the charity to meet him there,
and so lessen the first shock of his recollections."

"I can therefore hardly hope to see her to-day; and it was to her, and
not to you, my dear count, that I came to offer my excuses for the scene
of last night which seemed to annoy her much. Say to her, if you please,
that I will take another opportunity of doing so,--By the bye," he
added, "the election of your friend Sallenauve is making a devilish
talk; the king spoke to me about it this morning, and I did not please
him by repeating the favorable opinion you expressed of the new deputy
last night."

"Well, but you know the tribune is a reef on which reputations are often
wrecked. I am sorry you represented Sallenauve to the king as being on
intimate terms with us. I have nothing to do with elections; but I may
say that I did all I could to dissuade this objectionable candidate from
presenting himself."

"Of course the king cannot blame you for merely knowing an Opposition
deputy."

"No; but last night, in your salon, you seemed to imply that my wife
was much interested in him. I did not wish to contradict you before
witnesses; besides, really, one can't repudiate a man to whom we
are under a great obligation. But my wife, ever since the day he was
nominated, feels that our gratitude has become a burden. She was saying
to me the other day that we had better let the acquaintance die out."

"Not, I hope, until you have done me a service by means of it," said
Rastignac.

"At your orders, my dear minister, in all things."

"I want to meet this man and judge him for myself. To send him an
invitation to dinner would be useless; under the eye of his party, he
would not dare accept it, or if he did, he would be on his guard, and
I should not see him as he is. But if I met him accidentally, I should
find him without armor, and I could feel for his vulnerable spots."

"To invite you both to dine with me might be open to the same objection;
but I could, one of these evenings, make sure of a visit from him, and
let you know--Stop!" cried Monsieur de l'Estorade; "a bright idea has
come to me."

"If it is really bright," thought Rastignac, "it is fortunate I did not
meet the wife."

"We are just about to give a children's ball,--a fancy of my little
girl, to which Madame de l'Estorade, weary of refusing, has at last
consented; the child wishes it to be given in celebration of her rescue.
Of course, therefore, the rescuer is a necessar