Porthos laughed louder than ever.

"I broke," said Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing
mirth, "more than three thousand francs worth of china--ha, ha, ha!"

"Good!" said D'Artagnan.

"I smashed more than four thousand francs worth of glass!--ho, ho, ho!"

"Excellent."

"Without counting a luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a
thousand pieces--ha, ha, ha!"

"Upon your head?" said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.

"On top."

"But your head was broken, I suppose?"

"No, since I tell you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the
luster which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it was."

"Ah! the luster was glass, you say."

"Venetian glass! a perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and
weighed two hundred pounds."

"And it fell upon your head!"

"Upon my head. Just imagine, a globe of crystal, gilded all over, the
lower part beautifully encrusted, perfumes burning at the top, with jets
from which flame issued when they were lighted."

"I quite understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I suppose?"

"Happily not, or I should have been grilled prematurely."

"And you were only knocked down flat, instead?"

"Not at all."

"How, 'not at all?'"

"Why, the luster fell on my skull. It appears that we have upon the top
of our heads an exceedingly thick crust."

"Who told you that, Porthos?"

"The doctor. A sort of dome which would bear Notre-Dame."

"Bah!"

"Yes, it seems that our skulls are made in that manner."

"Speak for yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made
in that manner, and not the skulls of other people."

"Well, that may be so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however,
was that the case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall
upon the dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a
report like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I fell,
covered from head to foot."

"With blood, poor Porthos!"

"Not at all; with perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was
delicious, but the odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it;
perhaps you have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"

"Yes, in inhaling the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my
poor friend, you were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
perfumes?"

"Yes; but what is very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never
seen anything like it--"

"You had a bump on your he