"Yes, yes, I know. The whole battery of the petticoat file!" "Six months more passed, and I implored Fanny to fix a date for our wedding. Unluckily, her operations in railroads no longer showed a profit; the shares she had bought had gone down; it was necessary to wait; and Fanny was angry at the way things were going on the Bourse.--It was about that time---- Ah! it was then that my misfortunes began." "Courage, dear Gustave!--and another glass of Moet! Do take a wing of this capon--just a bit of white meat. What! nothing? Well, then, sapristi! I will sacrifice myself and eat the whole bird. Never mind what the result may be; but I will drink, too, for I must wash it down.--Your health!" "As I was saying, it was about this time that Monsieur Auguste Monleard made the acquaintance of the Gerbault family--at a ball, I believe; he asked and obtained from the father permission to come occasionally and play and sing with the young ladies. I did not know that until later, for I did not happen to meet him for some time. The very first time that I saw him, I had a presentiment that his presence in Monsieur Gerbault's house would be fatal to my love. This Monleard made a great parade; he had a cabriolet and a negro footman; indeed, he had, so it was said, forty thousand francs a year. All that would have been a matter of indifference to me, if I had not noticed that he was very attentive, very gallant, to Fanny. However, she continued to smile on me in the most charming way; but when I said to her: 'Fix a day for our wedding, I beg you, and let me speak to your father,' she replied: 'Oh! not yet; we have plenty of time; I must increase my capital first.' "One morning, I had escaped from my duties at my uncle's, who scolded me sometimes because love led me to neglect business." "Did your uncle approve your matrimonial plans?" "Not very warmly; he had said to me several times: 'You're too young to marry; wait awhile.' "But when he saw how dearly I loved Fanny, he finally said: 'Do as you please; but if I were in your place, I'd have nothing to do with a young woman who speculates in railroad stocks.'" "I am much of your uncle's opinion." "And he added: 'You know that I will not give you a sou to be married on, don't you?' "I replied: 'And you know that I ask you for nothing but your affection.'" "A noble reply! and one that binds you to nothing.--Have a glass of champagne." "I have already had one." "So much the more reason for taking another. I say, my boy, order us a Perigord macaroni, and a _parfait a la vanille."_ "Yes, monsieur." "Waiter, how is the wedding party getting along?" "They're at the second course, monsieur." "They have not got beyond that!" "What a delightful fellow this dear Gustave is! because he doesn't eat, he fancies that nobody else has any appetite." "Is the bride eating, waiter?" "Yes, monsieur; she's eating everything, I may say." "Everything!"