The Lesser Bourgeoisie

ge woman, what could he see,-a trap, or a rich and distinguished marriage offered to him. Under such a doubt as this, to press Celeste for an immediate an

hat he ought, for the moment, to think only of gaining time. Consequently, instead of going to the Thu

u will certainly not

esent myself at your

ntence which will be

ot wish to seem an im

more or less, will m

et Mademoiselle Coll

bsolute freedom of

to see you until

and I have added a f

ake but little time t

prin

r y

e de la

, which the Thuilliers did not as yet venture to risk, the "male domestic," whom Minard

t fail. We will talk

Bri

ionately devoted

re is some hindrance on the other side;

rigitte, hastened to rise and leave the room. As she passed la Peyrade she made him a very ceremonious bow. There wa

subject about which they are not sure of coming to an understanding, the matter was opened by Brigitte,

a grasp-all, to put your pistol at our throats, for we were not, as it happened, quite re

ly, "she has not decided in fa

settled that business last night; but you also know, of

I must have seen that

eleste a little more time; and also why I have wished all along to postpone the marriage to a later date. I wanted

f, during these fifteen days, I have not talked with you on the subject, it was

ments. If you had not made yourself so scarce lately, I might have been the first to tell you t

id la Peyrade; "your active h

hoose between two suitors she would consider that a permission to think at her ease of the one she liked best. I my

ade, "you mean tha

pledge her word; but it is so easy to see she regards herself as a victim, that if

d the sacrifice, and would make it his business to win the heart which at first was re

dvise? What course

, or he'll go crazy; and leave me to work the ot

ittle aunt, I have not been able to conceal from myself th

ange do you see in me, a

eyrade; "but ever since that Countess

am very grateful to her; but is that any reason why I shou

rade, craftily, "that she has tol

rld to adore them, and she sees that you are thinking only of Celeste; but all s

may continue to count on y

t tormenting, and will le

do it?" asked la Peyrade, wi

gnify to Felix that he is not t

the barrister; "I mean

astride of principles, and he'll be the first to see that if his son will not do

?" asked l

u, a pious fellow, such as she wants. You needn't be uneasy; I'll sing your praises, especially your generosity in not profiting by the arrangement she agreed to make

time comes to promote the election, I can do Thuillier either good or bad service. Do you know, the other day I was terribly frightened. I had a letter from him in my pocket, in

s, interpolated into the conversation without rhyme or reason. "But really," she added, "why should you complain of us? It is you who are behind

orrow evening, and I think we can then correct the last sheet. But, above all, don't listen to the spitefulness of Madame de Godollo; I have an idea that

barrister had touched on the ever-sensitive point of her authority, "I must look

saw by Brigitte's answer to it that the countess had not mentioned to her the vi

sible happiness of beginning on the boulevards a promenade, which he continued through the Passages, and even to the Pal

by J. Thuillier, Member of th

contain itself for joy. We ought to add that he held in very low esteem those booksellers who did not announce the sale of the new work, destined to become, as he believed, a European event. Without act

ing the publication to friends, and putting into paper covers some fifty copies, to whi

des Panoramas, where he was paying a ruinous rent. He was the nephew of Barbet the publisher, whom Brigitte had had as a tenant in the rue Saint-Dominique d'Enfer. This Barbet junior was a youth who fli

ut at the close of the third day seven copies only had been sold, and three of those on credit. It might be believed that in revealing to the horror-stricken Thu

me far more than the fifteen hundred now on our hands; that's what I call hanging fire;

illier, who thought t

ng.' The title is good,-'Taxation and the Sliding-Scale,'-but I find that the more piquant a title is, the more buyers distrust it, they have been taken in so often; they wait for the notices.

