Bureaucracy

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BUREAUCRACY
(LES EMPLOYES).

<

BALZAC'S NOVELS
IN ENGLISH.
1.

PERE GORIOT.

2.

THE DUCHESSE DE
LANGEAIS.

3.
4.
5.

CESAR BIROTTEAU.
EUGENE GRANDET.
COUSIN PONS.

11.

THE COUNTRY DOCTOR.

THE TWO BROTHERS.
THE ALKAHEST.
MODESTE MIGNON.
THE MAGIC SKIN.
BUREAUCRACY

12.

SONS OF THE SOIL

6.

7.
8.
9.

10.

(Les Employes).
(Les Paysans.)

(Others

to follow.

HONORE DE BALZAC

BUREAUCRACY
OR

A CIVIL SERVICE REFORMER

(LES EMPLOYES)

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS,

Limited

broadway, ludgate hill

Glasgow, Manchester and
1891

New York

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I.

II.

III.

PAGE

The Rabourdin Household

VI.
VII.
VIII.

IX.

37

The Teredos Nayalis, otherwise called

.

C2

Three-quarter length Portraits of certain

Government Officials
V.

Monsieur des Lupeaulx

Ship- Worm

IV

The Machine

in

Motion

99

147

The Worms at Work

180

Scenes from Domestic Life

226

Forward, Mollusks

270

The Resignation

303

BUREAUCRACY.

THE EABOUKDIN HOUSEHOLD.

In Paris, where

men

of thought and stud}- bear a

certain likeness to one another, living as thej- do in a

common

centre,

you must have met with several resem-

Monsieur Rabourdin, whose acquaintance we arc

bling

about to make at a
in

moment when he

is

head of a bureau

one of our most important ministries.

At

this period

he was forty years old, with gra}" hair of so pleasing a

women might

shade that
for it

eyes

softened a

of

full

fire,

at a pinch fall in love with

it

somewhat melancholy countenance, blue

a skin that was

still fair,

though rather

ruddy and touched here and there with strong red

marks

a forehead and nose a la Louis XV., a serious

mouth, a
of a

tall figure, thin,

man

just recovering from illness,

bearing that was

mere

idler

or perhaps wasted, like that

midway between

and

finally,

the indolence of a

and the thoughtfulness of a busy man.

If

this portrait serves to depict his character, a sketch of

1

Bureaucracy.

the man's dress will bring

it

further into relief.

still

Rabourdin wore habitually a blue snrtout, a white cra la Robespierre, black trous-

vat, a waistcoat crossed

ers without straps, gray silk stockings

and low shoes.

Well-shaved, and with his stomach warmed by a cup of

coffee, he left

home

at eight in the

morning with the

regularity of clock-work, always passing along the

streets

on his way to the ministry

same

so neat was he, so

formal, so starched that he might have been taken for

an Englishman on the road to his embass}'.

From

these general signs you will readily discern a

own

family man, harassed by vexations in his

house-

hold, worried by annoj'ances at the ministry, yet phi-

losopher enough to take

man, loving

as he found

life

and serving

his country

it

it,

an honest

not conceal-

ing from himself the obstacles in the wa}- of those

who seek

to

do right

exquisitely courteous with

nothing,

a man

full

knew men

prudent, because he

of acquirements, affable with his

inferiors, holding his equals at a great distance,

dignified towards his superiors.

we

write, j-ou

would

resigned air of one

women, of whom he asked

lm e
T

At

and

the epoch of which

noticed in him the coldly

who has

buried the illusions of his

youth and renounced every secret ambition

3-011

would

have recognized a discouraged, but not disgusted man,

one who
to

still

employ

clings to his first projects,

his faculties than in the

more perhaps

hope of a doubtful

Bureaucracy.

He was

success.

not decorated with an}- order, and

always accused himself of weakness for having worn

of

that

the

the early days

Fleur-de-lis in

of the

Restoration.

man was marked Ivy certain mysteHe had never known his father
rious peculiarities.
his mother, a woman to whom luxury was everything,
The

of this

life

always elegantly dressed,

whose

beautj-

always

on pleasure bent,

whom

seemed to him miraculous and

very seldom saw,

left

him

little

at her death

he

but she

had given him that too common and incomplete educawhich produces so much ambition and so

tion

ability.

little

few days before his mother's death, when

he was just sixteen, he

the Lycee Napoleon to

left

enter as supernumerary a government office, where an

unknown

protector had provided him with a place.

At

twenty-two years of age Rabourdin became under-headclerk

at twenty-five, head-clerk, or, as

From

head of the bureau.

the young

assisted
felt

man

that

to

start

it

was termed,

day the hand that

in

life

was never

again in his career, except as to a single circum-

stance

it

led him, poor

and

friendless, to the house of

a Monsieur Leprince, formerly an auctioneer, a wid-

ower said
daughter.

to be extremety rich,

Xavier Rabourdin

and father of an only

fell

desperately in love

with Mademoiselle Celestine Leprince, then seventeen

vears of age,

who had

all

the matrimonial claims of a

Bureaucracy,

dowry of two hundred thousand

who

cated by an artistic mother,

talents to her daughter, this
attract distinguished men.

francs.

Carefullj' edu-

transmitted her

young lady was

Tall,

own

fitted to

handsome, and

finely-

formed, she was a good musician, drew and painted, spoke

knew something of

science,

dangerous advantage, which requires a

woman

several languages, and even

to avoid carefully all appearance of pedantry.

Blinded

by mistaken tenderness, the mother gave the daughter

false ideas as to her probable future

to the maternal

eyes a duke or an ambassador, a marshal of France or

a minister of State, could alone give her Celestine her

due place

The young lady had, moreover,

in society.

the manners, language, and habits of the great world.

Her dress was

for

and more elegant than was suitable

richer

an unmarried

girl

a husband could give her nothing

more than she now had, except happiness.

all

Besides

such indulgences, the foolish spoiling of the mother,

who

died a year after the

band's task

all

the

more

girl's

marriage,

What

difficult.

composure of mind were needed to

Commonplace

suitors held

bonrdin, without parents

back

made

coolness and

rule such a

in fear.

a hus-

woman!

Xavier Ra-

and without fortune other

than his situation under government, was proposed to

Celestine by her father.

She

resisted for a long time

not that she had any personal objection to her suitor,

who was young, handsome, and much

in love,

but she

Bureaucracy.
shrank from the plain name of

Monsieur Leprince assured

Madame

his daughter that

was of the stock that statesmen came

answered that a

Rabourdin.

Xavier

Celestine

of.

man named Rabourdin would

never be

anything under the government of the Bourbons,

Forced back to

his intrenchments, the father

made

etc.

the

serious mistake of telling his daughter that her future

husband was certain of becoming Rabourdin de something or other before he reached the age of admission
to the

Chamber.

Master of

and general secretary

petitions,

From

try.

Xavier was soon to be appointed

man would

at his minis-

these lower steps of the ladder the

certainly rise to the

higher ranks of the

administration, possessed of a fortune and a

queathed to him in a certain

Leprince, was cognizant.

will of

On

young

name

be-

which he, Monsieur

this the

marriage took

place.

Rabourdin and
protector to

wife believed in the mysterious

his

whom

the auctioneer alluded.

Led away

by such hopes and by the natural extravagance of happ}love,

Monsieur and

Madame Rabourdin

spent nearly

one hundred thousand francs of their capital

five

years of married

Celestine, alarmed

at

life.

the

By

in the first

the end of this time

non-advancement of her

husband, insisted on investing the remaining

thousand

francs'

of

her dowry

in

landed

which returned onfy a slender income

hundred
propert}-,

but her future

Bureaucracy.

inheritance from her father would amply repay

pres-

all

ent privations with perfect comfort and ease of

When

the

worthy auctioneer saw

life.

his son-in-law disap-

pointed of the hopes they had placed on the nameless

protector,

sake of his daughter, to repair

tried, for the

lie

the secret loss by risking part of his fortune in a speculation which

poor

had favorable chances of success.

man became

But the

involved in one of the liquidations of

the house of Nucingen, and died of grief, leaving noth-

ing behind him but a dozen fine pictures which adorned

his daughter's salon,

furniture,

which she put

Eight years of

Rabourdin at
tor of her
it

and a few old-fashioned pieces of

in the garret.

fruitless

last

expectation

made Madame

understand that the paternal protec-

husband must have died, and that

ever existed, was lost or destroyed.

his will, if

Two

years be-

fore her father's death the place of chief of division,

which became vacant, was given, over her husband's

head, to a certain Monsieur de la Billardiere, related to
a deputy of the Right
It

was enough

but

how

francs

to drive

What

Rabourdin out of the service

and perquisites, when

spend them?

more

j'ears

minister in 1823.

could he give up his salary of eight thousand

fourths of his income

to

who was made

fall

and

the}'

constituted

his household

Besides,

if

three

was accustomed

he had patience for a few

he would then be entitled to a pension.

was

this for a

woman whose

high expecta-

Bureaucracy.

more or

tions at the opening of her life were

ranted,

and one who was admitted on

all

less war-

sides to be a

woman.

superior

Madame Eabourdin had

the expectations

justified

formed of Mademoiselle Leprinee

she possessed the

elements of that apparent superiority which pleases the

world

her liberal education enabled her to speak to

eveiy one in his or her

real

own language

her talents were

she showed an independent and elevated mind

much

her conversation charmed as

Iry its

variety and

ease as by the oddness and originality of her ideas.

Such

and appropriate

qualities, useful

or an ambassadress, were of

little

common

hold compelled to jog in the

who have

round.

Those

the gift of speaking well desire an audience

they like to talk, even

To

in a sovereign

service to a house-

sometimes weaiy others.

if the}'

satisfy the requirements of her

mind Madame Ea-

bourdin took a weekly reception-da} and went a great

7

deal into society to obtain the consideration her selflove

was accustomed

to enjo}r

isian life will readily understand

temperament

suffered,

Those who know Par-

how

and

all, if

No

matter what

people make about money,

they one

they live in Paris, must grovel before accounts,

do homage to
golden

of her

and was martyrized at heart by

the scantiness of her pecuniary means.

foolish declarations

woman

calf.

figures,

and kiss the forked hoof of the

What a problem was

hers

twelve thousand

Bureaucracy.

francs a year to defray the costs of a household consist-

ing of father, mother, two children, a chambermaid and

cook, living on the second iloor of a house in the rue

an apartment costing two thousand francs

Duphot,

in

a year.

Deduct the dress and the carriages of Madame

you estimate the gross expenses of the family,

before

for dress precedes everything

then see what remains

for the education of the children (a girl of eight

boy of

nine,

whose maintenance must cost at

thousand francs besides) and you will find that

and a

least

two

Madame

Rabourdin could barely afford to give her husband

month.

thirty francs a

That

is

the position of half

the husbands in Paris, under penalty of being thought

monsters.

Thus

it

was that

this

woman who

destined to shine in the world was

believed herself

condemned

to

use

her mind and her faculties in a sordid struggle, fighting

hand

to

sacrifice

hand with an account-book.

of pride

Already, terrible

she had dismissed her man-servant,

not long after the death of her father.

grow weary of

this daily struggle

Most women

they complain but

they usually end by giving up to fate and taking what

comes to them; Celestine's ambition,

ing,

only increased through

far

difficulties,

from lessen-

and led her,

when she found she could not conquer them,

them

aside.

the affairs of

To

to

sweep

her mind this complicated tangle of

life

was a Gordian knot impossible

to

Bureaucracy.

and which genius ought

untie

to cut.

Far from

ac-

cepting the pettiness of middle-class existence, she was

angry at the delay which kept the great things of

blaming fate as deceptive.

from her grasp,

sincerely believed herself a superior

she was

right

woman

Perhaps

perhaps she was not

in her

as there are of man, all of which society

fashions to meet

its

needs.

Now

in Nature's order, there are

there are trees,

many

woman.

Let us remember there are as many varie-

right place.

of

Celestine

perhaps she would have been great

under great circumstances

ties

life

in the social order, as

more young shoots than

more spawn than full-grown

fish,

and

great capacities (Athanase Granson, for instance)

which die withered for want of moisture,

There

stony ground.

are,

like seeds

unquestionably, household

women, accomplished women, ornamental women,

men who
hearts,

on

avo-

are exclusively wives, or mothers, or sweet-

women

purely spiritual or purely material

just

as there are soldiers, artists, artisans, mathematicians,

poets, merchants,
culture, or

men who understand money,

government, and nothing

this, the eccentricity

purposes

many

else.

or agri-

Besides

all

of events leads to endless cross-

are called and few are chosen

law of earth as of heaven.

is

Madame Rabourdin

the

con-

ceived herself fully capable of directing a statesman,

inspiring an artist, helping an inventor and pushing
his interests, or of devoting her

powers to the

finan-

10

Bureaueracy.

cial politics

of a Nucingen, and playing a brilliant part

Perhaps she was only endeavor-

in the great world.

own mind

ing to excuse to her

a hatred for the laundry

lists

and the duty of overlooking the housekeeping-

bills,

together with the petty economies and cares of a

small establishment.
things where

it

She was superior only

gave her pleasure to be

so.

in those

Feeling

as keenly as she did the thorns of a position which can

only be likened to that of Saint-Laurence on his gridit

any wonder that she sometimes cried out?

So, in her

paroxysms of thwarted ambition, in the mo-

iron, is

ments when her wounded vanity gave her

terrible shoot-

ing pains, Celestinc turned upon Xavier Rabourdin.

Was

it

not her husband's duty to give her a suitable

position in the world?

If she were a

man

she would

have had the energy to make a rapid fortune for the

sake of rendering

an adored wife happy

She

proached him for being too honest a man.

mouth of some women

becility.

re-

In the

this accusation is a charge of im-

She sketched out

for

him certain

brilliant

plans in which she took no account of the hindrances

imposed by men and things

under the influence of vehement

then, like
feeling, she

all

women

became

in

thought as Machiavellian as Gondreville, and more

unprincipled than
Celestine's

Maxime de

Trailles.

At such

times

mind took a wide range, and she imagined

herself at the

summit of her

ideas.

11

Bureaucracy.

When

these fine visions

saw the

practical

first

was

side,

began Rabourdin, who

much

Celestine,

cool.

grieved, thought her husband narrow-minded, timid,

unsympathetic

and she acquired, insensibly, a wholly

false opinion of the

companion of her

place, she often extinguished

her arguments.

Her

him by the

came

ideas

In the

life.

brilliancy of

to her in flashes, and

when he began an

she sometimes stopped him short

explanation, because she did not choose to lose

slightest sparkle of her

first

own mind.

From

the

the earliest

days of their marriage Celestine, feeling herself beloved

and admired by her husband, treated him without cere-

mony

she put herself above conjugal laws and the

rules of private courtesy

all

her

way

little

by expecting love

wrong-doings

to

pardon

and, as she never in any

corrected herself, she was always in the ascendant.

In such a situation the

man

holds to the wife very

the position of a child to a teacher

when

not or will not recognize that the

mind he has

childhood

is

becoming mature.

Like

much

the latter can-

Madame

ruled in

de Stael,

who exclaimed in a room full of people, addressing, as

we may say, a greater man than herself, "Do you

know you have

really said

Madame Rabourdin

something veiy profound "

!

said of her husband

has a good deal of sense at times."

"He certainly

Her disparaging

opinion of him gradually appeared in her behavior

through almost imperceptible motions.

Her
2

attitude

12

Bureaucracy,

and manners expressed a want of

being aware of
others
its

it

Without

respect.

she injured her husband in the eyes of

making up

for in all countries society, before

mind about a man,

listens for

what

his wife thinks

of him, and obtains from her what the Genevese term

"

pre-advice."

When

Eabourdin

became aware of the mistakes

which love had led him to commit

the groove

had been cut

men

Like other

in

whom

it

was too

late,

he suffered and was

silent.

sentiments and ideas are

of equal strength, whose souls are noble and their

brains well balanced, he

was the defender of

before the tribunal of his

own judgment

self that

nature

through his

doomed her

she

wife,

by dint of constant

with her

own

a household

disappointed

harnessed to a cart

was who suffered

it

he told him-

life

she was like a thoroughbred Eng-

fault, his;

lish horse, a racer

to

his wife

of stones

full

and he blamed himself.

repetition,

belief in herself.

His

had inoculated him

Ideas are contagious in

the ninth thermidor, like so

many

other

portentous events, was the result of female influence.

Thus, goaded b}T Celestine's ambition, Eabourdin had

long considered the means of satisfying

it,

though he

hid his hopes, so as to spare her the tortures of uncertainty.

The man was

in the administration

upon

it.

He

firmly resolved to

make

by bringing a strong

his

way

light to bear

intended to bring about one of those revo-

Bureaucracy.
lutions

which send a

man

own

head of either one

to the
;

but being incapable of so

interests,

he merely pondered useful

party or another in societ}'

doing in his

13

thoughts and dreamed of triumphs

but among

few

have not conceived the

officials

among

as

officials

miscarriages than

births

Buffon's saying that

I

for his country

His ideas were both generous and

by noble means.
ambitious

won

which

like

more

artists there are

"Genius

is

tantamount

is

to

patience."

Placed in a position where he could study French

administration and observe

worked

mechanism, Rabourdin

in the circle where his thought revolved, which,

we may remark

parenthetically, is the secret of

human accomplishment
all}'

its

in the invention of a

vice of government.

and

his labor

new system

Knowing

culminated

it still

works and

the people with

everybody fears to remodel

to Rabourdin,

will

it,

fin-

for the Civil Ser-

he had to do, he maintained the machine as

worked, as

much

whom
then

it

continue to work

for

though no one, according

ought to be unwilling to simplify

it.

In his

opinion, the problem to be resolved lay in a better use

of the same forces.

His plan, in

to revise taxation and lower

it

its

simplest form,

was

in a waj' that should not

diminish the revenues of the State, and to obtain, from

a budget equal to the budgets which

now

excite such

rabid discussion, results that should be two-fold greater

than the present

results.

Long

practical experience

Bureaucracy.

14

is

brought about

in the direction

of simplicity.

had taught Rabourdin that perfection

in all things

I)}'

To economize

changes

simplify.

to

is

To

suppress unnecessary machinery

follow.

simplify

to

removals naturally

His system, therefore, depended on the weed-

ing out of officials and the establishment of a

of administrative
all

means

No

offices.

reformers incur takes

new order

doubt the hatred which

its rise

here.

Removals

re-

quired by this perfecting process, always ill-understood,

threaten the well-being of those on
their condition
really great

is

What

thus forced.

whom

a change in

rendered Rabourdin

was that he was able to restrain the enthu-

siasm that possesses

all

reformers, and to patiently seek

medium

out a slow evolving

for all

changes so as to

avoid shocks, leaving time and experience to prove the

excellence of each reform.
anticipated might

make

The grandeur of

us doubt

the result

its possibility if

we

lose sight of this essential point in our rapid analysis

of his system.

It is,

show through his

own

therefore,

not unimportant to

self-communings, however incom-

plete they be, the point of view from which he looked at

the administrative horizon.

This

tale,

which

is

evolved

from the very heart of the Civil Service, ma} also serve
-

to

show some of the

evils of

our present social customs.

Xavier Rabourdin, deeply impressed by the

trials

and

poverty which he witnessed in the lives of the govern-

ment

clerks,

endeavored to ascertain the cause of their

15

Bureaucracy.

He

growing deterioration.

found

the eddies, as

tial revolutions,

in those petty par-

it

were, of the storm of

it

1789, which the historians of great social movements

neglect to inquire into, although as a matter of fact

it

they which have made our manners and customs

is

what they now

are.

Formerly, under
armies did

not

the

monarchy,

The

exist.

the

bureaucratic

few in number,

clerks,

were under the orders of a prime minister who com-

municated with the sovereign

the king.

The

thus they directly served

superiors of these zealous servants were

In those branches of ad-

simply called head-clerks.

ministration which the king did not himself direct, such

domains through-

for instance as the fermes (the public

out the country on which a revenue was levied), the

clerks wei'e to their superior

what the clerks of a busi-

ness-house are to their employer

the}-

which would one day advance them to

all

learned a science

Thus,

prosperit}-.

points of the circumference were fastened to the

centre and derived their

devotion and confidence.

the Nation if

jou

like,

life

from

Since

it.

The

was

result

789 the State,

call it

has replaced the sovereign.

In-

stead of looking directly to the chief magistrate of this

nation, the clerks have become, in spite of our fine patriotic ideas, the

subsidiaries of the

government

superiors are blown about hy the winds of a

power

" the administration," and do not know from day

their
called
to

day

Bureaucracy.

16

As

where they may be on the morrow.

public business

must go on, a certain

the routine of

number of

indis-

pensable clerks are kept in their places, though they

hold these places on sufferance, anxious as they are to
retain

Bureaucracy, a gigantic power set in

them.

motion by dwarfs, was generated

Napoleon, by subordinating

all

in this

way.

things and

Though

all

men

to

his will, retarded for a time the influence of bureau-

cracy (that ponderous curtain hung between the service

to be

done and the man who orders

it), it

was perma-

nently organized under the constitutional government,

which was, inevitably, the friend of

all

mediocrities,

the lover of authentic documents and accounts, and as

meddlesome as an old tradeswoman.

Delighted to see

the various ministers constantly struggling against the

four hundred petty minds of the Elected of the
ber, with their ten or a

leaders, the

Civil

Cham-

dozen ambitious and dishonest

Service officials

make

hastened to

themselves essential to the warfare by adding their

quota of assistance under the form of written action

they created a power of inertia and

named

it

" Report."

Let us explain the Report.

When
ters,

the kings of France took to themselves minis-

which

first

happened under Louis XV., the} made

7

them render reports on

all

important questions, instead

of holding, as formerly, grand councils of state with

the nobles.

Under

the constitutional government, the

17

Bureaucracy.

ministers of the various departments were insensibly

led \>y their bureaus to imitate this practice of kings.

Their time

being taken up in defending themselves

Chambers and

before the two

selves be guided

the court, they let them-

by the leading-strings of the Report.

Nothing important was ever brought before the govern-

ment that a minister did not say, even when the case
was urgent, " I have called for a report." The Report
thus became, both as to the matter concerned and for

}he minister himself, the same as a report to the Chamber

of Deputies on a question of laws,
tion in

which the reasons

for

the minister, like the Chamber,

tion, in

whatever matter,

what we

will,

the

must be made.
and against, the
finest things

is

is

is fully

less

is

attained

rendered.

determina-

Do

reached in an instant.

the decision

greater the array. of reasons for

sound

will

be the judgment.

The

of which France can boast have been ac-

complished without reports and where decisions were

prompt and spontaneous.

statesman

is

The dominant law of

to apply precise

formulas to

all

cases,

maimer of judges and physicians.

Rabourdin, who said to himself: " A minister should

after the

have decision, should know public

course,"

as well prepared

moment comes when

The

disquisi-

and against are stated

No real result

with more or less partiality.

before as after the report

namely, a

affairs

and

direct their

saw "Report" rampant throughout France,

18

Bureaucracy.

from the colonel to the marshal, from the commissary

of police to the king, from the prefects to the ministers

After 1818

of state, from the Chamber to the courts.

everything was discussed, compared, and weighed, either

public business took a literary

in speech or writing;

France went to ruin in spite of

form.

documents

this array of

dissertations stood in place of action

million of reports were written every year

was enthroned

Records,

statistics,

bureaucracy

documents, failing

which France would have been ruined, circumlocution,

without which there could be no advance, increased,
multiplied,

and grew majestic.

bureaucracy used to

its

own

From

that da}- forth

profit the mistrust that

stands between receipts and expenditures

it

degraded

the administration for the benefit of the administrators

in short,

it

spun those

lilliputian

threads which have

chained France to Parisian centralization,

as

if

from

1500 to 1800 France had undertaken nothing for want

of thirty thousand government clerks

upon public
officials

offices, like

In fastening

a mistletoe on a pear-tree, these

indemnified themselves amply, and in the

fol-

lowing manner.

The

ministers, compelled to obey the princes or the

Chambers who impose upon them the

the public moneys,
office,

distribution of

and forced to retain the workers

in

proceeded to diminish salaries and increase the

number of those workers, thinking

that if

more persons

Bureaucracy.

19

were employed by government the stronger the govern-

ment would

And

be.

yet the contrary law

written on the universe

there

there are few active principles.

is

is

an axiom

no vigor except where

Events proved in July,

1830, the error of the materialism of the Restoration.

To

plant a government in the hearts of a nation

necessary to bind interests to

it,

not men.

it is

The gov-

ernment-clerks being led to detest the administrations

which lessened both their salaries and their importance,

treated them as a courtesan treats an aged lover,

gave them mere work for money

and

a state of things

which would have seemed as intolerable to the administration as to the clerks,

feel

had the two parties dared to

each other's pulse, or had the higher salaries not

succeeded in

stifling

the voices of the lower.

Thus

wholly and solely occupied in retaining his place, drawing his pay, and securing a pension, the government
official

thought everything permissible that conduced to

these results.

This state of things led to servility on

the part of the clerks and to endless intrigues within

the various

departments,

where the humbler clerks

struggled vainly against degenerate

aristocrac}-,

who sought

members of

positions in the

the

government

bureaus for their ruined sons.

Superior

men

could scarcely bring

themselves to

tread these tortuous ways, to stoop, and cringe, and

creep through the mire of these cloacas, where the pres-

Bureaucracy.

20

ence of a fine inind only alarmed the other denizens.

The ambitious man of genius grows

triple

crown

he does not follow in the steps of Sixtus

the Fifth merely to

comes or stays

in the

government

Thus the

administration has slowly

its

offices

but

one

idlers,

French

mediocritj" of

come about.

Bureaucracy,

entirely of petty minds, stands as

to the prosperity of the nation

by

No

become head of a bureau.

incapables, or fools.

made up

old in obtaining his

an obstacle

delays for seven years,

machinery, the project of a canal which would

have stimulated the production of a province

afraid

is

of everj thing, prolongs procrastination, and perpetuates

7

the abuses which in turn perpetuate and consolidate

itself.

Bureaucrac} holds
7

all tilings

tration itself in leading strings

who

it

it stifles

men

are bold enough to be independent of

lighten

we

and the adminis-

it

on

its

own

write the pension

follies.
list

it

of talent
or to en-

About the time of which,

had just been issued, and on.

Rabourdin saw the name of an underling in

rated for a larger

and wounded

sum than

the old colonels,

for their country.

In that fact

office

maimed
lies

the

whole history of bureaucracy.

Another

evil,

brought about by modern customs,

which Rabourdin counted among the causes of

secret demoralization,

was the

fact that there is

subordination in the administration in Paris

this

no real

complete

equality reigns between the head of an important divi-

Bureaucracy.

21

sion and the humblest copying-clerk

ful as the other in
it

in

his

one

as power-

is

an arena outside of which each lords

own way.

Education,

equally distributed

through the masses, brings the son of a porter into a

government

office to

decide the fate of some

man

of

merit or some landed proprietor whose door-bell his

father

may have

answered.

The

last

comer

on equal terms with the oldest veteran

is

therefore

in the service.

wealthy supernumerary splashes his superior as he

drives his tilbury to

Longchamps and

points with his

whip to the poor father of a family, remarking to the

woman

pretty

at his side,

" That's

my

chief."

Liberals call this state of things Progress

thought

how

it

Anarchy

it

The

Rabourdin

at the heart of power.

He saw

resulted in restless intrigues, like those of a

harem between eunuchs and women and imbecile

tans, or the petty troubles of nuns full of

sul-

underhand

vexations, or college tyrannies, or diplomatic manceu-

vrings

fit

to terrify an ambassador, all put in motion

to obtain a fee or an increase of salary

it

was

like

the hopping of fleas harnessed to pasteboard cars, the

spitefulness of slaves, often visited
self.

With

all

this

on the minister him-

were the really useful men, the

workers, victims of such parasites

men

sincerely de-

voted to their country, who stood vigorously out from

the background of the other incapables, yet

often forced to succumb through unworthy

who were

trickery.

22

Bureaucracy.

All the higher offices were gained through parliamen-

had nothing now

tary influence, royalty

them, and

subordinate

the

to

do with

became, after a

clerks

time, merely the running-gear of the

machine

the

most important consideration with them being to keep

This fatal conviction enter-

the wheels well greased.

ing some of the best minds smothered man}' statements

on the secret

conscientiously written
tional

government lowered the courage of many

;

and corrupted

won

England

and

by deteriorating annoj-ances.

employ of the Rothchilds corresponds with

;

another, in a government office,

municate with

all

learns the wajr to

and health and

lies here.

weary of

hearts,

injustice

sterling honesty,

to indifference

clerk in the
all

evils of the na-

make

life

prefects

the

to

but where the one

his fortune, the other loses time

no

avail.

An

Certainly a nation does not

with immediate

may com-

undermining

seem threatened

because an able clerk

dissolution

sent awaj- and a middling sort of

man

never seem essential to their existence.

long run when the belittling process

tion

on

this point

is fully

But

men

in the

carried out

Every one who seeks

instruc-

can look at Venice, Madrid, Amster-

dam, Stockholm, Rome

all

places which were formerly

resplendent with mighty powers and are

by the

is

replaces him.

Unfortunately for the welfare of nations individual

nations will disappear.

evil

infiltrating littleness

now destined

which gradually attained

23

Bureaucracy.
the

When

eminence.

highest

was found

came,

all

weak

attack.

To

the

da}'

of

struggle

succumbed

rotten, the State

to a

worship the fool who succeeds, and

not to grieve over the

of an able

fall

man

is

the re-

sult of our melancholy education, of our manners and

customs which drive men of

intellect into disgust,

and

genius to despair.

What

difficult

undertaking

is

the rehabilitation of

the Civil Service while the liberal cries aloud in his

newspapers that the salaries of clerks are a standing

theft, calls the items of the

budget a cluster of leeches,

and every year demands why the nation should be

In Monsieur

saddled with a thousand million of taxes.

Rabourdin's

e}'es the clerk in relation to the

very much what the gambler

3-ear

and demand

ize theft

To pay

A
But

less.

budget was
that which

man

a thousand francs

whole time was surehy to organ-

his

and poverty.

much, and does

game

All remuneration implies

he wins he puts back again.

something furnished.

the

is to

gallejT -slave costs nearly as

to expect a

man whom

the

State remunerated with twelve thousand francs a year

to devote himself to his country
tract for both sides,

These

reflections

fit

profitable con-

to allure all capacities.

had led Rabourdin to desire the

recasting of the clerical

men, to double or

was a

official staff.

treble salaries,

sions, to choose only

young

To employ

fewer

and do away with pen-

clerks (as did Napoleon,

24

Bureaucracy.

Louis XIV., Kickelieu, and Ximenes), but to keep them

long and train them for the higher

offices

and greatest

honors, these were the chief features of a reform which

if carried

out would be as beneficial to the State as

the clerks themselves.

to

It

is

recount

to

difficult

by chapter, a plan which embraced

in detail, chapter

and continued down through the

the whole budget

minutest details of administration in order to keep

the whole synthetical

but perhaps a slight sketch of

who under-

the principal reforms will suffice for those

stand such matters, as well as for those

ignorant of the

who are wholly

Though the

administrative system.

historian's position is rather hazardous in reproducing

a plan which
corner,

it is,

may be

thought the politics of a chimney-

nevertheless, necessary to sketch

to explain the author of

recital

it

by

his

own

work.

it

so as

Were

the

of his efforts omitted, the reader would not be-

lieve the narrator's

word

and the courage of

this official.

if

he merely delared the talent

Rabourdin's plan divided the government into three

ministries, or departments.

He

thought that

if

the

France of former days possessed brains strong enough

to
tic

comprehend
affairs,

without
or

its

its

in one system both foreign

and domes-

the France of to-day was not likely to be

Mazarin,

its

Suger,

its Sully, its

de Choiseul,

Colbert to direct even vast administrative depart-

ments.

Besides, constitutionally speaking, three min-

Bureaucracy.
isters will

stricted

choice

25

agree better than seven

number there
moreover,

it

might be that the kingdom would

some day escape from those perpetual

lations

which interfered with

and prevented

all

and, in the re-

chance for mistaken

less

is

all

ministerial oscil-

plans of foreign policy

home

ameliorations of

rule.

In Aus-

where many diverse united nations present so

tria,

many

and carried

conflicting interests to be conciliated

forward under one crown, two statesmen alone bear the

burden of public

Was

France

Germany?

affairs

less

The

and are not overwhelmed by

prolific

it.

of political capacities than

rather silly

game of what

are called

"constitutional institutions" carried beyond bounds has

many

ended, as everybody knows, in requiring a great

offices to satisfy the multifarious

dle classes.

It

seemed

ambition of the mid-

to Rabourdin, in the first place,

natural to unite the ministry of war with the ministry

To

of the navj\

his thinking the

navy was one of the

current expenses of the war department, like the

leiy,

cavalry, infantry,

was an absurdity

and commissariat.

artil-

Surely

it

to give separate administrations to

admirals and marshals

when both were employed

to one

end, namely, the defense of the nation, the overthrow of

an enemy, and the security of the national possessions.

The

ministr}' of the interior

ought in

like

combine the departments of commerce,

finances, or

it

belied

its

own name.

To

manner
police,

to

and

the ministry of

26

Bureaucracy.

foreign affairs belonged the administration of justice,

the household of the king,

and

sciences,

and

lettres.

belles

that concerned arts,

all

All patronage ought to

Such ministries ne-

flow directly from the sovereign.

cessitated the

Each required

supremacy of a council.

the work of two hundred officials, and no more, in

administration offices, where Rabourdin

central

posed that they should

live,

its

pro-

as in former daj-s under the

Taking the sum of twelve thousand francs a

monarchy.

year for each

as an average, he estimated seven

official

millions as the cost of the whole

body of such

officials,

which actually stood at twenty in the budget.

By

thus reducing the ministers to three heads he

suppressed departments which had come to be useless,

together with the enormous costs of their maintenance
in Paris.

managed
most

He

proved that an arrondissement could be

b\r ten

which

men

reduced

throughout France to

a prefecture by a dozen at the

the
five

entire

civil

service

force

thousand men, exclusive of

the departments of war and justice.

Under

this plan

the clerks of the courts were charged with the system

of loans,

and the ministry of the

registration

and the management of domains.

Rabourdin united
allied

in

interior with that of

nature.

in

one centre

all

The mortgage

Thus

divisions that were

sj^stem, inheritance,

and registration did not pass outside of

their

own

sphere

of action and only required three additional clerks in

Bureaucracy.

27

The

the justice courts and three in the royal courts.

steady application of this principle brought Rabourdin

He merged

to reforms in the finance system.

lection of revenue into

one channel, taxing consumption

According to his

in bulk instead of taxing propertj'.

ideas,

the col-

consumption was the sole thing properly taxable

in times of peace.

Land-taxes should always be held

in reserve in case of

war

demand

justly

danger

fault to

sacrifices

for then only could the State

from the

but in times of peace

burden

could never

be

it

it

soil,

beyond a certain

depended

on

limit

fifty

when

the market

country was tranquil, for at such times

placed at par, instead of at

political

otherwise

it

great emergencies.

in

Thus a loan should be put on

which was in

was a serious

it

the

could be

per cent loss as in bad

in war times resort should be had to a land-tax.

" The invasion of 1814 and 1815," Rabourdin would
say to his friends, " founded in France and practically

times

explained an institution which neither

leon had been able to establish,

Law

I mean

nor Napo-

Credit."

Unfortunately, Xavier considered the true principles

of this admirable machine of

civil

service very

little

understood at the period when he began his labor of

form in 1820.

by means of

His scheme levied a

direct taxation

taxes was

by

on consumption

and suppressed the whole

machinery of indirect taxation.

simplified

toll

re-

The levying of

the

a single classification of a great

28

Bureaucracy.

number of

articles.

This did away with the more har-

assing customs at the gates of the

cities,

and obtained

by lessening

the largest revenues from the remainder,

the

enormous expense of collecting them.

the burden of taxation

To

lighten

not, in matters of finance, to

is

diminish the taxes, but to assess them better;

if light-

ened, you increase the volume of business by giving

it

freer play

the individual pays less and the State

may seem

This reform, which

more.

receives

mense, rests on very simple machinery.

im-

Eabourdin

regarded the tax on personal property as the most

trustworthy representative of general consumption.
dividual fortunes
rentals,

are usually revealed

in

by the number of servants, horses,

and luxuries, the costs of which are

of the public treasury.

France by
carriages,

to the interest

Houses and what they con-

tain vary comparatively but

disappear.

all

In-

little,

and are not

liable to

After pointing out the means of making

a tax-list on personal property which should be more

impartial than the existing

sums

is

Rabourdin assessed the

to be brought into the treasury

by

indirect taxa-

cent on each individual share.

a levy of money on things or persons under

dis-

tion as so

tax

list,

much per

guises that are

excellent

when

more or

less specious.

the object is to extort money,

ridiculous in the present day,

the taxes

These disguises,

when

become

the class on which

weigh the heaviest knows why the State

Bureaucracy.

29

imposes them and by what machinery the} are given

r

In fact the budget

back.

what

put into

is

it,

is

not a strong-box to hold

but a watering-pot

takes in and the more

the

more

it

it

pours out the better for the

prosperity of the countr}*.

Therefore, supposing there

are six millions of tax-paj-ers in easy circumstances

(Eaboiirdin proved their existence, including the rich)

is

it

not better to

make them

pajr a duty on the con-

sumption of wine, which would not be more offensive

than that on doors and windows and would return
a hundred millions, rather than harass them by taxing
the thing

By

itself.

this

system of taxation, each indi-

vidual tax-payer pays less in reality, while the State

receives more,

and consumers

profit

by a vast reduc-

tion in the price of things which the State releases

its

perpetual and harassing interference.

from

Eabourdin's

scheme retained a tax on the cultivation of vineyards,

so as to protect that industry from the too great abun-

dance of

its

own

products.

Then, to reach the con-

sumption of the poorer tax-payers, the licenses of

retail

dealers were taxed according to the population of the

neighborhoods in which they lived.

In

this

way, the State would receive without cost or

vexatious hindrances an enormous revenue under three

forms

namely, a duty on wine, on the cultivation of

vineyards, and on licenses, where

now an

irritating

array of taxes existed as a burden on itself and

its

Bureaucracy.
Taxation was thus imposed upon the rich

officials.

To

without overburdening the poor.

ample.

give another ex-

Suppose a share assessed to each person of

one or two francs

for the

consumption of salt and you

obtain ten or a dozen millions

the

modern

disappears, the poor breathe freer, agriculture

gabelle
is

re-

lieved, the

State receives as much, and no tax-pajT er

complains.

All persons, whether they belong to the

industrial classes or to the capitalists, will see at once

when they discover

the benefits of a tax so assessed

how commerce
country

increases, and life

In short, the

districts.

ameliorated in the

is

State will see from

year to year the number of her well-to-do tax-payers

increasing.

By doing away

indirect taxation, which

is

with

the

machinery of

very costly (a State, as

it

were, within the State), both the public finances and the
individual tax-payer are greatly benefited, not to speak

of the saving in costs of collecting.

The whole

subject

is

indeed less a question of finance

The

than a question of government.

sess nothing of its

public works.

own, neither

That

it

State should pos-

forests,

nor mines, nor

should be the owner of domains

was, in Rabourdin's opinion, an administrative contradiction.

and

it

The

State cannot turn

deprives itself of taxes

of production.

As

its

possessions to profit

it

thus loses two forms

to the manufactories of the govern-

ment, they are just as unreasonable in the sphere of

31

Bureaucracy.

The

industry.

State obtains products at a higher cost

than those of commerce, produces them more slowly,

and

loses its tax

which

it,

upon the industry, the maintenance of

in turn, reduces.

Can

method of governing a country

of promoting

manufactures?

it

be thought a proper

to manufacture instead
to possess property in-

stead of creating more possessions and more diverse

In Rabourdin's system the State exacted no

ones?

money
and

securitjr

he allowed only mortgage securities

for this reason

in specie,

Either the State holds the security

and that embarrasses business and the move-

ment of money

or

it

invests

it

the State itself pays, and that

ben-

or else

folly

moreover,

it

loses

at a higher rate than

a contemptible rob-

is

on the transaction, and that

if it is

is

obliged at atry time to dispose

of a mass of these securities

it

gives rise in certain cases

to terrible bankruptcy.

The

territorial

Rabourdin's plan,

tax did

he

not entirely disappear in

kept a minute portion of

a point of departure in case of war

of the

soil

it

as

but the productions

were freed, and industry, finding raw material

at a low price, could

compete with foreign nations with-

out the deceptive help of customs.

The

rich carried

on

the administration of the provinces without compensation except that of receiving a peerage under certain

conditions.

Magistrates, learned bodies, officers of the

lower grades found their services honorablj' rewarded

Bureaucracy.

32

no man empk>3'ed by government

failed to obtain great

and

consideration through the value

and

labors

the excellence of his salary

able to provide for his

livered

own

extent

of his

every one was

and France was de-

future

from the cancer of pensions.

As

a result Ra-

bourdin's scheme exhibited only seven hundred millions

of expenditures and twelve hundred millions of receipts.

saving of

more

five

hundred millions annually had

virtue than the accumulation of a sinking fund

whose clangers were plainly to be seen.

the

far

State,

according to Rabourdin,

holder, just as

manufacturer.

it

In that fund

became a stock-

persisted in being a land-holder and a

To

bring about these reforms without

too roughly jarring the existing state of things or

in-

curring a Saint-Bartholomew of clerks, Rabourdin considered

that

an evolution of twenty years would be

required.

Such were the thoughts maturing

mind ever

since his promised place

Monsieur de

la Billardiere,

man

in

Rabourdin's

had been given to

of sheer incapacity.

This plan, so vast apparently yet so simple in point of

fact,

which did away with so many

many

little

presentation

offices

all

to the

precise statistics,

lai'ge staffs

equally useless, required for

public

mind

close

and self-evident proof.

had long studied the budget under

its

waj s and means and of expenditure.

-

and so
its

calculations,

Rabourdin

double aspect of

Many

a night

Bureaucracy.

33

he bad lain awake unknown to his wife.

But so

had only dared to conceive the plan and

pectively to the administrative skeleton

counted for nothing,

fairs,

Rabourdin's suc-

on the tranquil condition of

which up to

of which

he must gain the ear of a minis-

ter capable of appreciating his ideas.

cess depended

pros-

it

fit

all

far he

this time

were

still

political af-

unsettled.

He had

not considered the government as permanently secure

until three

hundred deputies at

least

had the courage to

form a compact majority systematical^ ministerial.

administration founded on that basis had

power since Rabourdin had finished

At

come

An
into

his elaborate plan.

the luxury of peace under the Bourbons

this time

when

had eclipsed the warlike

luxury of

France shone

encampment, prodigal and

like a vast

magnificent because

it

was

victorious.

ish campaign, the administration

an era of

tranquillity in

accomplished

the

daj's

After the Span-

seemed

to enter

upon

which some good might be

and three months before the opening of

our story a new reign had begun without any apparent

opposition

for the liberalism of the Left

Charles X. with as

Even

clear-sighted

much enthusiasm

had welcomed
as the Right.

and suspicious persons were misled.

The moment seemed

propitious for Rabourdin.

What

could better conduce to the stability of the government

than to propose and carry through a reform whose beneficial results

were to be so vast ?

34

Bureaucracy.

Never bad Rabourdin seemed so anxious and preoccupied as he

his

now did

in the

mornings as he walked from

house to the ministry, or at half-past four in the

afternoon,

when he

Madame

returned.

Rabourdin, on

her part, disconsolate over her wasted

secretly

working to obtain a few luxuries of dress, never

appeared so bitterly discontented as now

wife

who

ered

it

is really

but, like

unworthy of a superior woman to condescend

some

to

offi-

eke out the insufficiency of their husband's salary.

This feeling made her refuse

ame

any

attached to her husband, she consid-

the shameful devices by which the wives of

cials

weary of

life,

Colleville,

whose

all

intercourse with

then very intimate with Francois Keller,

parties eclipsed those of the rue Duphot.

theless, she

Mad-

mistook the quietude of the

Never-

political thinker

and the preoccupation of the intrepid worker

apathetic torpor of an

official

for the

broken down by the dul-

ness of routine, vanquished by that most hateful of

miseries, the mediocrity that simply earns a living

she groaned at being married to a

Thus

it

was that about

man without

all

and

energy.

this period in their lives she

resolved to take the making of her husband's fortune on

him

at

any cost into a higher sphere,

and to hide from him the

secret springs of her machina-

herself

tions.

to thrust

She carried

into all her plans the independence

of ideas which characterized her, and was proud to

think that she could rise above other

women by

sharing

Bureaucracy.
none of

35

and by keeping herself

their petty prejudices

untrammelled by the restraints which society imposes.

In her anger she resolved to fight fools with their

own

weapons, and to make herself a fool

She

saw things coming

Monsieur de
illness,

was

if

The time was

to a crisis.

la Billardiere, attacked

likely to die in a

need be.

favorable.

by a dangerous

few days.

If

Rabourdin

succeeded him, his talents (for Celestine did vouchsafe

him an administrative

gift)

would be so thoroughly

appreciated that the office of Master of petitions, for-

merly promised, would now be given to him

cied she
to the

Chambers and defending them

;

she would even be,

she would

up

sit

this to drive in the

Madame

she fan-

saw him king's commissioner, presenting

could help him

trary

all

bills

then indeed she

if needful, his secre-

night to do the work

All

Bois in a pretty carriage, to equal

Delphine de Nucingen, to raise her salon to

the level of

Madame

be invited to the

Colleville's, to

great ministerial solemnities, to win listeners and

make

them talk of her as " Madame Rabourdin de something

or other " (she had not yet determined on the estate)
just as they did of Madame Firmiani,

Madame

d'Aiglemont,

Madame

efface forever the odious

Madame d'Espard,

de Carigliano, and thus

name of Rabourdin.

These secret schemes brought some changes into the

household.

Madame Rabourdin began

firm step in the path of debt.

She

set

to walk with a

up a manservant,

36

Bureaucracy.

and put him

in lively

of brown cloth with red pipings,

she renewed parts of her furniture, hung

new papers on

the walls, adorned her salon with plants and flowers,

always fresh, and crowded

were then

in

vogue

it

with knick-knacks that

then she,

who had always shown

scruples as to her personal expenses, did not hesitate

to put her dress in keeping with the

aspired, the profits of

rank to which she

which were discounted

in several

of the shops where she equipped herself for war.

make her " Wednesdays"

on

Fridaj's, the

fashionable she gave a dinner

guests being expected to pay their

return visit and take a cup of tea on the following

She chose her guests cleverly among

nesday
tial

To

Wed-

influen-

deputies or other persons of note who, sooner or

later,

might advance her

In short, she gath-

interests.

ered an agreeable and befitting circle about her.

amused themselves at her house

which

is

quite

People

they said so at least,

enough to attract society

in Paris.

Ea-

bourdin was so absorbed in completing his great and

serious

work

that he took

no notice of the sudden reap-

pearance of luxury in the bosom of his famuy.

Thus the wife and the husband were besieging the

same

fortress,

working on parallel

each other's knowledge.

lines,

but without

37

Bureaucracy.

II.

MONSIEUR DES LUPEAULX.

At

the ministry to which Rabourdin belonged there

flourished,

as general-secretary,

Monsieur

certain

Clement Chardin des Lupeaulx, one of those men

whom

the tide of political events sends to the surface for a

few years, then engulfs on a stormy night, but

we

find again

on a distant shore, tossed up

carcass of a wrecked ship which

life

We

in her.

whom

like

the

seems to have

still

ask ourselves if that derelict could

ever have held goodly merchandize or served a high

emprize,

co-operated in

some defence, held up the

trappings of a throne, or borne

At

a monarchy.

peaulx (the

'
'

this particular

most obscure,

lives as in the

generals, there

the fur

is

is

the

corpse of

time Clement des Lu-

Lupeaulx " absorbed the

reached his culminating period.

when

away

'

'

Chardin) " had

In the most

illustrious

in animals as in secretary-

a zenith and there

is

a nadir, a period

magnificent, the fortune dazzling.

In

the nomenclature which we derive from fabulists, des

Lupeaulx belonged to the species Bertrand, and was

always in search of Ratons.

As

he

is

one of the princi-

38

Bureaucracy.

pal actors in this

drama be deserves a

description, all

more precise because the revolution of Jury has

the

suppressed his

eminently useful as

office,

was, to a

it

constitutional ministry.

Moralists usually employ their weapons against ob-

In their eyes, crime belongs to

trusive abominations.

the assizes or the police-courts

escape their ken

evils

have

they

but the socially refined

the adroitness that triumphs

under shield of the Code

them

is

above them or beneath

eye-glass

neither

nor

they want good stout horrors easily visible.

telescope

With

their

eyes fixed on the carnivora, they pay no attention to

the reptiles

comedy

happily, they

abandon

to the writers of

and colorings of a Chardin des

the shading

Vain and

Lupeaulx.
libertine

egotistical,

supple and proud,

and gourmand, grasping from the pressure of

debt, discreet as a

tomb out of which nought

issues to

contradict the epitaph intended for the passer's eye,

bold and fearless when

witty in
full

all

soliciting,

good-natured and

acceptations of the word, a timely jester,

of tact, knowing

how

to compromise others by a

glance or a nudge, shrinking from no mudhole, but

gracefully leaping
at

mass

if

it,

intrepid Voltairean, yet punctual

a fashionable

Thomas Aquinas,

company could be met

such

general resembled, in one

ocrities

who form

way

man

as this

or another,

all

in Saint

secretarj--

the medi-

the kernel of the political world.

Bureaucracy.

Knowing

human

in the science of

39
nature, he

was ever more

the character of a listener, and none

Not

attentive.

ad nauseam,
a

to

assumed

awaken suspicion he was

flattering

insinuating as a perfume, and cajoling as

woman.
Des Lupeaulx was

His youth

just forty years old.

had long been a vexation to him,

for he felt that the

making of

on

his

deputy.

How

may be

asked.

career depended

had he reached

By very

becoming a

his

present position?

his

He began by

simple means.

taking charge of certain delicate missions which can

be given neither to a
a

man who

to grave

man who

does not respect himself, but are confided

and enigmatic individuals who can be acknowl-

edged or disavowed at
being

respects himself nor to

compromised

always

His business was that of

will.
;

but

fortunes were

his

pushed as much by defeat as by success.

He

well

understood that under the Restoration, a period of continual

compromises between men, between things, be-

tween accomplished facts and other

the horizon,

it

was all-important

have a household drudge.

facts

for the ruling

Observe

in

away

the

how

should be

dirt}' linen,

powers to

a family some old

charwoman who can make beds, sweep

kept,

looming on

the floors, carry

who knows where

the silver

is

the creditors should be pacified, what persons

let in

and who must be kept out of the house,

and such a creature, even

if

she has

all

the vices, and

40

Bureaucracy.

is dirty,

and

toothless, or puts into the lottery

and

decrepit,

day

steals thirt} sous a

7

find the masters like her

her hearing upon even

and you

for her stake,

will

from habit, talk and consult in

matters

critical

she comes and

goes, suggests resources, gets on the scent of secrets,

brings the rouge or the shawl at the right moment, lets

herself be scolded

and pushed downstairs, and the next

morning reappears smiling with an excellent

No

matter

to have

how

high a statesman ma}' stand, he

bouillon.
is certain

some household drudge, before whom he

is

weak,

undecided, disputatious with fate, self-questioning,

answering, and buckling for the fight.
is like

the soft

wood

Such a familiar

when rubbed

of savages, which,

against the hard wood, strikes

fire.

Sometimes great

Napoleon

geniuses illumine themselves in this way.

lived with Berthier, Richelieu with Pere Joseph

Lupeaulx was the familiar of everybody.

friends with

fallen ministers

self-

He

des

continued

and made himself

their

intermediary with their successors, diffusing thus the

perfume of the

He

last flattery

well understood

how

and the

compliment.

first

to arrange all the

little

which a statesman has no

leisure to attend to.

necessities as they arose

he obeyed well

matters

He saw
he could

gloss a base act with a jest and get the whole value of
it

and he chose

for the services he thus rendered those

that the recipients were not likely to forget.

Thus, when

it

was necessary

to cross the ditch be-

41

Bureaucracy.

tween the Empire and the Restoration, at a time when

every one was looking about for planks, and the curs
of the Empire were howling their devotion right and
left,

des Lupeaulx borrowed large sums from the usu-

rers

and crossed the

Risking

frontier.

all

to win

all,

he

bought up Louis XVIII.'s most pressing debts, and was

the

to

first

nearly three

settle

twenty per cent

by Gobseck

1814 and 1815.

in

for he

millions

was lucky enough

of them at
to be

backed

It is true that Messrs.

Gobseck, Werdet, and Gigonnet swallowed the

profits,

but des Lupeaulx had agreed that they should have

them

he was not plaj-ing for a stake

bank, as
not a

it

man

he challenged the

were, knowing very well that the king was

to forget this debt of honor.

was not mistaken

tions,

Des Lupeaulx

he was appointed Master of peti-

Knight of the order of Saint Louis, and

the Legion of honor.

success, his clever

officer

Once on the ladder of

mind looked about

to maintain his foothold

of

political

for the

means

for in the fortified city into

which he had wormed himself, generals do not long

keep useless mouths.

So

to his general trade of house-

hold drudge and go-between he added that of gratuitous

consultation on the secret maladies of power.

After discovering in the so-called superior

the Restoration

their

utter

inferiority in

men

of

comparison

with the events which had brought them to the front,

he overcame their political mediocrity by putting into

42

Bureaucracy.

their mouths,

which men of real talent were

be thought

that this

"Were

mind.

command

a crisis, the word of

at

it so,

listening.

It

for

must not

word was the outcome of

own

his

des Lupeaulx would have been a

man of genius, whereas he was only a man of talent.

He went everywhere, collected opinions, sounded consciences, and caught all the tones they gave out.
He
gathered knowledge like a true and indefatigable

This walking Bayle dictionary did not

cal bee.

however, like that famous lexicon

all

opinions without drawing his

had the talent of a

fly

way he came
to statesmen.

own

conclusions

deep root

in

felt

in all

it

he

In

this

an indispensable helper

belief in his capacity

had taken such

minds that the more ambitious public

was necessary to compromise des Lupeaulx

some waj' to prevent

up to him

which drops plumb upon the

to be regarded as

act,

he did not report

best bit of meat in the middle of a kitchen.

men

politi-

his rising higher

they made

for his subordinate public position

by

their

secret confidence.

Nevertheless, feeling that such

on him,

this gleaner

men were dependent

of ideas exacted certain dues.

He

received a salaiy on the staff of the National Guard,

where he held a sinecure which was paid

of Paris
society

royal

for

by the

city

he was government commissioner to a secret

and

filled

household.

a position of superintendence in the

His two

official

posts which

ap-

Bureaucracy.

43

peared on the budget were those of secretary-general

and Master of

to his ministry

What

petitions.

he

now

wanted was to be made commander of the Legion of

honor, gentleman of the bed-chamber, count, and deputy.

To be elected deputy

it

was necessary

amount of a thousand francs

to

pay taxes to the

and the miserable home-

stead of the dcs Lupeaulx was rated at only five hun-

Where

dred.

and surround

money

could he get

it

every

da}-,

mansion

with sufficient domain to throw dust in

Though he dined out

eyes of a constituenc}* ?

the

to build a

and was lodged

for the last nine years at

the cost of the State, and driven about in the minister's

equipage, des Lupeaulx possessed absolutely nothing, at

the time

of debt

when our

tale opens,

but thirty thousand francs

undisputed property.

A marriage might float

him and pump the waters of debt out of

his

bark

but

a good marriage depended on his advancement, and

his

advancement required that he should be a deputy.

Searching

about him

through this vicious

better than

for

circle,

some immense

the

means

of

breaking

he could think of nothing

service to render or

some

delicate intrigue to carry through for persons in power.

Alas

conspiracies were out of date

apparently on good terms with

all

nately, for the last few years the

so thoroughly held up to the

the Bourbons were

parties

and, unfortu-

government had been

light of

day by the

silly

discussions of the Left, whose aim seemed to be to

4

44

Bureaucracy.

make government

of any kind impossible in France,

good strokes of business could be made. The

were tried in Spain, and what an outcry they

that no
last

excited

In addition to
ters

by believing

whom

des Lupeaulx complicated mat-

in the friendship of his minister, to

he had the imprudence to express the wish to

on the
real

all this,

The

ministerial benches.

meaning of the

minister guessed the

which simply was that des

desire,

Lupeaulx wanted to strengthen a precarious

so that he might throw off

The

sit

all

position,

dependence on his

harrier turned against the

huntsman

chief.

the minister

gave him cuts with the whip and caresses, alternately,

and
like

up

set

rivals to him.

But des Lupeaulx behaved

an adroit courtier with

traps
justice

which they

into

upon them.

fell,

all

competitors

he laid

and then he did prompt

The more he

felt

himself in dan-

ger the more anxious he became for an irremovable

position

yet he was compelled to play low

one mo-

ment's indiscretion, and he might lose everything.

pen-stroke might

demolish

his civilian

epaulets, his

place at court, his sinecure, his two offices and their ad-

vantages

in all, six salaries retained

law against

pluralists.

under

fire

of the

Sometimes he threatened

minister as a mistress threatens her lover

he was about to marry a rich widow.

telling

At such

minister petted and cajoled des Lupeaulx.

his

him

times the

After one

Bureaucracy.

45

of these reconciliations he received the formal promise

of a place in the

"

vacancj'.

It

Academy

would pay," he

His position, so

horse."

of Belles-lettres on the
said,

as

far

it

first

"the keep of a

went, was a good

one, and Clement Chardin des Lupeaulx flourished in

like a tree planted

in

good

vices, his caprices, his virtues

The

following were

obliged to choose,

He

soil.

and

could satisfy his

his defects.

the toils of his

among

it

He was

life.

five or six daily invitations,

the house where he could be sure of the best dinner.

