Thereuponweexchangedafriendlygripofthehandandparted。I
neversawhimagain。Hisfatherlyargumentshadsoonconvincedme:
Iwaspreparedtoheartheblunttruth。Afewmonthsearlier，I
hadreceivedmynominationasanassistantlecturerinzoologyattheuniversityofPoitiers。Theyofferedmearidiculoussalary。
Afterpayingthecostsofmoving，Ishouldhavehadhardlythreefrancsadayleft;and，onthisincome，Ihadtokeepmyfamily，numberingseveninall。Ihastenedtodeclinetheverygreathonor。