Page:The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter.djvu/132

sumptuous gala which was always to take place “next Saturday,” but painful circumstances had obliged their promise to extend over fifty-two weeks, so that they had come to the pass of not being able to take a step without encountering some ironical remark from one of their friends, amongst whom there were some indiscreet enough to put forward energetic demands for its fulfilment. The matter beginning to assume the character of a plague, the two friends resolved to put an end to it by liquidating the undertaking into which they had entered. It was thus that they sent out the invitation given above.

“Now,” said Rodolphe, “there is no drawing back. We have burnt our ships, and we have before us just a week to find the hundred francs that are indispensable to do the thing properly.”

“Since we must have them, we shall,” replied Marcel.

And with the insolent confidence which they had in luck, the two friends went to sleep, convinced that their hundred francs were already on the way, the way of impossibility.

However, as on the day before that appointed for the party, nothing had as yet turned up, Rodolphe thought it would perhaps be safer to give luck a helping hand, unless he were to be discredited for ever, when the time came to light up. To facilitate matters the two friends progressively modified the sumptuosity of the programme they had imposed upon themselves.

And proceeding from modification to modification, after having seriously reduced the item “cakes,” and carefully revised and pruned down the item “liquors,” the total cost was reduced to fifteen francs.

The problem was simplified, but not yet solved.

“Come, come,” said Rodolphe, “we must now have recourse to strong measures, we cannot cry off this time.”

“No, that is impossible,” replied Marcel.