excited within him the
only angry feelings of which, in his comprehensive, drunken disdain of
the universe, he was still capable.

"Ah, ah, the villains," he continued with a wink, "they've done this on
the sly. Well, you were certainly right. It will be charming, and, by
heaven, we'll come and see you!"

But when Louiset arrived on the scene astride upon a broomstick,
Prulliere chuckled spitefully and remarked:

"Well, I never! You've got a baby already?"

This struck everybody as very droll, and Mme Lerat and Mme Maloir shook
with laughter. Nana, far from being vexed, laughed tenderly and said
that unfortunately this was not the case. She would very much have liked
it, both for the little one's sake and for her own, but perhaps one
would arrive all the same. Fontan, in his role of honest citizen, took
Louiset in his arms and began playing with him and lisping.

"Never mind! It loves its daddy! Call me 'Papa,' you little blackguard!"

"Papa, Papa!" stammered the child.

The company overwhelmed him with caresses, but Bosc was bored and talked
of sitting down to table. That was the only serious business in life.
Nana asked her guests' permission to put Louiset's chair next her own.
The dinner was very merry, but Bosc suffered from the near neighborhood
of the child, from whom he had to defend his plate. Mme Lerat bored him
too. She was in a melting mood and kept whispering to him all sorts of
mysterious things about gentlemen of the first fashion who were still
running after Nana. Twice he had to push away her knee, for she was
positively invading him in her gushing, tearful mood. Prulliere behaved
with great incivility toward Mme Maloir and did not once help her to
anything. He was entirely taken up with Nana and looked annoyed at
seeing her with Fontan. Besides, the turtle doves were kissing so
excessively as to be becoming positive bores. Contrary to all known
rules, they had elected to sit side by side.

"Devil take it! Why don't you eat? You've got plenty of time ahead of
you!" Bosc kept repeating with his mouth full. "Wait till we are gone!"

But Nana could not restrain herself. She was in a perfect ecstasy of
love. Her face was as full of blushes as an innocent young girl's, and
her looks and her laughter seemed to overflow with tenderness. Gazing on
Fontan, she overwhelmed him with pet names--"my doggie, my old bear,
my kitten"--and whenever he passed her the water or the salt she bent
forward and kisse