Page:The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter.djvu/124

fact, Monsieur Monetti, an enthusiast for his art, had consecrated his days to the science of chimneys. One day he formed the idea of drawing up, for the benefit of posterity, a theoretic code of the principles of that art, in the practice of which he so excelled, and he had chosen his nephew, as we have seen, to frame the substance of his ideas in an intelligible form. Rodolphe was found in board, lodging, and other contingencies, and at the completion of the manual was to receive a recompense of three hundred francs.

In the beginning, to encourage his nephew, Monetti had generously made him an advance of fifty francs. But Rodolphe, who had not seen so much silver together for nearly a year, went out, half crazy, in company with his money, staid out three days, and on the fourth came home alone! Thereupon the uncle, who was in haste to have his “Manual” finished, inasmuch as he hoped to get a patent for it, dreading some new diversion on his nephew’s part, determined to make him work by preventing him from going out. To this end he carried off his garments, and left him instead the disguise under which we have seen him. Nevertheless, the famous “Manual” continued to make very slow progress, for Rodolphe had no genius whatever for this kind of literature. The uncle avenged himself for this lazy indifference on the great subject of chimneys by making his nephew undergo a host of annoyances. Sometimes he cut short his commons, and frequently stopped the supply of tobacco.

One Sunday, after having sweated blood and ink upon the great chapter on ventilators, Rodolphe broke the pen, which was burning his fingers, and went out to walk—in his “park.” As if on purpose to plague him, and excite his envy the more, he could not cast a single look about him without perceiving the figure of a smoker at every window.