midday
It is very nice of him to wish to help me in my packing ; but I think he counts also upon saying farewell to his little Japanese friends up there , and I really can not find fault with that . He finishes his work , and does in fact obtain leave , without help from me , to go on shore at five o'clock , after drill and manoeuvres . As for myself I start at once , in a hired sampan . In the vast flood of midday sunshine , to the quivering noise of the cicalas , I mount to Diou-djen-dji . The paths are solitary , the plants are drooping in the heat . Here , however , is Madame Jonquille , taking the air in the bright , grasshoppers ' sunshine , sheltering her dainty figure and her charming face under an enormous paper parasol , a huge circle , closely ribbed and fantastically striped . She recognizes me from afar , and , laughing as usual , runs to meet me .