CHAPTER VIII

FORWARD, MOLLUSKS!

The next day, Wednesday, Monsieur Rabourdin was to transact business

with the minister, for he had filled the late La Billardiere's place

since the beginning of the latter's illness. On such days the clerks

came punctually, the servants were specially attentive, there was

always a certain excitement in the offices on these signing-days,--and

why, nobody ever knew. On this occasion the three servants were at

their post, flattering themselves they should get a few fees; for a

rumor of Rabourdin's nomination had spread through the ministry the

night before, thanks to Dutocq. Uncle Antoine and Laurent had donned

their full uniform, when, at a quarter to eight, des Lupeaulx's

servant came in with a letter, which he begged Antoine to give

secretly to Dutocq, saying that the general-secretary had ordered him

to deliver it without fail at Monsieur Dutocq's house by seven

o'clock.

"I'm sure I don't know how it happened," he said, "but I overslept

myself. I've only just waked up, and he'd play the devil's tattoo on

me if he knew the letter hadn't gone. I know a famous secret, Antoine;

but don't say anything about it to the clerks if I tell you; promise?

He would send me off if he knew I had said a single word; he told me

so."

"What's inside the letter?" asked Antoine, eying it.

"Nothing; I looked this way--see."

He made the letter gape open, and showed Antoine that there was

nothing but blank paper to be seen.

"This is going to be a great day for you, Laurent," went on the

secretary's man. "You are to have a new director. Economy must be the

order of the day, for they are going to unite the two divisions under

one director--you fellows will have to look out!"

"Yes, nine clerks are put on the retired list," said Dutocq, who came

in at the moment; "how did you hear that?"

Antoine gave him the letter, and he had no sooner opened it than he

rushed headlong downstairs in the direction of the secretary's office.

The bureaus Rabourdin and Baudoyer, after idling and gossiping since

the death of Monsieur de la Billardiere, were now recovering their

usual official look and the dolce far niente habits of a government

office. Nevertheless, the approaching end of the year did cause rather

more application among the clerks, just as porters and servants become

at that season more unctuously civil. They all came punctually, for

one thing; more remained after four o'clock than was usual at other

times. It was not forgotten that fees and gratuities depend on the

last impressions made upon the minds of masters. The news of the union

of the two divisions, that of La Billardiere and that of Clergeot,

under one director, had spread through the various offices. The number

of the clerks to be retired was known, but all were in ignorance of

the names. It was taken for granted that Poiret would not be replaced,

and that would be a retrenchment. Little La Billardiere had already

departed. Two new supernumeraries had made their appearance, and,

alarming circumstance! they were both sons of deputies. The news told

about in the offices the night before, just as the clerks were

dispersing, agitated all minds, and for the first half-hour after

arrival in the morning they stood around the stoves and talked it

over. But earlier than that, Dutocq, as we have seen, had rushed to

des Lupeaulx on receiving his note, and found him dressing. Without

laying down his razor, the general-secretary cast upon his subordinate

the glance of a general issuing an order.

"Are we alone?" he asked.

"Yes, monsieur."

"Very good. March on Rabourdin; forward! steady! Of course you kept a

copy of that paper?"

"Yes."

"You understand me? Inde iroe! There must be a general hue and cry

raised against him. Find some way to start a clamor--"

"I could get a man to make a caricature, but I haven't five hundred

francs to pay for it."

"Who would make it?"

"Bixou."

"He shall have a thousand and be under-head-clerk to Colleville, who

will arrange with them; tell him so."

"But he wouldn't believe it on nothing more than my word."

"Are you trying to make me compromise myself? Either do the thing or

let it alone; do you hear me?"

"If Monsieur Baudoyer were director--"

"Well, he will be. Go now, and make haste; you have no time to lose.

Go down the back-stairs; I don't want people to know you have just

seen me."

While Dutocq was returning to the clerks' office and asking himself

how he could best incite a clamor against his chief without

compromising himself, Bixiou rushed to the Rabourdin office for a word

of greeting. Believing that he had lost his bet the incorrigible joker

thought it amusing to pretend that he had won it.

Bixiou [mimicking Phellion's voice]. "Gentlemen, I salute you with a

collective how d'ye do, and I appoint Sunday next for the dinner at

the Rocher de Cancale. But a serious question presents itself. Is that

dinner to include the clerks who are dismissed?"

