might
do so, but he had hitherto refused. We went to a small cafe in the Latin
Quartier, where he insisted on drinking absinthe. He walked there and
back with some difficulty, but seemed fairly well. Only I thought he had
suddenly aged in face, and remarked to Reggie next day how different he
looked when up and dressed. He appeared _comparatively_ well in bed. (I
noticed for the first time that his hair was slightly tinged with grey.
I had always remarked that his hair had never altered its colour while
he was in Reading;[60] it retained its soft brown tone. You must
remember the jests he used to make about it, he always amused the
warders by saying that his hair was perfectly white.) Next day I was not
surprised to find Oscar suffering with a cold and great pain in his ear;
however, Dr. Tucker said he might go out again, and the following
afternoon, a very mild day, we drove in the Bois. Oscar was much
better, but complained of giddiness; we returned about 4.30. On Saturday
morning, November 3rd, I met the Panseur Hennion (Reggie always called
him the Libre Penseur), he came every day to dress Oscar's wounds. He
asked me if I was a great friend or knew Oscar's relatives. He assured
me that Oscar's general condition was very serious--that he could not
live more than three or four months unless he altered his way of
life--that I ought to speak to Dr. Tucker, who did not realise Oscar's
serious state--that the ear trouble was not of much importance in
itself, but a grave symptom. On Sunday morning I saw Dr. Tucker--he is a
silly, kind, excellent man; he said Oscar ought to write more--that he
was much better, and that his condition would only become serious when
he got up and went about in the usual way. I begged him to be frank. He
promised to ask Oscar if he might talk to me openly on the subject of
Oscar's health. I saw him on the Tuesday following by appointment; he
was very vague; and though he endorsed Hennion's view to some extent,
said that Oscar was getting well now, though he could not live long
unless he stopped drinking. On going to see Oscar later in the day I
found him very agitated. He said he did not want to know what the doctor
had told me. He said he did not care if he had only a short time to live
and then went off on to the subject of his debts, which I gather
amounted to something over more than L400.[61] He asked me to see that
at all events some of them were paid if I was in a position to do so
afte