6/21 The master walked about it seriously; then he smiled. "No, already not so bad." We all drew a deep breath of relief; and Corporal John (as the most considerable junior present) explained to him it was intended for a public building, a kind of prefecture-- "He! Quoi ?" cried he, relapsing into French. "Qu'est-ce que vous me chantez la? O, very good, very good." The idea of the required certificate had to be introduced to his mind in the light of a pleasantry--the fancy of a nabob little more advanced than the red Indians of "Fennimore Cooperr"; and it took all our talents combined to conceive a form of words that would be acceptable on both sides. |