Page:The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter.djvu/137

Rodolphe refused his friend’s proffered hand—he thought some crime had been committed.

“Let us make haste, let us make haste,” said Marcel; “we have the fifeen francs required. This is how it haphened. I met an antiquary at Medicis’. When he saw the coin he was almost taken ill: it was the only one wanting in his cabinet. He had sent everywhere to get this vacancy filled up, and had lost all hope. Thus, when he had thoroughly examined my Carlovingian crown-piece, he did not hesitate a moment to offer me five francs for it. Medicis nudged me with his elbow: a look from him completed the business. He meant, ‘share the profits of the sale, and I will bid against him.’ We ran it up to thirty francs. I gave the Jew fifteen, and here are the rest. Now our guests may come; we are in a position to dazzle them. Hello! you have got a swallow-tail!”

“Yes,” said Rodolphe, “Colline’s swallow-tail.” And as he was feeling for his handkerchief, Rodolphe pulled out a small volume in a Tartar dialect, overlooked in the foreign literature pocket.

The two friends at once proceeded to make their preparations. The studio was set in order, a fire kindled in the stove, the stretcher of a picture, garnished with composite candles, suspended from the ceiling as a chandelier, and a writing-table placed in the middle of the studio to serve as a rostrum for the orators. The solitary arm-chair, which was to be reserved for the influencial critic, was placed in front of it, and upon a table were arranged all the books, romances, poems, pamphlets, etc., the authors of which were to honor the company with their presence.

In order to avoid any collision between members of the different schools of literature, the studio had been, moreover, divided into four compartments, at the entrance to each of which could be read, on four hurriedly manu-