"Yes, yes, Don Serapio must sing!"
"Don Serapio must sing! Don Serapio must sing!"
"Gentlemen, for Heaven's sake—I have a very bad cold!"
"No matter; you will sing well enough, Don Serapio."
"A thousand thanks, ladies, a thousand thanks. I should wish at this moment that I had the voice of an angel, for angels only ought to sing to angels."
This compliment produced an excellent impression upon the feminine element of the company. The masculine element received it with derisive smiles.
"We always enjoy great pleasure in listening to you; you know it very well."
"Because generosity ever goes in company with beauty. The face is the mirror of the soul, they say, and if that is true, how could you help being benevolent toward me?"
The second compliment was likewise received with a laugh of complacency by the ladies. The men continued to smile scornfully.
"Sing, sing, Don Serapio!"