Section 15: pages 365-381 Summary

Since he has become a peddler, Tilbot agrees to be a representative of Watkins' birds in Europe. He writes Parrot, praising the art and advising that he has procured forty-three subscriptions. Parrot buys a farm along Bloomingdale Road where Mathilde endeavors, once more, to produce "a canvas from whose heart would glow the light that was everywhere" (p. 368). One particular day, she summons Parrot when she sees a man traveling on the road toward their home, but Parrot realizes the disheveled man is Olivier. Parrot greets his friend and leads him to the house, able to tell his marriage prospects are ruined. While Parrot tries to acquire a bed for Olivier, he finds that the noble has fallen asleep in Parrot and Mathilde's bed, but they are proud to let him rest awhile in their large, handsome room. That...