I had five francs more to give the poor old man, and I found him dead." Pierre suddenly shuddered.

But he was unwilling to understand: "What, dead!" he cried.

"That old man dead! Laveuve dead ?" "Yes, I found him dead--ah! amidst what frightful wretchedness, like an old animal that has laid itself down for the finish on a heap of rags in the depths of a hole.

No neighbours had assisted him in his last moments; he had simply turned himself towards the wall.

And ah! how bare and cold and deserted it was! And what a pang for a poor creature to go off like that without a word, a caress.