stretched himself and waved his arms. "Ah, now I am
better. Now I am Paragot. Berzelius Nibbidard Paragot, again. Now I am
free from the forms and symbols. Yes, my son. That hat has been to me
Luke's iron crown. That coat has been the _peine forte et dure_ crushing
my infinite soul into my liver." He tore off his black tie and hurled it
away from him. "This has been strangling every noble inspiration. I have
been swathed in mummy bands of convention. I have been dead. I have come
to life. My lungs are full. My soul regains its limitless horizons. My
swollen tongue is cool, and _nom de Dieu de nom de Dieu_, I can talk
again!"

He walked up and down the little salon vociferating his freedom, and
kicking the remains of the frock-coat before him. With one of his sudden
impulses he picked it up and threw it out of a quickly opened window.

"The sight of it offended me," he explained.

"Master," said I, "where are your other things?"

"What other things?"

"Your luggage--your great coat--your umbrella."

"Why, at Melford," said he with an air of surprise. "Where else should
they be?"

I had thought that no action of Paragot could astonish me. I was wrong.
I stared at him as stupefied as ever.

"Usually people travel with their luggage," said I, foolishly.

"They are usual people, my son. I am not one of them. It came to a point
when I must either expire or go. I decided not to expire. These things
are done all in a flash. I was walking in the garden. It was last Sunday
afternoon--I remember now: a sodden November day. Imagine a sodden
November Sunday afternoon English country-town garden. Joanna was at a
children's service. Ah, _mon Dieu_! The desolation of that Sunday
afternoon! The _death_, my son, that was in the air! Ah! I choked, I
struggled. The garden-wall, the leaden sky closed in upon me. I walked
out. I came back to Paris."

"Just like that?" I murmured.

"Just like that," said he. "You may have noticed, my son, that I am a
man of swift decisions and prompt action. I walked to the Railway
Station. A providential London train was expected in five minutes. I
took it. _Voila._"

"Did you stay long in London?" I asked by way of saying something; for
he began to pace up and down the room.

"Did I see anything worth seeing at the theatres? And did I have a good
crossing? My little Asticot, I perceive you have become an adept at
conventional conversation. If you can't say something original I shall
go bac