"There's always a crowd in this passage," said Albert. "In summer, people walk through; in winter, they come here to walk, because the boulevards are muddy. If it rains, they come here for shelter; if the sun is very hot, they come here for shade; so that there's always a crowd here."
"Let's look at the statuettes. You told us, Tobie, didn't you, that somebody was making a caricature of you?"
"Not a caricature, but a bust, life size."
"That won't be so amusing."
"Have we got to wait for Mouillot and Balivan, I wonder! Mouillot is never on time."
"Oh! it isn't half-past five yet."
"Let's look at the new songs."
"That is to say, the new lithographs; for a song doesn't sell nowadays, you know, unless it has some pretty picture on the cover."
"That's not very flattering for the music."
"But it's a good thing for the artists. Brûlé's shop, Frère's successor, is always full of fascinating things of that sort. Look! there are some beautiful albums. I refer to the binding."