the village actors! They have long memories
in the provinces! And they judge governments, not at all by their names,
but by their men. They know the functionaries by heart. "Not much of a
government," they say to one another, "that sends us so and so!"

'In this region the Empire is still very popular, thanks mainly to this.
No! outside of the influence of the freemasons, which will be exerted
against him through the pressure put upon the friends and families of
the small army of government employes, and will therefore be formidable,
what M. de Mandat-Grancey will have most to fear will be not the
preference of the people for the Republic--for that, I tell you, does
not exist--but the indiscreet zeal of some of the clergy in his behalf.

'It is natural the clergy should wish to be rid of this persecuting gang
at Paris, and of these disgusting freemasons--quite natural. But they do
not always remember one peculiarity of our peasants. There is a great
love for the _culte_ here among our people--a very great love for it;
but they do not like to be meddled with in politics by the cures or the
priests. They will vote for the cure if the cure lets them alone. But if
he bothers them about it they are much more likely to vote against him.

'If Constans knows his business he will tell that freemason Thevenot,
the Keeper of the Seals, to let the cures and the clergy do all they
feel disposed to do in politics. Pardie, I am not sure he has not
already been suborning some of our cures to go into a conservative
propaganda!'

'This is my great fear,' he added presently, 'for Soissons in September.
We ought to carry that seat. The freemasons mean to make the Republicans
accept a most absurd candidate there, as I have told you, and if we can
only keep some of our clerical friends quiet, we shall beat him. But we
shall see! If the cures hurt us sometimes by their over-zeal, on the
other hand the Republican deputies and functionaries help us by making
the Republic disreputable in the eyes of serious people, and that in all
classes of society.

'Look at the working-men, for example, here in Laon. There are a good
many of them who know M. Doumer much better since he became a deputy
than they knew him when he was first a candidate!

'The question of the Societes Ouvrieres is a question which means a good
deal for the working-men. M. Doumer would have been well advised had he
let it alone. But no! M. Doumer gets himself appointed to dr