M.
Stanislas Kapp had positively declined to make excuses, and he, on his side, obviously, had none to offer.

Valentin had found out with whom he was dealing.

M.Stanislas Kapp was the son of and heir of a rich brewer of Strasbourg, a youth of a sanguineous--and sanguinary--temperament.
He was making ducks and drakes of the paternal brewery, and although he passed in a general way for a good fellow, he had already been observed to be quarrelsome after dinner.

"Que voulez-vous ?" said Valentin.
"Brought up on beer, he can't stand champagne." He had chosen pistols.
Valentin, at dinner, had an excellent appetite; he made a point, in view of his long journey, of eating more than usual.

He took the liberty of suggesting to Newman a slight modification in the composition of a certain fish-sauce; he thought it would be worth mentioning to the cook.