Then ensued clinking of glasses, clatter of plates, dishes, knives, forks, the buzzing of many tongues, savory smells of hot viands, and much helping and pressing of one another; much talk of the price of silks, velvets, and serges; of the credit of such and such a house; of the state of trade; of the court; and of the country.

I, wedged between Madeleine and her sister, had the opportunity of giving her many tender looks, though few words passed between us.
Among the strangers at table was a strangely unpleasant Englishman, who prefaced every speech with "I want to know--" and would not be satisfied with a short answer.

At length my father mildly said-- "Sir, you seek to know trade secrets.

You know there are secrets in all trades." "That is precisely why I want to know them," said he, laughing.
"But a good reason why we should not tell them," said my father; who then turned from him, and addressed some one else.

Gabrielle whispered, "I shall call that man Monsieur I-want-to-know." "Ah, well, I know already what I chiefly want," pursued the Englishman, who, had he not been drinking more freely than was good for him, would probably have been less communicative.