man does not come without any reason into a private house and make that terrible uproar and demand the blood of a son of the family.”
“It is some trick on the part of that horrid ape Goupil, whom I had promised to help in having him appointed notary if he got me Le Rouvre cheap. I gave him ten per cent, twenty thousand francs in bills of exchange, and no doubt he is not satisfied.”
“Yes; but what reason could he have had before to plot serenades and insults against Ursule?”
“He wanted to marry her.”
“A penniless girl? he? Oh! indeed! Look here, Minoret, you are talking nonsense! and you are naturally too stupid to do so successfully, my boy. There is something underneath all this, and you will tell me.”
“There is nothing.”
“There is nothing? And I, I tell you you are lying, and we shall see!”
“Will you let me alone?”
“I shall turn the tap of that fountain of spite that you know, Goupil, and you will regret it.”
“Just as you please.”
“I know very well that it will be as I please! And what I want, above all, is that Désiré should not be harmed; if any misfortune happened to him, you see, I should do something which would send me to the scaffold. Désiré!—But—And you don’t budge any more than that!”
A quarrel once started in this way between Minoret and his wife could not end without many private
