"'I have a strong feeling that I'm cured... if only I could be sure of it.' "'What would you do if you were?' said I. "'I should go back to my wife, my dear Marceline,' he said wistfully. "'Well, you must go back to your wife, M. Longuet; you certainly must.' "'You advise me to?' "'Of course I do.' "'No, M. Mifroid, no. She no longer expects me. Before falling through that hole in d'Enfer Street, I was careful to leave my clothes on the bank of a river. She believes me dead--drowned. She must be plunged in profound despair. My only satisfaction is that my dear friend, M. Lecamus, whom you know, has done everything possible for her in her affliction.' "'That makes it all the more necessary for you to go back to her,' I said. "'I will,' said Theophrastus; and his face brightened. "We were shaking hands with one another, with the reluctance to separate of bosom friends; and indeed our sojourn in the Catacombs had made us bosom friends, when suddenly Theophrastus smote his brow and said: "'_I must tell you a story of your youth!_' "Now, if anyone, at such a time, with Mme. Mifroid in such a state of anxiety, had said to me, 'I must tell you a story of _my youth_,' I should have made some excuse and fled. But he said, '_I must tell you a story of your youth_.' It was extremely curious; I stopped and listened; and this was what he told me: "'The incident took place in this spot, the Buci Cross-roads,' said Theophrastus. "'Was I very young?' I asked, smiling. "'Well, you must have been between fifty and fifty-five.' "I gave a little jump. I am not quite forty. And you can understand my astonishment when M. Longuet spoke of an incident of my youth when I was between fifty and fifty-five. But he paid no heed to my movement, and went on: "'At that time you had a greyish beard, cut into two long broad points which flowed gracefully down to your belt; and you were mounted--I can see it now--on a fine Spanish horse.' "'Really? I was mounted on a Spanish horse?' (I have never been mounted on anything but a bicycle.) "'A Spanish horse, which you gave to one of your archers to hold.' "'Ah, I was in command of archers, was I?' "'Yes, of twenty mounted archers, and a hundred archers on foot. All this troop had come from the Palais de Justice; and when it reached the Buci Cross-roads, you dismounted, because you were thirsty, and wished before the ceremony to get outside a pint at the tavern kept by the Smacker.' "'And for what ceremony had I come from the Palais de Justice with my hundred and twenty archers?' said I, wishing to humour him, for I only wanted to get home.