The gallant shot

As the carriage crossed the wood, he made it stop near the whereabouts of a shooting gallery, saying it would be agreeable to him to shoot a few rounds to kill Time. Killing that monster, is that not the most ordinary and legitimate occupation of everyone? And he gallantly offered his hand to his dear, delicious and execrable wife, to that mysterious wife to whom he owed so many pleasures, so many pains, and perhaps as well a great part of his genius.

Several rounds hit far from the proposed target; one of them even sank into the ceiling; and as the charming creature laughed madly, making fun of her husband's skillessness, he turned brusquely toward her, and said, "Observe that doll, over there, to the right, with its nose in the air and such a haughty look. Fine! dear angel, I'll imagine it's you." And he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The doll was neatly beheaded.

Then leaning toward his dear, his delicious, his execrable wife, his inevitable and pitiless Muse, and respectfully kissing her hand, he added, "Ah! my dear angel, how I thank you for my skill!"

Charles Baudelaire