Sébastien is very excited about the magic-or-science of this place! Which can make all men intelligible to each other. How wonderful. And M. Joly is taking him seriously, and answering his questions, and not telling him to be silent.

So it's only polite if he answers M. Joly's questions in turn, instead of haring off after the gadgets in the middle of the room, like he wants to do. "I was at school, monsieur," he says. "Studying history."