Aulaire: they forgot the Minister in the pleasant compan-
ion. But when the footman announced M. le Comte de
Gondreville she jumped as though she had been sitting on
red-hot iron.

"Adieu, Madame," said she to the Princesse in a freez-
ing tone.

She made her exit with Berthe, shaping her course
through the rooms in a way to avoid encountering that
fatal man.

"I fear you have ruined the chances for Georges' mar-
riage," the Princesse said in an aside to de Marsay.

The ex-clerk from Arcis, ex-representative of the people,
ex-Thermidorian, ex-tribune, ex-Councillor of State, ex-



260 BALZAC'S WORKS

Comte and Senator of the Empire, ex-peer of Louis XVIII.,
and new peer of July, made a servile reverence to Mme. de
Cadignan.

"Tremble no more, fair lady, we do not war on princes,"
said he, seating himself beside her,

Malin had enjoyed the friendship of Louis XVIII., who
frequently availed himself of his experience of men and
things. He had assisted materially in the overthrow of
Decazes and been a strong supporter of the Vill^le ministry.
Received with coldness by Charles X., he had espoused the
enmity of Talleyrand. He was then high in the favor of
the twelfth government that he has served, not without
profit to himself, since 1789, and will doubtless "serve," in
a different fashion, at what he considers the fitting moment.
Within the last fifteen months, however, he had withdrawn
from the alliance that for six-and-thirty years had bound
him to the most illustrious of our diplomatists. It was
during the present evening that, in speaking of that great
diplomat, he delivered himself of this mot:

"Do you know the reason of his hostility to the Due de
Bordeaux? — The pretender is too young."

"That seems singular advice to give young men," Rasti-
gnac rejoined.

De Marsay, to whom the Princesses remark seemed to
have afforded matter for reflection, took no part in this ex-
change of pleasantries. He cast an occasional covert look
at Gondreville, and was evidently reserving what he had to
say until the old man, whose habit it was to seek his bed
early, should have retired. All the guests, who had wit-
nessed the manner of Mme. de Cinq-Cygne's departure and
were acquainted with the reasons for it, imitated de Marsay 's
silence. Gondreville, who had not seen the Marquise, did
hot know to what to ascribe the general reserve; but he had
acquired tact in the course of his many years of intercourse
vyrith men, and moreover he was naturally quick of percep-
tion. He thought that for some reason his presence was not
desired, and rose to go. De Marsay, standing with his back



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 251

to the fire, watched the old mau of seventy as he moved
slowly to the door, and it was plain from his manner that he
was turning over grave considerations in his mind.

"I made a mistake, Madame, in not making you my ne-
gotiator," the Prime Minister finally said as the sound of
receding carriage wheels reached his ears. "But I will try
to rectify my error and afford you means of making your
peace with the Cinq-Cygnes. It is more than thirty years
since the events that I am going to speak of occurred, so
you see they are as antiquated a tale as the death of Henri
IV., which, between you and me, in spite of the fact that it
has become a proverb, is one of the most imperfectly authen-
ticated occurrences in history. And besides, even if the
affair did not concern the Marquise, I assure you that you
would find it none the less interesting. Finally, it throws
light on a famous passage of our modern annals — the passage
of Mount St. Bernard. MM. les Ambassadeurs will see
that, in respect of profundity, our politicians of the present
day are a long way behind the Machiavels whom, in 1793, the
tide of public favor landed high up on the shore where the
tempest could not reach them, and some of whom, to use
the words of the old song, have since then 'found a haven.'
To be something or somebody in France to-day, one must
have been buffeted by the storms of those times."

"But it seems to me," interjected the Princesse with a
smile, "that if you look at it in that light your present con-
dition of affairs doesn't leave much to be desired."

A well-bred grin overspread all faces, and de Marsay
even could not keep back a smile. The ambassadors ap-
peared impatient, de Marsay gave a preliminary cough, and
there was silence.

