since, of which he would talk to me, asking whether I thought the Church
would allow masses to be said for the repose of its soul. His dog, said
he, had been a good Christian, who for twelve years had accompanied him
to church, never barking, listening to the organ without opening his
mouth, and crouching beside him in a way that made it seem as though he
were praying too.

"This man centered all his affections in me; he looked upon me as
a forlorn and suffering creature, and he became, to me, the most
thoughtful mother, the most considerate benefactor, the ideal of the
virtue which rejoices in its own work. When I met him in the street, he
would throw me a glance of intelligence full of unutterable dignity; he
would affect to walk as though he carried no weight, and seemed happy in
seeing me in good health and well dressed. It was, in fact, the devoted
affection of the lower classes, the love of a girl of the people
transferred to a loftier level. Bourgeat did all my errands, woke me at
night at any fixed hour, trimmed my lamp, cleaned our landing; as good
as a servant as he was as a father, and as clean as an English girl. He
did all the housework. Like Philopoemen, he sawed our wood, and gave to
all he did the grace of simplicity while preserving his dignity, for he
seemed to understand that the end ennobles every act.

"When I left this good fellow, to be house surgeon at the Hotel-Dieu, I
felt an indescribable, dull pain, knowing that he could no longer live
with me; but he comforted himself with the prospect of saving up money
enough for me to take my degree, and he made me promise to go to see him
whenever I had a day out: Bourgeat was proud of me. He loved me for my
own sake, and for his own. If you look up my thesis, you will see that I
dedicated it to him.

"During the last year of my residence as house surgeon I earned enough
to repay all I owed to this worthy Auvergnat by buying him a barrel and
a horse. He was furious with rage at learning that I had been depriving
myself of spending my money, and yet he was delighted to see his wishes
fulfilled; he laughed and scolded, he looked at his barrel, at his
horse, and wiped away a tear, as he said, 'It is too bad. What a
splendid barrel! You really ought not. Why, that horse is as strong as
an Auvergnat!'

"I never saw a more touching scene. Bourgeat insisted on buying for
me the case of instruments mounted in silver which you have seen in my
room, and which