"You need not feel uneasy on that score. I never thought for a moment that your daughter should give the victor a kiss."
"That is good, monsieur! How kind you are! And if you will also consent that my daughter do not embrace--"
"That goes without saying, my dear monsieur. You do not need my consent. I am too happy, as it is, to have you and also your family, accept my invitation."
"Oh, monsieur, all the honor is on our side!"
"Surely not! Surely not, monsieur! You are too kind! I can clearly see that you mean to bestow great honor upon us."
"Well, have it your way, my good man! There are faces like yours--that charm one on the spot. Besides, I found you to be so honest a man in the matter of the price of the shirts--"
"It is only a matter of conscience, monsieur. Only a matter of conscience."
"That I said to myself on the spot--This Monsieur Lebrenn must be an admirable, an honest man. I would like to be pleasant to him--even to oblige him, if I can."
"Oh, monsieur, I know not how to express to you--"
"Come, you told me a minute ago that business was poor--would you like me to pay you in advance for my order?"
"Oh, no, no, no, monsieur; that is unnecessary."
"Do not be bashful! Be frank. The amount is large--I shall give you an order upon my banker."
"I assure you, monsieur, that I do not need payment in advance."
"Very hard, indeed, the times are; that's true, monsieur; we must hope for better."
"Admit it, my dear Monsieur Lebrenn," said the Count, again pointing to the pictures that ornamented the walls of the salon, "the times in which those redoubtable seigneurs lived, were the real good times!"
"And who knows! Perhaps those better times may come back again!"
"Some other day we shall talk politics--I suppose you talk politics, occasionally?"
"Monsieur, I do not indulge myself so far. You understand, a merchant--"
"Oh, my dear Monsieur Lebrenn! You are a man of the good old pattern; that's what you are; I'm glad of it! Right you are not to meddle in politics! It is the silly mania that spoiled everything. In those good old times, that I was speaking about to you, nobody grumbled. The King, the clergy and the nobility ordered--and everybody obeyed without saying a word."
"Sure! Sure! It must have been very convenient, monsieur."