ly. "And then to be always checked. If I do but put my finger in the
salt-cellar, straightway I hear, 'Have you no knife that you finger the
salt?' And if I but wipe my knife on the cloth to save time, then 'tis,
'Wipe thy knife dirty on the bread, and clean upon the cloth!' Oh small
of soul! these little peevish pedantries fall chill upon good fellowship
like wee icicles a-melting down from strawen eaves."

"I hold cleanliness no pedantry," said Gerard. "Shouldst learn better
manners once for all."

"Nay; 'tis they who lack manners. They stop a fellow's mouth at every
word."

"At every other word, you mean; every obscene or blasphemous one."

"Exaggerator, go to! Why, at the very last of these dungeons I found the
poor travellers sitting all chilled and mute round one shaveling, like
rogues awaiting their turn to be hanged; so to cheer them up, I did but
cry out, 'Courage, tout le monde, le dia--

"Connu! what befell?"

"Marry, this. 'Blaspheme not!' quo' the bourreau. 'Plait-il,' say I.
Doesn't he wheel and wyte on me in a sort of Alsatian French, turning
all the P's into B's. I had much ado not to laugh in his face."

"Being thyself unable to speak ten words of his language without a
fault."

"Well, all the world ought to speak French. What avail so many jargons
except to put a frontier atwixt men's hearts?"

"But what said he?"

"What signifies it what a fool says?"

"Oh, not all the words of a fool are folly, or I should not listen to
you."

"Well, then, he said, 'Such as begin by making free with the devil's
name, aye end by doing it with all the names in heaven.' 'Father,' said
I, 'I am a soldier, and this is but my "consigne" or watchword." 'Oh,
then, it is just a custom?' said he. I not divining the old fox, and
thinking to clear myself, said, 'Ay, it was.' 'Then that is ten times
worse,' said he. ''Twill bring him about your ears one of these days. He
still comes where he hears his name often called.' Observe! no gratitude
for the tidings which neither his missals nor his breviary had ever let
him know. Then he was so good as to tell me, soldiers do commonly the
crimes for which all other men are broke on the wheel; a savoir murder,
rape, and pillage."

"And is't not true?"

"True or not, it was ill manners," replied Denys guardedly. "And so
says this courteous host of mine, 'Being the foes of mankind, why make
enemies of good spirits into the bargain, by still shouting the names of
evil one