"You must be very different from other men then!"
"I came here with the person who has bought this château, and whom you may have seen with us."
The stranger indulged in a mocking smile, as he muttered:
"Yes, yes, I have seen him! and it seems that he has already begun to upset everything in the château."
"This property needs repairs; he proposes to make more modern the part of the building that he occupies. He also proposes to set up a household; he has not enough servants, and there are various positions to be filled. As you seem to look at the house with interest, I thought that perhaps it would be agreeable to you——"
"And you have come to offer me a chance to be the new owner’s footman!" exclaimed the stranger, with a frown.
Amazed at the expression which the other’s face assumed, Edouard replied hesitatingly:
"Footman—or something else; I know of no occupation that is degrading to him who fills it uprightly."
The stranger seemed to reflect for some moments, then exclaimed sarcastically:
"Upon my word, that would be very amusing! It would, indeed! I know that Jacob was a servant to Laban, that Apollo was a farmhand, that David kept flocks, that Cincinnatus drove the plough, and that the Prodigal Son was reduced to herding swine! After all, what does one’s employment matter, provided that one is happy? Is a man in an embroidered coat more worthy of esteem than one in a jacket and clogs? No. But he who is richly clad is able to procure all the pleasures of life, to satisfy his desires and his passions—that is the advantage that he has over the other. The form changes, but the substance is always the same. To prove it, just give money, wealth, to some poor wretch whose simple life and pure morals have been extolled to you, and he will very soon plunge into folly like the others. I know but one class of really wise people, and they are those who do not allow themselves to be tricked!"