"They're admiring my daughter's drawing," said M. Lupot to himself; "I must try to overhear what these artists are saying." The young people certainly made sundry remarks on the performance, plentifully intermixed with sneers of a very unmistakable kind. "Can you make out what the head is meant for?" "Not I. I confess I never saw any thing so ridiculous." "It's Belisarius, my dear fellow." "Impossible!--it's the portrait of some grocer, some relation, probably, of the family--look at the nose--the mouth--" "It is intolerable folly to put a frame to such a daub." "They must be immensely silly." "Why, it isn't half so good as the head of the Wandering Jew at the top of a penny ballad." M. Lupot has heard enough. He slips off from the group without a word, and glides noiselessly to the piano. The young performer who had sacrificed a great concert to come to his soirée, had sat down to the instrument and run his fingers over the notes. "What a spinnet!" he cried--"what a wretched kettle! How can you expect a man to perform on such a miserable instrument? The thing is absurd--hear this A--hear this G--it's like a hurdygurdy--not one note of it in tune!" But the performer stayed at the piano notwithstanding, and played incessantly, thumping the keys with such tremendous force, that every minute a chord snapped; when such a thing happened--he burst into a laugh, and said, "Good! there's another gone--there will soon be none left." M. Lupot flushed up to the ears. He felt very much inclined to say to the celebrated performer, "Sir, I didn't ask you here to break all the chords of my piano. Let the instrument alone if you don't like it, but don't hinder other people from playing on it for our amusement." But the good M. Lupot did not venture on so bold a speech, which would have been a very sensible speech nevertheless; and he stood quietly while his chords were getting smashed, though it was by no means a pleasant thing to do. Mademoiselle Celanire goes up to her father. She is distressed at the way her piano is treated; she has no opportunity of playing her air; but she hopes to make up for it by singing a romance, which one of their old neighbours is going to accompany on the guitar.