hem the solid information
they possess, I intend to complete it by taking them to travel to
the capitals of Europe, that they may see men and things, and become
accustomed to speak the languages they have learned. And, monsieur,"
he went on, giving the judge a chair in the drawing-room, "I could not
discuss the book on China with you, in the presence of an old friend of
my family, the Comte de Nouvion, who, having emigrated, has returned
to France without any fortune whatever, and who is my partner in this
concern, less for my profit than his. Without telling him what my
motives were, I explained to him that I was as poor as he, but that I
had enough money to start a speculation in which he might be usefully
employed. My tutor was the Abbe Grozier, whom Charles X. on my
recommendation appointed Keeper of the Books at the Arsenal, which were
returned to that Prince when he was still Monsieur. The Abbe Grozier was
deeply learned with regard to China, its manners and customs; he made
me heir to this knowledge at an age when it is difficult not to become a
fanatic for the things we learn. At five-and-twenty I knew Chinese,
and I confess I have never been able to check myself in an exclusive
admiration for that nation, who conquered their conquerors, whose annals
extend back indisputably to a period more remote than mythological or
Bible times, who by their immutable institutions have preserved
the integrity of their empire, whose monuments are gigantic, whose
administration is perfect, among whom revolutions are impossible, who
have regarded ideal beauty as a barren element in art, who have carried
luxury and industry to such a pitch that we cannot outdo them in
anything, while they are our equals in things where we believe ourselves
superior.

"Still, monsieur, though I often make a jest of comparing China with the
present condition of European states, I am not a Chinaman, I am a French
gentleman. If you entertain any doubts as to the financial side of this
undertaking, I can prove to you that at this moment we have two
thousand five hundred subscribers to this work, which is literary,
iconographical, statistical, and religious; its importance has been
generally appreciated; our subscribers belong to every nation in Europe,
we have but twelve hundred in France. Our book will cost about three
hundred francs, and the Comte de Nouvion will derive from it from six to
seven thousand francs a year, for his comfort was the real m