He was very much amused by the profusion of the columns, by the incredible carving in the friezes, by the reliefs and sculptured caps to the pillars. They were so extravagantly flowered, with the lines so intricate, that only a master hand could have worked them. A curious point about all this work was that it only reached as high as a man could touch. Above that point the design mixed in with the vaulting of the catacombs and was left to the imagination. But whatever was seen of this beautiful carving could only be compared with the marvels worked by the early sculptors of India or the ivory-carvers of Burma. In the search M. Mifroid did not come upon any large building. He had frequently heard Mademoiselle say: “Ah, St. Mary!” And so he tried to find some temple in order to find out what their religion was. His search, however, was in vain. The only building of any size was the concert hall where they had been earlier. It was certainly more wonderful than all the rest, but except for this one example all the architectural marvels were applied to the private buildings. The meanest aperture, the poorest door, were little gems of art. There were no statues in the squares. M. Mifroid was just starting back to his lady’s house, when he met a party of young Talfa, armed with cross-bows. “Ah!” thought he, “here are the guards.” He was, however, quickly undeceived, for they had smelled the odor from his lamp, and they came up to him. They told him they were going for a hunt. The hunting season started every year on the rising of the waters of the great lake. At this time there were always a lot of rats, which were killed in thousands and used for many different things in the Talfa households. Thanks to the directions they had given him, he soon found his way back to Lady de Montfort’s house. There he found her waiting at the window, and as soon as he got near her, she waved her handkerchief. They were soon in conversation again, and he found out that she was not married. She asked him what he did on the top of the earth, and he told her he was a commissioner of police. She listened intently, and asked what Théophraste did. “He is a robber,” said M. Mifroid. Evidently neither a commissioner of police nor a robber was known among the Talfa, and soon the news spread that the two strangers had unknown trades, and a great crowd gathered, who begged them to show them what they did on earth. M. Mifroid sent to fetch Théophraste. CHAPTER XXXVI _A Robber is Caught_ |WHEN Théophraste was brought up to M. Mifroid, he was in a pitiful condition. He had given himself up to the worst debauchery, and was still under the influence of his excesses.