Every morning he went to

reception to

amuse that

pet their children.

that

is to

his

official

morning

minister's

and

and

his wife,

Then he worked an hour

or two

and

say, he lay back in a comfortable chair

read the newspapers, dictated the meaning of a

received visitors

when

the minister

to

letter,

was not present,

explained the work in a general way, caught or shed a

few drops of the holy-water of the court, looked over

the petitions with an eyeglass, or wrote his

margin, a signature which meant "

do what you

like

about

it."

name on

I think

it

the

absurd

Every body knew that when

des Lupeaulx was interested

in

any person or

thing he attended to the matter personalty.

He

in

any

allowed

the head-clerks to converse privately about affairs of

delicacy, but he listened to their gossip.
to time he

went to the Tuileries

From time

to get his cue.

And

he always waited for the minister's return from the

46

Bureaucracy.

Chamber,

dressed, dined,

and

visited a

intrigue

This

official s}-ba-

dozen or

fifteen salons

or manoeuvre he was to set about.

rite

him what

to hear from

if in session,

At

between eight at night and three in the morning.

the opera he talked with journalists, for he stood high

in their favor

a perpetual exchange of

went on between them

services

he poured into their ears his

misleading news and swallowed theirs

them from attacking

little

such a matter, on the plea that

he prevented

minister on such or

this or that

would cause

it

real

pain to their wives or their mistresses.

"

Saj' that his bill is

worth nothing, and prove

it

if

you can, but do not say that Mariette danced badly.

The

devil

have

n't

we

all

played our

and which of us knows what

in

times like these?

to-morrow, 30U
'

Constitutionel

'

who

You
are

will

plays

little

become of him

va&y be minister yourself

spicing

the

cakes of the

to-day."

Sometimes, in return, he helped editors, or got rid

of obstacles to the performances of some play
gratuities

and good dinners

at the

promised his services to bring some

conclusion.

the arts

gave

moment, or

affair to

Moreover, he really liked

a happy

literature

and

he collected autographs, obtained splendid

albums gratis, and

and

right

pictures.

He

possessed sketches,

engravings,

did a great deal of good to artists

by simply not injuring them and by furthering

their

Bureaucracy.
wishes on certain occasions

some rather

much

when

costly gratification.

and

artists.

For one

wanted

their self-love

Consequently, he was

liked in the world of actors

nalists

47

and actresses, jour-

thing, they

had the same

vices

and the same indolence as himself.

could

all

Men who

say such witty things in their cups or in com-

pany with a danseuse, how could they help being friends ?

If des Lupeaulx had not been a general-secretary he

would certainly have been a

fifteen years' struggle in

Thus, in that

journalist.

which the harlequin sabre of

epigram opened a breach by which insurrection entered

the citadel, des Lupeaulx

never received so

much

as

a scratch.

As

the

young

fry of clerks looked at this

man

playing

bowls in the gardens of the ministry with the minister's

children, they cracked their brains to guess the secret

of his influence and the nature of his services

on the other hand, the aristocrats

looked upon

ministries

topheles, courted him,

in the higher sphere.

As

decipher as a hieroglyphic inscription to the

and

were as plain as the rule of three to the

This lesser Prince de

whom

the various

and gave him back with usuiy

clerks, the vocation of the secretary

to

all

while,

him as a dangerous Mephis-

the flatteries he bestowed

difficult to

in

Wagram

his usefulness
self-interested.

of the administration,

the duty of gathering opinions and ideas and

making verbal reports thereon was entrusted, knew

all

48

Bureaucracy.

the secrets of parliamentary politics

lukewarm, fetched, carried, and

dragged

in the

buried propositions,

said the yes and

no that the ministers dared not

for themselves.

Compelled to receive the

the

in

first

sometimes

he sometimes
and,

that

of

in

with

this

and

safe

knew everything and

addition
for

to

these

all

the

minister

cannot say of himself.

political

Hephsestion

might dare to be himself; to take

min-

the

off

his false teeth, lay aside his scruples, put

slippers,

were

interests

Tuileries,

saying

things that a minister

short,

ister

nothing

came

functions

and

many

some way connected with the

as a confessor,

In

minister, as the case might

Mysterious link by which

those

However,

des Lupeaulx

on

he

it

was not

flattered

all

his

a bed of roses for

and advised

his master,

forced to flatter in order to advise, to advise while

and disguise the advice under the

politicians

and

wig

his

unbutton his conscience, and give way to his

trickerjr.

tering,

and

first fire

blows of despair or wrath, he laughed or

bemoaned himself with the

be.

sa}'

who

All

flattery.

follow this trade have bilious faces

their constant

acquiescing in what

habit of giving
is

affirmative nods

said to them, or seeming to

so, gives a certain peculiar turn to their heads.

agree indifferently with whatever

Their talk

flat-

is full

is

in j-our

They

said before them.

of " buts," " notwithstandings,"

myself I should," " were I

do

"

for

place" (they often

Bureaucracy.
sa}'

"in your place"),

the

way

49

phrases, however, which pave

to opposition.

In person, Clement des Lupeaulx had the remains of

man

a handsome
stout,

feet six inches

five

complexion flushed with good

living,

head, delicate spectacles, and a worn-out air

ural skin blond, as

tolerably

tall,

powdered
;

the nat-

shown by the hand, puffy

like that

of an old woman,

i*ather too square, and with short nails

the hand of a

satrap.

His foot was elegant.

After

afternoon des Lupeaulx was alwaj's

five o'clock in the

to be seen in open-worked silk stockings, low shoes,

black trousers, cashmere waistcoat, cambric handkerchief (without perfume), gold chain, blue coat of the

shade called " king's blue," with brass buttons and a

In the morning he

string of orders.

wore creaking

boots and gray trousers, and the short close surtout

His general appearance early in

coat of the politician.

the day was that of a sharp lawyer rather than that of

Eyes glazed hy the constant use

a ministerial

officer.

of spectacles

made him

plainer than he really was, if

chance he took those appendages

of character, as well as to upright

by

To real judges
men who are at ease

off.

only with honest natures, des Lupeaulx was intolerable.

lies

sies,

To them,

his gracious

manners only draped

his amiable protestations

new

showed

to

their

the

foolish

and

his

and hackneyed courteignorant,

too

texture to an observing mind.

plainly

Such

Bureaucracy.

50

minds considered him a rotten plank, on which no

foot should trust itself.

No

sooner had the beautiful

Madame Rabourdin

decided to interfere in her husband's administrative

advancement than she fathomed Clement des Lupeaulx's

true character,

whether in
fibres

and studied him thoughtfully to discover

this thin strip of deal there

strong enough to

let

were ligneous

her lightly trip across

it

from the bureau to the department, from a salary of

The

eight thousand a 3-ear to twelve thousand.

woman

believed she could play her

political roue

own game

clever

with this

and Monsieur des Lupeaulx was partly

the cause of the unusual expenditures which

and were continued

in the

The rue Duphot,

now began

Rabourdin household.

built

up under the Empire,

is re-

markable for several houses with handsome exteriors,

the apartments of which are skilfully laid out.
the

That of

Eabourdins was particularly well arranged,

much

domestic advantage which has

nobleness of private

lives.

to

do with the

pretty and rather wide

antechamber, lighted from the court3 ard, led to the

T

grand salon, the windows of which looked on the

To

street.

the right of the salon were Rabourdin's study and

bedroom, and behind them the dining-room, which was

entered from the antechamber

to the left

was Ma-

dame's bedroom and dressing-room, and behind them

her daughter's

little

bedroom.

On

reception days the

Bureaucracy.

51

door of Rabourdin's stud}- and that of his wife's bed-

room were thrown open.

The rooms were thus spacious

enough to contain a

select

company, without the absurd-

many

middle-class

ity

which attends

entertainments,

where unusual preparations are made at the expense of

the daily comfort, and consequently give the effect of

exceptional

effort.

The

salon had lately been rehung

in gold-colored silk with carmelite touches.

bedroom was draped

Madame's
and

in a fabric of true blue

nished in a rococo manner.

fur-

Rabourdin's study had

in-

herited the late hangings of the salon, carefully cleaned,

and was adorned by the

Monsieur Leprince.

fine pictures

once belonging to

The daughter of

the

late

auc-

tioneer had utilized in her dining-room certain exquisite

Turkish rugs which her father had bought at a bargain

panelling

them on the walls

in ebony, the cost of

has since become exorbitant.

Boulle, also purchased

which

Elegant buffets made by

by the auctioneer, furnished the

sides of the room, at the

end of which sparkled the

brass arabesques inlaid in tortoise-shell of the

first tall

clock that reappeared in the nineteenth century to claim

honor for the masterpieces of the seventeenth.

perfumed these rooms so

quisite things,

where each

full

of good taste and of ex-

detail

was a work of

placed and well surrounded, and where

bourdin,

Flowers

art well

Madame Ra-

dressed with that natural simplicity which

artists alone attain,

gave the impression of a

woman

52

Bureaucracy.

accustomed to such elegancies, though she never spoke

of them, but allowed the charms of her mind to complete
the effect produced upon her guests

Thanks

surroundings.
able to

make

Iry

these delightful

her father, Celestine was

to

society talk of her as soon as the rococo

became fashionable.

Accustomed

as des

Lupeaulx was to

false as well as

real magnificence in all their stages, he was, nevertheless,

surprised at

charm

it

Madame

Rabourdin's home.

exercised over this Parisian

explained by a comparison.

The

Asmodeus can be

traveller wearied with

the rich aspects of Italy, Brazil, or India, returns to his

own

land and finds on his

like the

Lac d'Orta

way

a delightful

little

lake,

Monte Rosa, with an

at the foot of

island resting on the calm -waters, bewitchingly simple

a scene of nature and

3-et

adorned

solitarj',

but well

surrounded with choice plantations and foliage and

Beyond

statues of fine effect.

lies

a vista of shores both

wild and cultivated

but in

proportions are human.

itself all the

tumultuous grandeur towers above,

that the traveller has lately viewed

modest and pure

is

The world

here in miniature,

his soul, refreshed, bids

him remain

where a charm of melody and poesy surrounds him

with harmony and awaken ideas within his mind.

a scene represents both

few days

life

and a monastery.

earlier the beautiful

one of the charming

Such

women

Madame

Firmiani,

of the faubourg Saint-

Bureaucracy.

Germain who
had said

remark), "

and liked Madame Rabourdin,

visited

to des

Lupeaulx (invited expressly to hear the

Why

do

j'ou not call

a motion towards Celestine

on

Madame

" she gives

and her dinners, above

ties,

53

" with

delightful par-

better

are

all,

than

mine."

Des Lupeaulx allowed himself

engagement

bj'

the

drawn

into an

handsome Madame Rabourdin, who,

for the first time, turned her eyes

He

to be

on him as she spoke.

had, accordingly, gone to the rue Duphot, and that

tells

but that's
this

Woman

the tale.

infallible.

unimportant

mind

to

has but one

trick, cries Figaro,

After dining once at the house of

official,

des Lupeaulx

dine there often.

Thanks

made up

his

to the perfectly

proper and becoming advances of the beautiful woman,

whom

her

rival,

Madame

Colleville, called the

Celimene

of the rue Duphot, he had dined there every Friday for

the last month, and returned of his

own accord

for a

cup of tea on Wednesdays.

Within

few days

Madame

Rabourdin, having

watched him narrowly and knowingly, believed she had

found on the secretarial plank a spot where she might
safely set her foot.
cess.
ilies

She was no longer doubtful of suc-

Her inward joy can be

of government

officials

realized only in the fam-

where

for three or

four

years prosperity has been counted on through some

appointment, long expected and long sought.

How

Bureaucracy.

54

many

troubles to be allayed

how many

entreaties

pledges given to the ministerial divinities

visits

of self-interest paid

boldness,

At

Madame Rabonrdin

and

how many

thanks to her

last,

heard the hour strike

when she was to have twenty thousand francs a year

instead of eight thousand.

"

And I shall have managed well," she said to her"I have had to make a little outlay but these
self.
;

are times

when hidden merit

man keeps

cultivates

ceeds.

all,

relations

asd extends them, he suc-

ministers and

their friends interest

themselves only in the people they see

din

knows nothing of

the world

If I

but Rabour-

had not cajoled

those three deputies they might have wanted

diere's place themselves

vited them

if

himself well in sight before the world,

social

After

overlooked, whereas

is

whereas,

here, they will be

ashamed

become our supporters instead of

played the coquette, but

it is

nonsense with which one fools a

The day on which

now

La

Billar-

that I have in-

to

do so and

rivals.

will

have rather

delightful that the first

man

sufficed."

a serious and unlooked-for strug-

gle about this appointment began, after a ministerial

dinner which preceded one of those receptions which

ministers regard as public, des Lupeaulx

was standing

beside the fireplace near the minister's wife.

taking his coffee he once more included

bourdin

among

While

Madame Rawomen

the seven or eight really superior

55

Bureaucracy.

Ma-

Several times already be bad staked

in Paris.

dame Rabourdin very mucb

as Corporal

Trim staked

bis cap.

"Don't say

tbat too often,

my

dear friend, or you

will injure ber," said tbe minister's wife, half-laugbing.

Women

never like to bear praise of otber

they keep silence tbemselves to lessen

"Poor La

Billardiere is dying,"

lency the minister

" that place

falls

did not behave well, though one of

Rabourdin.

my

But,

our predecessors

them

owed

actually

under the Empire

who was

a certain great personage

his Excel-

to Rabourdin, one

bis position in tbe prefecture of police

to

its effect.

remarked

whom

of our most able men, and to

women

interested in

dear friend, you are

still

young

enough to be loved by a pretty woman for yourself

" If La

may be

Billardiere's place is given to

believed

when

wife," replied des

sarcasm

" but

if

you?

Your

clever

Rabourdin I

I praise the superiority of his

Lnpeaulx, piqued by the minister's

Madame

ing to judge for herself

" You want me

la

Comtesse would be

will-

"

to invite ber to

woman

will

my

next

ball,

don't

meet a knot of other

women who only come here to laugh at us, and when

"
they hear Madame Rabourdin announced
But Madame Firmiani is announced at the Foreign
'

'

'

'

Office parties?"

" Ah, but she was born a Cadignan

" said tbe

newly

56

Bureaucracy.

created count, with a savage look at his general-secre-

he nor his wife were noble.

tary, for neither

The persons present thought important matters were

being talked over, and the solicitors

appointments kept at a

Lupeaulx

"I

band,

left

the

think

" For the

first

room

cles

little

distance.

favors

and

When

des

the countess said to her hus-

Lupeaulx

time in his

ging his shoulders, as

for

much

is

life,

in love."

then," he replied, shrug-

as to inform his wife that des

Lupeaulx did not concern himself with such nonsense.

Just then the minister saw a deputy of the Eight

Centre enter the room, and he

an undecided

cajole

left his

But the deputy, under the

vote.

blow of a sudden and unexpected

make

wife abruptly to

disaster,

wanted to

come

announce

sure of a protector and he had

to

privately that in a few days he should be compelled to

Thus forewarned,

resign.

to open his batteries

the minister would be able

for the

new

election before those

of the opposition.

The

minister, or to speak

had invited to dinner on

movable

officials

own

this occasion

who, as we have

in every ministry
his

correcth', des

Lupeaulx

one of those

said, are to

irre-

be found

an individual much embarrassed by

person, who, in his desire to maintain a digni-

fied

appearance, was standing erect and rigid on his

two

legs,

held well

together like the Greek hermae.

This functionary waited near the fireplace to thank the

Bureaucracy.
secretary,

the

57

whose abrupt and unexpected departure from

room disconcerted him

at the

about to turn a compliment.

This

of the ministry, the only clerk

moment when he was

official

was the cashier

who did not tremble when

the government changed hands.

At

we

the time of which

meddle shabbily with the budget, as

we now

plorable days in which

Chamber

write, the

it

live

does in the dedid not con-

it

did not

temptibly reduce ministerial emoluments, nor save, as

they say in the kitchen, the candle-ends

trary,

it

on the con-

granted to each minister taking charge of a

public department an indemnity, called an " outfit."

costs, alas, as

much

as to retire from

expenses of
ventory.

sum

all

to enter

them

on the duties of a minister

indeed, the entrance involves

kinds which

it is

quite impossible to in-

This indemnity amounted to the pretty

ment of a new minister was gazetted

shoes, asked themselves:

increase the

make room

in the

" Moniteur,"

lesser officials, clustering

stoves or before the fireplaces

number of
for three

round the

and shaking

"What

little

"When the appoint-

of twentj^-five thousand francs.

and the greater or

It

in their

he do? will he

will

clerks? will he dismiss two to

" the cashier tranquilly took out

twenty-five clean bank-bills and pinned them together

with a satisfied expression on his beadle face.

day he mounted the private

staircase

The next

and had himself

ushered into the minister's presence by the lackeys,

Bureaucracy.

58

who

considered the

the keeper of money,

money and

the contents and the container, the idea and the form,
as one and the

The cashier caught the

same power.

ministerial pair at the

dawn of

the newly appointed statesman

To

the minister's inquiry as to

replies with the bank-notes,

official delight,

benign and

is

what brings him

informing

when

affable.

there,

he

his Excellency

that he hastens to pay him the customary indemnity.

Moreover, he explains the matter to the minister's wife,

who never

fails to

times takes

household

'

for the

The

affair.

compliment, and

a
'

all,

draw

If his Excellency

freely

upon the fund, and some-

"outfit"

looked upon as a

is

cashier then proceeds to turn

to slip

in

a few politic phrases

would deign to retain him

if,

satis-

fied

with his purely mechanical services, he would," etc.

As

man who

always a worthy

brings twenty-five thousand francs

official,

the cashier

is

is

sure not to leave

without his confirmation to the post from which he has

seen a succession of ministers come and go during a

period

of,

perhaps, twenty-five"

j-ears.

to place himself at the orders of

His next step

Madame

is

he brings the

monthly thirteen thousand francs whenever wanted

he

advances or delays the payment as requested, and thus

manages

to obtain, as they said in the monasteries,

a voice in the chapter.

Formerly book-keeper at the Treasury, when that

establishment kept

its

books by double entry, the Sicur

59

Bureaucracy.
Saillard

by

his

appointment as cashier of a ministry.

man, very strong

bulky, fat
ing,

for the loss of that position

was compensated

and very weak

in the matter of book-keep-

in everything else

round as a round

O, simple as how-do-you-do, a man who

office

He was

came

to his

with measured steps, like those of an elephant,

and returned with the same measured tread to the place

Royale, where he lived on the ground-floor of an old

He

mansion belonging to him.

usually had

a com-

panion on the way in the person of Monsieur Isidore

Baudoj-er, head of a bureau in Monsieur de la Billardiere's division, consequently

one of Kabourdin's

Baudoyer was married

leagues.

col-

to Elisabeth Saillard,

the cashier's only daughter, and had hired, very natu-

apartments above those of his father-in-law.

rally, the

No

one at the ministry had the slightest doubt that

Saillard

was a blockhead, but neither had any one ever

found out how far his stupidity could go

compact to be examined

it

whom more

it

was too

did not ring hollow

absorbed everything and gave nothing

clerk of

out.

it

Bixiou (a

anon) caricatured the cashier by

drawing a head in a wig at the top of an egg, and

two

little

legs at the other end, with this inscription

" Born to pay out and take in without blundering.

little less

and he might have been lackey to the

luck,

bank of France

little

more ambition, and he could

have been honorably discharged."

60

Bureaucracy.

At

the

minister

moment

we

of which

are

now

at his cashier very

was looking

writing, the

much

as

we

gaze at a window or a cornice, without supposing that

either can hear us, or
'
'

am

all

fathom our secret thoughts.

more anxious that we should

the

settle

everything with the prefect in the quietest way, because

des Lupeaulx has designs upon the place for himself,"

said the minister, continuing his talk with the deputy

"his paltry
don't
'
'

estate

little

in

is

your arrondissement

we

want him as deputy."

He

has neither years nor rentals enough to be

eligi-

ble," said the deputy.

'
'

That may be

but you

know how

for Casimir Perier as to age

sessions, des

much,

it is

it

was decided

and as to worldly pos-

Lupeaulx does possess something,

true

not

but the law does not take into ac-

count increase, which he

may

very well obtain; com-

missions have wide margins for the deputies of the

Centre, you know, and
good-will that

is

"But where
"

How

shown

we cannot openly oppose

to this dear friend."

could he get the

did Manuel

the

manage

money?

to

become the owner of a

house in Paris " cried the minister.

The

cashier listened

against his will.

and heard, but reluctantly and

These rapid remarks, murmured as

they were, struck his ear by one of those acoustic re-

bounds which are very

little

studied.

As

he heard

these.

Bureaucracy.
political confidences,

session of his soul.

beings,

who

61

however, a keen alarm took pos-

He was

one of those simple-minded

are shocked at listening to anything they

are not intended to hear, or entering where they are not

and seeming bold when they are

invited,

inquisitive

where they are truly

really timid,

The

discreet.

cashier

accordingly began to glide along the carpet and edge

himself away, so that the minister saw him at a distance

when he

first

took notice of him.

isterial

henchman

even

the minister had

if

Saillard

was a min-

absolutely incapable of indiscretion

known

that he

had overheard

a secret he had onh* to whisper " motus " in his ear to

be sure

it

was

perfectly safe.

The

cashier, however,

took advantage of an influx of office-seekers, to

slip

out

and get into his hackney-coach (hired by the hour for

these costly entertainments), and return to his
the place

Roy ale.

home

in

Bureaucracy.

62

III.

THE TEREDOS NAVALIS, OTHERWISE CALLED

SHIP-WORM.

While

old Saillard

was driving across Paris

and

in-law, Isidore Baudoyer,

his

his son-

daughter Elisabeth,

Baudoyer's wife, were playing a virtuous game of boston with their confessor, the

Abbe Gaudron,

in

compan}'

with a few neighbors and a certain Martin Falleix, a

brass-founder in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, to
Saillard

whom

had loaned the necessary money to establish a

business.

had come

This Falleix, a respectable Auvergnat who

to seek his fortune in Paris with his smelting-

pot on his back, had found immediate employment with

the firm of Brezac, collectors of metals and other relics

from old chateaux in the provinces.

About twenty-

seven years of age, and spoiled, like others, by success,

Martin Falleix had had the luck to become the

active agent of
in the

Monsieur

Saillard, the sleeping-partner

working out of a discovery made by Falleix in

smelting (patent of invention and gold medal granted

at the exposition of 1825).

only daughter was treading

Madame Baudoyer, whose

to use

an expression of

63

Bureaucracy.
old Saillard's

on

the tail of her twelve years, laid

claim to Falleix, a thickset, swarthy, active young fellow,

of shrewd principles, whose education she was superin-

The

tending.

said education, according to her ideas,

him

consisted in teaching

to play boston, to hold his

cards property, and not to let others see his

shave himself regularly before he

and

wash

to

his

came

game

to

to the house,

hands with good cleansing soap

not

to swear, to speak her kind of French, to wear boots

instead of shoes, cotton shirts instead of sacking, and

to brush

up

his hair instead of plastering

Dur-

it flat.

ing the preceding week Elisabeth had finally succeeded

in persuading Falleix

enormous

flat

to give

up wearing a pair of

earrings resembling hoops.

" You go too

Madame Baudoyer,"

far,

ing her satisfaction at the final sacrifice;

me

You make me

about too much.

which loosens them

brush

my

all in

our business

nails

and
;

who escape

commonness

yet

"you

clean

my

presently you will want

curl

we

my

hair,

order
teeth,

me

to

which won't do at

don't like dandies."

Elisabeth Baudoj'er, nee Saillard,

persons

he said, see-

portraiture

who ought

is

one of those

through their utter

to be sketched, because

they arc specimens of that second-rate Parisian bourgeoisie which occupies a place

above the well-to-do

artisan and below the upper middle classes,

whose

virtues are well-nigh vices,

tribe

whose defects are

64

Bureaucracy.

never kindly, but -whose habits and manners, dull and

insipid though they be, are not without a certain originality.

Something pinched and puny about Elisabeth

Saillard

was painful

Her

to the eye.

figure, scarcely

over four feet in height, was so thin that the waist

measured

than twenty inches.

less

Her small

features,

which clustered close about the nose, gave her face a

vague resemblance to a weazel's snout.

was past

thirty years old she looked

Her

than sixteen.

eyes, of a

Though
scarcely

she

more

porcelain blue, over-

weighted by heavy eyelids which

from the arch of the eyebrows, had

fell

nearly straight

little

light in them.

Everything about her appearance was commonplace

witness her flaxen hair, tending to whiteness
forehead, from which the light did not reflect

her

flat

and her

dull complexion, with gray, almost leaden, tones.

The

lower part of the face, more triangular than oval, ended

irregularly the otherwise irregular outline of her face.

Her

voice had a rather pretty range of intonation, from

sharp to sweet.
the second-rate

Elisabeth was a perfect specimen of

little

bourgeoise

band behind the curtains

tues 4

is

who

lectures her hus-

obtains no credit for her vir-

ambitious without intelligent object, and

solelj-

throngh the development of her domestic selfishness.

Had

she lived in the country she would have bought up

adjacent land

being, as she was, connected with the

administration, she

was determined to push her

waj-.

G5

Bureaucracy.
If

we

relate the life of her father

show the

sort of

woman

and mother, we

shall

she was by a picture of her

childhood and youth.

Monsieur Saillard married the daughter of an upholsterer keeping shop under the arcades of the Market.

Limited means compelled Monsieur and

lard at their start in

life

After thirty-three years of married

nine j-ears of

toil in

of " the Saillards "

them so

Madame

Sail-

to bear constant privation.

a government

and twenty-

life,

office,

the property

their circle of acquaintance called

consisted of sixty thousand francs entrusted

house in the place Eoyale, bought for

to Falleix, the

forty thousand in 1804,

and

thousand francs

thirty-six

given in dowry to their daughter Elisabeth.

this capital

about

will of the

widow

Saillard's salary

fifty

thousand came to them by the

Bidault,

Madame

Saillard's mother.

from the government had always been

four thousand five hundred francs a

his situation

Out of

was a blind

ear,

alley that led

had tempted no one to supersede him.

and no more

nowhere, and

These ninety

thousand francs, put together sou by sou, were the

fruit therefore of a sordid

ployed.
ter to

In

economy

fact, the Saillards

manage

unintelligent!}7

em-

know how

bet-

did not

their savings than to carry them, five

thousand francs at a time, to their notary, Monsieur

Sorbier, Cardot's predecessor,

and

let

him invest them

at five per cent in first mortgages, with the wife's rights

66

Bureaucracy.

reserved in case the borrower was married

Madame
sale of

Saillard obtained a

government

In 1804

office for the

stamped papers, a circumstance which brought a

servant into the household for the

At

time.

first

the

time of which we write, the house, which was worth a

hundred thousand francs, brought

thousand.

in a rental of eight

Falleix paid seven per cent for the sixty

thousand invested in the foundiy, besides an equal

division

of profits.

The

Saillards were therefore en-

jojing an income of not less than seventeen thousand

francs a year.

now

The whole ambition of

the good

man

centred on obtaining the cross of the Legion and

his retiring pension.

had

Elisabeth, the only child,

infancy in

home where

and the ideas simple.

rigid

was a matter of deliberation

last

was estimated

carefully

toiled steadily

the customs of

new hat

from
were

life

for Saillard

the time a coat could

and discussed

were

umbrellas

hung up by means of a brass buckle.

Since

1804 no repairs of any kind had been done to the

house.

The

Saillards kept the ground-floor

ciseby the state in

which their predecessor

gilding of the pier-glasses

on the cornices was hardly

was rubbed
visible

of dust that time had collected.

still

and

left

in
it.

off; the

pre-

The
paint

through the layers

The

fine large

rooms

retained certain sculptured marble mantel-pieces

ceilings,

worthy of Versailles, together with the old

67

Bureaucracy.
furniture of the

widow

Bidault.

The

latter consisted

of a curious mixture of walnut armchairs, disjointed,

and covered with tapestry

tables

rosewood bureaus

on single pedestals, with brass

cracked marble tops

3-et

railings

and

been recognized

up hy the worthy

in short, a chaos of bargains picked

bought for the sake of the frames,

china services of a composite order

nificent

round

one superb Boulle secretary,

the value of which style had not

widow, pictures

Japanese dessert

set,

and

all

to wit, a

mag-

the rest porcelains

of various makes, unmatched silver plate, old glass, fine

damask, and a four-post bedstead, hung with curtains

and garnished with plumes.

Amid
sat

these curious relies,

Madame

Saillard alwaj's

on a sofa of modern mahogany, near a

of ashes and without

fire,

fireplace full

on the mantel-shelf of which

stood a clock, some antique bronzes, candelabra with

paper flowers but no candles, for the careful housewife

lighted the i-oom with a tall tallow candle always gutter-

ing

down

Madame

into the flat brass candlestick which held

Saillard's face, despite its wrinkles,

it.

was ex-

pressive of obstinacy and severity, narrowness of ideas,

an uprightness that might be called quadrangular, a

religion without piety, straightforward, candid avarice,

and the peace of a quiet conscience.

You may

see in

certain Flemish pictures the wives of burgomasters cut

out by nature on this same pattern and wonderfully

68

Bureaucracy.

reproduced on canvas

but these dames wear fine robes

of velvet and precious

stuffs,

Madame

whereas

Saillard

possessed no robes, only that venerable garment called

in

Touraine and Picardy

skirts pleated

cottes,

elsewhere petticoats, or

behind and on each side, with other skirts

hanging over them.

Her bust was

inclosed in M'hat was

called a casaquin, another obsolete

gown

or jacket.

name

for a short

She continued to wear a cap with

starched wings, and shoes with high heels.

now

she was

fifty-seven j ears old,

vigorous household work ought

and her

now

Though

lifetime of

rewarded

to be

with well-earned repose, she was incessantly employed

and her own, and

in knitting her husband's stockings

those of an uncle, just as her countrywomen knit them,

moving about the room,

talking, pacing

up and down

the garden, or looking round the kitchen to watch what

was going

The
them

on.

which was really imposed on

Saillards' avarice,

in the first instance

second nature.
office,

When

by

dire necessh^y,

the cashier got back from the

he laid aside his coat, and went to work in the

large garden, shut off from the courtyard

ing,

was now a

and which the family reserved to

Elisabeth, the daughter,

went

to

The mother cooked

turnips

iron rail-

For years

itself.

market every morning

with her mother, and the two did

house.

by an

all

the

work of the

well, especially a

but, according to Saillard,

duck with

no one could equal

Bureaucracy.

69

Elisabeth in hashing the remains of a leg of mutton

You might eat your boots with those

onions and not know it," he remarked. As soon as
Elisabeth knew how to hold a needle, her mother made
her mend the household linen and her father's coats.
'

with onions.

'

Alwaj's at work, like a servant, she never went out

alone.
ple,

Though

living close

by the boulevard du Tem-

where Franconi, La Gaite, and l'Ambigu-Comique

were within a stone's throw, and, further on, the PorteSaint-Martin,

When

Elisabeth

had

never

she asked to "see what

Abbe Gaudron's

permission, be

Baudoyer took her

show her the

finest

it

it

seen a comedy.

was like" (with the

understood) Monsieur
,

for the glory of the thing, and to

that was
be seen to the Opera,
to

where they were playing " The Chinese Laborer."

abeth thought

plague of

flies,

Sundays,

after

'
'

the

comedy

"

as wearisome

and never wished

walking four

as

to see another.

times

and

Elis-

the

On

fro

be-

tween the place Royale and Saint-Paul's church

(for

her mother

made her

practise the

to

precepts

and the

duties of religion), her parents took her to the pave-

ment

in front of the Cafe Turc,

where they sat on chairs

placed between a railing and the wall.

The

Saillards

always made haste to reach the place early so as to

choose the best seats, and found

watching the passers-by.

much entertainment

in

In those daj-s the Cafe Turc

was the rendezvous of the fashionable society of the

Bureaucracy.

70

Marais, the faubourg Saint- Antoiue, and the circumjacent regions.

Elisabeth never wore anything but cotton gowns in

summer and merino

in winter,

Her mother gave her twenty

penses, but her father,

which she made

francs a

month

who was very fond

herself.

for her ex-

of her, miti-

gated this rigorous treatment with a few presents.

She

never read what the Abbe Gaudron, vicar of Saint-Paul's

and the family

director, called profane books.

cipline

had borne

ings on

some passion or

after gain.

Forced to employ her

fruit.

other, Elizabeth

Though she was not

perspicacitj-, religious theories,

disfeel-

became eager

lacking in sense or

and her complete igno-

rance of higher emotions had encircled

with an iron band

This

all

her faculties

they were exercised solely on the

commonest things of

life

spent in few directions they

were able to concentrate themselves on a matter in

Repressed by religious devotion, her natural

hand.

intelligence exercised itself within the limits

marked

out by cases of conscience, which form a mine of sub-

among which

tleties

self-interest selects its subterfuges.

Like those saintly personages in

not

stifle

whom

religion does

ambition, Elisabeth was capable of requiring

others to do a blamable action that she might reap the

fruits;

and she would have been,

like

them again, im-

placable as to her dues and dissembling in her actions.

Once

offended, she watched her adversaries with the

Bureaucracy.
perfidious patience of a cat,

71

and was capable of bring-

ing about some cold and complete vengeance, and then

laying

it

to the account of

God.

Until her marriage the

Saillards lived without other society than that of the

Abbe Gaudron, a

priest

from Auvergne appointed vicar

of Saint-Paul's after the restoration of Catholic worship.

Besides this ecclesiastic,

Madame

who was a

Bidault, a paternal uncle of

friend of the late

Madame

Saillard,

an old paper-dealer retired from business ever since the

year

II.

came

of the Bepublic, and

to see

now

sixty-nine years old,

them on Sundays only, because on that

day no government business went on.

This

little

old man, with a livid face blazoned

by

the red nose of a tippler and lighted by two gleam-

ing vulture eyes, allowed his gray hair to hang loose

under a three-cornered hat, wore breeches with straps

that extended beyond the buckles, cotton stockings of

mottled thread knitted by his niece,

called

"the

buckles,

little

stout

Saillard,"

much

like those

ing-grave-digging-parish-clerks
caricatures until

On

we

see

he always

shoes with silver

and a surtout coat of mixed

looked very

functions.

whom

colors.

He

verger-beadle-bell-ring-

who

are

them performing

the present occasion he

taken to be
their various

had come on

foot to dine with the Saillards, intending to return in

the

same way

to the rue Greneta,

third floor of an old house.

where he lived on the

His business was that of

Bureaucracy.

72

discounting commercial paper in the quarticr Saint-

Martin, where he was

known by

the nickname of "Gi-

gonnet," from the nervous, convulsive movement with

which he

Mon-

lifted his legs in walking, like a cat.

began

sieur Bidault

nership with a

this business in the

year

II. in part-

Dutchman named Werbrust,

a friend of

Gobseck.

Some time

later Saillard

made

the acquaintance of

Monsieur and Madame Transon, wholesale dealers

pottery, with
guieres,

in

an establishment in the rue de Lesdi-

who took an

interest in Elisabeth

and

intro-

duced young Isidore Baudoyer to the family with the

intention of marrying her.

Gigonnet approved of the

match, for he had long employed a certain Mitral, uncle

of the young man, as clerk.

Monsieur and

Madame

Baudoyer, father and mother of Isidore, highly respectCensier, had

slowly

fortune out of a small trade.

After

able leather-dressers

made a moderate

in the rue

marrying their only son, on

whom

thousand francs, they determined to

try,

and had

lately

d'Adam, where

They

removed

came

live in the

fifty

coun-

to the neighborhood of lle-

after a time they

frequently

they settled

were joined by Mitral.

to Paris, however, where they

kept a corner in the house in the rue Censier which they

gave to Isidore on his marriage.

The

elder Baucloj'ers

had an income of about three thousand francs

live

upon

after establishing their son.

left to

Bureaucracy.

73

Mitral was a being with a sinister wig, a face the

by a pair of Spanish-to-

color of Seine water, lighted

bacco-colored e3 es, cold as a well-rope, always smellT

He

ing a rat, and close-mouthed about his property.

probably made his fortune in his

hole and corner,

Werbrust and Gigonnet made

as

just

own

theirs

in the

quartier Saint-Martin.

Though
neither

the Saillards' circle of acquaintance increased,

their

ideas

The

changed.

nor their manners and customs

saint's-days of father, mother, daughter,

son-in-law, and grandchild were carefully observed, also

the anniversaries of birth and marriage, Easter, Christ-

mas,

New

These

Year's day, and Epiphany.

were preceded
versal clearing

bj'

festivals

great domestic sweepings and a uni-

up of the house, which added an element

of usefulness to the ceremonies.

When

the festival day

came, the presents were offered with much

accompaniment of
for old Saillard

flowers,

pomp and an

gold earrings and articles of plate for

Elisabeth or her husband, for

whom,

little

by

Madame

and never made

placed in

it

up.

Saillard,

The

"

silk

laid the stuff

recipient of these gifts

Then came a

five hours, to

"Guess what we have

by

was

an armchair and asked by those present

a certain length of time,

you

who

the

little,

parents were accumulating a whole silver service

petticoats for

cap

silk stockings or a fur

for

for

splendid dinner, lasting at least

which were invited the Abbe" Gaudron,

Bureaucracy.

74
Falleix, Rabourdin,
to

Monsieur Godard, under-head-clerk

Monsieur Baudoyer, Monsieur

Bataille,

captain of

the company of the National Guard to which Saillard

Monsieur Cardot, who

his son-in-law belonged.

and

was invariably asked, did as Rabourdin

accepted one invitation out of six.
at dessert,

namely,

did,

The company sang

shook hands and embraced with enthusiasm,

wishing each other

all

manner of happiness

the presents

were exhibited and the opinion of the guests asked about

The day

them.

Saillard received his fur cap he

during the dessert, to the satisfaction of

all

wore

it

At

present.

mere ordinary acquaintances were bidden, and

night,

dancing went on
of one

till

veiy

late,

formerly to the music

violin, but for the last six years

dard, who was a great

flute

Monsieur Go-

pkyer, contributed the pierc-

ing tones of a flageolet to the festivity.

Madame

The

Baudoj'er's nurse, and old Catherine,

Saillard's

cook,

Madame

woman-servant, together with the porter or his

wife, stood looking

The

on at the door of the salon.

servants alwaj's received three francs on these occasions to

This

buy themselves wine or

little

circle

looked upon Saillard and Baudojer

as transcendent beings
the}

was

had

coffee.

they were government

risen b}T their

own

merits

said, with the minister himself;

fortune to their talents

officers

they worked,

it

they owed their

Bau-

they were politicians.

doyer was considered the more able of the two

his

Bureaucracy.

75

position as head of a bureau presupposed labor that

was more

intricate

and arduous than that of a

cashier.

Moreover, Isidore, though the son of a leather-dresser,

had had the genius to study and to cast aside

father's business

led

him

and

find a career in politics,

his

which had

In short, silent and

to a post of eminence.

uncommunicative as he was, he was looked upon as a

deep thinker, and perhaps, said the admiring

circle,

he

would some day become deputy of the eighth arrondisse-

As Gigonnet

ment.

listened to such remarks as these,

he pressed his already pinched

lips closer together,

and

threw a glance at his great-niece, Elisabeth.

In person, Isidore was a
seven,
if

who

stout

tall,

man

of thirty

perspired freeh*, and whose head looked as

he had water on the brain.

This enormous head,

covered with chestnut hair cropped close, was joined to

the neck by rolls of flesh which overhung the collar of
his coat.

He had

the arms of Hercules, hands worthy

of Domitian, a stomach which sobriety held within the

limits of the majestic, to use a saving of Brillat-Savarin.

His face was a good deal

Alexander.

like that of the

The Tartar type was

Emperor

in the little ejes

and

the flattened nose slightty turned up, in the frigid lips

and the short chin.

Though
Isidore

his

The forehead was low and narrow.

temperament was bymphatic, the devout

was under the

which time did not

influence of a conjugal passion

lessen.
6

76

Bureaucracy.

In

however, of his resemblance to the hand-

spite,

some Russian Emperor and the

Isidore

Domitian,

terrible

Baudoycr was nothing more than a

head of

office-holder, of little ability as

political

his department,

who concealed

a cut-aud-dricd routine man,

the fact

that he was a flabby cipher by so ponderous a personality that

no scalpel cculd cut deep enough to

His severe studies,

operator see into him.

had shown

tli3

let the

which he

in

patience and sagacity of an ox, and his

square head, deceived his parents,

him an extraordinary man.

meddlesome and

whom

firinty

believed

Pedantic and hypercritical,

fault-finding,

clerks under him,

who

he was a terror to the

he worried in their work, en-

forcing the rules rigorously, and arriving himself with

such terrible punctuality that not one of them dared to

be a

moment

late.

Baudoyer wore a blue coat with

gilt

buttons, a chamois waistcoat, gray trousers and cravats

of various colors.

From

His

feet

were large and

ill-shod.

the chain of his watch depended an enormous

bunch of old

trinkets,

among which

in

"American beads," which were much

1824 he

still

wore

the fashion in the

year VII.

In the bosom of

this family,

force of religious ties,

by one

by the

bound together by the

inflexibility

of

its

customs,

solitaiy emotion, that of avarice, a passion

was now as

commune

it

were

its

which

compass, Elisabeth was forced to

with herself, instead of

imparting her ideas to

Bureaucracy.

77

those around her, for she felt herself without equals in

mind who could comprehend

her.

Though

com-

facts

pelled her to judge her husband, her religious duty led

her to keep up as best she could a favorable opinion of

him

she showed him marked respect

honored him

as the father of her child, her husband, the temporal

She would

power, as the vicar of Saint-Paul's told her.

have thought

it

a mortal sin to make a single gesture,

word which

or give a single glance, or say a single

would reveal to others her real opinion of the imbecile

Baudoyer.
wishes.

She even professed to obey passively

But her

ears were receptive of

many

all his

things

she thought them over, weighed and compared them in

the solitude of her

men and

own mind, and judged

events that at the time

so soberly of

when our

history be-

gins she was the hidden oracle of the two functionaries,

her husband and father,

to

who

had, unconsciously, come

do nothing whatever without consulting

Saillard would say, innocently, "

Elisabeth of mine ?

"

cleverness

all

Is n't she clever, that

But Baudoj'er, too great a

not to be puffed up by the

Saint- Antoine

the while that he

felt

fool

false reputation the quartier

bestowed upon him, denied

Elisabeth had long

Old

her.

his

wife's

was making use of

it.

sure that her uncle Bidault,

otherwise called Gigonnet, was rich and handled vast

sums of money.

Enlightened by self-interest,

had come to understand Monsieur des Lupeaulx

she
far

78

Bureaucracy.
understood him.

than the minister

better

to think that

never allowed herself

to a fool, she

herself married

Finding

might have gone better with her,

life

she only imagined the possibility of better things without expecting or wishing to attain them.

All her best

affections found their vocation in her love for her daughter, to

whom

had borne

she spared the pains and privations she

in her

this affection she

own

childhood

had her

full

she believed that in

share in the world of

Solely for her daughter's sake she had per-

feeling.

suaded her father to take the important

ing into partnership with

step of go-

Falleix had been

Falleix.

brought to the Saillards' house by old Bidault, who

lent

him money on

his old

his merchandise.

Falleix thought

countryman extortionate, and complained to the

Saillards that

Gigonnet demanded eighteen per cent

from an Auvergnat.

Madame

Saillard

ventured to

remonstrate with her uncle.

"It

is

just because he is

an Auvergnat that

I take

only eighteen per cent," said Gigonnet, when she spoke

to him.

who had made a

Falleix,

twenty-eight,

and communicated

to carry his heart in his

Saillard's),

fortune.

discover}' at

and

also

and

seemed

train

to Saillard,

seemed

hand (an expression of old

likely to

Elisabeth determined

her daughter

it

the age of

him

to

make

a great

husband him

herself, having, as

for

she

Bureaucracy.
years to do

calculated, seven
felt

showed the

and

Baudoj'er,

whose superior
If he

recognize.

were

Martin Falleix

in.

it

deepest

79

respect

qualities

fated to

he was able to

make

belong to her family,

would always

The

found a home.

little

Baudoyer

Madame

for

he

millions

where he had

girl

was already

trained to bring him his tea and to take his hat.

On

evening of which we write, Monsieur Sail-

the

boston in full blast

how

to play

Elisabeth was

Madame

game

ministry, found a

returning from the

lard,

Saillard

advising

was knitting

of

Falleix
in

the

chimnej'-corner and overlooking the cards of the vicar

Monsieur Baudoyer, motionless as a mile-stone, was

employing his mental capacity in calculating how the
cards were placed, and sat opposite to Mitral,

had come np from tle-d'Adam

No

days.

for the Christmas holi-

one moved as the cashier entered, and for

some minutes he walked up and down the room,

fat face contracted

"He

is

j'ear,

with unaccustomed thought.

Saillard

or he 'd die of

to be in the

" happily,
Saillard

it.

government

only twice

it is

was never made

Well, now, I do hope,

Saillard," she continued in a loud tone,

" that you are

not going to keep on those silk breeches

handsome
them

at

his

always so when he dines at the ministry,"

Madame

remarked

who

coat.

home,

Go and
my man."

take them off;

and that

don't wear

Bureaucracy.

80

" Your father has something on

Baudoyer

when

to his wife,

the

cashier

bedroom, undressing without an3

"Perhaps Monsieur de

"and

have the place,

worries him."

"Can

as he

Saint-Paul's

"

if so,

pray use

honor to be known to

when

are days

said the vicar of

I

la

have the

Dauphine.

These

should be given only to

public offices

men, whose religious principles are not

faithful

his

dead," said

services.

m}*-

Madame

in

anxious you should

is

way?"

I be useful in any

was

fire.

la Billardiere is

Elisabeth, simply;
it

mind," said

his

to be

shaken."

" Dear me! " said Falleix,

protectors

ment

and influence to get places

service

customers

"do men

am

glad I

know where

am an

to find a

the

is

government

good

never

in the govern-

iron-master

"Monsieur," interrupted Baudoyer,

ment

of merit need

article

my

"

"the govern-

attack

in

this

said

the

it

house."
'

'

You

speak

like

the

'

Constitutionnel,'

vicar.
'
'

The

'

Constitutionnel

'

never says anything

ent from that," replied Baudoyer,

The
perior

cashier
in

to

man

as

it.

su-

Rabourdin as God was greater

than Saint-Crepin, to use his

the good

who never read

believed his son-in-law to be

talent

differ-

own expression

but

coveted this appointment in a straight-

Bureaucracy.

Influenced bjT the feeling which

forward, honest waj'

leads

all officials

flecting,

81

to seek pi-omotion,

he

almost brutal passion,

just as he desired the cross of the

violent, unre-

desired success,

Legion of honor,

without doing anything against his conscience to obtain

and

it,

solelj-,

on the strength of

as he believed,

To

son-in-law's merits.

patiently spent twenty-five years in a

his

man who had

his thinking, a

government

office

behind an iron railing had sacrificed himself to his

But

country and deserved the cross.

all

that he

dreamed

of doing to promote his son-in-law's appointment in

La

Billardiere's place

lency's wife

"Well,

Saillard,

Do

cried

speak

to his Excel-

the month's salary.

you look as

his wife

word

to say a

when he took her

your friends
thing,"

was

do,

if j'ou

pra}

r
,

had

tell

when he came back

lost all

us

some-

into

the

room.
Saillard, after

making a

little

sign to his daughter,

turned on his heel to keep himself from talking politics

before

strangers.

When

Monsieur Mitral and

the vicar had departed, Saillard rolled back the cardtable

and sat down

in

an armchair

always assumed when about to

series of

tell

in the attitude he

some

office-gossip,

movements which answered the purpose

of the three knocks given at the Thefitre-Francais.

After binding his wife, daughter, and son-in-law to

the deepest secrecy,

for,

however petty the gossip,

Bureaucracy.

82
their places, as
tion,

lie

thought, depended on their discre-

he related the

incomprehensible enigma of the

resignation of a deput}', the very legitimate desire of

the general-secretary to get elected to the place, and

the secret opposition of the minister to this wish of

man who was one

most zealous workers.

of his firmest supporters and

This, of course, brought

down

an avalanche of suppositions, flooded with the sapient

arguments of the two

and

sent back

each other a wearisome flood of nonsense.

to

forth

who

officials,

Elisabeth quietly asked three questions

" If Monsieur des Lupeaulx

on our

is

side,

will

Monsieur Baudoj'er be appointed in Monsieur de

place?"

Billardiere's
'
'

Heavens

"My
him

la

I should think so," cried the cashier.

uncle Bidault and Monsieur Gobseck helped

in 1814," thought she.

"Is he

in

debt?" she

asked, aloud.

" Yes, " cried the cashier with a hissing and prolonged sound on the last letter

was

his salary

it

at-

by a

at sight."

" Where

"

'

some of the higher powers released

tached, but
bill

'
;

Wh}

where

T
,

is

the des Lupeaulx estate?"

don't you

know?

j-our grandfather

in the part of the country

and your great-uncle Bidault

belong, in the arrondissement of the deputy

to resism."

who wants

Bureaucracy.

When
Elisabeth

her colossus of a husband had gone to bed,

over him,

leaned

treated her remarks as

'
'

83

Perhaps you

and

though he

always

women's nonsense, she

said,

get Monsieur de la Billar-

will really

diere's place."

"There you go with your imaginations!"

Baudoyer

'
'

leave Monsieur

Gaudron

Dauphine and don't meddle with

At

eleven o'clock,

when

all

said

speak to the

to

politics."

were asleep

in the place

Royale, Monsieur des Lupeaulx was leaving the Opera

Duphot.

for the rue

one of

Many

Madame
of

her

This particular Wednesday was

Babourdin's most brilliant evenings.

customary guests

theatres and swelled the

among whom were

came

in

from the

company already assembled,

several celebrities, such as

Canalis

the poet, Schinner the painter, Dr. Bianchon, Lucien de

Rubempre, Octave de Camps, the Comte de Granville,

the Vicomte

de Fontaine, du Bruel the vaudevillist,

Andoche Finot the

journalist, Derville,

heads in the law courts, the Comte du

du

Tillet,

and the Vicomte de Portenduere.

was pouring out tea when the

tary entered.

ing

Chtitelet, deputy,

banker, and several elegant young men, such

as Paul de Manerville

Celestine

one of the best

Her

dress that evening

general-secre-

was very becom-

she wore a black velvet robe without ornament of

any kind, a black gauze

scarf, her hair

smoothly bound

about her head and raised in a heavy braided mass,

Bureaucracy.

8-1

with long curls a FAnglaise falling~on either side her

face.

The charms which

woman were

particularly distinguished this

the Italian ease of her artistic nature, her

ready comprehension, and the grace with which she

welcomed and promoted the

least

appearance of a wish

Nature had given her an

on the part of others.

gant, slender figure, which could

sway

ele-

lightly at a word,

black eyes of oriental shape, able, like those of the

Chinese women, to see out of their corners.

knew how

manage a

to

She well

soft, insinuating voice,

which

threw a tender charm into every word, even such as she

merely chanced to utter

her feet were like those we see

in portraits

where the painter boldly

sitter in the

only

omy.

lies

and

flatters his

way which does not compromise

Her complexion, a

little j

anat-

ellow by day, like that

of most brunettes, was dazzling at night under the

wax

candles, which brought out the brilliancy of her black

hair

and eyes.

reminded an

Her

artist

slender and well-defined outlines

of the Venus of the Middle Ages

rendered by Jean Goujon, the illustrious sculptor of

Diane de

Poitiers.

Dcs Lupeaulx stopped

against the woodwork.

in the

doorway, and leaned

This ferret of ideas did not

deny himself the pleasure of spying upon sentiment, and

woman interested him more than any of the others

to whom he had attached himself.
Des Lupeaulx had
reached an age when men assert pretensions in regard

this

Bureaucracy.
to

women.

The

first

85

white hairs lead to the latest pas-

more violent because they are

sions, all the

The age of

vanishing powers and dawning weakness.

forty is the age of folly,

astride of

an age when man wants to be

loved for himself; whereas at twenty-five

At

life is

that he has

no wants.

vigor and

wastes

it

with impunity, but at

learns that to use

it

in that

so

full

twenty-five he overflows with

way

abuse

is to

fort}it.

he

The

thoughts that came into des Lupeaulx's mind at this

moment were melancholy

beau relaxed

mask and made

faded

The nerves of

ones.

the old

the agreeable smile, which served as a

the real

character of

the

man

countenance,

his

appeared, and he was horrible.

Rabourdin caught sight of him and thought," What has

happened to him ? can he be disgraced

in anj-

way ? "

The general-secretary was, however, only thinking how

Madame Colleville, whose intentions were

those of Madame Rabourdin, had summarily

the pretty

exactly

abandoned him when

it

suited her to

do

so.

Rabourdin

caught the sham statesman's eyes fixed on his wife, and

he recorded the look in his memory.

He was

too keen

an observer not to understand des Lupeaulx to the bottom, and he deeply despised him

men,

his feelings

surface.

but, as with

most busy

and sentiments seldom came to the

Absorption in a beloved work

is

practically

equivalent to the cleverest dissimulation, and thus

it

was that the opinions and ideas of Rabourdin were a

86

Bureaucracy.

sealed book to des Lupeaulx.

to see the

man

The former was

in his house, but he

to oppose his wife's wishes.

At

was never

sorry

willing

moment,

this particular

while he talked confidentially with a supernumerary of

who was

his office

destined, later, to plaj" an uncon-

scious part in a political intrigue resulting from the

La

death of

Billardiere,

he watched, though half- ab-

and des Lupeaulx.

stractedly, his wife

Here we must explain, as much

for our

own

for

foreigners as

grandchildren, what a supernumerary in

a government office in Paris means.

The supernumerary
a choir-boy
is

is

is

to

to a church,

administration what

the

what the company's child

what the figurante

to the regiment,

something

artless, naive, innocent, a

illusions.

Without

of us?

domi

They

illusions

a theatre

is to

being blinded by

what would become of any

give strength to bear the res angusta

of arts and the beginnings of

ing us with faith.

by

inspir-

Illusion is illimitable faith.

Now

all

science

the supernumeraiy has faith in the administration

never thinks

it

cold, cruel,

and hard, as

it

he

really

is.

There are two kinds of supernumeraries, or hangerson,

one

in

hope and wants a place, the rich one

spirit

and wants nothing.

so foolish as to put
tion.

It

The poor one

poor, the other rich.

confides

its

able

is

wealthy family

men

is

rich

poor in
is

not

into the administra-

an unfledged scion to some head-

Bureaucracy.
him

clerk, or gives

ates

him

into

in

charge of a director who

initi-

what Bilboqnet, that profound philosopher,

called the high

comedy of government

of drudgery and

the horrors

87

some important

The

office.

alarms the other clerks

finally

is

is

spared

all

appointed to

supernumerary never

rich

they

he

know he does

not en-

danger their interests, for he seeks only the highest

posts

in

the

About

administration.

period of

the

which we write many families were saying to themselves

"What

can we do with our sons?"

arnvy no longer offered a chance for fortune.

such as

careers,

mining,

navy,

onl}'

professorial

whereas in the

chair

were

all

regulations or to be obtained

strict

by competition

Special

and military engineering, the

civil

and the

about by

fenced

The

civil service

the

revolving wheel which turned clerks into prefects, subprefects, assessors,

and

collectors, like the figures in

a magic lantern, was subjected to no such rules and

Through

entailed no drudgery.
into

life

the rich supernumeraries

burys, dressed well,

the

tribe,

easy gap emerged

who drove

and wore moustachios,

as impudent as parvenus.

secute

this

or an influential peer.

them as a means of

til-

of them

Journalists were apt to per-

who were

ers, or other relatives of

all

their

cousins, nephews, broth-

some

minister,

The humbler

some

clerks

deputy-,

regarded

influence.

The poor supernumerary, on

the other

hand, who

Bureaucracy.

88
is

the only real worker,

some former

almost alwaj's the son of

is

who

widow,

clerk's

on a meagre

lives

pension and sacrifices herself to support her son until

he can get a place as copying-clerk, and then dies

him no nearer the head of

leaving

than writer of deeds, order-clerk,

always in some

Living

head-clerk.

rents are low, this

humble supernumerary

To go on

only to the morning skies.

get muddied, to save his

may

lose in standing

If,

when

for

to be in the

and not

foot

for the

under shelter during a

his

The

mind.

laid

first

down, were a boon to

some extraordinary reason, you happen

streets of

eight o'clock of

a,

Paris

half-past

at

winter's morning,

loom up,

to

see

the

outline of

mother has given him to stay

breakfast and dinner.

pernumerary

The

that

clerkship, a distance

You
his

stomach between

youth

su-

enlight-

life

soon measures the

separates

him from a head-

ened b} gleams of Parisian

distance

a roll which

guilelessness of the

does not last long.

frightful

his

or

young man

notice of his pockets.

cigarless, take

be sure

seven

and see through

piercing cold or fog or rain a timid, pale

will

relates

pavements, the flagging of the quays and the

boulevards,

him.

starts early

and allow

clothes,

shower, are the preoccupations of

street

where

locality

For him the Eastern question

from home.

time he

department

his

or, possibly, under-

which no mathematician, neither

Bureaucracy.

89

Archimedes, nor Leibnitz, nor Laplace has ever reckdistance

oned, the
figure

He

1.

his career

the

begins to perceive the impossibilities of

of

intrigues

means by which

officials

he

his superiors

one

has married a young

step

another,

natural

the

this

one shouldered

fault

ing,

he discovers

the

questionable

he hears talk of favoritism

the

sees

have pushed their way,

woman who made

daughter of a minister

with the

another's

prodigies

of

influence feels incapable

of

perseverance of a mole,

is

known

government

in a

has a wife with a clear head,

has not talent enough for an

Chamber.
her feet.

