"One may attract attention without being recognized. Suppose I should dress as a woman?"
"The devil fly away with you! As a woman? Why, a man can"t make conquests in a woman"s clothes; the fair s.e.x dislikes us when we a.s.sume its skirts, and it is quite right; when a man rigs himself up in that way he is good for nothing but to arouse laughter or contempt."
"Yes, that"s true; I won"t dress as a woman; but how shall I dress, then?"
"You can decide at the costumer"s and dress there; it"s within a few steps of the Opera."
"All right. But my clothes?"
"The costumer will send them to your concierge."
"Deuce take it! no; I can"t have that; I have no desire to go home in a Carnival costume, so that every one may know that I"ve been to the ball in disguise. A business agent--and sometimes clients call very early in the morning!--A Carnival costume would not inspire confidence."
"Well then, as I live very near the costumer"s, let him send your clothes to my apartment; then you can go there and put them on when you please."
"Bravo! in that way, all the proprieties will be observed!"
"Come, messieurs, I trust that we may start now. It is nearly twelve o"clock, and before Chamoureau is dressed----"
"Yes, yes! let us start. Forward, and _vive la gaiete_!"
"Faith, yes! one must divert one"s thoughts; it"s an excellent thing."
And the widower went dancing after the two young men.
IV
SCENES AT THE MASQUERADE
A few moments after the tall gentleman named Beauregard had left the box where the pearl-gray domino and her friend were seated, a Spaniard entered the ball-room, arm-in-arm with a short young man with a long, thin nose. The reader will at once recognize Chamoureau and Freluchon.
The widower wore a costume resplendent with spangles and gold braid. His cherry-colored doublet was heavily trimmed with very rich embroidery, his white satin shortclothes, slashed with red, were decorated with spangles and bows; a gold-fringed sash confined his waist; the flaps of his huge yellow top-boots fell a little too near his ankles, his leg being too deficient in calf to hold them in place. A large ruff about his neck did duty as a cravat; over his shoulder was thrown a small light-blue cloak, lined with white satin; and lastly, he wore on his head a little velvet cap, also blue, covered with false jewels, and surmounted by two enormous white plumes which drooped over the cavalier"s left shoulder. To complete his disguise, Chamoureau had donned a brown wig with long curls falling over his neck. He had covered his face with rouge, and, in addition, he wore a false nose to which a pair of moustaches was attached, reaching from ear to ear.
All this formed such a unique whole that everyone in the room turned or stopped short, in order to have a longer look at the Spaniard; and Chamoureau, overjoyed by the effect he produced, and convinced that everybody considered him magnificent, said in Freluchon"s ear:
"How they stare at me! eh? I am very glad I chose this costume. I must be superb; I read admiration in every eye! Say, Freluchon, am I not superb?"
"It is a fact that you are well worth looking at; if you should make them pay ten sous each, it would be none too much."
"Oh! you are always joking! But I don"t see so rich a costume as mine in the whole place; I am covered with spangles."
"It"s enough to make one"s eyes ache to look at you; you produce the same effect as the sun!"
"Do my plumes float gracefully?"
"Like a swan on a lake."
"Is my cap well placed?"
"Like a vane on a steeple."
"There"s nothing wrong but these infernal boots, which keep falling; they are too big."
"It may be that your legs are too much like spindles."
"What a pity to be obliged to wear a false nose with all this!"
"Why is it a pity?"
"Dear me! it"s easy to see that. As I am the possessor of rather an attractive face, if I hadn"t this false nose, I should be even more fascinating in this costume, and I am sure that I should make conquests in swarms."
"By Jove! that"s true; I entirely forgot that you were a handsome man!"
"Still, my wife used to repeat it often enough: "Ah! how handsome he is, my Chamoureau!""
"Yes, to the tune of the _Postilion de Longjumeau_.--But after all, you know, you"re under no compulsion to keep your false nose on, if you want to take it off."
"Oh, no! the deuce! someone might recognize me then, and I should be compromised!"
"Try to make a conquest with your nose."
"That"s quite possible--d.a.m.n these boots!"
And Chamoureau halted to raise the flaps.
"So you are inclined to make a little acquaintance, my inconsolable widower?" asked Edmond, who was walking beside Freluchon and had overheard the Spaniard"s last words.
"Oh! my dear Monsieur Edmond," he replied, after adjusting his boots, "you will understand that my heart, my poor heart, will have no part in it! Henceforth nothing will ever touch that; it is dead to love.
Eleonore has carried with her all the sentiment it could possibly contain--dear Eleonore!"
"Are you going to shed tears, Chamoureau? they will spoil your rouge."
"No, no, I said that just as I would have said anything else."
At that moment a man dressed as a Swiss woman, with long locks hanging down his back and a number of little brooms in his hand, halted in front of Chamoureau, crying:
"Ah! my hearties! what do I see? A sunbeam disguised as a Spaniard! How brilliant it is! how it gleams! Are you just from Peru, my ducky? It is at the very least _Le Cidre_ or Gusman with a sheep"s foot, who knows no obstacle! Isn"t he fine, the _coco_! But while you had the cash, Gringalet, you should have bought some calves, for you lack "em altogether! and your parapetted boots will fall on the floor!"
The crowd had stopped and formed a circle to listen to the Swiss woman who had attacked the Spaniard.
Chamoureau, being rather disconcerted, began by making sure that his false nose was secure, then muttered:
"If I have no calves, it"s fair to presume that I don"t care for them."
"How now! is that all you"ve got to say for yourself, you poor thing?
Did you spend all your wit to buy your costume? What a simple air the great clown has! He must be some keeper of turkeys who"s been dismissed, and is entirely out of his element when he"s no longer surrounded by his flock."