"Don't split straws! When I lose her I shall be alone. You do not require to be a father to know that."
"You could always go to see her."
"Flûte!"
"And your grandchildren. Respectful grandchildren that clustered at your knee."
"I will not anticipate grandchildren—I am not a hundred!" exclaimed Vauquelin angrily. "I repeat that the present conditions are entirely to my taste, and I desire to prolong them."
"It is also possible you might re-marry."
"At my age? Who would have me? Some ripe and ruddled widow."
"Girls, quite young, marry men much older than you."
"But not for love. Tell me, what would you put me down at? Without flattery."
"I should call you in the prime of life."