religious principles,' he said to me, 'I should have thrown myself
into the Seine.' However, it seems that the friend of his uncle must
have heard of his distress, for again he sent him a sum of money;
enough to complete his terms for the bar; but, strange to say, he has
never known the name or the address of this mysterious benefactor.
After all, perhaps, under such circumstances, his economy is
excusable, and he must have great strength of mind to refuse what the
poor devils whose cases he wins by his devotion offer him. He is
indignant at the way other lawyers speculate on the possibility or
impossibility of poor creatures, unjustly sued, paying for the costs
of their defence. Oh! he'll succeed in the end. I shouldn't be
surprised to see that fellow in some very brilliant position; he has
tenacity, honesty, and courage. He studies, he delves."

Notwithstanding the favor with which he was greeted, la Peyrade went
discreetly to the Thuilliers'. When reproached for this reserve he
went oftener, and ended by appearing every Sunday; he was invited to
all dinner-parties, and became at last so familiar in the house that
whenever he came to see Thuillier about four o'clock he was always
requested to take "pot-luck" without ceremony. Mademoiselle Thuillier
used to say:--

"Then we know that he will get a good dinner, poor fellow!"

A social phenomenon which has certainly been observed, but never, as
yet, formulated, or, if you like it better, published, though it fully
deserves to be recorded, is the return of habits, mind, and manners to
primitive conditions in certain persons who, between youth and old
age, have raised themselves above their first estate. Thus Thuillier
had become, once more, morally speaking, the son of a concierge. He