d to his
friend, "Take care, my good D'Artagnan, not to compromise the dignity of
a man such as I am with the arrogance of this Percerin, who will, I
expect, be very impertinent; for I give you notice, my friend, that if
he is wanting in respect to me, I will chastise him."

"Presented by me," replied D'Artagnan, "you have nothing to fear, even
though you were what you are not."

"Ah! 'tis because--"

"What? Have you anything against Percerin, Porthos?"

"I think that I once sent Mouston to a fellow of that name."

"And then?"

"The fellow refused to supply me."

"Oh, a misunderstanding, no doubt, which 'tis pressing to set right.
Mouston must have made a mistake."

"Perhaps."

"He has confused the names."

"Possibly. That rascal Mouston never can remember names."

"I will take it all upon myself."

"Very good."

"Stop the carriage, Porthos; here we are."

"Here! how here? We are at the Halles; and you told me the house was at
the corner of the Rue de l'Arbre Sec."

"Tis true--but look."

"Well, I do look, and I see--"

"What?"

"Pardieu! that we are at the Halles!"

"You do not, I suppose, want our horses to clamber up on the top of the
carriage in front of us?"

"No."

"Nor the carriage in front of us to mount on the one in front of it. Nor
that the second should be driven over the roofs of the thirty or forty
others which have arrived before us?"

"No, you are right, indeed. What a number of people! And what are they
all about?"

"'Tis very simple--they are waiting their turn."

"Bah! Have the comedians of the Hotel de Bourgogne shifted their
quarters?"

"No; their turn to obtain an entrance to M. Percerin's house."

"And we are going to wait too?"

"Oh, we shall show ourselves more ready and less proud than they."

"What are we to do, then?"

"Get down, pass through the footmen and lackeys, and enter the tailor's
house, which I will answer for our doing, if you go first."

"Come, then," said Porthos.

They both alighted and made their way on foot toward the establishment.
The cause of the confusion was, that M. Percerin's doors were closed,
while a servant, standing before them, was explaining to the illustrious
customers of the illustrious tailor that just then M. Percerin could not
receive anybody. It was bruited about outside still, on the authority of
what the great lackey had told some great noble whom he favored, in
confidence, that M. Percerin was engaged upon five