“Have you seen her since?”
“I’m not such a fool. I have no desire to see her again, and for her part I fancy that she isn’t anxious to see me. It’s all over now! To the devil with love! Whether my wife dies or not, it’s all one to me; I shall never marry again.”
“You have no children?”
“What do you suppose? As if we had time for that when we were always fighting! And faith, I am glad that we hadn’t any; they would have been left on my hands and I should have had to support the brats; and that would be hard for a man who cannot feed himself every day.”
“But your wife was faithful to you, at all events?”
“Faithful? the devil! as if I paid any attention to that! In fact we only lived together four months, and that didn’t make me rich! For some time past I haven’t had any work at all, and a man’s fingers get stiff doing nothing. But for all that, there’s no reason why you should come here with your purse in your hand!”
“Look you, Monsieur Pettermann, I have not made myself understood; I had no intention of insulting you.”
“I am not insulted, but——”
“I was told that you were without work, and I simply proposed to give you my custom.”
“Oh! that makes a difference! your custom, that’s all right.”