urning to his lodging from Lady Dudley's ball, Raoul found a
note from Florine, brought by her maid, which an invincible sleepiness
prevented him from reading at that moment. He fell asleep, dreaming of a
gentle love that his life had so far lacked. Some hours later he opened
the note, and found in it important news, which neither Rastignac nor
de Marsay had allowed to transpire. The indiscretion of a member of the
government had revealed to the actress the coming dissolution of the
Chamber after the present session. Raoul instantly went to Florine's
house and sent for Blondet. In the actress's boudoir, with their feet on
the fender, Emile and Raoul analyzed the political situation of France
in 1834. On which side lay the best chance of fortune? They reviewed
all parties and all shades of party,--pure republicans, presiding
republicans, republicans without a republic, constitutionals without a
dynasty, ministerial conservatives, ministerial absolutists; also the
Right, the aristocratic Right, the legitimist, henriquinquist Right, and
the Carlist Right. Between the party of resistance and that of action
there was no discussion; they might as well have hesitated between life
and death.

At this period a flock of newspapers, created to represent all shades of
opinion, produced a fearful pell-mell of political principles. Blondet,
the most judicious mind of the day,--judicious for others, never
for himself, like some great lawyers unable to manage their own
affairs,--was magnificent in such a discussion. The upshot was that he
advised Nathan not to apostatize too suddenly.

"Napoleon said it; you can't make young republics of old monarchies.
Therefore, my dear fellow, become the hero, the support, the creator of
the Left Centre in the new Chamber, and you'll succeed. Once admitted
into political ranks, once in the government, you can be what you
like,--of any opinion that triumphs."

Nathan was bent on creating a daily political journal and becoming
the absolute master of an enterprise which should absorb into it the
countless little papers then swarming from the press, and establish
ramifications with a review. He had seen so many fortunes made all
around him by the press that he would not listen to Blondet, who warned
him not to trust to such a venture, declaring that the plan was
unsound, so great was the present number of newspapers, all fighting
for subscribers. Raoul, relying on his so-called friends and his own
co