Volume I Part 6 (1/2)

”Ah! that will be hard, my boy. When a man who has lost his wife begins to sing, there's no reason why he should stop--I say, Chamoureau, we know that tune, too!”

But Chamoureau did not hear; he was shouting at the top of his voice:

”Verse encore!

Verse encore!”

The two young men were compelled to listen to the whole of the selection, to which Monsieur Chamoureau added some impossible roulades.

When he finally ceased, Freluchon said to him:

”Do you know, Chamoureau, you have a most surprising voice for a widower!”

”Oh! I sang much better when my wife was alive. We often sang duets together; there was one she was especially fond of.”

”Great heaven!” muttered Edmond, ”does he propose now to sing duets all by himself?” And to change the subject, he said: ”Monsieur Chamoureau, have you been to any of the b.a.l.l.s during this Carnival?”

”To b.a.l.l.s! I!” exclaimed the widower, resuming his grief-stricken expression. ”Oh! my dear friend, you forget my sad plight, my misfortune! Is it possible for me to think of amusing myself when my heart is still full of my grief? when my eyes are always looking for Eleonore--for I do look for her all the time, and there are moments when I forget that I have lost her; then, when I hear a woman cry, or speak rather loud--Eleonore always spoke loud--I turn round, thinking that it's she; and then I realize that it was only a delusion and I have to go back to the ghastly reality!--Ah! then, you see, I fall into such utter prostration--the suffering is terrible! You do not suspect how I suffer!”

Chamoureau took out his handkerchief and put it to his eyes.

”Yes, yes,” said Edmond, ”I see that you are quite inconsolable.”

”Yes, monsieur, inconsolable is just the word; you could not express it better!--O Eleonore! you may flatter yourself that you were dearly loved--may she not, Freluchon?”

”Parbleu! of whom do you ask the question?”

”Ah! I do you justice, my dear friend; you regret her almost as keenly as I do! But we will weep for her together--that affords some relief.”

”I say, Chamoureau, how lovely your wife was at a ball! How well she danced!”

”Why, my dear fellow, she was Terpsich.o.r.e in person! she was so light----”

”Yes, your wife was extremely light.”[D]

”And so graceful! She didn't dance like other people; she had her own peculiar way of dancing; many women tried to imitate her and failed.”

”That is so; she had a way of doing the _avant deux_. I don't know what the steps were, but it was fascinating.”

”I know, I remember perfectly; look, Freluchon, I'll show you.”

And Monsieur Chamoureau rose, a.s.sumed the third position, hummed a dance tune and began to take steps and go through evolutions, saying:

”Wasn't it like this, eh? How's this for her little swagger, her free-and-easy way?”

”Yes, yes, that's it.”

”And the _poule_--I'll just show you. Come and be my vis-a-vis, Freluchon--I can do it better. Forward, give the right hand. Tra la la la--tra la la la--la la la. Cross over! balancez! salute your partners!--Monsieur Edmond, come, be the lady--in the pastourelle figure.--Tra la la--tra la la.”

But Edmond was unable to comply; he was laughing too heartily at Chamoureau's dancing.