to do so was often apparent in his face and in the tone of his voice. . . . He talks to them only of their toilet, of which he declares himself a severe and minute judge, and on which he indulges in not very delicate jests; or, again, on the number of their children, enquiring of them, in rude language, whether they nurse them themselves; or, again, lecturing them on their social relations. Hence there is not one who does not rejoice when he moves away. He often amuses himself by putting them out of countenance, scandalising and bantering them to their faces, driving them into a corner, just as a colonel worries his canteen woman. 'Yes, ladies, you furnish the good people of the Faubourg Saint-Germain with something to talk about. It is said, Madame A., that you are intimate with Monsieur B., and you, Madame C., with Monsieur D.' On any intrigue chancing to appear in the police reports, 'he loses no time in informing the husband of what is going on.' He is no less indiscreet in relation to his own freaks; when the affair is over he divulges the fact and gives the name; furthermore, he informs Josephine of its details, and will not listen to any reproach. 'I have a right to answer all your objections with an eternal "Moi!"' he says."
