his eyes too narrow; but in those small eyes
there was an intelligent and mocking expression, which his cunning smile
intensified.
Monsieur Bahuchet, albeit he was always disposed to laugh at other
people, took in very bad part the jests that were aimed at his person;
he lost his temper very easily. As a general rule, short men are much
more choleric than tall ones; why? Rabelais will give you the
explanation, which I dare not quote here.
Plumard, Bahuchet's friend and usual companion, measured just the five
feet necessary for military service; but beside his comrade he
considered himself a fine figure of a man, and ostentatiously looked
down on him.
Monsieur Plumard, while he was not handsome, was less ugly than
Bahuchet; he had a nose of respectable appearance; an ordinary mouth,
but of modest dimensions; and his eyes, level with his face, might have
attracted attention by their size had it not been that they did so first
of all by the utter idiocy of their expression. But all that did not
prevent Monsieur Plumard from esteeming himself a very good-looking
youth.
There was something, however, that poisoned the enjoyment of this
diminutive Apollo; his hair did not correspond with his other physical
advantages. At the age of twenty-seven, the young clerk of the Basoche,
who had never possessed more than a few scanty locks, saw with dismay
that that scant supply was diminishing; an affection of the skin had
already caused three-fourths of it to drop out. He had for a long time
flattered himself that it would grow again, but he found that even the
little that remained was growing less.
In vain did the clerk rub himself--in default of pomades, which were
then very expensive--with all the greasy substances that he thought
capable of restoring the fertility of his scalp; the fatal round spot,
having appeared on the summit of his head, had grown so much larger, and
the brow had so extended its limits, that Monsieur Plumard was almost
bald.
The result was that he wore almost always the small cap, in the shape of
a hood, which the clerks of the Basoche then affected, and removed it
only when he was absolutely obliged to do so.
Bahuchet, who knew his comrade from top to toe, and knew that his hair
was the subject on which his self-esteem was most sensitive, often
amused himself by attacking him at that point. It was not very manly;
but Plumard retaliated by jeering at his comrade's small stature and his
nose. Thus the two friends were quits, if we may call two persons
friends who continually make fun of each other. But I am inclined to
think that we may, for those who call themselves friends nowadays behave
in much the same way.
"Are you in a good place, Bathilde? Can you see the pile?" Ambroisine
asked her young friend, who had not eyes enough to look about the
square, which was lighted by a vast number of torches which the
shopkeepers had placed in front of their shops, and by lanterns which
had been brought there by order of the lieutenant of police.
"Yes, yes, my dear Ambroisine, I am all right; I can see enough. I see
so many things! all these people, all these costumes--it all seems so
strange to me! Oh! but it is amusing!"
"If you like, children," said Master Hugonnet, "we might go somewhere
and sit at a table? At one of yonder wine shops, we should have a very
comfortable place to wait for the fire, and you would be sitting down,
at all events, instead of standing all the time."
"Oh, no! my dear father, I see what you are aiming at--you would like
something to drink. Upon my word! that would be very nice! When you have
two girls to take care of, you don't drink, father--do you hear?"
"Ah! you would have me catch the pip, then?--And to think that devil of
a Landry promised to join us! To be sure, he may be on the square; I
should like to see anyone find an acquaintance in a mob like this! If we
could find him, he would relieve me for a while. This crowd causes a
heat that--that makes one thirsty."
"Ah! sandis! what a pleasant meeting! 'Tis the haughty Ambroisine, with
her worthy father, whom I see before me!"
"Oho! it is Monsieur le Chevalier Passedix!" replied Ambroisine, as the
long, lean gentleman planted himself in front of her. "Have you also
come to see the Fire of Saint-Jean?"
"Ah! little do I care for these celebrations. The fire that burns in the
depths of my heart would eclipse all possible Saint-Jeans. Do not be
alarmed, cruel girl! it is no longer to you that those words are
addressed. You spurned me, and I have carried elsewhere my sighs and my
prayers!"
