"'And how did you eat it?'

"'Like every one else, I suppose. I took my spoon in one hand, and my
fork in the other--'

"'Your fork! Good heavens! None but a savage eats soup with a fork.
But go on. What did you take next?'

"'A boiled egg.'

"'Good; and what did you do with the shell?'

"'Not eat it, certainly. I left it, of course, in the egg-cup.'

"'Without breaking it through with your spoon?'

"'Without breaking it.'

"'Then, my dear fellow, permit me to tell you that no one eats an egg
without breaking the shell and leaving the spoon standing in it. And
after your egg?'

"'I asked for some _bouilli_.'

"'For _bouilli_! It is a term that no one uses. You should have asked
for beef--never for _bouilli_. Well, and after the _bouilli_?'

"'I asked the Abbé de Radonvilliers for some fowl.'