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have a lesson to give to an Indian prince who has come to Paris to learn Arabic.”

“Go to-morrow,” said Marcel.

“Oh! no,” said the philosopher, “the prince is to pay me to-day. And then I must acknowledge to you that this auspicious day would be spoilt for me if I did not take a stroll amongst the bookstalls.”

“But you will come back?” said Schaunard.

“With the swiftness of an arrow launched by a steady hand,” replied the philosopher, who loved eccentric imagery.

And he went out with Rodolphe.

“In point of fact,” said Schaunard when left alone with Marcel, “instead of lolling on the sybarite’s pillow, suppose I was to go out to seek some gold to appease the cupidity of Monsieur Bernard?”

“Then,” said Marcel uneasily, “you still mean to move.”

“Hang it,” replied Schaunard, “I must, since I have received a formal notice to quit, at a cost of five francs.”

“But,” said Marcel, “if you move, shall you take your furniture with you?”

“I have that idea. 1 will not leave a hair, as Monsieur Bernard says.”

“The deuce! That will be very awkward for me,” said Marcel, “since I have hired your room furnished.”

“There now, that’s so,” replied Schaunard. “Ah! bah,” he added in a melancholy tone, “there is nothing to prove that I shall find my thousand francs to-day, to-morrow, or even later on.”

“Stop a bit,” exclaimed Marcel, “I have an idea.”

“Unfold it.”

“This is the state of things. Legally, this lodging is mine, since I have paid a month in advance.”

“The lodging, yes; but as to the furniture, if I pay, I