"Oh! I know it, monsieur le chevalier, and I congratulate you."
"You know it? Ah, yes! I remember; you even know for whom I sigh. You
know Miretta?"
"Do I know her! Oh! she is my friend, too. I am very fond of her! She
has shown such gratitude to me for the trivial service I rendered! She
comes to see me now and then."
"Pardieu! I know it. The little one doesn't take a step without my
knowledge, without having me at her heels!"
"She told me so, monsieur le chevalier, and I warn you that she dislikes
it extremely. She has said to me several times: 'If that tall, thin,
yellow man continues to follow me as soon as I set foot in the street, I
shall be obliged to tell him that he is wasting his time and his
steps.'"
"Ha! ha! ha! First of all, I will wager that Miretta did not say: 'that
tall, thin, yellow man'; those are your own words, cruel tongue! Oh! I
know women! They complain when we follow them; but they would be sorely
disappointed if we did not follow them!"
"Well! try to disappoint Miretta; that will gratify her."
"I hoped to meet her here.--Bigre! I had not noticed; you have a most
charming young lady on your arm!"
"Is she not? This is Bathilde, my closest friend. I suppose, of course,
that you will at once fall in love with her too?"
"Oh, no! it is all over with me! You judge me ill, fair Ambroisine; I
have given my heart to Miretta! For her alone do I propose henceforth to
perform doughty deeds.--Sandis! what in the devil is this slipping
between my legs like a lizard? Is it a man? is it an eel?"
"Don't disturb yourself, seigneur," replied Bahuchet; "I have got
through. You must understand that I couldn't remain behind you; you are
as tall as a giant!"
"And you are a dwarf, apparently! Ought atoms to be allowed in the
crowd? Someone will crush you without noticing it, my little fellow!"
"Ouiche! I won't allow myself to be flattened out without saying
_beware_!--I say, Plumard! do you hear this long asparagus stalk, who
thinks that I am to be crushed like a grain of salt?"
Plumard was a few feet away, gazing at Bathilde, and apparently
speechless with admiration.
"Plumard! Plumard! _ubi es_?--Ah! there he is!--Why don't you answer?
What's the matter with you, pray? One would say that you were changed
into a wooden man!"
Plumard simply motioned with his head, calling his comrade's attention
to the fascinating girl. Whereupon Bahuchet looked at Bathilde and said,
with a wink:
"Ah! famous! that's famous!--You see, Plumard, when I see such an
attractive young woman, I begin by saluting her, to show my respect. Do
as I do."
And Monsieur Bahuchet took off his cap to Bathilde, who paid no
attention to him.
But Plumard, who did not choose to uncover his head, made an impatient
gesture and moved a little farther away, muttering:
"I have a cold in my head."
From time to time Ambroisine turned, and her eyes seemed to seek someone
in that multitude, made up of people of all ranks and classes, who
seemed to have appointed to meet on Place de Grève.
"Do you see Landry?" Master Hugonnet asked his daughter, who shook her
head, murmuring:
"No, father, no, I don't see Monsieur Landry."
But was it Landry for whom she was looking? Was it not rather Miretta,
who had told her that she too would try to go to see the Fire of
Saint-Jean? Indeed, I would not swear that the _belle baigneuse_ was not
looking for someone else, for there was in her eyes a certain expression
that might have aroused the suspicions of a jealous husband.
"Well! aren't they going to light the fire this evening? Are they going
to make us wait till Saint-Martin's? I say! Plumard! Plumard! are you
still playing the wooden man?"
"Come here, Bahuchet; this is a much better place, it's nearer the
fire."
"What! do you dare to go so near as that? Look out, Plumard! the flame
may singe your hair. Give me a lock first; I am sure that before long it
will bring a high price, your hair! and, even so, everyone won't get it
who would like some of it."
"You have forgotten something, Bahuchet!"
"What is that?"
"The two corks that you put in your nose when you go out on a windy
night. Look out! there's a man with a torch beside you; don't turn, your
nose would blow it out."
