The Lesser Bourgeoisie

manner, he received a perfumed note, which made his heart beat, for on the seal was that momentous "All or Nothing" which s

e heard of the step

repare to take my own

o live in this house,

our own class and wit

this transaction, an

entresol welcomes the

eed to-day and to-mo

me until the day after

e, as they say at the

ell

to

de G

The two days' waiting to which he was thus condemned only fanned the flame of the ardent passion which possessed him, and on the third day when reached t

ot the object of his visit should be known. The ice was broken, his happiness was soon to be o

bell-cord had disappeared. La Peyrade's first thought was that one of those serious illnesses which make all noises intolerable to a patient wo

and studded with brass nails had hitherto protected the entrance to the apartment; of that no sign, except the injury to the wall done by the workmen in taking it away. For a moment the barrister thought

perceived from beneath that door a ray of vivid light, the sure sign of an uninhabited apartment where curtains and carpets and furniture no longer dim the light or deaden sound. Compelled to believe in a total removal, la Peyrade now supposed that in the rupture with Brigitte, mentioned

doubt still remained in his mind, la Peyrade m

g the house down?" said the porter, attracte

odollo still live he

If monsieur had told me he was going to her apartment I wo

la Peyrade, not wishing to seem ignorant of the project

said the porter, "for she went off

a Peyrade, stupefied. "

e don't usually take post-horses and a postilion

t tell you wher

a! Do people account to us

s-those that come a

eur le commandeur, the little old gentlemen who cam

ce of mind in the midst of the successive shocks which cam

came often. Well, I am told to g

uaintance," said la Peyrade, care

, mon

yrade, "good-morning."

uillier knows more about it than I do. Won't monsieur

to tell Madame de Godollo about a commission she

o hours earlier monsieur might still have found her; but now, wi

caused by this hasty departure, jealousy entered his soul, and in this agonizing

er reflection, he

on secret missions which require the most abso

revulsion of tho

r furniture to Brigitte were also that of this Hungarian countess? And yet," he continued, as his brain made a third evolution in this frightful anarchy of ideas and feelings, "her

for a long time had he not been suddenly grasped round the s

frightful danger threatens you;

looked round and found hims

uadron of workmen. Watch in hand, the great citizen was estimating the length of the resistance which that mass of freestone would present to the destructive labor of which it was the object. Precisely at the crucial moment of the impending catastrophe la Peyrade, lost in the tumult of his thoughts, was entering, heedless of the shouts addressed to him on all sides, the radiu

whose business it was to warn the passers,

called to earth. "I should certainly have been c

ssed Phell

y. But what were you thinking of, my dear monsieur? Probably of the plea you are about to make in the Thuillier affair. The public prints have informed me of the danger of prosecution by the authorities which hangs above the head of our estimable friend. You have a noble cause to defend, monsieur. Habituated as I am, through my labors as a member of the reading comm

not employed for the defence. I have advi

t once when the blow fell, but I did not see him; I saw only Brigitte, who was having a discussion with Madame d

?" said la Peyrade, rushing at the chance of s

h sympathy between us, I regard her departure as a misfortune. She will leave a serious void in the salon o

her prejudice against me, I think I should have come to an understanding. But this morning

ad a fortunate inspiration in the matter; although, on the other hand, his sanguinary and despotic government was not, to my humble thinking, entirely devoid of reproach. Once only in my life have I used that method of

a he dug and delved in every direction, an occupation that would have made him indifferent to a far more

to the post-office to obtain a seat in the mail-coach, but all were taken; I found they had been engaged for more than a week. Upon that, I came to a decision; I went to the rue Pigalle, and, for a very large sum in gold a post-chaise and three horses were placed

e end of the postal odyssey of the great citizen, he darted away in the direction of th

gan by explaining to the porter that he had a letter to send to a lady of his acquaintance that morning by post, neglecting, very thoughtlessly,

evard de la Madeleine?" asked a postilion sitting in the corner

ly up to the providential being, and sl

nd round for an hour. After that, we came back to the Barriere de l'Etoile, where she gave me a good 'pourboire' and got into a hackney

f that man?" said l

replied the

hat individual knew only that a lady residing on the Boulevard de la Madeleine had hired, without horses, a travelling-carriage for half a

e. Most probably, she wants to break utterly with the Thuilliers, and so has invented this journe

still longer the tortures of waiting. Since Brigitte's departure, the duty of the porter, Coffinet, had been very negligently performed, and when la Peyrade rushed to the lodge to inquire for his letter, which he thought he saw in the case that belonged to him, the porter and his wife were both absent and their door was locked.

