“I had indeed met my old colonel, who recollected that I had helped him out of the skirmish at Montereau by giving him my horse, and he had offered me bed and board at his house.  I knew that the year before he had married a castle and no few farms, so that I might become permanent coat-brusher to a millionaire, which was not without its temptations.  It remained to see if I had not anything better to do.  One evening I set myself to reflect upon it.

“‘Let us see, Chaufour,’ said I to myself; ’the question is to act like a man.  The colonel’s place suits you, but cannot you do anything better?  Your body is still in good condition, and your arms strong; do you not owe all your strength to your country, as your Vincennes uncle said?  Why not leave some old soldier, more cut up than you are, to get his hospital at the colonel’s?  Come, trooper, you are still fit for another stout charge or two!  You must not lay up before your time.’

“Whereupon I went to thank the colonel, and to offer my services to an old artilleryman, who had gone back to his home at Clamart, and who had taken up the quarryman’s pick again.

“For the first few months I played the conscript’s part—­that is to say, there was more stir than work; but with a good will one gets the better of stones, as of everything else.  I did not become, so to speak, the leader of a column, but I brought up the rank among the good workmen, and I ate my bread with a good appetite, seeing I had earned it with a good will.  For even underground, you see, I still kept my pride.  The thought that I was working to do my part in changing rocks into houses pleased my heart.  I said to myself, ’Courage, Chaufour, my old boy; you are helping to beautify your country.’  And that kept up my spirit.

“Unfortunately, some of my companions were rather too sensible to the charms of the brandy-bottle; so much so, that one day one of them, who could hardly distinguish his right hand from his left, thought proper to strike a light close to a charged mine.  The mine exploded suddenly, and sent a shower of stone grape among us, which killed three men, and carried away the arm of which I have now only the sleeve.”

“So you were again without means of living?” said I to the old soldier.

“That is to say, I had to change them,” replied he, quietly.  “The difficulty was to find one which would do with five fingers instead of ten; I found it, however.”

“How was that?”

“Among the Paris street-sweepers.”

“What! you have been one—­”

“Of the pioneers of the health force for a while, neighbor, and that was not my worst time either.  The corps of sweepers is not so low as it is dirty, I can tell you!  There are old actresses in it who could never learn to save their money, and ruined merchants from the exchange; we even had a professor of classics, who for a little drink would recite Latin to you, or Greek tragedies, as you chose.  They could not have competed for the Monthyon prize; but we excused faults on account of poverty, and cheered our poverty by our good-humor and jokes.  I was as ragged and as cheerful as the rest, while trying to be something better.  Even in the mire of the gutter I preserved my faith that nothing is dishonorable which is useful to our country.