"Ah! Monsieur Plumard is pleased to be sarcastic.--However, you have a
right to swagger; you know that I won't take you by the hair."
"Wait! just wait! I will give you a drubbing, you miserable dwarf!"
The two clerks approached to exchange blows; but as the Chevalier
Passedix was between them, they used him as a rampart behind which to
shelter themselves, and that rampart received many of the blows which
the young gentlemen intended for each other.
"Sandioux! here are two rascals fighting between my legs now! Have you
nearly finished, pygmies? If you force me to draw Roland from its
sheath, I promise you that you will both be spitted like starlings!"
The two clerks, trying to run away in order to escape the effects of the
Gascon's wrath, collided with two women from the market, who pushed them
away with so much force that Monsieur Plumard fell to the ground, and,
to put the finish to his misfortunes, he lost his cap in the fall, so
that that youthful head was disclosed to view, already almost bald,
having only a narrow band of vegetation left, just above the ears.
A general laugh arose, and the merriment was increased by the furious
manner in which the unfortunate clerk ran through the crowd on all
fours, looking between every pair of legs, and shouting:
"My cap! my cap! don't step on it!"
XIX
TWO MEN ON ALL FOURS
Ambroisine laughed like the rest when she saw Monsieur Plumard's bald
head. She turned toward her friend, to see if she had noticed that
sight; but she was thunderstruck by the strange expression presented by
Bathilde's face at that moment.
The charming girl seemed happy and confused at the same time. Her eyes,
half lowered, but in such wise that she could look out of the corners,
were more brilliant than usual. Her cheeks wore a deeper flush, her
mouth was half open in a smile. All this was not natural; and
Ambroisine, with the knowledge that she possessed of the human heart,
tried to discover what could cause her friend's emotion. Thereupon
Master Hugonnet's daughter saw at Bathilde's left a young man wrapped in
a cloak, his head covered by a broad-brimmed hat adorned with waving
plumes, and beneath that hat a very comely face, haughty and
distinguished, but most seductive when it chose to take the trouble, and
that is what it was doing at that moment.
"Mon Dieu! it is Comte Léodgard!" said Ambroisine to herself, as she
recognized the young man who held Bathilde as if fascinated by the
eloquence of his glance; and almost instantly, as if she divined the
danger that threatened her friend, she seized her arm and shook it,
saying:
"Well, well! what is the matter? what are you thinking about, Bathilde?
I speak to you, and you do not answer!"
"I, Ambroisine? oh! forgive me! I did not hear you."
"You seem confused, excited; has anyone been pushing you or incommoding
you? would you like to take my other arm?"
"Oh, no! no! nobody has troubled me; nothing is the matter."
"But I say that there is; it is that young gentleman beside you, who
keeps his eyes on you all the time! It is intolerable, isn't it?"
"Oh! it doesn't trouble me; just look at him, Ambroisine, without
seeming to; you will see what a handsome man that gentleman is."
"I don't need to look at him again; I know him perfectly well!"
"You know him?"
Before Ambroisine had had time to reply, Léodgard, who had recognized
the _belle baigneuse_ in her whose arm was passed through that of the
girl who had taken his fancy, quickly stepped toward her and accosted
her with his most affable air:
"Hail to the fair Ambroisine! Ah! and Master Hugonnet too! Really, this
Fire of Saint-Jean is a delightful ceremony; one makes pleasant meetings
here, and I congratulate myself that I came!"
"Your servant, Monsieur le Comte Léodgard! You are very glad that you
came, perhaps; but, faith! I can't say as much. I have to stay here to
watch these two girls--impossible to go to quench my thirst. I don't
find it amusing, myself!"
"Why, my good Hugonnet, if you are anxious to take something, intrust
your daughter and her young friend to me for a few moments; I promise
you, on my honor, that they will be as safe as with you."
