"You regret your wife, I don't doubt that, and she was well worth the trouble. But I tell you again that you ask nothing better now than to be consoled, and above all to make new conquests."
"Little devil of a Freluchon! What an astonishing creature!—Do you really think that I might make conquests?"
"I will go so far as to promise you some to-night, if you come to the Opéra with us."
"To the Opéra ball with you, my boys! Far be it from me to say that it would be distasteful to me, because, after all, one might as well listen to reason; a man always ends by being consoled, a little sooner or later; but the world is what I dread! What will the world say if I am seen at the masquerade, so short a time after—my calamity? The world is so unkind!"
"Parbleu! if you're afraid to be seen at the ball, there's one very simple means of avoiding it—disguise yourself."
"True, that is an idea. But men don't wear masks, I believe."
"No, but with a fancy costume, a wig, a little rouge and a false nose, I'll undertake to make you unrecognizable."
"Oh! if you'll answer for that, it's all right, I'll run the risk and go with you. By the way, do you disguise yourselves?"
"Oh, no! it isn't worth while; we are not afraid to be recognized!"
"And where shall I find a costume?"