which he was to
be allowed to marry Mademoiselle Clotilde de Grandlieu. This
marriage has been broken off in consequence of inquiries made by
the Grandlieu family, the said Lucien having told them that he had
obtained the money from his brother-in-law and his sister; but the
information obtained, more especially by Monsieur Derville,
attorney-at-law, proves that not only were that worthy couple
ignorant of his having made this purchase, but that they believed
the said Lucien to be deeply in debt.

"Moreover, the property inherited by the Sechards consists of
houses; and the ready money, by their affidavit, amounted to about
two hundred thousand francs.

"Lucien was secretly cohabiting with Esther Gobseck; hence there
can be no doubt that all the lavish gifts of the Baron de
Nucingen, the girl's protector, were handed over to the said
Lucien.

"Lucien and his companion, the convict, have succeeded in keeping
their footing in the face of the world longer than Coignard did,
deriving their income from the prostitution of the said Esther,
formerly on the register of the town."

Though these notes are to a great extent a repetition of the story
already told, it was necessary to reproduce them to show the part
played by the police in Paris. As has already been seen from the note on
Peyrade, the police has summaries, almost invariably correct, concerning
every family or individual whose life is under suspicion, or whose
actions are of a doubtful character. It knows every circumstance of
their delinquencies. This universal register and account of consciences
is as accurately kept as the register of the Bank of France and its
accounts of fortunes. Just as the Bank notes the slightest delay in
payment, gauges every credit, takes stock of every capitalist, and
watches their proceedings, so does the police weigh and measure the
honesty of each citizen. With it, as in a Court of Law, innocence has
nothing to fear; it has no hold on anything but crime.

However high the rank of a family, it cannot evade this social
providence.

And its discretion is equal to the extent of its power. This vast
mass of written evidence compiled by the police--reports, notes, and
summaries--an ocean of information, sleeps undisturbed, as deep and
calm as the sea. Some accident occurs, some crime or misdemeanor becomes
aggressive,--then the law refers to the police, and immediately, if any
documents bear