“Ah! here you are, my little Dorsan; it’s very good of you to come; we shall have a lot of people to-night.”

“You will have? Do you mean to say that your guests haven’t arrived yet?”

“Some of them are late; but it’s early yet.”

“Not very.”

“We have a tall young lady from the Conservatoire, who has a magnificent voice.”

“The deuce!

“And a lady who plays the ‘cello.”

“Great heaven! why, here it’s as it is at Nicolet’s: always worse and worse!”

“Ha! ha! what a funny fellow!”

“What music have you had already?”