194
PARTISAN REVIEW
little boy's mother : "They're warm and sturdy , because hers, poor
thing, are all worn . After visiting her- in this cold - I just keep
wanting to give her something warm. I hope she won't be offended ."
(Offended - by Russians! A beggar might as well have given her the
gift. )
The presence of the gloves confirmed the stationery . "From five
to six francs, no more than seven or eight , at the very most, ten .
Something not too bright, for a middle-aged woman." ("Middle–
aged," when she was just about to return to dust ; "woman" when she
was-MIle Jeanne Robert!)
Tres distingue
-
parJaitement distingui
-
tout ce qu'il
y
a de plus
distingui
-
on ne peut plus distingue.
. . .
(6 frs . .. 9 frs cinquante .. . 12 frs cinquante ... 18 frs.)
The boxes stack up with a light cardboard crackling. One - is
too loud; the next - too skimpy looking; the third - too boring; the
fourth-expensive; the fifth-expensive; the sixth-expensive. And ,
as always, with the exclamation : "Ah, il y en a encore une que
j'oublie" - the last one is the very thing. (As if testing the precision of
our taste, a small temptation by the salesman . . . . )
Light blue . Rag. With little flowers in the same light blue on
the cover, so simple they aren't trite . Without pinked edges , or those
supposedly English rough edges . A lot. Reasonable .
"Rien de plus pratique et de plus distingue . Et pas cher du tout ,
Madame, quarante feuilles et quarante enveloppes. Un bon cas de
profiter."
At home , still in the doorway : "Alya! We have a present for
Mademoiselle. "
* * *
A Mademoiselle Jeanne Robert pour notre Noel russe–
Ariane. It is not a store-bought box which lies under the Christmas
tree next to the pink package d'Olegue (Lelik) - because it is no
longer nameless . Soon-the tree, soon-Mademoiselle . She was in
Russia once , but has she been to a Russian Christmas tree since that
time (fifty years ago)? And the anxious finding of the Christmas
tree - at the last minute in a flower shop near the station - we didn't
manage to renew the invitation, and so she's coming, not for the
tree, but for an ordinary Thursday lesson , the first after her (French)
vacation. She's coming to teach and will come upon the tree. "And
Lelik, don't say anything, it's better not to let on , just bring her-or
say that we're having our lessons downstairs - because there's no
