f his efforts that he wrote to
Rastignac informing him of the fortunate and highly successful progress
of his mission.

But, all of a sudden, in face of the triumphant Beauvisage rose another
candidate; and, be it said in passing for the sake of our history,
this rivalry presented itself under such exceptional and unforeseen
circumstances that it changed what might have been a trivial electoral
struggle into a drama possessing wider and more varied interests.

The man who now appears in this narrative will play so considerable a
part in it that it seems necessary to install him, as it were, by means
of retrospective and somewhat lengthy explanations. But to suspend the
course of the narrative for this purpose would be to fly in the face
of every rule of art and expose the present pious guardian of literary
orthodoxy to the wrath of critics. In presence of this difficulty, the
author would find himself greatly embarrassed, if his lucky star had not
placed in his hands a correspondence in which, with a vim and animation
that he himself could never have imparted to them, all the details that
are essential to a full explanation will be found related.

These letters must be read with attention. They bring upon the scene
many persons already well-known in the Comedy of Human Life, and
they reveal a vast number of facts necessary to the understanding and
development of the present drama. Their statements made, and brought to
the point where we now seem to abandon our narrative, the course of
that narrative will, without concussion and quite naturally, resume its
course; and we like to persuade ourselves that, by thus introducing this
series of letters, the unity of our tale, which seemed for a moment in
danger, will be maintained.

PART II. LETTERS EXPLANATORY

I. THE COMTE DE L'ESTORADE TO MONSIEUR MARIE-GASTON

[See "The Memoirs of Two Young Married Women."]

Dear Monsieur,--In accordance with your desire I have seen the prefect
of police, in order to ascertain if the pious intention of which you
wrote me in your letter, dated from Carrara, would meet with opposition
from the authorities.

The prefect informed me that the imperial decree of the 23rd Prairial,
year XII., by which the whole system of burials is still regulated,
establishes, in the most unequivocal manner, the right of all persons to
be interred on their own property. You have only to obtain a permit
from the prefecture of the