He was as scrupulous as
a good husband, for he really wanted to settle down at last. Nana's
triumph consisted in possessing and in ruining a newspaper that he had
started with a friend's capital. She did not proclaim her triumph;
on the contrary, she delighted in treating him as a man who had to
be circumspect, and when she spoke of Rose it was as "poor Rose."
The newspaper kept her in flowers for two months. She took all the
provincial subscriptions; in fact, she took everything, from the column
of news and gossip down to the dramatic notes. Then the editorial
staff having been turned topsy-turvy and the management completely
disorganized, she satisfied a fanciful caprice and had a winter garden
constructed in a corner of her house: that carried off all the type. But
then it was no joke after all! When in his delight at the whole business
Mignon came to see if he could not saddle Fauchery on her altogether,
she asked him if he took her for a fool. A penniless fellow living by
his articles and his plays--not if she knew it! That sort of foolishness
might be all very well for a clever woman like her poor, dear Rose! She
grew distrustful: she feared some treachery on Mignon's part, for he
was quite capable of preaching to his wife, and so she gave Fauchery his
CONGE as he now only paid her in fame.
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