ation as Jacques Collin had
just received from Asie as to Lucien's arrest, is throwing a rope to
a drowning man. As will be seen, in consequence of this ignorance, a
stratagem which, without this warning, must certainly have been equally
fatal to the convict, was doomed to failure.

Monsieur Camusot, the son-in-law of one of the clerks of the cabinet,
too well known for any account of his position and connection to be
necessary here, was at this moment almost as much perplexed as Carlos
Herrera in view of the examination he was to conduct. He had formerly
been President of a Court of the Paris circuit; he had been raised from
that position and called to be a judge in Paris--one of the most coveted
posts in the magistracy--by the influence of the celebrated Duchesse
de Maufrigneuse, whose husband, attached to the Dauphin's person, and
Colonel of a cavalry regiment of the Guards, was as much in favor with
the King as she was with MADAME. In return for a very small service
which he had done the Duchess--an important matter to her--on occasion
of a charge of forgery brought against the young Comte d'Esgrignon by a
banker of Alencon (see _La Cabinet des Antiques_; _Scenes de la vie
de Province_), he was promoted from being a provincial judge to be
president of his Court, and from being president to being an examining
judge in Paris.

For eighteen months now he had sat on the most important Bench in the
kingdom; and had once, at the desire of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse,
had an opportunity of forwarding the ends of a lady not less influential
than the Duchess, namely, the Marquise d'Espard, but he had failed. (See
the _Commission in Lunacy_.)

Lucien, as was told at the beginning of the Scene, to be revenged on
Madame d'Espard, who aimed at depriving her husband of his liberty of
action, was able to put the true facts before the Public Prosecutor and
the Comte de Serizy. These two important authorities being thus won over
to the Marquis d'Espard's party, his wife had barely escaped the censure
of the Bench by her husband's generous intervention.

On hearing, yesterday, of Lucien's arrest, the Marquise d'Espard had
sent her brother-in-law, the Chevalier d'Espard, to see Madame Camusot.
Madame Camusot had set off forthwith to call on the notorious Marquise.
Just before dinner, on her return home, she had called her husband aside
in the bedroom.

"If you can commit that little fop Lucien de Rubempre for trial, and
sec