o store some thirty of the volumes which he eternally
carried about with him. This caused his friends to remark that during
the time that the public libraries were closed, savants and literary men
could go and refer to the skirts of Colline's swallow-tail--a library
always open.

That day, extraordinary to relate, Colline's swallow-tail only contained
a quarto volume of Bayle, a treatise on the hyperphysical faculties in
three volumes, a volume of Condillac, two of Swedenborg and Pope's
"Essay on Man." When he had cleared his bookcase-garment, he allowed
Rodolphe to clothe himself in it.

"Hallo!" said the latter, "the left pocket still feels very heavy; you
have left something in it."

"Ah!" exclaimed Colline, "that is so. I forgot to empty the foreign
languages pocket."

And he took out from this two Arabic grammars, a Malay dictionary, and a
stock breeder's manual in Chinese, his favorite reading.

When Rodolphe returned home he found Marcel playing pitch-and-toss with
three five franc pieces. At first Rodolphe refused his friend's
proferred hand--he thought some crime had been committed.

"Let us make haste, let us make haste," said Marcel, "we have the
fifteen francs required. This is how it happened. I met an antiquary at
Medicis'. When he saw the coin he was almost taken ill; it was the only
one wanting in his cabinet. He had sent everywhere to get this vacancy
filled up, and had lost all hope. Thus, when he had thoroughly examined
my Carlovingian crown piece, he did not hesitate for a moment to offer
me five francs for it. Medicis nudged me with his elbow; a look from
him completed the business. He meant, 'share the profits of the sale,
and I will bid against him.' We ran it up to thirty francs. I gave the
Jew fifteen, and here are the rest. Now our guests may come; we are in a
position to dazzle them. Hallo! You have got a swallow-tail!"

"Yes," said Rodolphe, "Colline's swallow-tail." And as he was feeling
for his handkerchief, Rodolphe pulled out a small volume in a Tartar
dialect, overlooked in the foreign literature pocket.

The two friends at once proceeded to make their preparations. The studio
was set in order, a fire kindled in the stove, the stretcher of a
picture, garnished with composite candles, suspended from the ceiling
as a chandelier, and a writing table placed in the middle of the studio
to serve as a rostrum for the orators. The solitary armchair, which was
to be reserved for the infl