The

credit.

office,

Every-

The incapable

office.

him along and got him nominated

erful

of

responsibility

doing for himself, though he takes the

man

a false

that one, full of talent, risks his health in do-

work which the man of

thing

and the

between

exists

that

who has pushed

for

deputy

if

he

he cabals in the

wife of another has a statesman at

third

journalist.

is

the hidden informant of a pow-

Often the disgusted and hopeless

supernumerary sends in his resignation.

About

three

fourths of his class leave the government employ with-

out ever obtaining an appointment, and their number

is

winnowed down

to either those

foolish or obstinate

enough

young men who are

to say to themselves,

"

have been here three years, and I must end sooner or

later

by getting a place," or to those who are con

Bureaucracy.

90

Undoubtedly the

scious of a vocation for the work.

position of supernumerary in a government

precisely

what the novitiate

It is a

trial.

many

rough

is in

The

trial.

of them can bear hunger,

how

out breaking down,

against

it

it

is

a religious order,

State discovers

thirst,

how

and penury with-

mail} can toil without revolting

7

learns which temperaments can bear up

under the horrible experience

ease

office

of government

or

if

you

From

official life.

the dis-

like,

this point of

view the apprenticeship of the supernumerary, instead

of being an infamous device of the government to obtain
labor gratis, becomes a useful institution.

The young man with whom Eabourdin was

talking

was a poor supernumerary named Sebastien de La

who had

Eoche,

picked his

way on

the points of his

toes, without incurring the least splash

upon

from the rue du Roi-Dore in the Marais.

mamma, and dared

of his

dame

whose

Itabourdin,

gorgeous as the Louvre.

He was

careful to

should plaj cards

ing, to
to

Ma-

five

show

little

his

as he

francs in his

became absolutely necessary

it

talked

house appeared to him as

His poor mother had put

pocket in case

He

not raise his eyes to

gloves, well cleaned with india-rubber, as

could.

his boots,

that he

but she enjoined him to take noth-

remain standing, and to be very careful not

knock over a lamp or the bric-a-brac from an

His dress was

all

of the strictest black.

etagere.

His

fair

Bureaucracy.
face, his eyes, of a fine

were

reflections,

auburn

hair.

91

shade of green with golden

keeping with a handsome head of

in

The poor

lad

looked furtively at

How

dame Rabourdin, whispering to himself, "

tiful

" and

was

likely to

dream of that

fairy

Mabeau-

when he

went to bed.
Rabourdin had noted a vocation for

his

work

in the

lad, and as he himself took the whole service seriously,

he

felt

He

a lively interest in him.

guessed the poverty

of his mother's home, kept together on a widow's pension of seven hundred francs a year

of the son,

who was

her savings.
paternally

He

for the education

just out of college, had absorbed all

therefore treated the youth almost

often endeavored to get

the Council, or paid

it

from

his

own

him some

fee

He

pocket.

from
over-

whelmed Sebastien with work, trained him, and allowed

him

to

do the work of du Bruel's place,

vaudevillist, otherwise

known

for

which that

as Cursy, paid

him three

hundred francs out of his salary.

Madame

In the minds of

de La Roche and her son, Rabourdin was at

once a great man, a tyrant, and an angel.

On him

all

the poor fellow's hopes of getting an appointment de-

pended, and the lad's devotion to his chief was boundless.

He

dined once a fortnight in the rue Duphot

but always at a family dinner, invited by Rabourdin

himself;

Madame

when she wanted

asked him to evening parties only

partners.

Bureaucracy,

92

At
tien,

that

moment Rabourdin was

the only

scolding poor Sebas-

human being who was

in the secret of

immense labors. The youth copied and recopied

the famous " statement," written on a hundred and fifty
bis

folio sheets, besides the corroborative

the

summing up (contained

in

documents, and

one page), with the

esti-

mates bracketed, the captions in a running hand, and

the sub-titles in a round one.

Full of enthusiasm, in

spite of his merely mechanical participation in the great

idea, the lad of

single blot,

twenty would rewrite whole pages for a

and made

ing, regarding

it

it

his gloiy to touch

up the

writ-

as the element of a noble undertaking.

Sebastien had that afternoon committed the great im-

prudence of carrying into the general

office,

for the

purpose of copying, a paper which contained the most

dangerous facts to make known prematurely, namely,

a

memorandum

offices

of

all

relating to the officials in the central

the ministries, with facts concerning their

fortunes, actual

and prospective, together with the

indi-

vidual enterprises of each outside of his government

employment.
All government clerks in Paris
like

who

are not endowed,

Rabourdin, with patriotic ambition or other marked

capacity, usually

add the

profits

of some industry to the

salary of their office, in order to eke out a living.

number do

as Monsieur Saillard did,

into a business carried on

by

put

others,

their

money

and spend

their

Bureaucracy.

93

evenings in keeping the books of

Many

their

associates.

clerks are married to milliners, licensed tobacco

dealers,

women who have

Some,

or reading-rooms.

charge of the public lotteries

husband of Madame

like the

Colleville, Celestine's rival, play in the orchestra of a

theatre

others like

du Bruel, write vaudevilles, comic

operas, melodramas, or act as prompters behind the

scenes.

nard,

We

maj' mention

Sewrin,

in their da}',

etc.

among them Messrs. Pla

Pigault-Lebrun, Piis, Duvicquet,

Scribe's head-librarian

was a

clerk in the Treasuiy.

Besides such information as

orandum contained an inquiry

cal capacities

to

Monsieur

were in government employ.

and

examine the

this,

Rabourdin's

into the moral

and physi-

faculties necessary in those

intelligence,

mem-

who were

aptitude for labor, and

sound health of the applicants for government service,

three

indispensable

in

qualities

men who

are to

and should do

bear the burden of public

affairs

business well and quickly.

But

this careful study, the

result of ten years' observation

and experience, and of

a long acquaintance with

men and

their

things obtained

by

intercourse with the various functionaries in the differ-

ent ministries, would assuredly have, to those

not see

its

who did

purport and connection, an air of treachery

page of these papers

and police

espial.

were to

under the eye of those concerned, Monsieur

fall

Rabourdin was

lost.

If a single

Sebastien,

who admired

his chief

Bureaucracy.

94

who was,

without reservation, and

as yet, wholly igno-

rant of the evils of bureaucrac}-, had the follies of guile-

occasion for carrying

acknowledged

away these papers, he now bravely

his fault to its fullest extent

how he had put away both

copy carefully

would ever

Blamed on a former

grace.

as its

lessness as well

in

box

find them.

he related

memorandum and

the

in the office

the

where no one

Tears rolled from his eyes as

he realized the greatness of his offence.

"Come, come!"

said Rabourdin, kindly.

"Don't

be so imprudent again, but never mind now.

Go

the office very early to-morrow morning

is

key of a small safe which

is in

my

here

roller secretary

to

the
;

it

You can open it with

memorandum and your copy

shuts with a combination lock.

the

word

into

it

'

sky

'

and shut

put the

carefull}'."

it

This proof of confidence

tears.

dried the poor fellow's

Rabourdin advised him to take a cup of tea and

some cakes.

"

Mamma

forbids

me

to drink tea,

on account of

my

chest," said Sebastien.

""Well, then,

my

dear child," said the imposing Ma-

dame Rabourdin, who wished

are

to appear gracious," here

some sandwiches and cream

come and

sit

by

me."

She made Sebastien

sit

down

beside her, and the

lad's heart rose in his throat as he felt the robe

of this

Bureaucracy.

93

divinity brush the sleeve of his coat.

woman

beautiful

Just then the

caught sight of Monsieur des Lupeaulx

standing in the doorway.

She smiled, and not waiting

he came to her, she went to him.

till

"Why

do you stay there as

if

you were sulking?"

she asked.

"I am

not sulking," he returned; " I came to an-

nounce some good news, but the thought has overtaken

me

that

it

will only

add to your severity towards me.

I fancy myself six months hence almost a stranger to

you.

Yes, j'ou are too clever, and I too experienced,

too blase,

if

you

Your end

other.

like,
is

for either of us to deceive the

attained without

its

costing you

more than a few smiles and gracious words."

"Deceive each other! what can you mean?" she
cried, in a hurt tone.

" Yes

Monsieur de

la Billardiere is dying,

what the minister told

your husband

He

will

me

this

be appointed

and from

evening I judge that

in his place."

thereupon related what he called his scene at the

ministry and the jealous}7 of the countess, repeating her

remarks about the invitation he had asked her to send

to

Madame

Rabourdin.

" Monsieur des Lupeaulx," said Madame Rabourdin,

with dignity, "permit

band

is

capable

the

man

oldest

me

to tell

you that

my

hus-

head-clerk as well as the most

in the division

also that the appointment

Bureaucracy.

96
of

La

Billardiere over his

service,

and that

year expecting

my

head made much talk

husband has stayed on

in the

for the last

promotion, for which he has really

this

no competitor and no
" That is true."

rival."

"Well, then," she resumed, smiling and showing

her handsome teeth, " how can you suppose that the

you

friendship I feel for

Why

self-interest?

is

marred bj a thought of
r

should you think

me

capable of

that?"

Des Lupeaulx made a gesture of admiring

"Ah!"

she continued, "the heart of

denial.

woman

will

always remain a secret for even the cleverest of men.

Yes, I welcomed you to
pleasure

my

house with the greatest

and there was, I admit, a motive of

interest behind

my

pleasure

self-

"

"Ah!"
" You have a career before you," she whispered in
his ear, " a future without limit; you will be deputy,
minister

"
!

when such

(What happiness

man who
a career
in
try,

ambitious

man

things as these are warbled in his ear by the

woman !) "
than you know yourself.

sweet voice of a pretty

you better

for an

Oh, yes

Rabourdin

know
is

could be of immense service to yow in such

;

he could do the steady work while 3'ou were

the Chamber.

Just as

so I dream of seeing

you dream of the minisRabourdin

in the Council

Bureaucracy.
of

and general

State,

object to
jure, but,

97
It is therefore

director.

draw together two men who can never

in-

on the contrary, must greatly help each

other.

Isn't that a woman's

friends,

you

both

will

mission?

rise the faster,

ships," she

as frank with

it is

surely

have burned

as I have been with you."

" You would not

with a melancholy

listen to
air,

in

me

I were," he replied,

if

spite

of the

such future promotions avail me,

if

deep inward

" What would

her remarks gave him.

satisfaction

you are

" But you are not

added, smiling.

me

If

and

high time that each of you made hay.

my

my

you dismiss

me

now ?
" Before

I listen to you," she

Parisian liveliness, "

we must be

replied, with native

able to understand

each other."

And she
Madame de

left

the old fop to go

Chessel, a countess from the provinces,

who seemed about

" That
Lupeaulx

when

is

to take leave.

a very extraordinary

to himself.

am

his

had kept a

position,

"

I don't

woman,"

said

des

know my own

self

with her."

Accordingly, this
earlier

and speak with

man

of no principle,

ballet-girl,

made himself

who

six years

and who now, thanks to

a seraglio with the prctt}'

wives of the undcr-clerks, and lived in the world of

journalists and actresses,

became devotedly

attentive

Burcauerani

98
all

it

the evening to Celestine,

and was

the

last to leave

the house.

"At

last!"

thought

undressed that night,

thousand

francs

have the place!

at Grajeux,

sand francs a year.

isn't poverty."

"we

Rabourdin, as she

Twelve

a year and perquisites, beside the

rents of our farm

it

Madame

nearly

twenty thou-

It is not affluence, but at least

Bureaucracy.

99

IV

THREE-QUARTER LENGTH PORTRAITS OF CERTAIN

GOVERNMENT
If

it

were possible for

literature to use the micro-

scope of the Leuwenhoeks,

Raspails

OFFICIALS.

and the

the Malpighis,

(an attempt once made by Hoffmann,

Berlin), and if

we could magnify and then

of

picture

the teredos navalis, in other words, those ship-worms

which brought Holland within an inch of collapsing

by honey-combing
more

able to give a
net,

Baudoj'er,

her dykes,

we might have been

distinct idea of Messieurs Gigon-

Saillard,

Gaudron,

Godard and company, borers

Falleix,

and

Transon,

who

burrowers,

proved their undermining power in the

thirtieth

year

of this centiuy.

But now

it

is

time to show another set of teredos,

who burrowed and swarmed

in the

government

offices

where the principal scenes of our present study took

place.

In Paris nearly

all

these

government bureaus

re-

semble each other.

Into whatever ministry you pene-

some

slight favor, or to get redress for

trate

to ask

100

Bureaucracy.

a trifling wrong, you will find

dors, ill-lighted

same dark

the

stairways, doors with oval panes of

In the

glass like eyes, as at the theatre.

as

you enter you

second, the

will find the

under-clerks

second head-clerk

on

is

the

private

in the

office

to the right or left,

room

first

servant

office

that of the head of the bureau.

is

corri-

of the

and further

As

to the im-

portant personage called, under the Empire, head of

now by

under the Restoration,

then,

division,

director,

and

the former name, head or chief of division,

he lives either above or below the

offices

of his three

or four different bureaus.

Speaking in the administrative sense, a bureau consists

of a man-servant, several supernumeraries (who

do the work gratis

for a

various copying clerks,

certain

writers

of

number of
bills

years),

and deeds,

order clerks, principal clerks, second or under headclerk,

of

and head-clerk, otherwise called head or chief

the

These

bureau.

denominational

under some administrations

titles

vary

for instance, the order-

clerks are sometimes called auditors, or again, book-

keepers.

Paved
paper, the
is

like
first

the

and hung with a shabby

corridor,

room, where the servant

furnished with a stove,

is

stationed,

a large black table with

inkstand, pens, and paper, and benches, but no mats

on which to wipe the public

feet.

The

clerk's

office

Bureaucracy
beyond

dom
are

is

a large room, tolerably well lighted, but

floored with

Wooden

wood.

commonly kept sacred

divisions

and so are

tables, sofas

morocco,

101

to

floors

and

sel-

fireplaces

heads of bureaus and

closets,

wardrobes, mahogany

and armchairs covered with red or green

silk curtains,

trative luxury.

The

and other

clerk's

articles of adminis-

office

contents itself with

a stove, the pipe of which goes into the chimney,

there be a chimnej'.

The

wall paper

is

of black wood.

The

private

desks,

of the

method of

the

a wooden footstool under his feet

bilious

tables are

characteristics

several clerks often crop out in their

tling themselves at their

plain and all

The

of one color, usually green or brown.

chill}'

the

temperament has a metal mat

if

set-

one has

man

with a

the lymphatic

who dreads draughts constructs a

The door of the
boxes as a screen.

being

fortification

of

under- head-

clerk's office

always stands open so that he

an eye to some extent on

may keep

his subordinates.

Perhaps an exact description of Monsieur

de la

Billardiere's division will suffice to give foreigners

provincials an idea of the internal

toms of a government

office

the

which are probably much the same

of

all

manners and

and
cus-

chief features

of

in the civil service

European governments.

In the

first place,

picture to yourself the

thus described in the Yearly

Register:

man who

is

Bur eaucracy.

102

" Chief of Division.

Billardiere

Monsieur

la

baron Flamet de

la

(Athauase-Jean-Francois-Michel) formerly pro-

vost-marshal of the department of the Correze, gentleman in

ordinary of the bed-chamber, president of the college of the

department of the Dordogne,

officer of

the Legion of honor,

knight of Saint Louis and of the foreign orders of Christ,

Isabella, Saint

Wladimir,

etc.,

member

of the

Academy

of

Gers, and other learned bodies, vice-president of the Society

of Belles-lettres,

and

member

of the Association of Saint-Joseph

of the Society of Prisons, one of the

mayors of Paris,

etc."

The personage who

requires so

space was at this time

six in length

head

his

by

much typographic

occupj'ing an

area five feet

thirty-six inches in width in a bed,

adorned with a cotton

by flame-colored ribbons

night-cap

tied

on

attended by Despleins, the

King's surgeon, and young doctor Bianchon, flanked by

two old female

relatives,

surrounded by phials of

all

kinds, bandages, appliances, and various mortuary in-

struments, and watched over by the curate of Saint-Rock^

who was

La

advising him to think of his salvation.

Billardiere's division occupied the

a magnificent mansion, in which the vast

of a ministry was contained.

its

upper

official

of

ocean

A wide landing separated

two bureaus, the doors of which were duty

The

floor

labelled.

private offices and antechambers of the heads of

the two bureaus, Monsieur Rabourdin and Monsieur

Baudover, were below on the second

floor,

and beyond

Bureaucracy.
that of Monsieur
salon,

On

and two
the

103

Rabourdin were the antechamber,

of Monsieur de la Billardiere.

offices

first floor,

divided in two by an entresol, were

the living-rooms and office of Monsieur Ernest de la

Briere, an occult

and powerful personage who must be

described in a few words, for he well deserves a paren-

This young

thesis.

man

held, during the

whole time

that this particular administration lasted, the position of

private secretary to the minister.

connected b}

His apartment was

a secret door with the private office of

his Excellenc}7

private secretary

to the minister

is

himself what des Lupeaulx was to the ministry at large.

The same

between young La Briere

difference existed

and des Lupeaulx that there

camp and a

chief of

decamps when

his

between an aide-de-

This ministerial apprentice

staff.

protector leaves office, returning

sometimes when he returns.

the roj'al favor

is

when he

If the

falls,

or

still

minister enjoj-s

has parliamentary

hopes, he takes his secretary with him into retirement

only to bring him back on his return

otherwise he

puts him to grass in some of the various administrative

pastures,

for instance, in the Court of Exchequer, that

wayside refuge where private secretaries wait for the

The young man

storm to blow over.

a gOA ernment
r

ever

official

he

and sometimes his

of one man.

When we

is

is

not precisely

a political character, how-

politics are limited to those

think of the

number of

letters

Bureaucracy.

10-i

it is

the private secretary's fate to open and read, be-

sides all his other avocations,

very evident that

it is

under a monarchical government his services would be

well

paid

for.

drudge of

this

twenty thousand francs a year

kind costs ten or

and he enjoys, more-

over, the opera-boxes, the social invitations,

and the

car-

The Emperor of Eussia would bo

riages of the minister.

thankful to be able to pay

fifty

thousand a

3-ear to

one

of these amiable constitutional poodles, so gentle, so

nicely curled, so caressing, so docile, always spick

span,

careful

degree

watch-dogs besides, and

But the private secretary

representative government hot-house

and developed

there,

faithful

and
to a

a product of the

is

he

and there only.

propagated

is

Under a mon-

archy you will find none but courtiers and vassals,

whereas under a constitutional government you

flattered, served,

and adulated by

free

men.

may be

In France

women

ministers are better off than kings or

have some one who thoroughly understands

Perhaps, indeed, the private secretary
as

much

ties

who

as

women and

are

made

white paper.

to bear all things.

is

they
them.

to be pitied

They
They

are nonentiare allowed

no talent except hidden ones, which must be empkryed

the service of their ministers.

would ruin them.

The

an intimate friend in the

public

show of

private secretary
gift

is

of government

ever, let us return to the bureaus.

in

talent

therefore

How-

Bureaucracy.

105

Three men-servants lived in peace in the Billardicre

division, to wit

a footman for the two bureaus,

an-

other for the service of the two chiefs, and a third for
the director oi^the division himself.

lodged, warmed, and clothed

by the

All three were

State,

and wore the

well-known livery of the State, blue coat with red pipings for undress, and broad red, white, and blue braid
for great occasions.

La

Billardiere's

man had

the air

of a gentleman-usher, an innovation which gave an

aspect of dignity to the division.
Pillars of the ministiy, experts in all

manners and

customs bureaucratic, well-warmed and clothed at the

State's expense,

growing rich by reason of

their

few

wants, these lackeys saw complete^" through the govern-

ment

officials, collectively

no better way of amusing

and

They had

individually.

their idle hours than

by ob-

serving these personages and studying their peculiarities.

They knew how

money, doing
discretion

up

bills

far to trust the clerks with loans of

their various

commissions with absolute

they pawned and took out of pawn, bought

when due, and lent monej* without

interest, albeit

no clerk ever borrowed of them without returning a

"

gratification."

These servants without a master

ceived a salary of nine hundred francs a year

gifts

and " gratifications" brought

twelve hundred francs, and they

more by serving breakfasts

their

re-

new 3'ears'

emoluments

made almost

as

to

much

to the clerks at the office.

100

Bureaucracy.

The

men, who was also the

elder of these

waited upon the main body of the clerks.

He

richest,

was sixty

years of age, with white hair cropped short like a brush

and apoplectic about

stout, thickset,

neck, with a

gray eyes, and a mouth

vulgar pimpled face,

nace door

tliQ

like a fur-

such was the profile portrait of Antoine, the

oldest attendant at the ministry.

He had

brought his

two nephews, Laurent and Gabriel, from Echelles

Savoie,

one

to

in

All three came to open the

and clean them, between seven and eight

the

morning

papers and talked

in

serve the heads of the bureaus, the

other the director himself.

offices

at

o'clock

which time they read the newsfrom

civil service politics

their point

of view with the servants of other divisions, exchanging

common

the bureaucratic gossip.

In

modern houses who know

their masters' private affairs

with servants of

thoroughly, they lived at the ministry like spiders at

the centre of a web, where they felt the slightest jar of

the fabric.

On

a Thursday morning, the dajr after the ministerial

reception and
as Antoine

Madame

Eabourdin's evening party, just

was trimming

his

beard and his nephews

were assisting him in the antechamber of the division

on the upper

floor,

they were surprised by the unex-

pected arrival of one of the clerks.

" That

's

Monsieur Dutocq," said Antoine, " I know

him by that pickpocket step of

his.

He

is

always mov-

107

Bureaucracy.

He

ing round on the sly, that man.

before 3011

know

on your back

is

Yesterday, contrar} to his usual

-

it.

man

ways, he outsta3red the last

in the office

such a

thing has n't happened three times since he has been at

the ministry."

Here follows the

clerk in the

Monsiur Dutocq, order-

portrait of

Rabourdin bureau

Thirt3 -eight years old,

oblong face and bilious skin, grizzled hair always cut

close,

low forehead, heavy eyebrows meeting together,

a crooked nose and pinched lips

slightly higher

coat,

than the

cravat,

silk

left

yellowish

tall,

the right shoulder

brown

coat, black waist-

stockings, and shoes with flapping

hold him.

black woollen

trousers,

bows

thus you be-

and incapable, he hated Eabourdin,

Idle

naturally enough, for Rabourdin had no vice to flatter,

and no bad or weak side on which Dutocq could make

Far too noble to

himself useful.

was

injure a clerk, the chief

also too clear-sighted to be deceived b}T

believe.

Dutocq kept

any make-

his place therefore solely through

Rabourdin's generosity, and was very certain that he

could never be promoted
Billardiere.

if

the latter succeeded

La

Though he knew himself incapable of im-

portant work, Dutocq was well aware that in a govern-

ment

La

office

incapacity

Billardiere's

capable a
fatal

man

is

no hindrance to advancement

own appointment

over the head of so

as Rabourdin had been a striking and

example of

this.

Wickedness combined with

self-

Bureaucracy.

108
interest
lect

works with a power equivalent to that of

evilly disposed

had endeavored
spy in

all

and wholly

self-interested,

to strengthen his position

the offices.

intel-

Dutocq

by becoming a

After 1816 he assumed a marked

religious tone, foreseeing the favor

which the fools of

those days would bestow on those thejr indiscriminately

called Jesuits.

Belonging to that

though not admitted to

fraternitj* in spirit,

Dutocq went from bu-

its rites,

reau to bureau, sounded consciences by recounting im-

moral

jests,

and then reported and paraphrased

to des Lupeaulx

the latter thus learned

all

results

the trivial

events of the ministiy, and often surprised the minister

consummate knowledge of what was going

by

his

He

tolerated

Dutocq under the idea

"that circumstances

might some day make him useful, were

him or some distinguished

by a disgraceful marriage.
other well.
elder,

on.

it

only to get

friend of his out of a scrape

The two understood each

Dutocq had succeeded Monsieur Poiret the

who had

retired in 1814,

and now lived

pension Vauquer in the Latin quarter.

in the

Dutocq himself

lived in a pension in the rue de Beaune,

and spent

his

evenings in the Palais-Royal, sometimes going to the

theatre, thanks to
ticket

du Bruel, who gave him an author's

about once a week.

And

now, a word on du

Bruel.

Though Sebastien
small compensation

did his work at the office for the

we have mentioned, du Bruel was

109

Bureaucracy.
coming there to advertise the

in the habit of

fact that

he was the under-head-clerk and to draw his salan\

His real work was that of dramatic

which he also wrote

ministerial journal, in

spired

by the

clearly defined,

critic to

ministers, a

a leading

articles in-

very well understood,

and quite unassailable

position.

Bruel was not lacking in those diplomatic

little

Du

tricks

He

which go so far to conciliate general good-will.

Madame Rabourdin an

sent

opera-box for a

resentation, took her there in a carriage

her back,

an

first

rep-

and brought

attention which evidently pleased her.

Rabourdin, who was never exacting with his subordinates allowed du Bruel to go off to rehearsals,
the office at his

when
ter,

hours, and

Monsieur

there.

knew

own

le

that du Bruel

Due de

to

at his vaudevilles

Chaulieu, the minis-

was writing a novel which was

Dressed with the careless

to be dedicated to himself.

ease of a theatre man,

work

come

du Bruel wore,

in the morning,

trousers strapped under his feet, shoes with gaiters, a

waistcoat evidently
a black cravat.

At

plays.

Du

lived,

Florine,

just

now

for

good reasons,

an actress

Bruel, or to give

was working
Fran9ais.

over, an olive surtout, and

night he played the gentleman in

He

elegant clothes.

same house as

vamped

him

for

his

whom

in the

he wrote

pen name, Cursy,

at a piece in five acts for the

Sebastien was devoted to the author,

occasionally gave him tickets to the pit,

who

and applauded

Bureaucracy.

110

his pieces at the parts

which du Brael told him were of

doubtful interest, with

In

his years.

fact,

the faith and enthusiasm of

all

the youth looked upon the play-

wright as a great author, and

du Bruel

day

said, the

after a

vaudeville produced, like

all

"The audience

laborators,

it

was

first

to Subastien that

representation of a

vaudevilles,

by three

col-

preferred the scenes written

by two."

"Why

don't

you write alone?" asked Sebastien,

naively.

There were good reasons wiry du Bruel did not write

He was

alone.

writer, as

viduals
ject

few people know,

first,

the

man

shape

music,

made up of

with brains

second, the plodder,

and

who

three indi-

invents the sub-

third, the toucher-up,

into their right place,

and the advertisements.

and

liked

who

the piece into

sets the songs to

by

man

laid

it

by

and

Du

finall}*

writes the

Bruel was a plodder

newest books, extracted their

at the office he read the

wit,

who works

arranges the chorus and concerted pieces and

them

pufl's

the

is

dramatic

and maps out the structure, or scenario, of the vau-

deville

fits

the third of an author.

for use in his dialogues.

his collaborators

He was

on account of his carefulness

with brains, sure of being understood, could

cross his arms and feel that his ideas would be well ren-

dered.

The

clerks in the office liked their companion

well enough to attend a

first

performance of

his plays

Bureaucracy.
in a bocty

and applaud them,

pocket
ding,

and punch were bestowed without prod-

ices

and he loaned

He owned

back.

his mone}-,

for he really deserved the

His hand went readily to his

of a good fellow.

title

Ill

them

francs without asking

fifty

a country-house at Aulna}', laid by

and had, besides the four thousand

hundred francs of

his salaiy

five

under government, twelve

hundred francs pension from the civil

and eight

list,

hundred from the three hundred thousand francs fund

voted by the Chambers for encouragement of the Arts.

Add

to these diverse

emoluments nine thousand francs

earned by his quarters, thirds, and halves of plays in

three different theatres and you will readily understand

that such a

man must

be physically round,

and

fat,

As

comfortable, with the face of a worthy capitalist.

to mor.-ls, he

and

felt

was

the lover

and the beloved of Tullia

himself preferred in heart to the brilliant

de Rhetore, the lover in

chief.

Dutocq had seen with great uneasiness what he

the liaison of des Lupeaulx with

and

his silent

He had

Due

Madame

called

Rabourdin,

wrath on the subject was accumulating.

too prying an eye not to have guessed that

Rabourdin was engaged

his official labors,

some great work outside of

and he was provoked to

knew nothing about

was, wholly or

in

it,

whereas that

in part, in the secret.

feel that

little

he

Sebastien

Dutocq was

in-

timate with Godard, under-head- clerk to Baudoyer, and

112

Bureaucracy.

the high esteem in which

Dutocq held Baudoyer was

the original cause of his acquaintance with

that

Dutocq was sincere even

in this

Godard

not

but by praising

Baudoyer and saying nothing of Rabourdin he satisfied

his hatred" after the fashion of little minds.

Joseph Godard, a cousin of Mitral on the mother's

side,

made

pretensions to the hand of Mademoiselle

Baudoyer, not perceiving that her mother was laying

siege to Falleix as a
gifts

to

the

son-in-law.

young lady,

He

brought

flowers,

artificial

little

bonbons

on new-year's day and pretty boxes for her birthday.

Twenty-six years of age, a worker working without
1

purpose, steady as a

girl,

monotonous and

apathetic,

holding cafs, cigars, and horsemanship in detestation,

going to bed regularly at ten o'clock and rising at

seven, gifted with some social talents, such as playing
quadrille music

on the

flute,

into favor with the Saillards

was moreover a

fifer in

his turn of sitting

up

which

brought him

first

the National Guard,

all

He

and the Baudoyers.

to escape

Go-

night in a barrack-room.

dard was devoted more especially to natural history.

made

collections of shells

He

and minerals, knew how to

stuff birds,

kept a mass of curiosities bought for noth-

ing in his

bedroom; took possession of phials and

empty perfume

bottles for his specimens

pinned but-

hung Chinese parasols

terflies

and beetles under

on the

walls, together with dried fishskins.

glass,

He

lived

113

Bureaucracy.
with his

sister,

an

maker, in the rue de

artificial-flower

Though much admired by mammas

Richelieu.

model young man was looked down upon by

who had tried

medium height,

to inveigle him.

shop-girls,
lean,

of

eyes, Joseph

ill-cut,

white stockings at

bagged, he wore

seasons of the year, a hat with a

all

He was

narrow brim and laced shoes.

always com-

His principal vice was a

for proposing rural parties during the

excursions to Montmorency,

season,
grass,

Slim and

care of his person

little

his trousers

plaining of his digestion.

mania

his sister's

with dark circles round his

Godard took

were

his clothes

and

For the

Mont-Parnasse.

picnics

summer
on the

on the boulevard du

to creameries

visits

this

last six

months Dutocq had

taken to visiting Mademoiselle Godard from time to

time, with certain views of his
in her establishment

some female

Thus Baudoyer had a

Godard.

Monsieur

rightly of Dutocq,

quent

little visits

own, hoping

pair of

Saillard,

was

treasure.

henchmen

in

Dutocq and

innocent to judge

too

in the habit of

at the office.

to discover

paying him

Young La

fre-

Billardiere,

the director's son, placed as supernumerary with Baudoyer,

made another member of the

heads in the
capables.

offices

The

clever

this alliance

of in-

clique.

laughed much at

Bixiou nicknamed Baudo3

Dutocq a "Trinity without the

Billardiere the

"Pascal Lamb."

er,

Spirit,"

Godard, and

and

little

La

114

Bureaucracy.

"You

are

early

morning," said Antoine to

this

Dutocq, laughing."

" So

are you, Antoine," answered

the newspapers do

them

come

earlier

Dutocq

than you

" you

let

see,

us have

at the office."

" They did to-day, by chance," replied Antoine, not

disconcerted; " they never
the

come two days together

at

same hour."

The two nephews looked

admiration of their uncle,

"Though

at each other as if to say, in

"
"

What cheek

make two sous hy

he has

all his

breakfasts,"

muttered Antoine, as he heard Monsieur Dutocq close

the office door, " I 'd give

them up

to get that

man

out

of our division."

" Ah, Monsieur Sebastien, you

are not the

first

here

to-day," said Antoine, a quarter of an hour later, to the

supernumerary.

"

Who

is

here? " asked the poor lad, turning pale.

" Monsieur Dutocq," answered Laurent.

Virgin natures have, bej-ond

all

others,

the inex-

plicable gift of second- sight, the reason of which lies

perhaps in the purity of their nervous sj'stems, which

are, as it were,

brand-new.

Sebastien had long guessed

Dutocq's hatred to his revered Rabourdin.

when Laurent

uttered his

name a

So that

dreadful presentiment

took possession of the lad's mind, and crjing out,

feared

it

" he flew like an arrow into the corridor.

"I

115

Bureaucracy.
" There

going to be a row in the division," said

is

Antoine, shaking his white head as he put on his lively.

"It

is

very certain that Monsieur

Yes,

his account.

he could
be
if

oh

n't live

Madame

Go

off to

is

Gruget, the nurse, told

What

through the day.

won't there

baron

le

along,

there

stir

fellows,

3-011

me
'11

and see

Heavens and earth

the stoves are drawing property.

is coming down about our ears."

" That poor young one," said Laurent, "had a

our world

sort

of sunstroke when he heard that Jesuit of a Dutocq had

got here before him."
'

'

I have told

ought to

him a dozen

times,

for after all

the truth to an honest clerk, and

tell

one

what

fellow

who

gives us recta his ten francs on newyear's day,

call

an honest clerk

is

one

that

like

have said to him again and again

the

more they

'11

He

mote you.

make you work, and they won't

n't listen to

me

till

five o'clock,

an hour after

others have gone.

Folly

that not a

is

The more you work

does

out staying here

The proof

little

he

'11

he

tires

himself

's

shame

it

makes

all

the

never get on that way

word has been said about giving

him an appointment, though he has been here two

It

pro-

my

" Monsieur Rabourdin

is

3 ears.

blood boil."

\exy fond of Monsieur Se-

bastien," said Laurent.

" But Monsieur Rabourdin

Antoine

"

it

will

isn't a minister," retorted

be a hot day

when

that happens, and

Bureaucracy.

116

the hens will have teeth

he

is

as they please, while that poor

away and do

Roche works himself

ever thinks of the

to

civil service.

'Thank

my

you,

with a gracious nod

le

When

And what do

stay

little

La

God

they give

marechal and Monsieur

dear Antoine, thank you,'

Pack

death, I ask myself if

you, these pets of Monsieur

due?

but mum

those humbugs who

I think that I carry salaries to

le

too

of sluggards

go to work,

or you'll bring another revolution about your ears.

Didn't see such goings-on under Monsieur Robert

Lindet.

I know, for I served

my

The

had

Robert Lindet.

You ought
till

to have seen

midnight

ticed

It

it.

clerks

how

apprenticeship under

work

to

in his

day

they scratched paper here

why, the stoves went out and nobody no-

was

all

because the guillotine was there

now-a-days they only mark 'em when they come in late

"Uncle Antoine,"

said

"as

Gabriel,

talkative this morning, just tell us

3-011

are so

what you think a

clerk realiy ought to be."

"A government clerk,"

a

man who

sits in

there, there,
clerks,

a government office and writes.

what am I talking about?

where should we

and look

replied Antoine, gravely, "is

be, I 'd like to

after j'our stoves

harm of a government

clerk,

Without the

know? Go along

and mind you never say

you

fellows.

stove in the large office draws like the devil

turn the damper."

But

Gabriel, the
;

you must

117

Bureaucracy.

Antoine stationed himself at a corner ot the landing

whence he could see

porte-cochere

watched

all

he knew ever} one at the ministry, and

7

first

and appearance.

to arrive after Sebastien

deeds in Rabourdin's

office

To

table farnily-nian.

owed a

observing narrowly the con-

their behavior,

trasts in their dress

The

the officials as they entered the

the

named

was a

clerk of

Phellion, a respec-

influence of his chief he

half-scholarship for each of his two sons in the

College Henri

IV

while his daughter was being edu-

cated gratis at a boarding-school where his wife gave

music lessons and he himself a course of histeny and

He was

one of geography in the evenings.

five

about forty-

years of age, sergeant-major of his company in the

National Guard,

very compassionate in feeling and

words, but wholly unable to give away a penny.

of his post, however, and satisfied with his

lot,

Proud
he ap-

plied himself faithfully to serve the government, be-

lieved he

was useful

to his country,

indifference to politics,

men

in power.

Monsieur Rabourdin pleased him highly

to stay half

finish a piece of work.

On

when

an hour longer to

such occasions he would say,

when he reached home, "Public

man

his

knowing none but those of the

whenever he asked him

and boasted of

affairs

belongs to the government he

master of himself."

He

detained
is

me;

no longer

compiled books of questions

and answers on various studies

for the use of

young

Bureaucracy.

118

These

ladies in boarding-schools.
tises," as

little

"

solid

trea-

he called them, were sold at the University

library under the

cal Catechisms."

name of "

and Geographi-

Historical

Feeling himself in duty bound to offer

a copy of each volume, bound in red morocco, to Ma-

dame Rabourdin, he always came

them,

breeches

gold buckles.

and

in full dress to present

and shoes with

silk stockings,

Monsieur Phellion received

his friends

on Thursday evenings, on which occasions the company

pla3r ed bouillote, at five sous a

game, and were regaled

He had

never yet dared to invite

with cakes and beer.

Monsieur Rabourdin to honor him with

his presence,

though he would have regarded such an event as the

most distinguished of

his

life.

He

said if he could

leave one of his sons following in the steps of

sieur

Mon-

Rabourdin he should die the happiest father

in

the world.

One

of his greatest pleasures was to explore the envi-

rons of Paris, which he did with a map.

He knew

every inch of Arcueil, Bievre, Fontenay-aux-Roses, and

Aulna}- so famous as the resort of great writers, and

,

hoped

in

time to

know

the whole western side of the

country around Paris.

He

son into a government

office

Ecole Polytechniqne.
"

When you

He

intended to put his eldest

and

often

his second into the

said

to

the

elder,

have the honor to be a government clerk

though he suspected him of a preference for the exact

Bureaucracy.

119

sciences and did his best to repress

ing to abandon the lad to his

When

sisted.

Eabourdin sent

mentally resolv-

it,

own

devices

he per-

if

him to come down

for

and receive instructions about some particular piece of

work, Phellion gave

all his

mind

to

it,

listening

to

every word the chief said, as a dilettante listens to an

air at the

Opera.

Silent in the office, with his feet in

on a wooden desk, and never moving

the air resting

His

them, he studied his task conscientious!}'.

letters

were written with the utmost

mitted the

commands

gravit}',

and

official

trans-

of the minister in solemn phrases.

Monsieur Phellion's face was that of a pensive ram,

with

little

color

and pitted by the small-pox

were thick and the lower one pendent

blue,

and

his figure

above the

common

the lips

the eyes light-

height.

Neat and

clean as a master of history and geography in a

ladies' school
shirt-frill,

ought to be, he wore

fine linen,

a black cashmere waistcoat,

left

young

a pleated

open and

showing a pair of braces embroidered by his daughter,

a diamond in the

bosom of

his shirt, a black coat,

and

In winter he added a nut-colored box-

blue trousers.

coat with three capes, and carried a loaded stick, necessitated, he said,

by the profound

in which he lived.

He had

solitude of the quarter

given up taking snuff, and

referred to this reform as a striking example of the

empire a

man

could exercise over himself.

Monsieur

Phellion came slowly up the stairs, for he was afraid of

Bureaucracy.

120

asthma, having what he called an " adipose chest."

He

sainted Antoine with dignity.

The next
sented

to follow

a strange

was a copying-clerk, who

contrast to the virtuous Phellion.

Vimeux was a young man

of fifteen

pre-

of twenty-five, with a salary

hundred francs, well-made and graceful, with

a romantic face, and e} es, hair, beard, and e3"ebrows

r

as black as jet, fine teeth, charming hands, and wear-

ing a moustache so carefully trimmed that he seemed

have made

to

it

the business and occupation of his

Vimeux had such

life.

spatched

"He

aptitude for

much quicker than

it

has a

gift,

that

do

appointed task

roll

said of

and have nothing

having got through his

and see what a

Vimeux breakfasted on a
for

his legs

for the rest of the day,

"

an}- of the other clerks.

young man!" Phellion

him when he saw him cross

to

work that he de-

little

dandy he

is

"
!

and a glass of water, dined

twenty sous at Katcomb's, and lodged in a furnished

room, for which he paid twelve francs a month.

happiness, his

sole pleasure

in

life,

was

dress.

His

He

ruined himself in miraculous waistcoats, in trousers that

were

tight, half-tight, pleated, or

embroidered

in su-

perfine boots, well-made coats which outlined his ele-

gant figure

in bewitching collars, spotless gloves,

immaculate hats.
his

A ring

and

with a coat of arms adorned

hand, outside his glove, from which dangled a

handsome cane

with these

accessories

he endeav-

Bureaucracy.
oral

to

assume the

young man.

air

After the

121

and

manner of a wealthy

office

closed he appeared in

the great walk of the Tuileries, with a tooth-pick in

his mouth, as

though he were a millionnaire who had

an
Englishwoman, a foreigner of some kind, or a widow,
Alwa3 s on the lookout
-

jnst dined.

who might

fall in

woman,

for a

love with him, he practised the art

of twirling his cane and of flinging the sort of glance

which Bixiou told him was American.

show

his

teeth

fine

boots, but he

had

was prepared,

he wore

He

smiled to

no socks under

his hair curled every da}'.

his

Vimeux

in accordance with fixed principles, to

marry a hunch-back with six thousand a year, or a

woman
woman

of forty-five at eight thousand, or an Englishfor half that

sum.

and was

his neat hand-writing,

the fellow, read

him

Phellion,

lectures

lessons in penmanship,

full

who

delighted in

of compassion for

on the duty of giving

an honorable career, he

said,

which would ameliorate existence and even render

agreeable
ladies'
full

he

promised him a situation

boarding-school.

of his

own

in

it

a young

But Viraeux's head was so

idea that no

human being

vent him from having faith in his

star.

He

could pre-

continued

to lay himself out, like a salmon at a fishmonger's, in

spite of his

empty stomach and the

fruitlessly exhibited his

fact that he

enormous moustachios and

fine clothes for over three years.

had
his

As he owed Antoine

Bureaucracy.

122

thirty francs for his breakfasts,

more than
his

eyes

midday

him

ask the

he lowered

and yet he

man

to buy

him

After trying to get a few reasonable ideas into

this

failed at

never
a

passed

every time he
to

roll.

head, Eabourdin had finally given up the

foolish

tempt as hopeless.

had

Adolphe

name was Adolphe)

economized on dinners and lived

lately

on bread and water,

Amadis were made only

this

which creates vaudevilles,

reaus was
bets

starving

in the spirit of mischievous

for

he was really a

kind-hearted fellow and a good comrade,

no one but himself.

entirely

buy a pair of spurs and a

to

Jokes at the expense of

riding-whip.

fun

(his

at-

who harmed

standing joke in the two bu-

the question whether he wore corsets, and

depended on

it.

Vimeux was

originally

ap-

pointed to Baudoyer's bureau, but he manoeuvred to

get himself transferred to Rabourdin's, on account of

Baudo3 er's extreme severity

-

"the English,"

called

ment

in relation to

name given by

clerks to their creditors.

what were

the govern-

" English day" means

the day on which the government offices are thrown

open to the

public.

Certain then of finding their delin-

quent debtors, the creditors swarm in and torment

them, asking when they intend to pay, and threatening to

attach

salaries.
The implacable Baudoyer compelled the clerks to remain at their desks

their

Bureaucracy.

and endure

make

"

this torture.

debts," he said

as a duty which

123

was

It

their place not to

and he considered

his severity

he owed to the public weal.

Ra-

bourdin, on the contrary, protected the clerks against

their

creditors,

and turned the

government bureaus were

that the

Much

business, not private.

in

bureaus when

both

sounded

wag of

ridicule

open

and on the

public

for

spm*s

his

re-

The

staircases.

the ministry, Bixiou, sent round a paper,

by a caricature of

saying

pursued Vimeux

clank of

the

in the corridors

awaj',

latter

headed

on a pasteboard horse,

his victim

asking for subscriptions to buy him a live charger.

Monsieur

down

Baudoyer was

taken from his

own

a bale

of

hay

forage allowance, and each of the

epigram

clerks wrote his

little

natured

that he

fellow

for

was,

Vimeux

himself, good-

subscribed

under

the

name of " Miss Fairfax."

Handsome
salaries

clerks of the

on which

to

which to make their

live,

it

their

style

have their

good looks by

their

Devoted

masked

to

they seek their luck there,

often escapes them.

round by marrying
times,

and

fortune.

balls during the carnival,

though

Vimeux

Many end

milliners, or old

the weary

women,

however, young ones who are

some-

charmed with

handsome persons, and with whom they

a romance illustrated with stupid love

nevertheless,

seem

letters,

to answer their purpose.

set

up

which,

124

Bureaucracy.

Bixiou (pronounce

who

was a draughtsman,

Bisiou)

it

Dutocq as readily as he did Rabourdin,

whom he nicknamed " the virtuous woman." Withridiculed

man

in the

clever

after

out doubt the cleverest

at

the ministry

(but

division or

the

even

fashion of a

monkey, without aim or sequence), Bixiou was so

sentially

useful

es-

Baudoyer and Godard that they

to

upheld and protected him in spite of his misconduct

for he did their
it

du

work when they were incapable of doing

Bixiou wanted either Godard's or

for themselves.

Bruel's place as under-head-clerk, but his conduct

Sometimes he sneered

interfered with his promotion.

at the public service

some happy
in the

this

was usually

after he

had made

such as the publication of portraits

hit,

famous Fualdes case

which he drew faces

(for

hap-hazard), or his sketch of the debate on the Castaing

At

affair.

other times,

when possessed with a

desire to get on, he really applied

though he would soon leave

which

was never

spendthrift

off to write a vaudeville,

finished.

sake

and

above

indiscreet,
all,

thorough

egoist,

that to say,
himself, sharp, ag-

and a miser in one,

spending his money solely on

gressive,

himself to work,

is

he did mischief for mischiefs

he attacked the weak, respected noth-

ing and believed in nothing, neither in France, nor in

God, nor

in art, nor iu the Greeks, nor in the Turks,

nor in the monarchy,

insulting and disparaging every-

125

Bureaucracy.
thing that he could not
first

He was

comprehend.

on the

to paint a black cap on Charles X.'s head

coins.

five-franc

turing,

till

He mimicked

the

Dr. Gall when

lec-

he made the most starched of diplomatists

Famous

burst their buttons.

for his practical jokes,

he varied them with such elaborate care that he always

His great secret in

obtained a victim.

this

power of guessing the inmost wishes of others

the

way to manj a
7

man may

which a

it

knew

he

dreams about

castle in the air, to the

be fooled because he wants to be

and he made such men

Thus

was the

happened that

sit

to

him

for hours.

who

this close observer,

could

display unrivalled tact in developing a joke or driv-

ing
to

home

a sarcasm, was unable to use the same power

make men

further his fortunes and

The person he most

liked

to

promote him.

annoy was young La

Billardiere, his nightmare, his detestation,

whom

he was

nevertheless constantly wheedling so as the better to

torment him on his weakest

side.

He

letters signed "

" or

"

Comtesse de

wrote him love

'
'

Marquise de

took him to the Opera on gala da}

and pre-

sented him to some grisette under the clock, after

ing everybody's attention to the young fool.

himself with Dutocq

(whom he regarded

He

call-

allied

as a solemn

juggler) in his hatred to Rabourdin and his praise of

Baudoyer, and did his best to support him. Jean-Jacques

Bhdou was

the grandson of a Parisian grocer.

His

126

Bureaucracy.

father,

died a colonel, left him to the care of his

who

grandmother, who married her head-clerk, named Descoings, after the death of her

first

husband, and died

Finding himself without prospects on leaving

in 1822.

college, he attempted painting, but in spite of his in-

timacy with Joseph Bridau, his life-long friend, he

abandoned
ing,

art to take

and drawing

up

for books,

went by the name of "

the

caricature, vignette design-

which twenty years

The

illustration."

later

influence of

Dues de Maufrigneuse and de Rhetore, whom he

knew

in the society of actresses,

ployment under government

with des Lupeaulx, with

procured him his em-

On good

in 1819.

whom

in society

terms

he stood on

an equality, and intimate with du Bruel, he was a

liv-

ing proof of Rabourdin's theory as to the steady deterioration

of the administrative

Paris

hierarchy in

through the personal importance which a government

official

may

acquire

outside

of a government

office.

Short in stature but well-formed, with a delicate face

remarkable for
lips,

vague likeness to Napoleon's, thin

a straight chin, chestnut whiskers, twenty-seven

years old,

fair-skinned,

sparkling eye,

and

all

suit

of

him

its

wit,

such

with a

was Bixiou

a man,

who abandoned himself

pleasure of eveiy

into a constant

voice

piercing

to

description,

all

mad

and
sense
pur-

which threw

round of dissipation.

Hunter of

grisettes, smoker, jester, diner-out and frequenter of

Bureaucracy.
timed to the

always

supper-parties,

127
highest

pitch,

shining eqnalty in the greenroom and at the balls given

among

was

the grisettes of the Allee des Veuves, he

just as surprisingly entertaining at table as at a picnic,

as gay and lively at midnight on the streets as in the

morning when he jumped out of bed, and yet

gloomy and melancholy,

like

at heart

most of the great comic

players.

Launched

writers, artists,

world of actors and actresses,

the

into

and certain women of uncertain means,

he lived well, went to the theatres without paying,

gambled at Frascati, and often won.

and

ture

swayed

really profound,

to

and

Artist

by na-

though hy flashes only, he

fro in life like a swing, without think-

ing or caring of a time

when

The

and the prodigal flow of

liveliness of his wit

ideas

made him

pleasure in the

acceptable to
lights

friends liked him.

ing,

the cord would break.

all

persons

his

who took

of intellect; but none of his

Incapable of checking a witt} sayr

he would scarify his two neighbors before a dinner

was half over.

In spite of his skin-deep gayety, a

secret dissatisfaction with his social position could be

detected in his speech

but the fatal

he aspired to something better,

demon hiding

in his wit hindered

from acquiring the gravity which imposes on

He

lived

on the second

floor

him

fools.

of a house in the rue de

Ponthieu, where he had three rooms delivered over to

128

Bureaucracy.

the untidiness of a bachelor's establishment, in fact, a

He

regular bivouac.

often talked of leaving France and

seeking his fortune in America.

tell

the future of this

were incomplete

young man

who was

wizard could fore-

in

whom

all talents

incapable of perseverance,

intoxicated with pleasure, and

that the world ended

No

who

acted on the belief

on the morrow.

In the matter of dress Bixiou had the merit of never

being ridiculous

he was perhaps the only

the ministry whose dress did not lead outsiders to

'
'

That man

is

a government clerk

"

He

of

official

saj',

wore elegant

boots with black trousers strapped under them, a fancy

waistcoat, a

becoming blue

coat, collars that

were the

never-ending gift of grisettes, one of Bandoni's hats,

and a pair of dark-colored kid gloves.

His walk and

bearing, cavalier and simple both, were not without

grace.

He knew

summoned him

all

this,

for a piece of impertinence said

done about Monsieur de

him with

and when des Lupeaulx

la Billardiere

dismissal, Bixiou replied,

back because

my

and threatened

" You

will take

perpetrated
off

The most harmless of

among

the clerks

was the one he

brought from China, which the worthy

and exhibits

let

Bixiou's jokes

upon Godard, presenting him with a

collection

me

clothes do credit to the ministry

and des Lupeaulx, unable to keep from laughing,

the matter pass.

and

plaj'ed

butterfly just

man

keeps in his

to this day, blissfully uncon-

Bureaucracy.
scions that

is

it

129

only painted paper.

patience to work up the

little

Bixio-u

had the

masterpiece for the sole

purpose of hoaxing his superior.

The

always

devil

puts

martyr near a Bixiou.

Baudo3 er's bureau held the martyr, a poor copyingT

clerk twenty-two years of age, with a salary of fifteen

hundred francs, named Auguste-Jean-Francois Minard.

Minard had married

for love the daughter of a porter,

an

maker employed by Mademoiselle

artificial-flower

Godard.

Zelie Lorrain, a pupil, in the first place, of the

Conservatoire, then by turns a danseuse, a singer, and

an actress, had thought of doing as so many of the work-

ing-women do
from

vice.

but the fear of consequences kept her

She was

floating undecidedly along,

Minard appeared upon the scene with a

Zelie earned five

posal of marriage.
year,

Minard had

fifteen

when

definite pro-

hundred francs a

Believing that they

hundred.

could live on two thousand, they married without settle-

ments, and started with the utmost economy.

went to

live,

Courcelles, in a

3*ear,

They

turtle-doves, near the barriere

like
little

de

apartment at three hundred francs

with white cotton curtains to the windows, a

Scotch paper costing

fifteen

sous a

roll

on the

walls,

brick floors well polished, walnut furniture in the parlor,

and a tiny kitchen that was very

her children herself
flowers,

clean.

Zelie nursed

when they came, cooked, made her

and kept the house. There was something very

130

Bureaucracy.

touching in this happy and laborious mediocrity.

Feel-

ing that Minard truly loved her, Zelie loved him.

Love

begets love,

The poor man

it is

the abyssus

left

his

bed

abyssum of

in the

was up, that he might fetch

wife

ried the flowers she

had

morning before

He

provisions.

finished,

on

his

bureau, and bought her materials on his

way

his

car-

to the

way back

while waiting for dinner, he stamped out her

then,
leaves,
slim,

the Bible.

trimmed the twigs, or rubbed her

and wiry, with crisp red

colors.

Small,

hair, ejes of a light yel-

low, a skin of dazzling fairness, though blotched with

red, the

man had

He knew
At

a sturdy courage that

made no show.

the science of writing quite as well as Vimeux.

the office he kept in the background, doing his al-

loted task with the collected air of a

and

suffers.

man who

thinks

His white eyelashes and lack of eyebrows

induced the relentless Bixiou to

name him "

the white

the Rabourdin of a lower sphere

rabbit."

Minard

was

with the desire of placing his Zelie in better

filled

circumstances, and his mind searched the ocean of the

wants of luxury in hopes of finding an idea, of making

some discovery or some improvement which would

His apparent dulness was

bring him a rapid fortune.

really

caused by the continual tension of his mind

he

went over the history of Cephalic Oils and the Paste of

Sultans, lucifer matches and portable gas, jointed sockets for hydrostatic lamps,

in short, all the infinitely

Bureaucracy.
little

131

inventions of material civilization which pay so

well.

He

bore Bixiou's jests as a busy

buzzing of an insect

man

bears the

he was not even annoyed by them.

In spite of his cleverness, Bixiou never perceived the

profound contempt which Minard

After a while his composure

as a loss of time.

He

tired out his tormentor.

his wife,

Minard

him.

however, regarding

never dreamed of quarrelling,

it

felt for

always breakfasted with

and ate nothing at the

office.

Once a month

he took Z61ie to the theatre, with tickets bestowed by

du Bruel or Bixiou

Bixiou was capable of any-

for

thing, even of doing a kindness.

Minard paid

Monsieur and

their visits in person

on New- Year's day.

Those who saw them often asked how

woman
a

Madame

it

was that a

could keep her husband in good clothes, wear

Leghorn bonnet with

flowers,

embroidered muslin

dresses, silk mantles, prunella boots,

handsome

fichus,

a Chinese parasol, and drive home in a hackney-coach,

and

r
3 et

be virtuous

while

Madame

ladies of her kind could scarcely

though they had double

Madame

Colleville

and other

make both ends meet,

Minard's means.

In the two bureaus were two clerks so devoted to

each other that their friendship became the butt of
the rest.

was

He

wife

of the bureau Baudoj'er, named Colleville,

chief-clerk,

long before

was

if

all

and would have been head of the bureau

the Restoration had never happened.

as clever in her

war

as

His

Madame Rabourdin

in

132

Bureaucracy.

hers.

Colleville,

opera,

fell

who was son of

at the

first violin

in love with the daughter of a celebrated

Flavie Minoret, one of those capable and

danseuse.

charming Parisian women who know how to make

husbands happy and yet preserve their

made

the Colleville

artists

and orators.

home

a rendezvous for

Colleville's

government was forgotten

din's

all

called

Flavie's conduct gave

there.

was so attached was

Colleville

" the

handsome
life

man,

all

the other.

Thuillier,"

an ex-

as Colleville led a busy one.

official in

the mornings and

first

Opera-Comique at night, worked hard

to maintain his family, though he

ential friends.

friend in Rabour-

who knew one knew

All

government

Colleville,

Madame Rabourdin

whom

Lothario, led as idle a

clarionet at the

our best

The

Thuillier.

Thuillier,

liberty,

her invitations.

bureau to

named

all

humble position under

such food for gossip, however, that

had declined

own

their

He was

was not without

influ-

looked upon as a very shrewd

the more, perhaps, because he hid his ambi-

tions under a

show of indifference.

Apparently content

with his lot and liking work, he found every one, even
the chiefs, ready to protect his brave career.
the last few

weeks Madame

Colleville

During

had made an

evi-

dent change in the household, and seemed to be taking

to piety.

This gave rise to a vague report in the bu-

reaus that she thought of securing some more powerful

influence than that of Francois Keller, the famous orator,

Bureaucracy.

who had been one of her

had

chief adorers, but who, so far,

a better place for her husband.

failed to obtain

Flavie had, about this time

mistakes

turned
men

of famous

and

it

was one of her

for help to des Lnpeaulx.

had a passion

Colleville

133

in the

for reading the horoscopes

anagram of

their

He

names.

passed whole months in decomposing and recomposing

words and

fitting

them

to

lafinira" found within the words

$aise;" Eh,

e'est

Un

new meanings.

large nez," in

"

Corse

Revolution Fran-

" Charles Genest," an

abbe at the court of Louis XIV., whose huge nose

recorded by Saint-Simon as the delight of the

Bourgogne (the exigencies of

this last

the substitution of a z for an s),

marvel to

Colleville.

