“I shall be very grateful for the favor, indeed, madame.”
“You have, doubtless, heard of the ancient Hydra?”
“But,” stammered the provincial, “I thought that was a fabulous monster.”
“Precisely so:—a vile beast, with seven heads. If one were cut off, seven others appeared in its stead. Monsieur, duty is a moral monster. While you may accomplish one, seven others will rise to demand your attention.”
CHAPTER XLII.
One morning, about a month after his visit to Versailles, Eusebe, with an enormous bouquet in his hand, entered the boudoir of Adéonne.
“Why do you bring these flowers?” inquired the comédienne. “This is not my birthday, if I remember rightly.”
“No,” responded the young man: “it is only the birthday of the bouquet.”