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As she opened
it, Eugenie experienced one of those unexpected and perfect delights
which make a young girl blush and quiver and tremble with pleasure.
She turned her eyes to her father as if to ask permission to accept
it, and Monsieur Grandet replied: "Take it, my daughter," in a tone
which would have made an actor illustrious.

The three Cruchots felt crushed as they saw the joyous, animated look
cast upon Adolphe des Grassins by the heiress, to whom such riches
were unheard-of. Monsieur des Grassins offered Grandet a pinch of
snuff, took one himself, shook off the grains as they fell on the
ribbon of the Legion of honor which was attached to the button-hole of
his blue surtout; then he looked at the Cruchots with an air that
seemed to say, "Parry that thrust if you can!" Madame des Grassins
cast her eyes on the blue vases which held the Cruchot bouquets,
looking at the enemy's gifts with the pretended interest of a
satirical woman. At this delicate juncture the Abbe Cruchot left the
company seated in a circle round the fire and joined Grandet at the
lower end of the hall. As the two men reached the embrasure of the
farthest window the priest said in the miser's ear: "Those people
throw money out of the windows."

"What does that matter if it gets into my cellar?" retorted the old
wine-grower.

"If you want to give gilt scissors to your daughter, you have the
means," said the abbe.

"I give her something better than scissors," answered Grandet.

"My nephew is a blockhead," thought the abbe as he looked at the
president, whose rumpled hair added to the ill grace of his brown
countenance. "Couldn't he have found some little trifle which cost
money?"

"We will join you at cards, Madame Grandet," said Madame des Grassins.

"We might have two tables, as we are all here."

"As it is Eugenie's birthday you had better play loto all together,"
said Pere Grandet: "the two young ones can join"; and the old cooper,
who never played any game, motioned to his daughter and Adolphe.
"Come, Nanon, set the tables."

"We will help you, Mademoiselle Nanon," said Madame des Grassins
gaily, quite joyous at the joy she had given Eugenie.

"I have never in my life been so pleased," the heiress said to her; "I
have never seen anything so pretty."

"Adolphe brought it from Paris, and he chose it," Madame des Grassins
whispered in her ear.

"Go on! go on! damned intriguing thing!" thought the president. "If
you ever have a suit in court, you or your husband, it shall go hard
with you."

The notary, sitting in his corner, looked calmly at the abbe, saying
to himself: "The des Grassins may do what they like; my property and
my brother's and that of my nephew amount in all to eleven hundred
thousand francs. The des Grassins, at the most, have not half that;
besides, they have a daughter. They may give what presents they like;
heiress and presents too will be ours one of these days.

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