"'What a surprise it would be if Jules were on that one! Eh?' "Every Sunday, when the big steamers were returning from unknown and distant countries, my father would invariably utter the same words: They moved slowly, with a serious expression, their bodies straight, their legs stiff, as if something of extreme importance depended upon their appearance.
I remember the pompous air of my poor parents in these Sunday walks, their stern expression, their stiff walk. I walked on the left of my mother and my father on her right. They were of marriageable age and had to be displayed.
"My father, in his shirt sleeves, his silk hat on his head, would await the completion of the operation, while my mother, putting on her spectacles, and taking off her gloves in order not to spoil them, would make haste. My sisters, who were always ready first, would await the signal for leaving but at the last minute some one always found a spot on my father's frock coat, and it had to be wiped away quickly with a rag moistened with benzine. My father, in a frock coat, high hat and kid gloves, would offer his arm to my mother, decked out and beribboned like a ship on a holiday. "Every Sunday, dressed in our best, we would take our walk along the breakwater. "I used to go through terrible scenes on account of lost buttons and torn trousers. They say it is wholesome and nourishing, but I should have preferred a change. Our meals usually consisted cf soup and beef, prepared with every kind of sauce. My sisters made their own gowns, and long discussions would arise on the price of a piece of braid worth fifteen centimes a yard. All our provisions were bought at bargain sales. We economized on everything, and never would accept an invitation to dinner, so as not to have to return the courtesy. He would pass his open hand over his forehead, as if to wipe away perspiration which did not exist, and he would answer nothing. The poor man then made a gesture which used to distress me. "My mother suffered a good deal from our reduced circumstances, and she often had harsh words for her husband, veiled and sly reproaches. My father worked hard, came home late from the office, and earned very little. "My family, which came originally from Havre, was not rich. "That poor unfortunate reminds me of a story which I shall tell you, the memory of which continually pursues me. My companion, Joseph Davranche, gave him five francs. A white-haired old man begged us for alms.
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