Monsieur Férulus, who had not yet delivered his congratulations to the newly-married pair, because he was waiting until all the company should be assembled, took his place in front of Cornélie, before whom he bowed to the floor, and presented her with a roll of paper tied with pink ribbons, saying:
"Permit me, madame, while adding the incense of my good wishes to the perfume of the congratulations which have already shed fragrance upon your passage, to dedicate to you this trifle, born of your marriage. May Laughter and Sport gambol ever about your couch! and may heaven bestow upon you children, masculine, feminine and neuter, whose tutor I shall be!"
The librarian’s offering created a great sensation; the men smiled, the ladies asked one another in undertones what neuter children were; and Robineau, who had gone once more to rub his temples with cologne, seemed to have resolved that he would procreate no others.
Cornélie took the paper with a patronizing air, and then returned it to Férulus, saying:
"You must read it to us at dessert."
The servants having announced that dinner was served, the company passed into the dining-room, marching in time, like Prussian soldiers.
Monsieur de la Pincerie appropriated the great armchair. Cornélie was seated opposite her husband, and Férulus was relegated to the further end of the table, where he was not allowed either to serve or to carve; such was the order of things established by Madame de la Roche-Noire, who did not seem particularly touched by the verses which the scholar had written for her. Monsieur Férulus said nothing; he devoured that affront in secret, and determined to eat, if possible, four times as much as usual. People who endure humiliation in order to enjoy a good dinner always have little courage and much appetite.
The dinner passed off as seriously as all that had gone before. The first course was interrupted only by a slight accident: Monsieur Mignon came near swallowing a pin which had fallen from his sleeve into his plate; but they succeeded in removing it from his throat with small pincers, and tranquillity was soon restored.
Mademoiselle Cheval had surpassed herself; the repast was magnificent. But Robineau ate little; he seemed absent-minded and restless; and when he looked at his wife, he heaved sighs capable of extinguishing the candles. Cornélie had already assumed the manners of the mistress of the house: she issued orders in a tone which announced to the servants that they must walk straight. As they did not intend to dance after dinner, and as it was probable that the evening would be rather tedious, they remained a long time at table. Toward the close of the banquet, the fumes of the wines, which were frequently changed, enlivened the guests a bit. The old annuitant recounted an ancient jest or two in an undertone; the Chevalier de Tantignac declared that he would give half his fortune to be in Robineau’s place; and Monsieur Berlingue declared that his fortune was as fabulous as his horse. Robineau drank a great deal, to banish his timidity, and to muster courage to look at his wife; and even Uncle Mignon, who had forgotten his accident, became animated and talked a little; lastly, monsieur le marquis laughed more than once at the jokes which he made, and which he alone understood.
Monsieur Férulus thought that the time had come for him to read his poetry; he looked at Robineau to know whether he should begin; but it was no longer Robineau who gave orders, it was Madame de la Roche-Noire. However, Cornélie herself said: