"What's that?" said the old professor.

"A substance which I can place in the cornea to supply the loss of the
crystalline matter."

The German went off into a roar of laughter so long and loud that the
lady could not help laughing. I should have liked to join them, but I was
ashamed to be thought the patron of this ignorant fellow, so I preserved
a gloomy silence.

Tadini no doubt interpreted my silence as a mark of disapproval of the
German's laughter, and thought to better matters by asking me to give my
opinion.

"As you want to hear it," said I, "here it is."

"There's a great difference between a tooth and the crystalline humour;
and though you may have succeeded in putting an artificial tooth into a
gum, this treatment will not do with the eye."

"Sir, I am not a dentist."

"No, nor an oculist either."

At this the ignorant rascal got up and left the room, and it was
decidedly the best thing he could do.

We laughed over this new treatment, and the lady promised to have nothing
more to do with him. The professor was not content to despise his
opponent in silence. He had him cited before the Faculty of Medicine to