"The old home of the many pillars?" I questioned. "Monsieur l'abbé Jacques Picot."
"Father Picot?... The hell--O, I beg your pardon, Rogue, Pierrett, Columbine, and your young ladyship!... You females are terribly ubiquitous at times.... No, that's not a cuss-word, Mademoiselle. It means you women are always lingering around a good, healthy, pleasant, cussful male like me.
"Where'd I come from? Just down the _chemin_, my dears. And if you were impolite enough to ask me where I was going, that's where--down the road.... Where do I live?"
"Under the greenwood tree, Who loves to lie with me, And turn his merry note Unto the sweet bird's throat, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall you see No enemy But winter and rough weather.
"Who doth ambition shun, And loves to live i' the sun, Seeking the food he eats, And pleased with what he gets, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather."
"Is that as you like it, my dears?... My cousin has quite a fancy for the song. He's a sort of _trimardeur_ who once made plays.... He wrote 'em and acted 'em, but, son, I live 'em."
Then, seated upon the grass, he spoke half jestingly, and yet with a serious note of reminiscence in his voice:
"Sometimes I'm Jacques, that melancholy cuss. Sometimes I'm Puck--merry Robin Goodfellow. You wouldn't believe it, now, would you? Sometimes, Touchstone. Often I am Ariel--
"'Where the bee sucks, there suck I: In the cowslip's bell I lie; There I crouch when owls do cry. On the bat's back I do fly After summer merrily: Merrily, merrily, shall I live now Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.'"
"I have been Romeo, but no more for me.... Nance, you red-headed little jade, how old are you?"
We were preparing to leave. We weren't interested. What did we care about all of this? Who were Ariel and Puck, anyhow? I could see that Nance did not like one bit being a "red-headed jade." She was always very sensitive about the color of her hair and the freckles on her nose.
"Don't go, my kiddies," he suddenly pleaded. "Look-e-here. I'm going to make a big, crackling fire in a minute. Then we'll have a bucket of water from the river. I've a kettle and some eggs aboard the Columbine.... Say, we'll have the one great time of our lives!"