Due de

anagram required

were a never-ending

Raising the anagram to the height

of a science, he declared that the destiny of every

was written

in the

words or phrase given bj the trans-

names and

titles

patriotism struggled hard to suppress the fact

evidence for his theory

a Nilo.

man

position of the letters of his

est

is

that

in

and his

signal

Horatio Nelson, honor

Ever since the accession of Charles X. he

had bestowed much thought on the king's anagram.

Thuillier,

who was fond

of making puns, declared that

an anagram was nothing more than a pun on

The

sight of Colleville, a

man

letters.

of real feeling, bound

almost indissolubly to Thuillier, the model of an egoist,

presented a

difficult

problem to the mind of an ob-

134

Bureaucracy.

server.

The

clerks in the offices explained

" Thuillier is rich,

and the

This friendship, however,

it

by saying,

Colleville household costly."

now

consolidated by time, was

based on feelings and on facts which naturally explained

it

an account of which may be found elsewhere (see

" Les

We

may

remai-k in passing

Colleville

was

well

Petits Bourgeois").

that though

Madame

Madame

bureaus, the existence of

unknown

there.

Colleville,

whereas Thuillier

'

in the

was almost

an active man, burdened

with a family of children, was

'

known

Thuillier

fat,

the beau of the

round, and

Empire

jolly,

" without

apparent anxieties and always at leisure, was slender

and

thin, with a livid face

and a melancholy

air.

"

We

never know," said Eabourdin, speaking of the two men,

'
'

whether our friendships are born of likeness or of

contrast."

Unlike these Siamese twins, two other clerks, Chazelle

and Paulmier, were forever squabbling.

smoked, the other took

snuff,

and the merits of

One
their

respective use of tobacco were the origin of ceaseless

Chazelle's home, which

disputes.

by a

was tyrannized over

wife, furnished a subject of endless ridicule to

Paulmier; whereas Paulmier, a bachelor, often

half-

starved like Vimeux, with ragged clothes and half-concealed penury

zelle.

stomach

was a

fruitful

source of ridicule to Cha-

Both were beginning to show a protuberant

;

Chazelle's,

which was round and projecting,

185

Bureaucracy.

had the impertinence, so Bixiou

first

said, to enter the

room

Paulmier's corporation spread to right and

A favorite

amusement with Bixiou was

The two

quarterly.

clerks,

the details of their lives,

at the office,

dirty linen

which they merited.

measure them

by dint of quarrelling over

and washing much of

their

had obtained the disrepute

" Do you take me

was a frequent saying

to

left.

for a Chazellc ?"

that served to end

many an

an-

noying discussion.

Monsieur Poiret junior, called "junior"

him from
in the

his brother

Monsieur Poiret senior (now

had spent
herself

is

thirty years in the

same

retreat),

Civil Service.

Nature

not so fixed and unvarying in her evolutions as

was Poiret junior

in all the acts of his daily life

wa}'S laid his things in precisely the

in the

hour,

living

Maison Vauquer, where Poiret junior sometimes

dined, intending to end his da}'S in the

pen

to distinguish

same rack,

sat

warmed himself at

of the day.
infallible

passed

it

down

same

al-

place, put his

in his seat at the

the stove at the

he

same

same moment

His sole vanity consisted in wearing an

watch, timed daily at the Hotel de Ville as he

on

his

o'clock in the

way

to the office.

From

six to eight

morning he kept the books of a large

shop in the rue Saint-Antoine, and from six to eight

o'clock in the evening those of the

the rue des Bourdonnais.

He

Maison Camusot,

in

thus earned three thou-

sand francs a year, counting his salary from the govern-

136

Bureaucracy.
In a few months bis term of service would be

ment.
up,

when he would

showed the utmost

of the bureaus.

ment

on a pension

retire

indifference to the political intrigues

had proved a

would probably grow an old

the

come from

his

his

home

same chair and copj a

r

Poiret's eyes

whom

Like his elder brother, to

from active service

longer

be therefore

were dim,

fatal blow,

man when
to

speckled with blueish dots

his nose

sit

weak and

flat,

lifeless,

and

in tone

his lips

drawn

inward to the mouth, where a few defective teeth

His gray

lingered.

in

number of pages.

certain

and wrinkled, gray

skin discolored

he

he could no

the ministry,

his glance

retire-

hair, flattened to the

still

head by the

pressure of his bat, gave him the look of an ecclesiastic,

a resemblance he would scarcely have

he hated priests and

clerg}',

liked, for

though he could give no

reasons for his anti-religious views.

This antipathy,

however, did not prevent him from being extremely

attached to whatever administration happened to be in

power.

He

never buttoned his old green coat, even on

the coldest days, and he always wore shoes with

and black

trousers.

No human
Poiret kept

and

all his

ties,

life

all his

was ever
receipted

lived so thoroughly
bills,

even the most

by

rule.

trifling,

account-books, wrapped in old shirts and put

away according

to their respective years

from the time

Rough

copies of his

of his entrance at the ministry.

137

Bureaucracy.
letters

"My

were dated and put away in a box, ticketed

He

Correspondence."

dined at the same restau-

rant (the Sucking Calf in the place du Chatelet), and

sat in the

He

same

never gave

place,

five

which the waiters kept

for him.

minutes more time to the shop in

the rue Saint Antoine than justly belonged to

it,

and

at

reached the Cafe David,

half-past eight precisely he

where he breakfasted and remained

eleven.

till

There

he listened to political discussions, his arms crossed on

his cane, his chin in his right hand,

The dame du comptoir,

word.

whom

never saying a

the only

woman

to

he ever spoke with pleasure, was the sole confi-

dant of the

little

events

close to her counter.

of his

He

for his

life,

seat

was

played dominoes, the only

game he was capable of understanding.

When

his

partners did not happen to be present, he usually went

to sleep with his

newspaper in

back against the wainscot, holding a

his hand, the

marble of his table.

He was

wooden

file

resting on the

interested in the buildings

going up in Paris, and spent his Sundays in walking

about to examine them.

"I saw

He was

the Louvre emerge from

often heard to say,

its

rubbish; I saw

the birth of the place du Chatelet, the quai aux Fleurs

and the Markets."

He and

his brother, both

born at

Troyes, were sent in youth to serve their apprenticeship in a government office.

self notorious

Their mother made her-

by misconduct, and the two brothers had

138

Bureaucracy.

the grief of hearing of her death in the hospital at

Troyes, although they had frequently sent

money

for

This event led them both not only to

her support.

abjure marriage, but to feel a horror of children

ill

at

ease with them, they feared them as others fear mad-

men, and watched them with haggard

Since the da}*
junior had

when he

came

first

eyes.

to Paris

He began

never gone outside the city

keep a journal of

at that time to

noted down

all

Poiret

his life, in

the striking events of his

which he

Du

da}*.

Bruel told him that Lord Byron did the same thing.

This likeness
led

Poiret

filled

junior with

him to buy the works of Lord Byron, translated

by Chastopalli, of which he did

word.

At the

not

understand a

he was often seen in a melan-

office

choly attitude, as though absorbed in thought,

in fact he

not

and

delight,

know

was thinking of nothing

all.

He

did

a single person in the house where he lived,

and always carried the keys of

his

On New-Year's day

with him.
left Lis

at

when

own

Bixiou took

cards on
it

all

into his

the

apartment about

he went round

clerks of the

and

division.

head on one of the hottest of

dog-days to put a layer of lard under the lining of

hat

which Poiret junior (he was, by

fifty-two

years old) had worn for the last

a certain old
the bye,

nine years.

Bixiou,

who had never

hat on Poiret's head, dreamed of

it

seen any other

and declared he

139

Bureaucracy.
tasted

food

in his

it

resolved, in

he therefore

the

interests of his digestion, to relieve the bureau of the

sight of

the

amorphous old

that

office

along, the

regularly at
T

sun's

ra3 s

Poiret junior

hat.

ing that he was

ill,

As he walked

four o'clock.

from the pavements

reflected

and walls produced a tropical heat

head was inundated,

he,

left

who never

he

that his

felt

perspired

Feel-

or on the point of being so, in-

of going as usual to the Sucking Calf he went

stead

home, drew out from his desk the journal of

and recorded the

" To-day, July

fact in the following

1823, overtaken

3,

manner

his life,

by extraordinary permalady

spiration, a sign, perhaps, of the sweating-sickness, a

which prevails in Champagne.

tor

Haudry.

The

disease

am

first

about to consult Doc-

appeared as

reached the

highest part of the quai des licoles."

Suddenly, having taken off his hat, he became aware

that the mysterious sweat had

of his
hat,

to

own

person.

and could

take out the

journal

find

He

some cause independent

wiped

his face,

examined the

nothing, for he did not venture

lining.

All this he

noted in his

" Carried

my

hat to the Sieur Tournan, hat-maker in the

rue Saint-Martin, for the reason that I suspect some un-

known

cause for this perspiration, which, in that case, might

not be perspiration, but, possibly, the effect of something

lately added, or formerly done, to

my

hat."

140

Bureaucracy.

Monsieur Tournan at once informed

customer

his

of the presence of a greasy substance, obtained by

The next

the trying-out of the fat of a pig or a sow.

day Poiret appeared

with another hat,

office

by Monsieur Tournan while a new one was mak-

lent

ing

at the

but he did not sleep that night until he had

added the following sentence

"It

in his journal:
lard, the fat of

is

to the preceding entries

asserted that

junior for the space of two weeks

the

him

tales

intellect of Poiret

and he never knew

The

phenomenon was produced.

of

hat contained

a pig."

This inexplicable fact occupied the

how

my

clerks told

showers of frogs, and other

dog-day

wonders, also the startling fact that an imprint of

the head of Napoleon had been found in the root of

a young elm, with other eccentricities of natural

tory.
his,

Vimeux informed him

Vimenx's

had

that hat-makers

his-

that one day his hat

stained bis forehead black, and

were in the habit of using drugs.

After that Poiret paid

many

visits to

Monsieur Tour-

nan to inquire into his methods of manufacture.

In the Rabourdin bureau was a clerk who played
the

man

of

courage

and

audacity,

professed

the

opinions of the Left centre, and rebelled against the

exercised upon what he

tj'rannies

of Baudoyer

called the

unhappy slaves of that

was Fleury.

He

as

office.

His name

boldly subscribed to an opposition

Bureaucracy.

141

newspaper, wore a gray hat with a broad brim, red

bands on his blue trousers, a blue waistcoat with

gilt

buttons, and a surtout coat crossed over the breast

like that

of a quarterm aster of gendarmerie.

Though

unyielding in his opinions, he continued to be em-

ployed in the service,

all

the while predicting a fatal

end to a government which persisted in upholding

He

gion.

now

reli-

openly avowed his sympathy for Napoleon,

that the death of that great

man put an end

to the

laws enacted against "the partisans of the usurper."

Fleury, ex-captain of a regiment of the line under the

Emperor, a

dark,

tall,

addition to his

handsome

fellow,

civil-service post,

was now,

in

box-keeper at the

Bixiou never ventured on torment-

Cirque-Olympique.

ing Fleury, for the rough trooper,

who was a good

shot and clever at fencing, seemed quite capable of

extreme brutality
to " Victoires

et

if

An

provoked.

ardent subscriber

Conquetes," Fleury nevertheless re-

fused to pay his subscription, though

he kept and

read the copies, alleging that they exceeded the number proposed in the prospectus.

He

adored Monsieur

Rabourdin, who had saved him from dismissal, and

was even heard to say that

if

any misfortune hap-

pened to the chief through anybody's

kill

that person.

many

would

Dutocq meanly courted Fleury be-

cause he feared him.

played

fault he

a trick on

Fleury,

crippled with

his creditors.

Expert

debt,

in legal

14

Bureaucracy.

matters, he never signed a promissory note

prudently attached his

own

and had

names

salary under the

of fictitious creditors, so that he -was able to draw

nearly the whole of
the

life

it

himself.

He

played ecarte, was

of evening parties, tossed off glasses of cham-

pagne without wetting

his lips,

of Beranger by heart.

sonorous

and knew

He was

proud of his

full,

His three great admirations were

voice.

Napoleon, Bolivar, and Beranger.

and

Foj', Lafitte,

Casimir Delavigne he only esteemed.

will

the songs

all

Fleury, as you

have guessed already, was a Southerner, destined,

no doubt,

to

become the responsible

editor of a liberal

journal.

Desroys, the mysterious clerk of the division, consorted with no one, talked
life

so carefully that no one

who were

call

his private
lived,

means of

his

him a carbonaro,

there were others again

him a spy or a man of

who doubted

solid merit.

roys was, however, simply and solely the son of a

ventionel,"

who

nor

for the causes of this

his colleagues thought

others an Orleanist

whether to

what were

Looking about them

some of

and hid

knew where he

his protectors, nor

subsistence.
reserve,

little,

did not vote the king's death.

Des-

" ConCold

and prudent by temperament, he had judged the world

and ended by relying on no one but himself.
lican in secret,

Repub-

an admirer of Paul-Louis Courier and a

friend of Michel Chrestieu, he looked to time

and public

113

Bureaucracy.

intelligence to bring about the triumph of his opinions

from end to end of Europe.

German} and a new

7

He dreamed

of a

His heart swelled with that

Italy.

which we must call humanitarianism,

dull, collective love

the eldest son of deceased philanthropy, and which

the divine catholic charity

this apostle

what system

is

is

to

to art, or

This conscientious puritan of free-

reasoning to deed.

dom,

new

of an impossible equality, regretted

keenly that his poverty forced him to serve the govern-

ment, and he made various

where.
like

down

Tall, lean, lank}',

efforts to find

and solemn

in

a place elseappearance,

man who

expects to be called some day to lay

his life for

a cause, he lived on a page of Volney,

studied Saint-Just, and employed himself on a vindication of Robespierre,

whom

he regarded as the successor

of Jesus Christ.

The
reaus
diere.

last of the individuals

who

merits a sketch here

Having, to

belonging to these buis

the

little

the ministerial salons, he

by every one because of

him

chiefs

safe there-

and received

fore from the tyrannies of Baudoyer,

The two

Billar-

his great misfortune, lost his mother,

and being under the protection of the minister,

all

La

in

was nevertheless detested

his impertinence

and

conceit.

were polite to him, but the clerks held

at arm's length

and prevented

all

companionship

by means of the extreme and grotesque politeness

which

the}'

bestowed upon him.

pretty youth of

Bureaucracy.

14-1

t\vent}--two,

and slender, with the manners of

tall

an Englishman, a dandy

in

dress,

and per-

curled

fumed, gloved and booted in the latest fashion, and

an

twirling

Benjamin

eyeglass,

de

Billardiere

la

thought himself a charming fellow and possessed

vices of the great world with

none of

its

all

the

He

graces.

was now looking forward impatiently to the death of

his father, that he

might succeed to the

His cards were printed "

diere "

and on the wall of

his coat of

chief azure

arms

Toujour s fidek).

of baron.

Chevalier de la Billar-

his office hung, in a frame,

two swords

(sable,

three

le

title

mullets argent

in saltire,

with the

on a

motto

Possessed with a mania for talking

heraldry, he once asked the

young Vicomte de Porten-

why his arms were charged in a certain waj',

and drew down upon himself the happj' answer, " I

duere

did not
the

him.

He

make them."

talked

of his devotion to

monarchy and the attentions the Dauphine- paid

He

stood very well with des Lupeaulx,

whom

he

thought his friend, and they often breakfasted together.

Bixiou posed as his mentor, and hoped to rid the

sion and France of the

excesses, and openly

young

avowed that

Such were the principal

division of the ministry,

of less account,

fool

divi-

by tempting him to

intention.

figures in

La

Billardiere's

where also were other clerks

who resembled more

that are represented here.

or less those

It is difficult

even for an

145

Bureaucracy.

observer to decide from the aspect of these strange

personalities whether the goose-quill tribe were

becom-

ing idiots from the effects of their employment or whether

they entered the service because they were natural born

Possibly the making of them

fools.

Nature and of the government both.

service clerk

horizon

is,

the door of

Nature, to a

civil-

in fact, the sphere of the office

bounded on

is

lies at

all

by green boxes

sides

his

to

him, atmospheric changes are the air of the corri-

masculine exhalations contained in rooms

the

dors,

without ventilators, the odor of paper, pens, and ink

the soil he treads
floor,

is

strewn with a curious

attendant's watering-pot

which he yawns

wooden

a tiled pavement or a

his

litter

his

and moistened by the

sky

element

is

is

the ceiling toward

dust.

Several dis-

tinguished doctors have remonstrated against the influence of this second nature, both savage

on the moral being vegetating

called bureaus,

who

pens

in those dreadful

down

to occupations

that of

like

turn a crank and who, poor beasts,

distressingby

and die quickly.

by lessening

their

each a larger salaiy and

reform their present

numbers and giving

far heavier

neither wearied nor bored

yawn

Rabourdin was, there-

fore, fully justified in seeking to

condition,

civilized,

where the sun seldom penetrates, where

thoughts are tied

horses

and

work.

Men

when doing great

Under the present system government

to

are

things.

loses fully four

146

Bureaucracy.

hours out of the nine which the clerks owe to the service,

hours wasted, as we

shall see, in conversations,

in gossip, in disputes, and, above

triguing.

in

all,

underhand

in-

reader must have haunted the bureaus

The

of the ministerial departments before he can realize

how much

their petty

"Wherever

of seminaries.
ness

is

obvious

and

belittling life resembles that

men

live collectively this like-

in regiments, in law-courts,

you

will find

the elements of the school on a smaller or larger scale.

The government

clerks, forced to be together for nine

hours of the day, looked upon their

office as

a sort of

class-room where they had tasks to perform, where the

head of the bureau was no other than a schoolmaster,

and where the

gratuities

bestowed took the place of

prizes given out to proteges,

tliej7

a place, moreover, where

teased and hated each other, and yet

felt

a certain

comradeship, colder than that of a regiment, which

self is less hearty

than that of seminaries.

he grows more selfish

advances in

life

and relaxes

all

government

office is, in short,

with
its

its

oddities

As

a microcosm of
its

envy and

determination to push on, no matter

man

egoism develops,

the secondary bonds of affection.

and hatreds,

it-

its

societj*,

cupidity,

who goes

under,

which gives so many wounds, and

its

frivolous gossip

its

perpetual spying.

147

Bureaucracy.

THE MACHINE
At

this

was

the division of Monsieur de la Bil-

in

a state of unusual excitement, resulting

naturally

from the event which was about to

lardiere

very

moment

happen

do not

for heads of divisions

and there is*no insurance

life

IN MOTION.

office

die every day,

where the chances of

and death are calculated with more sagacity than

a government bureau.
sion, as it

Self-interest stifles all

in

compas-

does in children, but the government service

adds hypocris}* to boot.

The

clerks of the bureau

o'clock in the morning,

Baudoyer arrived

at eight

whereas those of the bureau

Rabourdin seldom appeared

till

which did not prevent the work

nine,

circumstance

in the latter office

from

being more rapidly dispatched than that of the former.

Dutocq had important reasons

particular morning.

The

for

coming early on

this

previous evening he had fur-

tively entered the little stud}'

where S^bastien was at

work, and had seen him copying some papers for Rabourdin

he concealed himself until he saw Sebastien

leave the premises without taking any papers

away with

Bureaucracy.

148

Certain, therefore, of finding the rather volumi-

liim.

nous

memorandum which he had

copy, in

some corner of the

seen, together with its

studj',

he searched through

the boxes one after another until he finally

the fatal

He

list.

carried

it

came upon

in hot haste to

an auto-

graph-printing house, where he obtained two pressed

copies of the
din's

own

memorandum, showing, of course, RabourAnxious not

writing.

he had gone very early to the

the

memorandum and
after

midnight at

office

and replaced both

Sebastien's cop}- in the

which he had taken them.

till

to arouse suspicion,

Sebastien,

Madame

box from

who was kept up

Rabourdin's party, was,

in spite of his desire to get to the office early, preceded

by the

spirit

of hatred.

Hatred

lived in the rue Saint-

Louis-Saint-Honore, whereas love and devotion lived

far-off in

the rue

slight delay

du Roi-Dore

was destined

This

in the Marais.

to affect Rabourdin's whole

career.

Sebastien opened his box eagerry, found the

randum and

his

own

unfinished copy

all in

memo-

order,

and

locked them at once into the desk as Rabourdin had

directed.

The mornings

dark in these

are

offices

towards the end of December, sometimes indeed the

lamps are

lit till

tien did not

after ten o'clock

consequently Sebas-

happen to notice the pressure of the

ing-machine upon the paper.

But when, about

past nine o'clock, Rabourdin looked at his

cop}--

half-

memorandum

149

Bureaucracy.
lie

saw

all

the

at once the effects of the copying process,

was then considering

readily because he

more

and

whether these autographic presses could not be made to

do the work of copying

"Did any one

clerks.

get to the office before 3*011?"

he

asked.

"Yes,"
"

Ah

well,

Too noble
him
said

no more.

bej-ond remedj', Rabourdin

Rabourdin asked

Antoine came.

had remained at the

previous evening.

office after

The man

Dutocq had worked there

who was

Roche,

by blaming

to distress Sebastien uselessly

now

Dutocq."

Send Antoine to me."

he was punctual.

for a misfoi'tune

clerk

"Monsieur

replied Sebastien,

any

four o'clock the

replied

later

if

that

Monsieur

than Monsieur de

la

Rabourdin

usually the last to leave.

dismissed him with a nod, and resumed the thread of

his reflections.

" Twice

I have prevented his dismissal," he said to

" and

himself,

this is

my

reward."

This morning was to Rabourdin like the solemn hour

in

which great commanders decide upon a battle and

weigh

all

chances.

Knowing

better than any one, he well

the spirit of

knew

that

pardon, any more than a school or the

army pardon, what looked

man

like

it

official life

would never

galleys or the

espionage or tale-bearing.

capable of informing against his comrades

disgraced, dishonored, despised

is

the ministers in such

150

Bureaucracy.

own

a case would disavow their

an

left to

tion

so placed but to send in his resigna-

official

and leave Paris

honor

his

explanations are of no avail

them or

Nothing was

agents.

them.

listen to

is

permanently stained

no one

minister

will either

may do

ask for

same

the

thing and be thought a great man, able to choose the

right instruments

but a

mere subordinate

will

be

judged as a spy, no matter what ma}* be his motives.

While

justly measuring

Rabourdin knew that

too, that he

the folly of such judgment,

was all-powerful

it

whelmed, he now sought

under the circumstances

mind he was

Briere,

came

aloof from

b}-

who was

the death of Monsieur de la

young La

able to appreciate his sterling value,

About ten

of the director

whom

in his

the excitement

in fact he did not hear of it until

to tell him.

Godard,

surprised than over-

and with such thoughts

o'clock, in the

Baudoyer, Bixiou was relating the

life

and he knew,

for the best course to follow

necessarily

caused in the division

Billardiere

More

was crushed.

to

last

bureau

moments of

Minard, Desroys, Monsieur

he had called from his private

office,

Dutocq, who had rushed in with private motives of

own.

Colleville

the

and
his

and Chazelle were absent.

Bixiou [standing with

his

back to the stove and hold-

ing up the sole of each boot alternately to drjT at the

open door].
to

inquire

This morning, at half-past seven, I went

after

our

most worthy and

respectable

Bureaucracy.
knight of the order of Christ,

director,

cceteras,

et

government

the clerks

nothing, not even a

is

I asked

particulars of his nurse.

all

morning at

this

who had

and then he said:

five o'clock

He

uneasy about the royal family.

all

called to inquire after

my

"Fill

my

and

But, presto

rose, rose

ribbon

all

his usual

ten minutes later the water rose,

and flooded

his chest

he

At

for he felt the cj'sts break.

knew he was dying

that fatal

moment he

gave evident proof of his powerful mind and vast

lect.

Ah, we never

to laugh at

him

rightly appreciated

him and

the

He was

his orders in bed.

fully conscious, retained his senses

I suppose

very dirty."

it is

you know he always wore

him

me

snuff-box, give

newspaper, bring rm spectacles, and change

of the Legion of honor,

he became

asked for the names

ideas.

et

to-day he

clerk.

She told me that

of

et ccetera,

Yes, gentlemen, last night he was a being with

ccetera.

twenty

151

him a

call

We

booby did

intel-

used

n't you,

Monsieur Godard?

Godakd.

I?

I always rated

Monsieur de

la Billar-

diere's talents higher than the rest of you.

Bixiou.

Godard.

You and he

He was

could understand each other

n't a

bad man

he never harmed

any one.
Bixiou.

To do harm you must do

he never did anything.

was a

dolt, it

If

it

was

n't

something, and

you who said he

must have been Minard.

152

Bureaucracy.

Minard [shrugging
Well, then,

Bixiou.

made
then

his shoulders]
it

was you, Dutocq

Oh

a vehement gesture of denial.]

Every one in

was nobody.

it

was herculean.

[Dutocq

very good,

this

knew

office

you were

Well,

his

intellect

He

ended, as I have said, like the great

right.

man

that

he was.

Desroys [impatiently].

Pray what did he do that

was so great? he had the weakness

Yes, monsieur, he received the holy sac-

Bixiou.

But do you know what he did

raments.

He

them ?

receive

had himself powdered

queue

man

orders,

all his

and

they tied his queue (that poor

with a fresh ribbon.

!)

in order to

put on his uniform as gentleman-in-

ordinary of the Bedchamber, with

but a

to confess himself.

Now

say that none

of remarkable character would have his

queue tied with a fresh ribbon just as he was dying.

There are eight of us here, and I don't believe one

among
he

us

said,

capable of such an

is

ing speech

for
;

you know

he said,

he said, " I must

Heaven,

celebrated

attire

de

la

upon himself

man

is

men make

Billardiere

so often dressed in

That

departed this

my

a dy-

Ah

's

life.

best for

how Mon-

He

to justify the saying of Pythagoras,

known

all

myself to meet the King of

audience with the kings of earth."

sieur

But that 's not

stop now, what did he say

who have

I,

all

act.

until he dies."

took

"No

153

Bureaucracy.

Colleville [rushing
All.

We

know

Colleville.
hunting for

it

you

clef}7

know

to

it

I have been

ever since the accession of His Majesty

and of Navarre.

but with what labor

me what was
Dutocq. Do you

asked

Last night I

Madame

we have time

think

la Billardiere

to bother our-

anagrams when the worthy

has just expired?

Colleville. That's Bixiou's nonsense

come from Monsieur de

living,

Colleville

the matter.

selves with j-our intolerable

Monsieur de

Billardiere's

la

I have just

he

though the3r expect him to die soon.

events

you

would

never

guess

still

Gentle-

what extraordinary

revealed by the anagram of this

are

is

[Goclard,

indignant at the hoax, goes off grumbling.]

men

it.

to the thrones of France

succeeded

Gentlemen, great news

in].

sacra-

mental sentence [he pulls out a paper and reads],

Charles dix,

par

la grace de

Dieu, rot de France

et

de Navarre.

Godard

Tell what

[re-entering].

it

is

at once,

and

don't keep people waiting.

Colleville [triumphantly unfolding the

paper].

Listen!

H.

De

S.

il

C.

En nauf

cedera
I.

d.

partira

errera.

Decede a Gorix.

rest of the

154

Bureaucracy.

Every

letter is there

[He

cedera (his crown of course)

nauf

en

(that

's

the

What

King cede

his

to 3 our nonsense
-

seigneur

you

How

can

who, according

his grandson,

when Mon-

Are you prophesying

living.

is

V.,

vessel,

skiff,

like) errera

crown to a Henri

must be

cinq

de Saint- Cloud partira ;

a tissue of absurdities

Dauphin

le

A Henri

it.]

an old French word for

felucca, corvette, anything

Dutocq.

repeats

the Dauphin's death?

What 's

Bixiou.

Gorix, pray ?

Colleville [provoked].
lapidarial

It is the archaeological

abbreviation of the

good friend

I looked

it

Latin Gorixia, situated in

or

it

Bixiou.

America.
it

Goritz,

Bohemia or Hungary,

be Austria
Tyrol,

and

name of a town, my

out in Malte-Brun

in

may

the name of a cat?

the Basque provinces,

Wh}- don't you

set

it all

to

or

South

music and play

on the clarionet?

Godard [shrugging

What

shoulders and departing].

his

utter nonsense

Nonsense

Colleville.

nonsense indeed

It is

a pit} you don't take the trouble to study fatalism, the

T

religion of the

Godard

Emperor Napoleon.

[irritated

Colleville, let

me

tell

at Colleville's

tone].

Monsieur

you that Bonaparte may perhaps

be styled Emperor by historians, but

it is

extremely out

of place to refer to him as such in a government

office.

155

Bureaucracy.

Get an anagram out of that,

Bixiou [laughing].

my

dear fellow.

Let

Colleville [angrily].

me

you that

tell

if

Na-

poleon Bonaparte had studied the letters of his name on

the 14th of April, 1814, he might perhaps be

Emperor

still.

How

Bixiod.

do you make that out ?

Colleville [solemnly].

Napoleon Bonaparte.

No,

appear not at Elba

You '11

Dutocq.

your place for talking such

lose

nonsense.

Colleville.
cois Keller will

If

my

make

place

it

known anagrams have

here,

j-ourself,

j'ou,

" coqu"

in

come

actually

don't

you many,

And

d,

t,

for there

's

for de-testable.

Dutocq [without seeming angry].

it

Look

to pass.

jour name.

Bixiou [interrupting]

long as

[Dead

hot for j'our minister.

I'd have you to know, Master Dutocq, that

silence.]
all

taken from me, Fran-

is

is

only in

mj name.
r

grammatize, or whatever you

I don't care, as

Why

call

don't

ou ana-

Xavier Rabour-

it,

din, chefdu bureau ?

Colleville.

Bless you, so I have

Bixiou [mending
of

his pen].

And what

did you

make

it?

Colleville.
bureaux, E-u,

It

comes out as follows

D'abord reva

(you catch the meaning?

et

cut

11

and

156

Bureaucracy.

had) E-u fin riche

signifies that after first be-

which

longing to the administration, he gave

rich

[Repeats.]

elsewhere.

E-u fin

it

up and got

D'abord reva bureaux,

riche.

That

Dotocq.

Try

Bixiou.

is

queer

Isidore Baudoyer.

Colleville [mysteriously].

anagrams

any one but

to

Bixiou.

'11

bet

3*011

I sha'n't

tell

the other

Thuillier.

a breakfast that I can

tell

that

one myself.

And

Colleville.

Then

Bixiou.

'11

I shall

pay

if j'ou find it out.

breakfast at your expense

Two

but you won't be angry, will you?

Isidore Baudoyer

as 3'ou and I need never conflict.

anagrams into Bis d'aboyew

Colleville
it

me

from

[petrified with

d'oie.

amazement].

You

dignity].

the honor to believe that I

not to steal

n^

Baudoyer

Monsieur

am

rich

Colleville,

enough

do me

in absurdity

neighbor's nonsense.

[entering with a bundle of papers in his

Gentlemen, I request you to shout a

hand].
;

stole

Bixiou [with

louder

such geniuses

you bring

this office into

the administration.
Clergeot, did

me

My

little

such high repute with

worthy coadjutor, Monsieur

the honor just

now

to

come and ask

a question, and he heard the noise you are making

[passes into Monsieur Godard's room].

Bureaucracy.
Bixiou

morning

this

there

The watch-dog

low voice].

[in a

'11

157
very tame

is

be a change of weather before

night.

Dutocq [whispering
I

want

I have something

to Bixiou].

to say to you.

Bixiou [fingering Dutocq's waistcoat].

prettj' waistcoat, that cost

want

j-ou

Nothing, indeed

my

for anything in

is

what

that

life.

I never paid

That

so dear

stuff cost six francs

the best shop in the rue de la Paix,

3'ard in

fine

the very thing for deep mourning.

stuff,

You know

Bixiou.

my

've

to say?

Dutocq.

dead

you nothing

You

about engravings and such things,

dear fellow, but you are totally ignorant of the laws

Well, no

of etiquette.

not

Silk is positively

Don't you see I

man

can be a universal genius

admissible

am wearing

deep mourning.

in

Monsieur Ea-

woollen?

bourdin, Monsieur Baudoj-er, and the minister are

woollen

so

is

all in

There

the faubourg Saint-Germain.

's

no one here but Minard who doesn't wear woollen;

he

's

son

That

afraid of being taken for a sheep.

why he

[During
fire in

did

n't

's

the rea-

put on mourning for Louis XVIII.

this conversation

Baudoyer

is sitting

by the

Godard's room, and the two are conversing in

a low voice.]

Baudoyer.

Yes, the worthy

man

two ministers are both with him.

is

My

dying.

The

father-in-law

158

Bureaucracy.
If you want to do

me

a signal service you will take a cab and go and

let

has been notified of the event.

Madame Baudoyer know what

is

sieur Saillard can't leave his desk, nor I

yourself at m}' wife's orders

for

Mon-

my office.

Put

happening

do whatever she wishes.

She has, I believe, some ideas of her own, and wants

to take certain steps simultaneously.

tionaries

[The two func-

go out together.]

Godakd.

Monsieur Bixiou,

the office for the rest of the day.

am obliged
You will

to leave

take

my

place.

Baudoyer
there

is

[to Bixiou,

Consult me,

benignly].

if

any necessity.
This time, La Billardiere

Bixiou.

Dutocq

[in Bixiou's ear].

[The two go

Come

is

really dead.

outside a minute.

into the corridor and gaze at each other

like birds of ill-omen.]

Dutocq [whispering].

Listen.

Now

is

the time for

us to understand each other and push our waj".

What

would you say to jour being made head of the bureau,

and I under 3'ou?

Bixiou [shrugging

his

Come, come,

shoulders].

don't talk nonsense

Dutocq.

If Baudoyer gets

La

Eabourdin won't stay on where he

selves,

Baudoyer

j'ou don't help

is

Billardiere's

him he

will certainly

Between our-

is.

so incapable that

place

if

du Bruel and

be dismissed in a

Bureaucracy.
couple of months.
three

empty places

arithmetic that will give

for us three to

fill

be given to some bloated favorite, some

will certainly

some pious fraud,

to

ended where

has

wife

know

Three places right under our noses, which

Bixiou.

spy,

If I

159

Colleville perhaps,

pretty

all

whose

women end

in

piety.

Dutocq.

No,

my

to you,

dear fellow,

if

you

[He

only, for once in your life, use your wits logically.

stopped as

if to

Come,

face.]

Bixiou

study the effect of his adverb in Bixiou's

let

us play

have

bureau.

fair.

me

see your game.

I don't wish to be anything

under-head-clerk.

know

Let

[stolidly].

Dltocq.

know

n't the ability,

Du

of this bureau

more than

nryself perfectly well,

like

and I

you, to be head of a

Bruel can be director, and you the head

;

he has made his

he will leave you his place as soon as

pile

and as

for me, I shall

swim with

the tide comfortably, under your protection,

retire

will

till

I can

on a pension.

Bixiou.

Sly dog

but

how do you expect

to carry

out a plan which means forcing the minister's hand and

man of talent. Between ourselves, Rabourdin

only man capable of taking charge of the division,

ejecting a
is

the

and

might say of the ministry.

Do you know

that

they talk of putting in over his head that solid lump of

foolishness, that cube of idiocy, Baudo3'er?

160

Bureaucracy.

Dutocq

My dear fellow,

[consequentially].

am

in

a position to rouse the whole division against Rabourdin.

You know how

I can

make Fleury

devoted Fleury

Not a

Dutocq.

soul

I,

what part am

You

Dutocq.

sharp enough to

are to

kill

make

will

Bixiou [to himself].

Dutocq

the

infantry, cavalry, artillery,

You

all

rave,

my

good fellow

a cutting caricature,

man.

A hundred

Dutocq.

to the

I to take in the business ?

How much

Bixiou.

stand by Rabourdin

will

Forward, march

and marines of the guard

And

Well,

only in our division, but in

minister,

Bixiou.

him ?

body and complain of him

the clerks will go in a

not

divisions

to

despise him.

Despised by Fleury

Bixiou.

is

[continuing].

you pay

for it?

francs.

Then

there

You must

din dressed as a butcher (make

it

is

something in

it.

represent Rabour-

a good likeness), find

analogies between a kitchen and a bureau, put a skewer

in his hand,
stick

their

draw

portraits of the principal clerks

heads on fowls, put them in

and

a monstrous

coop labelled "Civil service executions ;" make him

cutting the throat of one,

others in turn.

heads

like ours,

stance, he

'11

and supposed to take the

You can have

geese and ducks with

you understand

make an

Baudoj'er, for in-

excellent turkej'-buzzard.

Bureaucracy.

His d'aboyeur

Bixiou.

161

[He has watched

d'oie!

Did you think of that

Dutocq carefully for some time.]

yourself?

Dutocq.
Bixiou
the

Yes, I myself.

Do

[to himself].

same

result as talents

[Dutocq makes

evil feelings

[Aloud]

stop] I know where I am and what

you don't succeed I

make a
still,

my

to

do

[full

I can rely on.

place,

it

If

and I must

are a curious kind of innocent

dear colleague.

Dutocq.
till

You

living.

my

shall lose

"Well, I

men
'11

delight] when

motion of

bring

success

Well, you
proved.

is

Why

Bixiou.

needn't make the lithograph

come out and

don't you

tell

me

the

whole truth?

Dutocq.
bureau

we

must

first

will talk

how

see

about

it

the land lays in the

later [goes off].

Bixiou [alone in the corridor].

more a
in his
it.

fish

head

If

office.]

La

I 'm

fun,

fish,

for he's

know where he

succeed

more than fun

profit

La
!

is

dead, realty dead,

Godard

is off

stole

Billardierc

it

[Returns to the

Gentlemen, I announce glorious changes

Billardiere

of honor

sure I don't

Baudoyer should

would be

That

than a bird, that Dutocq has a good idea

papa

no nonsense, word

on business

for our excellent

chief Baudoyer, successor presumptive to the deceased.

[Minard, Desroys, and Colleville raise their heads

in

162

Bureaucracy.

amazement they

all

their pens,
is

and

to be

Colleville

promoted

be under-head-clerk at the very

Colleville will

my

Minard may have

is

down

Every one of us

blows his nose.]

he

lay

place as chief clerk

quite as dull as I am.

Hey, Minard,

why

if

least.

not ?

you should

get twenty-five hundred francs a-year your

little

wife

would be uncommonly pleased, and you could buy

yourself a pair of boots

now and

then.

But you don't get twenty-five hundred

Colleville.
francs.

Monsieur Dutocq gets that in Kabourdin's

Bixiou.
office;

why

shouldn't I get

Baudoyer gets

No

this

year?

Monsieur

it.

Only through the influence of Monsieur

Colleville.
Saillard.

it

other chief clerk gets that in any of the

divisions.

Bah

Paulmier.
thousand?

He

Has

n't

Monsieur Cochin three

succeeded Monsieur Vavasseur, who

served ten years under the Empire at four thousand.

His salaiy was dropped to three when the King

returned

then to two thousand

Vavasseur died.

five

first

hundred before

But Monsieur Cochin, who succeeded

him, had influence enough to get the salaiy put back

to three thousand.

Colleville.
(he

is

Monsieur Cochin signs E. A. L. Cochin

named Emile-Adolphe-Lucian) which, when ana-

grammcd, gives Cochineal.

Now

observe, he

's

a part-

163

Bureaucracy.

ner in a druggist's business in the rue des Lombards,

the Maison Matifat, which

made

fortune by that

its

identical colonial product.

Baudoyer
not here

Monsieur Chazelle, I

[entering].

you

will

see, is

be good enough to say I asked for

him, gentlemen.

Bixiou [who had hastily stuck a hat on Chazelle's

chair

when he heard Baudoyer's

Excuse me,

step].

Monsieur, but Chazelle has gone to the Rabourdins'

to

make an

inquiry

Chazelle [entering with

his hat

La Billardiere

on his head, and not

gentlemen

Rabourdin is head of the division and Master of petitions

seeing Baudoyer].

he has

ment

[to Chazelle].

You

's

for,

very certain.

found that appoint-

your second hat, I presume [points

in

on the

done

promotion, that

n't stolen his

Baudoyer

is

This

chair].

that you have

come

tinue the practice

Bixiou,

who

is

is

month

the third time within a

after nine

you

to the hat

will get

reading the

If

o'clock.

you con-

on elsewhere.

[To

My

dear

newspaper.]

Monsieur Bixiou, do pray leave the newspapers to

these gentlemen
into

my

office

who
for

are going to breakfast, and

your orders for the day.

know what Monsieur Rabourdin wants

come

I don't

with Gabriel

he keeps him to do his private errands, I believe.

I've rung three times and can't get him.

and Bixiou

retire into the private office.]

[Baudoyer

164

Bureaucracy.

Damned unlucky

Chazelle.

Paulmier

[delighted

did n't you look about

You might have

Why

annoy Chazelle].

to

when you came

room ?

into the

seen the elephant, and the hat too

they are big enough to be visible.

Chazelle
see

why

-we

Disgusting business

[dismally].

government gives us four francs and

a da}r

sixty-five centimes

Fleuey
for

I don't

should be treated like slaves because the

Down

[entering].

Rabourdin

that

with Baudoyer! hurrah

the cry in the division.

's

Chazelle [getting more and more angry].

doyer can turn

me

off if

he

BauIn

likes, I sha'n't care.

Paris there are a thousand ways of earning five francs

a day

wiry, I could earn that at the Palais de Justice,

copying briefs for the lawyers.

Paulmier
say that
place,

[still

prodding him].

It is very easy to

but a government place

and that plucky

Colleville,

who works

galley-slave outside of this office, and

if

a government

is

who

like

could earn,

he lost his appointment, much more than his salary,

Who

prefers to keep his place.

to give

up

his expectations

the devil

his philippic].

We have

no chances at

am

You may

career.

So many men were

in the

not

Time was

all.

when nothing was more encouraging than a

vice

enough

Chazelle [continuing
be, but I

is fool

civil-ser-

army

that

Bureaucracy.

165

there were not enough for the government

maimed and

all

had

their

rapid promotion.

But now, ever

invented what they

call special training,

and regulations

are

off

are

the

civil-service
soldiers.

chance of a

Chamber

since the

and the

examiners,

rules

we

The poorest

are

places

mercy of a thousand mischances because

now

Bixiou

for

common

than

at the

we

the halt and the sick ones, like Paulmier,

and the near-sighted ones,

worse

work

ruled

by a thousand sovereigns.

Are

[returning].

Where do you

find a

you

crazy,

thousand sovereigns?

Chazelle?

not

in

your pocket, are they?

Chazelle.

Count them up.

There are four hundred

over there at the end of the pont de la Concorde (so

called because

it

leads to the scene of perpetual dis-

cord between the Right and Left of the Chamber)

three hundred

The

court,

more

at the

end of the rue de Tournon.

which ought to count for the other three

lmndred, has seven hundred parts less power to get

man

the

appointed to a place under government than

Emperor Napoleon had.

Fleury.

All of which

signifies that

in a country

where there are three powers you may bet a thousand

to

one that a government clerk who has no influence but

his

own

merits to advance him will remain in obscurity.

Bixiou [looking alternately at Chazelle and Fleury].

My

sons,

you have yet to learn that

in these

days

166

Bureaucracy.

the worst state of

the state of belonging to the

life is

State.

Fleuey.

Because

Fleury

Bixiou.
-

these da3 s

how

it

has a constitutional government.

Gentlemen, gentlemen

Colleville.

is

The

and reward.

State

ested in nobody

is

every-

Serve

Nobody

inter-

The world has

respect, neither heart nor head

the service of 3'esterday.

like

now

is

the government clerk lives between

the two negations.

be,

for nobodj-.

everybody and you serve nobody.

may

politics

Serving the State in

right.

Everybody of course cares

morrow

no

no longer serving a prince who knew

is

to punish

body.

neither pity nor

everybody foigets

Now

each one of

to3*011

Monsieur Baudoyer, an administrative

genius, a Chateaubriand of reports, a Bossuet of circulars,

the Canalis of memorials, the gifted son of diplo-

matic despatches

but I

which interferes with

all

the law of promotion

tell

you there

is

a fatal law

administrative genius,
b3*

average.

I mean

This average

is

statistics

of promotion and the statistics

of mortality combined.

It is very certain that 01^ enter-

based on the

ing whichever section of the Civil Service 3*ou please at

the age of eighteen, you can't get eighteen hundred
francs a j*ear
there

's

till

you reach the age of

Now

thirty.

no free and independent career in which,

course of twelve 3-ears, a 3*oung

man who

through the grammar-school, been vaccinated,

in the

has gone
is

exempt

Bureaucracy.
from
ties

military

and possesses

service,

his

all

mean transcendent ones)

don't

(I

1C7
facul-

amass a

can't

which

capital of forty-five thousand francs in centimes,

represents a permanent income equal to our salaries,

which are, after

all,

precarious.

In twelve years a

grocer can earn enough to give him ten thousand francs

a year

a painter can daub a mile of canvass and be

decorated with the Legion of honor, or pose as a neg-

lected genius.

something

or

literary

man becomes

a journalist

other, or

francs for a thousand lines

professor of

hundred

at

he writes feuillelons, or

he gets into Sainte-Pelagie for a brilliant article that

offends the Jesuits,
benefit to

which

of course

him and makes him a

is

an immense
at once.

politician

Even a lazy man, who does nothing but make

has time to marry a widow who pays them
finds time to
intelligent
tal

become a bishop in partibus.

young

fellow,

who begins with

debts,

a priest

sober,

a small capi-

as a monej'-changer, soon buys a share in a broker's

business

and, to go even lower, a petty clerk becomes

a notary, a rag-picker

laj's

by two or three thousand

francs a year, and the poorest

manufacturers
this

present

division

workmen

often become

whereas, in the rotatory movement of

civilization,

and redivision

which

mistakes

for progress,

perpetual

an unhappy

civil-

service clerk, like Chazelle for instance, is forced to

dine for twenty-two sous a meal, struggles with his

168

Bureaucracy.

tailor

and bootmaker, gets into debt, and

lute nothing

worse than that, he becomes an

Come, gentlemen, now

Let us

idiot

make a stand

the time to

's

give in our resignations

all

an abso-

is

Fleury, Chazelle,

yourselves into other employments and become

fling

the great

men

really are.

3-011

Chazelle [calmed down by Bixiou's

No, I thank

j'ou [general laughter].

You

Bixiou.

allocution].

are

wrong

in your situation I should

try to get ahead of the general secretary.

Chazelle

What

[uneasily].

has he to do with

You'll find out; do you suppose Baudoj'er

Bixiou.

will overlook

what happened just now ?

Fleury. Another piece of Baudoyer's

spite

Rabourdin,

there

's

table to-day that

man

you could

days

this office in three

heels to hinder

me from

Baudoyer [appearing
will

admit that

if

you
n't

He

put work on

get through with in

well, he expects to

done by four o'clock to-day.

my

for

You 've

Now, Monsieur

a queer fellow to deal with in there.

my

me?

But he

is

talking to

my

it

friends.

Gentlemen,

at the door].

you have the

have

not always at

3-011

legal right to find fault

with the chamber and the administration you must at

least

do so elsewhere than

What

are

Fleury
that there

you doing

[To

Fleuiy, ]

here, monsieur?

[insolently].

was

in this office.

came

to

tell

these gentlemen

to be a general turn-out.

Du

Bruel

is

Bureaucracy.

169

sent for to the ministry, and Dutocq also.

who

asking

is

Baudoyer
back to

own

[in the

injustice if

be appointed.
-

It is not 3 our affair, sir

[retiring].

j'our

Fleury

will

Did

doorway].

j ou

go

and do not disturb mine.

office,

Rabourdin

the service.

Everybody

It

would be a shameful

lost the place

find that

I swear I 'd leave

anagram, papa Colle-

ville?

Colleville.

Yes, here

Fleury [leaning over

famous

This

is

just

it is.

Colleville's desk].

what

will

happen

Baudoyer

government would frankly

the adminis-

if

[He makes

tration continues to play the hypocrite.

sign to the clerks that

Capital!

If the

is listening.]

state its intentions without

concealments of any kind, the liberals would

what they had

to deal with.

An

know

administration which

sets its best friends against itself, such

men

as those

of the "Debats," Chateaubriand, and Royer-Collard,

is

only to be pitied

Colleville
Fleury,

here

3-011 're
-

to

While

[dryly].

do b3 four
T

this

idle

Well, adieu, gentlemen

us.

I have

my

o'clock.

talk

had been going on, des Lu-

peaulx was closeted in his

a little later,

Come,

a good fellow, but don't talk politics

ou don't know what harm you ra&x do

Fleury
work

[after consulting his colleagues].

office

with du Bruel, where,

Dutocq joined them.

Des Lupeaulx had

170

Bureaucracy.

La

heard from his valet of

Billardiere's

death, and

wishing to please the two ministers, he wanted an

obituary article to appear in the evening papers.

Good morning, my dear du

"

Bruel," said the semi-

minister to the head-clerk as he entered, and not inviting

him to

"You

down.

sit

The

Billardiere is dead.

when he received
with less regret

the last sacraments.

The worthy man

is

he could know that his successor

if

so constantly done his work.

a torture which

makes a man confess every-

The

minister agreed the more readily because

and that of the Council was to reward

his intention

Monsieur

numerous

Rabourdin's

young La

late father

just the

which

They say

and go to the Commission of Seals

same as
But

fact,

Billardiere is to leave the division of his

know

that

's

King had made him a present

the

if

of a hundred thousand francs,

be sold.

In

services.

the Council of State needs his experience.

that

die

man who had

were the

thing.

ministers were both present

recommended Rabourdin, saying he should

strongly

Death

La

have heard the news?

the

news

the place

will delight

will thus get rid of him.

Du

can always

your division,

Bruel,

we must

get

ten or a dozen lines about the worthy late director into

the papers

his Excellency will glance

reads the papers.

La

Do

them over,

ou know the particulars of old

Billardiere's life?"

Du

Bruel

made a

he

sign in the negative.

Bureaucracy.

"No?"

171

"Well then; he

continued des Lnpcaulx.

was mixed up

La Vendee, and he was

in the affairs of

one of the confidants of the late King.

Like Monsieur

Comte de Fontaine he always refused

le

He was

munication with the First Consul.

chouan; born

com-

a bit of a

and

in Brittany of a parliamentary family,

ennobled by Louis XVIII.

mind about that

his religion

to hold

How

old

just say his loyalty

enlightened, the

was he? never

was untarnished,

poor old fellow hated

churches and never set foot in one, but you had better

make him out a

'

that he sang the song of

Charles X.

Bring

pious vassal.'

Simeon

gracefully,

in,

at the accession of

The Comte d'Artois thought very highly

La

Billardiere, for he co-operated in the unfortunate

affair

of Quiberon and took the whole responsibility on

of

You know about

himself.

diere defended the

to an

King

that, don't

in a printed

Billar-

pamphlet in reply

impudent history of the Kevolution written by a

journalist

you can allude

to his loyalty

But be very careful what you say

and devotion.

weigh your words, so

that the other newspapers can't laugh at us

me

La

you ?

the article

when you've

written

it.

and bring

Were you

at

Rabourdin's 3-esterday?"

"Yes, monseigneur"

said

du Bruel,

"Ah!

beg

pardon."

"No
"

harm done," answered des Lupeaulx,

Madame Rabourdin

laughing.

looked delightfully handsome,"

12

172

Bureaucracy.

"There

added da Brucl.

Some

Paris.

somer, but

Many women

dame

would be hard

men about

you can't
a wife, I
'

tell

whereas

her,

ma}' be even hand-

far superior to

Madame Rabourdin

Du
"

if

"I

Then he

air.

"Ah,

good-

sent for you to lend

you have the whole complete.

comtesse knows nothing of Charlet."

Bruel retired.

Why

do you come

in without being

left alone.

summoned?"

when he and Dutocq were

said des Lupeaulx, harshly,

" Is the State in

danger that

3*011

here at ten o'clock in the morning, just as I

breakfast with his Excellency ? "

"Perhaps
I

If I had such

and perceived Dutocq.

Charlet
la

all

than an author ought to have,"

morning, Dutocq," he said.

me your
Madame

is

I should succeed in everything."

returned des Lupeaulx, with a conceited

round

is to

wonderful too what she knows

It is

You have more mind

turned

Ma-

remembering des

secrets in Latin before her.

know

not one

's

" Flavie owes what she

affair.

things in herself.

'

is

like her in

one with such variety

Colleville," said the vaudevillist,

Lupeaulx's former
the

to find

Madame Rabourdin

of beauty.

women

are as clever as she, but there

so gracefully witty.
it

are not two

it is,

monsieur," said Dutocq,

had had the honor

ably not have been

to see

so

you

earlier,

willing to

must come

am

going to

drylj-.

"If

you would prob-

support Monsieur

Rabourdin, after reading his opinion of you."

173

Bureaucracy.

Dutocq opened

band breast-pocket and

pointing to a

paper from the

his coat, took a

laid

left-

on des Lupeaulx's desk,

it

Then he went

marked passage.

to the

While

door and slipped the bolt, fearing interruption.

he was thus employed, the secretary-general read the

opening sentence of the

article,

which was as follows

"Monsieur des Lupeaulx.

itself
is

government degrades

by openly employing such a man, whose

He

for police diplomacy.

cal filibusters of other cabinets,

fore to

employ him on

above a

common

and

real vocation

to deal with the politi-

is fitted

it

would be a pity there-

He

our internal detective police.

spy, for he

is

is

able to understand a plan

he could skilfully carry through a dark piece of work and

cover his retreat safely."

Des Lupeaulx was

such paragraphs,
ical portrait

histoiy.

that a

him

succinctly analyzed in five or six

the essence,

in fact, of the biograph-

which we gave at the beginning of this

As he read the first words the secretary felt

man stronger than himself sat in judgment on

and he at once resolved

to

randum, which evidently reached

out allowing Dutocq to
therefore

know

examine the memofar

and high, with-

his secret thoughts.

showed a calm, grave face when the spy

turned to him.

Des Lupeaulx,

trates, diplomatists,

to pry into the

and

human

all

heart,

like

lawj'ers,

He
re-

magis-

whose work obliges them

was past being surprised

Bureaucracy.

7A

Hardened

at anything.

in

treachery and in

all

the

tricks and wiles of hatred, he could take a stab ia

the back and not let his face

How

"

of

it.

did you get hold of this paper?"

Dutocq related
.is

tell

his

good luck

des Lupeaulx's face

he listened expressed no approbation

and the spy

ended in terror an account which began triumphantly.

" Dutocq, you have put your finger between the bark

and the tree," said the secretary,

make powerful enemies

don't want to

keep

paper a profound secret

this

coldly.

u If you

I advise

it is

you

to

work of the

utmost importance and already well known to me."

So saying, des Lupeaulx dismissed Dutocq

\>y

one of

those glances that are more expressive than words.

"

Ha

that scoundrel of a Rabourdin has put his fin-

ger in this

" thought Dutocq, alarmed

self anticipated

istration, while I

have thought

it

on finding him-

"he has reached the ear

am left out in the cold.

of the adminI should n't

"
!

To all his other motives of aversion to Rabourdin

he now added the jealous3 of one man to another man
r

of the same calling,

most powerful ingredient

in

hatred.

When

des Lupeaulx was

a strange meditation.

left

alone, he dropped into

What power was

Rabourdin was the instrument?

it

of which

Should he, des Lu-

peaulx, use this singular document to destroy him, or

175

Bureaucracy.
should he keep

The mystery

it

as a

weapon

to succeed with the wife?

was

that lay behind this paper

who read

ness to des Lupeaulx,

with something akin

page after page, in which the

to terror

dark-

all

men

of his

acquaintance were judged with unerring wisdom,

vitals

by

The breakfast-hour suddenly

cut

admired Babourdin, though stabbed

what he said of him.

lie

his

to

short his meditation.

" His Excellency

is

come down,"

waiting for you to

announced the minister's footman.

The minister always breakfasted with

his wife

and des Lupeaulx, without the presence of

children
servants.

The morning meal

privacy which public

affords the only

men can

of overwhelming business.

moment

Yet

macies and affections, a good

manage

to

as at this

will,

infringe

of

snatch from the current

in spite of the pre-

cautions they take to keep this hour for private

people

and

many

upon

moment, thrust

inti-

great and

little

Business

itself

it.

way

in the

itself

of

their scant}' comfort.

"

thought Rabourdin was a

man above

all

nary petty manoeuvres," begau the minister;

j'et

here, not ten minutes after

he sends

me

this

note

in

mind

it

is

like

his Excellency, giving des

Lupeaulx a paper which he was twirling

Too noble

"and

Billardiere's death,

by La Briere,

Look," said

stage missive.

La

ordi-

to think for a

in his fingers.

moment

of the

Bureaucracy.

17(3

shameful meaning

La

Billardicre's

death might lend

Kabourdin had not withdrawn

to

his

La

Briere's hands after the news reached him.

letter,

Lnpcanlx read as follows

" Momseigneur,

may
me an

'
'

We

If twenty-three years of irreproachable

which

man

I desire to

" said des

which confirmed

passion

audience this very day.

in the matter of

" Poor

Des

claim a favor, I entreat your Excellency to

services

grant

from

it

are alone

honor

is

involved

speak."

Lupeaulx, in a tone of comthe

I advise

My

minister in his

error.

You

you to see him now.

have a meeting of the Council when the Chamber

rises

moreover, j'our Excellency has to reply to-day

to the opposition

this is really the

only hour when

you can receive him."

Des Lupeaulx

rose, called the servant, said a

words, and returned to his

to bring

Like

him

all

seat.

" I have

told

few

them

in at dessert," he said.

other ministers under the Eestoration, this

particular minister

was a man without

charter granted by Louis

j-outh.

