“Ah! you think that, do you? I have known husbands of much intelligence who were as jealous as tigers! Say rather that that fat Dufournelle is not in love with his wife. Indeed, he’s too fat to be amorous.” “Mon Dieu! what spiteful creatures women are! If a man is not jealous, it’s because he doesn’t love them.--I suppose you’d like me to be jealous, madame?” “You, Edouard! Merciful heaven! that’s all you need,--to have that disease, with all those which you think you have! that would be the climax!” “Say! suppose we play _Les B--b--bains à Do--do--domicile_?” cried Eolinde, who was still looking over the plays. “I would be Ninie.” “My dear girl, do you intend to take all the parts in the plays we give?” said Monsieur Glumeau, admiring his feet. “It seems to me that if you take one part, that will be quite enough; with your defective speech, you know very well that you make plays last an hour longer than they should, and you have a perfect mania for choosing long parts! The last time we gave _Andromache_ everybody thought that your scene with Orestes would never end!” “Because it was in ve--verse, papa, which is harder for me to pro--pronounce. But when it is p--p--prose, it goes all by itself.” “So I see! But why in the deuce did you insist on giving a tragedy, then?” “Oh! my dear, they were quite right!” said Madame Glumeau; “for I assure you that they were enough to make you die of laughter, and you yourself in Pylades,--bless my soul! how fine you were!” “Madame, you always take everything wrong. I played Pylades very nicely, and if it hadn’t been for my helmet, that kept falling down over my eyes and prevented me from seeing the audience, I should have made a very good impression.” “Why, you did make a splendid impression, my friend! you looked like a blind man, and that was much more amusing!” “You are very satirical, my dear love; it is very easy to see that you don’t act!” “If I acted in private theatricals, I should never lose my temper if people laughed at me.” “What will you do with Monsieur Dufournelle?” “He will prompt, that’s his forte! he puffs[B] all the time like an ox!--We also expect little Kingerie; he’s a very good fellow; he does whatever anyone wants him to; he takes whatever parts you give him.” [B] The same word--_souffler_--means to prompt, and to blow or puff. “Mamma, have you noticed that Monsieur Kingerie has an entirely different voice when he sings, from the one he has when he talks?” “That’s true, but it’s very lucky for him; when he talks, he always sounds as if he were hoarse; whereas, when he sings, he has a little clear, flutelike voice, so shrill that it is hard to believe that it is he who is singing.--Then we shall have Monsieur Camuzard and his daughter, Mademoiselle Polymnie, who also wants to act.” “You must give her a part; she’s a very handsome woman, tall and well-built and stylish!”