"If he is a loyal, honest fellow, and loves her; if he is worthy of
her; if he renounces his duchess," said Butscha,--"then I'll manage
the duchess! Here, my dear sir, take this road, and you will get home
in ten minutes."
But as they parted, Butscha turned back and hailed poor Ernest, who,
as a true lover, would gladly have stayed there all night talking of
Modeste.
"Monsieur," said Butscha, "I have not yet had the honor of seeing our
great poet. I am very curious to observe that magnificent phenomenon
in the exercise of his functions. Do me the favor to bring him to the
Chalet to-morrow evening, and stay as long as possible; for it takes
more than an hour for a man to show himself for what he is. I shall be
the first to see if he loves, if he can love, or if he ever will love
Mademoiselle Modeste."
"You are very young to--"
"--to be a professor," said Butscha, cutting short La Briere. "Ha,
monsieur, deformed folks are born a hundred years old. And besides, a
sick man who has long been sick, knows more than his doctor; he knows
the disease, and that is more than can be said for the best of
doctors.
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