On the turf at
their feet some gentlemen had instituted a drinking bar, whither Tatan,
Maria, Simonne and the rest came to refresh themselves, while high in
air and close at hand bottles were being emptied on Lea de Horn's mail
coach, and, with infinite bravado and gesticulation, a whole band were
making themselves tipsy in the sunshine, above the heads of the crowd.
Soon, however, there was an especially large crowd by Nana's landau.
She had risen to her feet and had set herself to pour out glasses of
champagne for the men who came to pay her their respects. Francois, one
of the footmen, was passing up the bottles while La Faloise, trying hard
to imitate a coster's accents, kept pattering away:
"'Ere y're, given away, given away! There's some for everybody!"
"Do be still, dear boy," Nana ended by saying. "We look like a set of
tumblers."
She thought him very droll and was greatly entertained. At one moment
she conceived the idea of sending Georges with a glass of champagne to
Rose Mignon, who was affecting temperance. Henri and Charles were bored
to distraction; they would have been glad of some champagne, the
poor little fellows. But Georges drank the glassful, for he feared an
argument.
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