Gradually, however, as his neighbours plied him with drink, his shoulders grew squarer, his back stiffened, his eyes brightened, and he looked about him, with an air of surprise at first, as if he had no clear recollection of how he came there, and afterwards with an expression of deepening interest, as he listened, with his ear scooped up in his hand, to the conversation around him.
Mais, peu à peu, comme ses voisins le faisaient boire copieusement, ses épaules reprirent de leur carrure. Son dos se raidit, ses yeux s'allumèrent, et il regarda autour de lui, d'abord avec surprise, comme s'il ne se rappelait pas bien comment il était venu là, puis avec une expression d'intérêt véritablement croissant.