"One night in June, 1800," said the Prime Minister,
"about three o'clock, just as the candles were beginning to
grow pale in the increasing daylight, two men who had had
enough of the bouillotte, or had been playing only to keep
the others company, left the salon in the hotel in the Rue
du Bac, then occupied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs^



252 BA LZA C'S WORKS

and passed into a boudoir. Of these two men, one of whom
is dead and the other has one foot in the grave, each was in
his way as remarkable as the other. Both had been priests,
both had abjured their vows, both were married. One had
been a simple Oratorian, the other had worn a bishop's mitre.
The name of the first was Fouche, th&Mame of the second 1
shall not tell you; both were then simple French citizens,
though perhaps simplicity was neither's ruling trait. When
they were seen entering the boudoir, the guests who still
remained manifested a little curiosity. A third individual
rose and followed them. As for this person, who considered
himself far superior intellectually to the other two — his name
was Sieves — and you are all aware that he likewise had be
longed to the Church before the Revolution. The one who
walked with a limp was at that time Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Fouche was Minister of Police, and Siey^s had
recently resigned from the Consulate. A little spare man,
frigid and severe of aspect, got up from his place and joined
the trio, remarking audibly in presence of one who repeated
his words to me, 'I am afraid- of three of a kind — when they
are three priests.' lie was the Minister of War, Carnot's
little joke did not disturb the two Consuls, who were busy
over their cards in the salon. Cambficcr(^s and Lebrun were
entirel}^ in the power of their ministers, who were men of
infinitely more abilit}' than they. Almost all those states-
men are dead now; we owe them nothing further in the way
of consideration. They belong to history, and the history
of that night was terrilile. 1 tell it you because it is known
to me alone, because Louis XVIII. never disclosed the facts
to poor Mme. de Cinq-Cygne, and it is not to the interest of
the present government to enligiiten her. The four men
drew up chairs and seated themselves around the table.
Before a word was spoken, the lame man got up and closed
the door — some say that he even bolted it. Only your well-
bred man is capable of looking out for those small matters.
The three priests wore the pale and impassive faces with
which you are familiar. Carnot's was the only countenaDce



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 253

that showed any trace of color. The soldier was the first to
break the silence.

" 'What is the question before the house ?'

" 'France,' doubtless replied the Prince, whom I admire
as one of the most remarkable men of our time.

" 'The Eepiiblic, '"louche certainl}^ answered.

" 'Power,' probably said Sieyes. "

The company turned on their chairs and looked one
another in the face. De Marsay's portrayal of the three
men, in tone, look and gesture, was an admirable piece of
mimicry.

"The three priests understood one another to a nicety,"
he continued. "Carnot doubtless looked at his colleagues
and the ex-Coiisul somewhat superciliously. I think though
that, inwardly, he felt a little daunted.

" 'Do you believe we shall be successful?' asked Sieyes.

" 'We may expect everything from Napoleon,' replied
the Minister of War. 'His passage of the Alps was a
success.'

" 'He is playing for heavy stakes,' the diplomatist re-
marked with calculated deliberation; 'his all is on the
board.'

" 'Well, there is no use beating about the bush,' said
Fouche. 'If the First Consul is beaten what are we to do?
Can we raise another army? Are sve to remain his humble
servants?' ,

" 'The Republic no longer exists,' observed Sieves. "He
is Consul for ten years.'

" 'He has more power than Cromwell had,' the bishop
added, 'and he did not vote for the King's death.'

" 'We have a master,' said Fouche; 'the question is,
shall we stick to him if he loses the battle, or shall we
return to a purely republican form of government V

" 'France,' Carnot sententiously rejoined, 'can only stand
up against her enemies by recovering the energy of the
Convention.'

" 'I agree with Carnot,' said Sieyes. 'If Bonaparte



254 BALZAC'S WORKS

returns a defeated man we must finish him. He has had
entirely too much to say during 'the last seven months.'

" 'He has the army!' Carnot rejoined with a thought-
ful air.

" 'And we shall have the people!' exclaimed Fouch^.

" 'You are ready with your reply, monsieur!' the grand
seigneur returned in that deep bass voice for which he is still
noted and which silenced the Oratorian.

" 'Be frank, messieurs,' said an old conventionnel, ap-
pearing from his place of concealment in a corner; 'if Bona-
parte is victorious we will worship him; if he is beaten we
will bury him.'

" 'You were there, were you, Malin?' said the master of
the house with entire composure. 'You shall be one of us.'

"And he motioned to him to be seated. It was to that
circumstance that this individual, a rather obscure member
of the Convention, owed the position that we see him occu-
pying to-day. Malin was discreet, and the two ministers
kept faith with him; but he was also the pivot of the
machine and the soul of the combination.

" 'That man is yet to be defeated!' Carnot exclaimed in
a tone of conviction. 'He has just accomplished a feat that
Hannibal found impossible.

