"Dear aunt," replied the young man, "you ought to know that I am too well hardened to your maledictions to care a fig for them. I only wanted to do the proper thing by inviting you to dance at my wedding; if you won't come, still I have asked you to shake a leg—"
"Shake a—fy, for shame!"
"Fare thee well, sweet Aunt Angelique!"
Touching his cocked hat in the military manner, Pitou made a salute to his relative and hurried away.
[CHAPTER XXX.]
THE EFFECT OF HAPPY NEWS.
Pitou had to tell his intended marriage to Mayor Longpre, who lived hard by. Less set against the Billet family than Aunt 'Gelique, he congratulated Pitou on the match.
Pitou listened to his praise without seeing where he was doing very much of a noble action.
By the way, as a pure Republican, Pitou was delighted to find that the Republic had done away with the publication of the banns and other ecclesiastical trammels which had always galled true lovers.
It was, therefore, settled between the mayor and the suitor that the wedding should take place on the following Saturday, at the town hall.