A month later Louis-Gaston, now an apprentice on board a man-of-war, left the harbor of Rochefort. Leaning over the bulwarks of the corvette Iris, he watched the coast of France receding swiftly till it became indistinguishable from the faint blue horizon line. In a little while he felt that he was really alone, and lost in the wide ocean, lost and alone in the world and in life.
"There is no need to cry, lad; there is a God for us all," said an old sailor, with rough kindliness in his thick voice.
The boy thanked him with pride in his eyes. Then he bowed his head, and resigned himself to a sailor's life. He was a father.
ANGOULEME, August, 1832.
ADDENDUM
The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
Brandon, Lady Marie Augusta The Member for Arcis The Lily of the Valley La Grenadiere
Gaston, Louis La Grenadiere Letters of Two Brides
Gaston, Marie La Grenadiere Letters of Two Brides The Member for Arcis