Ragon, Cesarine, and Constance left the contracting parties
to listen to the deeds read over to them by Alexandre Crottat. Cesar
signed, in favor of one of Roguin's clients, a mortgage bond for forty
thousand francs, on his grounds and manufactories in the Faubourg du
Temple; he turned over to Roguin Pillerault's cheque on the Bank of
France, and gave, without receipt, bills for twenty thousand francs from
his current funds, and notes for one hundred and forty thousand francs
payable to the order of Claparon.

"I have no receipt to give you," said Claparon; "you deal, for your half
of the property, with Monsieur Roguin, as I do for ours. The sellers
will get their pay from him in cash; all that I engage to do is to see
that you get the equivalent of the hundred and forty thousand francs
paid to my order."

"That is equitable," said Pillerault.

"Well, gentlemen, let us call in the ladies; it is cold without them,"
said Claparon, glancing at Roguin, as if to ask whether that jest were
too broad.

"Ladies! Ah! mademoiselle is doubtless yours," said Claparon, holding
himself very straight and looking at Birotteau; "hey! you are not a
bungler. None of the roses you distil can be compared with her; and
perhaps it is because you have distilled roses that--"

"Faith!" said Roguin, interrupting him, "I am very hungry."

"Let us go to dinner," said Birotteau.

"We shall dine before a notary," said Claparon, catching himself up.

"You do a great deal of business?" said Pillerault, seating himself
intentionally next to Claparon.

"Quantities; by the gross," answered the banker. "But it is all heavy,
dull; there are risks, canals. Oh, canals! you have no idea how canals
occupy us; it is easy to explain. Government needs canals. Canals are
a want especially felt in the departments; they concern commerce,
you know. 'Rivers,' said Pascal, 'are walking markets.' We must
have markets. Markets depend on embankments, tremendous earth-works;
earth-works employ the laboring-classes; hence loans, which find
their way back, in the end, to the pockets of the poor. Voltaire said,
'Canaux, canards, canaille!' But the government has its own engineers;
you can't get a finger in the matter unless you get on the right side of
them; for the Chamber,--oh, monsieur, the Chamber does us all the harm
in the world! It won't take in the political question hidden under the
financial question. There's bad faith on one side or the other. Would
you