Poiret. "And those who retire?"

Bixiou. "Not that I care, for it isn't I who pay." [General

stupefaction.] "Baudoyer is appointed. I think I already hear him

calling Laurent" [mimicking Baudoyer], "Laurent! lock up my hair-

shirt, and my scourge." [They all roar with laughter.] "Yes, yes, he

laughs well who laughs last. Gentlemen, there's a great deal in that

anagram of Colleville's. 'Xavier Rabourdin, chef de bureau--D'abord

reva bureaux, e-u fin riche.' If I were named 'Charles X., par la

grace de Dieu roi de France et de Navarre,' I should tremble in my

shoes at the fate those letters anagrammatize."

Thuillier. "Look here! are you making fun?"

Bixiou. "No, I am not. Rabourdin resigns in a rage at finding Baudoyer

appointed director."

Vimeux [entering.] "Nonsense, no such thing! Antoine (to whom I have

just been paying forty francs that I owed him) tells me that Monsieur

and Madame Rabourdin were at the minister's private party last night

and stayed till midnight. His Excellency escorted Madame Rabourdin to

the staircase. It seems she was divinely dressed. In short, it is

quite certain that Rabourdin is to be director. Riffe, the secretary's

copying clerk, told me he sat up all the night before to draw the

papers; it is no longer a secret. Monsieur Clergeot is retired. After

thirty years' service that's no misfortune. Monsieur Cochlin, who is

rich--"

Bixiou. "By cochineal."

Vimeux. "Yes, cochineal; he's a partner in the house of Matifat, rue

des Lombards. Well, he is retired; so is Poiret. Neither is to be

replaced. So much is certain; the rest is all conjecture. The

appointment of Monsieur Rabourdin is to be announced this morning;

they are afraid of intrigues."

Bixiou. "What intrigues?"

Fleury. "Baudoyer's, confound him! The priests uphold him; here's

another article in the liberal journal,--only half a dozen lines, but

they are queer" [reads]:

"Certain persons spoke last night in the lobby of the Opera-house

of the return of Monsieur de Chateaubriand to the ministry, basing

their opinion on the choice made of Monsieur Rabourdin (the

protege of friends of the noble viscount) to fill the office for

which Monsieur Baudoyer was first selected. The clerical party is

not likely to withdraw unless in deference to the great writer.

"Blackguards!"

Dutocq [entering, having heard the whole discussion]. "Blackguards!

Who? Rabourdin? Then you know the news?"

Fleury [rolling his eyes savagely]. "Rabourdin a blackguard! Are you

mad, Dutocq? do you want a ball in your brains to give them weight?"

Dutocq. "I said nothing against Monsieur Rabourdin; only it has just

been told to me in confidence that he has written a paper denouncing

all the clerks and officials, and full of facts about their lives; in

short, the reason why his friends support him is because he has

written this paper against the administration, in which we are all

exposed--"

Phellion [in a loud voice]. "Monsieur Rabourdin is incapable of--"

Bixiou. "Very proper in you to say so. Tell me, Dutocq" [they whisper

together and then go into the corridor].

Bixiou. "What has happened?"

Dutocq. "Do you remember what I said to you about that caricature?"

Bixiou. "Yes, what then?"

Dutocq. "Make it, and you shall be under-head-clerk with a famous fee.

The fact is, my dear fellow, there's dissension among the powers that

be. The minister is pledged to Rabourdin, but if he doesn't appoint

Baudoyer he offends the priests and their party. You see, the King,

the Dauphin and the Dauphine, the clergy, and lastly the court, all

want Baudoyer; the minister wants Rabourdin."

Bixiou. "Good!"

Dutocq. "To ease the matter off, the minister, who sees he must give

way, wants to strangle the difficulty. We must find some good reason

for getting rid of Rabourdin. Now somebody has lately unearthed a

paper of his, exposing the present system of administration and

wanting to reform it; and that paper is going the rounds,--at least,

this is how I understand the matter. Make the drawing we talked of; in

so doing you'll play the game of all the big people, and help the

minister, the court, the clergy,--in short, everybody; and you'll get

your appointment. Now do you understand me?"

Bixiou. "I don't understand how you came to know all that; perhaps you

are inventing it."

Dutocq. "Do you want me to let you see what Rabourdin wrote about

you?"

Bixiou. "Yes."

Dutocq. "Then come home with me; for I must put the document into safe

keeping."

