Alfred; or, The Adventures of a French Gentleman — page 166: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OF A FRENCH GENTLEMAN 139 arm, and endeavouring to pull him towards the entrance of the place he had mentioned. ‘¢ T will not give you the trouble.” ‘‘ No trouble, I assure you; allow me to show you the way.” ‘¢ My God, what a man!” cried Mr. Clayton, in agony; and disengaging his arm by a sudden motion, he made his escape from the shop, and took refuge in a neighbouring news-room for a couple of hours, fearful of meeting the sneering countenances of any of the individuals who had witnessed his unlucky encounter with Champignon. On his return home, he found Mrs. Clayton, his niece, and the cook, in grand consultation together, and over- heard the voice of the servant, saying, ‘*‘ Yon may depend upon it, Madame, that Monsieur intends to regale a large party of friends.” ‘¢ Indeed he does not, though !”’ exclaimed Mr. Clayton, stepping forward, and pushing open the kitchen door, in the vicinity of which he was standing. ‘¢ Then wherefore such a profusion of dishes?” asked Mrs. Clayton. ‘¢ There must be some mistake !’ cried her brother-in-law, whose countenance betokened ill humour and perplexity. ‘¢Oh! no—since the friandeur produced the address of the house written upon your own card.” ‘¢ A short fat man, with a red nose, and a white night-cap,” added the servant; ‘* he insisted .upon tasting my soup, declared there was no tarragon in it, and when I remonstrated, the wretch replied, that ‘ I must not contradict the best cook in Europe.’ ” Mr. Clayton’s eye now fell for the first time on the kitchen dresser; and his astonishment was not a little excited by the ob- jects that met his view. He instantly suspected the real truth, snatched the bill out of his sister-in-law’s hands, and when he saw it was receipted, uttered an emphatic oath, which we shall suppress for the sake of delicacy, and on account of our regard for the fair sex. Suflice it to say, Champignon had so amply supplied Mr. Clayton’s larder with all the most costly luxuries of the season, that there could not remain a doubt as to the whole family being provided for during the next fortnight. Mrs. Clayton had paid the petit memoire, which amounted to the moderate sum of four hundred and seventeen francs, because the bearer produced her brother-in-law’s card; and although she could not comprehend the reason of such an expensive outlay, she did not for an instant suspect the justice of the demand. ‘¢ This day’s work,” said Mr. Clayton, ‘‘ will be a good lesson to me for the future, not to stroll into shops when I am im an ill humour.” 4 ‘¢ If we were only thus regaled,” observed the amiable Eloise, ‘‘ every time you are out of temper, my dear uncle, it would not be very often.” EGOMiGoooks (C(O) im