And, in his turn, he murmured: "Reason, reason, yes, certainly it is a thing to be very proud of; it embodies the very dignity of life.

But there is love, which is life's omnipotence, the one blessing to be won again when you have lost it." His voice sank in a stifled sob; and as in a mechanical way he began to finger the sets of documents lying on the table, he espied among them one whose cover bore the name of Marie de Guersaint in large letters.

He opened it and read the certificates of the two doctors who had inferred that the case was one of paralysis of the marrow.

"Come, my child," he then resumed, "I know that you feel warm affection for Mademoiselle de Guersaint.

What should you say if she were cured here?
There are here some certificates, bearing honourable names, and you know that paralysis of this nature is virtually incurable.