“'You see, the thing I want is not physic.'
“'Ha! what is it, then?'
“'It's marriage!'
“My father turned round and stared at him in astonishment.
“'What's that you say, eh?'
“'It's marriage.”
“'Marriage! So, then, you jackass, you're to love.'
“'That's how it is, M'sieu le Baron.'
“And my father began to laugh so immoderately that my mother called out through the wall of the next room:
“'What in the world is the matter with you, Gontran?'