reach of the tongue; show to the cats, who, on the steps of the houses,
provoke us by hideous grimaces, a silent contempt, but one that will not
forget; and remember that it is lawful and even commendable to chase and
strangle mice, rats, wild rabbits and, generally speaking, all animals
(we learn to know them by secret marks) that have not yet made their
peace with mankind.

All this and so much more!... Was it surprising that Pelléas often
appeared pensive in the face of those numberless problems, and that his
humble and gentle look was often so profound and grave, laden with cares
and full of unreadable questions?

[Illustration]

Alas, he did not have time to finish the long and heavy task which
nature lays upon the instinct that rises in order to approach a brighter
region.... An ill of a mysterious character, which seems specially to
punish the only animal that succeeds in leaving the circle in which it
is born; an indefinite ill that carries off hundreds of intelligent
little dogs, came to put an end to the destiny and the happy education
of Pelléas. And now all those efforts to achieve a little more light;
all that ardour in loving, that courage in understanding; all that
affectionate gaiety and innocent fawning; all those kind and devoted
looks, which turned to man to ask for his assistance against unjust
death; all those flickering gleams which came from the profound abyss of
a world that is no longer ours; all those nearly human little habits lie
sadly in the cold ground, under a flowering elder-tree, in a corner of
the garden.