Those Good Normans Author:Gyp General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1896 Original Publisher: Rand McNally Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can se... more »lect from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: IV. FALSE JOYS. M. and Madame Dutrac and their children at luncheon. Madame Dutrac (in a red flannel dressing-gown with revers of white moire silk -- style iSjo, 19 francs 95 centimes in the large shops. To M. Dutrac, pointing to the servant, who is leaving the room). He will never finish waiting on us. AMENAlDE (laughing). The truth is, it is slow work. We have been nearly an hour at table. Adolphe (peevishly). If we only had something to chew! But that animal carries everything away. He has even taken the crabs! GONTRAN (noticing the crabs on the sideboard). There they are ! (He rises.) Adolphe. Bring the butter while you are about it. Madame Dutrac. By the way, it is horrible! M. DUTRAC (who is about to cut a pat of butter, pauses with his knife in the air). What is the matter with it ? Is it dirty? Madame Dutrac. No; but the price is outrageous -- as high as in Paris, (looking ruefully at the crabs, which Gontran, Adolphe, and A me"naide are about finishing) and the crabs, too. I have bought some in Paris which were shipped from Havre, and they are not more expensive and much larger. Amena!de (laughing). And taste better. It shouldn't be mentioned, but those crabs you buy for us in Paris have a strong odor. ( The servant returns, and places a huge cauliflower, which stands erect in the middle of a platter, upon the tabled) M. Dutrac (looking at the vegetable). That is a fine cauliflower. Madame Dutrac. Yes; but Hermancia should have poured the sauce over it. It looks dry. (To the servant.) Pierre ! (He does not stir.) Pierre ! (Recollecting. ) Fortune !...« less