rise. By sheer talent,
sir! And his head thrown back, and eyes half-shut, the worthy man kept
repeating out loud to himself: "By sheer talent. Nothing but talent."

[Illustration: p215-226]

A long burst of laughter, dry and creaky like an old man's laugh,
suddenly interrupted him. Slightly startled, Guillardin glanced around
the room. He was alone, quite alone, _tete-a-tete_ with his green coat,
the ghost of an Academician solemnly spread out opposite him, on the
other side of the fire. And still the insolent laugh rang on. Then as
he looked at it more intently, the sculptor almost fancied that his coat
was no longer in the place where he had put it, but really seated in the
arm-chair, with tails turned up, and sleeves resting on the arms of the
chair, the fronts puffed out with an appearance of life. Incredible as
it may seem, it was this thing that was laughing. Yes, it was from this
singular green coat that arose the uncontrollable fits of laughter by
which it was agitated, shaken and convulsed, causing it to jerk its
tails, throw itself back in the chair, and at moments place its two
sleeves against its sides, as though to check this supernatural and
inextinguishable excess of mirth. At the same time, a feeble voice, sly
and mischievous, could be heard saying between two hiccups: "Oh dear,
oh dear, how it hurts one to laugh like this! How it hurts one to laugh
like this!" "Who the devil is there, for mercy's sake?" asked the poor
Academician with wide staring eyes.

The voice continued still more slyly and mischievously:

"But it's I, Monsieur Guillardin, I, your palm-embroidered coat, waiting
for you to start for the reception. I must crave pardon for having so
unseasonably interrupted your musing; but really it is too funny to hear
you talk of your talent! I could not restrain myself. Come, you can't be
serious? Can you conscientiously believe that your talent has sufficed
to raise you so rapidly to the point you have attained in life; that it
has given you all you possess: honours, position, fame, fortune? Do
you really think that possible, Guillardin? Examine yourself, my dear
friend, before answering; go down, far, far down, into your inmost
conscience. Now, answer me? Don't you see you dare not?"

"And yet," stammered Guillardin, with comical hesitation, "I've.... I've
worked a great deal."

"Oh yes, a great deal, you have fagged tremendously. You are a toiler,
a drudge, you knock off a great deal of wo