“It is the first warning—I knew it was coming; ataxia always begins like this. My dear Toto, you know nothing about it; I have read the whole subject up in the Bibliothèque Nationale. It begins with forgetfulness in little things; one finds one’s self walking down the street in slippers, or forgetting how to spell one’s name, and one dies like a raving maniac. Then, one has tremor of the hand—look at my hand.” “Drink some brandy,” said Toto, rousing up a bit from his own misery. “You will be all right; I have often been like that myself.” “No matter; if I die, Pelisson will have killed me. He burst into my room absolutely like a tiger; you can fancy the shock to one in my condition. I was absolutely dragged from my bed—threatened with violence if I did not divulge all that I knew about this infamous article.” “Don’t _speak_ of it!” cried Toto, “don’t, don’t! I want to get to some quiet place where I know no one. Come, I am going to Struve’s rooms; I must see him and ask him to take some money to this girl. I will write you a check at his rooms and you can go and cash it; then I will go to some country place. You will come with me, will you not? You are the only friend I have.” “To the ends of the earth,” answered Gaillard. “This brandy has saved my reason if not my life; I will finish what is in the little decanter if you will not.” He finished the brandy, and then, rising, took Toto’s arm. It was half-past eleven now, and the day promised to be very warm—a perfect summer’s day with scarcely a breeze or cloud. The narrow street was black in the shadow, gold in the sunshine, and a barrel-organ was playing “Santa Lucia.” “Yes, I am better now; the world is not so distinctly horrible as it was a moment ago. But, Toto, if you are intent on going to Struve’s rooms, how are we to get there? We are sure to meet people we know.” “We must take a carriage. Curse it! I wish it were winter; there are no closed carriages. You can get a brougham to take me to the station when we reach Struve’s, but how are we to get there? I can’t parade myself before Paris. I know,—it is the only thing we can do,—we will take an omnibus from the Boul’ Miche. We shall meet no one that we know in an omnibus.” In the Boul’ Miche they were fortunate enough to find an omnibus just stopped and disgorging some passengers—one, moreover, that would drop them actually at Struve’s door; but they had to wait whilst three other passengers got in before them. There was a girl in a summer hat that would have brought tears to Célestin’s eyes, a priest, and a fat lady bearing a lobster tied to a string; then they found that there was only one inside place left. “You must go outside,” said Toto. “But, Désiré, think for a moment. I cannot possibly do this; everyone will see me. Let us wait and take the next.”