"That will make your sight clearer; and perhaps you are going to see things you don't expect, which will dazzle you! So don't cry, but attend to the important business that brings us together—the grub! Have you given your order? I'm very hungry myself; and you, monsieur?"
"I am well disposed to vie with you."
"With a fork only?"
"Ah! be careful; your eyes are the best remedy for the gout, I believe."
"Oho! if I was sure of that, I'd apply for a patent for my eyes.—By the way, Frefred, what about that rare bird, that miraculous bird, you were to give me? When will he appear? Are we going to eat him roasted?"
"I should think not! That would be a great shame, for he is magnificent. But I am perfecting his education; I'll give him to you when he is able to say pretty things."
"I am sure that you are not teaching him anything at all."
"Oh! ask my neighbor; he'll tell you that it was my cockatoo's education that led to our acquaintance."
"That is the truth, belle dame; oh! you will possess a very knowing bird."
"That will be a change for me, as I have never had anything but canaries.—Come, Frefred, is the dinner ordered? I am to act to-night, you know—in the last piece luckily. I don't go on till half-past ten, but I must have time to dress first; and when you have just dined and have to hurry, it swells you out and you can't get into your dresses."