he place. He told me that a friend of his, a
little Jew broker by the name of Ritter, wanted to sell a very fine
anatomical specimen that had belonged to the estate. I ran to the Jew's,
examined the mummy, for such it was, and, without any haggling, paid the
price he asked. But the next day, a friend of Humboldt, Professor Hirtz,
told me the history of this shred of a man, which had been lying around
the shop for more than ten years, and never belonged to Humboldt at all.
Where the deuce has Gothon stowed it? Ah! Mlle. Clementine is sitting on
it."

Clementine attempted to rise, but Leon made her keep seated.

"We have plenty of time," said he, "to take a look at the old baggage;
meanwhile you can well imagine that it is not a very cheerful sight.
This is the history that good old Hirtz told me; he promised to send
me, in addition, a copy of a very curious memoir on the same subject.
Don't go yet, my dear Mademoiselle Sambucco; I have a little military
and scientific romance for you. We will look at the mummy as soon as I
have acquainted you with his misfortunes."

"Aha!" cried M. Audret, the architect of the chateau, "it's the romance
of the mummy, is it, that you're going to tell us? Too late my poor
Leon! Theophile Gautier has gotten ahead of you, in the supplement to
the _Moniteur_, and all the world knows your Egyptian history."

"My history," said Leon, "is no more Egyptian than Manon Lescault. Our
excellent doctor Martout, here, ought to know the name of professor John
Meiser, of Dantzic; he lived at the beginning of this century, and I
think that his last work appeared in 1824 or 1825."

"In 1823," replied M. Martout. "Meiser is one of the scientific men who
have done Germany most honor. In the midst of terrible wars which
drenched his country in blood, he followed up the researches of
Leeuwenkoeck, Baker, Needham, Fontana, and Spallanzani, on the
revivification of animals. Our profession honors in him, one of the
fathers of modern biology."

"Heavens! What ugly big words!" cried Mlle. Sambucco. "Is it decent to
keep people till this time of night, to make them listen to Dutch."

"Don't listen to the big words, dear little auntey. Save yourself for
the romance, since there is one."

"A terrible one!" said Leon. "Mlle. Clementine is seated over a human
victim, sacrificed to science by professor Meiser."

Clementine instantly got up. Her fiance handed her a chair, and seated
himself in the place she had