“This is exquisite, enchanting! It is all in the most perfect taste!” exclaimed the marquis, going into ecstasies over everything he saw. When he caught sight of the little party of five, he made a very low bow to the mistress of the house, who had risen to receive him; while Monsieur de la Thomassinière, who felt two feet taller since he had brought home a marquis, bestowed a patronizing nod on the young men, and said to his wife, taking his companion’s hand:
“Madame, this is Monsieur le Marquis de Cligneval, who has been kind enough to condescend to allow me to bring him to call upon you. He came to see me at my house this morning about a consequential matter. I said to him: ‘We can talk about this just as well at my place in the country.’ That suited him, and gad! I had my dapple-grey horse put in the cabriolet, monsieur le marquis got in with me, I gave the beast a cut with my whip, and zeste! we were off like the wind.—My dapple-grey goes prettily, eh, monsieur le marquis?”
“Like an angel, my dear fellow.—Pray excuse me, madame, for appearing in morning dress.”
“One is always suitably attired in the country, monsieur; and these gentlemen, you will observe, are dressed just as I brought them away from a ball, without giving them time to change their clothes. But you will breakfast with us, I trust?”
“With pleasure, madame.”
“Oh, yes!” said La Thomassinière, shaking Monsieur de Cligneval’s hand; “oh, yes! the marquis will have some breakfast; he promised. I’ll have some, too.”
“Take your seats then, messieurs, and be content with what I have to give you.”
Madame gave the marquis a seat by her side; Monsieur de la Thomassinière would have liked to sit on the marquis’s other side, but he was obliged to be content with a seat opposite him. Monsieur de Cligneval did full justice to the breakfast; he declared everything excellent, delicious, exquisite, although La Thomassinière exhausted his breath saying to him:
“Oh! I usually have much better things to eat. But we didn’t know, madame was not notified. I hope to treat you much better another time. This is an unpretentious repast; but when I choose, I do things very nicely.”
While praising the food, Monsieur de Cligneval found time to bestow compliments on the hostess. The marquis was well bred; he carried a little too far perhaps the determination to make his good breeding apparent; but he was agreeable and witty, and the whole party was soon in high spirits, even Monsieur de la Thomassinière, who never laughed because he thought it bad form, but who laughed very loud now in order to copy monsieur le marquis.