Master Hugonnet, who was exceedingly thirsty, seemed to hesitate a
moment; but his daughter squeezed his arm tightly and whispered:
"Surely, father, you will not listen to that suggestion! you will not
leave two young girls with the Comte de Marvejols, who is so notorious
as a rake and a seducer! with his pretty speeches! If I were alone, I
could defend myself; for, as you know, this gentleman tried to make
love to me once, and I gave him such a reception that he never tried it
again. But Bathilde, who knows nothing of the world, who is likely to
believe whatever anyone tells her--Bathilde, whom her father placed in
your care, because you promised him that she should not run any
risk--oh! you won't intrust her to this young nobleman!"
"No, no! you are right, my child! I will not leave you," replied the
bath keeper, whom his daughter's words had caused to reflect. "You talk
sensibly; it would be imprudent, especially with the Comte de
Marvejols."
"Oh! yes, father!"
"All the same, Landry might have joined us!"
While father and daughter conversed thus in undertones, Léodgard did not
take his eyes from Bathilde, whose beauty had made a profound impression
on him. She had begun to tremble when she heard the name of Léodgard de
Marvejols, for she instantly remembered all that Ambroisine had said to
her touching that young nobleman. The terrifying portrait that she had
drawn of him was well adapted to take from Bathilde any wish to look at
him again. But, on the contrary, whether from a spirit of contradiction,
or from mere curiosity, or from that desire to learn which has so much
potency in woman's heart, all the evil that one may say to them of a man
will never induce them to shun his presence, and their eyes will seek
him in preference to any other.
Léodgard saw that his proposition was not accepted; but what did it
matter to him? Place de Grève belonged to everybody. If that fascinating
girl remained there, he would remain by her side; if she went away, he
would follow her. So that his face wore a pleasant smile as he addressed
Master Hugonnet again:
"Well, my good man, you do not answer me? Is it because you no longer
feel the inclination to take a little walk to one of the nearby wine
shops?"
"Oh! no, monsieur le comte; I should lie if I said that it was the
inclination that was lacking; but I cannot do it; for monsieur le comte
himself well knows that I ought not to intrust two young girls to him.
No, thanks! one might as well put two lambs in the custody of a fox!"
"Eh! why so, Hugonnet? Is it because of the little dispute we had some
time ago? But you see that I have forgotten all about it. Besides, I was
in the wrong; I admit it.--Oh! I am not one of those men who will not
hear reason; look you--in those days I was a good-for-nothing fellow--a
roisterer, a libertine! But since then I have turned over a new leaf. If
you but knew how virtuous I am now!"
"I congratulate you, seigneur; it must be a great source of satisfaction
to monsieur le marquis, your father."
Léodgard concealed a faint smile, and his glance rested sweetly on
Bathilde's face, who, although she kept her eyes on the ground, did not
lose a word of what was said.
"Yes, my good Hugonnet, yes, my father felicitates himself now on having
a son who is radically cured of his evil tastes; who no longer cudgels
the watch, drives peaceful citizens to frenzy, raises the deuce with
tradesmen, and, above all things, who no longer talks nonsense to every
woman he sees! For, as to that----"
"Cadédis! the assemblage is becoming most select! Here is our dear Comte
Léodgard de Marvejols!"
"Ah! is it you, Chevalier Passedix?"
"Myself, who deeply regretted my inability to join the jovial party with
you and your friends and divers charming ladies, the day before
yesterday. Ah! you rascal! I fancy that you enjoyed yourselves!--Cards,
wine, women! You always were the king of kings for handling such
affairs. It seems that everybody was drunk the next morning; there was
fighting, and a general scandal; and the ladies were taken to the
Repenties! That is what I call sport!"
"May the devil fly away with you, you long-legged idiot!" muttered
Léodgard, turning his head away, while Ambroisine nudged Bathilde and
whispered:
"Do you hear? That is how he has turned virtuous, how he has reformed,
the scapegrace! That is how he turns over a new leaf!"
"Mon Dieu! Ambroisine, what difference does it make to me? You say that
as if it interested me."
