arcely fail to have heard the name of a great man of whom we
are proud," said Mme. de Bargeton. "Quite lately his sister was present
when M. de Rubempre read us some very fine poetry."

Felix de Vandenesse and de Marsay took leave of the Marquise d'Espard,
and went off to Mme. de Listomere, Vandenesse's sister. The second act
began, and the three were left to themselves again. The curious women
learned how Mme. de Bargeton came to be there from some of the party,
while the others announced the arrival of a poet, and made fun of his
costume. Canalis went back to the Duchesse de Chaulieu, and no more was
seen of him.

Lucien was glad when the rising of the curtain produced a diversion. All
Mme. de Bargeton's misgivings with regard to Lucien were increased by
the marked attention which the Marquise d'Espard had shown to Chatelet;
her manner towards the Baron was very different from the patronizing
affability with which she treated Lucien. Mme. de Listomere's box was
full during the second act, and, to all appearance, the talk turned upon
Mme. de Bargeton and Lucien. Young Rastignac evidently was entertaining
the party; he had raised the laughter that needs fresh fuel every day in
Paris, the laughter that seizes upon a topic and exhausts it, and leaves
it stale and threadbare in a moment. Mme. d'Espard grew uneasy. She knew
that an ill-natured speech is not long in coming to the ears of those
whom it will wound, and waited till the end of the act.

After a revulsion of feeling such as had taken place in Mme. de Bargeton
and Lucien, strange things come to pass in a brief space of time, and
any revolution within us is controlled by laws that work with great
swiftness. Chatelet's sage and politic words as to Lucien, spoken on
the way home from the Vaudeville, were fresh in Louise's memory. Every
phrase was a prophecy, it seemed as if Lucien had set himself to fulfil
the predictions one by one. When Lucien and Mme. de Bargeton had parted
with their illusions concerning each other, the luckless youth, with
a destiny not unlike Rousseau's, went so far in his predecessor's
footsteps that he was captivated by the great lady and smitten with
Mme. d'Espard at first sight. Young men and men who remember their young
emotions can see that this was only what might have been looked for.
Mme. d'Espard with her dainty ways, her delicate enunciation, and the
refined tones of her voice; the fragile woman so envied, of such high
place and hi