“Unseal your eyes, direct your minds
Upon this solemn spectacle ...”[[9]]
But scarcely had he uttered these words before a lady, decked with an immense black hat and feathers, flung herself into his arms and clasped him close against the fichu she wore round her shoulders.
[9].
Ouvre tes yeux, fixe ton âme
Sur ce spectacle solennel ...
“Ah, how splendid!” she cried. “Monsieur Mille, permit me to embrace you.”
A Capuchin who occupied a place in the ring of onlookers, bent his chin down on to his spade and clapped his hands at the sight of such a capacious embrace. Then some of the young patriots who stood by pushed him laughingly in the direction of the demonstrative lady, who transferred her embraces to him in the midst of popular acclamations. Monsieur Mille embraced me, and I embraced Monsieur Mille.
“Such splendid lines!” cried the lady with the outrageous hat. “Bravo, Mille! They are worthy of Jean Baptiste.”