ut him open under
the left breast without hurting him in the least; his internals are of
tinned-iron, I am sure. I told him so. He replied, 'I am quite satisfied
with that physical constitution.'

"And always polite. My dear, he wears gloves on his soul...

"I shall endure this martyrdom for a few days longer to satisfy my
curiosity. But for that, I should have made Philippe slap my lord's
cheek--and he has not his match as a swordsman. There is nothing else
left for it----"

"I was just going to say so," cried Esther. "But you must ascertain
first that Philippe is a boxer; for these old English fellows, my dear,
have a depth of malignity----"

"This one has no match on earth. No, if you could but see him asking my
commands, to know at what hour he may come--to take me by surprise, of
course--and pouring out respectful speeches like a so-called gentleman,
you would say, 'Why, he adores her!' and there is not a woman in the
world who would not say the same."

"And they envy us, my dear!" exclaimed Esther.

"Ah, well!" sighed Madame du Val-Noble; "in the course of our lives we
learn more or less how little men value us. But, my dear, I have never
been so cruelly, so deeply, so utterly scorned by brutality as I am by
this great skinful of port wine.

"When he is tipsy he goes away--'not to be unpleasant,' as he tells
Adele, and not to be 'under two powers at once,' wine and woman. He
takes advantage of my carriage; he uses it more than I do.--Oh! if only
we could see him under the table to-night! But he can drink ten bottles
and only be fuddled; when his eyes are full, he still sees clearly."

"Like people whose windows are dirty outside," said Esther, "but who can
see from inside what is going on in the street.--I know that property in
man. Du Tillet has it in the highest degree."

"Try to get du Tillet, and if he and Nucingen between them could only
catch him in some of their plots, I should at least be revenged. They
would bring him to beggary!

"Oh! my dear, to have fallen into the hands of a hypocritical Protestant
after that poor Falleix, who was so amusing, so good-natured, so full of
chaff! How we used to laugh! They say all stockbrokers are stupid. Well,
he, for one, never lacked wit but once----"

"When he left you without a sou? That is what made you acquainted with
the unpleasant side of pleasure."

Europe, brought in by Monsieur de Nucingen, put her viperine head in at
the door, and after listen