Sister Anne Part 14

He ordered a delicious supper, which was served in their apartments, the finest in the house.

When he saw all the dishes with which the table was laden, Frederic exclaimed:

"Why, are you mad, Dubourg?"--for he continued to call him by that name before Menard, who had become accustomed to it--"here is supper enough for ten!"

"I have an excellent appet.i.te, my dear Frederic, and am disposed to do full honor to it; I'll wager that Monsieur Menard will second me."

"With the very greatest pleasure, monsieur le baron; that affair in the woods made a hole in my stomach."

"But you surely have condemned all the other guests of the house to a bread and water diet."

"Faith! they may eat what they can find; it seems to me natural that we should make up to ourselves for the miserable meal we had last night at that horrible inn."

"I quite agree with monsieur le baron; we are sadly in need of restoring our strength."

"But----"

"What the devil! do you want to travel like wolves? and eat at table d'hote like paltry pedestrians? A man should support his rank, my friend, and I judge, from the feeling, that my stomach isn't inclined to backslide."

"Monsieur le baron talks very judiciously; you must support your rank,"

said Menard, accepting a chicken wing which Dubourg offered him; "that is your father's wish, you know, Monsieur Frederic."

"Yes, my friend," said Dubourg, filling his gla.s.s with the oldest wine that the cellar of the inn contained; "I think you should certainly yield to your father's wish; and, on my word, all things considered, I don't see why I should retain my incognito any longer. We're a long way from Paris. I am done with it; I resume my t.i.tles, and I propose to be treated with the honors that are due me."

"Oh! Dubourg, Dubourg! you will get us into some sc.r.a.pe," said Frederic, in an undertone; but his friend paid no heed; he was excited by the wine, and he had never felt in such high spirits. He drank gla.s.s after gla.s.s, while Menard, with a glutton's delight, helped himself to mushroom pie, the odor of which tickled his olfactory nerve.

"What do you think of my plan, Monsieur Menard?"

"That has always been my wish, as you know, monsieur le baron."

"It is settled; I am baron, palatine, et cetera; and we will make it manifest wherever we go."

"Certainly, monsieur le baron; the n.o.bility of your manners will always cause you to be recognized for what you are."

"Bravo, Monsieur Menard! spoken like a true boon companion! But as to Frederic, he is unworthy to sit at our table. A little more of this hare, Monsieur Menard?"

"With pleasure, monsieur le baron."

"We must be philosophical--when we can't help it; but true philosophy consists in making the most of life, in enjoying one's self whenever the opportunity offers. _Dulce est desipere in loco_, says Horace. Eh, Monsieur Menard?"

"Yes, monsieur le baron; but Juvenal advises infrequent indulgence in pleasures: _Voluptatis commendat rarior usus_."

"Juvenal probably had a weak stomach."

"That is very possible, monsieur le baron."

"Another gla.s.s, Monsieur Menard; to the memory of Anacreon, Epicurus, Horace, and all good livers!"

"We forget Lucullus, monsieur le baron."

"True; another b.u.mper, to Lucullus!"

By dint of drinking to the memory of the ancients, the two were beginning to lose all memory of the present.

"Faith!" cried Dubourg, rising from the table; "I defy all the palatines of Rava, Cracow, and Krapach to eat a better supper!"

"Take care what you are saying, you infernal babbler!" muttered Frederic.

"Never you fear," retorted Dubourg, speaking louder than ever; "I'll answer for everything, I tell you; and Papa Menard is a man whom I esteem and love, and whose eyes I will close with pheasants or truffles."

Luckily, Menard was in such a condition that he could not distinguish clearly what was being said. Bewildered by the frequent libations in which he had indulged with his n.o.ble companion, he left the table to go to his room. He felt his way along the walls till he reached his bed, which he had ordered to be made very low. He retired, well pleased with the feast he had enjoyed and with the baron's manner of doing the honors of the table; he considered that he had done exceedingly well to intrust the financial arrangements to him, for he himself would not have dared to order so delicious a repast; and he foresaw that the baron, who seemed to be both a gourmand and an epicure, would continue to feed them on the fat of the land, as he had abandoned his incognito. In a word, Menard was delighted with their travelling companion, and he fell asleep musing upon the pleasures and the honor which he should enjoy on that journey.

On the following day, Frederic attempted to talk prudence to Dubourg, who instantly retorted:

"Do you want to take the funds? Do so, give such orders as you please; it's your right. But, absorbed as you always are in melancholy reflections, you won't feed us decently; and when you are travelling for pleasure, it seems to me that food is a most essential thing to look out for."

"But be reasonable, at least."

"Oh! you are greatly to be pitied, aren't you, for having two men with you to keep you amused--one by his wit, the other by the way he puts himself outside of a partridge."

"But what's the meaning of this idea of playing the great man before everybody?"

"Because we shall have more sport. Besides, you are a count; I must be a baron at least, in order to travel on equal terms with you."

"But the money will go much faster."

"Bah! we shan't see the end of it for a long while yet; and then, you have a father, and I an aunt."

"I advise you to rely on them!"

"At all events, you see that your mentor approves of my method."

"Parbleu! you make him tipsy, and he doesn't know what he's saying."

"Don't worry; I'll answer for everything."

When they resumed their journey, the horses, which belonged to Frederic, went like the wind. Menard was slightly dazed by the rapid motion, but he said to himself: "These n.o.bles always travel at full speed;" and clung to the door to keep from falling.

At every inn, they were treated with the greatest respect, as men of high rank. Everywhere they had the best rooms, the daintiest dishes, the oldest wines. And Menard was delighted, enchanted, because he believed that monsieur le baron had put his fifteen thousand francs with the sum he had handed him, and because he judged him to be too large-hearted and generous to give a thought to the difference between their contributions.

In due time, our travellers reached Lyon, having paused on the way only to admire an occasional view and to give their horses time to breathe.

But they proposed to pa.s.s several days in that city. Young Montreville was very glad of an opportunity to see it and its suburbs, and, above all, to visit the sh.o.r.es of the Rhone; and his two companions consented, with pleasure, to tarry some time in a city where they could live as well as in Paris.

They alighted at one of the best hotels. The noise made by Dubourg, the distinguished aspect of Frederic, and the pains that Menard took to repeat again and again: "You have the honor of entertaining Monsieur le Baron Potoski, Palatine of Rava, and the young Comte de Montreville,"

attracted universal attention and consideration to the young men, who seemed disposed to spend money freely, which is the best of recommendations at a hotel.

They were quartered in a superb suite on the first floor. Their meals were served in their rooms, and everything had to be of the best.

Dubourg was the one who gave all the orders; Frederic interfered with none of the details, beyond saying to his friend: