"In all this excitement, you haven't thought about a place for me, I suppose?"
"Pardon me, I did mention it to my uncle. He doesn't seem to believe that you are serious in your desire for employment."
"Ah! pardieu, if your uncle has got to have a hand in it, I am very certain that I shall never get a place!"
"Never fear; I will attend to it myself, but there's no hurry. Are you in need of money? Tell me."
"Why, no, I am not in need of money. Do you suppose that I have already gone through the thousand francs you loaned me?"
"But that was more than two months ago, and——"
"True, and formerly I should have seen the last of it in a week; I should have made only seven mouthfuls of it. But to-day it's different! I told you that I had reformed. I have discovered, just at the beginning of Boulevard du Temple, a soup dealer who supplies dinners; and delicious dinners, too, on my word of honor! you don't have a great variety of dishes, to be sure; but everything is good. Excellent roast beef; you would fancy you were in London; and you can dine abundantly for eighteen sous. Eighteen sous! I used to give more than that to the waiter."
"My friend, you shouldn't go to extremes in anything; it seems to me that you are carrying your reformation too far."
"I am very well pleased; I believe that I shall end by living on my five hundred and fifty francs a year; when that time comes, I propose to parade the streets between two clarionets, to exhibit myself."
"After I am married, I will find you a suitable place."