One day Philip, with the bluntness of his age, asked him if it was true he had been with Garibaldi. The old man did not seem to attach any importance to the question. He answered quite quietly in as low a voice as usual.
“Oui, monsieur.”
“They say you were in the Commune?”
“Do they? Shall we get on with our work?”
He held the book open and Philip, intimidated, began to translate the passage he had prepared.