"Oho! He knows everything, does he? I will wager that I can talk to him about things he never heard of."
"And those greased poles,—is no one going to climb those, monsieur?"
"In a moment, madame.—Monsieur Férulus, order the assault on the greased poles to begin."
"Parbleu!" said the chevalier, "it isn’t hard to climb those; I have been to sea and I’ve seen some that were much harder to climb! I used to run up the mainmast like a monkey, and when I reached the top, I would stand on my head."
"Just try climbing one of these," said Monsieur Berlingue.
"I can’t, because my breeches are very tight, and I am afraid of accidents; but for that, I would be at the top before you had seen that I was going up."
Monsieur Férulus requested the orchestra to play a livelier piece for the attack on the greased poles, and it was to the tune of Ma Tendre Musette that several Auvergnats tried to climb one of the poles; but they slid back after climbing two or three feet, and showed very little zest in the attempt to win the books which were attached to the top. In vain did Férulus urge them on, and Robineau from the balcony encourage them,—the Auvergnats refused to climb any more.
"Well!" said the librarian, "the women will set you the example, and teach you how to climb. Let the young ladies come forward!"
"Ah! the women are going to climb!" said Monsieur Berlingue; "this is getting interesting."
"The women are going to climb!" said Monsieur de la Pincerie. "Hum! that is an innovation!"