Bixiou. "You go first alone." [Re-enters the bureau Rabourdin.] "What

Dutocq told you is really all true, word of honor! It seems that

Monsieur Rabourdin has written and sent in very unflattering

descriptions of the clerks whom he wants to 'reform.' That's the real

reason why his secret friends wish him appointed. Well, well; we live

in days when nothing astonishes me" [flings his cloak about him like

Talma, and declaims]:--

"Thou who has seen the fall of grand, illustrious heads,

Why thus amazed, insensate that thou art,

"to find a man like Rabourdin employing such means? Baudoyer is too

much of a fool to know how to use them. Accept my congratulations,

gentlemen; either way you are under a most illustrious chief" [goes

off].

Poiret. "I shall leave this ministry without ever comprehending a

single word that gentleman utters. What does he mean with his 'heads

that fall'?"

Fleury. "'Heads that fell?' why, think of the four sergeants of

Rochelle, Ney, Berton, Caron, the brothers Faucher, and the

massacres."

Phellion. "He asserts very flippantly things that he only guesses at."

Fleury. "Say at once that he lies; in his mouth truth itself turns to

corrosion."

Phellion. "Your language is unparliamentary and lacks the courtesy and

consideration which are due to a colleague."

Vimeux. "It seems to me that if what he says is false, the proper name

for it is calumny, defamation of character; and such a slanderer

deserves the thrashing."

Fleury [getting hot]. "If the government offices are public places,

the matter ought to be taken into the police-courts."

Phellion [wishing to avert a quarrel, tries to turn the conversation].

"Gentleman, might I ask you to keep quiet? I am writing a little

treatise on moral philosophy, and I am just at the heart of it."

Fleury [interrupting]. "What are you saying about it, Monsieur

Phellion?"

Phellion [reading]. "Question.--What is the soul of man?

"Answer.--A spiritual substance which thinks and reasons."

Thuillier. "Spiritual substance! you might as well talk about

immaterial stone."

Poiret. "Don't interrupt; let him go on."

Phellion [continuing]. "Quest.--Whence comes the soul?

"Ans.--From God, who created it of a nature one and indivisible; the

destructibility thereof is, consequently, not conceivable, and he hath

said--"

Poiret [amazed]. "God said?"

Phellion. "Yes, monsieur; tradition authorizes the statement."

Fleury [to Poiret]. "Come, don't interrupt, yourself."

Phellion [resuming]. "--and he hath said that he created it immortal;

in other words, the soul can never die.

"Quest.--What are the uses of the soul?

"Ans.--To comprehend, to will, to remember; these constitute

understanding, volition, memory.

"Quest.--What are the uses of the understanding?

"Ans.--To know. It is the eye of the soul."

Fleury. "And the soul is the eye of what?"

Phellion [continuing]. "Quest.--What ought the understanding to know?

"Ans.--Truth.

"Quest.--Why does man possess volition?

"Ans.--To love good and hate evil.

"Quest.--What is good?

"Ans.--That which makes us happy."

Vimeux. "Heavens! do you teach that to young ladies?"

Phellion. "Yes" [continuing]. "Quest.--How many kinds of good are

there?"

Fleury. "Amazingly indecorous, to say the least."

Phellion [aggrieved]. "Oh, monsieur!" [Controlling himself.] "But

here's the answer,--that's as far as I have got" [reads]:--

"Ans.--There are two kinds of good,--eternal good and temporal good."

Poiret [with a look of contempt]. "And does that sell for anything?"

Phellion. "I hope it will. It requires great application of mind to

carry on a system of questions and answers; that is why I ask you to

be quiet and let me think, for the answers--"

Thuillier [interrupting]. "The answers might be sold separately."

Poiret. "Is that a pun?"

Thuillier. "No; a riddle."

Phellion. "I am sorry I interrupted you" [he dives into his office

desk]. "But" [to himself] "at any rate, I have stopped their talking

about Monsieur Rabourdin."

At this moment a scene was taking place between the minister and des

Lupeaulx which decided Rabourdin's fate. The general-secretary had

gone to see the minister in his private study before the breakfast-

hour, to make sure that La Briere was not within hearing.

"Your Excellency is not treating me frankly--"

"He means a quarrel," thought the minister; "and all because his

mistress coquetted with me last night. I did not think you so

juvenile, my dear friend," he said aloud.

