"We consent," said Zizi, "on condition that it is not to interfere with our drinking."
"It seems to me that you are doing very well," said Jéricourt; "you will be rather gay in your play to-night!"
"So much the better! The play lacks gayety, and I shall do well to impart a little to it."
"I came near acting once," said the host, still sponging himself. "Do you remember, Jéricourt, that place in the country you took me to some weeks ago—at Nogent-sur-Marne?"
"Yes, it was very amusing."
"There was one thing that I didn't call amusing, and that was being obliged to escort that lady back to Paris—an ex-pretty woman."
"Why were you such a fool as to tell her that we had a coupé waiting? She instantly caught the ball on the bound and asked us to give her a little room in our carriage."
"Little was hardly the word; that lady may have been thin once, but she isn't now."
"Ah! I never heard of this lady that you brought home!" cried the young actress, with an American glance at her lover. "That has rather a crooked look!"
"Oh! really, my diva, when I tell you that she was on the decline!"