The

XVIII. had the defect of

tying the hands of the kings by compelling them to

deliver

of the middle-aged

men

of the

tuagenarians of the peerage

right to lay hands on a

control

nation into the

the destinies of the

man

Chamber and
it

the sep-

robbed them of the

of statesmanlike

talent

177

Bureaucracy.

wherever they could find him, no matter how young

he was or

how

poverty-stricken his condition might

Napoleon alone was able

be.

as he

to

employ young men

without being restrained by any con-

chose,

After the overthrow of that mighty

sideration.

Now

vigor deserted power.

the

period

when

effemi-

nacy succeeds to vigor presents a contrast

far

more dangerous

As

a general

in

thing,

France than
ministers

will,

that

is

in other countries.

who were

old

before

have proved second or third

they entered

office

while

who were taken young have been an

those

rate,

honor to European monarchies and to the republics

whose

they have

affairs

directed.

The world

rings with the struggle between Pitt

two men who conducted the

countries

tive

Eichelieu,

Mazarin,

and Napoleon,

politics of their respec-

an age when

at

Henri de Navarre,

Louvois, the Prince of

Colbert,

Orange, the Guises, Machiavelli, in short,

known of our

that

model of energy

great measure of
forget that

it

young heads

who

those

cling to

it

behaved

the best

The Con-

made up

in a

no sovereign can ever

into the

Its policy, fatal in the eyes of

what

nevertheless dictated

and

was

was able to put fourteen armies

against Europe.

field

all

great men, coming from the ranks or

born to a throne, began to rule the State.

vention

still

by

is

called absolute power,

-

strictl}

itself like

was

monarchical principles,

any of the great kings.

17

Bureaucracy.

After ton or a dozen 3-ears of parliamentary struggle,

having studied the science of politics until he was

worn down by

it,

had come

this particular minister

to

be enthroned by his party, who considered him in the

now

Happily for him he was

man.

light of their business

nearer sixty than

years of age

fifty

had he

re-

tained even a vestige of juvenile vigor he would quickly

have quenched
retreat

it.

But, accustomed to back and

and return to the charge, he was able

being struck

turn and turn about, by his

at,

by the opposition, by the

to all such

attacks he

court,

fill,

to endure

own

party,

by the clergy, because

opposed the inert force of a

substance which was equally soft and consistent

thus

he reaped the benefits of what was really his misfor-

Harassed by a thousand questions of govern-

tune.

mcnt, his mind, like that of an old lawj'er who has

tried every

no longer possessed the

species of case,

spring which solitary minds

that

power of prompt

are

able to retain, nor

decision which

distinguishes

men who

are early accustomed to action, and

soldiers.

How

could

tised sophistries

had

full

be otherwise?

He

had prac-

and quibbled instead of judging

criticised effects

head was

it

young

and done nothing

for causes

of plans such as a political party

upon the shoulders of a leader,

interest brought to an orator

matters

he
his

laj-s

of private

supposed to have a future,

a jumble of schemes and impracticable requests.

Far

179

Bureaucracy.
from coming fresh

work, he was wearied out

to his

with marching and counter-marching, and when

finally

much

reached the

he

desired height of his present

position, he found himself in a thicket of thorn}' bushes

with a thousand conflicting wills to conciliate.

If the

statesmen of the Restoration had been allowed to follow

out their

own

ideas, their

have been less

often

criticised

forced, their

capacity would doubtless

but though their wills were

age saved them from attempting

the resistance which youth opposes to intrigues, both

high and low,

intrigues which vanquished

Richelieu,

and to which, in a lower sphere, Rabourdin was

to

succumb.
After the rough and tumble of their
political life these

men,

less

struggles in

first

old than aged, have to

endure the additional wear and tear of a ministry.

Thus

it is

that their eyes begin to

weaken

just as they

need to have the clear-sightedness of eagles

is

weary when

The

its

minister in

youth and

as

their

mind

need to be redoubled.

fire

whom Rabourdin

in the habit of listening to

sought to confide was

men of undoubted

superiority

they explained ingenious theories of government,

applicable

or

Such men, by

inapplicable

whom

to

the

affairs

of France.

the difficulties of national policy

were never apprehended, were in the habit of attacking

this minister personally

whenever a parliamentary battle

or a contest with the secret follies of the court took

180

Bureaucracy.

place,

on the eve of a struggle with the popular mind,

or on the

morrow of a diplomatic discussion which

ded the Council into three separate

in

divi-

Caught

parties.

such a predicament, a statesman naturally keeps a

yawn ready

how

for the first sentence designed to

show him

the public service could be better managed.

such periods

not

dinner

took place

among

At
bold

schemers or financial and political lobbyists where the

opinions of the Bourse and the Bank, the secrets of

diplomacy, and the policy necessitated by the state of

affairs in

Europe were not canvassed and discussed.

The minister had

Lnpeaulx and
all

own

his

his secretary,

private councillors in des

who

collected

and pondered

opinions and discussions for the purpose of analyzing

and controlling the various interests proclaimed and

supported by so

many

clever men.

In

tune was that of most other ministers

the prime of
difficulties,

life

he trimmed and shuffled under

with journalism,

was thought advisable

all his

this period

it

underhand way

with financial as well as labor

with the clergy as w ith that other question

r

of the public lands

ber.

which at

to repress in an

rather than fight openly

questions

fact, his misfor-

who have passed

with liberalism as with the Cham-

After manoeuvring his wa} to power in the course

r

of seven years, the minister believed that he could

manage

all

questions of administration in the

It is so natural to think

we can maintain a

same way.

position by

181

Bureaucracy.
the

same methods which served us

to reach

it

that no one

ventured to blame a system invented by mediocrity to

please minds of

its

own

The Restoration,

calibre.

like

the Polish revolution, proved to nations as to princes

the true value of a

necessary

man

is

Man, and what

The

wanting.

will

last

happen

if

that

and the greatest

weakness of the public men of the Restoration was their

honesty, in a struggle in which their adversaries em-

ployed the resources of political dishonesty,

calumnies, and let loose upon them, by

lies,

and

subversive

all

means, the clamor of the unintelligent masses, able only

to understand revolt.

But he had

Rabourdin told himself these things.

made up

his

mind

to

win or

lose, like

gambling who allows himself a

given him as adversary in the

Lupeaulx.

With

all his

man weary

last stake

game

sagacity,

ill-luck

of

had

a sharper like des

Rabourdin was better

versed in matters of administration than in parliamentary optics, and he

his confidence

the great

was

far indeed

would be received

work that

filled

his

from imagining how

he

little

thought that

mind would seem

to the

minister nothing more than a theory, and that a

who

man

held the position of a statesman would confound

his reform with the

schemes of

political

and

self-inter-

ested talkers.

As

the minister rose from table, thinking of Francois

Keller, his wife detained

him with the

offer

of a bunch

182

Bureaucracy.

of grapes, and at that

nounced.

moment Rabourdin was

Des Lupeaulx had counted on the

preoccupation and his desire to get away

for the

moment occupied

retary went forward to

fied

with his

first

minister's

seeing him

with his wife, the general-sec-

meet Rabourdin

whom he petri-

words, said in a low tone of voice

" His Excellency and I know what the subject

from any one

" Don't
kindly, but

that

else."

feel

uneasy, Rabourdin," said his Excellency,

making a movement

to get away.

respectfully,

and the min-

could not evade him.

"Will your Excellency permit me

moment
The

in private?"

he

to see

you

for

said, with a nvysterious glance.

minister looked at the clock and went towards

the window, whither the poor

"

Rabourdin came forward

ister

is

you have nothing to fear " then,

he added, " neither from Dutocq nor

occupies your mind

raising his voice,

an-

When may

man

followed him.

I have the honor of submitting the

matter of which I spoke to your Excellency?

I desire

to fully explain the plan of administration to which the

paper that was taken belongs

"Plan of

administration

"

" exclaimed the minister,

frowning, and hurriedly interrupting him.

" If you

have anything of that kind to communicate you must

wait for the regular day
I

when we do business

ought to be at the Council

now and
;

together.

I have an answer

Bureaucracy.
to

make

to the

Chamber on

that point which the oppo-

sition raised before the session

"Wednesday next

clay is

183

ended yesterday.

I could not

had other things to attend to

for I

Your

work yesterday,
political matters

are apt to interfere with purely administrative ones."

"

my

I place

hands,"

cellency's

entreat

honor with

you

to

Rabourdin

said

remember

confidence in your Ex-

all

that

gravely,

" and

ou have not allowed

me

time to give you an immediate explanation of the stolen

paper
''

"

Don't be uneasj'," said des Lupeaulx, interposing

between the minister and Rabourdin,

terrupted

"in another week you

whom

will

he thus

in-

probably be ap-

"
pointed
The

minister smiled as he thought of des Lupeaulx's

enthusiasm for

Madame

knowingly at his wife.

tried to imagine its

moment, and

for a

fact to

make

"We will
peaulx, with

now found
tocq

'11

a bureau.

Rabourdin saw the look, and

meaning

his attention

his Excellency took

was diverted

advantage of the

his escape.

you and

talk of all this,

whom

answer

I," said des

Lu-

Rabourdin, much to his surprise,

" Don't be angry with Du-

himself alone.

"Madame
ter's wife,

Rabourdin, and he glanced

for his discretion."

Rabourdin

is

charming," said the minis-

wishing to say the

civil

thing to the head of

Bureaucracy.

18-4

The

children all gazed at Rabourdin with curiosity.

The poor man bad come there expecting some

even solemn,

and he was

result,

in the threads of a flimsy net

" Madame

la

comtesse

is

serious,

like a great fish caught

he struggled with himself.

very good," he said.

" Shall I not have the pleasure of seeing Madame

here some "Wednesday ? " said the
bring her

it

"Madame

will give

mo

pleasure."

Rabourdin herself receives on "Wednes-

days," interrupted des Lupeaulx,

civility

" but

of an invitation to the

since

" Pray

countess.

who knew

for her,

soon give one of your private parties, and

The countess

rose with

some

" You are the master of

des Lupeaulx,

my

ambiguous

pressed the annoj-anco she

empty

Wednesdays

official

you are so kind as to wish

the

you

will

"

irritation.

ceremonies," she said to

words, by which she exfelt

with the secretary for

presuming to interfere with her private parties, to which

she admitted only a select few.

out bowing to Rabourdin,

Lupeaulx

the latter

was twisting

fidential letter to the minister

trusted to

La

Just

the

really

now

his Excellency saddles

me

room

with-

alone with des

in his fingers the con-

which Rabourdin had

known me,"

"Friday evening we

derstanding.

left

Rabourdin recognized

Briere.

" You have never

peaulx.

She

who remained

will

come

in-

it.

said des Lu-

to a full un-

must go and receive

with that burden

callers

when he has

Bureaucracy.
other matters to attend
don't worry yourself

Rabourdin

walked

through

slowly

to fear."

the

corridors,

this singular turn of events.

expected Dutocq to denounce him, and found he

had not been mistaken

the

repeat, Rabourdin,

you have nothing

amazed and confounded by

He had

But I

to.

185

des Lupeaulx certainly had seen

document which judged him so

severely,

des Lupeaulx was fawning on his judge

incomprehensible.

Men

It

and

was

j'et
all

of upright minds are often at

a loss to understand complicated intrigues, and Rabourdin was lost in a

maze of conjecture without being able

to discover the object of the

was

game which

the secretary

playing.

" Either he has not read the part about himself, or

he loves

my

wife."

Such were the two thoughts to which

as he crossed the courtyard

his

mind

for the glance he

arrived

had

in-

tercepted the night before between des Lupeaulx and

Celestine

came back

to

memory

like a flash of lightning.

Bureaucracy.

18G

VI.

THE WORMS AT WORK.

Rabourdin's bureau was during
to the keenest excitement

head

officials

and the

so regulated that,

mons

his absence a prey

for the relation

clerks in a

when a

between the

government

office is

minister's messenger sum-

the head of a bureau to his Excellency's presence

(above

at the latter's breakfast hour), there is

all

end to the comments that are made.

present unusual

summons

The

no

fact that the

followed so closely on the

death of Monsieur de la Billardiere seemed to give

special importance to the circumstance, which was

known

to Monsieur Saillard,

with Baudoyer. Bixiou,

be at work with the

who came

made

at once to confer

who happened at the moment to

latter, left

him to converse with

his

father-in-law and betook himself to the bureau Eabourdin,

where the usual routine was of course interrupted.

Bixiou [entering].
white heat

below
for,

Don't you know what

The

crushed

Dutocq
the truth?

I thought I should find

virtuous

woman

is

's

ou

at a

going on down

done for

T
j es,

done

Terrible scene at the ministry

[looking fixedly at him].

Are you

telling

Bureaucracy.

187

Pray who would regret

Bixiou.

you

tainly, for

Not you,

it?

cer-

be made under-head-clerk and du

will

Monsieur Baudoyer gets

Bruel head of the bureau.

the division.

Fleury.
will

I'll

bet a hundred francs that Baudoyer

never be head of the division.

Vimeux.

Monsieur

in the bet; will you,

I'll join

Poiret?
Poiret.

I retire in January.

Bixiou.

Is

it

possible? are

What

those shoe-ties?

you?

"Will

requested

to lose the sight of

the ministry be without

will

nobody take up the bet on

Dutocq.

I can't, for I

Rabourdin

we

is

appointed.

know

my

side

Monsieur

the facts.

Monsieur de

la

Billardiere

of the two ministers on bis death-bed,

it

blaming himself for having taken the emoluments of an

office

of which Rabourdin did all the

work be
;

felt

remorse

of conscience, and the ministers, to quiet him, promised

to appoint

Rabourdin unless higher powers intervened.

Bixiou.

Gentlemen, are you

to one,

for I

Phellion.

Well, I

know wbich
'11

all

side

against

you

'11

me? seven

take,

Monsieur

bet a dinner costing five hundred

francs at the Rocher de Cancale that Rabourdin does

not get

La

Billardiere's place.

That

will cost

a hundred francs each, and I 'm risking

five to

one against

me

ing into the next room.]

five

you only

hundred,

Do you take it up? [ShoutDu Bruel, what say you?

Bureaucracy.

88

down

Piiellion [laying

may

Monsieur,

his pen].

on what you base that contingent proposal?

I ask

for contingent

proposal

But

it is.

sta}r , I

am wrong

I should say contract.

to call

it

wager constitutes

a contract.

Flecry.
tract " to

Now

No, no

agreements that are recognized in the Code.

Code allows of no action

the

" con-

you can only apply the word

for the recovery of

a bet.

Dutocq.

Proscribe a thing and j'ou recognize

Poiret.

my
Dear me

Fleurt.

True

Good

Bixiou.

that

's

it.

man.

little

when one

pay one's debts

refuses to

recognizing them.

Tiiuillier.

Poiret.

You would make famous lawyers.

am as curious as Monsieur Phellion

know what grounds Monsieur Bixiou has

Bixiou [shouting across the

for

Du

office].

to

Bruel

Will

you bet?

Du Bruel

[nppearing at the door].

I'm very

earth, gentlemen,

very

difficult

to

do

I 've

bus}'

man

That 's
is

true,

du Bruel

do beg you

to

the praise of an

a very difficult thing to write.

any da} draw a caricature of him.

T

you can laugh and bet afterwards.

Bixiou.
honest

have something

got to write an obituary

notice of Monsieur de la Billardiere.

be quiet

Heavens and

I 'd rather

189

Bureaucracy.

Du

Do come and

Bruel.

Bixiou [following him].

help me, Bixiou.

'm willing; though

I can

do such things much better when eating.

Du

Well, we will go and dine together after-

Bruel.
But

wards.

what I have written [reads]

listen, this is

" The Church and the Monarchy are daily losing many
of those

who fought

on

ers of the

them

Bad, very bad

Bixiou.
carries

for

ravages

its

in Revolutionary times."

why

among

you

don't

" Death

say,

the few surviving defend-

monarchy and the old and

faithful servants

of the King, whose heart bleeds under these reiterated

blows?

[Du Bruel writes rapidly]

Flamet de

la Billardiere died this

caused by heart disease."

show there are hearts

to

j'ou

ought to

slip in

You
in

little

Monsieur

morning of dropsy,

sec,

it is

government

But

be sure to saj

stay, no!

the

emotions

stomach than the heart.

are

just as well
offices

and

flummery about the emo-

tions of the Royalists during the Terror,

useful, hey!

Baron

le

might

be

the petty papers would

came more from

Better leave that out.

the

What

you writing now ?

Du Bruel

[reading].

"Issuing from an old par-

liamentary stock in which devotion to the throne was

hereditary, as
fathers,

also attachment to the faith of our

Monsieur de

Bixiou.
lardiere.

was

la Billardiere

Better say Monsieur

le

"

Baron de

la Bil-

190

Bureaucracy.

Du

n't

baron in 1793.

Don't you remember that under

No matter.

Bixiou.
the

But he was

Bruel.

Empire Fouche was

telling

an anecdote about the

Convention, in which he had to quote Robespierre, and

he said, " Robespierre called out to me,

go

Du

Let

Bruel.

in a vaudeville.
ing.

Due d'Otrante,

There's a precedent for

to the Ilutel de Ville.' "

you

'

am

down

that

I can use

it

But to go back to what we were say-

want

I don't

me just write
to put "

reserving his honors

Monsieur

le

the last,

till

baron," because

when they rained

upon him.

Oh

Bixiou.
finale

that

theatrical,

's

the

"

Bruel.

appointing Monsieur

gentleman-in-ordinarv

Very ordinary

Bixiou.

"In

[continuing].

la Billardiere

Du

of the article.

Du Bruel
de

very good

of

the Bedchamber, the

warded not only the services rendered

who knew how

"
Iry

King

re-

the Provost,

to harmonize the severity of his functions

with the customary urbanity of the Bourbons, but the

bravery of the Vendean hero, who never bent the knee

to the imperial
his loyalty

and

I should tone
!

He

Don't you think

Bixiou.

the knee

idol.

"

leaves a son,

who

inherits

his talents."

down the

damn

it,

all

poetr\\

my

that

is

little

" Imperial

too florid

idol

"

" bent

dear fellow, writing vaudevilles

191

Bureaucracy.
has mined your style

you can't come down

I should say,

trian prose.

number of those who."

"

He

to pedes-

belonged to the small

Simplify, simplify

man

the

himself was a simpleton.

Du

That

Bruel.

would make
Bixiou.

's

vaudeville, if you like

j'our fortune at the theatre, Bixiou."

What have you

said about Quiberon? [Reads

over du Bruel's shoulder.]

in a

Oh, that won't do

what you must say:

this is

You

"He

Here,

took upon himself,

book recently published, the responsibility

for all

thus prov-

the blunders of the expedition to Quiberon,

ing the nature of his loyalty, which did not shrink from

any

La

That

sacrifice."

's

clever

and witty, and exalts

Billardiere.

Du

At whose expense ?

Bruel.

Bixiou [solemn as a priest

and Tallien, of course

Du
series,

Bruel.

No.

Wiry, Hoche

in a pulpit].

don't you read histoiy

subscribed

the

to

Baudouin

but I 'vo never had time to open a volume

one

can't find matter for vaudevilles there.

Piiellion [at the door].

sieur Bixiou,

We all want to

honorable Monsieur Babourdin,

the

work of

diere,

know, Mon-

what made you think that the worthy and

this

he, who

who has

so long done

division for Monsieur de la Billaris

the senior head of

all

the bureaus,

and whom, moreover, the minister summoned as soon

as

he heard of the departure of the late Monsieur

Bureaucracy.

192
de

la Billardiere,

will

not be appointed head of the

division.

Papa, Phellion,

Bixiou.

you know geography?

I should say so

Phellion [bridling up].

And

Bixiou.

Phellion
Bixiou
pin

is

history?

[affecting modesty].

Possibly.

Your diamond

[looking fixedly at him].

loose, it is

coming

out.

may know

Well, you

you don't know the human heart

that, but

all

you have

gone no further in the geographj' and history of that

organ than you have in the environs of the city of
Paris.

Poiret [to Vimeux].

Environs of Paris ?

I thought

they were talking of Monsieur Rabourdin.

About that bet?

Bixiou.

Does the

entire bureau

Rabourdin bet against me?

All.
Bixiou.

Yes.

Du

Dn

Bruel.

Bruel, do you count in?

Of

We

course I do.

go up a step and make room

to

Bixiou.

the

same

sieur

for others.

Well, I accept the bet,

you can hardly understand

It

it,

want Rabourdin

but I

for
'11

this reason

tell it to

you

all

would*be right and just to appoint Mon-

Rabourdin (looking

full at

Dutocq), because,

in

that case, long and faithful service, honor, and talent

would be recognized, appreciated, and properly

warded.

Such an appointment

is

re-

in the best interests

Bureaucracy.

before

them

and Thuillier

[Phellion, Poiret,

of the administration.
listen stupidly,

193

who

with the look of those

Well,

in the darkness.]

try to peer

just because

it is

the promotion would be so fitting, and because the

and because the measure

has such merit,

is

man

so emi-

nently wise and equitable that I bet Rabourdin will not

be appointed.

Yes, you'll see, that appointment

invasion from Boulogne, and the

slip up, just like the

march

to Russia, for the success of

had gathered together

all

which a great genius

the chances.

all

good and just things do

The more

I think about

sure I feel that he unites

me

to

Billardiere

Bixiou.

my

head of

not be

me

Charlet, told

Appointed, indeed

there-

this division.

positively that

for

Mon-

little

known

The appointment

signed under ten days.

La

I should say he

rushes to the window.]

There he goes

look at him, and say

virtuous Rabourdin looks like a

man

knows he

's

can't

It will certainly

before New-year's day.

across the courtyard

favor.

would be made Clerk of the Seals.

made and

now

Baudoyer the more

But Monsieur des Lupeaulx, who sent

borrow

be appointed?

Rabourdin was appointed, and that the

sieur

be

low world.

the opposite qualities

all

fore I think he will be the next

Dutocq.

It will fail as

fail in this

am only backing the devil's game.

Du Bruel. Who do you think will
Bixiou.

will

if

the

in the sunshine of

[Fleuiy

dismissed.

Gentlemen, adieu

'11

go and

104

Bureaucracy.

Monsieur Baudoyer that

tell

bourdin

appointed

is

pious creature

him down,
the

Then

it

will

'11

tell

who

does he

furious,

process we call at the theatre turning

Why
if

make me under-head-clerk [goes

will

Everybody says that man

and

I listen

never get at any meaning

of Paris

down

Boulogne

now what

We

know ?

must

Fleury

Du
retary

it

[goes

he talks about the environs

it is

human

heart and [lays

a question of Russia and

there so clever in that, I 'd like

first

admit that the devil

find out

plaj'S ai:ry

what game; possibly

his nose].

[interrupting].

must be eleven

Bruel. So
;

is

and then

at all,

dominoes [blows

saj-s

but as

pen and goes to the stove] declares he backs

his

game when

nose

out].

listen; I hear words, but I

when he discusses the

the devil's

game

do I

Baudoyer

is clever,

me, I never can understand a word he

on copying].

the

him of our wager, to cool

gets the place? simply because

Poiret.

to

from you that Ra-

make him

Wheel of Fortune, don't we, du Bruel?

care

for

I hear

it is

Pere Poiret

is

blowing his

o'clock.

Goodness

I 'm off to the sec-

he wants to read the obituaiy.

Poiret.

What was

Thuillier.
dominoes.

I saying?

Dominoes,

"

perhaps the devil plays

[Scbastien enters to gather up the

differ-

ent papers and circulars for signature.]

VnrEux.

Ah

there you are,

my

fine

j'oung man.

Bureaucracy.

Your

clays

of hardship are nearly over

post.

Monsieur Eabourdin

you

Madame

at

195

women go

get a

'11

Were

Lucky

Rabourdin's last night ?

Do

Sebastien.

you

be appointed.

will

they say that really superb

n't

fellow

there.

I did n't know.

they ?

Are you blind?

Fleury.

Sebastien.

I don't like to look at

what I ought not

to see.

Phellion [delighted].

The

Vimeux.

devil

Well
well,

Rabourdin enough, any how

Pooh!

Fleury.

at

Madame

a charming woman.

thin as a

and I much

Tuileries,

young man

said,

you looked

rail.

I saw her in the

prefer Percilliee,

the

ballet-

mistress, Castaing's victim.

What

Phellion.

of a government

has an actress to do with the wife

official?

They both play comedy.

Dutocq.

Fleury [looking askance

has nothing to do with the moral, and

Dutocq.

All.

all

made head of
Yes,

Fleury.

if

physical

you mean

nothing.

Do you

Fleury.
really be

mean

The

at Dutocq].

want
this

to

know which of

us will

bureau?

tell us.

Colleville.

Thuillier.

Fleury.

Why ?

Because

shortest waj to
T

it

Madame

Colleville has taken the

through the

sacrist}-.

Bureaucracy.

196
Thuillieb.

am

too

much

Colleville's friend not to

beg yon, Monsieur Fleuiy, to speak respectfully of his

wife.

Defenceless

Piiellion.

woman

the subject of conversation here

Vimeux.

dame

made

should never be

All the more because the charming

Ma-

Fleuiy to her house.

He

She may not receive me on the same

foot-

Colleville won't invite

backbites her in revenge.

Fleuby.

ing that she does Thuillier, but I go there

When ? how ? under

Thuillier.

Though Fleury was dreaded

offices,

her windows ?

as a bully in

the

all

he received Thuillier's speech in silence.

This

meekness, which surprised the other clerks, was owing

to a certain note for

value,

two hundred

francs, of doubtful

which Thuillier agreed to pass over to his

After this skirmish dead silence prevailed.

wrote steadily from one to three o'clock.

Du

sister.

They

all

Bruel did

not return.

About

half-past three the usual preparations for de-

parture, the brushing of hats, the changing of coats,

went on

in all the ministerial offices.

thirty minutes thus

so

much

employed served

the day's labor.

rooms cool

off

At

this

That precious

to shorten

by

just

hour the over-heated

the peculiar odor that hangs about the

bureaus evaporates

silence is restored.

By four o'clock

Bureaucracy.

197

none but a few clerks who do their duty conscientiously

remain.

under him

minister

if

may know who

are the real workers

he will take the trouble to walk through

the divisions after four o'clock,

species of prying,

however, that no one of his dignity would condescend

The various heads of

divisions

to.

and bureaus usually

encountered each other in the courtyards at this hour

and exchanged opinions on the events of the

this

(\ay.

On

occasion they departed by twos and threes, most of

them agreeing
stagers, like

in favor of

Monsieur Clergeot, shook

Habent sua sidera

said,

Rabourdin

lites.

while the old

their

Saillard

heads and

and Eaudo3 er
-

were politely avoided, for nobody knew what to say to

them about La

Billardiere's death,

it

being fully under-

stood that Baudoj-er wanted the place, though

it

was

certainty not due to him.

"When Saillard and

his son-in-law

had gone a certain

distance from the ministry the former broke silence and

said

my

" Things look badly for you,

" I can't

poor Baudoyer."

understand," replied the other, " what Elisa-

beth was dreaming of when she sent Godard in such a

hurry to get a passport for Falleix
hired a post-chaise b}T the advice of

Godard

tells

me

she

my uncle Mitral, and

that Falleix has already started for his

own

part of the

country."

"Some

matter connected with our business," sug-

gested Saillard.

Bureaucracy.

198

" Our most pressing business just now

after

Monsieur de

is

to look

la Billardiere's place," returned

Bau-

doyer, crossty.

They were

just then near the entrance of the Palais-

Dutocq came

Royal on the rue Saint-Honore.

up,

bowing, and joined them.

" Monsieur," he said to Baudoyer, "

ful to

you

yon

in an}'

find 3'ourself,

way under

can be use-

the circumstances in which

command me,

pray

if I

for I

am

not less

devoted to your interests than Monsieur Godard."

" Such an assurance

Baudoyer; "

it

at least consoling," replied

is

makes me aware

that I have the confi-

dence of honest men."

"If you would

me

kindly employ your influence to get

placed in 3'our division, taking Bixiou as head of

the bureau

and me as under-head-clerk,

the future of two

men who

3-ou will secure

are read}' to do anything for

your advancement."

" Are you making fun of

lard, staring at

" Far be

it

him

from

monsieur?

"

asked

Sail-

do that," said Dutocq.

"I

us,

stupidly.

me

to

have just come from the printing-office of the ministerial

journal (where I carried from the general-secretary an

obituary notice of Monsieur de la Billardiere), and I

there read an article which will appear to-night about

you, which has given

character and

me

talents.

the highest opinion of your

If

it

is

necessary to crush

199

Bureaucracy.
Rabourdin I 'm in a position to give him the

remember

please to

final

blow

that."

Dutocq disappeared.
" May I be shot if I understand a

word of

single

whose

said Saillard, looking at Baudoj'er,

were expressive of stupid bewilderment.

'

'

eyes

little

it,"

must buy

the newspaper to-night."

When

the two reached

they found a large

the ground-floor,

Madame

home and entered

Saillard,

Elisabeth,

the curate of Saint-Paul's

fire lighted,

made

sitting

by

it.

coming

gift

The

curate

whom

Elisa-

a sign which he failed to understand.

"I

"Monsieur," said the curate,

in

and

Monsieur Gaudron and

turned at once to Monsieur Baudoj'er, to

beth

the salon on

in person to

have

lost

no time

thank you for the magnificent

with which you have adorned mj poor church.

r

dared not run in debt to buy that beautiful monstrance,

worthy of a cathedral.

You, who are one of our most

pious and faithful parishioners, must have keenly

the bareness of the high altar.
see Monseigneur the coadjutor,

send you his

"

le

" I see

am on my way to
and he will, I am sure,
I

later."

have clone nothing as yet

" Monsieur
short.

own thanks

" began Baudoyer.

cure," interposed his wife, cutting

am

felt

him

forced to betray the whole secret.

Monsieur Baudoyer hopes to complete the

ing you a dais for the coming Fete-Dieu.

gift

by send-

But the pur-

200

Bureaucracy.

chase must depend on the state of our finances, and our

finances depend on

"

God

my

husband's promotion."

reward those who honor him," said Mon-

will

Gaudron, pi^aring, with the curate, to take

sieur
leave.

"

But

astics,

will j'ou not," said Saillard to the

" do us the honor

"You

can

sta\',

my

two

to take pot luck with

ecclesi-

us?"

dear vicar," said the curate

Gaudron; "you know I am engaged to dine with

to

the

curate of Saint-Roch, who,

Monsieur de

la Billardiere

" Monsieur
for us,"

by the bye,

bury

is to

to-morrow."

cure de Saint-Roch might say a word

le

began Baudoyer.

His wife pulled the

skirt

of his coat violently.

" Do hold your tongue, Baudoyer," she

ing

him aside and whispering

in his ear.

said, lead-

"You

have

given a monstrance to the church, that cost five thou-

sand francs.

'11

explain

it all

later."

The miserly Baudoyer made a

sulk}' grimace,

and

continued gloomy and cross for the rest of the day.

"What

did 3-ou busy yourself about Falleix's pass-

Why

port for?
affairs ? "

do you meddle

in

other

people's

he presently asked her.

"I must

sa}',

I think Falleix's affairs are as

much

ours as his," returned Elisabeth, dryly, glancing at her

husband

whom

to

make him

he ouht to be

notice
silent.

Monsieur Gaudron, before

201

Bureaucracy.

" Certainly, certainly," said old

thinking

Saillard,

of his co-partnership.

" I hope you reached the newspaper

remarked Elisabeth

him

time?

Monsieur Gaudron, as she helped

to soup.

"Yes,
the

to

office in

my

dear lady," answered the vicar;

editor read the

article

little

"when

I gave him, written

by the secretary of the Grand Almoner, he made no

difficulty.

took pains to insert

in a conspicuous

it

I should never have thought of that

place.

young

He

journalist

but this

The

has a wide-awake mind.

fenders of religion can enter the

lists

de-

against impiety

without disadvantage at the present moment, for there

is

a great deal of talent in the royalist press.

have

every reason to believe that success will crown your

to

my

But you must remember,

hopes.

promote Monsieur Colleville

interest to his

Eminence

he

is

dear Baudoyer,

an object of great

am

in fact, I

desired to

mention him to j'ou."

" If

am head of the division, I will make him head of

one of my bureaus, if you want me to," said Baudoyer.
I

The matter thus

dinner,

when

referred to

was explained

the ministerial organ (bought and sent

up by the porter) proved to contain among

news the following

" Monsieur
after a long

after

le

articles, called items

Baron de

and painful

la Billardiere died this

illness.

The king

its

Paris

morning,

loses a

devoted

202

Bureaucracy.

Monsieur de la
Church a most pious son.
Billardiere's end has fitly crowned a noble life, consecrated
in dark and troublous times to perilous missions, and of
servant, the

late years to

diere

arduous civic duties.

Monsieur de

was provost of a department, where

la Billar-

his force of char-

acter triumphed over all the obstacles that rebellion arrayed

He

against him.

subsequently accepted the

director of a division (in

difficult

post of

which his great acquirements were

not less useful than the truly French affability of his manners) for the express purpose of conciliating the serious

under

interests that arise

its

administration.

No

rewards

have ever been more truly deserved than those by which the
King, Louis XVIII.
in

and

his present Majesty took pleasure

crowning a loyalty which never faltered under the usurper.

This old family

the excellent
friends.

still

survives in the person of a single heir to

man whose

death

now

afflicts so

many warm

His Majesty has already graciously made known

that Monsieur

Benjamin de

la Billardiere will

be included

among the gentlemen-in-ordinary of the Bedchamber.

" The numerous friends who have not already received
their notification of this sad event are hereby informed that

the funeral will take place to-morrow at four o'clock, in

the church of

"Monsieur

The memorial
FAbbe Fontanon."

Saint-Roch.

delivered by Monsieur

address will be

Isidore-Charles- Treville-Baudoyer, represent-

ing one of the oldest bourgeois families of Paris, and head of

a bureau in the

late

Monsieur de

la Billardiere's division, has

lately recalled the old traditions of piety

and devotion which

formerly distinguished these great families, so jealous for the

honor and glory of religion, and so faithful in preserving its

monuments. The church of Saint-Paul has long needed a

Bureaucracy.

203

monstrance in keeping with the magnificence of that

due to the Company of Jesus.

itself

basilica,

Neither the vestry nor

the curate were rich enough to decorate the altar.

Monsieur

Baudoyer has bestowed upon the parish a monstrance that

persons have seen and admired at Monsieur Gohier's,

many

Thanks

the king's jeweller.

to the piety of this gentleman,

who did not shrink from the immensity of the

price, the

church of Saint-Paul possesses to-day a masterpiece of the

by Monsieur de Sommervieux.

jeweller's art designed

make known

gives us pleasure to

this fact,

It

which proves how

powerless the declamations of liberalism have been on the

mind

The upper ranks

of the Parisian bourgeoisie.

body have

been

at all times

and they prove

royalist,

of that
it

when

occasion offers."

" The price was

Gaudron

five

thousand francs," said the Abbe

" but as the payment was

in cash, the court

jeweller reduced the amount."

"

'

Representing one of the oldest bourgeois families

of Paris
is

'
!

printed,

" Saillard

was saying to himself; " there

it

"

in the official paper, too

" Dear Monsieur Gaudron," said Madame Baudoyer,

" please help
he could

my

father to

slip into the countess's

the monthly stipend,

cover
with

all

my

compose a

must leave

uncle Mitral.

unable to find

my

sentence that would

I

uncle Bidault at

who knows

am

Would you

Oh, what a dog-kennel he

Mitral,

speech that

when he takes her

ear

single
3011.

little

lives

obliged to go out

believe it?

home
in

was

this afternoon.

But Monsieur

his ways, says he does all his busi-

14

204

Bureaucracy.

ness bc/ween eight o'clock in the morning and midday,

and that

after that

hour he can be found only at a cer-

a singular name.

tain cafe called the Cafe Themis,

" Is justice done there?" said the abbe, laughing.

'
'

Do you

the rue

ask

why he goes

to a cafe at the corner of

They

Dauphine and the quai des Augustins ?

say he plays dominoes there every night with his friend

Monsieur Gobseck.
alone

me

my

I don't

wish to go to such a place

uncle Mitral will take

me

there

and bring

back."

At

this instant Mitral

showed

his j-ellow face, sur-

mounted by a wig which looked as though

made

of ha}

7
,

and made a sign

it

might be

to his niece to

come

at

once, and not keep a carriage waiting at two francs an

Madame Baudoyer

hour.

rose and went

away without

giving an}- explanation to her husband or father.

"Heaven
sieur

has given j-ou in that woman," said

Gaudron

peared,

"a

Baudoyer when Elisabeth had disap-

to

perfect treasure of prudence

and

a model of wisdom, a Christian

who

of possessing the Divine spirit.

Religion alone

to

form such perfect characters.

all-important, for the

religion itself that

To-morrow

is

is

able

I shall
It is

sake of the monarchy and of

you should receive

Monsieur Rabourdin

virtue,

gives sure signs

say a mass for the success of your good cause.

'

Mon-

a liberal

this

appointment.

he subscribes to the

Journal des Debats,' a dangerous newspaper, which

Bureaucracy.

made war on Monsieur

the

Comte de

Villele to please

wounded vanity of Monsieur de Chateaubriand.

His Eminence
to see

what

Billardiere

is

read the newspaper to-night,

will

and Monseigneur the coadjutor

When

well.

As

for

Monsieur

I think of

what

le

3-011

will

speak

cure, I

know

have now done

for his dear church, I feel sure he will not forget

his

pikers

more than

only

if

said of his poor friend Monsieur de la

of you to the King.

him

le

205

ment with the coadjutor

that,

he

is

you

in

dining at this mo-

at the house of the curate of

Saint-Roch."

These words made Saillard and Bandoyer begin to

perceive that Elisabeth had not been idle ever since

Godard informed her of Monsieur de

la Billardiere's

decease.

"Isn't she
Saillard,

clever, that Elisabeth of

mine?"

cried

comprehending more clearly than Monsieur

l'abbe the rapid undermining, like the path of a mole,

which his daughter had undertaken.

" She sent Godard

to Rabourdin's door to find out

what newspaper he takes," said Gaudron

mentioned the name to
nence,

for

we

the

secretary

live at a crisis

when

" For the

and who
last five

his

Emi-

the Church and

Throne must keep themselves informed

their friends

of

"and

as to

who

are

their enemies."

days I have been trying to find

the right thing to say to his Excellency's wife," said

Saillard.

206

Bureaucracy.

"All Paris
eyes were

"Your

read that," cried Baudoyer, whose

will

riveted on the paper.

still

eulogy costs us four thousand eight hundred

francs, son-in-law

Madame

" exclaimed

Saillard.

" You have adorned the house of God,"

said the

Abbe Gaudron.

"We
she

might have got salvation without doing that,"

" But

returned.

which

if

Baudojer

gets

worth eight thousand more, the

is

not so great.

If he doesn't get it!

added, looking at her husband,

hc3

"how we

the

place,

sacrifice

is

papa," she

have

shall

"
bled!

"Well, never mind,"

" we can alwa} s make

said Saillard, enthusiastically,

it

up through Falleix, who

going to extend his business and use his brother,

he has made a stockbroker on purpose.

might have told

But

such a hurry.
is

us,

I think,

why

let's invent

my

what I thought of: 'Madame,

word
"

'

word
know,

to his

If
'

is

whom

Elisabeth

Falleix went off in

little

if

Excellency '"

speech.

This

jou would say a

you would deign,'" said Gaudron; "add the

deign,'
first

of

it is

all,

more

respectful.

whether

Madame

But you ought

la

Dauphine

to

will

grant you her protection, and then yoa could suggest to

Madame

la

comtesse the idea of co-operating with the

wishes of her Bxyal Highness."

"You
Baudoj-er.

ought to designate the vacant post," said

Bureaucracy.

"'Madame

comtesse,'" began Saillard, rising,

la

to his wife, with

and bowing

"Goodness!

207

an agreeable smile.

how

Saillard;

you

ridiculous

look.

my man, you '11 make the woman laugh."

"'Madame la comtesse,'" resumed Saillard. "Is

Take

care,

that better, wife

"Yes,
"

"

ray duck."

The

'

diere

is

place of the late worthy Monsieur de la Billar"

vacant my son-in-law, Monsieur Baudoyer

"'Man

'

prompted

of talent and extreme piety,'"

Gaudron.
" Write

it

Baudoyer," cried old

down,

Saillard,

" write that sentence down."

Baudo3'er proceeded to take a pen and wrote, without

a blush, his

own

Nathan or Canalis

praises, precisely as

might have reviewed one of

" Madame la comtesse

'

said Saillard to his wife

'

their

own

books.

Don't you see, mother?

"I am

supposing

"

ou to be

the minister's wife."

'
'

"

"

Do you
know
The
'

take

me

man

answered sharpty.

that."

place of the late worthy Monsieur de la Bil-

lardiere is vacant

for a fool ? " she

my

son-in-law,

Monsieur Baudo3 er,

of consummate talent and extreme piety

After looking at Monsieur Gaudron,

he added, "
not bad;

'

will

be very glad

it's brief

and

it

if

who was

he gets

'

reflecting,

it.'

That's

says the whole thing."

208

Bureaucracy.

" But do wait, Saillard

1'

abbe

turning

is

don't you see that Monsieur

Madame

over in bis mind?" said

it

"don't disturb him."

Saillard;

" Will be very thankful

if

'

you would deign

to interest

"

yourself in his behalf/ " resumed Gaudron.

'

And

in

saying a word to his Excellency you will particularly

please

Madame

Dauphine, by

la

and the happiness

"Ah!

to be protected.'

sand eight hundred

make you

shall

Madame

evening," said

How

speech.

worth

Have you
repeat

it,

Saillard.

written
father,

lad,

you '11

down?

it all

"

morning and

" Yes, that's a good

lucky you are, Monsieur Gaudron, to

That 's what

so much.

a seminary

is

I don't regret the four thou-

Besides, Baudoyer, my

pay them, won't you?

know

he has the honor

"

Monsieur Gaudron, that sentence

more than the monstrance

" I

whom

it is

how

they learn there

to be brought
to

up

in

speak to God and

his saints."

"

He

is

as

good as he

is

pressing the priest's hands.

learned," said Baudoyer,

" Did you write that

arti-

cle? " he added, pointing to the newspaper.

"No," answered Gaudron, "it was

secretary of his Eminence, a
obligations to me, and
sieur Colleville

"

A good deed

who

young abbe who

is

under

takes an interest in

Mon-

he was educated at
is

written by the

my

expense."

always rewarded," said Baudoyer.

While these four personages were

sitting

down

to

209

Bureaucracy.
their

game of

boston, Elisabeth and her uncle Mitral

reached the Cafe Themis, with

much

discourse as they

drove along about a matter which Elisabeth's keen perceptions told her

was the most powerful

lever that could

be used to force the minister's hand in the

husband's appointment.
officer, crafty, clever at

affair

of her

Uncle Mitral, a former sheriffs

sharp practice, and

full

of ex-

pedients and judicial precautions, believed the honor of

his family to be involved in the

appointment of his

His avarice had long led him to estimate the

nephew.

contents of old Gigonnet's strong-box, for he

knew very

well they would go in the end to benefit his

Baudoyer

and

it

nephew

was therefore important that the

latter

should obtain a position which would be in keeping with

the combined fortunes of the Saillards and old Gigonnet,

which would
daughter

finally

devolve on the Baudoyers'

and what an

heiress she

would be with an

income of a hundred thousand francs

to

what

position might she not aspire with that fortune?

adopted

all

little

social

He

the ideas of his niece Elisabeth and thor-

He had

oughly understood them.

helped in sending off

Falleix expeditiously, explaining to him the advantage

of taking post horses.

After which, while eating his

dinner, he reflected that

it

twist of his

When

own

would be as well

to the clever plan invented

to give a

by Elisabeth.

they reached the Cafe Themis he told his niece

that he alone could

manage Gigonnet

in the matter they

210

Bureaucracy.

both had in view, and he

the hackney-

coach and bide

at the right

made her wait in

her time to come forward

Elisabeth saw through the window-panes the

moment.

two faces of Gobseck andGigonnet (her uncle Bidault)

which stood out in

relief against the

yellow wood-work

of the old cafe, like two cameo heads, cold and impassible, in the rigid attitude that their

gravity gave them.

The two Parisian misers were surrounded by a number

of*

other old faces, on which " thirty per cent discount

was written

in circular wrinkles that started from the

nose and turned round the glacial cheek-bones.

physiognomies brightened up

remarkable
Mitral,

and

gleamed with

their eyes

"Hey, hey!

it is

These

on seeing

tigerish curiosity.

papa Mitral!" cried one of them,

named Chaboisseau, a

little

old

man who

discounted for

a publisher.

" Bless me, so

Metivier,

" said another, a broker

named

"ha, that's an old monkey well up

in his

it is

tricks."

"

And

you," retorted Mitral, " you are an old crow

who knows

all

about carcasses."

" True," said the stern Gobseck.

" What are you here

friend

Metivier?"

broker,

who had

'
'

Your

for?

Have you come

to seize

asked Gigonnet, pointing to the

the bluff face of a porter.

great-niece

Elisabeth

Gigonnet," whispered Mitral.

is

out

there,

papa

211

Bureaucracy.

"What! some misfortune?" said Bidault. The old

man drew his eyebrows together and assumed a tender
look like that of an executioner when about to go to

work

Roman

In spite of his

officially.

have been touched, for his red nose

virtue he

must

somewhat of its

lost

color.

"Well, suppose

misfortune, won't you help

is

it

daughter? a

Saillard's

who has

girl

stockings for the last thirty years

"If

there's good

" Falleix

replied Gigonnet.

is

" cried Mitral.

don't say I won't,"

security

knitted your

them.

in with

has just set up his brother as a broker, and he

as

much

business as the Brezacs

mind, perhaps

"

Saillard

He knows

nodded

"But

artist

doing

and what with?

his

no simpleton."

among

those old men, would

and thinker shudder as they

all

their heads.
it is

Gigonnet.

none of

"I'm

bors' misfortunes.

my

business," resumed Bidault-

not bound to care for

My

my

neigh-

principle is never to be off

guard with friends or relatives

cept

is

the value of money," put in Chaboisseau.

That' remark, uttered

have made an

is

Falleix

through weakness.

Appby

you
to

my

can't perish ex-

Gobseck

he

is

softer."

The usurers

all

applauded these doctrines with a

shake of their metallic heads.

An

onlooker would have

fancied he heard the creaking of ill-oiled machinery

212

Bureaucracy.

"Come, Gigonnet, show

Cha-

feeling," said

little

boisseau, " they 've knit your stockings

for thirty years."

"That counts for something," remarked Gobseck.

"Are you

alone?

all

Is

safe to

it

speak?" said

"I come

Mitral, looking carefully about him.

about

a good piece of business."

"If

good,

is

it

why do

come

j'ou

us?"

to

said

Gigonnet, sharply, interrupting Mitral.

"

who was gentleman

fellow

of the Bedchamber,"

went on Mitral, " a former chouan,

La Billardiere

is

what

's

his

name ?

dead."

" True," said Gobseck.

" And our nephew is giving monstrances to a church,"

snarled Gigonnet.

"

He

not such a fool as to give them, he

is

them, old man," said Mitral,

La

proudly.

"

He

sells

wants

it,

we must

"Seize/ you'll never be anything but a

sheriff's

Billardiere's place,

seize

officer,"

in order to get

put in Metivier, striking Mitral amicably on

the shoulder

"Seize
clutches,"

ered

and

"

how

" I

like that, I

do

Monsieur Clement
continued Mitral;
to

do

and he

it,

is

"
!

des

Lupeaulx

in

our

"Elisabeth has discov-

"

"Elisabeth;" cried Gigonnet, interrupting again;

"dear

my

little

creature! she takes after her grandfather,

poor brother

he never had his equal

Ah,

ou

213

Bureaucracy.
should have seen him buying up old furniture

what

What does Elisabeth wants'

what shrewdness
" Hey, hey! " cried Mitral, " you've got back your

tact

bowels of compassion, papa Gigonnet!

nomenon has a
" Always a

That phe-

cause."

child," said

Gobseck

to Gigonnet,

" you

are too quick on the trigger."

" Come, Gobseck and Gigonnet,

want

You

to
've

listen to

me

keep well with des Lupeaulx, don't

how you plucked him

not forgotten

you
you?

in that

about the king's debts, and you are afraid he

affair

'11

ask you to return him some of his feathers," said

Mitral.

"Shall we

tell

him the whole thing?" asked Gob-

seck, whispering to Gigonnet.

"Mitral
trick

on

" You

one of us; he wouldn't plajT a shabby

his

former

see, Mitral,"

sheriff in
all

is

customers," replied Gigonnet.

he went on, speaking to the ex-

a low voice, " we three have just bought up

those debts, the payment of which depends on the

decision of the liquidation committee.

"

How much

will

you lose?

"

asked Mitral.

" Nothing," said Gobseck.

" Xobody knows we are

in

it,"

added Gigonnet;

" Samanon screens us."

" Come,
niece

is

listen to

me, Gigonnet;

waiting; outside.

You

'11

it is

cold,

and your

understand what I

214

Bureaucracy.

want

in

You must

two words.

send two hundred and

fifty

at once,

between you,

thousand francs (without

interest) into the country after Falleix,

who has gone

post-haste, with a courier in advance of him."

"Is it possible " said Gobseck.

" What for? " cried Gigonnet, " and where to?"
!

"To

des Lupeaulx's magnificent countiy-seat,"

" Falleix knows the countiy,

plied Mitral.

born there

and he

is

for he

going to buy up land

re-

was

round

all

the secretary's miserable hovel, with the two hundred

and

fifty

thousand francs I speak

worth the price.

for

of,

good land, well

There are only nine days before us

drawing up and recording the notarial deeds (bear

that in mind).

With the addition of

this

land, des

Lupeaulx's present miserable property would paj taxes

r

to the

amount of one thousand

man

francs, the

sum

neces-

saiy to

make

with

des Lupeaulx goes into the electoral college,

it

becomes

eligible to the

eligible, count,

know

the deputy

don't

you?"

Chamber.

and whatever he

who has

pleases.

You

slipped out and left a vacanc}-,

The two misers nodded.

" Des Lupeaulx would
in his place," continued

JSrgo,

cut off a leg to get elected

"but he must have

in his own name, and

Mitral;

the title-deeds of the property

then mortgage them back to us for the amount of the

purchase-money.

Ah

now you begin

to see

what I

Bureaucracy.

am

after

First of

215

we must make

all,

sure of Bau-

doyer's appointment, and des Lupeaulx will get

us on these terms

after that is settled

him back to you.

electoral

Falleix

Now
"

's

your power

in

it,"

said Gigonnet; "3-011 agree, don't

Lupeaulx when

We 're

in

my name

we

'11

go and

all is read}'."

robbed," said Gobseck.

"Ha, ha!"

laughed Mitral, "I'd

like to

know

the

"
!

" Nobody can

"

Gigonnet.
in

the

mean, papa Gigonnet?"

mortgages on the property

robber

after

Falleix can give us security and put

you, Gobseck?

"

have

a clever game," said Metivier.

"We'll do

see des

until

3-011

the

for Falleix's friends are a large majorit}'.

do you see what

It

that

for

band

will

now canvassing

Don't you perceive

vote.

Lupeaulx completely
election

is

we

it

buying up

rob

I told
all

us

but

ourselves,"

answered

you we were doing a good thing

des Lupeaulx's paper from his credi-

tors at sixty per cent discount."

" Take

this

him tighter

mortgage on

still

his estate

and you'll hold

through the interest," answered Mitral.

" Possibly," said Gobseck.

After

exchanging a shrewd

look with

Gigonnet went to the door of the

"Elisabeth! follow
niece.

it

Gobseck,

cafe.

up, mj* dear," he said to his

" AVe hold your man securely; but don't neg-

216

Bureaucracy.

lect accessories.

go on as

You have begun

woman

well, clever

began and you'll have your uncle's

j'ou

es-

teem," and he grasped her hand, gaylv.

"But," said Mitral, "Metivier

heard

and they may play us a

it all,

and

Chaboisseau

trick

and

tell

the

matter to some opposition journal which would catch

the ball on

way and counteract

its

isterial article.

not

let

You must go

the effect of the min-

alone, mj- dear

those two cormorants out of

1113'

I dare

sight."

So

saying he re-entered the cafe.

The next day

the numerous subscribers to a certain

liberal journal read,

among

the Paris items, the follow-

ing article, inserted authoritatively by Chaboisseau and

Metivier, share-holders in the said journal, brokers for
publishers, printers,

and paper-makers, whose behests

no editor dared refuse

"Yesterday a ministerial journal plainly

probable successor of Monsieur

Monsieur Baudoyer, one

le

la Billardiere,

of the worthiest citizens of a popu-

where his benevolence

lous quarter,

itidicated as the

Baron de

is

scarcely less

known

than the piety on which the ministerial organ laid so much

stress.

Why

was that sheet

reflect that in

sieur

Baudoyer

other

it

silent as to his talents?

boasting of the bourgeoise nobility of

which, certainly,

is

candidate ?

A gratuitous piece of perfidy

with a caress

an attempt

appoint Monsieur Baudoyer

is

of the
to kill

to do honor

to the virtues, the talents of the middle classes, of

shall ever

it

Mon-

a nobility as good as any

was pointing out a reason for the exclusion

To

Did

whom we

be the supporters, though their cause seems at

217

Bureaucracy.

This appointment, we repeat, will be an

times a lost one.

act of justice
it

be made."

will not

On

and good policy; consequently we may be sure

the morrow, Frida}*, the usual

Madame

given by
left at

whom

Eabourdin,

day

for the dinner

des Lupeaulx had

midnight, radiant in beauty, on the staircase

arm

of the Bouffons,

in

(Madame Firmiani had

awoke with

arm with Madame de Camps

lately

thoughts

his

rather refreshed, and his

married), the old roue

vengeance

of

mind

full

calmed,

or

of a last glance

exchanged with Celestine.

"I'll

make

sure of Eabourdin' s support

by forgiving

get even with him later.

If he has n't

him now,

I'll

this place for the

woman who

is

time being I should have to give up

capable of becoming a most precious

instrument in the pursuit of high political fortune.

She understands everything

from no idea whatever

before his Excellency what

besides, I can't

Lupeaulx, the thing in hand

Celestine.

You may make

la comtesse,

as

know

new scheme of admin-

Eabourdin has invented.

istration

Madame

shrinks from nothing,

and
is

to

No,
win

many

ail

dear des

now

faces as

but you will invite

bourdin to your next select party

my
t

for

your

ou please,

Madame Ea-

"

Des Lupeaulx was one of those men who

to satisfy

a passion are quite able to put awa}- revenge in

some

218

Bureaucracy.
His course was taken

dark corner of their minds.

he

was resolved to get Rabourdin appointed.

" I will prove to vou, m}- dear fellow, that I deserve
a good place in

3-0111-

gallej-,"

thought he as he seated

himself in his study and began to unfold a newspaper.

He knew

so well what the ministerial organ would

contain that he rare]}- took the trouble to read

on

this occasion he did

La

Billardiere, recollecting with

in

open

it

but

it,

on

to look at the article

amusement

the

dilemma

which du Bruel had put him by bringing him the night

before Bixiou's mischievous

He was

amendments

to the obituar3\

laughing to himself as he reread the biography

of the late Comte de Fontaine, dead a few months

earlier,

which he had hastily substituted

Billardiere,

when

Baudoyer.

He

his eyes

La

for that of

were dazzled bjr the name of

read with fury the article which pledged

the minister, and then he rang violently for Dutocq, to

send him at once to the editor.

But what was

his

astonishment on reading the reply of the opposition

paper

The

situation

was

the game, and he saw that the

his cards for

man who was

him was a Greek of the

dictate in this wa}- through

shuffling

To

order.

first

two opposing newspapers

one evening, and to begin the

intentions of the minister

He knew

evident!}- serious.

in

fight b}- forestalling the

was a daring game

He

rec-

ognized the pen of a liberal editor, and resolved to question

him that night

at the opera.

Dutocq appeared.

219

Bureaucracy.

"Read

that," said des Lupeaulx,

two journals, and continuing to run

to see if

handing him the

his eye over others

Baudoyer had pulled any further

to the office

"Go

wires.

and ask who has dared to thus compromise

the minister."

"

was not Monsieur Baudoyer himself," answered

It

Dutocq, " for he never

need not go and inquire

newspaper

to the

in a letter

ministry yesterdaj*.

left the

for

office I

met

when
a

I took your article

young abbe who brought

from the Grand Almoner, before which 30U

yourself would have had to bow."

" Dutocq, you have a grudge against Monsieur Rabourdin, and

n't right

it is

from being turned

own

of our

we sometimes hate our benefactors.

Onh', remember this;

if

you show the slightest treach-

ery to Rabourdin, without

your ruin.

As

to

Almoner subscribe
services.

you

for he has twice saved

However, we are not masters

out.

feelings

that

my

newspaper,

as largely as

Here we are

permission,

at the

we

let

it

will

the

do, if he

be

Grand

wants

end of the year

its

the

matter of subscriptions will come up for discussion, and

I shall

have something to say on that head.

Billardiere's place, there is only

matter

and that

is

to appoint

one way to

Rabourdin

As

to

La

settle the

this

very

day."

"Gentlemen," said Dutocq, returning

office

and addressing

his colleagues.

to the clerks'

" I don't know

15

if

220

Bureaucracy.

Bixiou has the art of looking into futurity, but

if

you

have not read the ministerial journal I advise you to

stud}' the

article

about Baudoyer

then, as Monsieur

Fleury takes the opposition sheet, you can see the

Monsieur Rabourdin certainly has

reply.

man who

talent,

in these clays gives a six-thousand-frane

strance to the Church has a devilish deal

more

but a

montalent

than he."

What

Bixiou [entering].

say you, gentlemen, to the

First Epistle to the Corinthians in our pious ministerial

journal,

and the reply Epistle to the Ministers

How

opposition sheet?

in the

does Monsieur Kabourdin

feel

now, du Bruel ?
Dtr

Bruel [rushing

I don't know.

in].

