"What's that you're taking?"
"Pepper, monsieur."
"What for?"
"To put in the sauce piquante I am making."
"What's the use of a sauce piquante?"
"Why, it's to eat with your joint, monsieur,—your rib of beef. A fillet would have been tenderer, but monsieur wouldn't have that."
"Why not ortolans, and have done with it? You people have sworn to ruin me to-day! Mon Dieu! such profusion, such waste! Leave the pepper there—you don't need it."
At this point, Madame Mirotaine appeared on the scene.
"What's the matter with you, my dear?" she asked.
"Monsieur won't let me have the pepper," said Goth; "but I must have some for my sauces."