"Friend?" said the general-secretary, "that is what I want to find

out."

The minister looked haughtily at des Lupeaulx.

"We are alone," continued the secretary, "and we can come to an

understanding. The deputy of the arrondissement in which my estate is

situated--"

"So it is really an estate!" said the minister, laughing, to hide his

surprise.

"Increased by a recent purchase of two hundred thousand francs' worth

of adjacent property," replied des Lupeaulx, carelessly. "You knew of

the deputy's approaching resignation at least ten days ago, and you

did not tell me of it. You were perhaps not bound to do so, but you

knew very well that I am most anxious to take my seat in the centre.

Has it occurred to you that I might fling myself back on the

'Doctrine'?--which, let me tell you, will destroy the administration

and the monarchy both if you continue to allow the party of

representative government to be recruited from men of talent whom you

ignore. Don't you know that in every nation there are fifty to sixty,

not more, dangerous heads, whose schemes are in proportion to their

ambition? The secret of knowing how to govern is to know those heads

well, and either to chop them off or buy them. I don't know how much

talent I have, but I know that I have ambition; and you are committing

a serious blunder when you set aside a man who wishes you well. The

anointed head dazzles for the time being, but what next?--Why, a war

of words; discussions will spring up once more and grow embittered,

envenomed. Then, for your own sake, I advise you not to find me at the

Left Centre. In spite of your prefect's manoeuvres (instructions for

which no doubt went from here confidentially) I am secure of a

majority. The time has come for you and me to understand each other.

After a breeze like this people sometimes become closer friends than

ever. I must be made count and receive the grand cordon of the Legion

of honor as a reward for my public services. However, I care less for

those things just now than I do for something else in which you are

more personally concerned. You have not yet appointed Rabourdin, and I

have news this morning which tends to show that most persons will be

better satisfied if you appoint Baudoyer."

"Appoint Baudoyer!" echoed the minister. "Do you know him?"

"Yes," said des Lupeaulx; "but suppose he proves incapable, as he

will, you can then get rid of him by asking those who protect him to

employ him elsewhere. You will thus get back an important office to

give to friends; it may come in at the right moment to facilitate some

compromise."

"But I have pledged it to Rabourdin."

"That may be; and I don't ask you to make the change this very day. I

know the danger of saying yes and no within twenty-four hours. But

postpone the appointment, and don't sign the papers till the day after

to-morrow; by that time you may find it impossible to retain

Rabourdin,--in fact, in all probability, he will send you his

resignation--"

"His resignation?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He is the tool of a secret power in whose interests he has carried on

a system of espionage in all the ministries, and the thing has been

discovered by mere accident. He has written a paper of some kind,

giving short histories of all the officials. Everybody is talking of

it; the clerks are furious. For heaven's sake, don't transact business

with him to-day; let me find some means for you to avoid it. Ask an

audience of the King; I am sure you will find great satisfaction there

if you concede the point about Baudoyer; and you can obtain something

as an equivalent. Your position will be better than ever if you are

forced later to dismiss a fool whom the court party impose upon you."

"What has made you turn against Rabourdin?"

"Would you forgive Monsieur de Chateaubriand for writing an article

against the ministry? Well, read that, and see how Rabourdin has

treated me in his secret document," said des Lupeaulx, giving the

paper to the minister. "He pretends to reorganize the government from

beginning to end,--no doubt in the interests of some secret society of

which, as yet, we know nothing. I shall continue to be his friend for

the sake of watching him; by that means I may render the government

such signal service that they will have to make me count; for the

peerage is the only thing I really care for. I want you fully to

understand that I am not seeking office or anything else that would

cause me to stand in your way; I am simply aiming for the peerage,

which will enable me to marry a banker's daughter with an income of a

couple of hundred thousand francs. And so, allow me to render you a

few signal services which will make the King feel that I have saved

the throne. I have long said that Liberalism would never offer us a

pitched battle. It has given up conspiracies, Carbonaroism, and

revolts with weapons; it is now sapping and mining, and the day is

coming when it will be able to say, 'Out of that and let me in!' Do

you think I have been courting Rabourdin's wife for my own pleasure?

No, but I got much information from her. So now, let us agree on two

things; first, the postponement of the appointment; second, your

SINCERE support of my election. You shall find at the end of the

session that I have amply repaid you."

For all answer, the minister took the appointment papers and placed

them in des Lupeaulx's hand.

