'No, my dear,' said the poor lady; 'suppose the wolf be here in bed with a great frilled nightcap on; and when you go up to him, mistaking him for me, and say, "Oh, what great eyes you have!" he answers, "To see you the better, my dear;" and when you say, "Oh, what white teeth you have!" he rushes out upon you roaring, "To eat you the better, my dear—" That will never do; we must kill the wolf first, then you shall stay with me.'
'Madame,' said Gustave, 'your honoured husband is at Versailles.'
'At Versailles, is he? Pray, what is he doing there?'
'Madame,' answered the porter, 'he is one of his gracious majesty's new ministers.'
'Then his gracious majesty is going to eat up the people,' said the poor lady. 'Gustave, have the dogs been good?'
'They have been devils, madame,' exclaimed the porter, shaking his fist at them. 'They have leaped and barked all day long, and all night long as well. How is a person to sleep, if at his ear are chained fiends whose throats are never tired of emitting frightful howls? Ah, you ruffians!' he cried, again shaking his fist; 'I will scoop out your eyes, and pour boiling lead down your throats. I will heat the poker red hot and make you swallow it; I will take the skin off you with a file, that I will, sacr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-é.'
'Where is Adolphe?' asked madame.
'Alas! the good Adolphe is at the point of death.'
'What! here?'