And now he was an apothecary! Such a
wonderful thing is an adventurous life! I thought he might as well
have stayed at home; but you never can tell wherein a man's life
consists, nor in what he sets his pleasure: one to drink, another
to marry, a third to write scurrilous articles and be repeatedly
caned in public, and now this fourth, perhaps, to be an apothecary
in Brazil. As for his old father, he could conceive no reason for
the lad's behaviour. 'I had always bread for him,' he said; 'he
ran away to annoy me. He loved to annoy me. He had no gratitude.'
But at heart he was swelling with pride over his travelled
offspring, and he produced a letter out of his pocket, where, as he
said, it was rotting, a mere lump of paper rags, and waved it
gloriously in the air. 'This comes from America,' he cried, 'six
thousand leagues away!' And the wine-shop audience looked upon it
with a certain thrill.
I soon became a popular figure, and was known for miles in the
country. Ou'st que vous allez? was changed for me into Quoi, vous
rentrez au Monastier and in the town itself every urchin seemed to
know my name, although no living creature could pronounce it.
There was one particular group of lace-makers who brought out a
chair for me whenever I went by, and detained me from my walk to
gossip. They were filled with curiosity about England, its
language, its religion, the dress of the women, and were never
weary of seeing the Queen's head on English postage-stamps, or
seeking for French words in English Journals.
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