sacrificed all chances of attaining to a better position."

"And this passion, sir?"

"Since I must make the unpleasant avowal, this passion is
indolence--yes, indolence--the horror of all activity of mind, of all
moral responsibility, of taking the lead in anything. With the twelve
hundred francs that Abbe d'Aigrigny gave me, I was the happiest man in
the world; I trusted to the nobleness of his views; his thoughts became
mine, his wishes mine. My work once finished, I returned to my poor
little chamber, I lighted my fire, I dined on vegetables--then, taking
up some book of philosophy, little known, and dreaming over it, I gave
free course to my imagination, which, restrained all the day long,
carried me through numberless theories to a delicious Utopia. Then, from
the eminences of my intelligence, lifted up Lord knows whither, by the
audacity of my thoughts, I seemed to look down upon my master, and upon
the great men of the earth. This fever lasted for three or four hours,
after which I had a good sleep; and, the next morning, I went lightly to
my work, secure of my daily bread, without cares for the future, living
content with little, waiting with impatience for the delights of my
solitary evening, and saying to myself as I went on writing like a
stupid machine: 'And yet--and yet--if I chose!'--"

"Doubtless, you could, like others, surer than others, have reached a
higher position," said Adrienne, greatly struck with Rodin's practical
philosophy.

"Yes, I think I could have done so; but for what purpose?--You see, my
dear young lady, what often renders people of some merit puzzles to the
vulgar, is that they are frequently content to say: 'If I chose!'"

"But, sir, without attaching much importance to the luxuries of
life, there is a certain degree of comfort, which age renders almost
indispensable, and which you seem to have utterly renounced."

"Undeceive yourself, if you please, my dear young lady," said Rodin,
with a playful smile. "I am a true Sybarite; I require absolutely warm
clothes, a good stove, a soft mattress, a good piece of bread, a fresh
radish, flavored with good cheap salt, and some good, clear water; and,
notwithstanding this complication of wants, my twelve hundred francs
have always more than sufficed, for I have been able to make some little
savings."

"But now that you are without employment, how will you manage to live,
sir?" said Adrienne, more and more interested by the singularitie