It was upon him, then, by this train of associations, that my thoughts last rested as I rode away from the château of Dumont; and as my constant attendance upon Monsieur de Villardin had prevented my seeing Maître Jacques for nearly six weeks, I was suddenly seized with a great desire to take leave of him ere I went to Paris. The road by his house was as near, though somewhat rougher, and I turned my bridle thitherward almost as soon as his image rose up before my mind. At his door I met with Father Ferdinand, whom I had left a couple of hours before in the park; and, after explaining to the good Priest that I was bound to Paris, on the business of Monsieur de Villardin, I received his benediction and one or two injunctions in regard to my conduct; and, while he pursued his way back to the château, I knocked loudly with the butt of my whip at the door of the ci-devant printer. He came out immediately, and but few words passed between us, as I had not time to dismount. Nor, indeed, did he ask me to come in when he found that I was bound upon an errand of importance, but, wishing me all prosperity, and that I might live long enough to save a great number of honest men from the gallows, he bade me adieu, and suffered me to depart. I have marked this visit, for, strange enough to say, it was the last time that I saw the good printer for nearly six years; and, by the end of that period, I need hardly say that we had both undergone many changes, at least in personal appearance. From Juvigny I rode on as fast as possible to the next post relay, and there leaving my horse with the servant who had accompanied me, I set out with my postillion for Paris as fast as I could go. Remembering the directions which I had received, I certainly did not fail to make all speed; and I found it no difficult thing to induce the post-boys to put much more celerity into their beasts than the law required, or, indeed, allowed. By this means, and by utter forgetfulness of all personal fatigue, I reached Paris full two days sooner than I should otherwise have done, and much earlier, I am convinced, than Monsieur de Villardin himself anticipated.