Ah! no, it's too idiotic! Pour me
out a glass of champagne. I want something to set me right after all
that!"
The /fete/ then took quite an intimate turn between the four men who
remained and that bare-armed, bare-breasted girl, covered with diamonds;
while from the neighbouring passages and rooms came bursts of laughter
and sounds of kissing, all the stir and mirth of the debauchery now
filling the house. And beneath the windows torrents of vehicles and
pedestrians streamed along the Boulevards where reigned the wild fever of
pleasure and harlotry.
"No, don't open it, or I shall catch cold!" resumed Silviane, addressing
Fonsegue as he stepped towards the window. "Are you so very warm, then?
I'm just comfortable. . . . But, Duvillard, my good fellow, please order
some more champagne. It's wonderful what a thirst your critic has given
me!"
Amidst the blinding glare of the lamps and the perfume of the flowers and
wines, one almost stifled in the room. And Silviane was seized with an
irresistible desire for a spree, a desire to tipple and amuse herself in
some vulgar fashion, as in her bygone days. A few glasses of champagne
brought her to full pitch, and she showed the boldest and giddiest
gaiety. The others, who had never before seen her so lively, began on
their own side to feel amused.
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