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"Madame Lambert!" cried Felix; "why, that's Monsieur Picot's housekeeper; close cap, pale, thin face, speaks always with her eyes lowered, shows no hair?" "That's she," said Minard, "a regular hypocrite!" "Twenty-five thousand francs of savings!" said Felix. "I don't wonder that poor pere Picot is always out of money."
The prodigious mystery in all their proceedings gave them the appearance of the heads of a party, and I never had the least doubt of their being the authors of the 'Gazette Ecclesiastique'. The one, tall, smooth-tongued, and sharping, was named Ferrand; the other, short, squat, a sneerer, and punctilious, was a M. Minard. They called each other cousin.
Phellion, Colleville, and Thuillier met their old comrade, Minard, at election, and an intimacy followed; all the closer with the Thuilliers and Collevilles because Madame Minard seemed enchanted to make an acquaintance for her daughter in Celeste Colleville.
Renounce my candidacy! why should I?" "You understand, my dear friend," said Minard, "that I am truly sorry if your confidence has been abused, but I have just issued my circular manifesto; the die is cast, and luck to the lucky now." "Leave me," said Thuillier; "it is a comedy for which you have paid."
He said within himself that he was called upon to exercise the functions of a magistracy, a priestly office. "To judge of men," he replied to Minard, who was much surprised at his hesitation, "is an alarming task, but to judge of minds! who can believe himself equal to such a mission?"
"What! their upholsterer?" cried Phellion, "that distinguished woman, of whom one may truly say, 'Incessu patuit dea'; which in French we very inadequately render by the expression, 'bearing of a queen'?" "Excuse me," said Minard.
Madame Colleville was, as a woman, the most distinguished member of this society, just as Minard junior and Professor Phellion were superior among the men. All the others, without ideas or education, and issuing from the lower ranks, presented the types and the absurdities of the lesser bourgeoisie.
Brigitte and Thuillier said to him one day: "Nothing can deprive you of our esteem; you are here in this house as if in your own home; the opinion of Minard and Phellion, which you seem to fear, has no more value for us than a stanza of Victor Hugo. Therefore, let them talk! Carry your head high!" "But we shall still need them for Thuillier's election to the Chamber," said Theodose.
"Parbleu! your neighbor in the rue Saint-Jacques, the notary Dupuis." "What!" said Madame Phellion, "that pious man? Why, he is churchwarden of the parish!" "Eh! madame, those are the very ones," said Minard, "to run off there are many precedents for that." "But," said Phellion, "such news cast suddenly among the company must have fallen like a thunderbolt."
In order to be deputy of Paris, we must get the better of Minard; and in order to crush Minard you must keep in your own hands all your means of influence; for that reason use Celeste as a hope; we'll play them off, these people, against each other and fool them all Madame Colleville and you and I will be persons of importance one of these days. Don't think me mercenary.
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