For him the Eastern question relates only to the morning skies.

To go on foot and not get muddied, to save his clothes, and allow for the time he may lose in standing under shelter during a shower, are the preoccupations of his mind.

The street pavements, the flaggings of the quays and the boulevards, when first laid down, were a boon to him.

If, for some extraordinary reason, you happen to be in the streets of Paris at half-past seven or eight o'clock of a winter's morning, and see through piercing cold or fog or rain a timid, pale young man loom up, cigarless, take notice of his pockets.

You will be sure to see the outline of a roll which his mother has given him to stay his stomach between breakfast and dinner.