“So that when one _is_ treated, one can always say: ‘Too late!’ That’s what Cob-Lafleur expresses so well in one of his poems which you’ll see in the review: _‘Il faut se rendre à l’évidence;_ _Car, dans ce bas monde, la danse_ _Précède souvent la chanson.’”_ “One can make literature out of anything.” “Just so; out of anything. But, dear friend, it’s not so easy as all that. Well, good-bye.... Oh! there’s one thing more I wanted to tell you. I’ve heard from Alexandre.... Yes, you know--my eldest brother, who ran away to Africa. He began by coming to grief over his business and running through all the money Rachel sent him. He’s settled now on the banks of the Casamance; and he has written to say that things are doing well and that he’ll soon be able to pay everything back.” “What kind of a business?” “Heaven knows! Rubber, ivory, Negroes perhaps ... a lot of odds and ends.... He has asked me to go out to him.” “Will you go?” “I would to-morrow, if it weren’t for my military service. Alexandre is a kind of donkey, something in my style. I think I should get on with him very well.... Here! would you like to see? I’ve got his letter with me.” He took an envelope out of his pocket, and several sheets of note-paper out of the envelope; he chose one, and held it out to Olivier. “There’s no need to read it all. Begin here.” Olivier read: “For the last fortnight, I have been living in company with a singular individual whom I have taken into my hut. The sun of these parts seems to have touched him in the upper story. I thought at first it was delirium, but there’s no doubt it’s just plain madness. This curious young man is about thirty years old, tall, strong, good-looking, and certainly ‘a gentleman,’ to judge from his manners, his language, and his hands, which are too delicate ever to have done any rough work. The strange thing about him is that he thinks himself possessed by the devil--or rather, as far as I can make out, he thinks he _is_ the devil. He must have had some odd adventure or other, for when he is dreaming or half dozing, a state into which he often falls (and then he talks to himself as if I weren’t there) he continually speaks of hands being cut off, and as at those times he gets extremely excited and rolls his eyes in an alarming manner, I take care that there shall be no weapons within reach. The rest of the time, he is a good fellow and an agreeable companion--which I appreciate, as you can imagine, after months of solitude. Besides which, he is of great assistance to me in my work. He never speaks of his past life, so that I can’t succeed in discovering who he can be. He is particularly interested in plants and insects, and sometimes in his talk shows signs of being remarkably well educated. He seems to like staying with me and doesn’t speak of leaving; I have decided to let him stay as long as he likes. I was wanting a help; all things considered, he has come just in the