“That might have come in time!”
“Yes, in the thirteenth arrondissement! But I prefer the other twelve. As for furniture, I have some, monsieur, and it’s my very own; Mère Gazon left it to me; it ain’t violet wood, to be sure, but it’s good enough for me; and besides, I think a great deal of it, in memory of the one who gave it to me.”
“All that is very praiseworthy, no doubt; but I don’t think that there’s anything wrong in trying to improve one’s position, to make a fortune; that’s the object of all who haven’t money, and no one has ever blamed them.”
“Make a fortune! To be sure, that ain’t unpleasant, that is, if you do it by honest means! If not, one had better stay in one’s little corner.”
“Oh! bless my soul! who said anything about ceasing to be honest? What extraordinary creatures these girls are—always thinking that somebody means to lead them astray!”
“That’s because we know you, my fine gentlemen; and, if I remember right, you didn’t propose to me yesterday that I should become a rosière.”[A]
[A] The maiden who wins the rose offered as a prize for virtue in certain villages.
“Listen, Violette; I will come straight to the point.”
“Well! let us hear what your point is.”
“You have been to the play sometimes, of course?”