L. You have secured twenty hogsheads of wine?
J. Yes, with much care and sweat.
—Be so kind as to give me six of the best.
—Six hogsheads out of twenty! Good heavens! You want to ruin me. If you please, what do you propose to do with them?
—The first will be given to the creditors of the State. When one has debts, the least one can do is to pay the interest.
—Where did the principal go?
—It would take too long to tell. A part of it was once upon a time put in cartridges, which made the finest smoke in the world; with another part men were hired who were maimed on foreign ground, after having ravaged it. Then, when these expenses brought the enemy upon us, he would not leave without taking money with him, which we had to borrow.
—What good do I get from it now?
—The satisfaction of saying:
How proud am I of being a Frenchman
When I behold the triumphal column,