"Nothing, absolutely nothing, General!" I replied, crushed by the feeling of my powerlessness.
The general looked at me in profound pity.
"Nevertheless," he said, "I do not want to abandon you ..."
"No, General, for you will not be abandoning me only! True, I am ignorant and good for nothing; but my mother counts upon me; I have promised her I will find a place, and she ought not to be punished for my ignorance and my laziness."
"Give me your address," said the general. "I will consider what can be done for you.... Write, there, at that desk."
He held the pen out to me which he had just been using. I took it; I looked at it, still wet; then, shaking my head, I gave it back to him.
"What is the matter?"
"No, General," I said; "I cannot write with your pen: it would be a profanation."
He smiled. "What a child you are!" he said. "Look, here is a new one."