My old friend, Peter Kalm, will dine with us too; he is a
philosopher as perfectly as you are a soldier! So stay, and we will
have something better than tobacco-smoke to our wine to-day!"
"The tobacco-smoke is not bad either, your Excellency!" replied La
Corne, who was an inveterate smoker. "I like your Swedish friend.
He cracks nuts of wisdom with such a grave air that I feel like a
boy sitting at his feet, glad to pick up a kernel now and then. My
practical philosophy is sometimes at fault, to be sure, in trying to
fit his theories but I feel that I ought to believe many things
which I do not understand."
The Count took his arm familiarly, and, followed by the other
gentlemen, proceeded to the dining-hall, where his table was spread
in a style which, if less luxurious than the Intendant's, left
nothing to be desired by guests who were content with plenty of good
cheer, admirable cooking, adroit service, and perfect hospitality.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
ARRIVAL OF PIERRE PHILIBERT.
Dinner at the table of the Count de la Galissoniere was not a
dull affair of mere eating and drinking.
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