The elder Dumas was at the railway station, just starting to join his
yacht at Marseilles. Several friends had accompanied him, to say
good-bye. Suddenly he was informed that he had a hundred and fifty
kilogrammes excess of luggage. “Ho, ho!” cried Dumas. “How many
kilogrammes are allowed?” “Thirty for each person,” was the reply.
Silently he made a mental calculation, and then in a tone of triumph bade
his secretary take places for five. “In that way,” he explained, “we
shall have no excess.”