wly suffocating. Think how fat I am. Even if I had the enthusiasm
of Dick, or the fun of Buttons, my fat would force me to leave. Can
you pretend to be a friend of mine and still urge me to go further?
And suppose we passed over into Austrian territory. Perhaps we might
be unmolested, but it is doubtful. Suppose, for the sake of argument,
that we were arrested and detained. Imagine us--imagine _me_ shut up
in a room--or worse, a cell--in the month of July in midsummer, in
the hottest part of this burning fiery furnace of a country! What
would be left of me at the end of a week, or at the end of even one
day? What? A grease spot! A grease spot! Not a bit more, by Jingo!"

[Illustration: A Grease Spot.]

After this speech, which was for him one of extraordinary length
and vigor, Mr. Figgs fell exhausted into his chair.

"But you, Doctor," said the Senator, seeing that Mr. Figgs was
beyond the reach of persuasion--"you--what reason is there for you
to leave? You are young, strong, and certainly not fat."

"No, thank heaven! it is not the heat, or the fear of being
suffocated in an Austrian dungeon that influences me."

"What, is the reason?"

"These confounded disturbances," said the Doctor languidly.

"Disturbances?"

"Yes. I hear that the road between this and Bologna swarms with
vagabonds. Several diligences have been robbed. I heard a story
which shows this state of things. A band of men entered the theatre
of a small town along the road while the inhabitants were witnessing
the play. At first the spectators thought it was part of the
performance. They were soon undeceived. The men drew up in line in
front of the stage and levelled their pieces. Then fastening the
doors, they sent a number of men around through the house to plunder
the whole audience. Not content with this they made the authorities
of the town pay a heavy ransom."

"Some one has been humbugging you, Doctor," said Buttons.

"I had it from good authority," said the Doctor, calmly. "These
fellows call themselves Revolutionists, and the peasantry sympathize
with them."

"Well, if we meet with them there will be a little additional
excitement."

"Yes, and the loss of our watches and money."

"We can carry our money where they won't find it, and our bills of
exchange are all right, you know."

"I think none of you will accuse me of want of courage. If I met
these fellows you know very well that I would go in for fighting
them. But what