A servant, laden with an enormous basket, from which protruded divers fishes' tails and bunches of leeks, and with an insecurely tied pasteboard box, bulging as to the sides and split in several places, sulkily followed her mistress, hitting everybody with her basket and box, without a word of apology, but apparently rather inclined to make wry faces at her victims.
"I want two seats for Romainville, monsieur--for me and my maid; my boys don't pay, because we hold them in our laps."
"Madame, this boy is certainly more than five; he must pay."
"But, monsieur, I tell you, I hold him in my lap; so we only fill one seat."
"I don't suppose people ride in omnibuses to be comfortable!--Aristoloche, where are you going? Stay with your nurse, sir! Adelaide, do look out for the child; you know how fretful he is!"
Mademoiselle Adelaide, who looked more like a cook than a lady's maid, had gone with her packages and planted herself on a bench, between an old gentleman and an old woman, causing them to jump into the air as if they were elastic. The shock was so violent that the old woman shrieked, thinking that she had been electrified. The man, irritated beyond words by the manner in which the servant had plumped down beside him, and perceiving that the fishes' tails which protruded from her basket were caressing the sleeves of his coat, pushed the basket away with his elbow, exclaiming:
"What sort of way is that to sit down, throwing yourself onto people? Pay attention to what you are doing, mademoiselle, and be good enough to move your basket; I have no desire to have your fish rub against my sleeves and make them smell like poison."
"What! what do you say? What's the matter with the old fellow?"
"I tell you to move your basket; I don't want it under my nose."
"Where do you want me to put my basket, eh? On the floor perhaps, so that someone can steal it! Oh, yes! we should have a nice time in the country, where there's never anything to eat. What harm does the basket do you?"
"I pity the passengers in the 'bus with you; they'll have a fine time!"
"Shut up, you old cucumber! you'd like to be as fresh as my fish!"
The epithet old cucumber touched the old man to the quick; he got up and walked away, muttering: