Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 21, 2025
Then Mlle Remanjon timidly observed that the sun perhaps would soon be out, and they might yet go into the country; upon this there was one general shout of derision. "Nice walking it would be! And how pleasant the grass would be to sit upon!" Something must be done, however, to get rid of the time until dinner. Bibi-la-Grillade proposed cards; Mme Lerat suggested storytelling.
The civil marriage was fixed for half-past ten. The day was clear and the sun intensely hot. In order not to excite observation the bridal pair, the mother and the four witnesses, separated Gervaise walked in front, having the arm of Lorilleux, while M. Madinier gave his to Mamma Coupeau; on the opposite sidewalk were Coupeau, Boche and Bibi-la-Grillade.
They all paid for their drinks with the exception of Bibi-la-Grillade, who stooped toward the ear of Father Colombe and whispered a few words. The latter shook his head, whereupon Mes-Bottes burst into a torrent of invectives, but Colombe stood in impassive silence, and when there was a lull in the storm he said: "Let your friends pay for you then that is a very simple thing to do."
He vowed that no one should drink too much and finally obtained the young woman's consent and organized a picnic at five francs per head at the Moulin d'Argent, Boulevard de la Chapelle. He was a small wine merchant who had a garden back of his restaurant. He made out a list. Among others appeared the names of two of his comrades, Bibi-la-Grillade and Mes-Bottes.
When Gervaise leaned a little more toward the window she saw still another shop, also crowded, from which issued a steady stream of children holding in their hands, wrapped in paper, a breaded cutlet or a sausage, still warm. A group formed around the door of the Assommoir. "Say, Bibi-la-Grillade," asked a voice, "will you stand a drink all around?"
When their own turn came Bibi-la-Grillade had disappeared, and Boche hunted him up in the square, where he had gone to smoke a pipe. All the forms were so quickly completed that the party looked at each other in dismay, feeling as if they had been defrauded of half the ceremony. Gervaise listened with tears in her eyes, and the old lady wept audibly.
Mme Boche accused her husband of holding Mme Lerat's hand under the table. Madinier talked politics. He was a Republican, and Bibi-la-Grillade and himself were soon in a hot discussion. "Who cares," cried Coupeau, "whether we have a king, an emperor or a president, so long as we earn our five francs per day!" Lorilleux shook his head.
But when they reached a wineshop on the corner they entered to take a glass merely to cement good resolutions. Near the counter they beheld Bibi-la-Grillade smoking his pipe with a sulky air. "What is the matter, Bibi?" cried Coupeau. "Nothing," answered his comrade, "except that I got my walking ticket yesterday. Perdition seize all masters!" he added fiercely.
They whispered and laughed together and seemed to see neither the people nor the houses nor anything that was going on about them. At the restaurant Coupeau ordered at once some bread and ham; then seeing that Boche and Bibi-la-Grillade were really hungry, he ordered more wine and more meat.
The men rose to light their pipes and, as they passed Mes-Bottes, asked him how he felt. Bibi-la-Grillade lifted him from the floor, chair and all. "Zounds!" he cried. "The fellow's weight has doubled!" Coupeau declared his friend had only just begun his night's work, that he would eat bread until dawn. The waiters, pale with fright, disappeared.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking