It was a very sensible speech for the old man to make; but who in
the world is to have sense, if old people have not?

And then they continued their way to the town.

***

Now, let us see what happened to the son.

He was the leadsman, that is to say, it was his business to sound
the depths of the sea; he had plumbed the profound abysses of the
ocean, calculated the elevation of the land and the apparent motion
of the sky; he knew the exact time by looking at the sun, and he
could tell from the stars how far they had travelled. He was a man
of importance; he believed that he held heaven and earth in his
hand, measured time and regulated the clock of eternity. And after
he had been the king's guest and received an order to wear on his
breast, he fancied that he was made of finer stuff than most men;
he was not exactly haughty when he met his poor parents and his
sweetheart, but, although they said nothing, they felt that he
thought himself their superior. Possibly he was a little stiff, he
was built that way.

Well, the official ceremonies were over, but the students also had
decided to pay homage to the heroes, who had returned home after
a prolonged absence. And they went to the capital in full force.

Students are queer people, who read books and study under Dr.
Know-all; consequently they imagine that they know more than other