Part 39 (1/2)

CHAPTER XVII

The Toilette of the Graces

Mademoiselle Mimi, who was accustomed to sleep far into the day, woke up one morning at ten o'clock, and was greatly surprised not to find Rodolphe beside her, nor even in the room. The preceding night, before falling to sleep, she had, however, seen him at his desk, preparing to spend the night over a piece of literary work which had been ordered of him, and in the completion of which Mimi was especially interested. In fact, the poet had given his companion hopes that out of the fruit of his labors he would purchase a certain summer gown, that she had noticed one day at the ”Deux Magots,” a famous drapery establishment, to the window of which Mimi's coquetry used very frequently to pay its devotions. Hence, ever since the work in question had been begun, Mimi had been greatly interested in its progress. She would often come up to Rodolphe whilst he was writing, and leaning her head on his shoulder would say to him in serious tones--

”Well, is my dress getting on?”

”There is already enough for a sleeve, so be easy,” replied Rodolphe.

One night having heard Rodolphe snap his fingers, which usually meant that he was satisfied with his work, Mimi suddenly sat up in bed and pa.s.sing her head through the curtains said, ”Is my dress finished?”

”There,” replied Rodolphe, showing her four large sheets of paper, covered with closely written lines. ”I have just finished the body.”

”How nice,” said Mimi. ”Then there is only the skirt now left to do. How many pages like that are wanted for the skirt?”

”That depends; but as you are not tall, with ten pages of fifty lines each, and eight words to the line, we can get a decent skirt.”

”I am not very tall, it is true,” said Mimi seriously, ”but it must not look as if we had skimped the stuff. Dresses are worn full, and I should like nice large folds so that it may rustle as I walk.”

”Very good,” replied Rodolphe, seriously. ”I will squeeze another word in each line and we shall manage the rustling.” Mimi fell asleep again quite satisfied.

As she had been guilty of the imprudence of speaking of the nice dress that Rodolphe was engaged in making for her to Mademoiselles Musette and Phemie, these two young persons had not failed to inform Messieurs Marcel and Schaunard of their friend's generosity towards his mistress, and these confidences had been followed by unequivocal challenges to follow the example set by the poet.

”That is to say,” added Mademoiselle Musette, pulling Marcel's moustache, ”that if things go on like this a week longer I shall be obliged to borrow a pair of your trousers to go out in.”

”I am owed eleven francs by a good house,” replied Marcel. ”If I get it in I will devote it to buying you a fas.h.i.+onable fig leaf.”

”And I,” said Phemie to Schaunard, ”my gown is in ribbons.”

Schaunard took three sous from his pocket and gave them to his mistress, saying, ”Here is enough to buy a needle and thread with. Mend your gown, that will instruct and amuse you at the same time, _utile dulci_.”

Nevertheless, in a council kept very secret, Marcel and Schaunard agreed with Rodolphe that each of them should endeavor to satisfy the justifiable coquetry of their mistresses.

”These poor girls,” said Rodolphe, ”a trifle suffices to adorn them, but then they must have this trifle. Latterly fine arts and literature have been flouris.h.i.+ng; we are earning almost as much as street porters.”

”It is true that I ought not to complain,” broke in Marcel. ”The fine arts are in a most healthy condition, one might believe oneself under the sway of Leo the Tenth.”

”In point of fact,” said Rodolphe. ”Musette tells me that for the last week you have started off every morning and do not get home till about eight in the evening. Have you really got something to do?”

”My dear fellow, a superb job that Medicis got me. I am painting at the Ave Maria barracks. Eight grenadiers have ordered their portraits at six francs a head taken all round, likenesses guaranteed for a year, like a watch. I hope to get the whole regiment. I had the idea, on my own part, of decking out Musette when Medicis pays me, for it is with him I do business and not my models.”

”As to me,” observed Schaunard carelessly, ”although it may not look like it, I have two hundred francs lying idle.”

”The deuce, let us stir them up,” said Rodolphe.

”In two or three days I count on drawing them,” replied Schaunard. ”I do not conceal from you that on doing so I intend to give a free rein to some of my pa.s.sions. There is, above all, at the second hand clothes shop close by a nankeen jacket and a hunting horn, that have for a long time caught my eye. I shall certainly present myself with them.”

”But,” added Marcel and Rodolphe together, ”where do you hope to draw this amount of capital from?”