t six o'clock the Duc de Chaulieu had come to join the Duc de
Grandlieu, who awaited him in his study.

"Tell me, Henri"--for the Dukes were on the most familiar terms, and
addressed each other by their Christian names. This is one of the shades
invented to mark a degree of intimacy, to repel the audacity of French
familiarity, and humiliate conceit--"tell me, Henri, I am in such a
desperate difficulty that I can only ask advice of an old friend who
understands business, and you have practice and experience. My daughter
Clotilde, as you know, is in love with that little Rubempre, whom I have
been almost compelled to accept as her promised husband. I have always
been averse to the marriage; however, Madame de Grandlieu could not bear
to thwart Clotilde's passion. When the young fellow had repurchased
the family estate and paid three-quarters of the price, I could make no
further objections.

"But last evening I received an anonymous letter--you know how much
that is worth--in which I am informed that the young fellow's fortune is
derived from some disreputable source, and that he is telling lies
when he says that his sister is giving him the necessary funds for his
purchase. For my daughter's happiness, and for the sake of our family, I
am adjured to make inquiries, and the means of doing so are suggested to
me. Here, read it."

"I am entirely of your opinion as to the value of anonymous letters,
my dear Ferdinand," said the Duc de Chaulieu after reading the letter.
"Still, though we may contemn them, we must make use of them. We must
treat such letters as we would treat a spy. Keep the young man out of
the house, and let us make inquiries----

"I know how to do it. Your lawyer is Derville, a man in whom we have
perfect confidence; he knows the secrets of many families, and can
certainly be trusted with this. He is an honest man, a man of weight,
and a man of honor; he is cunning and wily; but his wiliness is only in
the way of business, and you need only employ him to obtain evidence you
can depend upon.

"We have in the Foreign Office an agent of the superior police who is
unique in his power of discovering State secrets; we often send him on
such missions. Inform Derville that he will have a lieutenant in the
case. Our spy is a gentleman who will appear wearing the ribbon of the
Legion of Honor, and looking like a diplomate. This rascal will do the
hunting; Derville will only look on. Your lawyer will then tell y