boots (wherefore three boots?) and a number of empty bottles,
stood a skull, a scientific and friendly souvenir, left to Philemon by
one of his comrades, a medical student. With a species of pleasantry,
very much to the taste of the student-world, a clay pipe with a very
black bowl was placed between the magnificently white teeth of this
skull; moreover, its shining top was half hidden beneath an old hat, set
knowingly on one side, and adorned with faded flowers and ribbons. When
Philemon was drunk, he used to contemplate this bony emblem of mortality,
and break out into the most poetical monologues, with regard to this
philosophical contrast between death and the mad pleasures of life. Two
or three plaster casts, with their noses and chins more or less injured,
were fastened to the wall, and bore witness to the temporary curiosity
which Philemon had felt with regard to phrenological science, from the
patient and serious study of which he had drawn the following logical
conclusion:--That, having to an alarming extent the bump of getting into
debt, he ought to resign himself to the fatality of this organization,
and accept the inconvenience of creditors as a vital necessity. On the
chimney-piece, stood uninjured, in all its majesty, the magnificent
rowing-club drinking-glass, a china teapot without a spout, and an
inkstand of black wood, the glass mouth of which was covered by a coat of
greenish and mossy mould. From time to time, the silence of this retreat
was interrupted by the cooing of pigeons, which Rose-Pompon had
established with cordial hospitality in the little study. Chilly as a
quail, Rose-Pompon crept close to the fire, and at the same time seemed
to enjoy the warmth of a bright ray of sunshine, which enveloped her in
its golden light. This droll little creature was dressed in the oddest
costume, which, however, displayed to advantage the freshness of her
piquant and pretty countenance, crowned with its fine, fair hair, always
neatly combed and arranged the first thing in the morning. By way of
dressing-gown, Rose-Pompon had ingeniously drawn over her linen, the
ample scarlet flannel shirt which belonged to Philemon's official garb in
the rowing-club; the collar, open and turned down, displayed the
whiteness of the young girl's under garment, as also of her neck and
shoulders, on whose firm and polished surface the scarlet shirt seemed to
cast a rosy light. The grisette's fresh and dimpled arms half protruded