Du Maurier says that there is but one verse of the little French song, which Trilby sings with so much effect—"Au clair de la lune." He mistakes; there is another, running thus:—
| "Je n'ouvrirai pas la porte, | J'ouvre bien la porte, |
| À un vieux savetier, | À un pâtissier, |
| * * * * * | Qui m'apporte des brioches |
| * * * * | Dans un tablier." |
The two missing lines have escaped the memory of the writer.
Auburn, N. Y. S. M. Cox.
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Your correspondent, S. M. Cox, offers some more verses of "Mon Ami Pierrot." They do not quite agree with those taught me, shortly after the Revolution of 1848, by an old French gentleman. You will notice that the French of the last verse is quite "eighteenth-century" in style and diction.
| II | III |
| Je n'ouvre pas ma porte | Mais j'ouvre bien ma porte |
| À des savetiers, | À des officiers, |
| Ils ont des alènes, | Ils ont des pistoles, |
| C'est pour me piquer. | C'est pour me les baîller. |
| Paris, 1 Jan., 1895. | B. F. |
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Mr. du Maurier was correct in saying that there is only one verse of "Au Clair de la Lune"; yet there are possibly, and probably, a thousand made in imitation of it, which go to the same air. We quote from the San Francisco Argonaut:—
"It is to be observed that these amateurs de Trilby do not go the length of singing 'Au Clair de la Lune,' even repeating the first stanza twice, as Trilby did. But perhaps they are as ignorant concerning the song as is Mr. du Maurier, who declares there is but one verse. There are four. The first is given in 'Trilby' thus:—