s by the shallow--for so far as suffering is concerned, we are all
equal--the greater part of Parisian households reach, without a given
time, the following final chorus:

THE WIFE, _to a young woman in the conjugal Indian Summer_. My dear, I
am the happiest woman in the world. Adolphe is the model of husbands,
kind, obliging, not a bit of a tease. Isn't he, Ferdinand?

Caroline addresses Adolphe's cousin, a young man with a nice cravat,
glistening hair and patent leather boots: his coat is cut in the most
elegant fashion: he has a crush hat, kid gloves, something very choice
in the way of a waistcoat, the very best style of moustaches, whiskers,
and a goatee a la Mazarin; he is also endowed with a profound, mute,
attentive admiration of Caroline.

FERDINAND. Adolphe is happy to have a wife like you! What does he want?
Nothing.

THE WIFE. In the beginning, we were always vexing each other: but now
we get along marvelously. Adolphe no longer does anything but what he
likes, he never puts himself out: I never ask him where he is going nor
what he has seen. Indulgence, my dear, is the great secret of happiness.
You, doubtless, are still in the period of petty troubles, causeless
jealousies, cross-purposes, and all sorts of little botherations. What
is the good of all this? We women have but a short life, at the best.
How much? Ten good years! Why should we fill them with vexation? I was
like you. But, one fine morning, I made the acquaintance of Madame de
Fischtaminel, a charming woman, who taught me how to make a husband
happy. Since then, Adolphe has changed radically; he has become
perfectly delightful. He is the first to say to me, with anxiety, with
alarm, even, when I am going to the theatre, and he and I are still
alone at seven o'clock: "Ferdinand is coming for you, isn't he?" Doesn't
he, Ferdinand?

FERDINAND. We are the best cousins in the world.

THE INDIAN SUMMER WIFE, _very much affected_. Shall I ever come to that?

THE HUSBAND, _on the Italian Boulevard_. My dear boy [he has
button-holed Monsieur de Fischtaminel], you still believe that marriage
is based upon passion. Let me tell you that the best way, in conjugal
life, is to have a plenary indulgence, one for the other, on condition
that appearances be preserved. I am the happiest husband in the world.
Caroline is a devoted friend, she would sacrifice everything for me,
even my cousin Ferdinand, if it were necessary: oh, you may laugh, but
she is re