"But, General," she said, "had I not a beautiful bouquet of ladies on my
balcony this morning?"
The General replied, with majestic gallantry, that "it was as
magnificent as could be expected with the central rose wanting." And so
Madame was disappointed, for she was trying to force the General to
mention his son. "I will bear this no longer; he shall not rest," she
had said to her little aunt, "until he has either kissed his son or
quarrelled with him."
To which the aunt had answered that, "_coute que coute_, she need not
cry about it;" nor did she. Though the General's compliment had foiled
her thrust, she answered gayly to the effect that enough was enough;
"but, ah! General," dropping her voice to an undertone, "if you had
heard what some of those rosebuds said of you!"
The old General pricked up like a country beau. Madame laughed to
herself, "Monsieur Peacock, I have thee;" but aloud she said gravely:
"Come into the drawing-room, if you please, and seat yourself. You must
be greatly fatigued.
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