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The frantic little owner seized the tail of the mignonne toute chérie, which sent up a wail of poignant discordance; the romping Hamish, with a wicked mimicry of the infantile babbling cry, "Quelle barbarie!" impeded the progress of Fifine by catching the skirt of her little jacket, called a josie; whereupon Odalie, imitating his dislocated French accent and boyish hoarseness in the exclamation, "Quelle barbarie!" laid hold upon his long curly hair, held together by a ribbon as an apology for a pig-tail.
He was sure he had been among members of the nobility that day, though when they went by him now they only recognized him with an effort of the eyelids. He began to think of the day with exultation, as an event. Recollections of the mignonne were captivating. "Blue eyes just what I like! And such a little impudent nose, and red lips, pouting the very thing I like!
Her severely simple robes of virgin white, worn with classic grace, revealed a figure as lissome and perfect of contour as a draped Venus of Thorwaldsen, her face seen under her mass of dark brown hair, negligently bound with a ribbon, was too mignonne, perhaps, to be classic, but looked pretty and girlish. A performance so graced could not fail to be pleasing.
The book was none other than Pierre de Ronsard's "Odes," with "Mignonne! allons voir si la Rose," and "The Skylark" and the lines to April itself verily like nothing so much as a jonquil, in its golden-green binding and yellow edges and perfume of the place where it had lain sweet, but with something of the sickliness of all spring flowers since the days of Proserpine.
"Obey your heart, not your brain, mignonne." He is all heart. Those who paved the way for him were all brain. They plotted, and contrived, and spun their web with the murderous zeal of a spider; but, poof! in buzzes bluebottle Alec, and where are the schemers? Ah, my angel, if you knew everything you would be cheery as I and marry your King with a light conscience."
She was now "Madame Mignonne" from Paris, and wore a golden wig, and came on the stage riding a lion in the character of a heathen goddess in the spectacular display which always ended the performance.
On awakening Mignonne was absent; he climbed the hillock and afar off saw her returning in the long bounds characteristic of those animals who cannot run owing to the extreme flexibility of the vertebral column. Mignonne arrived with bloody jaws; she received the wonted caresses, the tribute her slave hastened to pay, and showed by her purring how transported she was.
Ripton heard a mignonne beauty ask of a cavalier. "Mount's, I suppose," was the answer. "Where is he? Why don't he come?" "An affaire, I fancy." "There he is again! How shamefully he treats Mrs. Mount!" "She don't seem to cry over it." Mrs. Mount was flashing her teeth and eyes with laughter at one of her Court, who appeared to be Fool. Dinner was announced.
"Is it a gun?" said Chris. "Yes, mignonne, a gun! It is also a secret thine and mine." She uttered a faint sigh. "I wish it wasn't a gun, Bertie. If it were only an aeroplane, or something that didn't hurt anyone! Of course, you are a soldier and a Frenchman. I couldn't expect you to understand." He laughed rather ruefully. "But I understand all. And you do not love the French? No?"
"And the Lady bade me tell thee, mignonne, that she is coming to thy bower shortly, with a pedlar who is waiting in the court, to choose stuffs for thy Whitsuntide robes." "A pedlar! Delightful! Aunt Marjory, I am sure you want something?" Marjory laughed. "I want thy tale finished, Magot, before the pedlar comes."
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