appened to her in the past to
repent of her confidence, might perhaps have been less reserved had
not George Clair always shown himself extremely restrained in his
expressions and behaviour. He always gave a purely intellectual
character to the conversation, keeping it within the realm of general
ideas, and, moreover, expressing himself on all subjects with the
greatest freedom. He spoke frequently of the organization of society,
and the conditions of labour.

"Wealth," said he, "is one of the means of living happily; but people
have made it the sole end of existence."

And this state of things seemed monstrous to both of them.

They returned continually to various scientific subjects with which they
were both familiar.

On that day they discussed the evolution of chemistry.

"From the moment," said Clair, "that radium was seen to be transformed
into helium, people ceased to affirm the immutability of simple bodies;
in this way all those old laws about simple relations and about the
indestructibility of matter were abolished."

"However," said she, "chemical laws exist."

For, being a woman, she had need of belief.

He resumed carelessly:

"Now that we can procure radium in sufficient quantities, science
possesses incomparable means of analysis; even at present we get
glimpses, within what are called simple bodies, of extremely diversified
complex ones, and we discover energies in matter which seem to increase
even by reason of its tenuity."

As they talked, they threw bits of bread to the birds, and some children
played around them.

Passing from one subject to another:

"This hill, in the quaternary epoch," said Clair, "was inhabited by wild
horses. Last year, as they were tunnelling for the water mains, they
found a layer of the bones of primeval horses."

She was anxious to know whether, at that distant epoch, man had yet
appeared.

He told her that man used to hunt the primeval horse long before he
tried to domesticate him.

"Man," he added, "was at first a hunter, then he became a shepherd,
a cultivator, a manufacturer . . . and these diverse civilizations
succeeded each other at intervals of time that the mind cannot
conceive."

He took out his watch.

Caroline asked if it was already time to go back to the office.

He said it was not, that it was scarcely half-past twelve.

A little girl was making mud pies at the foot of their bench; a little
boy of seven or eight years was playing in