274 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



der his bivath. "Alas! It is too late." Broken- 

 hearted, he ordered a potion, the efficacy of which he 

 could not count on, for the poison had made irrep- 

 arable progress. And, in fact, an hour later, while 

 the mother, on her knees at the foot of the bed, was 

 praying and weeping, a little hand was stretched out 

 from under the coverings and placed all cold in hers. 

 It was the last good-by: Joseph was dead. 



The next day they buried the poor little one. The 

 whole village attended the funeral. Emile and Jules 

 returned from the cemetery so sad that for several 

 days they did not think of asking their uncle the 

 cause of this lamentable accident. 



Since then, in the house of mourning, little Louis 

 stops playing every now and then and begins to cry, 

 despite his beautiful tin watch. He has been told 

 that Joseph has gone far away and that he will come 

 back some day. " Mother, " he says sometimes, 

 ' ' when will Joseph come back? I am tired of play- 

 ing alone. " His mother kisses him and, covering 

 her face with a corner of her apron, sheds hot tears. 

 " Don't you love Joseph any more, and is that why 

 you cry when I speak of him?" asks the poor little 

 innocent. And his mother, overwhelmed, tries in 

 vain to stifle her sobs. 



