kept to his regular hours and to his work
with such rigidity that his life in the midst of Paris was that of a
monk.
At five in the morning, in all weathers, Godeschal woke up. He went down
with Oscar to the office, where they always found their master up and
working. Oscar then did the errands of the office and prepared his
lessons for the law-school,--and prepared them elaborately; for
Godeschal, and frequently Desroches himself, pointed out to their pupil
authors to be looked through and difficulties to overcome. He was not
allowed to leave a single section of the Code until he had thoroughly
mastered it to the satisfaction of his chief and Godeschal, who put him
through preliminary examinations more searching and longer than those of
the law-school. On his return from his classes, where he was kept but a
short time, he went to his work in the office; occasionally he was sent
to the Palais, but always under the thumb of the rigid Godeschal, till
dinner. The dinner was that of his master,--one dish of meat, one of
vegetables, and a salad. The dessert consisted of a piece of Gruyere
cheese. After dinner, Godeschal and Oscar returned to the office and
worked till night. Once a month Oscar went to breakfast with his uncle
Cardot, and he spent the Sundays with his mother. From time to time
Moreau, when he came to the office about his own affairs, would take
Oscar to dine in the Palais-Royal, and to some theatre in the evening.
Oscar had been so snubbed by Godeschal and by Desroches for his attempts
at elegance that he no longer gave a thought to his clothes.
"A good clerk," Godeschal told him, "should have two black coats, one
new, one old, a pair of black trousers, black stockings, and shoes.
Boots cost too much. You can't have boots till you are called to the
bar. A clerk should never spend more than seven hundred francs a year.
Good stout shirts of strong linen are what you want. Ha! when a man
starts from nothing to reach fortune, he has to keep down to bare
necessities. Look at Monsieur Desroches; he did what we are doing, and
see where he is now."
Godeschal preached by example. If he professed the strictest principles
of honor, discretion, and honesty, he practised them without assumption,
as he walked, as he breathed; such action was the natural play of his
soul, as walking and breathing were the natural play of his organs.
Eighteen months after Oscar's installation into the office, the second
clerk was, for
|