Bixiou back into his cabinet, and

My

good

of the

fellow, v-our

way

You

Lupeaulx, which

my

deserved.
lardiere.

A fine

a low voice]

sa3's in

of helping people

hangman who jumps upon

break his neck.

got

me

folly in

[He drags

is like

that

a victim's shoulders to

into a scrape with des

ever trusting you richly

thing indeed, that article on

I sha'n't forget the trick

Why,

La

the very

Bilfirst

sentence was as good as telling the King he was super-

annuated and

it

was time

that Quiberon bit,

it

What

a fool I was

Bixiou [laughing]
angrj-

for

him

to die.

said plainly that the

Bless

my

heart

Can't a fellow joke any more

And

as to

King was

are you getting

221

Bureaucracy.

Du

Joke

Bruel.

When you want

joke indeed.

to

my

be made head-clerk somebody shall joke with yon,

dear fellow.

Bixiou

Du

Angry, are we?

[in a bullying tone].

Yes

Bruel.

So much

Bixiou [diyly].

Du Bruel

the worse for you.

You would

[uneasy].

n't

pardon such a

thing yourself, I know.

Bixiou [in a wheedling tone].

[They hear Fleury's

I would.

Baudoyer

dentially] After

voice.]

a friend? indeed

There

will get the

so

all,

much

appointment.

Fleury

[Confi-

Du

the better.

Bruel,

Rabourdin

keep your eye on the consequences.

just

's

Hey, how well the thing has been

cursing Baudoyer.

managed

To

would be a mean-spirited creature to stay under Bau-

do3 er; he will send in his resignation, and that will

You can be head

give us two places.

take

me

for under-head-clerk.

together,

and I

Du Bruel

'11

We will make vaudevilles

fag at your work in the

office.

Dear me, I never thought

[smiling].

Poor Rabourdin

of that.

of the bureau and

I shall be sorry for him,

though.

That

Bixiou.

[Changing

shows

his tone]

longer.

He

ask me,

me, who

my

's

rich

Ah,

how much you

well, I don't

pity

his wife gives parties

go everywhere!

love

airy

and does

Well,

dear fellow, good-bye, and don't owe

him

him

me

n't

goodie,
a grudge

222

Bureaucracy.

[He goes out through

tlemen

did n't I

tell

Adieu, gen-

the clerks' office.]

you yesterday that a man who

has nothing but virtues and talents

always be

will

poor, even though he has a pretty wife?

Henry.

You

Bixiou.

Not bad, my Cincinnatus

me

are so rich, you

But you '11 give

that dinner at the Rocher de Cancale.

Poiret.

It

is

absolutely impossible for

me

to under-

stand Monsieur Bixiou.

Piiellion [with an elegiac

air].

Monsieur Rabour-

din so seldom reads the newspapers that

it

might per-

haps be serviceable to deprive ourselves momentarily

by taking them
paper,

Vimeux

in to him.

the

office

[Fleury hands over his

sheet,

and Phellion departs

with them.]

At

moment des Lupeaulx, coming

that

leisurely

downstairs to breakfast with the minister, was asking

himself whether, before playing a trump card for the

husband,

heart and

He was

might not be prudent to probe the wife's

it

make

sure of a reward for his devotion.

feeling about

for the small

that he possessed, when,

amount of heart

at a turn of the staircase,

he encountered his lawyer, who said to him, smiling,

"Just a word, Monseigneur,"

in the tone of familiarity

assumed by men who know they are indispensable.

"What
politician.

is

it,

my

dear Desroches?" exclaimed the

" Has anything happened?"

223

Bureaucracy.
'

'

come

I have

to

tell

you that

all

your notes and

debts have been bought up by Gobseck and Gigonnet,

under the name of a certain Samanon."

"

Men whom

I helped to

make

their millions

" Gigonnet

" Listen," whispered the lawyer.

named

Bidault)

and Saillard

who

is

(really

the uncle of Saillard, your cashier

father-in-law to a certain

Baudoyer,

thinks he has a right to the vacant place in your

Don't you think I have clone right to come

ministiy.

and

is

"
!

tell

you?"

"Thank

you," said des Lupeaulx, nodding to the

lawyer with a shrewd look.

" One stroke of your pen

will

buy them

off," said

Desroches, leaving him.

"What
peaulx.

an immense saeiifica!" muttered des Lu"

It

would be impossible to explain

woman," thought

he.

the

clearing off of

I'll

go and see her

it

to a

" Is Celestine worth more than

my
this

debts

that

is

the question.

morning."

So the beautiful Madame Rabourdin was

1

an hour, the arbiter of her husband's

fate,

to be, within

and no power

on earth could warn her of the importance of her

re-

plies, or give her the least hint to guard her conduct

and compose her

voice.

mischances,

believed herself certain of success,

she

Moreover, in addition to her

never dreaming that Rabourdin was undermined in

directions

by the secret sapping of the mollusks.

all

224

Bureaucracy.

"Well, Monseigneur,"
the

salon where

little

said des Lupcaulx, entering

"have you

breakfasted,

they

seen the articles on Baudoyer?"

"For God's
ister,,

sake,

dear friend," replied the min-

"don't talk of those appointments just now;

me have an

let

my

hour's peace

They cracked my

The only

night with that monstrance.

last

save Rabourdin

is

my hand

forced.

enough to disgust a man with the public

service.

must purchase the right

keep that excellent Ra-

to

"

bourdin by pi'omoting a certain Colleville

Why

"

not

make over

corned}' to

little

waj- to

to bring his appointment before the

Council, unless I submit to having

It is

ears

me, and

the

management of

this pretty

worry of

rid j-ourself of the

amuse yon every morning with an account of

'11

game

of chess I should play with the

it?

the

Grand Almoner,"

said des Lupeanlx.

" Very good," said the minister, "

But you know

head examiner.
nothing

is

more

perfectly

likely to strike the king's

just those reasons

with the
well

that

mind than

the opposition journal has chosen

Good heavens fancy managing

"
with such men as Baudoyer under me

to put forth.
istry

settle it

a min-

imbecile bigot," said des Lupeaulx, " and as

"
utterly incapable as

"

An

"

as La

" But La

Billardiere,"

Billardiere

added the minister.

had the manners of a gentleman-

Bureaucracy.
in-ordinary," replied

continued,
absolute

des

the intimate friend of

at the

countess,

necessity to invite
part}'.

"it

is

now an

Madame Rabourdin

to

must assure you she

is

Madame

de Camps

they were

met her

at

Besides, you will see .that she

is

Opera together

the hotel Firmiani.

" Madame," he

Lupeaulx.

addressing the

your next private

225

last night.

first

not of a kind to compromise a salon."

" Invite Madame Rabourdin,

my

dear,"

said

the

minister, " and. pray let us talk of something else."

226

Bureaucracy.

VII.

SCENES FROM DOMESTIC LIFE.

Parisian households are

literally eaten

up with the

desire to be in keeping with the luxury that surrounds

them on

wisdom

all

and few there are who have the

sides,

to let their external situation conform to their

internal revenue.

But

this vice ma}'

perhaps denote a

French patriotism, which seeks to maintain the

truly

supremacy of the

nation

matter of dress.

the

in

France reigns through clothes over the whole of Europe

and

must

every one

feel

the

makes fashion

retaining a commercial sceptre that

France what the navy

is

importance of

to England.

in

This patriotic

ardor which leads a nation to sacrifice everything to

appearances

to the paroistre, as

the days of Henri IV.

secret labors which

is

d'Aubigne said in

the cause of those vast

employ the whole of a Parisian

woman's morning, when she wishes, as Madame Rabourdin wished, to keep up on twelve thousand francs

a year the style that man}- a family with thirty thou-

sand does not indulge

the

in.

Consequently, ever}' Friday,

day of her dinner-parties,

Madame Eabourdin

227

Bureaucracy.
helped the chambermaid to do the rooms

for the

cook

went early to market, and the man-servant was cleaning the silver, folding the napkins, and polishing the

The

glasses.

ill-advised individual

who might happen,

through an oversight of the porter, to enter

Madame

Rabourdin's establishment about eleven o'clock in the

in the midst of a dis-

morning would have found her

order the reverse of picturesque, wrapped in a dressing-

gown, her hair

ill-dressed,

and her

feet in old slippers,

attending to the lamps, arranging the flowers, or cooking in

visitor to

whom

known would

The

an extremely unpoetic breakfast.

haste

the mysteries of Parisian

life

were un-

certainly have learned for the rest of his

not to set foot in these greenrooms at the wrong

life

moment

woman

caught

at

her matin

mj steries
-

would ever after point him out as a man capable of the

blackest crimes

indiscretion in a

or she would talk of his stupidity and

manner

woman, indulgent

ian

The

to ruin him.

to all curiosit}' that she can put

to profit, is implacable to that which

her prestige.

true Paris-

makes her

Such a domiciliary invasion ma}' be

lose

called,

not only (as they say in the police reports) an attack

on

privac}',

but a burglary, a robbery of

precious, namely, credit,

let herself

woman

is

that

is

most

quite willing to

be surprised half-dressed, with her hair about

her shoulders.

one

all

If her hair

but she will

is

all

her

own

she scores

never allow herself to be seen

Bureaucracy.

228
" doing " her

own rooms,

or she loses her paroistre,

that precious seeming-to-be !

Madame Rabourdin was

in full tide of preparation

Friday dinner, standing in the midst of provis-

for her

ions the cook had just fished from the vast ocean of the

markets, when Monsieur des Lupeaulx

stealthily in.
last

The

when she heard

ber,

already

''

an

expected

his

way

certainly the

to see,

and

so,

his boots creaking in the ante-cham-

exclaimed,

she

was

general-secretary

man Madame Rabourdin

made

impatiently,

exclamation as

"The

little

hair-dresser

agreeable to des

Lupeaulx as the sight of des Lupeaulx was agreeable

She immediately escaped into her bedroom,

to her.

where chaos reigned

a jumble of furniture to be put

out of sight, with other heterogeneous articles of more

or rather less elegance,

a domestic carnival,

The bold des Lupeaulx followed

tive,

the

in short.

handsome

fugi-

so piquant did she seem to him in her dishabille.

There

is

something indescribably alluring to the eye in

a portion of flesh seen through an hiatus in the under-

garment, more attractive far than when

fully

it

rises grace-

above the circular curve of the velvet bodice, to

the vanishing line of the prettiest swan's-neck that ever

lover kissed before a ball.

woman

in full dress

When

the eye dwells on a

making exhibition

cent white shoulders, do

we not fancy

elegant dessert of a grand dinner?

of her magnifi-

that

we

see the

But the glance

Bureaucracy.

229

that glides through the disarray of muslins rumpled in

sleep enjoys, as

it

were, a feast of stolen fruit glowing

between the leaves on a garden wall.

" Stop

wait " cried the pretty Parisian, bolting the

door of the disordered room.

She rang

for Therese, called for her daughter,

the

cook, and the man-servant, wishing she possessed the

Her

whistle of the machinist at the Opera.

phenomenon

how-

In a moment, ano-

same purpose.

ever, answered the

ther

call,

the salon assumed a piquant morning

look, quite in keeping with the

got together by the fugitive

she was evidently a clever

becoming

we say

woman,

"You!" she said, coming

What has happened?"
" Veiy serious things,"

it

toilet hastily

to her glory, for

in this at least.

forward,

"at

this

answered

des

Lupeaulx.

hour?

" You and I must understand each other now."

Celestine looked at the

man

behind his glasses, and

understood the matter.

"My

principal vice," she

instance, I
let

us

can come
a

whim

do not mix up

talk politics,
later.

me

if

to avoid discords

artist.

We women

you

with politics
will,

the

to mingle ill-assorted colors

it

have

is

my

For

rest

not really oddity nor

it is

put together things that have no

me

"is oddity.

affections

business,

However,

that forbids

said,

affinity,

and

and compels

natural instinct as an

politics of

our own."

230

Bureaucracy.

Already the tones of her voice and the charm of her

manners were producing

and metamorphosing
courtesy

his roughness

on the secretaiy
into

sentimental

she had recalled him to his obligations as

A clever pretty

a lover.

their effect

woman makes an atmosphere

about her in which the nerves relax and the feelings

soften.

"You

are ignorant of

what

Lupeaulx, harshly, for he

" Read

a show of harshness.

He

still

is

happening," said des

thought

best to

it

make

that."

gave the two newspapers to the graceful woman,

having drawn a

line in

red ink round each of the famous

articles.

" Good heavens

ful

Who

"A
you

is this

" she exclaimed,

Baudoyer ?

" but

this is dread-

"

donkey," answered des Lupeaulx;

see,

he uses means,

succeeds, thanks to

he

some

"but, as

gives monstrances; he

clever

hand that

pulls the

wires."

The thought of her

din's

debts crossed

mind and blurred her

flashes

sight, as if

had blinded her eyes

ears

hummed under

gan

to beat in her arteries

Madame Eabour-

at the

two lightning

same moment

her

the pressure of the blood that be;

she remained for a

quite bewildered, gazfng at a

moment

window which she did not

see.

"But you

are faithful to

us?" she said

at last, with

Bureaucracy.

231

a winning glance at des Lupeaulx, as

if

to attach

him

to her.

" That

as

is

may

it

be," he replied, answering her

made

glance with an interrogative look which

poor

woman

"If

blush.

demand caution-money you may

3-011

she said, laughing

"

"

And

than you are.

than I am,

I thought j"ou

a sort of

plays

against

me

me

less a person

school-girl."

me," he said, with a covert

" I meant that I could not

lose all,"

more magnanimous

you, you thought

You have misunderstood

smile

the

just

as

assist a

l'Etourdi

man who

played

against

Mascarille."

" What can you mean? "

" This

will

prove to you whether I

am magnanimous

or not."

He

gave

Madame Rabourdin

the

memorandum

by Dutocq, pointing out to her the passage

in

stolen

which her

husband had so ably analj-zed him.

"Read

that."

Celestine recognized the handwriting, read the paper,

and turned pale under the blow.

"All the
the

ministries, the

same waj

,"

is

treated in

said des Lupeaulx.

" Happily," she

ment.

whole service

said,

I cannot explain

" The man who

"you
it,

alone possess this docu-

even to myself."

stole it is not

such a fool as to

let

232

Bureaucracy.

me have

without keeping a copy for himself; he

it

too great a liar to admit

ness to give

"Who is

it

and too clever

it,

in his busi-

even ask him for

I did not

up.

is

it."

he?"

" Your chief

clerk."

" Dutocq

People are alwaj's punished

their kindnesses

But," she added, " he

is

through

only a dog

who wants a bone."

"

Do

ou

know what

the other side offer me, poor

devil of a general-secretaiy?"

"What?"
" I owe

3-ou will despise

grant you, I

am

me

me

because

a receipt for them

" But all that

" Not at all

Grand Almoner
must appoint

Well, Baudo3

is

if

er's

uncle

doubtless, ready to

is,

Baudoyer

is

appointed."

monstrous."

it is

is

and

debts,

francs,

more, but here, I

it is n't

insignificant.

my

has bought up
give

and odd miserable

thirty thousand

monarchical and religious, for the

concerned in

Colleville

in

Baudoyer himself

it.

return

for

ecclesiastical

assistance."

" What
" What

shall
will

you do?"

you bid me do?" he

said, with

charming

grace, holding out his hand.

Celestine no longer thought

him ugly, nor

old, nor

white and chilling as a hoar-frost, nor indeed anything

that was odious and offensive, but she did not give

him

233

Bureaucracy.

At

her hand.

him take

it

night, in her salon, she

would have

let

a hundred times, but here, alone and in the

morning, the action seemed too like a promise that

might lead her

far.

" And they say

that statesmen have no hearts

" she

cried enthusiastically, trying to hide the harshness of

her refusal under the

grace

of her

words.

"The

thought used to terrify me," she added, assuming an

innocent, ingenuous

"

What

a calumn}

week one of the

air.
7
!

" Only

this

man who

has

" cried des Lupeaulx.

stiffest

of diplomatists, a

been in the service ever since he came to manhood, has

married the daughter of an actress, and has introduced
her at the most iron-bound court in Europe as to quarterings of nobility."

" You

"lam

support us? "

will continue to

to

draw up your husband's appointment

But no cheating, remember."

She gave him her hand to

kiss,

and tapped him on

" You are mine

the check as she did so.

Des Lupeaulx admired

" she said.

the expression.

[That night, at the Opera, the old coxscomb related

the incident as follows

"

A woman

who

did not want

man she would be his,

an acknowledgment a
well-bred woman never allows herself to make,
changed
the words into You are mine.'
Don't you think the

to tell a

'

evasion charming?"]

234

Bureaucracy.

" But you must be

my

"Now

he answered.

ally,"

your husband has spoken to the minister of a

listen,

the paper I

plan for the reform of the administration

have shown you

want

what

"I

is

a part of that plan.

Find out, and

it is.

will," she

me

tell

to

know

to-njght."

answered, wholly unaware of the im-

portant nature of the errand which brought des Lupeaulx

to the house that morning.

" Madame, the hair-dresser."

"At

last! " thought Celestine.

should have got out of

it if

"I don't

see

much

he had delayed

how

longer."

" You do not know to what lengths m} devotion can

-

"

go," said des Lupeaulx, rising.

to the first select party given

" Ah,

j'ou are

how much you

an angel

love

me

You

by his Excellency's wife."

" she cried.

you love me

shall be invited

"

And

now

I see

intelligentby."

"To-night, dear child" he said, "I shall find out at

the Opera what journalists are conspiring for Baudoj^er,

and we

measure swords together."

will

"Yes, but you must dine with

us, will

have taken pains to get the things jou

" All that

self as he

is

went downstairs, "that

all

me

way

I shall

read her heart.

am

for a long time.

know

it.

"

Ah

my

willing to be

Well,

if

she is

set the cleverest of

'11

traps before the appointment

'11

like best

so like love," said des Lupeaulx to him-

deceived in that
tricking

you not? I

is

little

fairly signed,

cats, I

and

know you

Bureaucracy.
for, after all,

women

are just what

235

we men

Twenty-

are.

eight years old, virtuous, and living here in the rue

Duphot

a rare piece of luck and

worth cultivating,"

thought the elderly butterfly as he fluttered down the

staircase.

" Good heavens

that

man, without

look funny enough in a dressing-gown

" but the harpoon

tine,

where I want to go

He

am

tow me

he'll

of that invitation.

comedy."

Rabourdin

to dress for dinner, his wife presided at his

and presently

randum which,
the luckless

Who

uvj-

now

must

thought Ccles-

at five o'clock in the afternoon,

came home
toilet

sure

"

back and

is in his

has played his part in

When,

"

his glasses,

laid before

him the

like the slipper in the

man was

fatal

memo-

Arabian Nights,

fated to meet at every turn.

gave you that? " he asked, thunderstruck.

" Monsieur des Lupeaulx."

" So he has been here

" cried

Eabourdin, with a look

which would certainly have made a guilty

pale, but

woman

turn

which Celestine received with unruffled brow

ar.d a laughing eye.

" And he

is

coming back

"

to dinner," she said.

Why

that startled air?"

"My

dear," replied Rabourdin,

offended des Lupeaulx

he fawns upon

me

such

Do you

"I have

men never

mortally

forgive,

think I don't see

16

and yet

why ?

"

236

iureaucracy

" The
taste

don't

man seems

me," she

to

you can't expect

know anything more

me

A truce to

to blame him.

After

nonsense, Celestine.

man.

I cannot get

honor

is

"to have good

flattering to a

to please a worn-out palate.

"

said,

I really

woman

than

Spare a much-tried

an audience of the minister, and

my

at stake."

" Good heavens, no

Dutocq can have the promise

of a good place as soon as you are

named head of

the

division."

"Ah!

what you are about, dear

I see

Rabourdin

"but

the

game you

are playing

dishonorable as the real thing that

A lie is

us.

lie,

child," said

is

is

just as

going on around

and an honest woman

"

" Let

me use the weapons employed against us."

" Celestine, the more that man des Lupeaulx feels he
is foolishly

caught in a trap, the more bitter he will be

against me."

" What

if

I get

him dismissed altogether?

"

Rabourdin looked at his wife in amazement.

"I am
high time,

"But you

thinking onby of your advancement;

my

poor

was

husband," continued Celestine.

are mistaking the dog for the game," she

added, after a pause.

will

it

have accomplished

"In
all

you are trying to speak

a few days des Lupeaulx

that I

want of him.

to the minister,

you can even see him on business, I

shall

While

and before
have seen

Bureaucracy.

237

Yon

him and spoken with him.

are

worn out

trying to bring that plan of your brain to birth,

plan which you have been hiding from

that in three

will find

plished more than

tell

me

this fine

me

a
-

but

in

ou

months your wife has accom-

you have done

Come,

in six j-ears.

scheme of yours."

Rabourdin, continuing to shave, cautioned his wife

not to say a word about his work, and after assuring her
that to confide a single idea to des

Lupeaulx would be

to put the cat near the milk-jug, he

began an explana-

tion of his labors.

"

Why

did n't you

tell

me

said Celestine, cutting her

this before,

husband short

" You might have saved

sentence.

of trouble.

Rabourdin? "
at his fifth

j'ourself a world

man

can understand that a

should be

blinded by an idea for a moment, but to nurse

for six or seven

prehend

years, that

You want

to

's

sj'stem let

it

minister of finance

come back
to

be great.

The poorest of

with a surplus that

you want

vul-

If

millions.
-

Then,

ou want a new

be one of loans, as Monsieur de Nucingen

keeps saying.

It will

The budget ought, on

the contrary, to reach two thousand

indeed, France would

up

a thing I cannot com-

reduce the budget,

gar and commonplace idea

it

hoard

it

is

to
it

all treasuries is

never uses

the mission of a

to fling gold out of the

him through the

The thing

to

the one

cellars

do

is

windows.

and you,

to increase

238

Bureaucracy.

the offices and

reducing them

you ought

want

government employments, Instead of

So

from lessening the public debt,

far

If the Bourbons

to increase the creditors.

them seek

to reign in peace, let

towns and
all,

all

villages,

and place

they ought not to

from France

for the capital.

their loans there

let foreigners

some day an

Whereas

creditors in the

draw

perish.

That

's

if capital

An

Your plan

he should

another Law, without Law's fatal

exhibit the

power of

interest are

nor credit can

man

ambitious public

produce some bold scheme,

credit,

away

might ask us

and

what saved England.

the tradesman's plan.

interest

alien nation

held only in France, neither France

above

ill-luck

is

should

make himself
;

he ought to

and show that we should

re-

duce, not principal, but interest, as they do in England."

" Come, come, Celestine," said Rabourdin

ideas as
I 'in

much

as you please, and

accustomed to that

make fun

but don't

" mix up

of them,

criticise

a work of

which you know nothing as yet."

"Do

I need," she

essence of which

is

vice of six thousand

My

asked,

"to know a scheme

men

instead of twenty thousand

dear friend, even allowing

man
carry

it

of genius, a king of France

it

the

to govern France with a civil ser?

were the plan of a

who attempted

out would get himself dethroned.

keep down a feudal aristocracy by

to

You can

levelling

a few

heads, but you can't subdue a hydra with thousands.

239

Bureaucracy.

And

is

with the present ministers

it

selves, a

expect to cany out

j'ou

but do not meddle with men, with

they cry out too much, whereas gold

"But, Celestine,
argument,

we

if 3-ou will talk,

men

dumb."

and put wit before

what that paper,

I understand

is

little

if

understand each other."

shall never

" Understand

which you have analyzed the capacities of the

office, will

our-

No, no; change the monetary system

your reform?
j-ou will,

that

wretched crew

between

in

men

in

lead to," she replied, paying no attention to

what her husband

"Good

said.

heavens! j'ou have

sharpened the axe to cut off your

own

me?

Holy

head.

Virgin!

why

at least

prevented you from committing anything to

didn't you consult

writing, or, at

any

rate, if

you

insisted

paper, I would have written

should never have

it

think that he never told

me

could have

on putting

it

to

myself, and

it

Good God
That 's what men

house.

this

left

down

capable of sleeping with the wife of their

seven years, and keeping a secret from her

their thoughts

from a poor

doubting her devotion

woman

to

are

bosom
!

for

Hiding

for seven jears

"
!

" But," cried Rabourdin, provoked, "for eleven years

and more
t

have been unable to discuss anything with

ou because you

stituting
all

about

insist

your ideas for mine.

my

scheme."

me short and subYou know nothing at

on cutting

240

Bureaucracy.

"Nothing!

"Then
the

first

and

all."

me!"

to

tell it

cried Rabourdin, angry for

time since his marriage.

"There!

of

know

is

it

half-past six o'clock; finish shaving,

dress at once," she cried hastily, after the fashion

women when

pressed on a point they are not ready

to talk of.

"I

for I don't

want

Good heavens
the room, "

must go

we

to be nervous on

the poor soul

" she thought, as she left

and bring forth a dead child

wife

a reception-da}-.

hard to be in labor for seven

is

it

adjourn the discussion,

'11

And

3-ears

not trust his

She went back into the room.

"If you had

interceded

listened to

me you would

keep your chief clerk

to

never have

he stole that

abominable paper, and has, no doubt, kept a fac-simile

of

man

Adieu,

it.

Then

of genius

"
!

she noticed the almost tragic expression of her

husband's grief; she

to him, seized

him

felt

she had gone too far, and ran

just as he was,

lathered with

all

soap-suds, and kissed him tenderly.

" Dear Xavier, don't be vexed," she

we

night, after the people are gone,

plan
as

you

long

shall

as

you wish me

What do
Mohammed?"

me?

speak at your ease,

to.

said.

will

Is n't

" To-

study your

will listen just

that

nice

of

want better than to be the wife of

Bureaucracy.
She began to laugh

241

and Kabourdin laughed

the soapsuds were clinging to Celestine's lips,

too, for

and her

voice had the tones of the purest and most steadfast

affection.

"Go

and dress, dear child

and above

Swear you

a word of this to des Lupeaulx.

That

is

the only

punishment that I impose

"Impose! "she

"Then

cried.

don't say

all,

will not.

I won't swear any-

thing."

" Come, come,

Celestine, I said in jest a really serious

thing."

" To-night," she

to

know whom

given

me

said, " I

am

mean j-our general-secretary

really intending to attack

he has

the means."

"Attack whom?"

"The
"

We

minister," she answered, drawing herself up.

are to be invited to his wife's private parties."

In spite of his Celestine's loving caresses, Rabourdin,

as he finished dressing, could not prevent certain painful

thoughts from clouding his brow.

" Will she ever appreciate me ? " he said to

'
'

She does not even understand that she

centive of

my

how excellent a mind

now have been high in
!

saved half

my

have given

me

How

whole work.

salary

If

office

my

is

himself.

the sole in-

wrong-headed, and yet

had not married I might

and

rich.

I could have

savings well-invested would

to-day ten thousand francs a year out-

242

Bureaucracy.

side of

my

and I might then have become, through

office,

a good marriage

Yes, that

interrupting himself, " but

The man

children."

To

piness.

ments of

is all

true," he exclaimed,

have Celestine and

flung himself back

upon

the best of married lives there

He

regret.

understand making

life

his hap-

come mo-

entered the salon and looked

" There are not two women

around him.

my two

in Paris

who

To keep

pleasant as she does.

such a home as this on twelve thousand francs a

j'ear

he thought, looking at the flower-stands bright

"
!

witli

bloom, and thinking of the social enjoyments that were

"

about to gratify his vanity.

When

wife of a minister.

and how

wife,
is

little

She was made to be the

-

I think of his Excellencj

she helps him

's

woman

the good

a comfortable middle-class dowcty, and when she

goes to the palace or into society

lips

together.

Very busy men

"

He

pinched his

are apt to have very

ignorant notions about household matters, and 3011 can

make them

believe

afford

or that twelve thousand afford

little

Though

that a hundred thousand

francs

all.

impatiently expected, and in spite of the

flat-

tering dishes prepared for the palate of the gourmet-

emeritus, des Lupeaulx did not

he came

in very late,

come

to dinner

in fact

about midnight, an hour when a

company dwindles and conversations become intimate

and

confidential.

Andoche

Finot, the journalist,

one of the few remaining guests.

was

Bureaucracy.

"

now know

all," said

243

des Lupeaulx, when he was

comfortably seated on a sofa at the corner of the

fire-

hand and Madame Rabonrdin

place, a cup of tea in his

standing before him with a plate of sandwiches and

some

slices

cake."

of a cake very appropriately called " leaden

" Finot,

my dear and witty friend, you can render

a great service to our gracious queen by letting loose a

men we were

few dogs upon the

You have

talking of.

against you," he said to Rabourdin, lowering his voice

so as to be heard only by the three persons

money

addressed, " a set of usurers and priests

the church.

The

article in the liberal journal

gated by an old monej*-lender to

under obligations

whom

cares nothing about

it.

The paper

is

was

there

's

The

to

is

to say,

however,
the
matters now, these
liberals,

to discuss political

assassins of Charles X. have promised

me

to support

your appointment at the price of our acquiescence

one of their amendments.

All

my

batteries are

If they threaten us with Baudoyer

clerical

such
will

phalanx,

men

it

for we have, thanks to Monsieur de

who have gone over

no need

was

about to change

Chateaubriand, a royalist opposition, that

royalists

and

who wrote

hands, and in three days more will be on our side.

royalist opposition,

he

insti-

the paper

but the young fellow

whom

'

we

in

manned.

shall say to the

Such and such a paper and such and

will attack

be against you

'

your measures and the whole press

(for

even the ministerial journals

244

Bureaucracy.

which I influence

'Appoint Rabourdin, a

Finot?).

public opinion

"Hi,

be deaf and dumb, won't they,

will

is

with

3-011

faithful servant,

and

"
'

hi! " laughed Finot.

" So, there's no need to be uneasy," said des Lu" I have arranged it all to-night; the Grand
peaulx.

Almoner must yield."

" I would rather have had

less hope,

and you to

dinner,"

whispered Celestine, looking at him with a

vexed

which might very well pass for an expression

air

of wounded love.

" This must win

my

pardon," he returned, giving her

an invitation to the ministry for the following Tuesday.

Celestine opened the letter, and a flush of pleasure

came

into her face.

No

enjoyment can be compared to

that of gratified vanity.

" You know what the countess's Tuesdays are," said

" To the usual
des Lupeaulx, with a confidential air.
ministerial

parties the}* are

You

is to

a court ball.

You

will see there the

will

what the 'Petit-Chateau'

be at the heart of power

Comtesse Feraud, who

is

still

in

favor' notwithstanding Louis XVIII.'s death, Delphine

de Nucingen,

Madame

de Listomere, the Marquise

d'Espard, and your clear Firmiani

have had her

vited to give you her support in case the other

attempt to black-ball you.

midst of them."

I long to see

you

in-

women
in the

Bureaucracy.
Celestine

245

threw up her head like a thoroughbred

and re-read the invitation just as Bau-

before the race,

doyer and Saillard had re-read the articles about themselves in the newspapers, without being able to quaff

enough of
" There

it.

and next at the

first,

des Lupeaulx,

who was

Tuileries," she said to

by the words and by

startled

the attitude of the speaker, so expressive were the}7 of

ambition and security.

"Can
asked

be that I

it

He

himself.

am

only a stepping-stone?" he

rose,

and went

into

Madame

Rabourdin's bedroom, where she followed him, understanding from a motion of his head that he wished to

speak to her privately.

"Well,

your

husband's

plan,"

he

said;

"what

of it?"
'
'

Bah

the useless nonsense of an honest

she replied;
offices

"

He wants

and do the work with

five or six

whole document when copied

faith.

it

the

is

You

written in perfect

officials

only by his honesty and rectitude,

all

thousand.

I will let you read the

His analysis of the

Des Lupeaulx was

"
!

to suppress fifteen thousand

never heard of such nonsense

good

man

was prompted

poor dear

man

"
!

more reassured by the

genuine laugh which accompanied these jesting and

contemptuous words, because he was a judge of lying

and knew that Celestine spoke

in

good

faith.

246
'
'

Bureaucracy.

But

what

still,

bottom of

at the

is

all ? "

it

he

asked.

"Well, he wants

over a year since Francois Keller and

is

it

do away with the land-tax and

on consumption."

substitute taxes

"Why

to

Nucingen proposed some such

himself

plan,

and the minister

thinking of a reduction of the land-tax."

is

"There!" exclaimed
was nothing new

"No;

but he

financier

of the

Celestine,

"I

told

him there

in his scheme."
is

on the same ground with the best

the

epoch,

Something may come of

finance.

Your husband must

it.

have some special ideas

Napoleon of

in his

surely

method of putting the

scheme into practice."

"No,

it

is

commonplace," she

all

dainful curl

of her

France with

five

is really

needed

lip.

or six

is

said,

with a dis-

"Just think of governing

thousand

offices,

when what

that everybocty in France should be

personally enlisted in the support of the government."

Des Lupeaulx seemed

whom
ents,

in his

was

want a
'
'

bit

Rabourdin, to

own mind he had granted remarkable

really a

" Are you

satisfied that

man

tal-

of mediocritj*.

You

quite sure of the appointment?

don't

of feminine advice?" she said.

You women

are greater adepts than

we

in refined

treacherj-," he said, nodding.

'
'

Well, then, sa}r

Baudoyer

to the court

and clergy,

247

Bureaucracy.
to divert suspicion

and put them to

sleep,

and then, at

moment, write Rabourdin."

the last

" There are some women who say yes as long as they
need a man, and no when he has played his part,"

re-

turned des Lupeaulx, significantly.

"I know

they do," she answered, laughing;

"but

they are very foolish, for in politics everything recom-

Such proceedings may do with

mences.

you are a man of sense.

folly

fools,

but

In

my

is

to quarrel with a clever

any one can commit

opinion the greatest

man."

"You are mistaken," said des Lupeaulx,

man pardons. The real danger is with the
who have nothing

ful natures

I spend my
When

all

his wife's
tion,

life

"for such a
petty spite-

to do but stucty revenge,

among them."

the guests were gone,

Rabourdin came into

room, and after asking for her

strict atten-

he explained his plan and made her see that

did not cut

creased

it

down

the revenue but on the contrary in-

he showed her in what ways the public

funds were employed, and

how

tenfold the circulation of

in the

it

the State could increase

money by

putting

its

own,

proportion of a third, or a quarter, into the

expenditures which would be sustained by private or

local interests.
his

He

finally

proved to her plainly that

plan was not mere theoiy, but a system teeming

with methods of execution.

Celestine, brightly enthu-

248

Bureaucracy.

siastic,

his

sprang into her husband's arms and sat upon

knee

"At

in the chimney-corner.

husband of nry dreams!" she

last I find the

'

cried.

'

My

ignorance of your real merit has saved

you from des Lupeaulx's claws.

him

gloriously

and

in

good

The man wept with

I calumniated you to

faith."

His day of triumph had

J03-.

come

at last.

Having labored

wife,

he found himself a great

for j'ears to satisfy his

man

in the eyes of

his sole public.

" To one who knows how good you

how equable
greater

still.

in temper,

how

always more or

less

a child

how

tender,

you are tenfold

loving,

But," she added,

are,

"a man

of genius

and you are a

child,

is

Then

dearly beloved child," she said, caressing him.

she drew the invitation from that particular spot where

women put what

they sacredly hide, and showed

it

to him.

" Here
has put
a
to

man

is

me

what I wanted," she said

" Des Lupeaulx

face to face with the minister,

of iron, his Excellency shall be

and were he

made

for a time

bend the knee to me."

The next day

Celestine began her preparations for

entrance into the inner circle of the ministry,

her day of triumph, her

own

No

was

Never courtesan took

such pains with herself as this honest

upon her person.

It

woman bestowed

dressmaker was ever so

tor-

Bureaucracy
mented as

249

Madame Rabourdin

hers.

forgot nothing.

She went herself to the stable where she hired

and chose a coupe that was neither

riages,

Her footman,

bourgeois, nor showy.

old,

car-

nor

footmen

like the

of great houses, had the dress and appearance of a

About ten on

master.

Tuesda}
ing

she

r
,

left

Her

attire.

home

hair

evening of the eventful

the

a charming

in

was dressed with

workmanship, an

exquisite

full

mourn-

jet grapes of

ornament costing three

thousand francs, made by Fossin for an Englishwoman

who had

Paris before

left

it

was

were of stamped iron-work, as

The

finished.

leaves

light as the vine-leaves

themselves, and the artist had not forgotten the grace-

which twined

ful tendrils,

in nature, they catch

lets,

necklace,

in Vienna,

by the

fairies

and seemed

who, the

to

Madame

more slender
to advantage

still

what

is

called

have been fashioned

stories tell us, are

collect

or weave a fabric so diaphanous

it.

all

brace-

but these delicate arabesques were

by a jealous Carabosse to

contain

The

upon the branches.

and earrings were

Berlin iron-work

made

in the wearer's curls just as,

condemned

the eyes of ants,

that a nutshell can

Rabourdin's graceful figure, made

by the black draperies, was shown

by a carefully cut

dress, the

two sides of

which met at the shoulders in a single strap without

sleeves.

At every motion she seemed,

be about to leave her covering

like a butterfly, to

but the

gown

held firmly

250

Bureaucracy.

on by means of some contrivance of the wonderful dress-

The robe was of mousseline de

maker.
terial

which the manufacturers had not

Paris markets
later

was

a ma-

sent to the

} et

a delightful stuff which some months

have a wild success, a success which went

to

actual

economy of mousseline de

no washing, has since injured the

enough

little

turk-satin shoes

which needs

sale of cotton fabrics

covered with

feet,

laine,

Rouen manufactories.

to revolutionize the

lestine's

and

and lasted longer than most French fashions.

further

The

laine

silk

fine

stockings

(for silk-satin is inadmissible in

deep mourning) were of elegant proportions.

dressed, she

was

suffused with the

Thus

Her complexion,

was very handsome.

beautified by a bran-bath,
e3'es,

Ce-

softly

radiant.

light of hope,

Her

and sparkling

with intelligence, justified her claims to the superiority

which des Lupeaulx, proud and happj on

r

this occasion,

asserted for her.

She entered the room well (women

the meaning of that expression),
the minister's wife, with a

and of

self-respect,

reliance on her

own

will

bowed

understand

gracefully to

happy mixture of deference

and gave no offence by a certain

dignity

for every beautiful

has the right to seem a queen.

With

the

woman

minister

himself she took the pretty air of sauciness which

women may
when they

properly allow themselves with men, even

are

grand dukes.

She reconnoitred the

Bureaucracy.
as

field,

251

were, while taking her seat, and

it

saw that

she was in the midst of one of those select parties of

women

few persons, where the

other,

eye and appraise each

and every word said echoes

every glance
witnesses

moner

tion is silently
level of

all

is

where

commonplace seems com-

accepted as though

it

distinc-

were the natural

Rabourdin betook himself

present.

all

that

and where every form of merit or

still,

a stab, and conversation a duel with

is

where

in all ears

to the

adjoining salon in which a few persons were playing

cards
it

and there he planted himself on exhibition, as

were, which proved that he was not without social

intelligence.

"

My

dear,"

said

the

Marquise

Comtesse Feraud, Louis XVIII.'s

is certainly

unique.

who knows?

It

women

produces

last mistress,

whence

this

like

d'Espard to the

person,

" Paris

and how,

who seems

read} to will and to do an}-thing."

7

" She
in des

At

really does will,

and does do everything," put

Lupeaulx, puffed up with satisfaction.

this

moment

Madame Eabourdin was

the wily

courting the minister's wife.

Carefully coached the

evening before by des Lupeaulx,

countess's

weak

seeming to do

spots,
so.

who knew

all

the

she was flattering her without

Every now and then she kept

love as he was,

knew

her defects, and said to her the night before,

"Be

silence

for des

Lupeaulx,

in

17

250

Bureaucracy.

on by means of some contrivance of the wonderful dress-

The robe was of mousseline de

maker.
terial

was

a delightful stuff which some months

to have a wild success, a success which

actual

economy of mousseline de

no washing, has since injured the

enough

little

turk-satin shoes

which needs

sale of cotton fabrics

covered with

feet,

laine,

Rouen manufactories.

to revolutionize the

lestine's

and

silk

fine

dressed, she
beautified

Ce-

stockings

(for silk-satin is inadmissible in

deep mourning) were of elegant proportions.

ej-es,

went

and lasted longer than most French fashions.

further

The

a ma-

which the manufacturers had not yet sent to the

Paris markets
later

laine

was very handsome.

by a bran-bath, was

suffused with the

Thus

Her complexion,

softby

radiant.

light of hope,

Her

and sparkling

with intelligence, justified her claims to the superiority

which des Lupeaulx, proud and happj' on

this occasion,

asserted for her.

She entered the room well (women

the meaning of that expression),
the minister's wife, with a

and of

self-respect,

reliance on her

own

will

bowed

understand

gracefully to

happy mixture of deference

and gave no offence by a certain

dignity

for every beautiful

has the right to seem a queen.

With

the

woman

minister

himself she took the pretty air of sauciness which

women may
when they

properly allow themselves with men, even

are

grand dukes.

She reconnoitred the

Bureaucracy.
as

field,

251

were, while taking her seat, and

it

saw that

she was in the midst of one of those select parties of

women

few persons, where the

and every word said echoes

other,

every glance
witnesses

moner
tion

is

all

that

and where every form of merit or

though

adjoining salon in which a

it

where
wi'.h

it

distinc-

were the natural

Rabourdin betook himself

present.

all

commonplace seems com-

is

silently accepted as

level of

in all ears

a stab, and conversation a duel

where

still,

is

cards

eye and appraise each

to the

few persons were playing

and there he planted himself on exhibition, as

were, which proved that he was not without social

intelligence.

"

My

dear,"

said

the

Marquise

Comtesse Feraud, Louis XVIII.'s

is certainty

unique.

who knows?
ready to

" She
in des

At

will

produces

It

women
and

to

this

like

d'Espard to the

" Paris

last mistress,

whence

and how,

who seems

person,

do anything."

really does will,

and does do everything," put

Lupeaulx, puffed up with satisfaction.

this

moment

Madame Rabourdin was

the wily

courting the minister's wife.

Carefully coached the

evening before by des Lupeaulx, who knew

countess's

weak

seeming to do

spots,
so.

all

the

she was flattering her without

Eveiy now and then she kept

love as he was,

knew

her defects, and said to her the night before,

"Be

silence

for des

Lupeaulx,

in

17

252

Bureaucracy.

careful not to talk

too much,"

really

words

which were

an immense proof of attachment.

Barrere

left

Bertrand

behind him this sublime axiom:

"Never

woman when dancing to give

may add (to make this

her ad-

interrupt

vice," to

which we

chapter

of the female code complete), " Never blame a

woman

for scattering her pearls."

The conversation became

time

Madame Eabourdin

trained cat puts a velvet

From

general.

joined

mistress's laces

The

in.

minister, in

matters of the heart, had few emotions.

There was

not another statesman under the Restoration

so completely

done with gallantry as he

the " Miroir,"

papers,

"opposition

" Figaro," could not

to

a well-

just as

in,

paw on her

with the claws carefully drawn

time

who had
even the

"Pandora," and

find a single throbbing arteiy with

Madame Rabourdin knew

which to reproach him.

this,

but she knew also that ghosts return to old castles,

and she had taken

ister jealous

it

into her

head to make the min-

of the happiness which des Lupeaulx was

appearing to enjoy.
gled with the

The

name of

latter's throat literally gur-

his divinity.

To

launch his

supposed mistress successfully, he was endeavoring to

persuade the Marquise d'Espard,

and the countess,

in an

they had better admit

coalition

Madame

eight-ear

Madame

de Nucingen,

conversation, that

Rabourdin to

their

and Madame de Camps was supporting him.

Bureaucracy.

At

253

the end of an hour the minister's vanity

tickled

Madame

Rabourdin's cleverness pleased him,

and she had won

siren, invited

was greatly

who, delighted with the

his wife,

her to come to

all

her receptions when-

ever she pleased.

" For your husband,

be director;

the

my

dear," she said,

minister intends to

"

unite

and place them under one director

divisions

will

soon

the

two

you

will

then be one of us, you know."

His Excellency carried

arm

his

to

show her a

Madame Rabourdin on

off

certain room, which

was then

quite celebrated because the opposition journals

him

for decorating

it

extravagantly

blamed

and together they

laughed over the absurdities of journalism.

'
'

Madame, you

really

must give the countess and

mj'self the pleasure of seeing 3

And

ou here often."

he went on with a round of ministerial com-

pliments.

" But, Monseigneur," she replied, with one of those

glances which

me

hold in reserve, "

women

it

seems to

that that depends on you."

"How
"You

so?"
alone can give

me

the right to

come here."

" Pray explain."

'
'

No

I said to myself before I

certainly not have the

" No, no, speak

came

bad taste to seem a

freely.

that I would
petitioner."

Places asked in this

way

254

Bureaucracy.

are never out of place," said the minister, laughing;

for there is

no

jest too silly to

"Well, then,

must

of the head of a bureau

wife

is

'

out of place here

he

is

is

a director's

indispensable to the adminis-

already appointed."

'

Is that a veritable fact

'

Would you

'

point need not be considered," said the min-

"your husband

tration

you plainly that the wife

not."

"That
ister,

is

tell

amuse a solemn man.

"

to see the papers in nry study

like

They are drawn up."

" Then," she

said,

pausing in a corner where she was

alone with the minister, whose eager attentions were

now very marked, "let me

tell

you that

can make

you a return."
She was on
plan,

her husband's

the point of revealing

when des Lupeaulx, who had

glided noiselessly

up to them, uttered an angry sound, which meant that

he did not wish to appear to have overheard what, in
fact,

he had been listening

to.

The

minister gave an

ill-tempered look at the old beau, who, impatient to

win his reward, had hurried, beyond

preliminary work of the appointment.

all

precedent, the

He had

carried

the papers to his Excellency that evening, and desired

to take himself,

on the morrow, the news of the ap-

pointment to her

whom

exhibit as his mistress.

he was now endeavoring to

Just then the minister's valet

255

Bureaucracy.

approached des Lupeaulx in a mysterious manner, and

told

him

him that

his

own

servant wished hiru to deliver to

at once a letter of the

utmost importance.

The general-secretary went up

a note thus worded
Contrary to

chamber

my

custom,

to see you;

to a

lamp and read

am

waiting in your ante-

you have not a moment

to lose if

you

wish to come to terms with

Your obedient servant,

Gobseck.

The

secretary shuddered

when he saw

the signature,

which we regret we cannot give in fac-simile, for

would be valuable to those who

from what

may be

like to

called the phj-siognomy of signature.

If ever a hieroglyphic sign expressed an animal,

assuredly this written name, in which the

final

letter

approached each other

jaws of a shark,

whom

it

guess character

insatiable,

to devour, both strong

wording of the note, the

first

it

was

and the

like the voracious

always open, seeking

and weak.

spirit

As

for the

of usury alone could

have inspired a sentence so imperative, so insolently

curt and cruel, which said all

and revealed nothing.

Those who had never heard of Gobseck would have

felt,

on reading words which compelled him to

whom

they were addressed to obey, yet gave no order, the

presence of the implacable money-lender of the rue

des Gres.

Like a dog called to heel by the huntsman,

256

Bureaucracy.

des Lupeaulx
ately to Lis

left his

own

present quest and went immedi-

rooms, thinking of his hazardous posi-

Imagine a general to

tion.

rides

whom

an aide-de-camp

up and says: "The enemy with

thirty

thousand

fresh troops is attacking on our right flank."

A veiy

few words

arrival of

Gigonnet and Gobseck on the

Lupeaulx found them both waiting.

for des

sudden

will serve to explain this

field

of battle,

At

eight

o'clock that evening, Martin Falleix, returning on the

wings of the wind,

thanks

to three francs to the post-

boys and a courier in advance,

had

brought back

with him the deeds of the property signed the night

before.

Taken

at once to the Cafe

Themis by

Mitral,

these securities passed into the hands of the two usur-

who hastened (though on foot) to the ministry. It

was past eleven o'clock. Des Lupeaulx trembled when
ers,

he saw those sinister faces, emitting a simultaneous look

as direct as a pistol shot and as brilliant as the flash
itself.

" What

is it,

The two
Gigonnet

and
"

my

masters? " he

said.

extortioners continued cold

silentby pointed to the

and motionless.

documents

in his hand,

then at the servant.

Come

into

my

stud}-," said

des Lupeaulx, dismiss-

ing his valet by a sign.

"

You understand French

Gigonnet, approvingly.

very well,"

remarked

Bureaucracy.

" Have you come here

abled

"And who

to torment a

man who

make a couple

each of you to

thousand francs

257

of

en-

hundred

will help us to

make more,

I hope," said

Gigonnet.

"Some new

affair?"

asked des Lupeaulx.

you want me to help you, consider that I

"If

recollect

the past."

" So do we," answered Gigonnet.

"My

debts must be paid," said des Lupeaulx, dis-

dainfully, so as not to

seem worsted

at the outset.

"True," saidGobseck.

" Let us come

" Don't
is

stiffen

useless.

to the point,

my

son," said Gigonnet.

your chin in your cravat

with us

all

that

Take these deeds and read them."

The two usurers took a mental inventory of des Lnpeaulx's study while he read with

amazement and

stu-

pefaction a deed of purchase which seemed wafted to

him from the clouds by

"

angels.

Don't you think you have a pair of intelligent busi-

ness agents in Gobseck and

" But

tell

me ?

" asked Gigonnet.

me, to what do I owe such able co-opera-

tion? said des Lupeaulx, suspicious and uneasj\

"

We

knew

eight days ago a fact that without us

would not have known

till

to-morrow morning.

you

The

president of the chamber of commerce, a deputy, as you

know,

feels

himself obliged to resign."

258

Bureaucracy.

Des Lupeaulx's eyes

dilated,

and were as big as

daisies.

" Your minister has been tricking you about

this

event," said the concise Gobseck.

" You master me," said the general-secretary, bowing

with an air of profound respect, bordering however, on
sarcasm.

" True," said Gobseck.

" Can you mean to strangle me?"
'Tossibly."

"Well, then, begin your work, executioners," said

the secretary, smiling.

"You

will see,"

resumed Gigonnet, "that the sum

added

total of j'our debts is

the

for

sum loaned by

to the

purchase of the property

us

we have bought

them up."
" Here are the deeds," said Gobseck, taking from
the pocket of his greenish overcoat a

number of

legal

papers.
'
'

You have

three years in which to pay off the whole

sum," said Gigonnet.

" But," said des Lupeaulx, frightened

ness,
'

'

at such kind-

and also by so apparently fantastic an arrangement.

What do you want of me ? "

" La Billardiere's place for Baudoyer,"

said Gigonnet,

quickly.

"That's a small

matter, though

it

will

be next to

259

Bureaucracy.
impossible for

me

to

have just tied

my

hands."

do

it," said

des Lupeaulx.

"I

" Bite the cords with jour teeth," said Gigonnet.

" They are sharp," added Gobseck.
" Is that
"

We

all? "

asked des Lupeaulx.

keep the title-deeds of the property

debts are paid," said Gigonnet,

papers before des Lupeaulx

'
;

'

till

the

putting one of the

and

if

the matter of

the appointment is not satisfactorily arranged within

our names will be substituted in place of

six days

yours."

" You are deep," cried the secretaiy.

" Exactly," said Gobseck.

" And

this is all? "

exclaimed des Lupeaulx.

"All," said Gobseck.

" You agree?" asked Gigonnet.

Des Lupeaulx nodded

"Well, then, sign
two days Baudoyer

Aud what? "

'

We

'

on

fifty- two

and

within six your

"

what? " said the secretary, more and

more astonished.
" Your election
rising

off,

nominated

Within

asked des Lupeaulx.

guarantee

" Guarantee

power of attorney.

to be

is

debts will be cleared

"

his head.

this

his heels.

to

"

the

Chamber," said Gigonnet,

We

have secured a majority of

farmers' and mechanics' votes, which will be

Bureaucracy.

260

thrown precisely as those who lend you

this

money

dictate."

Des Lupeaulx wrung Gigonnet's hand.

"It

is

only such as

each other," he said

ness.

I'll

'
;

make you

'

we who never misunderstand

this is

what I

doing busi-

call

a return gift."

" Right," said Gobseck.

" What

is it?

" asked Gigonnet.

" The cross of the Legion of honor

for

your imbecile

of a nephew."

" Good," said Gigonnet,

The

" I see

you know him

pair took leave of des Lupeaulx,

well."

who conducted

them to the staircase.

" They must be secret envoys from foreign powers,"
whispered the footmen to each other.

Once

in the street, the

two usurers looked at each

other under a street lamp and laughed.

"He will owe us

nine thousand francs interest a 3'ear,"

said Gigonnet; "that property doesn't bring

him

in

five."

"He

is

under our thumb for a long time," said

Gobseck.

"He'll build;
tinued Gigonnet
'
'

His interest

he'll
'

is

'

commit extravagancies," con-

Falleix will get his land."

onby to be

made deputy

laughs at the rest," said Gobseck.

"Hey! hey!"

the old fox

Bureaucracy.

261

"Hi! hi!"
These dry

exclamations served as a laugh to

little

the two old men,

who took

foot) to the Cafe

Themis.

Des Lupeaulx returned

dame Eabourdin
very charming

way back (always on

their

to the salon

sailing with the

and found Ma-

wind of success, and

while his Excellency, usually so gloomy,

showed a smooth and gracious countenance.

" She performs miracles," thought des Lupeaulx.

"What

a wonderfully clever

woman!

must get

to

the bottom of her heart."

"Your

little

lady

is

decidedly handsome," said the

Marquise to the secretary

" now

if

she only had your

name."

"Yes, her defect

auctioneer.

She

des Lupeaulx,

that she

is

will fail

for

the daughter of an

is

want of

birth," replied

a cold manner that contrasted

with

strangely with the ardor of his remarks about

Eabourdin not half an hour

The marquise looked

"The

at

him

dame Rabourdin
bone

As

fixedly.

glance you gave them did not escape me,"

she said, motioning towards

How

cles.

Madame

earlier.

"

it

the

pierced the

amusing you both

minister and

mask of your

are, to quarrel

Ma-

specta-

over that

the marquise turned to leave the

ter joined her

room the minis-

and escorted her to the door.

262

Bureaucracy.

"Well," said des Lupeaulx to

"what do you
"

He

is

think of his Excellency

We

charming.

must know these poor minis-

her voice so as to be heard

'

The newspapers and

misleading about

Excellency's wife.

\>y his

the opposition calumnies are so

men

or less influenced by

in politics that

them

we

more

are all

but such prejudices turn

when we come

to the advantage of statesmen

them

Rabourdin,

them," she added, slightly raising

ters to appreciate

'

Madame

to

know

personal!}'.

" He

is

very good-looking," said des Lupeaulx.

" Yes, and

I assure

you he

is

quite lovable," she

said, heartily.

" Dear

child,"

said des

manner;

caressing

Lupeaulx,

"you

have

with

a genial,

actually

done the

impossible."

"What

is

that?"

"Resuscitated the dead.

had a heart

enough

for

ask his wife.

a passing fancy.

I did not think that

man

But he may have

just

Therefore profit by

it.

Come this way, and don't be surprised." He led

Madame Rabourdin into the boudoir, placed her on a
"You are very sly,"
sofa, and sat down beside her.
he said, "and I like you the better for it. Between
ourselves,

Des Lupeaulx

you are a clever woman.

served to bring you into this house, and that

wanted of him, isn't

it?

Now when

is all

woman

30U

decides

Bureaucracy.

man

to love a

for

263

what she can get out of him

it

is

better to take a sexagenarian Excellency than a quad-

ragenarian

secretary

I'm

annoyance.

worn out with

myself

man

more

there s

less

with spectacles, grizzled hair,

dissipation,

fine lover, truly

again and again.

all this

and

profit

It

I tell

must be admitted,

of course, that I can sometimes be useful, but never

agreeable.

A man must be

Is n't that so ?

You can

cannot reason about himself.

the truth and

we

let

me

a fool

if

he

safely admit

see to the depths of your heart

are partners, not lovers.

If I

show some tender-

ness at times, you are too superior a

you

attention to such follies;

woman

will forgive

to

pay any

me,

jou

are not a school-girl, or a bourgeoise of the rue Saint-

Bah

Denis.

ou and I are too well brought up for

There's the Marquise d'Espard who has just

that.
left

T
!

room

the

does.

She and

this

came

ago [the coxscomb

me

is

!],

a line and say,

oblige

me by

at once.

'

an understanding two years

to

and now she has only to write

My

dear des Lupeaulx, you will

doing such or such a thing,' and

We

and

precisely what she thinks

are engaged at this very

ting a commission of lunacy

moment

on her husband.

done

it is

in get-

Ah

you

women, you can get what

3-ou

want by the bestowal of

a few favors.

Well, then,

my

dear child, bewitch the

minister.

help you

'11

Yes, I wish he had a

it

is

my

woman who

interest to

do

so.

could influence him

264

Bureaucracy.

he would n't escape me,

and the reason

often,

Now

his intellect.

who

if

he does escape

for

quite

him only through

that I hold

is

me

I were one with a pretty

woman

was also intimate with him, I should hold him by

and that

his weaknesses,

much

is

the firmest grip.

Therefore, let us be friends, you and

I,

and share the

advantages of the conquest you are making."

Madame Rabourdin

amazement

to this

The apparent

of rascality.

profession

singular

listened in

art-

lessness of this political swindler prevented her from

suspecting a trick.

"Do

you believe he

thinks of

really

me?"

she

asked, falling into the trap.

'
'

"
'
'

know

Is

it

it

am

certain of

true that Eabourdin's appointment is signed?"

gave him the papers

it."

this

morning.

But

enough that your husband should be made director

must be Master of

"Yes," she

stood you

till

to the salon

and coquette a

his Excellency."

true," she said,

is

he

said.

more with

"It

petitions."

"Well, then, go back

little

not

it is

to-night.

