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Article THE LUCKY INHERITANCE. ← Page 3 of 19 →
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The Lucky Inheritance.
He smiled again , though still in the same melancholy Avay . "Ah ! it is not to craunch those little beings that I love them . Pray finish your breakfast , sir ; I neA er eat them . " " You must think me very inhuman , then , to enjoy them so much . I think them exquisite ; quite as fine as ortolans . I wish you Avould change your mind . "
He shook his head , and I went on with the second . " I love ortolans , too , " he continued . " In the same manner , perhaps ?" " Precisely . My celebrity , indeed , would not have been gained had I not shown the devotion of a life to those animals . " I was puzzled . What sort of a mania was this ? A man Avho
wouldn't eat quails or ortolans ! And then his " celebrity . " What could such a strange little fellow be celebrated for ? I resolved to ask him Avho he was , and AVIIV he didn't eat roasted quails . He answered me by a question : " You have been in Paris ?" I had .
" Without doubt , then , you have heard of the name of Roqueplan ?" I had not , and Avas obliged to acknowledge the fact . The little man made a grimace of discontent ; but , gulping down his disappointment AAdth the remainder of his coffee , he left his seatadvanced into the middle of the cabindrew himself
, , up to his full height , —about five feet one , —and smiting himself on the left breast , exclaimed , in a loud voice , " Sir , I am Roqueplan !" He then took off his cap , and made me a IOAV boAV . I returned it ; but , though I kneAV now who Roqueplan Avas , I was no nearer the mark as to what constituted his celebrity .
"A foreigner , —a mere traveller , " I observed apologetically , " Avith pursuits Avhich shut him out of the great Avorld , often remains in ignorance of the most distinguished characters that adorn it . " My companion took the compliment to himself , his broAV became smooth , he smiled , and made me another boAV .
" I may , therefore , be pardoned , I continued , " if I inquire the specialty of Monsieur Roqueplan . " He put doAvn his cap , and thrusting his hand into the breast of his redingote , dreAV forth a bulky and somewhat greasy pocket-book , tied round with tape to keep it from bursting ; itseemed as if all the archives of the house of Roqueplan must be contained in it . Indeed , in a certain sense , they were ; for after turning over a number of documents , —amongst them , no doubt , those " papers" Avhich every Frenchman is always ex-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Lucky Inheritance.
He smiled again , though still in the same melancholy Avay . "Ah ! it is not to craunch those little beings that I love them . Pray finish your breakfast , sir ; I neA er eat them . " " You must think me very inhuman , then , to enjoy them so much . I think them exquisite ; quite as fine as ortolans . I wish you Avould change your mind . "
He shook his head , and I went on with the second . " I love ortolans , too , " he continued . " In the same manner , perhaps ?" " Precisely . My celebrity , indeed , would not have been gained had I not shown the devotion of a life to those animals . " I was puzzled . What sort of a mania was this ? A man Avho
wouldn't eat quails or ortolans ! And then his " celebrity . " What could such a strange little fellow be celebrated for ? I resolved to ask him Avho he was , and AVIIV he didn't eat roasted quails . He answered me by a question : " You have been in Paris ?" I had .
" Without doubt , then , you have heard of the name of Roqueplan ?" I had not , and Avas obliged to acknowledge the fact . The little man made a grimace of discontent ; but , gulping down his disappointment AAdth the remainder of his coffee , he left his seatadvanced into the middle of the cabindrew himself
, , up to his full height , —about five feet one , —and smiting himself on the left breast , exclaimed , in a loud voice , " Sir , I am Roqueplan !" He then took off his cap , and made me a IOAV boAV . I returned it ; but , though I kneAV now who Roqueplan Avas , I was no nearer the mark as to what constituted his celebrity .
"A foreigner , —a mere traveller , " I observed apologetically , " Avith pursuits Avhich shut him out of the great Avorld , often remains in ignorance of the most distinguished characters that adorn it . " My companion took the compliment to himself , his broAV became smooth , he smiled , and made me another boAV .
" I may , therefore , be pardoned , I continued , " if I inquire the specialty of Monsieur Roqueplan . " He put doAvn his cap , and thrusting his hand into the breast of his redingote , dreAV forth a bulky and somewhat greasy pocket-book , tied round with tape to keep it from bursting ; itseemed as if all the archives of the house of Roqueplan must be contained in it . Indeed , in a certain sense , they were ; for after turning over a number of documents , —amongst them , no doubt , those " papers" Avhich every Frenchman is always ex-