Not only Monsieur Martout and the Messieurs Renault, but M.Audret, the architect, M.Bonnivet, the notary, and a dozen other of the bigwigs of the town, had seen and touched the mummy of the Colonel.

They had spoken about it to their friends, had described it to the best of their ability, and had recounted its history.

Two or three copies of Herr Meiser's will were circulating from hand to hand.

The question of reanimations was the order of the day; they discussed it around the fish-pond, like the Academy of Sciences at a full meeting.

Even in the market-place you could have heard them talking about rotifers and tardigrades.
It must be admitted that the resuscitationists were not in the majority.
A few professors of the college, noted for the paradoxical character of their minds; a few lovers of the marvellous, who had been duly convicted of table-tipping; and, to top off with a half dozen of those old white-moustached grumblers who believe that the death of Napoleon I.is a calumnious lie set afloat by the English, constituted the whole of the army.