"

that I never fully under-

There

is

nothing commonplace

about you."

"We

will

be two old friends," said des Lupeaulx,

"and suppress
love

we

will

all

tender nonsense and tormenting

take

things

as

they

did

under the

Bureaucracy.

Ah

Regency.
in those
'
'

days

You

they had plenty of wit and wisdom

"
!

are really strong

tion," she said, smiling,

"one does more

him,

for one's

She

left

265

my

ou deserve

admira-

and holding out her hand to

for one's friend,

you know, than

"

him without

finishing her sentence.

" Dear creature " thought des Lupeaulx, as he saw

!

approach the minister,

her

"des Lupeaulx has no

longer the slightest remorse in turning against j-ou.

To-morrow evening when you

you

will

All

is

me

be offering

Ah when

over.

women may

offer

me

a cup of tea,

a thing I no longer care

man

is

for.

forty years of age

take pains to catch him, but they won't

love him."

He

looked himself over in a mirror, admitting hon-

though he did very well as a politician he

estly that

was a wreck on the shores of Cythera.

At

moment Madame Rabourdin was gathering

gether for a becoming exit.
last graceful

succeeded.

the

herself to-

She wished to make a

impression on the minds of

all,

and she

Contrary to the usual custom in society,

everyone cried out as soon as she was gone,

a charming

same

woman

"What

" and the minister himself took

her to the outer door.

"lam
he

quite sure

you

said, alluding to the

will think

appointment.

of

me

to-morrow,"

266
'

'

Bureaucracy.
There are so few high

functionaries

who have

agreeable wives," remarked his Excellency on re-enter-

am

ing the room, "that I

new

very well satisfied with our

acquisition."

"Don't you think her a

little

des Lupeaulx with a piqued

The women present

overpowering?" said

air.

exchanged expressive glances

all

the rivalry between the minister and his secretaiy

them and instigated one of those pretty

which Parisian
led

on

women

his Excellency

little

amused

comedies

The3 excited and

play so well.

and des Lupeaulx by a

comments on Madame Rabourdin

series of

one thought her

too studied in manner, too eager to appear clever

another compared the graces of the middle classes with

the manners of high

life,

while des Lupeaulx defended

his pretended mistress as

we

all

defend an enemy in

society.

"Do

her justice, ladies," he

said; "is

not ex-

it

traordinary that the daughter of an auctioneer should

See where she came from,

appear as well as she does ?

and what she

is.

She

will

what she intends, she

" Suppose she

is

end in the Tuileries

told

me

that

is

so."

the daughter of an auctioneer," said

the Comtesse Feraud, smiling, " that will not hinder

her husband's rise to power."

"Not

in these days,

wife, tightening her lips.

you mean," said the minister's

Bureaucracy.

237

" Madame," said his Excellency to the countess,

sternly, " such sentiments and such speeches lead to
revolutions

unhappily, the court and the great world

do not restrain them.

ever,

how

You would

hardly believe, how-

the injudicious conduct of the aristocracy in

personages

this respect displeases certain clear-sighted

at the palace.

as I

If I were a great lord, instead of being,

am, a mere country gentleman who seems

placed where he

is

the

monarchy would not be as insecure as

it.

What becomes

dignitj*

on those who administer

great at

Richelieu,
origin,

will,

such

men

was no greater than

We

government?

its

as Louvois, Colbert,

Sulty,
I.

because we are here in private

should be very paltry indeed

Sull}',

I speak to

among
if

offended by such speeches.

After

make us

great."

" You

think

when a king could make

Jeannin, Villeroy,

not for others to

now

of a throne which does not bestow

are far indeed from the daj-s

men

to be

to transact your business for you,

in

his

you thus

ourselves.

were personally

for us

all, it is

and

are appointed, dear," cried Celestine, pressing

her husband's hand as they drove awaj\

" If

it

had

not been for des Lnpeaulx I should have explained

your scheme to his Excellency.

Tuesday, and

it

But

will help the further

you Master of petitions."

I will

do

it

next

matter of making

268

Bureaucracy.

In the

life

she shines in

of every
all

woman

her glory

there comes a day

when

a day which gives her an un-

fading recollection to which she recurs with happiness

her

all

As Madame Rabourdin took

life.

off

one by

one the ornaments of her apparel, she thought over the

events of this evening, and marked the day

triumphs and glories of her

life,

all

among

been seen and envied, she had been praised and

tered by the minister's wife, delighted
the

other

women

jealous of her

the

her beauties had

thus to

but, above

flat-

make

all,

her

grace and vanities had shone to the profit of conjugal

love.

Her husband was

"Did you

appointed.

think I looked well to-night?" she said

to him, joyously.

At

same instant Mitral, waiting

the

at

the Cafe

Themis, saw the two usurers returning, but was unable

to perceive the slightest

indications of the result on

their impassible faces.

" What of it?" he

said,

when they were

all

seated

at table.

" Same as ever," replied

Gigonnet,

rubbing

his

hands, " victory with gold."

" True,"

said Gobseck.

Mitral took a cabriolet and went stoaight to the

Saillards

and Baudoyers, who were

at a late hour.

No

still

playing boston

one was present but the Abbe

Bureaucracy.
Gaudron.

Falleix, half-dead with

269
the fatigue of his

journey, had gone to bed.

" You will be appointed, nephew," said Mitral

there

's

" and

a surprise in store for you."

" What

is it?

" asked Saillard.

" The cross of the Legion of honor ? " cried Mitral.

"God

protects those

who guard

his altars,"

said

Gaudron.

Thus the Te Deum was sung with equal joy and

confidence in both camps.

270

Bureaucracy.

VIII.

FORWARD, MOLLUSKS!
The next

day, Wednesday, Monsieur Kabourdin was

to transact business with the minister, for he had

the late

La

latter's

illness.

filled

Billardiere's place since the beginning of the

On

tually, the servants

such days the clerks came punc-

were specially attentive, there was

always a certain excitement in the

ing-days, and why, nobody

offices

on these sign-

ever knew.

On

this oc-

casion the three servants were at their post, flattering

themselves they should get a few fees

for a

rumor of

Rabourdin's nomination had spread through the ministry the night before, thanks to Dutocq.

and Laurent had donned

Uncle Antoine

their full uniform,

quarter to eight, des Lupeaulx's servant

letter,

when, at a

came

in with a

which he begged Antoine to give secretly

tocq, sajing that the general-secretary

to deliver

it

without

fail

at

to

Du-

had ordered him

Monsieur Dutocq's house by

seven o'clock.

"
'
'

sure I don't

know how

but I overslept myself.

he

'd

it

happened," he said,

I 've only just

play the devil's tattoo on

me

if

he

waked

knew

up,

and

the letter

Bureaucracy.
hadn't gone.

know

a famous secret, Antoine

don't say anything about

He

promise?

a single word

he told

" What's inside the

" Nothing

He made

me

he

knew

letter? "

way

it.

see."

showed Antoine
seen.

going to be a great day for you, Laurent,"

went on the secretary's man.

Economy must be

" You

are to have a

new

the order of the day, for

they are going to unite the two divisions under one

rector

had said

asked Antoine, eying

the letter gape open, and

is

director.

off if

so."

I looked this

to the clerks if I tell 3 ou

was nothing but blank paper to be

that there

" This

it

but

would send me

271

you fellows

"Yes, nine

will

have to look out

clerks are put

on the retired

Dutocq, who came in at the moment;

di-

"
list," said

"how

did you

hear that?"

Antoine gave him the

opened

it

letter,

and he had no sooner

than he rushed headlong downstairs in the

direction of the secretary's office.

The bureaus Rabourdin and Baudoyer,

after idling

and gossiping since the death of Monsieur de

lardiere,

were now recovering their usual

la Bil-

official

and the dolcefar niente habits of a government

look

office.

Nevertheless, the approaching end of the year did cause

rather

more application among the

and servants become

civil.

They

all

came

clerks, just as porters

at that season

more unctuously

punctually, for one thing

more

270

Bureaucracy.

VIII.

FORWARD, MOLLUSKS
The

next

da}-,

Wednesday, Monsieur Rabourdin was

to transact business with the minister, for he had

the late

La

latter's

illness.

On

tualby, the servants

such days the clerks came punc-

were specially attentive, there was

always a certain excitement in the

ing-days,

filled

Billardiere's place since the beginning of the

and why,

offices

on these sign-

nobody ever knew.

On

this oc-

casion the three servants were at their post, flattering

themselves they should get a few fees

for a

rumor of

Rabourdin's nomination had spread through the minis-

Uncle Antoine

try the night before, thanks to Dutocq.

and Laurent had donned their

full

uniform, when, at a

quarter to eight, des Lupeaulx's servant came in with a

letter,

which he begged Antoine to give secretly to Du-

tocq, saying that the general-secretary

to deliver

it

without

fail

at

had ordered him

Monsieur Dutocq's house by

seven o'clock.

" I'm sure

'
'

I don't

know how

but I overslept myself.

he

'd

it

happened," he said,

I 've only just

play the devil's tattoo on

me

if

he

waked

knew

up,

and

the letter

Bureaucracy.
bad n't gone.

know

a famous secret, Antoine

don't say anything about

He would

promise ?

a single word

" What's inside the

" Nothing

He made

me

is

letter? "

he

knew

the letter gape open, and

showed Antoine
to be seen.

going to be a great day for you, Laurent,"

Economy must be

you fellows

"Yes, nine

" You are

to have a

new

the order of the day, for

will

have to look out

clerks are put

it

list," said

"how

did you

"

Antoine gave him the

opened

di-

"

on the retired

Dutocq, who came in at the moment;

hear that?

it.

see."

they are going to unite the two divisions under one

rector

had said

asked Antoine, eying

way

went on the secretary's man.

director.

you

so."

I looked this

off if

was nothing but blank paper

that there

" This

me

but

to the clerks if I tell

it

send

he told

271

letter,

and he had no sooner

than he rushed headlong downstairs in the

direction of the secretary's office.

The bureaus Rabourdin and Baudoyer,

after idling

and gossiping since the death of Monsieur de

lardiere,

were now recovering their usual

la Bil-

official

and the dolcefar niente habits of a government

look

office.

Nevertheless, the approaching end of the year did cause

rather

more application among the

and servants become

civil.

They

all

came

clerks, just as porters

at that season

more unctuously

punctually, for one thing

more

272

Bureaucracy.

remained
times.

was not forgotten that

It

depend on the

that of

last impressions

La

Billardiere

made upon

divisions,

and that of Clergeot, under one

had spread through the various

number of the

the minds of

two

the

at other

and gratuities

fees

The news of the union of

masters.

director,

was usual

after four o'clock than

clerks to be retired

The

offices.

was known, but

were in ignorance of the names.

It

was taken

all

for

granted that Poiret would not be replaced, and that

would be a retrenchment.
ready departed.

Two new

appearance, and,

their

Little

agitated

circumstance

The news

minds, and for the

all

al-

they

told about in the

first

half-hour after ar-

morning they stood around the stoves and

over.

it

had

night before, just as the clerks were dispersing,

rival in the

talked

Billardiere

supernumeraries had made

alarming

were both sons of deputies.

offices the

La

But

earlier

than

that,

Dutocq, as we

have seen, had rushed to des Lupeaulx on receiving his

note,

and found him dressing.

Without laying down

his razor, the general-secretary cast

upon

his subordi-

nate the glance of a general issuing an order.

" Are we alone? " he asked.

" Yes, monsieur."
" Veiy good.
steady!

Of

March

on

Rabourdin

forward!

course you kept a copy of that paper?"

"Yes."

"You

understand

me?

Indeirce!

There must be

273

Bureaucracy.

Find some

a general hue and ciy raised against him.

way

to start a

"I

clamor

could get a

haven't

five

man

make a

to

hundred francs to pay

"Who would

but I

caricature,
for it."

make it?"

" Bixiou."

" He

shall

to Colleville,

have a thousand and be under-head-clerk

who

will

" But he wouldn't

my

arrange with him

believe

it

tell

him

so."

on nothing more than

word."

"Are you

trying to

Either do the thing or

make me compromise myself?

alone

let it

do you hear me ?

"

"
" If Monsieur Baudoyer were director
" Well, he will be. Go now, and make haste; you

have no time to

lose.

Go down

the back-stairs

I don't

want people to know you have just seen me."

While Dutocq was returning
asking himself

how he

his chief without

to the

Rabourdin

to the clerks' office

and

could best incite a clamor against

compromising himself, Bixiou rushed

office for

word of

Believ-

greeting.

ing that he had lost his bet the incorrigible joker thought
it

amusing to pretend that he had won

Bixiou [mimicking Phellion's voice].

salute

you with a

Sunday next

collective

how

d'

for the dinner at the

But a serious question presents

to include the clerks

who

it.

Gentlemen, I

ye do, and

appoint

Rocher de Cancale.

itself.

Is that dinner

are dismissed?

274

Bureaucracy.

Poiret.

And

those

Bixiou.

Not

that I care, for

who

retire ?

Baudoyer

[General stupefaction.]

it is n't

who

paj\

appointed.

is

think I already hear him calling Laurent [mimicking

my

Baudoyer], "Laurent! lock up

[They

scourge."

roar with laughter.]

all

who laughs

laughs well

hair-shirt,

my

and

Yes, yes, he

Gentlemen, there's a

last.

great deal in that anagram of Colleville's.

Xavier Ra-

D'abord reva

bureaux, e-u

bourdin, chef de bureau

Jin riche.

Dieu

my

If I were

named Charles X., par

France

roi de

et

la grace de

de Navarre, I should tremble in

shoes at the fate those letters anagrammatize.

Look here

Thuillier.

No, I am

Bixiou.

are j-ou

making fun?

Babourdin resigns

not.

in a rage

at finding Baudoj'er appointed director.

Vimeux

Nonsense, no such thing

[entering].

whom

toine

(to

that I

owed him)

An-

I have just been paying forty francs

that Monsieur and

Madame

Rabourdin were at the minister's private party

last night

and stayed

till

tells

is retired.

tune.

short,

be director.

ing clerk, told

the papers

to the staircase.

In

divinely dressed.
is to

me

it is

His Excellency escorted

midnight.

Madame Rabourdin
bourdin

me

it is

It

seems she was

quite certain that

Riffe, the secretary's

he sat up

no longer a

all

the night before to

secret.

is

rich

copy-

draw

Monsieur Clergeot

After thirty years' service that

Monsieur Cochin, who

Ra-

's

no misfor-

275

Bureaucracy.

By

Bixiou.

Vimeux.

cochineal.

Yes, cochineal

he

's

of Matifat, rue des Lombards.

so

Neither

Poiret.

is

certain

the rest

is all

Monsieur Rabourdin

is

a partner in the house

Well, he

retired

So much

to be replaced.

is

is

is

The appointment of

conjecture.

to be announced this

morning

they are afraid of intrigues.

Bixiou.

What

Fleury.

Baudoyer's, confound him

hold him

here

intrigues

?
!

The

priests up-

another article in the liberal journal,

's

only half a dozen

but they are queer [reads]

lines,

" Certain persons spoke

last

night in the lobby of the

Opera-house of the return of Monsieur de Chateaubriand to

the ministry, basing their opinion on the choice

made

of

Monsieur Rabourdin (the protege of the friends of the noble

viscount) to

fill

first selected.

the

office for

The

clerical

which Monsieur Baudoyer was

party

is

not likely to withdraw

unless in deference to the great writer."

Blackguards

Dutocq

Blackguards!

sion].

know

[entering, having heard the whole

the news

Fleury

ball in

Then you

his

eyes

savagely].

Rabourdin a

Are you mad, Dutocq? do you want a

your brains to give them weight?

Dutocq.
din

Rabourdin?

[rolling

blackguard!

Who?

discus-

only

I said nothing against

it

has just been told to

me

Monsieur Rabourin confidence that

276

Bureaucracy.

he has written a paper denouncing

officials,

and

the reason

full

why

the clerks

all

of facts about their lives

him

his friends support

is

and

in short,

because he

has written this paper against the administration, in

which we are

Phellion

exposed

Monsieur Rabourdin

[in a loud voice].

incapable of

Bixiou.

all

is

Very proper

you

in

Tell me,

to say so.

Dutocq [they whisper together and then go into the

corridor],

What has happened?

Dutocq. Do you remember what
Bixiou.

you about

I said to

that caricature?

Bixiou.

Yes, what then?

Make

Dutocq.

dissension

among

and you

it,

The

with a famous fee.

fact

is,

my dear

the powers that be.

pledged to Rabourdin, but

if

doj-er he offends the priests

and

the King, the

be under-head-clerk

shall

he does

fellow, there

The
n't

You

see,

clergy,

and

their party.

want Baudoyer

's

is

appoint Bau-

Dauphin and the Dauphine, the

lastly the court, all

minister

the minister wants

Rabourdin.
Bixiou.

Good

Dutocq.

To

sees he

We

ease the matter

off,

the minister,

must give waj wants to strangle the

must

Rabourdin.

find

some good reason

Now

somebody has

who

difficulty.

for getting rid of

lately unearthed a

277

Bureaucracy.
paper of
tion

and wanting to reform

the rounds,

'11

at

Make

matter.

you

exposing the present system of administra-

his,

it

and that paper

how

least, this is

the drawing

game of

play the

all

we

I understand the

talked of; in so doing

in

short,

Now

and you '11 get your appointment.

everybody;

do you under-

me ?
I don't understand

Bixiou.
that

all

going

the big people, and help the

minister, the court, the clergy,

stand

is

how you came

perhaps you are inventing

Do you want me

Dutocq.

to

to

know

it.

you see what

let

Rabourdin wrote about you?

Yes.

Bixiou.

Then come home with me

Dutocq.
the

document

for I

must put

into safe keeping.

You go first alone. [Re-enters the bureau

Rabourdin.}* What Dutocq told you is really all true,
Bixiou.

word of honor

It

seems that Monsieur Rabourdin

has written and sent in very unflattering descriptions

of the clerks

why

real reason

Well, well

me

whom

we

he wants to " reform."

his secret friends wish

live in

[flings his cloak

claims]

him appointed.

days when nothing astonishes

about him like Talma, and de-

" Thou who hast seen the

Why thus
to find a

That's the

fall of

grand, illustrious heads,

amazed, insensate that thou art,"

man

like

Rabourdin employing such means ?

278

Bureaucracy.

Baudoyer

is

[goes

my

Accept

use them.
either

much of

too

way you

fool

know how

most

chief

illustrious

ofl'J.

Poiket.

I shall leave

this

ministry without ever

comprehending a single word that gentleman

What

to

gentlemen

congratulations,

under a

are

to

utters.

does he mean with his "heads that fall"?

"Heads

Fleury.

Ney, Berton, Caron, the

four sergeants of Rochelle,

brothers Faucher,

He

Phellion.
only guesses

at.

Fleury.

Say

why, think of the

that fell?"

and the massacres.

asserts very flippantly things that he

at once that he lies

in his

mouth

truth

itself turns to corrosion.

Your language

Phellion.

lacks the courtes}"

is

unparliamentary and

and consideration which are due

to

a colleague.

Vimeux.
false,

It

the proper

character

name

for

that if

it is

what he says

is

calumny, defamation of

and such a slanderer deserves a thrashing.

Fleury

me

seems to

[getting hot].

If the government offices are

public places, the matter ought to be taken into the

police-courts.

PriELLiON [wishing to avert a quarrel,

the conversation].

keep quiet?
philosophy-,

Gentlemen, might I ask

am writing
and I am just at
I

tries to turn

little

treatise

the heart of

it.

ou to

on moral

Bureaucracy.

Fleury

What

[interrupting].

279
you

are

sa}-ing

about

Monsieur Phellion?

it,

Phellion [reading]

What

Question.

'
'

is

the soul

man?

of

" Answer.

spiritual substance

which thinks and

reasons."

Thuillier.

Spiritual substance

you might as well

talk about immaterial stone.

Don't interrupt

Poiret.

Phellion [continuing].

let

him go on.

"Quest.

Whence

comes

the soul?

" Ans.
and

From God, who created

indivisible

the

it

of a nature one

destructibility thereof

quently, not conceivable, and he hath said

God

Poiret [amazed].
Phellion.

is,

conse-

"

said?

Yes, monsieur

tradition authorizes the

statement.

Fleury

[to Poiret].

Come, don't
"

Phellion [resuming].
created

never

it

immortal

in

interrupt, yourself.

and he hath said that he

other words,

the

soul

can

die.

What are the uses of the soul

"Ans. To comprehend, to
to remember;
'

'

Quest.

will,

these constitute understanding, volition,

memory.

What are the uses of the understanding?

" Ans. To know.
the eye of the soul."
"Quest.

Tt is

Fleury.

And

the soul

is

the eye of what?

Bureaucracy.

280

"Quest.

Phellion [continuing].

What ought the

understanding to know?

Truth.
Why does man possess volition?
Ans. To love good and hate
good
Quest. What
" Ans. That which makes us happy."

" Ans.

" Quest.
'

evil.

'

'

is

'

Heavens

Vimeux.
ladies

do you teach that

to

youno-

Phelliox. Yes [continuing].

kinds of good are there ?

Fleury.

" Quest.

Amazingly indecorous,

to say the least.

Phellion [aggrieved]. Oh, monsieur!

But here

himself.]

have got [reads]

" Ans.

the answer,

's

How many

"

that

[Controlling
's

There

are

as far as I

two kinds of good,

eternal

good and temporal good."

Poiret [with a look of contempt].

And

does that

anything?

sell for

Phellion.
cation of

mind

answers

that

hope

it will.

to carry
is

why

think, for the answers

on a system of questions and

I ask you to be quiet and Jet

sold separately.

pun ?

Is that a

Thuillier.

No; a

me

Thuillier [interrupting].

Poiret.

It requires great appli-

riddle.

The answers might be

Bureaucracy.
Phellion.

am

281

sorry I interrupted you [he dives

But

into his office desk].

[to himself] at

any

rate, I

have stopped their talking about Monsieur Rabourdin.

At

moment a

this

scene was taking place between

the minister and des Lupeaulx which decided Rabour-

The

din's fate.

general-secretary had gone to see the

minister in his private study before the breakfast-hour,

make

to

'
'

sure that

La

Your Excellency

" He means a

Briere was not within hearing.

is

not treating

me

quarrel," thought the minister

because his mistress coquetted with

all

I did not think

frankly

you so

juvenile,

my

me

"

" and

last night.

dear friend," he

said aloud.

"Friend?"

said the general-secretary, "that

is

what

I want to find out."

The

minister looked haughtily at des Lupeaulx.

"We

are alone," continued the secretary,

can come to an understanding.

arrondissement in which
"

So

it is

really

my

an estate

"and we

The deputy of

estate is

situated

the

" said the minister, laugh-

ing, to hide his surprise.

"Increased by a recent purchase of two hundred

thousand francs' worth of adjacent propei'ty," replied
des Lupeaulx, carelessly.

" You knew of the deputy's

approaching resignation at least ten days ago, and you

did not

do

me

You were perhaps not bound to

you knew very well that I am most anxious

tell

so, but

of

it.

282

Bureaucracy.

to take

my

seat in the Centre.

Has

occurred to j-ou

it

that I might fling mj-self back on the ' Doctrine'

let

me

tell

which,

you, will destroy the administration and the

monarchy both

you continue to allow the party of

if

men

representative government to be recruited from

talent

whom you

ignore.

nation there are

Don't

j ou know that
t

to sixty,

fifty

of

in every

not more, dangerous

heads, whose schemes are in proportion to their ambition

The

secret of

knowing how

to govern is to

know

those heads well, and either to chop them off or buy

them.

know

know how much

I don't

that I have ambition

when you

serious blunder

you

talent I have, but I

and you are committing a

The anointed head dazzles

well.

man who

set aside a

wishes

for the time being,

but what next? Why, a war of words

discussions will

spring up once more and grow embittered, envenomed.

Then,

for j our
T

own

the Left Centre.

sake, I advise j-ou not to find

(instructions for which

dentially)

come

for

am

me

at

In spite of your prefect's manoeuvres

no doubt went from here

secure of a majority.

you and me

confi-

The time has

to understand each other.

After a

breeze like this people sometimes become closer friends

than ever.

I must be

made count and

receive the grand

cordon of the Legion of honor as a reward for

services.

now

However, I care

my public

less for those things just

than I do for something else in which you are more

personally concerned.

You have

not yet appointed Ra-

283

Bureaucracy.
boul'din,

and I have news

show that most persons

morning which tends

this

be better satisfied

will

if

to

you

appoint Baudoj'er."

"Appoint Baudoyer!" echoed

you know him?"
" Yes," said des Lupeaulx

the minister.

" but suppose he prove3

him by

incapable, as he will, you can then get rid of

asking those

You

who

will thus get

friends

it

protect him to employ

back an important

may come

in at the right

some compromise."
" But I have pledged

"That may
change

this

be;

very day.

moment

I don't ask
I

know

the danger of saying

retain

send you
'
'

by that time you may

Rabourdin,

to facilitate

you to make the

But postpone the

appointment, and don't sign the papers

;

give to

office to

yes and no within twenty-four hours.

to-morrow

him elsewhere.

to Itabourdin."

it

and

"Do

find

till

it

tbe

day after

impossible to

in fact, in all probability, he will

his resignation

"

His resignation ? "

" Yes."

"Why?"
"

He

is

the tool of a secret

power

in

whose

he has carried on a system of espionage in

tries,

dent.

all

interests

the minis-

and the thing has been discovered by mere

He

acci-

has written a paper of some kind, giving

short histories of

all

the

officials.

Everybody

is

19

talking

284
of

Bureaucracy.

it

the clerks are furious.

For heaven's sake, don't

transact business with him to-day

means
I

am

for 3011 to avoid

Ask an

it.

let

me

find

audience of the King

sure 3~ou will find great satisfaction there

concede the point about Baudoyer

if

you

and you can obtain

Your

something as an equivalent.

some

position

will

be

better than ever if 3'ou are forced later to dismiss a fool

whom

the court party impose

upon you."

" "What has made you turn against Rabourdin? "

Would you

'
'

forgive Monsieur de Chateaubriand for

writing an article
that,

against the ministry?

Well, read

and see how Rabourdin has treated me

in

his

secret document," said des Lupeaulx, giving the paper

"

to the minister.

He

pretends to reorganize the gov-

ernment from beginning

ests of

some

nothing.

to end,

no doubt

secret society of which, as yet,

by that means I maj' render the gov-

ernment such signal service that they

count

for.

ing
in

we know

I shall continue to be his friend for the sake

of watching him

me

in the inter-

will

have to make

for the peerage is the only thing I really care

want you

am not seekthat would cause me to stand

understand that I

anything else

office or

am

simply aiming for the peerage, which

me

to

many

your way

will enable

fully to

a banker's daughter with an

income of a couple of hundred thousand francs.

so, allow
will

make

me

to render

the

King

you a few

feel that I

And

signal services which

have saved the throne.

Bureaucracy.

285

have long said that Liberalism would never

up conspiracies, Carbona-

It has given

pitched battle.

roism, and revolts with weapons

mining, and the day

say,

'

is

let

me

in

'
!

have been courting Rabourdin's wife

ure

it

be able to

will

Do you think I
for my own pleas-

No, but I got much information from

now,

now sapping and

it is

coming when

Out of that and

offer us a

let

us agree on two things

first,

So

her.

the postponement

of the appointment; second, your sincere support of

You

election.

shall find at the

my

end of the session that

I have amply repaid j'ou."

For

answer, the minister took the appointment

all

papers and placed them in des Lupeaulx's hand.

"I

will

go and

tell

"that you cannot

Rabourdin," added des Lupeaulx,

business

transact

with

him

till

Saturday."

The minister

replied with

secretary despatched his

an assenting gesture.

man

The

with a message to Ra-

bourdin that the minister could not work with him until
Saturday, on which day the
private

bills,

and

his

Chamber was occupied with

Excellency had more time at his

disposal.

Just at this

moment

Saillard,

monthly stipend, was slipping

ear of the minister's wife,

having brought the

his little speech into the

who drew

herself

up and

answered with dignity that she did not meddle in

tical matters,

poli-

and besides, she had heard that Monsieur

286

Bureaucracy.

Eabourdin was
fied,

Saillard,

appointed.

already

rushed up to Baudoyer's

office,

terri-

where he found

Dutocq, Godard, and Bixiou in a state of exasperation difficult to describe

terrible

were

all

discussed.

on a paragraph].

his finger

Listen [reads]

pere Saillard.

The

" Saillard.
all

were reading the

paper on the administration in which they

Bixiou [with
are,

for they

the ministries

office

Here you

of cashier to be suppressed in

their accounts to be kept in future

Saillard

at the Treasurj',

is

rich

and does not need

a pension."

Do you want

to hear about j'our son-in-law

Here he

over the leaves.]

" Baudoyer.

Utterly

and dismissed.

And

here

's

" Godard.

Rich
for

is

[reads]

incapable.

[Turns

To be thanked

does not need a pension."

Godard [reads]

Should

be dismissed

pension

one-

third of his present salary."

In short, here we
[reads]

An

'
:

'

the

Great deal of capacity,

application,

touch of the

Saillard.

monster ?

am

who might be employed by

are.

the Opera, or the Menus-Plaisirs, or the

civil list, at

Museum.

artist

Listen to what I

all

Ha!

restless spirit."

artist,

little self-respect,

I'll give

no

you a

Monsieur Eabourdin

Suppress cashiers

Why,

the

man 's

Bureaucracy.

Let us see what he says of our mysterious

Bixiou.

[Turns over the pages

Desroys.

287

Dangerous;

" Desroys.

reads.]

because

he

cannot

be

shaken in principles that are subversive of monarchial

He

power.

is

the son of a Conventiond, and he ad-

He

mires the Convention.

maj' become a very mis-

chievous journalist."

The

Baudoyek.

Godard.

police are not worse spies

shall

go to the general-secretary and

lay a complaint in form

if

such a

man

Dutocq.

as that

is

we must

put over

Gentlemen,

listen to

accused of rancor and revenge.

let the

rumor spread

quietl}'.

body

us.

me

let

No,

let

When

us be pru-

we may

If 3'ou rise at once in a body,

dent.

istry

resign in a

all

all

be

the thing work,

the whole min-

aroused your remonstrances will meet with

is

general approval.

Dutocq believes

Bixiou.

grand

in

the principles of the

composed by the sublime Eossini

for Basilio,

which goes to show, by the bye, that the

great com-

air

poser was also a great politician.

I shall leave

card on Monsieur Rabourdin to-morrow morning,

scribed thus
restless

"Bixiou; no

self-respect,

my
in-

no application,

mind."

Godard.

A good idea, gentlemen.

Let us

all

leave

our cards to-morrow on Rabourdin inscribed in the

same way.

288

Bureaucracy.

Dutocq
to

make

agree

'11

that caricature now, won't you?

Bixiou.

knew

Come, you

[leading Bixiou apart].

all

see

plain!}',

about this

the eye].

Dutocq.

my

dear fellow, that you

affair ten daj-s

ago [looks him

Am I to be under-head-clerk
On my word of honor,

j-es,

and a thousand-

You

franc fee beside, just as I told you.

in

don't

know

what a service you'll be rendering to powerful

per-

sonages.

Bixiou.

Dutocq.
Bixiou.

Dutocq
not,

You know them ?

Yes.
Well, then I want to speak with them.

You can make

[dryly].

the caricature or

and you can be under-head-clerk or

not,

as

you

please.

Bixiou.

At any

rate,

let

me

see

that

thousand

francs.

Dutocq.

You

shall

have them when you bring the

drawing.
Bixiou.

Forward, march

that lampoon shall go

from end to end of the bureaus to-morrow morning.

Let us'go and torment the Rabourdins.

ing to

Saillard,

Godard, and

Baudoyer, who were

talking together in a low voice.]

stir

up the neighbors.

bom-din bureau.

[Then speak-

"We are going to

[Goes with Dutocq into the Ea-

Fleury, Thuillier, and

there, talking excitedly.]

What's

Vimeux

are

the matter, gentle-

Bureaucracy.

men ?

289

All that I told you turns out to be true

you

can go and see for yourselves the work of this infamous

informer

for

it is

estimable, upright,

hands of the virtuous, honest,

in the

and pious Baudoyer, who

utterly incapable of doing

Your

any such thing.

has got every one of you under the guillotine.

see

follow the crowd

satisfied

money returned

execution gratis

if

chief

Go and

you are not

The appointments

All the bureaus are in arms

postponed.

indeed

is

are

Eabourdin

has been informed that the minister will not work with
him.

Come, be

They
left

all

off;

go and see

for yourselves.

depart except Phellion and Poiret,

alone.

The former loved Eabourdin

look for proof that might injure a

mined not to judge

He was

he did not show

Phellion.

it,

down

way.

to collect the papers

a good deal surprised, though

is

friend [he rose, a rare thing],

going on ? what scandals are

about Monsieur Eabourdin

whom

ing to whisper in Sebastien's ear]

as I respect him.

either

more

to find the office deserted.

My young

do you know what

he was deter-

and cared nothing

Just then Sebastien came

are

too well to

the other had only five days

to remain in the office,

for signature.

man

who

j'ou love,

whom

rife

and [bend-

I love as

They say he has committed

much

the im-

prudence to leave a paper containing comments on the

officials

lying about in the office

short, caught the

young man

[Phellion stopped

in his strong arms, seeing

290

Bureaucracy.

that he turned pale and

him on a

down

'

chair.]

back

his

'

was near

I have the key of

Poiret.

and placed

key, Monsieur Poiret, to put

have you a key

fainting,

my

domicile.

[Old Poiret junior promptly inserted the said key

between Sebastien's shoulders, while Phellion gave him

The poor

some water to drink.

his ej-es than he

began to weep.

Phellion's desk,

and

struck by

lightning

lad no sooner opened

He

his limbs

all

laid his

head on

were as limp as

if

while his sobs were so heartrend-

ing, so genuine, that for the first time in his life Poiret's

were stirred by the sufferings of another.]

feelings

Phellion

young

[speaking

friend

You

show courage.

What

courage

Come,

firmly].

In times of

trial

What

are a man.

come,

my

we must

the matter?

is

has happened to distress 30U so terribly?

sieur Rabourdin.

I copied

Mon-

I left that paper lying about

when

It is I

I have killed

it.

Such a noble man

mj'self.

who have

ruined

Sebastien [sobbing].

my
!

benefactor

I shall die

man who

ought to be

minister

Poiret [blowing

his nose].

Then

sobbing].

But

it is

true he wrote

the report.

Sebastien

[still

I was going to

Dutocq

it

tell his

secrets

was he who

it

Ah

was

to

there,

that wretch of a

stole the paper.

His tears and sobs recommenced and made so much

Bureaucracy.
noise that Eabourdin

He

ter.

came up

291

to see

what was the mat-

found the young fellow almost fainting in the

arms of Poiret and Phellion.

Eabourdin.

What

the matter, gentlemen

is

Sebastien [struggling to

his feet

That memorandum,

sieur.

must have taken

falling

I have ruined you,

knees before Rabourdin].

his

and then

on

mon-

Dutocq, the monster, he

it.

Rabourdin [calmly].

knew

that already [he

lifts

You are a child, my young friend. [Speaks

Phellion.]
Where are the other gentlemen?

Sebastien].
to

Phellion.
Baudoyer's

Monsieur, they have gone into Monsieur

office to see

a paper which

it is

said

Rabourdin [interrupting him]. Enough. [Goes

taking Sebastien with him.

out,

Poiret and Phellion look

amazement, and do not know what

at each other in
to sa}'.]

Poiret [to Phellion]

Phellion
Poiret.

Monsieur Rabourdin

[to Poiret].

Well, I never

But did

Phellion.
fied

Monsieur Rabourdin

Monsieur Rabourdin

j'ou notice

how calm and

digni-

he was?

Poiret [with a

mace]

sly look that

was more

like a gri-

I should n't be surprised if there were some-

thing under

it

Phellion.
Poiret.

all.

A man

Who

is ?

of honor

pure and spotless.

292

Bureaucracy.
Monsieur Poiret, you think as I think

Phellion.
about Dutocq

surely

Poiret [nodding

you understand me?

his

head three times and answering

[The other

with a shrewd look]. Yes.

.

Fleury.

still

don't believe the

Monsieur Rabourdin, a king among men

thing.

such

great shock

clerks return.]

men

are spies,

it

is

If

enough to disgust one with

I have always put Rabourdin

virtue.

among

Plutarch's

heroes.

Vimeux.
Poiret

It is all true.

[reflecting that

to stay in the office].

upon Rabourdin ?

Phellion

stole that paper,

[Dutocq

I say he is a

Fleury.

five

days more

But gentlemen, what do you

man who

about the

saj'

he had only

left

Judas

spied

the room.]

Who

Iscariot.

He

[significantly].

who

is

he ?

is

not here at this

moment.

Vimeux

[enlightened].

Phellion.

I have

It is

Dutocq!

no proof of it, gentlemen.

While

you were gone, that j'oung man, Monsieur de la Roche,

nearly fainted here.

Poiret.

We

kejT the key of

,

his back.

Vimeux.
with

whom

See his tears on mj desk

7

held him fainting in our arms.

my

domicile

dear, dear

it is

My
down

[Poiret goes hastily out.]

The

minister refused to transact business

Rabourdin to-day

and Monsieur

the secretary said a few words,

Saillard,

came to

to
tell

293

Bureaucracy.

Monsieur Baudoj'er to appty for the cross of the Legion

of honor,

there

New-year's day, to

what

quite clear

the heads of divisions.

all

We

Bixiou says so.

were

Sebastien and Phellion.

Du

Monsieur Rabourdin

means.

all

it

It is

by the very persons who employed him.

sacrificed

is

one to be granted, you know, on

is

Bruel

To

Du Bruel

to be turned out, except

Well, gentlemen,

[entering].

Thuillier.

all

is it

true?

the last word.

[putting his hat on again].

Good-bye.

[Hurries out.]

He may

Thuillier.
his

Due

rush as

Rhetore and

cle

much

as he pleases to

Due de Maufrigneuse,

Colleville is to be our under-head-clerk, that

Du

Phellion.

's

but

certain.

Bruel always seemed to be attached

Monsieur Rabourdin.

to

Poiret [returning].
to get

my

back

had a world of trouble

I have

That boy

kej'.

is

crying

Monsieur Rabourdin has disappeared.

still,

and

[Dntocq and

Bixiou enter.]
Bixiou.

on

in

Ha, gentlemen

your bureau.

Du

Bixiou.

Fleury.

strange things are going

Bruel

into the adjoining room.]

Thuillier.

I want

3*011.

[Looks

Gone?

Full speed.

What

about Rabourdin ?

Distilled,

evaporated,

man, the king of men, that he

melted!

Such a

294

Bureaucracy.

Poiret

[to

That

Dutocq].

little

Monsieur Dutocq, had taken the

trouble, said that you,

paper from him ten days

ago.

Bixiou [looking at Dutocq].

my

self of that,

Sebastien, in his

good

You must

clear your-

[All the

clerks look

friend.

fixedly at Dutocq.]

Dutocq.

Where 's

Bixiou.

Copied

it ?

Ha

mond.

ha

it is

the little.viper

How

it ?

who copied

did you

know he

it ?

copied

only the diamond that cuts the dia-

[Dutocq leaves the room.]

Would you

Poiret.

listen to

me, Monsieur Bixiou?

I have only five daj's and a half to stay in this office,

and I do wish that once, only once, I might have the

Do me

pleasure of understanding what you mean.

the

honor to explain what diamonds have to do with these

present circumstances.
I meant, papa,

Bixiou.
to bring

my

just as the
it is

intellect

down

Fleury.

for

I'm

willing for once

to the level of yours,

that

diamond alone can cut the diamond, so

only one inquisitive

inquisitive

man who can

defeat another

man.

" Inquisitive man " stands

Poiret.

I don't understand.

Bixiou.

Very well

Monsieur Rabourdin,
room, had gone

try again

for

" spy."

some other

time.

after taking Sebastien to his

straight to

the minister;

but the

295

Bureaucracy.
minister

was

at the

Chamber of Deputies.

Babourdin

went at once to the Chamber, where he wrote a note

who was

to his Excellency,

at

moment

that

in

the

Babourdin waited,

tribune engaged in a hot discussion.

but in the courtyard, where,

not in the conference

hall,

in spite of

he resolved to remain and

inter-

cept his Excellency as he got into his carriage.

The

the cold,

usher of the Chamber had told him that the minister

was

in the thick of a controversy raised

members of the extreme

was
fro

be stormy.

likely to

in

the

courtyard of

Left,

and that the session

Babourdin walked to and

the

palace for five mortal

At

hours, a prey to feverish agitation.

o'clock the session
out.

The

by the nineteen

half-past six

broke up, and the members

minister's

filed

chasseur came up to find the

coachman.

" Hi, Jean

" he called out to

him; "Monseigneur

has gone with the minister of war

see the King,

we

are to fetch

and

they are going to

after that they dine together,

him

There

at ten o'clock.

's

and

a Council

this evening."

Babourdin walked slowly home, in a

ency not

difficult

to imagine.

It

state of despond-

was seven

o'clock,

and he had barely time to dress.

" Well, you are appointed?" cried

his wife, joyousty,

as he entered the salon.

Babourdin raised his head with a grievous motion of

296

Bureaucracy.
and answered, " I fear

distress

I shall never again set

foot in the ministry."

"What?"

said

his

quivering with sudden

wife,

anxiety.

My memorandum

'
'

offices

on the

officials is

known

and I have not been able to see the

Celestine's eyes were

which the

minister."

opened to a sudden vision

one of his infernal

devil, with

in all the

flashes,

in

showed

her the meaning of her last conversation with

des

Lupeaulx.

" If I had behaved

like

a low woman," she thought,

" we should have had the place."

She looked at Rabourdin with grief
sad silence

in her heart.

between them, and dinner was eaten

fell

in

the midst of gloomy meditations.

"

And

"All

it is

my Wednesday,"

not

is

she said at

dear Celestine," said Eabourdin,

lost,

laying a kiss on his wife's forehead

" perhaps to-morrow

I shall be able to see the minister

thing.

ing

Sebastien sat up

all last

and explain every-

night to finish the writ-

the papers are copied and collated

them on the

minister's desk

La

through.

"lam
"He?

I shall place

man

is

never

a hearing."

curious to see

come here

and beg him to read them

Briere will help me.

condemned without

last.

if

Monsieur des Lupeaulx

will

to-night."

Of

course he will come," said Rabourdin;

297

Bureaucracy.
" there

's

something of the tiger in him

the blood of the

"

My

wounds he has given."

poor husband," said his wife, taking his hand,

" I don't see how

it is

that a

man who

so noble a reform did not also see that

be communicated to a single person.

ideas that a

man

should keep in his

alone can appVy them.

litical

You

rere's mistress.
7

elected deput}

down

Army

It is

one of those

own mind,
must do

in

for he

our po-

he stooped, twisted,

To

be made com-

of Italy he married Bar-

should have waited, got yourself

you should have taken,

motto

All things are given to

'

on the crest of

like

Monsieur de

Col tempo,' in other words,

him who knows how

That great orator worked

to wait.'

for seven years to get into

he begaii in 1814 by protesting against the

Charter

when he was

Here

your fault

's

ought not to

it

followed the politics of a party, some-

Villele, the Italian

power

could conceive

in the depths, at other times

the wave, and

'

in his

Yes, Bonaparte crawled

mander-in-chief of the

times

A statesman

sphere as Napoleon did

crawled.

he likes to lick

the

same age that you are now.

you have allowed yourself to be

kept subordinate, when you were born to rule."

The entrance of the

painter Schinner imposed silence

on the wife and husband, but these words made the

latter thoughtful.

"Dear

friend," said the painter, grasping Rabourdin's

hand, " the support of artists

is

a useless thing enough,

298
but

Bureaucracy.

me

let

all faithful

Baudoyer

is

appointed director and receives the cross

have been longer in the department, I have served

tvventj'-four j'ears," said

"

are

I have just read the evening papers.

to you.

of the Legion of honor

" I

we

say under these circumstances that

know Monsieur

le

Rabourdin with a

Comte de

of State, pretty well, and

if

smile.

Serizy, the minister

he can help you, I

will

go

and see him," said Schinner.

The

salon soon

filled

with persons

Madame Rabourdin was

appear.

graceful than ever, like the charger

that

who knew

Du

of the government proceedings.

still

finds strength to

cany

nothing

Bruel did not

gayer and

wounded

his

more

in battle,

master from the

field.

" She

knew

is

very courageous," said a few

women who

who were charmingly

attentive to

the truth, and

her, understanding her misfortunes.

"But

she certainly did a great deal to attract des

Lupeaulx," said the Baronne du Chatelet to the Vicomtesse de Fontaine.

" Do you think"

"If so,"

began the vicomtesse.

interrupted

Madame

de Camps, in defence

of her friend, " Monsieur Rabourdin would at least have

had the

cross."

About eleven

o'clock des Lupeaulx appeared

and we

can only describe him by saying that his spectacles were

Bureaucracy.
sad and his eyes joyous

299

the glasses, however, obscured

the glances so successfully that only a physiognomist

would have seen the diabolical expression which they

He

wore.

went up to Rabourdin and pressed the hand

latter could not avoid giving him.

which the

Then he approached Madame Rabourdin.

We

"

have much to say to each other," he remarked

as he seated himself beside the beautiful

received him admirably.

" Ah " he continued, giving her a
!

are grand indeed

you just what

Do

you know that

thing to find a superior

You

are right

whispered in her

own hands,

so

who adores

you.

a very rare

woman who answers

to the ex-

So defeat does

" But

is

long, I mean, as your ally

will

" Not yet

During

Madame

man

"

but he will have

"Amazing
!

Baudoyer appointed? " she asked.

" Does he get the cross?

Ah

is

hold counsel together."

" Yes," said the secretaiyr

"

n't dishearten

we shall triumph in the end," he

" Your fate is always in jour

ear.

We

you

I expected, gloit is

pectations formed of her.

you?

side glance, "

I find

rious under defeat.

woman, who

it

later."

"
!

you don't understand

this evening,

political exigencies."

which seemed interminable to

Rabourdin, another scene, was occurring in

20

300

Bureaucracy.

the place Royale,

one

of those comedies which are

played in seven Parisian salons whenever there

The

change of ministry.

Monsieur
o'clock

is

was crowded.

Saillards' salon

Madame Transon arrived at eight

Madame Transon kissed Madame Baudoyer,
and

nee Saillard.

Monsieur

tional Guard,

came with

Bataille, captain of the

his wife

Na-

and the curate of

Saint Paul's.

"Monsieur Baudoyer,"
wish to be the
justice to

first

your

Madame

said

you

to congratulate

You have

talents.

Transon,

"I

they have done

indeed earned your

promotion."

"Here you

are, director," said

rubbing his hands,

"and

Monsieur Transon,

the appointment

is

very

flat-

tering to this neighborhood."

" And we can

truly say

it

came

to pass without any

"

intriguing," said the worthy Saillard.

of us political intriguers
7

at the ministrj

we don't go

We

are none

to select parties

."

Uncle Mitral rubbed his nose and grinned as he

glanced at his niece Elisabeth, the

had pulled the

who was

stupid

blindness

of

Messieurs Dutocq, Bixiou,

Colleville

entered.

talking with Gigonnet.

honest fellow, did not

Falleix,

of the

wires,

woman whose hand

know what

Saillard

du

(the latter appointed

Bruel,

to

make

and Baudoyer
Godard,

and

head of the bureau)

Bureaucracy.

" What a crew

could

make a

fishes,

dorys,

" whispered Bixiou to

fine caricature

flounders,

dancing a saraband

my congratulations
to assure
in

of them in the shapes of

sharks,

lies in

knew of

"I come

Colleville,

or rather

man

we

to offer

you

congratulate ourselves

placed over us

Allow me to say that

my

and we desire

shall co-operate

this

event affords

axiom that a man's

the letters of his name.

this

all

a signal proof of the truth of

destiny

and snappers,

you of the zeal with which we

your labors.

"I

du Bruel.

"

"Monsieur," said

in having such a

301

may

say that

appointment and of your other honors

before I heard of them, for I spent the night in ana-

grammatizing your name as follows [proudly]

C. T.

Baudoyer,

Isidore

Director, decorated by us

(his

Ma-

jesty the King, of course).

Baudoyer bowed and remarked piously that names

were given in baptism.

Monsieur and

Madame

Baudoyer, senior, father and

mother of the new director, were there to enjoy the

glory of their son and daughter-in-law.
net-Bidault,

who had dined

fidgety look in his eye

at the house,

Uncle Gigon-

had a

restless,

which frightened Bixiou.

"There's a queer one," said the latter to du Bruel,

calling his attention to Gigonnet, " who would do in a
vaudeville.

old scarecrow

wonder
is

if

he could be bought.

Such an

just the thing for a sign over the

Two

302

Bureaucracy.

And what

Baboons.

a coat

I did think there

nobody but Poiret who could show the

was

like of that after

ten years' public exposure to the inclemencies of Parisian

weather."

" Baudoyer is magnificent," said du

" Dazzling," answered Bixiou.

Bruel.

"Gentlemen," said Baudoyer, "let me present you

to my own uncle, Monsieur Mitral, and to my great-

my

uncle through

wife,

Monsieur Bidault.

Gigonnet and Mitral gave a glance at the three clerks

so penetrating, so glittering with gleams of gold, that
the two scoffers were sobered at once.

"Hein?"

said Bixiou,

when they were

the arcades in the place Royale

those uncles ?

money

two

lent in

is

per week.

copies of

and children

'11

bet their

the market at a hundred per cent

of, coats,
;

"did you examine

Shy lock.

They lend on pawn

they lay hold

safely under

and

sell

most that

gold lace, cheese, men, women,

they are a conglomeration of Arabs,

Jews, Genoese, Genevese, Greeks, Lombards, and Pasuckled by

risians,

woman."
" I believe

a wolf

j'ou," said

and born of a Turkish

Godard.

" Uncle Mitral used

to be a sheriff's officer."

" That

"I'm
Bixiou

settles it," said

du Bruel.

off to see the proof of

" but

my

caricature," said

I should like to study the state of things

Bureaucracy.
in Rabourdin's

able to

"

My

go

salon to-night.

there,

You

303
are luekjr to be

du Bruel."

" said the vaudevillist,

" what should

face does n't lend itself to condolences.

do there?

And

very vulgar in these days to go and see people

down."

who

it is

are

804

Bureaucracy.

IX.

THE RESIGNATION.

By midnight Madame
serted

Kabourdin's salon was de-

only two or three guests remained with des

Lupeaulx and the master and mistress of the house.

When

Madame

Schinner and Monsieur and

de Camps

bad likewise departed, des Lupeaulx rose with a mysterious air, stood with bis

alternately at the

"My

back to the

husband and

friends," he said,

fireplace

and looked

wife.

"nothing

is really lost, for

Dutocq simply

the minister and I are faithful to you.

chose between two powers the one he thought strongest.

He

has served the court and the Grand Almoner

be has betrayed me.

But that

is in

the order of things

a politician never complains of treachery.

less,

Neverthe-

Baudoyer will be dismissed as incapable in a few

months

no doubt

his protectors will find

in the prefecture of police, perhaps,

him a

place,

for the clergy will

not desert him."

From

this point des

tirade about the

government ran

Lupeaulx went on with a long

Grand Almoner and

in relying

the dangers the

upon the church and upon

Bureaucracy.
the Jesuits.

We

need not, we think, point out to the

intelligent reader that the court

to

whom

305

and the Grand Almoner,

the liberal journals attributed an

fluence over the administration,

had

enormous

in-

really to

do

little

with Monsieur Baudoj'er's appointment.

Such

pett}^

intrigues die in the upper sphere of great self-interests.

If a few words in favor of Baudoyer were obtained

by

the importunity of the curate of Saint-Paul's and the

Abbe Gaudron, they would have been withdrawn immediately at a suggestion from the minister.

The

occult

power of the Congregation of Jesus (admissible certainly

as confronting the bold society of the "Doctrine," entitled

'
'

Help yourself and heaven

will help you,")

was

formidable only through the imaginary force conferred

on

it

by subordinate powers who perpetually threatened

each other with

its evils.

The

liberal

scandal-mongers

delighted in representing the

Grand Almoner and

whole Jesuitical Chapter as

political,

civil,

and

military giants.

this crisis
ter, little

administrative,

Fear creates bugbears.

Baudoyer firmly believed

the

in the said

At

Chap-

aware that the only Jesuits who had put him

where he now was sat by his own

fireside,

and

in the

Cafe Themis playing dominoes.

At
to

certain epochs in history certain

whom

all evils

time their genius

argument

in the

powers appear,

are attributed, though at the

is

denied

mouth of

fools.

they form an

same

efficient

Just as Monsieur do

Bureaucracy.

306

Talleyrand was supposed to hail

events of whatever

all

kind with a bon mot, so in these days of the Restoration the

clerical

credit of doing

Unfortunately,

undoing everything.
nothing.

had the

part}-

it

and

did and undid

was not wielded by a Cardinal

Its influence

Richelieu or a Cardinal Mazarin

was

it

hands

in the

of a species of Cardinal de Fleur}', who, timid for over

turned bold for one

five years,

daj-, injudiciously bold.

Later on, the "Doctrine" did more, with impunity, at

Saint-Merri, than Charles

1830.

If the section

X. pretended

new

introduced into the

to

do

on the censorship so

younger Branch could have

foolishly

had been omitted,

charter

journalism also would have had

in July,

Saint-Merri.

its

The

legally carried out Charles

X.'s plan.

"Remain where you

head of a bureau under

are,

Baudoyer," went on des Lupeaulx.

to

do

this

make

don't say a

word

Have

new

the nerve

put ideas

attend only to

to j'our

help him with a suggestion

without his order.

'

yourself a true politician

and generous impulses aside

tions

'

our func-

director

don't

and do nothing yourself

In three months Baudoyer

will

be

out of the ministry, either dismissed, or stranded on

some other administrative

him

to the king's household.

been set aside as you

lanche of folly

are,

shore.

They may

Twice

in

my

attach

life

I have

and overwhelmed by an ava-

I have quietly waited and

let it

pass."

Bureaucracy.

807

" Yes," said Rabourdin, " but you were not calumniated

honor was not assailed, compromised

j'our

"Ha,

ha, ha

" cried des Lupeaulx, interrupting

man

daily bread of every remarkable

kingdom of France

meet such calumny,

go plant cabbages
fearless,

"For me,

there

And

in the

in this glorious

there are but two

either

yield to

country

him

" Wiry, that's the

with a burst of Homeric laughter.

march on,

"

ways

to

pack up, and

it,

or else rise above

it,

and don't turn your head."

is

but one

way of untying

the noose

which treachery and the work of spies have fastened

round

my

throat," replied Rabourdin.

'

'

plain the matter at once to his Excellency,

are as sincerely attached to

you

will

put

me

me

face to face with

must ex-

and

if }-ou

as you say you are,

him to-morrow."

" You mean that you wish to explain to him your

plan for the reform of the service?"

Rabourdin bowed.

" Well,
randa,
sit

up

all
all

then, trust the papers with me,

the documents.

'

I promise }-ou that he shall

night and examine them."

" Let us go
'

your memo-

to him, then

" cried

six years' toil certainly deserves

attention from the king's minister,

Rabourdin, eagerby

two or three hours

who

will

be forced to

recognize, if he does not applaud, such perseverance."

Compelled by Rabourdin's tenacity to take a straightforward

path,

without

ambush or angle where

his

308

Bureaucracy.

treachery could hide

des Lupeaulx hesitated for

itself,

a single instant, and looked at

while

he

inwardly asked

my

permit to triumph,

Madame

Rabourdin,

" Which

himself,

hatred for him, or

shall

my

fancy

her?"

for
'
'

You have no

after a pause.

"

my

confidence in

honor," he said,

I see that you will always be to

author of your secret analysis.

Madame Rabourdin bowed

me the

Adieu, madame."
coldly.

and

Celestine

Xavier returned at once to their own rooms without

a word

both were overcome by their misfortune.

The

wife thought of the dreadful situation in which she

stood toward her husband.

The husband,

resolving

slowly not to remain at the ministry but to send in his

resignation at once, was lost in a sea of reflections

the crisis for him meant a total change of

necessity of starting

before his

fire,

on a new

on

my resignation now."
He turned to his table and
over each clause of the

Excellency

my

to bring

show Baudoyer the routine of

ness," he said to himself at last.

Monseigneur,

who came

tiptoe, in her night-dress.

" I must go once more to the ministry,

papers, and

and the

All night he sat

career.

taking no notice of Celestine,

in several times

my

life

letter,

'
'

began

had

away

the busi-

better write

to write, thinking

which was as follows

have the honor to inclose to your

resignation.

I venture to hope that you

still

Bureaucracy.

309

remember hearing me say that I left my honor in your hands,

and that everything, for me, depended on my being able to
give you an immediate explanation.
This explanation I have vainly sought to give.
would, perhaps, be useless; for a fragment of
lating to the administration, stolen

the rounds of the offices and

To-day

my work

and misused, has gone

misinterpreted by hatred;

is

in consequence, I find myself compelled to resign,

tacit

condemnation of

my

it

re-

under the

superiors.

Your Excellency may have thought, on the morning when

I first sought to speak with you, that my purpose was to ask
for my promotion, when, in fact, I was thinking only of the
glory and usefulness of your ministry and of the public good.
It is all-important, I think, to correct that impression.

Then followed
It

was

the usual epistolary formulas.

half-past seven in the

consummated the

sacrifice

morning when the man

of his ideas

everything, the toil of years.

Fatigued

he burned

In*

the pressure

of thought, overcome by mental suffering, he

fell

with his head on the back of his armchair.

wakened by a curious sensation, and found

asleep

He was
hands

his

covered with his wife's tears and saw her kneeling before
him.

Celestine

had read the

measure the depth of his

fall.

resignation.

