"Yes; found dead in his bed. He must have known he was dying, for he lay quite straight as the dead lie, his hands by his side...wonderful presence of mind."
"Not a penny; but I could manage it all right. Since my success at the Salon, I have been able to sell my things. I am only beginning to find out now what a success that picture was. _Je t'assure, je fais l'ècole_"...
"_Tu crois ça...on fait l'ècole après vingt ans de travail_."
When we were excited Marshall and I always dropped into French.
"And now tell me," he said, "about this duel."
No sooner had I begun to tell the story than it dawned upon me that it was impossible to tell it seriously, for it was fundamentally an absurd story; and I lacked courage to tell Marshall that I only wished to go through with the duel in order to become notorious. No one will admit such a thing as that to his friend, and if I had admitted it Marshall would not have consented. I suddenly began to get interested in other things. There was Marshall's painting to talk about. After the theatre we went home and æstheticised till three in the morning. The duel became the least important event and Marshall's new picture the greatest. At breakfast next day the duel seemed more tiresome than ever, but the gentlemen were coming to meet Marshall. He showed his usual tact in arranging my affair of honour; a letter was drawn up in which my friend withdrew the blow of his hand, I withdrew the blow of the bottle, etc.--really now I lack energy to explain it any further.
Hypocritical reader, you draw your purity garments round you, you say, "How very base"; but I say unto you remember how often you have longed, if you are a soldier in Her Majesty's army, for war,--war that would bring every form of sorrow to a million fellow-creatures, and you longed for all this to happen, because it might bring your name into the _Gazette_. Hypocritical reader, think not too hardly of me; hypocritical reader, think what you like of me, your hypocrisy will alter nothing; in telling you of my vices I am only telling you of your own; hypocritical reader, in showing you my soul I am showing you your own; hypocritical reader, exquisitely hypocritical reader, you are my brother, I salute you.