The Bath Keepers Volume I Part 53

"My daughter! do you know my daughter, monsieur de la Basoche?"

"Ah! I know her--without knowing her. I know that she is enchanting, because I have seen her sometimes on your balcony, when she was watering her flowers."

"Ah! you have seen her, have you? Very good; I begin to understand.--Well, what are you trying to come at to-night?"

"I' faith! I will tell you. See--I have here a superb white plume; I had it from an aunt who had it from an uncle, who was train bearer at the court of King Charles IX.--To make a long story short, I said to myself: 'Such a handsome plume as this is a pure luxury in my hands; if I should offer it to Master Landry's daughter, it would be a gift worthy of her charms, and it would shade becomingly her brow of roses and lilies.'--That idea once conceived, I determined to put it in execution.

Here, excellent bath keeper, is the plume in question; you see how beautiful it is! Pray take it and hand it to your fascinating progeny; I desire no other reward than the pleasure of knowing that she is gratified by the gift."

"Aha! my rascal! so you presume to offer a plume to my daughter, do you?

And you dare to ask her father to be your messenger? Ten thousand cannon b.a.l.l.s! this pa.s.ses all bounds! It was probably you who prowled about this street so much that it made the neighbors gossip!"

"Master Landry, I live on this street, it is true; but I have never prowled about your----"

"Enough! enough! you impertinent rascal! coming to ask a father to take charge of a present intended to seduce his daughter!"

"Why, not at all! you are off the track, my good Landry; I have no such purpose."

"Ah! you take me for one of those half-witted or obliging fathers who shut their eyes to such manuvres! I am going to show you how I receive gallants who would like to talk nonsense to my daughter!--Here, you blackguard, here is the price of your gift!"

As he spoke, the bath keeper planted his foot in Plumard's short-clothes, and repeated the movement several times, running after the young clerk, who fled, yelling at the top of his voice.

Satisfied with the chastis.e.m.e.nt he had administered to the man whom he believed to be in love with his daughter, Landry returned to his house and locked the door.

As for the ill-fated Plumard, he hastened to his lodgings, holding his hand to the portion of his frame that had been so roughly treated by the bath keeper, and saying to himself:

"I should have done as well to execute my commission without making any change in the text, without diverging from my instructions!--What a brutal wretch that bath keeper is! He thinks now that I am in love with his daughter! I shall not dare to pa.s.s his door--I shall have to move.--However, if the pomade has the virtue that Bahuchet attributes to it, I shall find some consolation for my late disagreeable experience. I shall be so handsome with plenty of hair! I will go about bareheaded, I will carry my cap in my hand all the time!"