u often go into the country?"

"Oh! Only once or twice a year, to get a little fresh air; and you,
monsieur?"

"I come and sleep here every night."

"Oh! That must be very nice?"

"Certainly it is, Madame." And he gave them such a practical account of
his daily life, that it gave rise in the hearts of these shop-keepers,
who were deprived of the meadows, and who longed for country walks, to
that foolish love of nature, which they all feel so strongly the whole
year round, behind the counter in their shop.

The girl raised her eyes, and looked at the oarsman with emotion, and
Monsieur Dufour spoke for the first time.

"It is indeed a happy life," he said. And then he added: "A little more
rabbit, my dear?"

"No, thank you," she replied and turning to the young men again, and
pointing to their arms asked: "Do you never feel cold like that?"

They both began to laugh, and they frightened the family by the account
of the enormous fatigue they could endure, of their bathing while in a
state of tremendous perspiration, of their rowing in the fog at night,
and they struck their chests violently, to show how they sounded.

"Ah! You look very strong," the husband said, who did not talk any more
of the time when he used to beat the English. The girl was looking at
them aside now, and the young fellow with the yellow hair was coughing
violently, as he had swallowed some wine the wrong way, and bespattering
Madame Dufour's cherry-colored silk dress, who got angry, and sent for
some water, to wash the spots.

Meanwhile it had grown unbearably hot, the sparkling river looked like a
blaze of fire, and the fumes of the wine were getting into their heads.
Monsieur Dufour, who had a violent hiccough, had unbuttoned his
waistcoat, and the top of his trousers, while his wife, who felt
choking, was gradually unfastening her dress. The apprentice was shaking
his yellow wig in a happy frame of mind, and kept helping himself to
wine, and as the old grandmother felt drunk, she also felt very stiff
and dignified. As for the girl, she showed nothing, except a peculiar
brightness in her eyes, while the brown skin on the cheeks became more
rosy.

The coffee finished them off; they spoke of singing, and each of them
sang, or repeated a couplet, which the others repeated frantically. Then
they got up with some difficulty, and while the two women, who were
rather dizzy, were getting the fresh air, the two men, who were
altogether drunk,