throw myself in the way of the election of
a Left-centre candidate."

"Pah! the Left, pure and simple, is hardly worse. But take a cigar;
these are excellent. The princes smoke them."

The colonel rose and rang the bell, saying to the servant when he came,
"A light!"

The cigars lighted, Monsieur de Trailles endeavored to prevent another
interruption by declaring before he was questioned that he had never
smoked anything more exquisite. Comfortably ensconced in his arm-chair,
the colonel seemed to offer the hope of a less fugacious attention, and
Monsieur de Trailles resumed:--

"All went well at first. To crush the candidate the ministry wanted
to be rid of,--a lawyer, and the worst sort of cad,--I unearthed a
stocking-maker, a fearful fool, whom I persuaded to offer himself as
candidate. The worthy man was convinced that he belonged to the dynastic
opposition. That is the opinion which, for the time being, prevails in
that region. The election, thanks to me, was as good as made; and, our
man once in Paris, the great Seducer in the Tuileries had only to say
five words to him, and this dynastic opposer could have been turned
inside out like one of this own stockings, and made to do whatever was
wanted of him."

"Pretty well played that!" said the colonel. "I recognize my Maxime."

"You will recognize him still farther when he tells you that he was
able, without recourse to perquisites, to make his own little profit out
of the affair. In order to graft a little parliamentary ambition upon
my vegetable, I addressed myself to his wife,--a rather appetizing
provincial, though past her prime."

"Yes, yes, I see; very good!" said Franchessini; "husband made
deputy--satisfied--shut his mouth."

"You are all wrong, my dear fellow; the pair have an only daughter, a
spoilt child, nineteen years old, very agreeable face, and something
like a million in her pocket."

"But, my dear Maxime, I passed your tailor's house last night, and it
was not illuminated."

"No; that would have been premature. However, here was the situation:
two women frantic to get to Paris; gratitude to the skies for the man
who would get them an introduction to the Palais-Bourbon; the little
one crazy for the title of countess; the mother transported at the idea,
carefully insinuated by me, of holding a political salon,--you must see
all that such a situation offers, and you know me too well, I fancy, to
suppose that I should fall below any of it