"'Without breaking it.'
"'Then, my dear fellow, permit me to tell you that no one eats an egg without breaking the shell and leaving the spoon standing in it. And after your egg?'
"'I asked for some bouilli.'
"'For bouilli! It is a term that no one uses. You should have asked for beef—never for bouilli. Well, and after the bouilli?'
"'I asked the Abbé de Radonvilliers for some fowl.'
"'Wretched man! Fowl, indeed! You should have asked for chicken or capon. The word "fowl" is never heard out of the kitchen. But all this applies only to what you ate; tell me something of what you drank, and how you asked for it.'
"'I asked for champagne and bordeaux from those who had the bottles before them.'
"'Know then, my good friend, that only a waiter, who has no time or breath to spare, asks for champagne or bordeaux. A gentleman asks for vin de champagne and vin de bordeaux. And now inform me how you ate your bread?'
"'Undoubtedly like all the rest of the world. I cut it into small square pieces with my knife.'
"'Then let me tell you that no one cuts bread. You should always break it. Let us go on to the coffee. How did you drink yours?'