ith earthly powers; but please
pardon my apparent presumption, and deign to listen to a piece of advice
which I shall venture to give you. If I do you a service to-day you are
in a position to return it to me to-morrow; therefore, in case I should
be so fortunate as to do you a good turn, I am really only obeying the
law of self-interest. Our friend Thuillier is in despair at being
a nobody; he has taken it into his head that he wants to become a
personage in this arrondissement--"

"Ah! ah!" exclaimed Minard.

"Oh! nothing very exalted; he wants to be elected to the municipal
council. Now, I know that Phellion, seeing the influence such a service
would have on his family interests, intends to propose your poor
friend as candidate. Well, perhaps you might think it wise, in your own
interests, to be beforehand with him. Thuillier's nomination could only
be favorable for you--I mean agreeable; and he'll fill his place in the
council very well; there are some there who are not as strong as he.
Besides, owing to his place to your support, he will see with your eyes;
he already looks to you as one of the lights of the town."

"My dear fellow, I thank you very much," replied Minard. "You are doing
me a service I cannot sufficiently acknowledge, and which proves to
me--"

"That I don't like those Phellions," said la Peyrade, taking advantage
of a slight hesitation on the part of the mayor, who feared to express
an idea in which the lawyer might see contempt. "I hate people who make
capital out of their honesty and coin money from fine sentiments."

"You know them well," said Minard; "they are sycophants. That man's
whole life for the last ten years is explained by this bit of red
ribbon," added the mayor, pointing to his own buttonhole.

"Take care!" said the lawyer, "his son is in love with Celeste, and he's
fairly in the heart of the family."

"Yes, but my son has twelve thousand a year in his own right."

"Oh!" said Theodose, with a start, "Mademoiselle Brigitte was saying the
other day that she wanted at least as much as that in Celeste's suitor.
Moreover, six months hence you'll probably hear that Thuillier has a
property worth forty thousand francs a year."

"The devil! well, I thought as much. Yes, certainly, he shall be made a
member of the municipal council."

"In any case, don't say anything about me to him," said the advocate of
the poor, who now hastened away to speak to Madame Phellion. "Well, my
fair