' 'What you
say is rather profound, and probably erroneous,' he said, with a laugh.
'Avoid irritation more than exposure to the sun. _Adieu_. How do you
English say, eh? Good-bye. Ah! Good-bye. _Adieu_. In the tropics one must
before everything keep calm.' . . . He lifted a warning forefinger. . . .
'_Du calme, du calme_.'
"One thing more remained to do--say good-bye to my excellent aunt. I
found her triumphant. I had a cup of tea--the last decent cup of tea for
many days--and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would
expect a lady's drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the
fireside. In the course of these confidences it became quite plain to me
I had been represented to the wife of the high dignitary, and goodness
knows to how many more people besides, as an exceptional and gifted
creature--a piece of good fortune for the Company--a man you don't get
hold of every day. Good heavens! and I was going to take charge of a
two-penny-half-penny river-steamboat with a penny whistle attached! It
appeared, however, I was also one of the Workers, with a capital--you
know. Something like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort
of apostle. There had been a lot of such rot let loose in print and talk
just about that time, and the excellent woman, living right in the rush
of all that humbug, got carried off her feet.
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