And he, who used to know the Dardanelles, was longing to return there as a simple passenger merely that a poet named Lord Byron might not be the only one to imitate the legendary crossing.
The books that he kept in his home, the nautical charts fastened to the walls, the flasks and jars filled with the animal and vegetable life of the sea, and more than all this, his tastes which were so at variance with the customs of his neighbors, had given the _Triton_ the reputation of a mysterious sage, the fame of a wizard.
All those who were well and strong considered him crazy, but the moment that there was the slightest break in their health they would share the same faith as the poor women who oftentimes passed long hours in the home of the _Dotor_, seeing his bark afar off and patiently awaiting his return from the sea, in order to show him the sick children they carried in their arms.

He had an advantage over all other doctors, as he made no charge for his services; better still, many sick people came away from his house with money in their hands.
The _Dotor_ was rich--the richest man in the countryside; a man who really did not know what to do with his money.

His maid-servant--an old woman who had known his father and served his mother--used daily to receive from his hands the fish provided for the two with a regal generosity.

The _Triton_, who had hoisted sail at daybreak, used to disembark before eleven, and soon the purpling lobster was crackling on the red coals, sending forth delicious odors; the stew pot was bubbling away, thickening its broth with the succulent fat of the sea-scorpion; the oil in the frying pan was singing, browning the flame-colored skin of the salmonettes; and the sea urchins and the mussels opened hissing under his knife, were emptying their still living pulp into the boiling stew pan.

Furthermore, a cow with full udders was mooing in the yard, and dozens of chickens with innumerable broods were cackling incessantly.
The flour kneaded and baked by his servant, and the coffee thick as mud, was all that the _Triton_ purchased with his money.