." 'If anything goes wrong, here is the Directorate,' Siey^s
semi-seriously observed, calling the attention of the assem-
blage to the fact tliat they were five.

" 'And,' said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 'we are all
interested in maintaining the principles of the Revolution.
Three of us have discarded the frock, the General voted for
the King's death, and you, Malin, are the owner of confis-
cated estates.'

" 'AH of us are actuated by the same interests,' Siey^s
didactically declared, 'for are not our and the country's
interests identical?'

" 'An unusual condition of affairs,' remarked the diplo-
matist with a smile.

" 'It is time we were up and doing,' added Fouchd



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 255

•The battle is even now in progress, and Melas's force out-
numbers ours. Genoa has surrendered, and Massena has
committed the mistake of embarking for Antibes: it is not
certain that he will be able to rejoin Bonaparte, who will
have no one to look to for reinforcements.'

" 'Whence had you that news?' asked Carnot.

" 'It is reliable,' Fouclie replied. 'The mail will be in
against the opening of ihe Bourse.'

"They were not squeamish in their talk, you see," said
de Marsay, smiling and pausing for a moment.

" 'It is not when tidings of the disaster reach us,' Fouche
continued, 'that we shall be able to organize clubs, awaken
dormant patriotism and change the constitution. We should
have ou.r 18th Brumaire ready to launch at any moment.'

" 'We may leave that to the Minister of Police,' said the
diplomatist, 'but be careful how you trust Lucien.' (Lucien
Bonaparte was then Minister of the Interior.)

" 'I will arrest him,' declared Fouche.

" 'Messieurs,' exclaimed Siey^s, 'our Directorate must
no longer be subject to the caprice of anarchical revolution-
ists. We must organize an oligarchical government — a Sen-
ate for life, an elective chamber that shall be completely
under our control — for we should learn wisdom from the
lessons of the past.'

" 'With a system like that I shall have peace,' observed
the bishop.

" 'Find me a safe man to intrust with our correspondence
with Moreau, for the army of Germany is gomg to be our
only resource!' exclaimed Carnot, rousing himself suddenly
from deep meditation.

"There is no denying it, messieurs," de Marsay contin-
ued after a pause, "those men were right! They showed
themselves great men at that crisis, and I should have acted
just as they did.

" 'Messieurs! — ' exclaimed Siey6s, imparting to the word
a grave and solemn import," said de Marsay, resuming his
narrative.



256 BALZAC'S WORKS

"The significance of that 'Messieurs!' was plain to every-
one: in all eyes were legible a common plighted faith, the
common pledge, the pledge of absolute secrecy, of complete
solidarity in the event of Napoleon returning a victor.

" 'We all know what we have to do,' added Fouche.

"Siey^s had risen and softly released the bolt; the ear
of the former priest had not forgot its cunning. Lucien
entered.

" 'Good news, gentlemen! A courier has arrived with
a despatch from the First Consul for Mme. Bonaparte. He
has opened the campaign with a victory at Montebello. '

"The three ministers e3^ed one another in silence.

" 'Was it a general battle?' inquired Carnot.

" 'No, an engagement in which Lannes covered himself
with glory. The losses were heavy. Attacked by eighteen
thousand men to his ten thousand, he was saved by a divis-
ion sent to his assistance. Ott is in full flight. And Melas's
line of communication is broken. '

" 'When was the fight?' asked Carnot.

" 'On the 8th,' Lucien replied.

" 'And this is the 13th,' returned the provident minister.
'Well, it may be that the destinies of France are being de-
cided while we sit talking here.' (As a matter of fact the
battle of Marengo opened on June 14th at dawn.)

" 'Four days of mortal waiting!' said Lucien.

" 'Mortal?' the Minister of Foreign Affairs coldly and
questioningly rejoined.

" 'Four days,' corrected Fouche.

