Mahoudeau also was singing victory, constantly dragging in his ‘Vintaging Girl,’ the daring points of which he explained to the silent Chaine, the only one who listened to him; while Gagniere, with the sternness of a timid man waxing wroth over questions of pure theory, spoke of guillotining the Institute; and Sandoz, with the glowing sympathy of a hard worker, and Dubuche, giving way to the contagion of revolutionary friendship, became exasperated, and struck the table, swallowing up Paris with each draught of beer.  Fagerolles, very calm, retained his usual smile.  He had accompanied them for the sake of amusement, for the singular pleasure which he found in urging his comrades into farcical affairs that were bound to turn out badly.  At the very moment when he was lashing their spirit of revolt, he himself formed the firm resolution to work in future for the Prix de Rome.  That day had decided him; he thought it idiotic to compromise his prospects any further.

The sun was declining on the horizon, there was now only a returning stream of carriages, coming back from the Bois in the pale golden shimmer of the sunset.  And the exodus from the Salon must have been nearly over; a long string of pedestrians passed by, gentlemen who looked like critics, each with a catalogue under his arm.

But all at once Gagniere became enthusiastic:  ’Ah!  Courajod, there was one who had his share in inventing landscape painting!  Have you seen his “Pond of Gagny” at the Luxembourg?’

‘A marvel!’ exclaimed Claude.  ’It was painted thirty years ago, and nothing more substantial has been turned out since.  Why is it left at the Luxembourg?  It ought to be in the Louvre.’

‘But Courajod isn’t dead,’ said Fagerolles.

’What!  Courajod isn’t dead!  No one ever sees him or speaks of him now.’

There was general stupefaction when Fagerolles assured them that the great landscape painter, now seventy years of age, lived somewhere in the neighbourhood of Montmartre, in a little house among his fowls, ducks, and dogs.  So one might outlive one’s own glory!  To think that there were such melancholy instances of old artists disappearing before their death!  Silence fell upon them all; they began to shiver when they perceived Bongrand pass by on a friend’s arm, with a congestive face and a nervous air as he waved his hand to them; while almost immediately behind him, surrounded by his disciples, came Chambouvard, laughing very loudly, and tapping his heels on the pavement with the air of absolute mastery that comes from confidence in immortality.

‘What! are you going?’ said Mahoudeau to Chaine, who was rising from his chair.

The other mumbled some indistinct words in his beard, and went off after distributing handshakes among the party.

‘I know,’ said Jory to Mahoudeau.  ’I believe he has a weakness for your neighbour, the herbalist woman.  I saw his eyes flash all at once; it comes upon him like toothache.  Look how he’s running over there.’