Monsieur Rodolphe has even obliged the café to subscribe to ‘The Beaver,’ of which he is chief editor. The master of the establishment at first refused; but as Monsieur Rodolphe and his party kept calling the waiter every half hour, and crying: ‘The Beaver!’ bring us ‘The Beaver!’ some other customers, whose curiosity was excited by these obstinate demands, also asked for ‘The Beaver.’ So ‘The Beaver’ was subscribed to—a hatter's journal, which appeared every month, ornamented with a vignette and an article on ‘The Philosophy of Hats and other things in General,’ by Gustave Colline.
The phrase — The Philosophy of Hats and other things in General — does not appear in the original French text: instead this seems to be a poetic adornment of the uncredited translator who is responsible for my 1910 English edition from Societe des Beaux-Arts. My hat’s off to you, uncredited translator!
Sources:
- Murger, Henri. Bohemians of the Latin Quarter. Paris: Societe des Beaux-Arts, 1910.