Bouvard and Pecuchet - Paperback

by Eleanor Marx-Aveling (Translator), Gustave Flaubert (Author)

Two men made their appearance. One came from the direction of the Bastille; the other from that of the Jardin des Plantes. The taller of the pair, arrayed in linen cloth, walked with his hat back, his waistcoat unbuttoned, and his cravat in his hand. The smaller, whose form was covered with a maroon frock-coat, wore a cap with a pointed peak. As soon as they reached the middle of the boulevard, they sat down, at the same moment, on the same seat. In order to wipe their foreheads they took off their headgear, each placing his beside himself; and the little man saw "Bouvard" written in his neighbour's hat, while the latter easily traced "Pécuchet" in the cap of the person who wore the frock-coat. "Look here!" he said; "we have both had the same idea-to write our names in our head-coverings!" "Yes, faith, for they might carry off mine from my desk." "'Tis the same way with me. I am an employé." Then they gazed at each other. Bouvard's agreeable visage quite charmed Pécuchet. His blue eyes, always half-closed, smiled in his fresh-coloured face. His trousers