I can even remember what I was
saying at the moment; but after twenty years the embers
of shame are still alive, and I prefer to give your
imagination the cue by simply mentioning that my muse
was the patriotic. It had been my design to adjourn
for coffee in the company of some of these new friends;
but I was no sooner on the sidewalk than I found myself
unaccountably alone. The circumstance scarce surprised
me at the time, much less now; but I was somewhat
chagrined a little after to find I had walked into a
kiosque. I began to wonder if I were any the worse for
my last bottle, and decided to steady myself with
coffee and brandy. In the Cafe de la Source, where I
went for this restorative, the fountain was playing,
and (what greatly surprised me) the mill and the
various mechanical figures on the rockery appeared to
have been freshly repaired, and performed the most
enchanting antics. The cafe was extraordinarily hot
and bright, with every detail of a conspicuous
clearness--from the faces of the guests, to the type of
the newspapers on the tables--and the whole apartment
swang to and fro like a hammock, with an exhilarating
motion.
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