nd gambling raged with inconceivable violence. Vice sat
enthroned there, and when evening came the immense establishment was
densely crowded by a throng of people thirsting for pleasure, and
circling round and round in the brilliantly-lighted galleries to the
sound of the violins that mounted to the ears of the promenaders from
the dance-halls in the basement below.

Coursegol frequently visited the Palais Egalite. At the instance of
Bridoul he had speculated a little in assignats which were constantly
fluctuating in value. It was the only negotiation in which Coursegol
would consent to embark. He might have trafficked in the estates of the
Emigres which the Republic was selling at a merely nominal price; but he
had no desire to become the owner of what he considered stolen property.
After a few evenings spent in the Palais Egalite, Coursegol became
acquainted with most of the brokers who transacted business there. They
were stout, well-fed, jovial men, whose self-satisfied and flourishing
appearance seemed a stinging irony hurled in the face of the poor
wretches who were perishing of hunger in the Faubourgs of Paris. They
could be seen rushing about the garden and through the galleries, giving
orders to their subordinates whose duty it was to find new clients, and
to allure unsophisticated provincials, that they might rob them of their
money to cast it into the gulf in which the fortunes of so many had been
swallowed up.

These unprincipled persons resorted to the basest means to dupe those
who trusted them. They called wine and reckless women to their aid, and
thus disarmed the unsuspecting men who came to the money market with the
hope of doubling their capital. In the Palais Egalite, conspiracies were
formed not only against the Republic but against the fortunes, the
place, and even the lives of its citizens. Still even the dread
Committee of Public Safety were powerless to discover the formidable
enemies that concealed themselves there. That Coursegol was not
irretrievably lost the instant he crossed the threshold of this
mysterious and dangerous cavern was due entirely to Bridoul, who had
volunteered to act as his guide and protector. Bridoul possessed a very
considerable amount of influence. He presented his comrade to some of
the fortunate speculators, and recommended him to them to such purpose
that several of them took Coursegol under their protection.
Quick-witted, endowed with remarkable energy and tact, an