"I will go and tell Rabourdin," added des Lupeaulx, "that you cannot

transact business with him till Saturday."

The minister replied with an assenting gesture. The secretary

despatched his man with a message to Rabourdin that the minister could

not work with him until Saturday, on which day the Chamber was

occupied with private bills, and his Excellency had more time at his

disposal.

Just at this moment Saillard, having brought the monthly stipend, was

slipping his little speech into the ear of the minister's wife, who

drew herself up and answered with dignity that she did not meddle in

political matters, and besides, she had heard that Monsieur Rabourdin

was already appointed. Saillard, terrified, rushed up to Baudoyer's

office, where he found Dutocq, Godard, and Bixiou in a state of

exasperation difficult to describe; for they were reading the terrible

paper on the administration in which they were all discussed.

Bixiou [with his finger on a paragraph]. "Here YOU are, pere Saillard.

Listen" [reads]:--

"Saillard.--The office of cashier to be suppressed in all the

ministries; their accounts to be kept in future at the Treasury.

Saillard is rich and does not need a pension.

"Do you want to hear about your son-in-law?" [Turns over the leaves.]

"Here he is" [reads]:--

"Baudoyer.--Utterly incapable. To be thanked and dismissed. Rich; does

not need a pension.

"And here's for Godard" [reads]:--

"Godard.--Should be dismissed; pension one-third of his present

salary.

"In short, here we all are. Listen to what I am" [reads]: "An artist

who might be employed by the civil list, at the Opera, or the Menus-

Plaisirs, or the Museum. Great deal of capacity, little self-respect,

no application,--a restless spirit. Ha! I'll give you a touch of the

artist, Monsieur Rabourdin!"

Saillard. "Suppress cashiers! Why, the man's a monster?"

Bixiou. "Let us see what he says of our mysterious Desroys." [Turns

over the pages; reads.]

"Desroys.--Dangerous; because he cannot be shaken in principles that

are subversive of monarchial power. He is the son of the Conventionel,

and he admires the Convention. He may become a very mischievous

journalist."

Baudoyer. "The police are not worse spies!"

Godard. "I shall go the general-secretary and lay a complaint in form;

we must all resign in a body if such a man as that is put over us."

Dutocq. "Gentlemen, listen to me; let us be prudent. If you rise at

once in a body, we may all be accused of rancor and revenge. No, let

the thing work, let the rumor spread quietly. When the whole ministry

is aroused your remonstrances will meet with general approval."

Bixiou. "Dutocq believes in the principles of the grand air composed

by the sublime Rossini for Basilio,--which goes to show, by the bye,

that the great composer was also a great politician. I shall leave my

card on Monsieur Rabourdin to-morrow morning, inscribed thus: 'Bixiou;

no self-respect, no application, restless mind.'"

Godard. "A good idea, gentlemen. Let us all leave our cards to-morrow

on Rabourdin inscribed in the same way."

Dutocq [leading Bixiou apart]. "Come, you'll agree to make that

caricature now, won't you?"

Bixiou. "I see plainly, my dear fellow, that you knew all about this

affair ten days ago" [looks him in the eye]. "Am I to be under-head-

clerk?"

Dutocq. "On my word of honor, yes, and a thousand-franc fee beside,

just as I told you. You don't know what a service you'll be rendering

to powerful personages."

Bixiou. "You know them?"

Dutocq. "Yes."

Bixiou. "Well, then I want to speak with them."

Dutocq [dryly]. "You can make the caricature or not, and you can be

under-head-clerk or not,--as you please."

Bixiou. "At any rate, let me see that thousand francs."

Dutocq. "You shall have them when you bring the drawing."

Bixiou. "Forward, march! that lampoon shall go from end to end of the

bureaus to-morrow morning. Let us go and torment the Rabourdins."

[Then speaking to Saillard, Godard, and Baudoyer, who were talking

together in a low voice.] "We are going to stir up the neighbors."

[Goes with Dutocq into the Rabourdin bureau. Fleury, Thuillier, and

Vimeux are there, talking excitedly.] "What's the matter, gentlemen?

