Page:The Writings of Prosper Merimee-Volume 1.djvu/281

Rh casket which he showed us there was a faded bouquet five or six years old at least. "Is that a relic?" I asked him. "No," he replied, with some agitation. "I do not know how it came there," Then he took the bouquet and slipped it carefully in his table drawer. Is that clear enough? I went back to the château saddened to have seen such poverty, but encouraged to bear my own, which, beside his, seemed of oriental opulence. You should have seen his surprise when Henry gave him twenty francs for a woman whom he had introduced to our notice! I really must make him a present. That straw armchair in which I sat is far too hard, I will give him one of those folding iron chairs like that which I took to Italy. You must choose me one, and send it to me as soon as possible.

2em am not bored at Noirmoutiers, Besides, I have found an interesting occupation, and I owe it to my Abbé. He realy knows everything, botany included. It reminds me of