“After all, is there any person so unhappy, so abandoned, that he doesn’t have a little den into which he can withdraw and hide away from everyone? Nothing more elaborate is needed for the journey.”
― Xavier de Maistre, A Journey Around my Room.

I think I met him at the storming of the Bastille. Funny sort of chap. Could be a bit elliptical.

Yes, I knew him quite well back in the day. He could be a hothead at times, but his spell in prison calmed him down, and I spent some happy evenings with him, sharing a bottle of the best Cannonau and reminiscing about the old days.