human
May it please God, Monsieur, that you never need a friend; and may his providence never leave you without one as good as you yourself have proved to be.
gpt
You, who are our guests this evening, and will share it with us—may I say for my friend and myself that the person mentioned should never get so far into good society as to be talked of by gentlemen—at least not to-night—not to-night?
human
No, said St. Maur;
gpt
You will pardon us, Duke.
human
It is not needed, he said.
gpt
And have you seen the great landscape by Diaz? I have the pendant; but now his prices have gone up, and we poor gentlefolk, alas! Here he took snuff, and M. de St. Maur remarked with a smile,
human
My good father is never so near extravagance as when he talks of his poverty.
gpt
He is shrewd, the young man, and of distressing economy—a quite modern economy. I bought it to-day. Our laughter set the chat on a less formal footing, and we fell to talking of theaters, actresses, the latest play, and the like, until at last M. Des Illes said.
human
Pardon, my dear Duke, but the hour is near when we must go down to the cellar.
gpt
We are at your service, said the Duke, rising.
human
Our friends must feel by this time as if they were calling on actors behind the scenes at the Odeon. Is it not so?
gpt
Perhaps, I returned.
human
But the wise who are well entertained do not ask the name of the inn; at least so they say in Spain.
gpt
Monsieur has found for us a delightful apology, said M. de St. Maur.
human
Let us leave him to guess our sad riddle; and now, the lanterns.