It must be very amusing to let books; you see a great many people and hear amusing things; there are people who instantly lay bare their folly, their absurdity, their wretched taste; but the business requires patience, especially when one has to do with such customers as the chevalier in the muffler. I was about to return my newspaper and pay for it, when I heard a very familiar voice even before the person to whom it belonged had entered the door. I turned and saw my friend Bélan, who, in accordance with his custom, shouted as if he were talking to a deaf person, and found a way to occupy the space of four people, although he was very slim and his height exempted him from the conscription. But Bélan kept his arms in motion all the time, stood on tiptoe to increase his height, threw his head back, and went through the antics of a bear in a cage. As he opened the door, Bélan spied me; he came toward me, exclaiming: “Ah! I was looking for you, Blémont, my friend; I have just come from your rooms; they told me that you might be here, and here you are.” “Hush! hush! don’t talk so loud,” I said to Bélan, whose shrill tones caused a revolution in the reading room. “Wait a moment; I am at your service.” “My dear fellow, I have come about a very serious matter. I will tell you about it, and you will see whether----” “Hush, I say; these people reading the newspapers, whom you are interrupting, don’t care anything about your affairs; that isn’t what they came here for.” “That is true, but----” “Come on;” and taking Monsieur Bélan’s arm, I dragged him away from the reading room. II OF THINGS THAT OFTEN HAPPEN “Now, my dear Bélan, say on; we are on the boulevard, and you will not disturb anybody; but I advise you to lower your voice a little, for I don’t see the necessity of taking all the passers-by into your confidence.” “Lower my voice, my friend! it is very easy for you to say that. But when one is as excited, as agitated as I am, it is perfectly justifiable to shout; it relieves one. Oh! mon Dieu! how will all this end?” “You begin to alarm me, Bélan. What is it all about, pray?” “Parbleu! love, intrigue, a woman--always women! as you know, I care for nothing else.” I could not forbear a glance at the little man. I knew that he was very well-built in his little way, and that many taller men had not calves as plump and shapely as his. But his face was so ridiculous--his turned-up nose, eyebrows absurdly high, heart-shaped mouth and big eyes formed such a comical whole, that I could not understand how he could ever inspire love; I could imagine it much more easily of an ugly face which was pleasant or intellectual; but I suppose that I am not a good judge, for Bélan was generally supposed to be a favorite with the ladies, and, as he had just said himself, he was constantly mixed up in intrigue. To be sure, Bélan was rich, and money is a potent auxiliary; many self-styled seducers owe their success to it alone.