"Well, my dear Jean, if you are happy, that consoles us a little for seeing you less often," said Gilberte. "Happy?" rejoined the carpenter; "there's no happier man than I on the face of the earth!" "That's easy to see," said Janille. "See how he has cheered up since he ceased to be tracked every morning like an old rabbit! And then he shaves every Sunday now, and he has new clothes that look very well on him." "And who was it who spun the wool for this pretty drugget?" said Jean. "Why, _ma mie_ Janille and the good Lord's child! And who gave the wool? my master's sheep. And who paid the cost? it is paid in friendship here. You don't have coats like this, bourgeois. I wouldn't change my fustian jacket for your black broadcloth swallow-tail." "I would be satisfied with the spinstress," observed Galuchet, glancing at Gilberte. "You?" said Jean, good-humoredly bringing his hand down on Galuchet's shoulder with force enough to crush an ox; "you have spinstresses like this one? Why, _ma mie_ Janille is too young for you, my boy; and as for the other, I would kill her if she should spin a bit of wool as long as your nose for you!" Galuchet was wounded by this allusion to his flat nose, and retorted, rubbing his shoulder: "Look you, peasant, your manners are _too touching_; joke with your equals, I have nothing to say to you." "What's this gentleman's name?" Jean asked Monsieur Antoine. "I can't remember his devil of a name." "Come, come, Jean, you go a little too fast, old fellow," replied Monsieur Antoine. "Don't undertake to tease Monsieur Galuchet; he's a very worthy young man, and, furthermore, he is my guest." "Well said, master! Let us make peace, Monsieur Maljuché. Will you have a pinch of snuff?" "I don't use it," replied Galuchet, haughtily. "With Monsieur Antoine's permission, I will leave the table." "At your pleasure, young man, at your pleasure," said the châtelain. "Monsieur Emile doesn't enjoy long sessions either, and you can stroll about a bit. Janille will show you the château, or, if you prefer to go down to the brook, get your lines ready. We will join you directly, and take you where you will find good sport." "Oh! yes," said the carpenter, "he's a fisher of small fry! He does nothing else every evening at Gargilesse, and when anyone speaks to him he makes a wry face because it disturbs his fish. Well, we will go directly and help him to catch something better than his small fry. Look you, Monsieur Maljuché, if I don't put you in the way of carrying home a salmon for your supper, I'll agree to change names with you. You don't need to be in such a hurry. The boat should be in good condition, for I nailed a plank in its belly not long ago. We'll find an old harpoon somewhere, and the _Devil's Rock_, where the salmon usually go to take a nap in the sun, isn't far away. But it's a dangerous place, and you must not go alone."