I was dere for nearly a year, und
dere I found a man dot was called Bertran. He was a Frenchman, und he was a
goot man--naturalist to the bone. Dey said he was an escaped convict, but he
was a naturalist, und dot was enough for me. He would call all her life beasts
from der forests, und dey would come. I said he was St. Francis of Assisi in a
new dransmigration produced, und he laughed und said he had never preach to der
fishes. He sold dem for trepang--beche-de-mer.
"Und dot man, who was king of beasts-tamer men, he had in der house shush such
anoder as dot devil-animal in der cage--a great orangoutang dot thought he was
a man. He haf found him when he was a child--der orangoutang--und he was child
and brother and opera comique all round to Bertran. He had his room in dot
house--not a cage, but a room--mit a bed and sheets, and he would go to bed and
get up in der morning and smoke his cigar und eat his dinner mit Bertran, und
walk mit him hand-in-hand, which was most horrible. Herr Gott! I haf seen dot
beast throw himself back in his chair and laugh when Bertran haf made fun of
me. He was not a beast; he was a man, and he talked to Bertran, und Bertran
comprehended, for I bave seen dem. Und he was always politeful to me except
when I talk too long to Bertran und say nodings at all to him.
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