white embroidered satin, while Satin
made a more modest appearance in black silk with a simple gold heart
at her throat, which was a present from her kind friend. Julien and
Francois waited behind the guests and were assisted in this by Zoe. All
three looked most dignified.

"It's certain I had far greater fun when I hadn't a cent!" Nana
repeated.

She had placed Muffat on her right hand and Vandeuvres on her left, but
she scarcely looked at them, so taken up was she with Satin, who sat in
state between Philippe and Georges on the opposite side of the table.

"Eh, duckie?" she kept saying at every turn. "How we did use to laugh in
those days when we went to Mother Josse's school in the Rue Polonceau!"

When the roast was being served the two women plunged into a world of
reminiscences. They used to have regular chattering fits of this kind
when a sudden desire to stir the muddy depths of their childhood would
possess them. These fits always occurred when men were present: it was
as though they had given way to a burning desire to treat them to the
dunghill on which they had grown to woman's estate. The gentlemen paled
visibly and looked embarrassed. The young Hugons did their best to
laugh, while Vandeuvres nervously toyed with his beard and Muffat
redoubled his gravity.

"You remember Victor?" said Nana. "There was a wicked little fellow for
you! Why, he used to take the little girls into cellars!"

"I remember him perfectly," replied Satin. "I recollect the big
courtyard at your place very well. There was a portress there with a
broom!"

"Mother Boche--she's dead."

"And I can still picture your shop. Your mother was a great fatty. One
evening when we were playing your father came in drunk. Oh, so drunk!"

At this point Vandeuvres tried to intercept the ladies' reminiscences
and to effect a diversion,

"I say, my dear, I should be very glad to have some more truffles.
They're simply perfect. Yesterday I had some at the house of the Duc de
Corbreuse, which did not come up to them at all."

"The truffles, Julien!" said Nana roughly.

Then returning to the subject:

"By Jove, yes, Dad hadn't any sense! And then what a smash there was!
You should have seen it--down, down, down we went, starving away all the
time. I can tell you I've had to bear pretty well everything and it's a
miracle I didn't kick the bucket over it, like Daddy and Mamma."

This time Muffat, who was playing with his knife in a state of