the reproaches with which la Peyrade overwhelmed him. He excused himself by saying that he had gone to do a commission for Mademoiselle, and that he co

s life experienced. To read that letter before that odious porter seemed to him a profanation. With a refinement of feeling which all lovers will understand, he gave himself the pleasure of pausing before his happi

en, having settled himself at his ease before his desk, and having broken the seal with religious care, he was forced to pres

appear forever, beca

having made it both a

he Thuilliers and Col

iments towards them),

ng to their bourgeoi

and pitiless rupture

that I have done you

u, and you love nothi

ore saved you both f

r the bride you hav

is proposed to you;

oiselle Colleville,

t liber

worthy

mtesse de

rmation apply, withou

, rue Honore-Chevali

Saint-Sulpice, by w

poor took his head in his hands; he saw nothing,

led under conditions most cruel to his self-love, and to his pretensions to depth and cleverness; irrevocably parted from the Thuilliers; saddled with a hopeless debt of twenty-five thousand francs to Madame Lambert, together with another of ten thousand to Brigitte, which his d

gerous siren, and in either case, it would seem, she was not very deserving of the regrets of her victim; nevertheless, he was conscious of feeling them. We must put ourselves in the place of this son of Provence, this region of hot blood and ardent heads, who, for the first time in his life finding himself face to face with jewelled love in laces, believed he was to drink that passion from a wrought-gold cup. Just as our minds on waking keep the impressi

ew weeks; therefore the match offered by Cerizet and that proposed by the countess must be the crazy girl they are so frantic to make me marry; therefore Cerizet, being in the plot, must know the countess; therefore, through him I shall get upon her traces. In any c

nt to see

Peyrade had asked Dutocq at the Thuilliers' (where the latter seldom went now, o

s of you," Duto

erest in it. The chances were, therefore, that he would be received with affectionate eagerness rather than unpleasant acerbity. Moreover, he decided to go and see the copying clerk at Dutocq's office; it would look, he thought, less like a visit than if he went to his den in the rue des Poules. It was nearly two o'clock when la Peyrade made his entrance into the precincts of the justice-

at him and said, without rising, or suspending

You have been doing fine thin

Peyrade, in a tone bot

to follow out the nautical metaphor, allow me to ask what wind

a chair beside his questioner, af

have something to

ly, "the Thuilliers have grown cold

ul people; I have broken wit

ves. You see, my friend, what it is to try and manage affairs alone; complications come, and there's no one to smooth the angles. If you had got me tha

ugh of those Thuilliers, and I broke with them myself; I warned them to get out of my sun; and if Dutocq told yo

e against your Thuilliers you ought to have put me

ld have set you at their legs-but as for that matter

you to tell Brigitte that the twelve thousand francs a year I e

erly practised at the ministry of finance," said la Peyrade, "and, like other

t; "you are talking of m

serious matters. Will you do me the favor to drop the Thuil

down his pen, which had never ceased to

marrying a girl who was rich, fully of age, and slightly h

"I expected this; but you've

ss, what did you have in y

toop and take it. I was formally charged to propose it to you; and, as th

o was commissioned to make me that

perfectly natural tone of su

ou must have met in the family of the bride

st question of a woman in this negotiation. I have every

rizet a scrutinizing eye, "did you neve

this is the first time

n, after many singular preliminaries, too long to explain to you, made me a for

rical?" as

er detail which may put you on the track of her. Madame de Godollo exhorted me

lier?" exclaimed

cise

to you through two different mediums. It is str

d of the countess's intervention, but you don't know her,

or the whole proceeding is rather cavalier towards me; but this employ

a woman's head appeared, and a voice, which was instantly r

r is busy. Could I say a word

sooner heard that drawling, honeyed voice, than he turned his head in a manner to conceal his features. Instead therefore of being roughly sent away,

ert," said Cerizet; "you won't

and then came face t

nized, "how fortunate I am to meet monsieur! I have been several times

office lately; but I attended to that matter; everything ha

ay God to bless him," said the

me Lambert?" said Cerizet; "you never tol

ny counsel; he is so self-willed, so obstinate! But, my good mons

erizet, "and not la

entlemen of the Royal court s

nd the Royal court have both, on the petition of the

to think of making him out a lunatic!

counsel. That's what the family council meets for to-morrow; and I think, this time, my dear Madame Lambert, your old Picot will find himse

n suppose-" began the devote, cl

ffair. But the relations declare that you have pocketed consider

inquire; I am poor; I have not a deed, nor a note, nor a sha

are always friends to take care of such things. However, that is none of my business; every on

in our favor to Monsieur the justice-of-peace. Monsieur the vicar of Saint-Jacques is also to speak to him.

ause. You must have seen that the other day, when he refused to receive you. As for Monsieur Dutocq a

t tell him that I had, be-because they have gone to keep the h-house of

Lambert

oorer than you are; and if friend Peyrade here, who seems to be more in

madame's affairs. She asked me to draw up a petition on a

about this petition the day Dutocq met her at your office, the morning aft

ttach any importance to th

e justice-of-peace, and, if I get a chance, I'll speak to him my

s and protestations of gratitude. When s

ives in, and that old man they accuse her of robbing is actually kept alive by her devotion, so I'm told. Consequently, the neighbors have put it

ent of yours, it is lucky for her Monsieur Picot's relatives are not members of the French academy; it is in the correctional police-court, sixth chamber, where they mean to give her the reward of virtue.

