u had executed your
mission so ably."

That night I was appointed master of petitions to the council of State,
and I also received a private and permanent place in the employment
of Louis XVIII. himself,--a confidential position, not highly
distinguished, but without any risks, a position which put me at
the very heart of the government and has been the source of all my
subsequent prosperity. Madame de Mortsauf had judged rightly. I now owed
everything to her; power and wealth, happiness and knowledge; she guided
and encouraged me, purified my heart, and gave to my will that unity
of purpose without which the powers of youth are wasted. Later I had
a colleague; we each served six months. We were allowed to supply each
other's place if necessary; we had rooms at the Chateau, a carriage,
and large allowances for travelling when absent on missions. Strange
position! We were the secret disciples of a monarch in a policy to which
even his enemies have since done signal justice; alone with us he gave
judgment on all things, foreign and domestic, yet we had no legitimate
influence; often we were consulted like Laforet by Moliere, and made to
feel that the hesitations of long experience were confirmed or removed
by the vigorous perceptions of youth.

In other respects my future was secured in a manner to satisfy ambition.
Beside my salary as master of petitions, paid by the budget of the
council of State, the king gave me a thousand francs a month from his
privy purse, and often himself added more to it. Though the king knew
well that no young man of twenty-three could long bear up under the
labors with which he loaded me, my colleague, now a peer of France, was
not appointed till August, 1817. The choice was a difficult one; our
functions demanded so many capabilities that the king was long in coming
to a decision. He did me the honor to ask which of the young men among
whom he was hesitating I should like for an associate. Among them was
one who had been my school-fellow at Lepitre's; I did not select him.
His Majesty asked why.

"The king," I replied, "chooses men who are equally faithful, but
whose capabilities differ. I choose the one whom I think the most able,
certain that I shall always be able to get on with him."

My judgment coincided with that of the king, who was pleased with the
sacrifice I had made. He said on this occasion, "You are to be the
chief"; and he related these circumstances to my colleague, who
b