or to reach the
Emperor on the morning after a victory and they are saved."

He took a pen and himself wrote a private and confidential letter to the
Emperor, and another of ten lines to Marechal Duroc. Then he rang the
bell, asked his secretary for a diplomatic passport, and said tranquilly
to the old lawyer, "What is your honest opinion of that trial?"

"Do you know, monseigneur, who was at the bottom of this cruel wrong?"

"I presume I do; but I have reasons to wish for certainty," replied
Talleyrand. "Return to Troyes; bring me the Comtesse de Cinq-Cygne,
here, to-morrow at the same hour, but secretly; ask to be ushered
into Madame de Talleyrand's salon; I will tell her you are coming. If
Mademoiselle de Cinq-Cygne, who shall be placed where she can see a man
who will be standing before me, recognizes that man as an individual who
came to her house during the conspiracy of de Polignac and Riviere, tell
her to remember that, no matter what I say or what he answers me, she
must not utter a word nor make a gesture. One thing more, think only
of saving the de Simeuse brothers; don't embarrass yourself with that
scoundrel of a bailiff--"

"A sublime man, monseigneur!" exclaimed Bordin.

"Enthusiasm! in you, Bordin! The man must be remarkable. Our sovereign
has an immense self-love, Monsieur le marquis," he said, changing the
conversation. "He is about to dismiss me that he may commit follies
without warning. The Emperor is a great soldier who can change the
laws of time and distance, but he cannot change men; yet he persists in
trying to run them in his own mould! Now, remember this; the young men's
pardon can be obtained by one person only--Mademoiselle de Cinq-Cygne."

The marquis went alone to Troyes and told the whole matter to Laurence.
She obtained permission from the authorities to see Michu, and the
marquis accompanied her to the gates of the prison, where he waited for
her. When she came out her face was bathed in tears.

"Poor man!" she said; "he tried to kneel to me, praying that I would
not think of him, and forgetting the shackles that were on his feet!
Ah, marquis, I _will_ plead his cause. Yes, I'll kiss the boot of their
Emperor. If I fail--well, the memory of that man shall live eternally
honored in our family. Present his petition for mercy so as to gain
time; meantime I am resolved to have his portrait. Come, let us go."

The next day, when Talleyrand was informed by a sign agreed upon that
Lau