o very much afraid of me, my poor Hydrogene? You
expect a good lecture and you will not expect in vain. Have
patience, though. Before giving you the dressing you
deserve, I want to tell you that I have not forgotten you,
and that I was very vexed on returning from Paris, to find
my great simpleton of a son gone. I am so used to seeing
your solemn face that I quite miss it. You have a great many
faults, but after all, you are a good sort, and in time you
will get reasonable. Try to remember occasionally, my dear
Plombeus, that you have friends. If I were your only
friend, that would be a great deal, as I am to be depended
on, and am always at my post as a friend, although I may not
be very tender. I am not very polite either, as I speak the
truth plainly. That is my characteristic, though. I am a
firm friend nevertheless, and to be depended on. Do not
forget what I have said now, as I shall not often repeat
this. Remember, too, that happiness in this world depends
on the interest and esteem that we inspire. I do not say
this to every one, as it would be impossible, but just to a
certain number of friends. It is impossible to find one's
happiness entirely in one's self, without being an egoist,
and I do not think so badly of you that I imagine you to be
one. A man whom no one cares for is wretched, and the man
who has friends is afraid of grieving them by behaving
badly. As Polyte says, all this is for the sake of letting
you know that you must do your best to behave well, if you
want to prove to me that you are not ungrateful for my
interest in you. You ought to get rid of the bad habit of
boasting that you have adopted through frequenting young men
as foolish as yourself. Do whatever your position and your
health allow you to do, provided that you do not compromise
the honour or the reputation of any one else. I do not see
that a young man is called upon to be as chaste as a nun.
But keep your good or bad luck in your love affairs to
yourself. Silly talk is always repeated, and it may chance
to get to the ears of sensible people who will disapprove.
Try, too, not to make so many plans, but to carry out just
one or two of them. You know that is why I quarrel with you
always. I should like to see more constancy in you.