第3章

NearlyallthecollateralheirsofoldDoctorMinoretwerenowassembledinthesquare；theimportanceoftheeventwhichbroughtthemwassogenerallyfeltthatevengroupsofpeasants，armedwiththeirscarletumbrellasanddressedinthosebrilliantcolorswhichmakethemsopicturesqueonSundaysandfete-days，stoodby，withtheireyesfixedonthefrightenedheirs。Inalllittletownswhicharemidwaybetweenlargevillagesandcitiesthosewhodonotgotomassstandaboutinthesquareormarket-place。Businessistalkedover。InNemoursthehourofchurchservicewasaweeklyexchange，towhichtheownersofpropertyscatteredoveraradiusofsomemilesresorted。

“Well，howwouldyouhavepreventedit？“saidthepostmastertoGoupilinreplytohisremark。

“Ishouldhavemademyselfasimportanttohimastheairhebreathes。

Butfromtheveryfirstyoufailedtogetholdofhim。Theinheritanceofarichuncleshouldbewatchedascarefullyasaprettywoman——forwantofpropercarethey’llbothescapeyou。IfMadameDioniswerehereshecouldtellyouhowtruethatcomparisonis。“

“ButMonsieurBongrandhasjusttoldmethereisnothingtoworryabout，“saidMassin。

“Oh！thereareplentyofwaysofsayingthat！“criedGoupil，laughing。“Iwouldliketohaveheardyourslyjusticeofthepeacesayit。Ifthereisnothingtobedone，ifhe，beingintimatewithyouruncle，knowsthatallislost，theproperthingforhimtosaytoyouis，’Don’tbeworried。’“

AsGoupilspoke，asatiricalsmileoverspreadhisface，andgavesuchmeaningtohiswordsthattheotherheirsbegantofeelthatMassinhadletBongranddeceivehim。Thetax-collector，afatlittleman，asinsignificantasatax-collectorshouldbe，andasmuchofacipherasacleverwomancouldwish，hereuponannihilatedhisco-heir，Massin，withthewords:——“Didn’tItellyouso？“

Trickypeoplealwaysattributetrickinesstoothers。MassinthereforelookedaskanceatMonsieurBongrand，thejusticeofthepeace，whowasatthatmomenttalkingnearthedoorofthechurchwiththeMarquisduRouvre，aformerclient。

“IfIweresureofit！“hesaid。

“YoucouldneutralizetheprotectionheisnowgivingtotheMarquisduRouvre，whoisthreatenedwitharrest。Don’tyouseehowBongrandissprinklinghimwithadvice？“saidGoupil，slippinganideaofretaliationintoMassin’smind。“Butyouhadbettergoeasywithyourchief；he’sacleveroldfellow；hemightusehisinfluencewithyouruncleandpersuadehimnottoleaveeverythingtothechurch。“

“Pooh！wesha’n’tdieofit，“saidMinoret-Levrault，openinghisenormoussnuff-box。

“Youwon’tliveofit，either，“saidGoupil，makingthetwowomentremble。Morequick-wittedthantheirhusbands，theysawtheprivationsthislossofinheritance(solongcountedonformanycomforts)wouldbetothem。“However，“addedGoupil，“we’lldrownthislittlegriefinfloodsofchampagneinhonorofDesire！——sha’n’twe，oldfellow？“hecried，tappingthestomachofthegiant，andinvitinghimselftothefeastforfearheshouldbeleftout。

Beforeproceedingfurther，personsofanexactturnofmindmayliketoreadaspeciesoffamilyinventory，soastounderstandthedegreesofrelationshipwhichconnectedtheoldmanthussuddenlyconvertedtoreligionwiththesethreeheadsoffamiliesortheirwives。Thiscross-breedingoffamiliesintheremoteprovincesmightbemadethesubjectofmanyinstructivereflections。

TherearebutthreeorfourhousesofthelessernobilityinNemours；

amongthem，attheperiodofwhichwewrite，thatofthefamilyofPortenduerewasthemostimportant。Theseexclusivesvisitednonebutnobleswhopossessedlandsorchateausintheneighbourhood；ofthelatterwemaymentionthed’Aiglemonts，ownersofthebeautifulestateofSaint-Lange，andtheMarquisduRouvre，whoseproperty，crippledbymortgages，wascloselywatchedbythebourgeoisie。Thenoblesofthetownhadnomoney。MadamedePortenduere’ssolepossessionswereafarmwhichbroughtarentalofforty-sevenhundredfrancs，andhertownhouse。

