“They’re nyctalopes, for sure.—What does nyctalopes mean?”
“It means that they see in the dark.”
“Oh! I understand! they’re like cats; in fact, somnambulists are as smart as cats in the dark.—But to return to this one at the Tête-Noire, you must know that he tells everything anybody’s done; and last night he discovered something that was hidden from all eyes!”
“I understand! he discovered some intrigue.”[B]
[B] Le pot aux roses; lit. the jar of roses.
“Well, not exactly that! His companion had a pain in the night—he was doubled up with colic caused by his supper.”
“And perhaps by some badly prepared dish, or a half-scoured saucepan; for the entertainment is not first-class at the Tête-Noire; I once ate a fricandeau there that lay on my stomach three days, because it was seasoned with nutmeg, which always makes me ill. Nutmeg in a fricandeau! You must agree that that is perfectly horrible!”
“True, that inn doesn’t deserve its reputation; for at my sister’s wedding party, which was held there——”
“Your sister? which one, pray?”
“The one who married Lagripe, the sub-prefect’s indoor man—you know? the little man with blue eyes and a red nose?”