" said Thuillier, "tha

,' the 'Siecle,' and the 'Presse' have reviewed it, especially if the 'Debats' mauls it (t

d Thuillier; "but how are we to get

t of terms with the managing editors; they say the devil is

low, you ought to have

rnalists; but as you grumbled about the fifteen hundred francs for the ad

" asked Thuill

unicipal council, where was the p

own house," re

a ball, and the ball itself crowned by a supper. Well, my dear

gh the palate, and

r dinners we go

ht to give a dinner t

dinner they want, but a breakfast-that suits them best. In the evening these gentlemen have to go to first representations, and make up their papers, no

sts like that," said Thuillier

cs will see you handsomely through the whole thing. In fact, as a matter of economy, b

young man!" s

s dear to get elected to the Chamber;

hose gentlemen? Must I

nd appoint them to meet you at Philippe's

to enter into the idea. "I did not kno

they bark loudest. This breakfast is certain to make a noise, and if you don't ask

s enough merely to s

notes and send them to me. I'll see that they ar

, undecidedly, "that this expens

for it, I will guarantee the sale of fifteen hundred copies,-say at forty sous apiece; allowing the discounts

turning to go, "I'll tal

fast as a book; write hot, serve hot, and buy hot,-that's the rule for autho

ut he had now come to feel the bitterest animosity against Thuillier, so that he was well

of his purse, he had decided on the sacrifice before he even spoke to la Peyrade. The reserved and conditional approval of the latter was, therefore, m

en, not counting himself or la Peyrade, whom Thuillier wanted to second him in this encounter with a set of men amon

y ever heard of. Where's the 'Moralisateur,' the 'Lanter

t; "why, that's the paper of the 12th arrondissement, from which you expect

hat go-but t

's waiting-room; dentists are the first puffists in the wor

o proceeded to mark out certain names, red

e shall be thirteen

ee-thinker, "do you suppose I

in view of the urgency of the purpose, the next day but one for the meeting, Barbet having assured him that no journalist would object to t

e publisher, on his own authority, had changed various articles on the bill of fare as selected by his patron, more especially directing that the champagne, ordered in true bourgeois

guests. Breakfast was ordered at eleven o'clock; at a quarter to twelve not a journalist had appeared. Barbet, who was never at a los

hey had done him; after which came another long period of waiting, of which we shall not relate the tortures. At one o'clock the assembled contingent comprised five of the invited gues

publication, failed to blind him to the bitterness of his discomfiture; and without the gaiety of the publisher, who had taken in hand the rei

n, nevertheless, to raise the thermometer, when, rushing into the room where the banquet was

"we are done for! The police have made a raid upon us; a commissary and two men

he document to la Peyrade, his customa

urt of assizes," said la Peyrade, after re

d turned as

cessary formalities?" he said

is called press misdemeanor, exciting contempt and hatred of the government; you p

" cried Thuillier, los

what you put in your pamphlet; for my part, I

ng courage; "it will all be explained, and the result

cried one of the journ

e later," said another of the brotherhood; "what

ech of Charles XII., King of Sweden, when a sho

nderstanding, it ought to be explained at once; I must therefore, with your permission, go to the police court. La Peyrade," he added

t, I breakfast; if the police have committ

is serious?" cried Thuil

ne of your pamphlet. One thing is very annoying; those damned juries ha

" "we'll stand by you; I've already written an article in my head which will stir up a

n hour under such an accusation as this. Continue your breakfast wi

eft the room. "To ask me to leave a breakfast after the oysters, and go and

to the garden of the Palais-Royal, on which the dining-room of the re

said Barbet juni

anchu!" called o

, was some time in discovering the clo

hen he saw himself hailed by a man with a glass of champagne in his hand

up! There's f

ays happens among accomplices after the non-success of an affair they have done in common, he turned upon la Peyrade in the sharpest manner: La Peyrade had paid no attention to what he wrote; he had given full swing to his stupid Saint-Simonian ideas; he didn't care f

honor and my fortune into the hands of a little upstart like yourself; I shall take some gr

to come to an open rupture, he parted from Thuillier, saying that he forgave a man excited by fear, and would go to see

lace. If the executioner were coming in half an hour to lead him to the scaffold he could not have been more utterly unstrung and woe-begone. When la Peyrade entered Madame Thui

mitted one would have driven a man of the most placid temperament beside himself. La Peyrade felt that all was lost to him in the Thuillier household, where they now seemed to seize with joy the occasion to break their w

his indignation, turned to thoughts of Madame de Godollo, whose image, t