is he?" aske

weasel. He gives me the idea of having dealings with the

but, first of all, I want you to find o

r? She is nothing but a su

can certainly get some information about he

e amusing yourself with things that don't pay; you h

me, and before I go a step into it I want to know where I put my feet. These crooked proceedings are not reassuring, and as so many influences are being brought to bear, I choose to control one by another. Therefore don't play sly, but giv

lied Cerizet, in the tone and manner of Fre

lightly mocking tone, Dutocq appear

ty reconstituted! but the object of the alliance, the 'casus foederis,' has floated

huillier?" as

; here was Tartuffe

taken a good turn, and having less need of you he is getting drawn into his sister's waters; and i

e in such a mess again!-Well, adieu, my friends," he added. "And you, Ceri

e municipal building, he was accosted by Ma

illainous things that Monsieur Cerizet said about me; monsieur knows it was the

hat with all these rumors set about by your master's re

will that I am

et the other service which I did for you. At the first appearance of any indiscre

r may be eas

to you, my dear," said la

a nasal voice was heard fro

one to the staircase window to make sure of it. "Madame Lambert! Mon

ence, although he knew the secret of that twent

walked away, "I'm in a run of ill-luck

ity over her; and this, while it had given a higher order to the Thuillier establishment, made her ill at ease. When therefore the separation took place, which was done, let us here say, on good terms, and under fair and honorable pretexts, Mademoisel

eed of Theodose made itself felt in the literary and political existence of his dear, good friend. The municipal councillor found himself suddenly appointed to draft an important report. He was unable to decline the task, saddled as he was with the r

eport to the Members of the Municipal Council of the City of Paris," followed, on a line by itself, by a magnificent Messieurs-nothing came of it! He was fain to issue furious from his study, complaining of the horrible household racket which "cut the t

mit his plan to the owner of the house. Thuillier granted cordially the request that was made to him, and then discours

is more or less indifferent; a fool, or a man of talent who will listen to them, serves equally well to think aloud to, and they are, as a stimulant, about the same thing. After Rabourdin had said his say, he observed that Thui

s he went away, "something on this subje

e the council it obtained a very great success, and Thuillier returned home radiant and much elated by the congratulations he had received. From that moment-a moment that was marked in his life, for even to advanced old age he still talked of the "report he had had the honor

It resolved therefore to relax its rigor, which of late had been much increased against the press. Being included in this species of hypocritical amnesty, Thuillier received one morning a

ort of adventurer whom he had fed and clothed, a tricky fellow who had extracted much money from him, and had finally behaved with such ingratitude that he was thankful not to count him a

o la Peyrade; but the interview in which the copying clerk was to furnish information about Madame

s inquiry, he scoured Paris in every direction, and might have been seen, like the idlest of loungers, in the

as animated as in summer. On the boulevard des Italiens, formerly known as the boulevard de Gand, as he lounged past the long line of chairs before the Cafe de Paris, where, mingled with a few women of the Chaussee d'Antin accompa

elf that he was not mistaken, la Peyrade was about to dart upon that celestial vision, when he was forestalled by a dandy of the most triumphant type. Without throwing aside his cigar, without even touching his hat, this handsom

? Mabille closes to-night, an

t saved him from a foolish action, that of addressing, on the arm of the man who had suddenly made himself

h insulting," he

ad left, sat another woman, also alone; but this one was ripe with years, with feathers on her head, and beneath the folds of a cashmere shawl she concealed the plaintive remains of tarnishe

that woman who has just gone a

I know nearly all th

er nam

me Ko

nable as the fort

battered by the press and by novelists about the famous citadel of Komorn; and la Peyrade knew tha

idea of making h

yrade, "but she is a woman wh

no inclination to return generously what is done for her. I can speak knowingly of that; whe

laimed la

verts and a stream for fishing; but as I was alone I found it dull, and several of these ladies an

de, "are you any relation to Monsieu

to go back to him; but I, though I'm ready to forgive most things, I can't forg

k to the matter in hand; "you organized those pi

man was so lovable, and so unhappy because he couldn't make Madame Komorn like him, that at last I took an interest in this particular love affair; which produced a pot of money for madame, for she managed to get immense sums out of that Italian. W

appened to him?"

er fingers, but more manoeuvring than either; so, being, as it appears, in close relations to the police, she

is departure,

monsieur is not to trust himself in that direction; and yet, monsieur looks to me a Southerner, and Southerners have passions; perhaps what I have told him will only serve to spur them up. However, being warned, there's not so much da

about it," said la Peyrade

ness; his abrupt departure did not sho

cool self-possession was only the stillness of the atmosphere that precedes a storm. On leaving Madame Louchard, la Peyrade flung himself into a street-cab and th

izet and Dutocq had sent him, like a devouring wolf, into the sheepfold from which he had allowed the stupid sheep to drive him; his heart full of revengeful projects against the woman who had so easily got the better of

earing of brain fever: bleeding, cupping, leeches, and ice to his head; these were the agreeable finale to his dream of love. We must hasten to add, however, that this violent crisis in the physical led to a