Industrial Chemistry 



The poor woman started ; and her astounded 

 eyes wandered from the open-handed swell 

 to the piece of silver and from the piece of 

 silver to the open-handed swell. What a sur- 

 prise ! What a windfall ! 



^Que Ion bon Dieu le done longo vido e 

 santa, pecdire!' she said, in her cracked voice. 



And, curtseying and nodding, she withdrew, 

 still staring at the coin in the palm of her 

 hand. 



'What did she say?' asked Duruy. 



'She wished you long life and health.' 



'And pecdireT 



'Pecdire is a poem in itself: it sums up all 

 the gentler passions.' 



And I myself mentally repeated the artless 

 vow. The man who stops so kindly when a 

 beggar puts out her hand has something better 

 in his soul than the mere qualities that go to 

 make a minister. 



We entered the station, still alone, as 

 promised, and I quite without misgivings. Had 

 I but foreseen what was going to happen, how 

 I should have hastened to take my leave I 

 Little by little, a group formed in front of us. 

 It was too late to fly; I had to screw up my 

 courage. Came the general of division and 

 his officers, came the prefect and his secretary, 

 46J 



