At last Marcel came to announce that supper was served in a neighboring room and the gentlemen left their play to go to the table. The room in which the supper was served equalled by its elegance the other rooms of this delightful retreat; while it served habitually for banquets, the beauty and the taste of its frescoes, the statues which decorated it, the sofas which furnished it, the l.u.s.tres which lighted it, recalled the salons of ancient Rome where Horace, Propertius and Tibulus, surrounded by their friends and their compet.i.tors, sang of love and the charms of their mistresses while pa.s.sing amphorae filled with falernian, or carrying to their lips cups where sparkled caecub.u.m or ma.s.sic.u.m; and while crowned with myrtle and acanthus, in order to resemble their deities, proving only too well that they had all the weaknesses of mortals.
Sybarites of a later time, the young men a.s.sembled at Villebelle"s drank deep draughts of the generous wine with which the table was so amply provided; the marquis furnishing them an example by his avidity in emptying the flasks. Decorum and etiquette were banished from the repast, where liberty often degenerated into license. The convives had drawn the sofas to the table, and each one, half lying down like a pasha, held a gla.s.s of champagne which he emptied, shouting with laughter at the follies of which he heard or at those which he had himself committed.
The young man who had come without a hat, and who was called the Chevalier de Chavagnac, was seated opposite a beautiful statue representing Psyche, to which he often raised his eyes. All of a sudden he interrupted the fat Montgeran, who was singing, by exclaiming,--
"May the thunder crush me, if this Psyche didn"t move!"
"What the devil are you saying now?" asked the marquis.
"I"m saying, I"m saying your Psyche has come to life, or I must be blind."
"Oh, hang it, how delightful it would be if that pretty woman could come and take her place amongst us."
"Gentlemen, it was no doubt Montgeran"s voice which worked this miracle.
A new Pygmalion, he softens marble."
"You needn"t make fun of my voice, gentlemen, it is held in no small estimation. It must rather have been your cynical conversation which made poor Psyche blush. But let me sing instead of listening to De Chavagnac"s stupidity, who can"t see clearly because he has drunk so much."
"Yes, a.s.suredly, I have been drinking, but I can still see. I"ve been looking at that statue for a long while, and several times it appeared to me as if it moved."
"Marquis, are there any ghosts in your little house?"
"I have never seen any here, but it would be very amiable of them to come and pay us a visit while we are at table. We would make them hob-n.o.b with us."
"Come sing, Montgeran, we will listen to you; but be a trifle less artificial. I prefer the natural method."
"Yes, gentlemen, I will then give you; "The shepherd in order to admire the charms of his shepherdess took the first"--"
"Now, I shall know what it is," said De Chavagnac, rising precipitately and running towards the statue. As he neared it the Psyche made so lively a movement that she would have fallen from her pedestal on to the floor, if the young man had not received her in his arms, and placed her on the ground. All the convives had their eyes fixed on De Chavagnac, who, after placing the Psyche in safety, reapproached the pedestal, which was about three feet high and one and one half in circ.u.mference.
"There is something inside it," cried the young man, who perceived that the pedestal was hollow, and had an opening in the side which was turned towards the wall.
"Someone inside it?" repeated the others, half rising. At the same moment a thin, trembling voice, which seemed to come out of the earth, uttered these words,--
"No violence, gentlemen, I will yield without resistance," and, in a moment, Chaudoreille"s little head peeped from behind the pedestal and showed itself to the gentlemen, who burst into a shout of laughter, exclaiming,--
"What a handsome face!"
However, De Chavagnac, who had remained near the niche of the statue, took Chaudoreille by the mustache and forced him to emerge from his hiding place. Then, having examined the personage whose piteous face rendered him still more comic, he went laughingly to take his place at the table, while the poor devil whom he had dislodged threw himself on his knees before them and without daring to raise his eyes murmured, clasping his hands,--
"Gentlemen if I have killed the Prince of Cochin-China it was against my will and because he had provoked me, but I swear to you that I will not try it again; I will not even carry Rolande, if they exact it of me."
"What the devil is he saying?"
"Do you understand any of it, marquis?"
"My faith, no! He is speaking about the Prince of Cochin-China."
"He"s a fool!"
"Hang it! we must amuse ourselves with him."
"One moment; it is necessary that I should learn how this clown penetrated here. h.e.l.lo! Marcel, Marcel."
While Marcel was coming upstairs Chaudoreille"s terror became somewhat lessened. While he had been immured in the pedestal a murmuring sound only penetrated to his ears, and he believed that the room was filled with armed men who were looking for him. Now the words which he caught, the name of the marquis which he heard p.r.o.nounced, taught him the truth.
Rea.s.sured that his life was in no danger, he began to glance pleadingly at the persons who surrounded the table, and meeting nothing but laughing faces he entirely recovered his spirits.
Marcel entered and, at the sight of Chaudoreille, remained stunned and confused before his master.
"Who is this man, Marcel?" said the marquis. "Is he a thief? is it he or you whom we ought to hang? Come, speak, clown, and tell us the truth, or you shall be chastised in good fashion."
Marcel, trembling, did not know how to excuse himself for having received someone despite the commands of the marquis, and muttered,--
"Monseigneur, I couldn"t help it, I did not wish to, I refused him at first."
"Monseigneur," exclaimed Chaudoreille, rising and standing on his tiptoes, "if you will permit me I will relate to your excellency how all this happened, for I see that Marcel will find it difficult to come to an end."
"The trembler has recovered his speech," said the big Montgeran, who could not take his eyes from Chaudoreille.
"Come, marquis, let him speak."
"Yes, yes, he will make us laugh," cried the others.
"Very well, gentlemen, since you desire it. Come, speak, you little cur; and you, Marcel, remain there to give him the lie if he attempts to deceive us."
Though the sobriquet, little cur, made Chaudoreille knit his brow, permission to speak before n.o.blemen of high rank caused him so much pleasure that he immediately a.s.sumed a smiling expression, and commenced his speech,--
"Messeigneurs, your excellencies behold in me Loustic-Goliath de Chaudoreille, Knight of the Round Table; descended on the male side from the famous Milo of Crotona, and on the female side from the celebrated Delilah, who, sacrificing herself for her country, had the courage to cut from Samson, her lover, that which made his strength."
Shouts of laughter here interrupted the orator. "It"s delightful! he"s charming! He"s worth his weight in gold!"
"Hang it!" said Chaudoreille, "I was sure that I only had to speak."
"In fact, descendant of Delilah," said the marquis, "what is your business?"
Chaudoreille appeared embarra.s.sed for the moment, then he exclaimed volubly,--
"Defender and protector of beauty--and of gambling houses; understanding how to bear arms and to play at piquet; teaching music, and the way to turn the king or ace at will; succoring young men of family and girls who have been seduced; bearer of love letters; master of the sitar; duellist and messenger,--and all at a very moderate price."
"But what a treasure we have in this man!"
"Finally, who led you here?"
"Your excellencies have heard me speak of my duel this morning. I killed the Prince of Cochin-China near the Porte Saint-Denis."
"The Prince of Cochin-China, and where the devil did you find such a prince as that?"
"By the side of the Fosses-Jaunes. I was walking quietly along, he came up and a.s.saulted me, and I fought him. Isn"t that true, Marcel?"