She recalled that some one had said to her that at the museum were bones carved by primitive men, and plaques of ivory on which were engraved pictures of animals, which were long ago extinct.

She asked whether that were true.

Lagrange ceased to smile.

He replied indifferently that such objects concerned one of his colleagues.
"Ah!" said Madame Martin, "then they are not in your showcase." She observed that learned men were not curious, and that it is indiscreet to question them on things that are not in their own showcases.

It is true that Lagrange had made a scientific fortune in studying meteors.