All that I told you turns out to be true; you can go and see for

yourselves the work of this infamous informer; for it is in the hands

of the virtuous, honest, estimable, upright, and pious Baudoyer, who

is indeed utterly incapable of doing any such thing. Your chief has

got every one of you under the guillotine. Go and see; follow the

crowd; money returned if you are not satisfied; execution GRATIS! The

appointments are postponed. All the bureaus are in arms; Rabourdin has

been informed that the minister will not work with him. Come, be off;

go and see for yourselves."

They all depart except Phellion and Poiret, who are left alone. The

former loved Rabourdin too well to look for proof that might injure a

man he was determined not to judge; the other had only five days more

to remain in the office, and cared nothing either way. Just then

Sebastien came down to collect the papers for signature. He was a good

deal surprised, though he did not show it, to find the office

deserted.

Phellion. "My young friend" [he rose, a rare thing], "do you know what

is going on? what scandals are rife about Monsieur Rabourdin whom you

love, and" [bending to whisper in Sebastien's ear] "whom I love as

much as I respect him. They say he has committed the imprudence to

leave a paper containing comments on the officials lying about in the

office--" [Phellion stopped short, caught the young man in his strong

arms, seeing that he turned pale and was near fainting, and placed him

on a chair.] "A key, Monsieur Poiret, to put down his back; have you a

key?"

Poiret. "I have the key of my domicile."

[Old Poiret junior promptly inserted the said key between Sebastien's

shoulders, while Phellion gave him some water to drink. The poor lad

no sooner opened his eyes than he began to weep. He laid his head on

Phellion's desk, and all his limbs were limp as if struck by

lightning; while his sobs were so heartrending, so genuine, that for

the first time in his life Poiret's feelings were stirred by the

sufferings of another.]

Phellion [speaking firmly]. "Come, come, my young friend; courage! In

times of trial we must show courage. You are a man. What is the

matter? What has happened to distress you so terribly?"

Sebastien [sobbing]. "It is I who have ruined Monsieur Rabourdin. I

left that paper lying about when I copied it. I have killed my

benefactor; I shall die myself. Such a noble man!--a man who ought to

be minister!"

Poiret [blowing his nose]. "Then it is true he wrote the report."

Sebastien [still sobbing]. "But it was to--there, I was going to tell

his secrets! Ah! that wretch of a Dutocq; it was he who stole the

paper."

His tears and sobs recommenced and made so much noise that Rabourdin

came up to see what was the matter. He found the young fellow almost

fainting in the arms of Poiret and Phellion.

Rabourdin. "What is the matter, gentlemen?"

Sebastien [struggling to his feet, and then falling on his knees

before Rabourdin]. "I have ruined you, monsieur. That memorandum,--

Dutocq, the monster, he must have taken it."

Rabourdin [calmly]. "I knew that already" [he lifts Sebastien]. "You

are a child, my young friend." [Speaks to Phellion.] "Where are the

other gentlemen?"

Phellion. "They have gone into Monsieur Baudoyer's office to see a

paper which it is said--"

Rabourdin [interrupting him]. "Enough." [Goes out, taking Sebastien

with him. Poiret and Phellion look at each other in amazement, and do

not know what to say.]

Poiret [to Phellion]. "Monsieur Rabourdin--"

Phellion [to Poiret]. "Monsieur Rabourdin--"

Poiret. "Well, I never! Monsieur Rabourdin!"

Phellion. "But did you notice how calm and dignified he was?"

Poiret [with a sly look that was more like a grimace]. "I shouldn't be

surprised if there were something under it all."

Phellion. "A man of honor; pure and spotless."

Poiret. "Who is?"

Phellion. "Monsieur Poiret, you think as I think about Dutocq; surely

you understand me?"

Poiret [nodding his head three times and answering with a shrewd

look]. "Yes." [The other clerks return.]

Fleury. "A great shock; I still don't believe the thing. Monsieur

Rabourdin, a king among men! If such men are spies, it is enough to

disgust one with virtue. I have always put Rabourdin among Plutarch's

heroes."

Vimeux. "It is all true."

Poiret [reflecting that he had only five days more to stay in the

office]. "But, gentlemen, what do you say about the man who stole that

paper, who spied upon Rabourdin?" [Dutocq left the room.]

Fleury. "I say he is a Judas Iscariot. Who is he?"

Phellion [significantly]. "He is not here at THIS MOMENT."

Vimeux [enlightened]. "It is Dutocq!"

Phellion. "I have no proof of it, gentlemen. While you were gone, that

young man, Monsieur de la Roche, nearly fainted here. See his tears on

my desk!"