"I have been assured by one who was present at the time
that the two consuls received no intimation of the news until
the six men returned to the salon. That was about four
o'clock in the morning. Fouch^ was the first to leave.
This is what was accomplished, with occult and infernal
activity, by that extraordinary man, whose work was always
done in silence, whose name was seldom on men's lips, but
who in point of genius was certainly not the inferior of
Philip II., Tiberius or Borgia. His conduct at the time



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 257

of the Walcheren affair was that of a consummate general,
a great statesman and a far-sighted administrator. He was
the only real minister that Napoleon ever had. You know
with what alarm he inspired Bonaparte at that time. Fou-
ehe, Massena and the Prince are the three greatest men, the
three longest heads, in the way of diplomacy, war and gov-
ernment, that 1 know of. If Napoleon had been less suspi-
cious and could have associated them frankly with him in
his undei*ta kings, there would be no Europe now, only one
vast French empire. Fouche only parted company with
Napoleon when he saw Sieyes and Prince Talleyrand
shelved. Thi-;, then, was what Fouche accomplished: in
three days' time, concealing the hand that was stirring the
dead ashes on the hearth, he inspired among the people
that feeling of universal apprehension which spread over
all France and revived the Republican energy of 1793.

"As this dark corner of our history is sadly in need of
illumination, I will say to you that it was this agitation,
originating with the man who was cognizant of all the
secrets of the defunct party of the Mountain, which was
responsible for the Republican plots that menaced the life
of the First Consul after his victory at Marengo. His con-
science smiting him for the mischief he had done, he was
impelled to intimate to Bonaparte, notwithstanding the con-
trary opinion held by the latter, that more Republicans than
Royalists were implicated in those enterprises. Foucht^'s
knowledge of men was surprising: he reckoned on Sieyes
because of his disappointed ambition, on M, de Talleyrand
because of his illustrious birth, on Carnot because of his
unquestioned integrity; but he distrusted our man of this
evening, and this is how he proceeded to wrap the toils
about him. He was only Malin in those days, plain Malin,
the correspondent of Louis the Eighteenth. The Minister
of Police imposed on him the task of concocting the proc-
lamations of the revolutionary government, of framing its
acts and decrees, and the sentence of outlawry against the
seditious persons who had borne a part in the doings of



258 BALZAC '3 WORKS

the 18th Brumaire. And, in addition, this accomplice in
his own despite was obliged to see to the printing ot this
incendiary literature, up to the number of copies considered
necessary, and store it, done up in bales, in his own liouse.
The printer was arrested for dabbling in conspiracy — for
care had been taken to select a revolutionary printer — and
it was two months before the police let him go. The man
died in 1816, firm in the belief that there had been another
conspiracy of the Mountain. One of the strangest episodes
participated in by Fouche's police was undoubtedly that
which ensued upon the receipt by the leading banker of
the time of a first despatch announcing the loss of the battle
of Marengo. It was not until seven o'clock in the evening,
if you will remember, that fortune declared for Napoleon.
At midday the agent representing the monarch of finance
at the seat of war believed that the French army must be
annihilated, and sent off a courier in hot haste. The Min-
ister of Police sent for the billposters, the bell -men and
public criers, and one of his henchmen had driven up with
a van loaded with printed matter, when the second courier,
who had used his spurs to better purpose than the first,
came in and disseminated the tidings of a victory that drove
France fairly wild with joy. The billposters and criers who
were to have proclaimed Bonaparte's outlawry and political
death were kept waiting until the printers had time to work
off another set of placards containing another proclamation
glorifying the First Consul and his victory. Malin, on
whom the entire responsibility for the affair was likely to
rest, was so badly frightened that he loaded the bales on
carts and sent them down under cover of night to Gondre-
ville, where he doubtless buried the compromising papers
in the cellars of the chateau that he had bought not long
before in the name of a man — what was his name, now ? —
Malin had him made president of a cour imperiale — oh, I
have it, Marion! Then he returned to Paris in sufficient
time to be on hand to congratulate the First Consul. Na-
poleon, as you are aware, after Marengo returned from Italy



