k my hand and said:
"Good-day, brother, how are you?" "Very well, citizen, and how are you?"
"You do not tutoyer--you are not up to the Revolution?"We'll see--will
you step in the parlor?" "Yes, brother, I'll follow you."--We enter; he
sees my wife who, I may say, has an imposing air. He boldly embraces
her and, repeating his gesture on the breast, takes her hand and says:
"Good-day, sister." "Come," I interpose, "let us take breakfast, and, if
you please, you shall dine with me." "Yes, but on one condition, that tu
me tutoie." "I will try, but I am not in the habit of it." After warming
up his intellect and heart with a bottle of wine, we get rid of him
by sending him to inspect the archives-room, along with my son and
Bambinet. It is amusing, for he can only read print... Bambinet, and
the procureur, read the titles aloud, and pass over the feudalisms. Velu
does not notice this and always tells them to go on.--After an hour,
tired out, he comes back: "All right," he says, "now let me see your
chateau, which is a fine one." He had heard about a room where there
were fantocini, in the attic. He goes up, opens some play-books, and,
seeing on the lists of characters the name of King and Prince, he, says
to me: "You must scratch those out, and play only republican pieces."
The descent is by a back-stairs. On the way down he encounters a maid
of my wife's, who is very pretty; he stops and, regarding my son, says:
"You must as a good Republican, sleep with that girl and marry her." I
look at him and reply: "Monsieur Velu, listen; we are well behaved here,
and such language cannot be allowed. You must respect the young
people in my house." A little disconcerted, he tames down and is quite
deferential to Madame de Cheverney.--"You have pen and ink on your
table," he says, "bring them here." "What for," I ask, "to take my
inventory?" "No, but I must make a proces-verbal. You help me; it will
be better for you, as you can fix it to suit you" This was not badly
done, to conceal his want of knowledge.--We go in to dinner. My servants
waited on the table; I had not yielded to the system of a general table
for all of us, which would not have pleased my servants any more
than myself. Curiosity led them all to come in and see us dining
together.--"Brother," says Velu to me, "don't these people eat with
you?" (He saw the table set for only four persons.) I reply: "Brother,
that would not be any more agreeable to them than to myself. Ask