Poiret. "We held him fainting in our arms.--My key, the key of my

domicile!--dear, dear! it is down his back." [Poiret goes hastily

out.]

Vimeux. "The minister refused to transact business with Rabourdin to-

day; and Monsieur Saillard, to whom the secretary said a few words,

came to tell Monsieur Baudoyer to apply for the cross of the Legion of

honor,--there is one to be granted, you know, on New-Year's day, to

all the heads of divisions. It is quite clear what it all means.

Monsieur Rabourdin is sacrificed by the very persons who employed him.

Bixiou says so. We were all to be turned out, except Sebastien and

Phellion."

Du Bruel [entering]. "Well, gentlemen, is it true?"

Thuillier. "To the last word."

Du Bruel [putting his hat on again]. "Good-bye." [Hurries out.]

Thuillier. "He may rush as much as he pleases to his Duc de Rhetore

and Duc de Maufrigneuse, but Colleville is to be our under-head-clerk,

that's certain."

Phellion. "Du Bruel always seemed to be attached to Monsieur

Rabourdin."

Poiret [returning]. "I have had a world of trouble to get back my key.

That boy is crying still, and Monsieur Rabourdin has disappeared."

[Dutocq and Bixiou enter.]

Bixiou. "Ha, gentlemen! strange things are going on in your bureau. Du

Bruel! I want you." [Looks into the adjoining room.] "Gone?"

Thuillier. "Full speed."

Bixiou. "What about Rabourdin?"

Fleury. "Distilled, evaporated, melted! Such a man, the king of men,

that he--"

Poiret [to Dutocq]. "That little Sebastien, in his trouble, said that

you, Monsieur Dutocq, had taken the paper from him ten days ago."

Bixiou [looking at Dutocq]. "You must clear yourself of THAT, my good

friend." [All the clerks look fixedly at Dutocq.]

Dutocq. "Where's the little viper who copied it?"

Bixiou. "Copied it? How did you know he copied it? Ha! ha! it is only

the diamond that cuts the diamond." [Dutocq leaves the room.]

Poiret. "Would you listen to me, Monsieur Bixiou? I have only five

days and a half to stay in this office, and I do wish that once, only

once, I might have the pleasure of understanding what you mean. Do me

the honor to explain what diamonds have to do with these present

circumstances."

Bixiou. "I meant papa,--for I'm willing for once to bring my intellect

down to the level of yours,--that just as the diamond alone can cut

the diamond, so it is only one inquisitive man who can defeat another

inquisitive man."

Fleury. "'Inquisitive man' stands for 'spy.'"

Poiret. "I don't understand."

Bixiou. "Very well; try again some other time."

Monsieur Rabourdin, after taking Sebastien to his room, had gone

straight to the minister; but the minister was at the Chamber of

Deputies. Rabourdin went at once to the Chamber, where he wrote a note

to his Excellency, who was at that moment in the tribune engaged in a

hot discussion. Rabourdin waited, not in the conference hall, but in

the courtyard, where, in spite of the cold, he resolved to remain and

intercept his Excellency as he got into his carriage. The usher of the

Chamber had told him that the minister was in the thick of a

controversy raised by the nineteen members of the extreme Left, and

that the session was likely to be stormy. Rabourdin walked to and for

in the courtyard of the palace for five mortal hours, a prey to

feverish agitation. At half-past six o'clock the session broke up, and

the members filed out. The minister's chasseur came up to find the

coachman.

"Hi, Jean!" he called out to him; "Monseigneur has gone with the

minister of war; they are going to see the King, and after that they

dine together, and we are to fetch him at ten o'clock. There's a

Council this evening."

Rabourdin walked slowly home, in a state of despondency not difficult

to imagine. It was seven o'clock, and he had barely time to dress.

"Well, you are appointed?" cried his wife, joyously, as he entered the

salon.

Rabourdin raised his head with a grievous motion of distress and

answered, "I fear I shall never again set foot in the ministry."

"What?" said his wife, quivering with sudden anxiety.

"My memorandum on the officials is known in all the offices; and I

have not been able to see the minister."

Celestine's eyes were opened to a sudden vision in which the devil, in

one of his infernal flashes, showed her the meaning of her last

conversation with des Lupeaulx.

"If I had behaved like a low woman," she thought, "we should have had

the place."

She looked at Rabourdin with grief in her heart. A