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 259

to France at whirlwind speed; but only those who are thor-
oughly acquainted with the secret history of the time know
that the celerity of his movements was due to a despatch
from Lucien. The Minister of the Interior was suspicious
©f the attitude of the party of the Mountain, and, without
knowing the exact quarter from which the wind blew, he
feared the storm. Incapable of suspecting the three min-
isters, he attributed the movement to the hatred inspired
against his brother by the events of the 18th Brumaire, and
to the fond anticipation, indulged by the remainder of the
men of 1793, of irreparable disaster in Italy. The words
"Death to the tyrant!" shouted at Saint-Cloud, were con-
tinually ringing in Lucien's ears. The battle of Marengo
and its resultant consequences detained Napoleon in the
plains of Lombardy until the 2oth of June; he reached
France on July 2. Imagine, if you can, the faces of the
five conspirators congratulating the First Consul on his
victory at the Taileries! Fouclie, even in the great man's
salon, bade the tribune — for the Malin that you saw recently
has been a tribune in his day — to have patience and wait a
while, that the end was not yet. The fact was, it did not
appear to M. de Talleyrand and Fouch^ that Bonaparte was
wedded quite as securely as they themselves were to the
doctrines of the Revolution, so they pitched upon the affair
of the I>uc d'Enghien as a means of committing him, for
their own safety, irrevocably to those doctrines. The exe-
cution of the Prince is connected, by perceptible ramifica-
tions, with the plot that was hatched that night during the
Marengo campaign in the hotel of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Certainly, it is now as plain as day to any one hav-
ing access to sources of information that Bonaparte was
fooled to the top of his bent by Talleyrand and Fouche,
who wished to estrange him beyond recall from the House
of Bourbon, whose emissaries were even then making fruit-
less overtures to the First Consul."

At this point one of de Marsay's auditors spoke up.

"Talleyrand, enjoying his game of whist at Mme. de



260 BALZAC'S WORKS

Luynes','' said he, "at three o'clock in the morning takes
out his watch, interrupts the game, and with the most en-
tire irrelevance suddenly inquiries of the three persons
seated at his table whether the Prince de Cond^ had
other children besides Monsieur le Due d'Enghien. So
preposterous a question, coming from M. de Talleyrand,
caused unbounded astonishment. 'Why do you question
us upon a subject on which no one is better informed than
yourself?' he was asked, 'Because,' he replied, 'I wish you
should know that at this moment the House of Cond^ is
extinct.' Now M. de Talleyrand had been at the Hotel de
Luynes since early evening, and doubtless knew why it was
impossible for Bonaparte to pardon the unfortunate young
man,"

"Deucedly interesting story that of yours, de Marsay,"
.said Rastignac, "but I don't see where Mme. de Cinq-Cygne
comes in."

"Ah, true, mp dear fellow — you were only a lad then
— I neglected to give the sequel. You have heard of that
business of the Comte de Gondreville's abduction, which
resulted in the death of the Simeuse twins and of the elder
brother of our friend d'flauteserre, who, by his marriage
with Mile, de Cinq-Cygne, became Comte and subsequently
Marquis de Cinq-Cygne — "

De Marsay, at the solicitation of several persons un-
acquainted with the circumstances, related the story of the
trial, adding that the five mysterious men were sharp fel-
lows selected from the general police of the Empire and sent
down to destroy the bales of printed matter which the Comte
de Gondreville, believing the Empire to be an established
fact, had himself come down with the express purpose of
burning.

"I suspect that Fouche at the same time," said he, "had
a search made for proofs of the correspondence between
Gondreville and Louis XVIIL, with whom the Comte had
maintained an understanding, even during the Terror. In
that horrible affair, however, there was a display of extra-



A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE 261

professional feeling on the part of the chief detective, who
is still living, one of those great men in a subordinate posi-
tion whom it is impossible to replace and who has made a
name for himself by his wonderful achievements in his line.
It seems that Mile, de Cinq-Cygne was not as considerate
toward hira as she might have been on the occasion of his
visit to arrest the Simeuses. And there, madame, you have
the true inwardness of the affair. You can explain it to
the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, and let her know why Louis
XYIII. has been so long silent."

Pabis, January, 1841-



AN EPISODE UNDER THE TERROR



TO MONSIEUR GUYONNET-MERVILLE

It is no more than right, my dear old master, that I
should explain to the inquisitive where I picked up suffi-
cient knowledge of the law to enable me to conduct the
affairs of my little world, and at the same time should
devote these few lines to the memory of the amiable and
accomplished man who, chancing to meet Scribe — another
legal tyro — in the ballroom, said to him, "Why don't you
look in at the office ? You will find plenty of material
there, 1 assure you"; but I am sure you will not need this
public testimonial to convince you of the sincere affection
of the author. De Balzac.

/N PARIS, on the 22d of January, 1793, about eight
o'clock in the evening, an old lady was descending
the steep declivity that terminates in the Faubourg
Saint-Martin in front of the Church of St. Laurent. It had
snowed so persistently all day long that the footsteps of
those whose business called them abroad were barely audi-
ble. The streets were deserted. The feeling of awe which
silence naturally inspires was intensified by the terror which