"Probably the knave has never tasted wine; he thinks that we intend to purge him." "He is sadly in need of having the rust rubbed off--the clown!" "Ah! but he must drink! We will pour a pint or two down his throat from the Souris Blanche, which is just across the way." "We will teach the fool what courtesy is!" "Ah! so silly talk is taking the place of your civilities now!" said the peasant, with a frown. His companion touched him on the shoulder and murmured: "Go on, Cédrille! whip your horse. Don't stay in the midst of all these young gentlemen. They look to me like bad fellows; their shouts and the way they look at me--I am beginning to be frightened." "Whip Bourriquet! why, they have got hold of his bridle; and how can we go on in the middle of all this crowd? I wouldn't like to ride over anyone, for then they would make trouble for me.--Jarny! Miretta, I am sorry already that you insisted on coming to this Paris!" "Pray dismount, my pretty Milanese," said the Chevalier de La Valteline, offering his hand to the girl, whose name, as we now know, was Miretta. "Milanese!" she retorted, refusing the young nobleman's hand. "Ah! you guess that from my costume; it is true that I have lived in the neighborhood of Milan from infancy, but I was not born in Italy; I am from the same province as Cédrille." "And Cédrille is a Béarnais?" "Yes, messieurs; from Pau, by your leave," said the peasant. "Vive Cédrille!" "Vive Cédrille of Pau!" And the young nobles, as they shouted the name, waved their hats and handkerchiefs, while the bachelors and squires joined hands and began to dance and caper around the horse and his riders. The girl's face flushed, her impatience got the better of her; she struck the horse's flank with her hand, while the peasant did his best to urge his steed forward, crying: "Let go of Bourriquet's rein, seigneurs! let go of my horse, ten thousand devils!" "Ah! Bourriquet! the horse's name is Bourriquet!" "His rider should bear that name!" "Poor _bourrique_,[B] who has to carry another of his kind!" [B] _Bourrique_, an ass; _bourriquet_, an ass's colt. "No, no! your horse shall not take a step!" "Don't worry him with your rein." "Dismount, Cédrille of Pau; if not, we will forcibly remove you and your companion from Bourriquet's back!" Some of Master Hugonnet's customers were already preparing to carry out this threat; but at that crisis, the Béarnais peasant, whose face had turned purple and had assumed a menacing expression, quickly raised his right arm, and brandishing in the air the dogwood staff with which his right hand was armed, twirled it about in the faces of those who approached, with such fearless and uncompromising dexterity that in a moment there was a large space cleared in front of the travellers; and yet, some of the jokers did not move back quickly enough to avoid a blow from the redoubtable dogwood staff.