she has ever had such a frightful attack before."

For a quarter of an hour longer profound silence prevailed. Then
Grandidier came out of the pavilion, bareheaded and still ghastly pale.
Passing the little glazed work-shop on his way, he perceived Thomas and
Pierre there, and at once came in. But he was obliged to lean against a
bench like a man who is dazed, haunted by a nightmare. His good-natured,
energetic face retained an expression of acute anguish; and his left ear
was scratched and bleeding. However, he at once wished to talk, overcome
his feelings, and return to his life of activity. "I am very pleased to
see you, my dear Thomas," said he, "I have been thinking over what you
told me about our little motor. We must go into the matter again."

Seeing how distracted he was, it occurred to the young man that some
sudden diversion, such as the story of another's misfortunes, might
perhaps draw him from his haunting thoughts. "Of course I am at your
disposal," he replied; "but before talking of that matter I should like
to tell you that we have just seen Toussaint, that poor old fellow who
has been stricken with paralysis. His awful fate has quite distressed us.
He is in the greatest destitution, forsaken as it were by the roadside,
after all his years of labour."

Thomas dwelt upon the quarter of a century which the old workman had
spent at the factory, and suggested that it would be only just to take
some account of his long efforts, the years of his life which he had
devoted to the establishment. And he asked that he might be assisted in
the name both of equity and compassion.

"Ah! monsieur," Pierre in his turn ventured to say. "I should like to
take you for an instant into that bare room, and show you that poor,