"No, I never use it."
"That is a pity; it is deuced hard to find any about here! Never mind,—I will do without it; a man becomes accustomed to everything! Formerly I would never believe that one could sleep as well in the open air as in a bed; now I enjoy it immensely. I confess, however, that the bread of these mountaineers is a little heavy; it cannot come up to a truffled turkey or a roasted pheasant; but one must needs be sober when one cannot be otherwise."
"Why do you refuse me then when I offer you the means to be more comfortable? A servant’s place would humiliate you; but we might be able to find some place for you which would not be exactly that, some occupation in which there would be nothing distressing to you."
"No, no, it isn’t the name of servant that offends me; I tell you again, I look upon all men with the same eye! But to be a servant in this château—that is impossible!"
"Why so?"
"It is impossible, I tell you!" As he said this the stranger sprang to his feet; then he continued with a smile: "You must agree that the new owner has every appearance of an egregious idiot!"
Edouard smiled too, as he replied:
"He is a very good fellow at bottom."
"Oh, yes! A good fellow! I have known a deuced lot of men who seem to be that! They borrowed my money and never returned it. However, I did the same myself, later; it is natural; but it is much more difficult to live with fools than with intelligent people. Wealth makes the former even more absurd than ever, because it gives them assurance, self-sufficiency, which they parade on all occasions, and with which they drive one mad!—Ah! I feel by my stomach that dinner time has come; the stomach acts as a watch, you see; good-night, monsieur."
"May I not at least know your name? If any opportunity to oblige you should present itself, which were more agreeable to you than the idea of taking service at the château, I should like to be able to find you."