me to
tell you about their noble newspaper. You, who have understood the whole
question of insurance so thoroughly, and who are willing to assist my
work in this district--"

"Yes," said Margaritis, "if--"

"If I take your wine; I understand perfectly. Your wine is very good,
Monsieur; it puts the stomach in a glow."

"They make champagne out of it; there is a man from Paris who comes here
and makes it in Tours."

"I have no doubt of it, Monsieur. The 'Globe,' of which we were
speaking--"

"Yes, I've gone over it," said Margaritis.

"I was sure of it!" exclaimed Gaudissart. "Monsieur, you have a fine
frontal development; a pate--excuse the word--which our gentlemen call
'horse-head.' There's a horse element in the head of every great man.
Genius will make itself known; but sometimes it happens that great men,
in spite of their gifts, remain obscure. Such was very nearly the case
with Saint-Simon; also with Monsieur Vico,--a strong man just beginning
to shoot up; I am proud of Vico. Now, here we enter upon the new theory
and formula of humanity. Attention, if you please."

"Attention!" said the fool, falling into position.

"Man's spoliation of man--by which I mean bodies of men living upon the
labor of other men--ought to have ceased with the coming of Christ, I
say _Christ_, who was sent to proclaim the equality of man in the sight
of God. But what is the fact? Equality up to our day has been an 'ignus
fatuus,' a chimera. Saint-Simon has arisen as the complement of Christ;
as the modern exponent of the doctrine of equality, or rather of its
practice, for theory has served its time--"

"Is he liberated?" asked the lunatic.

"Like liberalism, it has had its day. There is a nobler future before
us: a new faith, free labor, free growth, free production, individual
progress, a social co-ordination in which each man shall receive the
full worth of his individual labor, in which no man shall be preyed upon
by other men who, without capacity of their own, compel _all_ to work
for the profit of _one_. From this comes the doctrine of--"

"How about servants?" demanded the lunatic.

"They will remain servants if they have no capacity beyond it."

"Then what's the good of your doctrine?"

"To judge of this doctrine, Monsieur, you must consider it from a higher
point of view: you must take a general survey of humanity. Here we come
to the theories of Ballance: do you know his Palingenesis?"

"I am fond of them,"