banqueters contrive somehow to hum between the spoonfuls; the
facial expression of enthusiasts who are punctuating potage St.
Germain with Pagliacci is not beautiful, but it should be seen by
those who are bent on observing all sides of life. One cannot
discount the unpleasant things of this world merely by looking the
other way.

"In addition to the aforementioned types the restaurant was
patronized by a fair sprinkling of the absolutely nonmusical;
their presence in the dining-hall could only be explained on the
supposition that they had come there to dine.

"The earlier stages of the dinner had worn off. The wine lists
had been consulted, by some with the blank embarrassment of a
schoolboy suddenly called on to locate a Minor Prophet in the
tangled hinterland of the Old Testament, by others with the severe
scrutiny which suggests that they have visited most of the higher-
priced wines in their own homes and probed their family
weaknesses. The diners who chose their wine in the latter fashion
always gave their orders in a penetrating voice, with a plentiful
garnishing of stage directions. By insisting on having your
bottle pointing to the north when the cork is being drawn, and
calling the waiter Max, you may induce an impression on your
guests which hours of laboured boasting might be powerless to
achieve. For this purpose, however, the guests must be chosen as
carefully as the wine.

"Standing aside from the revellers in the shadow of a massive
pillar was an interested spectator who was assuredly of the feast,
and yet not in it. Monsieur Aristide Saucourt was the CHEF of the