Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne Read Free Book Online Page B

future!"
    "But
can't I refuse? Am I not a free agent?"
    "No,
you're not. Monsieur Boutardin is unfortunately more than your uncle—he is
your guardian; I can't—I mustn't encourage you to follow a deadly path;
    no,
you're still young; work for your independence, and then, if your tastes have
not altered and I am still in this world, come to see me. "
    "But
the banking profession disgusts me!" Michel exclaimed.
    "I'm
sure it does, my boy, and if there were room for two of us in my place, I'd say
to you: come and live with me, we'll be happy together; but such an existence
would lead nowhere, and it's absolutely necessary that you be led
somewhere.... No! Work, my boy! forget me for a few years; I'd only give you
bad advice; don't mention our meeting to your uncle—it might do you harm;
don't think about an old man who would be dead long since, were it not for his
dear habit of coming here every day and finding his old friends on these
shelves. "
    "When
I'm free...," said Michel.
    "Yes!
in two years! You're sixteen now, you'll be on your own at eighteen, we can
wait; but don't forget, Michel, that I shall always have a warm welcome for
you, a piece of good advice, and a loving heart. Come and see me!" added
the old man, contradicting his own counsels.
    "Yes,
Uncle, I will. Where do you live?"
    "Oh,
a long way away, out on the Saint-Denis Plain, but the Boulevard Malesherbes
Line takes me very close—I have a chilly little room out there, but it will be
big enough when you come to see me, and warm enough when I hold your hands in
mine. "
    The
conversation between uncle and nephew continued in this fashion; the old
scholar sought to smother just those tendencies he most admired in the young
man, and his words constantly betrayed his intention; an artist's situation,
as he well knew, was hopeless, declasse, impossible. They went on talking of
everything under the sun. The old man offered himself like an old book which
his nephew might come and leaf through from time to time, good at best for
telling him about the good old days. Michel mentioned his reason for visiting
the library and questioned his uncle about the decadence of literature.
    "Literature
is dead, my boy, " the uncle replied. "Look at these empty rooms, and
these books buried in their dust; no one reads anymore; I am the guardian of a
cemetery here, and exhumation is forbidden. "
    During
this conversation time passed without their noticing it. "Four
o'clock!" exclaimed the uncle. "I'm afraid I must leave you. "
    "I'll
see you soon, " Michel promised.
    "Yes!
No! My boy, never speak of literature, never speak of art! Accept the situation
as it is! You are Monsieur Boutardin's ward before being your Uncle Huguenin's
nephew!"
    "Let
me walk you some of the way, " said young Dufrénoy.
    "No,
someone might see us. I'll go by myself. "
    "Then
till next Sunday, Uncle. "
    "Till
Sunday, my dear boy. "
    Michel
left first, but waited in the street; he saw the old man heading toward the
boulevard, his steps still confident; he followed him, at a distance, all the
way to the Madeleine station. "At last, " he rejoiced, "I'm no
longer alone in the world!"
    He
returned to his uncle's mansion. Luckily the Boutardins were dining in town,
and it was alone in his peaceful little room that Michel spent his first and
last vacation evening.

Chapter V:      Which
Treats of Calculating Machines and Self-protecting Safes
    At
eight o'clock the next morning, Michel Dufrénoy headed for the offices of the
Casmodage and Co. Bank, which occupied, in the Rue Neuve-Drouot, one of those
buildings erected on the site of the old Opera; the young man was taken into a
vast parallelogram filled with strangely shaped machines. At first he could not
make out what they were: they looked rather like huge pianos.
    Glancing
toward the adjacent office, Michel caught sight of several enormous safes: not
only did these resemble fortresses but they were even crenellated, and each of
them could easily have