"Well! he stared at you so! And then, you think him good-looking."
"I think him so, because he is. But what does that prove? Are you going
to scold me now because that young gentleman looked at me? Is it my
fault?"
"Scold you, dear Bathilde! oh, no! But, you see, it is my duty to look
after you, as if I were your older sister; for we made ourselves
responsible for you to your father, and I should not want any misfortune
to happen to you; it would seem to me as if I were the cause."
"Misfortune! Mon Dieu! what misfortune do you dread for me?"
Ambroisine dared not reply. Suddenly the Chevalier Passedix stood on
tiptoe and exclaimed:
"Sandioux! she is over there! I see her in the light of a torch. She is
a Venus, the little dear! By Roland! I must join her, even though I have
to push this whole crowd out of my way!"
And the tall Gascon, beginning at once to work his arms and legs like a
windmill, forced aside all those who stood in his path, and soon reached
that part of the square where Miretta had stopped.
Ambroisine followed Passedix with her glance, and she also spied her new
friend in the crowd at some distance; but in order to join her she would
have had to plunge into the midst of the mob that separated them and to
give up the good places they had secured; and Master Hugonnet had
declared that he would not stir. Ambroisine tried in vain, by raising
her arms and making signs, to attract Miretta's attention.
Nevertheless, Cédrille's pretty cousin turned her eyes in every
direction. Surely she too was looking for someone; but was it her friend
Ambroisine?
Suddenly Miretta felt a hand on her arm, and a shrill voice exclaimed:
"Ah! sandis! so I have found you at last, O my goddess! I was seeking
you, I will not say _per montes et vitulos_, but among all the groups of
pretty women. Will you do me the honor to accept my arm?"
Miretta assumed a stern expression and answered curtly:
"No, monsieur, I will not accept your arm; and since I meet you here, I
will take the opportunity to tell you that you are wasting your time by
following me constantly, that your obstinacy in pursuing me is most
annoying to me----"
"Eh! cadédis! the little one plays the haughty dame! So you refuse my
homage--and this is the way you acknowledge the services I rendered you,
ingrate! I, who saved you from the most imminent danger! Your cousin
Cédrille did me more justice! I was his friend, his faithful companion.
I am very sorry that he has returned to Pau; he would have spoken to you
in my behalf."
"Cédrille would not have encouraged your undertakings, monsieur le
chevalier; he knew too well that you had nothing to hope from me. I do
not know whether he had reason to congratulate himself on having taken
you for a comrade, but I know very well that he made only a very brief
stay in Paris, and that he went away with a black eye, saying that he
had had enough of the capital and that he had not enjoyed himself here
at all.--However, monsieur, if you did take up my defence when I was
insulted, it seems to me that you should not regret it; it was your duty
as a man of honor. But I do not consider that it gave you the right to
spy upon my every movement and to be always at my heels."
The Gascon chevalier was cut to the quick, and the firm and decided tone
in which Miretta had answered him added to his irritation; for a woman's
voice, while it may sometimes soften the most severe words, is no less
able to impart greater bitterness to the simplest rebuke. In all things,
it is the tone that makes the music.
The tone adopted by the pretty brunette exasperated Passedix; he ran his
fingers through his beard and tried to sneer, as he muttered:
"Ah! so that's the way it is! so we choose to adopt that tone! By
Roland! it is very pretty! And it is a paltry serving maid--a
lady's-maid--a mere fille de chambre, who indulges in these manners of a
grand duchess, when I condescend to honor her by letting my glance rest
on her back hair! Ah! my love, beware! I have never met any cruel
charmers--especially among your kind--and if you do not take my arm, I
am capable----"
"Capable of what?" demanded a young man, dressed as a simple mechanic,
who had suddenly stepped between Miretta and Passedix, at the latter of
whom he gazed fixedly, while forcing him back several steps with his
left arm.
"What business is it of yours, clown, who presume to question me? I find
you exceedingly bold! Knave! stand aside instantly, or I unsheathe----"