upposing the impossible, had they found some acceptance from
you, pray believe that my course, which follows the dictates of my
conscience, could not be affected thereby."

"But your party,--consider for a moment its elements: a jumble of
foiled ambitions, brutal greed, plagiarists of '93, despots disguising
themselves as lovers of liberty."

"My party has nothing, and seeks to gain something. Yours calls itself
conservative, and it is right; its chief concern is how to preserve its
power, offices, and wealth,--in short, all it now monopolizes."

"But, monsieur, we are not a closed way; we open our way, on the
contrary, to all ambitions. But the higher you are in character and
intellect, the less we can allow you to pass, dragging after you your
train of democrats; for the day when that crew gains the upper hand it
will not be a change of policy, but a revolution."

"But what makes you think I want an opening of any kind?"

"What! follow a course without an aim?--a course that leads nowhere? A
certain development of a man's faculties not only gives him the right
but makes it his duty to seek to govern."

"To watch the governing power is a useful career, and, I may add, a very
busy one."

"You can fancy, monsieur," said Rastignac, good-humoredly, "that if
Beauvisage were in your place I should not have taken the trouble to
argue with him; I may say, however, that he would have made my effort
less difficult."

"This meeting, which _chance_ has brought about between us," said
Sallenauve, "will have one beneficial result; we understand each
other henceforth, and our future meetings will always therefore be
courteous--which will not lessen the strength of our convictions."

"Then I must say to the king--for I had his royal commands to--"

Rastignac did not end the sentence in which he was, so to speak, firing
his last gun, for the orchestra began to play a quadrille, and Nais,
running up, made him a coquettish courtesy, saying,--

"Monsieur le ministre, I am very sorry, but you have taken my partner,
and you must give him up. He is down for my eleventh quadrille, and if I
miss it my list gets into terrible confusion."

"You permit me, monsieur?" said Sallenauve, laughing. "As you see, I am
not a very savage republican." So saying, he followed Nais, who led him
along by the hand.

Madame de l'Estorade, comprehending that this fancy of Nais was rather
compromising to the dignity of the new deputy, had arranged t