“I had by no means expected to make the fortune which I have acquired here; indeed, I myself have no use for it, for a man who has fallen from the pinnacle of his hopes needs very little.  It costs but little to live, the idler’s life alone is a costly one, and I am not sure that the unproductive consumer is not robbing the community at large.  There was some discussion about Napoleon’s pension after his fall; it came to his ears, and he said that five francs a day and a horse to ride was all that he needed.  I meant to have no more to do with money when I came here; but after a time I saw that money means power, and that it is in fact a necessity, if any good is to be done.  So I have made arrangements in my will for turning my house into an almshouse, in which old people who have not Moreau’s fierce independence can end their days.  Part of the income of nine thousand francs brought in by the mill and the rest of my property will be devoted to giving outdoor relief in hard winters to those who really stand in need of it.

“This foundation will be under the control of the Municipal Council, with the addition of the cure, who is to be president; and in this way the money made in the district will be returned to it.  In my will I have laid down the lines on which this institution is to be conducted; it would be tedious to go over them, it is enough to say that I have a fund which will some day enable the Commune to award several scholarships for children who show signs of promise in art or science.  So, even after I am gone, my work of civilization will continue.  When you have set yourself to do anything, Captain Bluteau, something within you urges you on, you see, and you cannot bear to leave it unfinished.  This craving within us for order and for perfection is one of the signs that point most surely to a future existence.  Now, let us quicken our pace, I have my round to finish, and there are five or six more patients still to be visited.”

They cantered on for some time in silence, till Benassis said laughingly to his companion, “Come now, Captain Bluteau, you have drawn me out and made me chatter like a magpie, and you have not said a syllable about your own history, which must be an interesting one.  When a soldier has come to your time of life, he has seen so much that he must have more than one adventure to tell about.”

“Why, my history has been simply the history of the army,” answered Genestas.  “Soldiers are all after one pattern.  Never in command, always giving and taking sabre-cuts in my place, I have lived just like anybody else.  I have been wherever Napoleon led us, and have borne a part in every battle in which the Imperial Guard has struck a blow; but everybody knows all about these events.  A soldier has to look after his horse, to endure hunger and thirst at times, to fight whenever there is fighting to be done, and there you have the whole history of his life.  As simple as saying good-day, is it not?  Then there are battles in which your horse casts a shoe at the outset, and lands you in a quandary; and as far as you are concerned, that is the whole of it.  In short, I have seen so many countries, that seeing them has come to be a matter of course; and I have seen so many men die, that I have come to value my own life at nothing.”