nothing to do but to lie down in the dust before him? Let him attend to his little affairs himself, and not put them off on innocent children, no matter whether they are with us or against us.'
This protest went so far that, evidently, Poupin felt a little ashamed of his wife. 'He has no authority but what we give him; but you know that we respect him, that he is one of the pure, ma bonne. Hyacinth can do exactly as he likes; he knows that as well as we do. He knows there is not a feather's weight of compulsion; he knows that, for my part, I long since ceased to expect anything from him.'
'Certainly, there is no compulsion,' said Schinkel. 'It's to take or to leave. Only they keep the books.'
Hyacinth stood there before the three, with his eyes on the floor. 'Of course I can do as I like, and what I like is what I shall do. Besides, what are we talking about, with such sudden passion?' he asked, looking up. 'I have no summons, I have no sign. When the call reaches me, it will be time to discuss it. Let it come or not come: it's not my affair.'
'Certainly, it is not your affair,' said Schinkel.
'I can't think why M. Paul has never done anything, all this time, knowing that everything is different now!' Madame Poupin exclaimed.
'Yes, my dear boy, I don't understand our friend,' her husband remarked, watching Hyacinth with suspicious, contentious eyes.
'It's none of his business, any more than ours; it's none of any one's business!' Schinkel declared.
'Muniment walks straight; the best thing you can do is
