"The sight of all these coquettes makes me ill."
"Oh! it's sure to do that."
"I propose to run away from the disloyal hussies."
"I don't know just where you can go to avoid them."
"These parties where you talk without saying anything; where you make acquaintances, but not friends; where you go because you have nothing else to do, rather than for pleasure,—I am tired of the whole business. I have been going into society only two years and a half, and I am sick of it already. This is my plan——"
"Do you mean to become a hermit?"
"No; but I mean to leave Paris for some time; I mean to travel, to visit different countries; in that way, by comparing the manners and customs of the different peoples, by admiring the wonders and beauties of nature, a man can best form his mind and his judgment and increase his store of knowledge; and in that way the heart is made acquainted with pleasures which it could never know in these worldly gatherings, inspired by idleness and governed by etiquette."
"Powerfully argued!" cried Dubourg, rising from his reclining-chair; "you must travel, my dear fellow, there is nothing better for the young. But when a man travels alone, he is always bored to death; one can't be more than half happy when he has no one to whom he can impart the sentiments inspired by a beautiful landscape, an ancient monument, or an imposing ruin! Besides, you are too young to run about the world alone; you need a companion who is wise, well informed, and, above all, experienced; well, my friend, I offer myself as your mentor."
"I was about to make the same suggestion, my dear Dubourg."
"Parbleu! I accept with great pleasure."