InoppositiontothisveryinsignificantFaubourgSt。Germainwasagroupofadozenrichfamilies，thoseofretiredmillers，orformermerchants；inshortaminiaturebourgeoisie；belowwhich，again，livedandmovedtheretailshopkeepers，theproletariesandthepeasantry。

Thebourgeoisiepresented(likethatoftheSwisscantonsandofothersmallcountries)thecuriousspectacleoftheramificationsofcertainautochthonousfamilies，old-fashionedandunpolishedperhaps，butwhoruleawholeregionandpervadeit，untilnearlyallitsinhabitantsarecousins。UnderLouisXI。，anepochatwhichthecommonsfirstmaderealnamesoftheirsurnames(someofwhichareunitedwiththoseoffeudalism)thebourgeoisieofNemourswasmadeupofMinorets，Massins，LevraultsandCremieres。UnderLouisXIII。thesefourfamilieshadalreadyproducedtheMassin-Cremieres，theLevrault-

Massins，theMassin-Minorets，theMinoret-Minorets，theCremiere-

Levraults，theLevrault-Minoret-Massins，Massin-Levraults，Minoret-

Massins，Massin-Massins，andCremiere-Massins，——allthesevariedwithjuniorsanddiversifiedwiththenamesofeldestsons，asforinstance，Cremiere-Francois，Levrault-Jacques，Jean-Minoret——enoughtodriveaPereAnselmeofthePeoplefrantic，——ifthepeopleshouldeverwantagenealogist。

ThevariationsofthisfamilykaleidoscopeoffourbrancheswasnowsocomplicatedbybirthsandmarriagesthatthegenealogicaltreeofthebourgeoisieofNemourswouldhavepuzzledtheBenedictinesoftheAlmanachofGotha，inspiteoftheatomicsciencewithwhichtheyarrangethosezigzagsofGermanalliances。ForalongtimetheMinoretsoccupiedthetanneries，theCremiereskeptthemills，theMassinswereintrade，andtheLevraultscontinuedfarmers。

Fortunatelyfortheneighbourhoodthesefourstocksthrewoutsuckersinsteadofdependingonlyontheirtap-roots；theyscatteredcuttingsbytheexpatriationofsonswhosoughttheirfortuneelsewhere；forinstance，thereareMinoretswhoarecutlersatMelun；LevraultsatMontargis；MassinsatOrleans；andCremieresofsomeimportanceinParis。Diversarethedestiniesofthesebeesfromtheparenthive。

RichMassinsemploy，ofcourse，thepoorworkingMassins——justasAustriaandPrussiataketheGermanprincesintotheirservice。ItmayhappenthatapublicofficeismanagedbyaMinoretmillionaireandguardedbyaMinoretsentinel。Fullofthesamebloodandcalledbythesamename(forsolelikeness)，thesefourrootshadceaselesslywovenahumannetworkofwhicheachthreadwasdelicateorstrong，fineorcoarse，asthecasemightbe。Thesamebloodwasintheheadandinthefeetandintheheart，intheworkinghands，intheweaklylungs，intheforeheadbigwithgenius。

Thechiefsoftheclanwerefaithfultothelittletown，wherethetiesoffamilywererelaxedortightenedaccordingtotheeventswhichhappenedunderthiscuriouscognomenism。InwhateverpartofFranceyoumaybe，youwillfindthesamethingunderchangednames，butwithoutthepoeticcharmwhichfeudalismgavetoit，andwhichWalterScott’sgeniusreproducedsofaithfully。Letuslookalittlehigherandexaminehumanityasitappearsinhistory。Allthenoblefamiliesoftheeleventhcentury，mostofthem(excepttheroyalraceofCapet)

extinctto-day，willbefoundtohavecontributedtothebirthoftheRohans，Montmorencys，Beauffremonts，andMortemartsofourtime，——infacttheywillallbefoundinthebloodofthelastgentlemanwhoisindeedagentleman。Inotherwords，everybourgeoisiscousintoabourgeois，andeverynobleiscousintoanoble。Asplendidpageofbiblicalgenealogyshowsthatinonethousandyearsthreefamilies，Shem，Ham，andJaphet，peopledtheglobe。Onefamilymaybecomeanation；unfortunately，anationmaybecomeonefamily。Toprovethisweneedonlysearchbackthroughourancestorsandseetheiraccumulation，whichtimeincreasesintoaretrogradegeometricprogression，whichmultipliesofitself；remindingusofthecalculationofthewisemanwho，beingtoldtochoosearewardfromthekingofPersiaforinventingchess，askedforoneearofwheatforthefirstmoveontheboard，therewardtobedoubledforeachsucceedingmove；whenitwasfoundthatthekingdomwasnotlargeenoughtopayit。Thenet-workofthenobility，hemmedinbythenet-

