“Ah!  I will escort you,” said Homais.

And all the while he was walking through the streets with him he talked of his wife, his children; of their future, and of his business; told him in what a decayed condition it had formerly been, and to what a degree of perfection he had raised it.

Arrived in front of the Hotel de Boulogne, Leon left him abruptly, ran up the stairs, and found his mistress in great excitement.  At mention of the chemist she flew into a passion.  He, however, piled up good reasons; it wasn’t his fault; didn’t she know Homais—­did she believe that he would prefer his company?  But she turned away; he drew her back, and, sinking on his knees, clasped her waist with his arms in a languorous pose, full of concupiscence and supplication.

She was standing up, her large flashing eyes looked at him seriously, almost terribly.  Then tears obscured them, her red eyelids were lowered, she gave him her hands, and Leon was pressing them to his lips when a servant appeared to tell the gentleman that he was wanted.

“You will come back?” she said.

“Yes.”

“But when?”

“Immediately.”

“It’s a trick,” said the chemist, when he saw Leon.  “I wanted to interrupt this visit, that seemed to me to annoy you.  Let’s go and have a glass of garus at Bridoux’.”

Leon vowed that he must get back to his office.  Then the druggist joked him about quill-drivers and the law.

“Leave Cujas and Barthole alone a bit.  Who the devil prevents you?  Be a man!  Let’s go to Bridoux’.  You’ll see his dog.  It’s very interesting.”

And as the clerk still insisted—­

“I’ll go with you.  I’ll read a paper while I wait for you, or turn over the leaves of a ‘Code.’”

Leon, bewildered by Emma’s anger, Monsieur Homais’ chatter, and, perhaps, by the heaviness of the luncheon, was undecided, and, as it were, fascinated by the chemist, who kept repeating—­

“Let’s go to Bridoux’.  It’s just by here, in the Rue Malpalu.”

Then, through cowardice, through stupidity, through that indefinable feeling that drags us into the most distasteful acts, he allowed himself to be led off to Bridoux’, whom they found in his small yard, superintending three workmen, who panted as they turned the large wheel of a machine for making seltzer-water.  Homais gave them some good advice.  He embraced Bridoux; they took some garus.  Twenty times Leon tried to escape, but the other seized him by the arm saying—­

“Presently!  I’m coming!  We’ll go to the ‘Fanal de Rouen’ to see the fellows there.  I’ll introduce you to Thornassin.”

At last he managed to get rid of him, and rushed straight to the hotel.  Emma was no longer there.  She had just gone in a fit of anger.  She detested him now.  This failing to keep their rendezvous seemed to her an insult, and she tried to rake up other reasons to separate herself from him.  He was incapable of heroism, weak, banal, more spiritless than a woman, avaricious too, and cowardly.