The good man beamed. Evidently he had not had a talk all day, and felt he must expand and let himself out to somebody. I appeared in the nick of time, and came in for all his honey. He rose, went to a bookcase, ran his eye along a shelf, took down a volume, and began, in a low tone: “‘Cooperation is the mighty lever upon which an effete society relies to extricate itself from its swaddling-clothes and take a loftier flight.’ Tut, tut! What stuff is this? I beg your pardon. I was reading from a work on moral philosophy. Where the deuce is my opinion?” He found it and, text in hand, began a long account of the action, with names, dates, moments of excitement, and many quotations in extenso. “Yes, my young friend, two hundred and eighteen thousand francs did I win in that action for Monsieur Prebois, of Bourges; you know Prebois, the manufacturer?” “By name.” At last he put the note-book back on its shelf, and deigned to remember that I had come about the Junian Latins. “In which of the authorities do you find a difficulty?” “My difficulty lies in the want of authorities, sir, I wish to find out whether the Junian Latins had not a special dress.” “To be sure.” He scratched his head. “Gaius says nothing on the point?” “No.” “Papinian?” “No.” “Justinian?” “No.” “Then I see only one resource.” “What is that?” “Go to see Charnot.” I felt myself growing pale, and stammered, with a piteous look: “Monsieur Charnot, of the Acad--” “The Academy of Inscriptions; an intimate friend of mine, who will welcome you like a son, for he has none himself, poor man!” “But perhaps the question is hardly important enough for me to trouble him like this--” “Hey? Not important enough? All new questions are important. Charnot specializes on coins. Coins and costumes are all one. I will write to tell him you are coming.” “I beg, sir--” “Nonsense; Nonsense; I’ll write him this very evening. He will be delighted to see you. I know him well, you understand. He is like me; he likes industrious young men.” M. Flamaran held out his hand. “Good-by, young man. Marry as soon as you have taken your degree.” I did not recover from the shock till I was halfway across the Luxembourg Gardens, near the Tennis Court, when I sat down, overcome. See what comes of enthusiasm and going to call on your tutor! Ah, young three-and-twenty, when will you learn wisdom? CHAPTER III. AN APOLOGY 9 P.M. I have made up my mind. I shall go to see M. Charnot. But before that I shall go to his publisher’s and find out something about this famous man’s works, of which I know nothing whatever. December 31st He lives in the Rue de l’Universite. I have called. I have seen him. I owe this to an accident, to the servant’s forgetting her orders.