She could

They were now

reduced to live on four thousand francs a year

that day she had counted up her debts,
to

something

like
all

And

man who had

that noble

and

they amounted

thirty-two thousand francs

most ignoble of

to be

The

wretchedness had come upon them.

trusted her

was ignorant

310

Bureaucracy.

that she
care.

had abused the fortune he had confided

She was sobbing at

to her

beautiful as the

his feet,

Magdalen.

"

My

cup

"

cried Xavier, in his terror.

is full,"

am dishonored at the ministry, and dishonored "

The

light of her pure

honor flashed from Celestine's

eyes; she sprang up like a startled horse and cast a

fulminating glance at Rabourdin.

"I! I!"

But," she added, mournfully, "

believe that than to believe

" Then what

"All

in

If I were, you would have been ap-

a base wife?
pointed.

"Am

she said, on two sublime tones.

is it? "

is

easier to

the truth."

said Rabourdin.

words,"

three

what

it is

"I owe

she said;

thirty

thousand francs."

Rabourdin caught his wife to his heart with a gesture

of almost frantic joy, and seated her on his knee.

"Take

comfort, dear,"

he said, in a tone of voice

so adorably kind that the bitterness of her grief was

" I too

changed to something inexpressibly tender.

have made mistakes

I have

worked

uselessly for

my

country when I thought I was being useful to her.

But now I mean

groceries

to take another path.

we should now be

be grocers.
in ten years

You
you

millionnaires.

If I had sold

Well,

let

us

are only twenty-eight, dear angel;

shall recover the luxury that

you

which we must needs renounce for a short time.

love,

I, too,

Bureaucracy.

am

dear heart,
will sell

not a base or

our farm

its

We

common husband.

value has increased of

and the sale of our furniture

My debts

311

will

pay

my

That

late.

debts."

Celestine embraced her husband a thou-

sand times in the single kiss with which she thanked

him
'
'

for that generous word.

We

shall still

put into
find

have a hundred thousand francs to

Before the month

business.

some favorable opening.

Falleix to a Saillard,

why

breakfast for me.

am

but I shall

out I shall

is

If luck gave a Martin

should

we despair?

going now to the

come back with

my

neck

Wait

ministrj*,

free

of

the

yoke."
Celestine
force

men do

moments
than

clasped

for

her husband in her arms with a

possess, even in

not

women

men through

are

power.

their

passionate

stronger through emotion

She wept and laughed and

sobbed in turns.

When Kabourdin
the porter gave
Bixiou.

left

him the

the

house at eight o'clock,

satirical cards

suggested by

Nevertheless, he went to the ministry, where

he found S^bastien waiting near the door to entreat

him not to enter any of the bureaus, because an

in-

famous caricature of him was making the round of the

offices.

" If you wish

said to the lad,

to soften the pain of

my

downfall," he

" bring me that drawing; I am now

312

Bureaucracy.

taking

my

that

may

it

resignation to Ernest de la Briere myself,

not be altered or distorted while passing

through the routine channels.

have

my own

reasons

for wishing to see that caricature."

When

Rabourdin came back to the courtyard,

making sure that

his letter

after

would go straight into the

minister's hands, he found Sebastien in tears, with a

copy of the lithograph, which the lad reluctantly handed

over to him.

"

showing a serene

It is very clever," said Rabourdin,

brow to

bis companion, though the

on

the same.

it all

He

crown of thorns was

entered the bureaus with a calm

air,

and went

at

once into Baudoyer's section to ask him to come to the

office

of the head of the division and receive instruc-

tions as to the business which that incapable being

was

henceforth to direct.

" Tell Monsieur Baudoyer that there must be no

delay," he added, in the hearing of

all

the clerks

"

my

already in the minister's hands, and I do

resignation

is

not wish to

staj^

here longer than

is

necessaiy."

Seeing Bixiou, Rabourdin went straight up to him,

showed him the lithograph, and

ishment of

"Was

not right in saying you were an artist?

a pity you directed the point of your pencil

Still, it is

against a

all

said, to the great aston-

present,

man who

cannot be judged in this way, nor

Bureaucracy.
indeed by the bureaus

313

but

everything

is

into the office of the late

La

at

all

laughed at in France, even God."

Then he took Baudoj'er

At

Billardiere.
tien, the

to

the door he found Phellion and Sebas-

only two who, under his great disaster, dared

remain openly

faithful to the fallen

man.

noticed that Phellion's e3'es were moist,

refrain

from wringing

Rabourdin

and he could not

his hand.

"Monsieur," said the good man, "if we can serve

you

in

any way, make use of us."

Rabourdin

Monsieur
chiefs

with

office

shut himself up in the late

Monsieur Baudoyer, and Phellion

helped him to show the

new incumbent

ministrative difficulties of his

new

separate affair which Rabourdin

Baudoyer's

little

all

explained,

eyes grew as big as saucers.

"Farewell, monsieur," said Rabourdin at

a manner that

At each

position.

carefully

the ad-

was half-solemn,

with

half-satirical.

made up

Sebastien meanwhile had

last,

a package of pa-

pers and letters belonging to his chief and had carried

them away

in a

hackney coach.

through the grand courtyard, while

Rabonrdin passed
all

the clerks were

watching from the windows, and waited there a moment

to see if the minister

would send

His Excellencjr was dumb.

corted the fallen

man

to his

hiin

any message.

Phellion courageously es-

home, expressing

ings of respectful admiration

his feel-

then he returned to the

314
office,

Bureaucracy.

and took up

work, satisfied with his

his

own

con-

duct in rendering these funeral honors to neglected and

misjudged administrative talent.

Bixiou [seeing Phellion

re-enter].

Victrix causa

diis plactrit, sed victa Catoni.

Phellion.

Yes, monsieur.

Poiret.

What

does that mean

Fleury.

That

priests rejoice,

din has the respect of

men

and Monsieur Rabour-

of honor.

You did n't say that yesterda}-.

you address me you '11 have my hand in

Dutocq [annoyed].
Fleury.

your

face.

If
It

is

known

you

for certain that

filched

those papers from Monsieur Rabourdin. [Dutocq leaves

the office.]

Oh, yes, go and complain to your Monsieur

des Lupeaulx, spy

Bixiou [laughing and grimacing

am

curious to

know how

Monsieur Rabourdin

is

so remarkable a

Well, the minister loses a fine mind.

[entering].

to go to the secretary's

All the

Fleury [leaving

man

that he

work of his.

in that

[Rubs

Monsieur Fleury

his hands.]

is

requested

office.

" Done

clerks.

a monkej*].

the division will get along.

must have had some special views

Laurent

like

for

the room].

I don't care; I

fered a place as responsible editor.

I shall have

am

of-

all

my

time to myself to lounge the streets or do amusing work

in a

newspaper

office.

315

Bureaucracy.

Dutocq has already made them cut

Bixiou.

off the

head of that poor Desroys.

am

Gentlemen, I

Colleville [entering joyously].

appointed head of this bureau.

my

Ah,

Thuillieb.

friend,

were I myself, I

if it

could n't be better pleased.

is

Bixiou.

His wife has managed

Poiret.

Will any one

happening here
Bixiou.

this

Do you

chamber, the court

through the

me

[laughter].

the

meaning of

that

all

day ?

really

want

to

Then

know?

listen.

to the administration is henceforth a

The antechamber

is

tell

it

a boudoir, the best

is

and the bed

cellar,

is

way

to get in

more than ever a

cross-cut.

Poiret.
Bixiou.
thing at

Monsieur Bixiou, may

paraphrase

I'll

all 3'ou

my

I entreat j'ou, explain

To

opinion.

is

as the officials

But why

hours.

they pay us too

too

many

little

thing

for
is

for the work,

Rabourdin, saw
trator,

is it

for

officials

as

rob the State in the matter of

that

we

idle as

we do? because

and the reason of that

and your

all this plainlj*.

to, the

is

we

are

late chief, the virtuous

That great adminis-

he was that, gentlemen,

coming

It is

needed

on niy word of honor, the State robs the poor

much

be any-

must begin by being everything.

quite certain that a reform of the service

saw

what the

thing that these idiots call the

" working of our admirable institutions."

The chamber
21

Bureaucracy.

316
will

want before long to administrate, and the adminis-

want to

trators will

to administrate

govern, and so

The government

legislate.

and the administrators

it

go

will

on.

Laws

mere regulations, and ordinances

God made

will

will try

want

come

to be

be thought laws.

epoch of the world for those who

this

to

like to

I live in a state of jovial admiration of the spec-

laugh.
tacle

will

will

which the greatest joker of modern times, Louis

XVIII. bequeathed
,

tlemen,

if

to us [general stupefaction].

France, the country with the best

managed

in Europe, is

civil service

what do you suppose the

thus,

other countries are like ?

Gen-

Poor unhappy nations

I ask

myself how they can possibly get along without two'

Chambers, without the liberty of the press, without

ports, without circulars even, without

re-

an army of clerks?

how do you suppose they have armies and

how can they exist at all without political dis-

Dear, dear,
navies

cussions?

ments ?

Can they even be

called nations, or govern-

It is said (mere traveller's

tales) that these

strange peoples claim to have a policy, to wield a certain influence

they have
stir

up

they are

n't

'
'

ideas,
still

but that

's

absurd

progress " or

" new

how can

lights "

they when

They can't

they have n't an independent forum

in the twilight of barbarism.

There are

no people in the world but the French people who

have

ideas.

[Poiret

jumped

Can you understand, Monsieur

as if he

Poiret

had been shot], how a nation

Bureaucracy.

317

can do without heads of divisions, general-secretaries

and

and directors,

who

leon,

myriad of

had

own good reasons

his

I don't see

offices ?

the audacity to live at

less

all.

how

There

offi-

Emperor Napo-

the glory of France and of the

cials,

array of

splendid

this

all

for creating a

those nations have

's

Austria, which has

than a hundred clerks in her war ministry, while

the salaries and pensions of ours

amount

to a third of

our whole budget, a thing that was unheard of before

sum up

the Revolution.

all

I 've been saj'ing in one

single remark, namely, that the

and

tions

to do,

Belles-lettres,

Which

many

the one that does

of Inscrip-

which seems to have very

had better offer a prize

following question

Academy

for the ablest

little

answer to the

the best organized State

is

things with few

officials,

or the

one that does next to nothing with an army of them

Poiret.

Is that your last

Yes,

Bixiou.
or Italian,

Poiret
ness

sir

let

and they

call

Have

Bixiou.

Phellion.

word ?

off the

other languages.

hands to heaven].

you a witty man

n't

whether English, French, German

you

[lifting his

Gracious good-

you understood me yet?

Your last observation was

full

of excel-

lent sense.

Bixiou.

Just as

full

as the budget

the budget again, as complicated as

and I

set

it

it

itself,

and

like

looks simple

as a warning, a beacon, at the edge of this

318

Bureaucracy.

hole, this gulf, this volcano, called, in the language of

the " Constitutionel," " the political horizon."

Poiret.

much

should

prefer a

comprehensible

explanation.

Hurrah

Bixiou.
nation

that

's

my

for

Kabourdin

opinion.

Colleville [gravely].

there

Are you

's

my

expla-

satisfied?

Monsieur

Rabourdin

had

but one defect.

What was

Poiret.

That of being a statesman instead of a

Colleville.
subordinate

it?

official.

Phellion [standing before Bixiou].

did you,

why

did

Monsieur! why

who understand Monsieur Rabourdin

you make that inf
that odi
that

caricature

Bixiou.

so well,

hideous

Do you

was backing the

forget our bet? don't you

devil's

know

game, and that your bureau

owes me a dinner at the Rocher de Cancale?

Poiret [much put-out].
that I

am

to leave this

Then

it is

government

a settled thing

office

without ever

understanding a sentence, or a single word uttered by

Monsieur Bixiou.
Bixiou.

It

is

3*our

own

fault

ask these gentle-

Gentlemen, have you understood the meaning

men.

of nry observations ? and were those observations

and

brilliant?

All.

Alas, yes

just,

319

Bureaucracy.

Minard.
resignation.

And

the proof

I shall plunge into industrial avocations.

What! have you managed

Bixiou.

my

that I shall send in

is

mechanical corset, or a baby's bottle, or a

consume no

or chimneys that

invent

to

fire

engine,

or ovens which cook

fuel,

cutlets with three sheets of paper?

Minard

Adieu,

[departing].

my

keep

shall

secret.

Well, young Poiret junior, you see,

Bixiou.

all

these gentlemen understand me.

Poiret

me

Monsieur Bixiou, would you do

[crest-fallen].

come down

the honor to

for once to

my

level

and

speak in a language I can understand?

Bixiou [winking at the

Before you

Poiret by the button of his frock-coat.]

leave this office forever perhaps

An

Poiret [quickly].

Bixiou.

He
Oh

is
!

man

be able

he

is ?

But he

Why,
is

I doubt

it.

paid by government to do work.

then a soldier

Poiret [puzzled].
Bixiou.

to

I think I do.

Bixiou [twisting the button].

Poiret.

and analyze precisely what a govern-

Do you know what

clerk is ?

Poiret.

honest man, monsieur.

[shrugging his shoulders].

to define, explain,

ment

you would be glad to

are

know what you

Bixiou

[Takes

Willingly.

rest].

is

a government clerk ?

no.

paid by the government to do

Bureaucracy.

320

work, to mount guard and show

may

perhaps

place,

me

tell

You

off at reviews.

that he longs to get out of his

that he works

too hard and fingers too

little

metal, except that of his musket.

Poiket

ment

clerk

is,

logically speaking, a

salaiy to maintain himself, and

his place

for

Monsieur, a govern-

wide open].

[his eyes

is

man who

needs the

not free to get out of

he doesn't know how to do anything but

copy papers.

Ah now we

Bixiou.

the bureau

is

are

coming to a

No

the clerk's shell, husk, pod.

without a bureau, no bureau without a clerk.

do you make, then, of a custom-house

shuffles his feet
off

and

clerk

But what

officer?

edge away

tries to

So

solution.

[Poiret

Bixiou twists

one button and catches him by another.]

He

is,

from the bureaucratic point of view, a neutral being.

The excise-man
fines

between

is

only half a clerk

civil

you going?

Is a prefect a clerk

Poiret
Bixiou.

is

[hesitating.]

But you

He

don't

on the conneither alto-

Here, here, where

[Twists the button.]

government clerk proper end?

tion.

he

and military service

gether soldier nor altogether clerk

are

Where does

the

That's a serious ques-

"
is

a functionary.

mean

that a functionary

is

not a clerk? that's an absurditj'.

Poiret [weary and looking round

for escape].

think Monsieur Godard wants to say something.

321

Bureaucracy.

The

<jtOdakd.

clerk

is

the order, the functionary the

species.

I shouldn't have thought you

Bixiou [laughing].

capable of that distinction,

my

brave subordinate.

Incomprehensible

Poieet [trying to get away].

Bixiou.

you stand

La,
still

papa, don't step on your tether.

la,

and

listen,

standing before long.

we

shall

Now, here 's an axiom which

bequeath to this bureau and to

bureaus

all

the clerk ends, the functionary begins

among

a neutral being

The

the prefects.

among

Where

where the func-

There are very few

tionary ends, the statesman rises.

statesmen

If

come to an under-

prefect is therefore

He comes

the higher species.

between the statesman and the clerk, just as the customhouse

officer

stands between the

and the

civil

military.

Let us continue to clear up these important points.

Suppose we

[Poiret turns crimson with distress.]

mulate the whole matter in a

foucault:

Officials

francs are not

clerks.

From which we may deduce

:

The statesman first looms

in the sphere of high salaries

and not

less logical

general

may be

that

and also

and important corollary

statesmen.

Perhaps

more than one deputy says

fine thing to

of Laroche-

with salaries of twenty thousand

mathematically this corollary

up

maxim worthy

for-

it is

this
:

Directors-

in that sense

in his heart,

be a director-general."

But

of our noble French language and of the

second

"

It is a

in the interests

Academy

"

322

Bureaucracy.

Poieet [magnetized by the

The French language

Bixiou [twisting

off the

second button and seizing

Yes, in the interests of our noble tongue,

another].
it is

Academy

the

of Bixiou's eye].

fixity

proper to observe that although the head of a

bureau,

strictly

speaking,

the head of a division

may be

must be

called

clerk,

called a bureaucrat.

These gentlemen [turning to the clerks and privately

showing them the third button

off Poiret's coat]

appreciate this delicate shade of meaning.

papa

Poiret, don't

ment

clerk

Now

that question once settled, there

uncertainty

you see

comes to a

final

is

it

end

the government

seemed undefinable

is

And

so,

clear that the govern-

at the

clerk

head of a division?
no longer any

is

who has

hitherto

defined.

Poiret.

Yes, that appears to

Bixiou.

Nevertheless, do

the following question

will

me

me

bej'ond a doubt.

the kindness to answer

judge being irremovable,

and consequently debarred from being, according

to

your subtle distinction, a functionary, and receiving a

work he does,

salary which is not the equivalent of the

is

he to be included in the class of clerks ?

Poiret [gazing at the cornice].

Monsieur, I don't

follow you.

Bixiou [getting

off the fourth button].

prove to you, monsieur, that nothing

above

all

and what I am going to say

is
is

I wanted to

simple

but

intended for

Bureaucracy.
philosophers

wish

323

me

you'll allow

(if

a saying of Louis XVIII.),

to misquote

wish to make 3'ou see

that definitions lead to muddles.

Poiret [wiping his forehead].

my

at

stomach

have cut

off all

my

my

and

it.

I wished to stamp

Old man, you are mistaken!

upon your brain the

image of constitutional government

;

trick

buttons while I have been standing here

Bixiou [solemnly].

at Bixiou

me?

I understand

you have been playing me a shameful

unconscious of

clearest possible

[all

Poiret, stupefied, gazes at

and also to keep

my

word

to you.

the clerks look

him uneasily],

In so doing I em-

ployed the parabolical method of savages.

comprehend: While the ministers

the

do you understand

is,

Yes, monsieur, I do

Poiret [angrily].

twisting off

buttons

But the point

Bixiou.

that

to button his coat]

[tries

am sick
Ah you

Excuse me,

Chambers that are

conclusive as the one

we

start discussions in

about as useful and as

just

are

Listen and

engaged

in,

the adminis-

tration cuts the buttons off the tax-payers.

All.

Bravo, Bixiou

Poiret [who comprehends]

Bixiou.

I don't regret

my buttons.

I shall follow Minard's example

pocket such a paltry salary as mine any longer

deprive the government of

amid general laughter.]

my

co-operation.

I won't

I shall

[Departs

824

Bureaucracy.

Another scene was taking place

in the

minister's

reception-room, more instructive than the one

just

related, because

it

we have

shows how great ideas are

allowed to perish in the higher regions of State

affairs,

and in what waj- statesmen console themselves.

Des Lupeaulx was presenting the new

sieur

deputies, a few

men

minister

two or three ministerial

of influence, and Monsieur Cler-

geot (whose division was

lardiere's

Mon-

A number of persons

Baudoyer, to the minister.

were assembled in the salon,

director,

now merged with La

Bil-

whom

the

under Baudoyer's direction), to

was promising an honorable pension.

After

a few general remarks, the great event of the day was

brought up.

A Deputy.

So you

Des Lupeaulx.
Clergeot.

lose

He

Rabourdin ?

has resigned.

They say he wanted

to reform the ad-

ministration.

The Minister

[looking at the deputies].

Salaries

are not really in proportion to the exigencies of the

civil service.

De la

Briere.

According to Monsieur Rabourdin,

one hundred clerks with a salary of twelve thousand

francs would do better

and quicker work than a thou-

sand clerks at twelve hundred.

Clergeot.

The

Perhaps he

Minister.

is right.

But what

is

to be

done?

The ma-

Bureaucracy.

remake

Must we take

that way.

is built in

chine

No one would

it ?

that in face of the

the Opposition,

Chamber, and the

and the

it

to pieces

and

have the courage to attempt

fierce

It follows that there will

press.

325

foolish outcries of

denunciations of the

happen, one of these

days, some damaging " solution of continuity

"

between

the government and the administration.

A Deputy.
The
want
to

In what way

In many ways.

Minister.

to serve the public good,

do

so.

things

and

theft of a

You

and

minister will

will not

be allowed

between

will create interminable delays

You may perhaps

their results.

render the

penny actually impossible, but you cannot

prevent the buying and selling of influence, the col-

The day

lusions of self-interest.

will

come when noth-

ing will be conceded without secret stipulations, which

may
all,

never see the

Moreover, the clerks, one and

light.

from the least to the greatest, are acquiring opin-

ions of their

own

they will soon be no longer the

hands of a brain, the scribes of governmental thought;

the Opposition even

now tends towards

giving them

a right to judge the government and to talk and vote

against

it.

Baudoyer
Monseigneur

[in a low voice, but

to be heard].

is really fine.

Des Lupeaulx.
fects.

meaning

Of

I myself think

course bureaucracy has

it

slow and insolent

it

its

de-

hampers

326

Bureaucracy.

and

ministerial action, stifles projects,

But, after

all,

French administration

Baudoyer.

stamp industries
all

If only to maintain the paper and

Suppose

rather fussy and pro-

it is

good housekeepers,

ment render an account of

is

amazingly useful.

is

Certainly

Des Lupeaulx.
voking, like

arrests progress.

of his entire capital

it

can at any mo-

Where

disbursements.

its

who would not

the merchant

gladly give five per cent

he could insure himself against

if

leakage?

The Deputy
interests of

The manufacturing

[a manufacturer].

nations would joyfully unite against

all

that evil genius of theirs called leakage.

Des Lupeaulx.
childish foible
figures

After

though

statistics are the

of modern statesmen,

we must

estimates,

are

all,

who

think that

cipher to estimate.

Figures are, moreover, the convincing argument of

societies
is

based on

self-interest

and money, and that

the sort of society the Charter has given us,

opinion, at

any

gent masses

rate.

" as

much

in my

Nothing convinces the "

as a

row of

figures.

intelli-

All things

statesmen of the Left, resolve

in the long run, say the

themselves into figures.

Well then,

let

us figure [the

minister here goes off into a corner with a deputy, to

whom

he talks in a low voice].

There are forty thou-

sand government clerks in France.

their salaries is fifteen

hundred

francs.

The average of
Multiply forty

327

Bureaucracy.
thousand by

Now,

lions.

hundred and you have sixty mil-

fifteen

the attention of Russia and China (where

ment

officials steal)

republics,

would

in the first place, a publicist

all

also that of Austria, the

call

govern-

American

and indeed that of the whole world, to the

France possesses the most

fact that for this price

in-

quisitorial, fussy, ferreting, scribbling, paper-blotting,

on God's

fault-finding old housekeeper of a civil service

Not a copper

earth.

money

farthing of the nation's

spent or hoarded that

is

is

not ordered by a note, proved

by vouchers, produced and re-produced on balancesheets,

and receipted

ceipts are registered

verified

for

when paid

on the

by an army of men

rolls,

orders and re-

and checked and

in spectacles.

If there

is

the slightest mistake in the form of these precious docu-

ments, the clerk

Some

is terrified, for

he lives on such minutiae.

nations would be satisfied to get as far as this

but Napoleon went further.

That great organizer ap-

pointed supreme magistrates of a court which

These

is

abso-

officials

pass their

days in verifying monej'-orders, documents,

roles, reg-

lutely unique in the world.

isters, lists,

permits, custom-house receipts, payments,

taxes received,

taxes spent,

etc.

all

of which the

clerks write or copy.

These stern judges push the

gift of exactitude, the

genius of inquisition, the sharp-

sightedness of lynxes, the perspicacity of account-books

to the point of going over all the additions in search of

828

Bureaucracy.
These sublime martyrs to

subtractions.

have

figures

been known to return to an army commissary, after a

delay of two years, some account in which there was

an error of two farthings.

This

is

how and why

it is

that the French system of administration, the purest

and best on the globe has rendered robbeiy, as

Excellency has just told you, next

to

and as

France at

for peculation,

it

is

a myth.

his

impossible,
this

present time possesses a revenue of twelve hundred

millions,

and she spends

That sum enters her

it.

ury and that sum goes out of

fore,

She handles, there-

it.

two thousand four hundred

millions,

and

all

pays for the labor of those who do the work

millions,

two and a half per cent

tains the certainty that there is

cal

treas-

and

she

sixty

is

for that she ob-

no leakage.

Our

and administrative kitchen costs us sixty

politi-

millions,

but the gendarmerie, the courts of law, the galleys and

the police cost just as much, and give no return.
over,

work.

we emploj

a body of

Waste and

be legislative

them

legal.

men who

could do no other

disorder, if such there be, can only

Chambers lead

the

Leakage follows

to

in the

them and render

form of public

works which are neither urgent nor necessary

re-uniformed and gold-laced over and over again

sels sent

on useless cruises

out ever making

it

More-

troops
;

ves-

preparations for war with-

paying the debts of a State, and not

requiring reimbursement or insisting on security.

Bureaucracy.

But such leakage has nothing

Baudoyer.

the subordinate officials

The Minister [who has

is

do with

to

bad management of na-

this

tional affairs concerns the statesmen

There

329

who guide

the ship.

finished his conversation].

a great deal of truth in what des Lupeaulx

has just said

but

let

me

few

sieur le directeur, that

To

of a statesman.

ou [to Baudoj'er], Mon-

men

see from the standpoint

tell 3

order expenditures of

all

kinds,

even useless ones, does not constitute bad manage-

Such acts contribute to the movement of money,

ment.

the stagnation of which becomes, especially in France,

dangerous to the public welfare, by reason of the miserly

and profoundly

illogical habits

of the provinces which

hoard their gold.

The Deputy [who listened

seems to

and

if

me

to des Lupeaulx].

that if your Excellency

was

But

it

right just now,

our clever friend here [takes des Lupeaulx by the

arm] was not wrong,

it will

be

difficult to

come

to any

conclusion on the subject.

Des Lupeaulx

[after looking at the minister]

No

doubt something ought to be done.

De la Briere

[timidly].

Monsieur Rabourdin seems

to have judged rightly.

The

Minister.

Des Lupeaulx.

I will see Rabourdin.

The poor man made

the blunder of

constituting himself supreme judge of the administration

and of

all

the officials

who compose

it

he wants

330

Bureaucracy.

do away with the present state of things, and he de-

to

mands

that there be only three ministries.

The Minister. He must be craz3%

The Deputy. How could you represent
an

that he imagined to be

Monsieur

Perhaps

shrewd].

air

three

Chamber?

ministries the heads of all the parties in the

Baudoyer [with

in

Rabourdin desired to

change the Constitution, which we owe to our

legis-

lative sovereign.

The Minister

La

[thoughtful, takes

leads him into the study].

want

to see that

Rabourdin's, and as you know about

De la

to be dishonored

Do

He

Brire.

has burned

arm and

Briere's

it

You

it.

work of

allowed him

and he has resigned from the

ministr}-.

not think for a moment, Monseigneur, that Rabour-

din ever had the absurd thought (as des Lupeaulx tries

make

to

it

believed) to change the admirable central-

ization of power.

The Minister
[is

silent a

[to himself].

No

moment].

I have

matter

made a mistake

we

shall never

be

lacking in plans for reform.

De la

Brire.

It is not ideas, but

executing them that

we

Des Lupeaulx, that

capable of

adroit advocate of abuses

into the minister's study at this

" Monseigneur,

men

lack.

moment.

I start at once for

" Wait a moment," said

came

my

election."

his Excellency, leaving the

Bureaucracy.

Lupeaulx by the arm

private secretary and taking des

into the recess of a

have that arrondissement,

made count and

I will

My

"

window.

if

831

yoa

dear friend,
will,

pay jour debts.

you

I will find

shall

Later,

main in the ministry after the new Chamber

let rne

is

be

if I re-

elected,

a way to send in your name in a batch for

the peerage."

" You are a man of honor, and

This

is

how

it

came

I accept."

to pass that

Clement Chardin des

Lupeaulx, whose father was ennobled under Louis XV.,

and who beareth quarterly,

sant earning a lamb gules

first,

purpure,

second,

mascles argent, two and one

argent, a wolf ravis-

three

third, paly of twelve,

gules and argent; fourth, or, on a pale endorsed, three

batons fleurdelises gules

supported b} four
r

griffon's-

claws jessant from the sides of the escutcheon, with the

motto

En Lupus

in Historia, was able to surmount

these rather satirical arms with a count's coronet.

Toward

the close of the year 1830 Monsieur Rabour-

din had

some business on hand which required him

to

visit his

old ministry, where the bureaus had

in

all

great commotion, owing to a general removal of

from the highest to the lowest.

been

officials,

This revolution bore

upon the lackeys, who arc

not fond of seeing new faces. Rabourdin had come
early, knowing all the ways of the place, and he thus

heaviest, in point of fact,

22

Bureaucracy.

332

chanced to overhear a dialogue between the two neph-

ews of old Antoine, who had recently

retired

on a

pension.

"Well, Laurent, how

on

your chief of division going

is

"

"Oh,

don't talk to

He

thing with him.

me

about him

me up

rings

to ask if I

He

his handkerchief or his snuff-box.

without making them wait

monsieur

receives people

him

comte your predecessor,

le

have seen

in short, he has n't a bit of

I 'm often obliged to say to

dignity
sieur,

I can't do any-

But, mon-

for the credit

of the thing, used to punch holes with his penknife in

make

the arms of his chair to

And

believe he

was working.

he makes such a mess of his room.

He

thing topsy-turvy.

" Mine?

his letter-paper

wood, and his boxes and

all

as a lamb,

Moreover, he

is n't

a chief

who

that

humiliating.

is n't

when
!

there

his

at

he has

me, but
n't

this

one

the grand

is

as

style

decorated, and I don't like to serve

he might be taken for one of us, and

home, and asked me

"Hey

still,

and envelopes,

the rest of his things are.

The other man used to swear

table

He

Oh, I have succeeded in training him.

knows exactly where

's

How

has a very small mind.

man?"

about your

meek

I find every-

He
if

carries the office letter-paper

I could n't go there

and wait

was compan}'."

what a government,

my

dear fellow

"
!

at

333

Bureaucracy.

" Yes, indeed

"

everybody plays low in these days."

down our poor wages."

I hope they won't cut

"I'm

The Chambers

afraid they will.

Why,

into everything.

the}'

are prying

even count the sticks of

wood."

" Well,

it

can't last long if they go

" Hush, we
" Hey
sieur, I

're

it is

caught

am

somebodj'

is

listening."

the late Monsieur Rabourdin.

knew your

sact here I

on that way."

afraid

Ah, mon-

If you have business to tran-

step.

you

will not find airy

one who

is

aware of the respect that ought to be paid to yon

Laurent and I are the only persons remaining about

the place
ville

who were

and Baudoyer did

chairs after

they were

you

made

Messieurs Colle-

here in your daj\

left.

n't

wear out the morocco of the

Heavens, no

six

months

Collectors of Paris.

DALZIEL BROTHEKS, CAMDEN PRESS, LONDOS, N.W

later

110

NO RE DE BALZAC.

perhaps the greatest name in the post-Revolutionary literaHis writings display a profound knowledge of the human
heart, with extraordinary range of knowledge.
Balzac holds a more
distinqt and supreme place in French fiction than perhaps any English
author does in the same field of art." Encyclopoedia Britannica.

"Balzac

is

ture of France.

" Balzac, though he paints human

life,

perhaps, too

much

in tints of fate

deeper and more true to

nature than George Sand or Rousseau. The teachings implied in his tales
come home closer to the conscience and heart than do their essays and
stories.
There is in him more than Gallic blood.
He is the greatest of
that remind us of the Greek tragedians,

novelists,

unmatched

in his guild or

is far

kind as a

social philosopher,

and un-

surpassed in his literary style. As a romance-writer he has no peer as yet

in the English tongue."
Rev. Dr. C. A. Bartol.

" Balzac exacts more attention than most novel readers are inclined to
but the student who
; he is often repulsive, and not unfrequently dull ;
has once submitted to his charm becomes spell-bound.
There are
some greater novelists than Balzac, but in this one quality of intense realization of actors and scenery he is unique."
"Balzac's Novels," by Leslie
give

Stephen.

" Unquestionably he ranks as one of the few great geniuses who appear

by ones and twos in century after century of authorship, and who leave
their mark ineffaceably on the literature of their age.
And yet, among all

the readers a large class who are from various causes unaccustomed to
study French literature in its native language, there are probably very many
who liav* never even heard of the name of Honore de Balzac." Charles
Dickens : Ail the Year Hound.

[From

the

New York

Tribune of October

IS, 1885.]

BALZAC IN ENGLISH.
\

PERE GOMOT.

Honorb de Balzac.

To

understand Balzac thoroughly, indeed, he must be read in the

Selected pieces from the " Comedie
and as a whole.
Humaine " may convey a sufficiently clear apprehension, for the public, of his powers, but a careful study of that wonderful scheme
original

is indispensable to a real knowledge of his aim and scope.

Comedie Humaine " is the most remarkable work of its kind
It is, as Balzac intended it to be, a
extant.
It is not mere fiction.
faithful history of the France of his time
a history so faithful and
so detailed that were all other contemporary literature destroyed,
posterity could from this work reconstruct an exact and finished
In his general preface (which the publishers
picture of the age.

throughout

The

"

have judiciously prefixed to their translation of " Pere Goriot ")

His aim was to do for
the author gives some account of his plan.
society what Buffon had done for the animal kingdom.
Since, how,

men and women

are complex creatures, and since their acts and

mainly by the influence of passions whose treatment demands a profound study of psychology, it is evident that the
task of the novelist, or, as he might be better named, the social
historian, must be much more difficult than that of the naturalist.

ever,

sufferings are caused

its own powers

with this arduous
undertaking. He was to write the history of his time, nothing extenuating, and setting down naught in malice, painting in their due
proportions the vices and the virtues of the period, showing the springs
that moved society, the passions that lurnished motives to actions, the
meannesses, the magnanimities, the rapacity, the self-sacrifice, the
sensuality, the purity, the piety, the heathenism of his fellow men
and women. His equipment for the work was splendid. His erudition
was both extensive and curious. He knew not only common but
In science he had outstripped his generation.
recondite things.
In

Balzac, however, supported

which

by that confidence in

so often characterizes genius, grappled boldly

27

BALZAG IN ENGLISH.
"Com&lie Humaine" may be recognized the practical embodiment
The influence of the environment upon
character and conduct is always insisted upon by him.
And because
he never loses sight of the natural processes through which character
is moulded and changed, his characters possess a peculiar reality and
vitality.
To him they were indeed living, and the rare faculty by
which, in the alembic of his mind, all the complex influences and
agencies concerned went to form, complete, and vivify these creations,
has endowed them with so strong an individuality that they live and
move still for the reader. Nothing that belonged to Balzac's time
escaped him, and he explored the obscurer lines of research as conscientiously as those more open and clear.
Thus it is that there is to
be found in his works references to what are now thought the supernatural theories of the day, and he has sounded the depths of mysticism with the same devotion shown in his pursuit of physical science.
Critics have regretted that he had no high moral aim
but this
regret seems to imply misapprehension of his purpose not less than
His aim was to describe life as it was
error as to his achievements.
being lived under his eyes. That his tendencies were not debasing is
shown by the striking contrast between his work and that of Zola.
In the latter's writings the ugly, vile, and horrible is so elaborated,
exaggerated, and kept in the foreground that it colours and characterizes everything. In Balzac there is not less realism, and nothing more
graphic than his descriptions of the seamy side of life has ever been
written. But there is no taint of lubricity, and no suggestion of liking
for the scenes so depicted. A sombre fire runs through all the pictures
of low and vicious life, which, while enhancing the skill of the artist,
moves to pity or indignation because of the destinies so sadly fixed.
Perhaps no better example of his style than " Pere Goriot " could be
selected. Pere Goriot is the Lear of modern society
and though the
passions which move the characters are for the most part sordid and
base, the pathos and power of the story are so great, that even in
translation the genius of the master is unmistakable. There is nothing
in fiction more pitiful than the figure of old Goriot, and the skill of
the creator, which sets down all the defects and limitations of the hero,
thereby accentuates his devotion and the ignoble tragedy of his fate.
Balzac, however, never adopted the modern vice known as the
M otar system " in dramatic management.
There were no " sticks " in
the

of evolutionary philosophy.

BALZAG IN ENGLISH.
liis

Every character

company.

progressive.

is

complete, intelligible, consistent,

Neither does he pad.

From beginning

to end, save as

regards his descriptions of things and places, every sentence has direct
relation to the working out of the plot.
And as to those long and
minute descriptions, which have vexed some critics, they were written
with the distinct and avowed purpose of preserving faithful likenesses
ivhich should be of use to the historian of the future.
Nor are they
tiresome, but often seem to sharpen the realization of the story, and
in all cases increase the general impression of fidelity to facts.
The
style of Balr.ac is

very remarkable for

sujrpressed fire, suggesting

a brain

its

power.

so prolific

It is nervous, full of

of thoughts that the utmost

had to be exercised to prevent them from overcrowding one another.

The concentrated force of expression frequently reminds one of Shakespeare,

care

and

bursts of marvellous impassioned eloquence not of the frothy kind,

but presenting truths deep as the centre at intervals flash out, adding to
the sense of repressed volcanic

The

power which pervades

defects of Balzac are those of his time

these works.

and country.

It

is

curious that while he himself finds no really lofty female characters

in English fiction, even belittling the heroines of Scott, and advancing

the strange theory that the neglect by Protestant peoples of the worship of the Virgin has lowered their standard of

womanhood,

his

own

most ambitious types of piety and purity in woman exhibit less of

his characteristic knowledge of human nature than any of his other
characters. This type, in fact, he appears to have described from pure
imagination, with the result that his creations of this class are cold,
unapproachable, abnormal, bloodless beings, whose goodness docs not
impress us as meritorious, because they are essentially incapable of
wrong-doing. In a word, he has filled up the vacant niche with conventional angels, only removing their wings. As to the low plane of
the ambitions which move so many of his characters, no doubt he
would have said that he merely took the world as he found it that
these were the prevailing ambitions, and that he could not make
;

society better than

it

was.

And

doubtless there

is

much

force in this,

must be acknowledged that the France of Balzac's time

afforded almost as abundant material for satire as the Rome of

though

it

Juvenal.

Taking him

at his

own

and accepting his view

under the given conditions a view, he

estimate, however,

of the duties of the novelist

BALZAC IN ENGLISH.
it said,

which

is

always open to doubt and dispute

it is

impossible

not to admire the depth of his insight and the marvellous scope and
comprehensiveness of his genius. The enterprise he undertook was

monumental a work as to
Some day, perhaps, a
complete translation of the "Comddie Humaine" will be undertaken.
"Cesar Birotteau," and one or two more of Balzac's stories, have been
what he accomplished was

gigantic, yet

so

prove the justness of his self-appreciation.

put into English already, though inadequately. There ought to be,

in the United States and England, at the present time enough lovers
of good literature to make such an undertaking as a complete trans-

When we consider what masses

and what capital is employed in
which have become rare and obscure

lation of this author remunerative.

of trash pour from

modern

presses,

reproductions of so-called classics

because they deserved oblivion,

it

seems reasonable to expect that

Balzac would find purchasers if issued in the form suggested.

The translation of " Pere Goriot " is very good, and Balzac is not the
easiest

author

the succeeding

to translate.

volumes

justice to the translator to

a meritorious deed
of this great
description,

to

The publishers cannot do better than to intrust

same capable hands, and it would be only
put his or her name on the title-page; for it is

to the

have turned into

excellent,

nervous English the prose

Frenchman, whose fire and fervour,

when

clear sight

and powerful

contrasted with the average novel of the day, shine forth

with redoubled splendour, and whose brilliant genius in the analysis of

human character casts altogether into the shade the amateurish essays at
psychologic fiction which are gravely spoken of in these degenerate times as
the

promising productions of a new and higher school of literary

art.

From

Tiie

Art Interchange, a Household

Journal, for

February IS, 1886.

THE DUCIIESSE DE LANGEAIS,

An Episode under the Terror, The

Passion in the Desert, and

Illustrious Gaudissaet

Hidden Masterpiece.

By HONORE DE BALZAC.
when Thackeray and Dickens were issuing in numwhich have delighted so many readers, or George
publishers were able to announce a new novel from her pen,

Since the days

bers those novels

Eliot's

there has been no series of novels given to the public so notable and
so well

worthy of wide attention on the part of adult readers

as this

be objected, as it perhaps will be, that

there is a flavour of immorality in Balzac, and that his works are not
well adapted to general reading, it can be shown, we think, at least
so far as the charge of immorality is concerned, that the objection is
a superficial one ; and that while there is much in the times and
translation of Balzac.

If

it

which form the groundwork of Balzac's marvellous stories

improper, and fortunately counter to our civilization, still,
Balzac's tone concerning these very things is a healthy one, and his
belief in purity and goodness, his faith in. the possibilities of humanity,
He gives us wonderful pictures
is too clear to admit of a question.
of the world he lived in. It was not altogether a good world. As it
was, he portrays it. Its virtues he praises, and its vices he condemns
not by a page of mere moralizing, but by events and action, which,
swaying the ethics of society with apparent uncertainty hither and
thither, yet have an upward tread, even as they do in our world of
society

that

is

" The Duchesse de Langeais " is the novel of this volume.

from the Scenes de la Vie Parisienne of the Comudie Humaine.
The temptation and struggle of the Duchess is one which could
hardly, in our day, present itself to a pure-minded woman. In that
day and time it could, and did. In spite of her wild abandonment
to the lover who spurned her, the reader feels that Madame de
to-day.
It is

THE DUCHESSE BE LANGEA1S.

woman, purer than those who counselled
her a concealed enjoyment of her passion, nobler and better than the
society which made her what she was. With great power and pathos
Langeais was a noble-hearted

her story told.

fa

when her lover meets

her tortured cry to the

It is a very powerful scene

her in the convent, and very dramatic

Mother Superior, " This man is my lover

is
!

"

How

strong and pitiful

commitment to the waves of what was a woman

nothing
The volume also contains four short stories.

the end, and the sad

and now
"

is

An

Episode under the Terror," from Scenes de la Vie Politique, is

a story already familiar from previous translation, which has drifted
around in English as much perhaps as any of Balzac's shorter stories.
" The Illustrious Gaudissart " is from Scenes de la Vie de Province,
an admirable example of Balzac's humour. Gaudissart is a commercial
traveller a drummer, in familiar parlance. He might be a drummer
of to-day.

If

varied

he were he could easily find employment with a high-

The shrewdness and impudence

class house.

much

since Balzac's time.

of the class has not

Gaudissart adds to his line a

magazine and the agency of a Life Insurance Company.

advised by the humorist of a provincial town to try his powers
of persuasion on a man who turns out to be a harmless but decided
children's

He

is

lunatic.

The

scene between the two

"When Gaudissart

calls

is

humorous in the extreme.

the insuring one's

life for

a lare

sum

" the

discounting of future genius," he adds a persuasive phrase to the

repertoire of the life-insurance agent.

"

Passion in the Desert "

is

from Scenes de la Vie Militaire, and is as singular a tale as might be

imagined from the affection of a man and a tiger. The last of the
four is "The Hidden Masterpiece," from Etudes Philosophiques.
Here, to the readers of this edition, Balzac is seen in a new vein.
Here is something of the strange, weird touch of Hawthorne, something of unreality, and the lingering vision of a possible moral. The
translation could hardly be in better hands. The English is delightfully clear

and nervous.

Balzac very well, and

much.

it is

reads these books will know

assume that they will like him very

Whoever
safe to

A GREAT NOVEL.

to each of which this title may justly

apply it in the present instance to Eugenie Grandet,' one of
his very greatest works, one which
iu the opinion of a large number of persons
divides with Le Pore Goriot the honour of being his masterpiece. Englishmen
are prone to hold that in English fiction there is no such beautiful and complete
embodiment of a good woman as Fielding's Amelia ; Frenchmen, we should
fancy, must ascribe a similar position to Eugenie Grandet. The book of which

"Honore de Balzac wrote many books

We

be applied.

'

'

'

she

the central figure, the "Rembrandt-contrast to the ignoble spirits by

is

whom

surrounded, has been beyond a doubt one of the most widely-read or

French novels and now that it has been rendered into excellent English, and
presented in a highly attractive form, it will undoubtedly pass into the mental
she

is

who would otherwise have lacked more than a hearsay

knowledge of its beauty. The translation of the novels so far published deserves
more than the mere word that can be given to it here. Although French is a
language much easier to read than German, it is a far more difficult task to
turn French prose into idiomatic English prose than to do the same by German,
and we do not remember ever to have seen any translation of French into
English which is so near being uniformly idiomatic as these versions of Balzac
now under consideration." Boston Post.
experience of a multitude

" Not
is

know

Balzac Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson has declared to be an

we hope rare.' Not to know Balzac
certainly to lose one of the highest intellectual pleasures, and to shut out one
to

ignorance

'

that will soon be excuseless, and

of the profoundest educational forces of literature in this century.

work

is

throughout

full of

Balzac's

power." Brooklyn Times,

This volume comes to us as the fourth in the series of translations of Balzac's

His sketches of character are nowhere more strong and masterly than
in this book, where he depicts the miser, Grandet, in all the repulsiveness
which belongs to a narrow, grasping, and unscrupulous nature, in contrast with
his patient, long-suffering, repressed, but faithful and tender wife.
Their only
child, Eugenie, is the heroine of the story ; and her strong, simple, and loving
nature which leads her to sacrifice her future for a brilliant but unworthy
cousin, who wins her heart, and then forgets her in his search for a more am'

'

novels.

bitious alliance, furnishes a

theme where Balzac's

of motives are seen at their best.

We

has not been made public, for his work

The Atlicnwum says

are publishing, that
of Fr<>nek"

and keen analysis

name

of the translator

well done, and deserves special compoor translations of foreign works are

is

in these days, when so many

Portland Press.
offered to the public. "

mendation

literary skill

regret that the

of the translation of Balzac which Messrs. Routledge

"very much above the average of English translation

it is

ooTTsmxr

:po:i>ts-

in the day to speak of the genius of Balzac, but it is worth while to

the reader to the admirable translation of a number of his works issued by
The work of Miss Wormeley, whose name docs not appear upon
Messrs. Eoutledge.
the. title-page, but who is said to be the translator, is deserving of the highest praise.
Balzac's intensely idiomatic French, as well as his occasional treatment of recondite

"It

is late

commend

and his frequent elucidation of complicated business transactions, render the

works difficult but the present translator has turned the original
into clear and fluent English, reading not at all like a translation, yet preserving
Balzac's vigorous and characteristic style. It is not only the best translation of Balzac
which we have which would not be high praise, since English versions of his novels
have hitherto been few and fragmentary but one of the most excellent translations
of any French author which we have met. The publishers have laid the readers under
obligation, both by undertaking the enterprise of presenting Balzac in an English
and it is most desirable that they
dress, and by their selection of a translator
should complete the work so well begun by putting within the reach of Englishspeaking readers the remainder of that marvellous body of fiction, 'The Comedie
Humaine.' " The Church Review.
subjects,

translation of his

" 'Cousin Pons' is the latest translation in the Balzac series now being issued by
It is a strong story of friendship and of greed.
Messrs. Eoutledge.
To all intents
and purposes the narrative indicates a complete and perfect triumph of vice over virtue;

painted in such hideous colours, and virtue is shown in such effulgent beauty,
well-nigh awe-inspiring. Balzac does not stay the natural course
of events. He permits each character to work out its own results, and then makes the
impression desired by comparative methods. In this, as in all his works, the wonderful
writer manifests a familiarity with the ethics of life which has gained for him the eternal

tmt vice
as to

is

make the moral

remembrance and gratitude of all readers and it is fair to presume that the Balzac now
being translated will revive his name and bring again to his feet the world of English;

speaking people." Springfield Republican.

"The

from Balzac is one of the famous Frenchman's most original

one of the most extraordinary and original novels ever written,
and only the mind of a genius could have conceived such a peculiar plot. The heroine
last translation

stories.

It

is,

of the novel

in fact,

for

and, indeed, his

whom
life

the principal character sacrifices his comfort, his pleasure,

whom many other characters in the book sacrifice their

for

honour and around whom all the excitement and interest centres
is,
strangely
enough, not a woman and yet this heroine calls forth the most ardent and passionate
devotion a man is capable of, and her influence is elevating and not degrading. The
manner in which a mania of any kind can absorb a man, body and soul, is wonderfully
brought out in Cousin Pons
for the heroine of the book i3 a collector of curios."
;

'

'

"Those who have formed a hasty judgment of Balzac from reading the 'Duchesse de
Langeais' would do well to read 'Cousin Pons.' Balzac sees and depicts virtue as
perfectly as vice, and it is his faculty of describing beauty as well as ugliness which has
made him famous. The delicacy of perception which enabled him to perceive and
describe every shade of feeling in 'Cousin Pons' and to appreciate the nobility of
Schmucke's character is the chief characteristic of genius. The reader must read all the
'Scenes from Parisian Life' to have any full conception of Balzac's greatness. His
breadth of vision, his dramatic power, his searching analysis of the most transient
emotions, and his quick perceptions of beauty, are all evident in Cousin Pons.' It is
an interesting, exciting novel, a perfect piece of literary execution, and a story which
is, if sad, neither coarse nor immoral." Boston Transcript.
'

BALZAC IN ENGLISH

MODESTE MlGNON.
TRANSLATED BY

KATHARINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.

." In ' Modeste Mignon we still have that masterly power of analysis,
keen, incisive,
piercing superficiality and pretence, as a rapier pierces a doublet, but we have in addition
the purity and sweetness of a genuine light comedy, a comedy which has for its central
'

object the delineation of the mysteries of a

"As

a whole, 'Modeste Mignon'

is

young

girl's

mind.

not only a masterpiece of French art, but a

whom later novelists must pale their ineffectual fires.

examples of Balzac's skill are brought before the public through the
excellent translations by Miss Wormeley, none competent to judge can fail to perceive
the power of that gigantic intellect which projected and carried out the scheme of the
masterpiece of that master before

As the

different

Comedie Humaine, nor fail to understand the improvement in literature that would result
if Balzac's methods and aims were carefully studied by all who aspire to the name of
novelist." New York Home Journal.
The public owes a debt of gratitude to the industrious translator of Balzac's masterpieces.

They

follow one another with sufficient rapidity to stand in striking contrast

The conscientious reader of them cannot but lay down one after another
with an increasing admiration for their author's marvellous grasp upon the great social
forces which govern the thoughts and actions of men.
In " Modeste Mignon," as in
with each other.

" Eugenie Grandet," we find that the tremulous vibrations 01 first love in the heart of a
young and pure-minded girl are not deemed unworthy of this great artist's study. The
delicate growth of a sentiment which gradually expanded into a passicn, and which was
absolutely free from any taint of sensuality, is analyzed in " Modeste Mignon " with consummate skill. The plot of this book is far from extraordinary. It is even commonplace.
But where in these days shall we find another author who can out of such a simple plot

make a story like the one before us ? The many-sidedness of Balzac's genius is widely
acknowledged but there are probably few people among those whose acquaintance with
his writings has been necessarily limited to translations who could conceive of him producing such a bright and sparkling story, thoroughly realistic, full of vitalizing power,
keen analysis, and depth of study and reflection, brilliantly imaginative, and showing an
elasticity in its creative process which cannot fail to attract every lover of a higher and
;

better art in fiction.

But light and delicate as Balzac's touch generally is throughout this voiume, there is
shown a slumbering force which occasionally awakens and delivers a blow that seems
as if it had been struck by the hammer of Thor. He ranges over the whole scale of human
passion and emotion, penetrates into the very inmost chambers of the heart, apprehends
its movements, and lays bare its weakness with a firm and yet delicate touch of his scalpel.
The book has been excellently translated by Miss Wormeley. She is fully in sympathy
with the author, and has caught his spirit, and the result is a translation which preserves
the full flavour, vigour, and delicacy ol the original.
also

BALZAC IN ENGLISH.

The Magic
DE
(LA PEAU

Skin,

CHAGRIN.)

TRANSLATED BY

KATHARINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.

" 'The Magic Skin' is a great novel, great in its conception, great in its execution,
and great in the impression it leaves upon the reader's mind. Those who deny that
Balzac

a moral teacher will retract their opinion after reading this powerful allegory.

is

a picturesque representation of the great moral truth that in life we have to pay for
In the gradual shrinking of the 'Magic Skin' we see the
every excess we enjoy.
inevitable law that by uncontrolled dissipation of body or mind we use up our physical
strength and exhaust our vitality. In that beautiful, cold, fascinating character, Fedora,
the writer shows us the glittering world of fashion and frivolity which men pursue vainly
and find to their cost only dust and ashes. In the gentle, loving, and devoted Pauline,
Balzac represents the lasting and pure pleasures of domestic life. But in Raphael's short
enjoyment of them we see the workings of that inflexible law, Whatever ye sow that
shall ye also reap.'
In the vivid, striking, realistic picture of Parisian life which Balzac
presents to us in 'The Magic Skin,' the writer had a conscious moral purpose. We
know of no more awful allegory in literature." Boston Transcript.
" The story is powerful and original but its readers will be most affected by its
marvellous knowledge of human nature, and the deep-cutting dissection of character,
which makes the attempts of our own analytical novelists appear superficial and experiIt is

'

Life in all classes of the Paris ot Louis Philippe's time

mental.
lights

and shadows, and with continual

is

flashes of wit, satire,

neither politician, philosopher, priest, poet, journalist, artist,

portrayed in the strongest

and sarcasm, which spare

man of the world,

nor

woman

Through a maze of heterogeneous personages Raphael, the hero, is carried,

pursued by the relentless Magic Skin, which drives him mercilessly to his doom. The
of the world.

vices of high society are laid bare

but there

who is the good

Chagrin Miss Wormeley has done work

is

also

a beautiful exposition of purity in the

La Peau de
and discreet. It is a man's
book, virile though not vulgar, and exposing prominences in French social views such as
most writers veil in obscurities. Here all is frankly and honestly shown, but by a man of
genius, who had no more need of prudish hypocrisy than Shakespeare.
" Mr. Parson's thoughtful preface is a fitting introduction to the most wonderful of all
Balzac's romances.
It is not a whit too strong for Mr. Parsons to write that, saving
Shakespeare, no man could have been better fitted to examine mental processes, to gauge
their effects, to estimate their significance, and to define their nature and scope' than
Balzac. If Balzac had been a German, and not a Frenchman of the French, this book of
his would be as much of an epoch-maker as Goethe's Faust.'
It may take years before
the fuller appreciation of 'La Peau de Chagrin comes, but it is a study of life which will
be studied in centuries yet to come." New York Times.
humble

life of
'

Pauline,

angel of the story.

that

In translating

at once skilful

is

'

'

'

'

BALZAC IN ENGLISH.

THE ALKAHEST
Or,

The House of

Cta'ds.

Among the novels of Honore de Balzac "La Recherche de l'Absolu" has

always counted one of the masterpieces. The terrible dominion of a fixed idea
was never shown with more tremendous force than is depicted in the absorption of
all the powers, the mind, and body of Balthazar Claes by the desire to discover
the Absolute, the "Alkahest." The lovely old mansion at Duai, its sumptuous
furniture, its priceless pictures, its rare bric-a-brac, the pyramid of costly tulips
that glowed in the garden, are painted with a touch rich and vivid, which shows
Balzac at his best. This great novelist was always minute and exhaustive in his
de=criptions but in this story the material in which he worked was of a sort to
arouse his enthusiasm, and he evidently revels in the attractive setting which its
events demand. The tale itself is penetrating and powerful. /?<&? Courier.
The "Alkahest" is a strong story, and all through it is to be felt that subcurrent of vitalizing energy which in so many of Balzac's books seems to propel
ihe principal characters as in a special atmosphere, hurrying them with a kind of
The scienfiery yet restrained impatience toward the doom assigned them.
tific and mystical features of the story are cleverly handled.
Balzac made deep
inquests before writing his philosophical studies, as he called them, and he was
always rather ahead than abreast of the thoughts of his time. The central problem dealt with here is, of course, as complete a mystery to-day as when the
" Recherche de l'Absolu " was written.
Miss Wormeley has made a characteristically excellent translation of a book which presents many unusual difficulties
and abstruse points. It is rarely possible to assert with any truth that an English
version of a French book may be read by the public with nearly as much profit
and apprehension as the original but it is the simple fact in this instance, and it
is certainly remarkable enough to deserve emphasis.
New Yotk Tribune.
He who would know the art of novel-writing may go to Balzac and find an art
that is natural, simple, and beautiful in its exercise, and is directed to both thought
and feeling in behalf of humanity, and that realizes something good and enduring.
He may look without much trouble at "The Alkahest; or, The House of Claes,"
one of the most illustrative of the author's method and aim, and excelling in
;

philosophical analysis

and

in philosophical value.

In this work Balzac has opposed the heart and intellect in a contest amid the
conditions of social life, and sought to reveal their comparative nature and influence, siding, although a remarkable example himself of intellectual development
and force, in favour of the heart, that Flemish heart which is ideal of all that is
powerful for good and happiness in domestic life, and determines Flemish character so strongly that the qualities of that character impress themselves fixedly in
Flemish painting and architecture. Sunday Globe, Boston.
One more scene in Balzac's wonderful " Comedy of Human Life.' It is "The
Alkahest ; or, The House_ of Claes," the greatest of the "philosophical studies."
It tells of the mad, persistent, vain endeavours of Balthazar, a scientist, to discover the Absolute. Through years he squanders his estate in fruitless experiments.
It is a drama that slowly chills the blood.
Then comes the finale.
" Suddenly the dying man raised himself by his wrists, and cast on his frightened
children a look which struck like lightning; the hairs that fringed the bald head
stirred, the wrinkles quivered, the features were illumined with spiritual fires, a
breath passed across that face and rendered it sublime.
He raised a hand
clenched in fury, and uttered with a piercing cry the famous word of Archimedes,
'Eureka!' I have found.'* It is the way Balthazar found the Absolute.
Philadelphia Press.