workofthebourgeoisie，——theantagonismoftwoprotectedraces，oneprotectedbyfixedinstitutions，theotherbytheactivepatienceoflaborandtheshrewdnessofcommerce，——producedtherevolutionof1789。Thetworacesalmostreunitedareto-dayfacetofacewithcollateralswithoutaheritage。Whataretheytodo？Ourpoliticalfutureisbigwiththeanswer。

ThefamilyofthemanwhounderLouisXV。wassimplycalledMinoretwassonumerousthatoneofthefivechildren(theMinoretwhoseentranceintotheparishchurchcausedsuchinterest)wenttoParistoseekhisfortune，andseldomreturnedtohisnativetown，untilhecametoreceivehisshareoftheinheritanceofhisgrandfather。Aftersufferingmanythings，likeallyoungmenoffirmwillwhostruggleforaplaceinthebrilliantworldofParis，thissonoftheMinoretsreachedanoblerdestinythanhehad，perhaps，dreamedofatthestart。Hedevotedhimself，inthefirstinstance，tomedicine，aprofessionwhichdemandsbothtalentandacheerfulnature，butthelatterqualificationevenmorethantalent。BackedbyDupontdeNemours，connectedbyaluckychancewiththeAbbeMorellet(whomVoltairenicknamedMords-les)，andprotectedbytheEncyclopedists，DoctorMinoretattachedhimselfasliegemantothefamousDoctorBordeu，thefriendofDiderot，D’Alembert，Helvetius，theBarond’HolbachandGrimm，inwhosepresencehefelthimselfamereboy。

Thesemen，influencedbyBordeu’sexample，becameinterestedinMinoret，who，abouttheyear1777，foundhimselfwithaverygoodpracticeamongdeists，encyclopedists，sensualists，materialists，orwhateveryouarepleasedtocalltherichphilosophersofthatperiod。

ThoughMinoretwasverylittleofahumbug，heinventedthefamousbalmofLelievre，somuchextolledbythe“MercuredeFrance，“theweeklyorganoftheEncyclopedists，inwhosecolumnsitwaspermanentlyadvertised。TheapothecaryLelievre，acleverman，sawastrokeofbusinesswhereMinorethadonlyseenanewpreparationforthedispensary，andheloyallysharedhisprofitswiththedoctor，whowasapupilofRouelleinchemistryaswellasofBordeuinmedicine。

Lessthanthatwouldmakeamanamaterialist。

Thedoctormarriedforlovein1778，duringthereignofthe“NouvelleHeloise，“whenpersonsdidoccasionallymarryforthatreason。HiswifewasadaughterofthefamousharpsichordistValentinMirouet，acelebratedmusician，frailanddelicate，whomtheRevolutionslew。

MinoretknewRobespierreintimately，forhehadoncebeeninstrumentalinawardinghimagoldmedalforadissertationonthefollowingsubject:“Whatistheoriginoftheopinionthatcoversawholefamilywiththeshameattachingtothepublicpunishmentofaguiltymemberofit？Isthatopinionmoreharmfulthanuseful？Ifyes，inwhatwaycantheharmbewardedoff。“TheRoyalAcademyofArtsandSciencesatMetz，towhichMinoretbelonged，mustpossessthisdissertationintheoriginal。Though，thankstothisfriendship，theDoctor’swifeneedhavehadnofear，shewassoindreadofgoingtothescaffoldthatherterrorincreasedadispositiontoheartdiseasecausedbytheover-sensitivenessofhernature。Inspiteofalltheprecautionstakenbythemanwhoidolizedher，UrsulaunfortunatelymetthetumbrilofvictimsamongwhomwasMadameRoland，andtheshockcausedherdeath。Minoret，whointendernesstohiswifehadrefusedhernothing，andhadgivenheralifeofluxury，foundhimselfafterherdeathalmostapoorman。Robespierregavehimanappointmentassurgeon-in-chargeofahospital。