IV

read George Duroy’s article, ‘Recollections of a Chasseur d’Afrique.’ ” And suddenly he felt a wish to read this article himself, read it in a public place, a café, in sight of all. He looked about for some establishment already filled with customers. He had to walk in search of one for some time. He sat down at last in front of a kind of wine shop, where several customers were already installed, and asked for a glass of rum, as he would have asked for one of absinthe, without thinking of the time. Then he cried: “Waiter, bring me the Vie Francaise .”

A man in a white apron stepped up, saying: “We have not got it, sir; we only take in the Rappel , the Siecle , the Lanterne , and the Petit Parisien .”

“What a den!” exclaimed Duroy, in a tone of anger and disgust. “Here, go and buy it for me.”

The waiter hastened to do so, and brought back the paper. Duroy began to read his article, and several times said aloud: “Very good, very well put,” to attract the attention of his neighbors, and inspire them with the wish to know what there was in this sheet. Then, on going away, he left it on the table. The master of the place, noticing this, called him back, saying: “Sir, sir, you are forgetting your paper.”

And Duroy replied: “I will leave it to you. I have finished with it. There is a very interesting article in it this morning.”

He did not indicate the article, but he noticed as he went away one of his neighbors take the Vie Francaise up from the table on which he had left it.

He thought: “What shall I do now?” And he decided to go to his office, take his month’s salary, and tender his resignation. He felt a thrill of anticipatory pleasure at the thought of the faces that would be pulled up by the chief of his room and his colleagues. The notion of the bewilderment of the chief above all charmed him.