—Good-bye. I shall wear mourning, said Cocles. When shall we see each other again?
—But ... at the funeral, I suppose. I will make a speech there. I ought to repair in some way the damage I have done. And afterwards I invite you to the funeral feast in the restaurant exactly where we saw Damocles for the first time.
VI
At the funeral there were not many people; Damocles was very little known; his death passed unnoticed except for those few interested in his history. Prometheus, the waiter, and Cocles found themselves at the cemetery, also a few idle listeners of the lecture. Every one looked at Prometheus, as they knew he was to speak; and they said: “What will he say?” for they remembered what he had said before. Before Prometheus began to speak great astonishment was caused by the fact that he was unrecognizable; he was fat, fresh, smiling; smiling so much that his conduct was judged a little indecent, as smiling still he advanced to the edge of the grave, turned his back on it, and spoke these simple words:
THE HISTORY OF TITYRUS
—Gentlemen who are kind enough to listen to me, the words of Scripture which serve as text for my brief discourse to-day are these:
Let the dead bury their dead. We will therefore occupy ourselves no more with Damocles.—The last time that I saw you all together was to hear me speak of my eagle; Damocles died of it; leave the dead ... it is nevertheless because of him, or rather thanks to his death, that now I have killed my eagle....
—Killed his eagle!!! cried every one.