An Attack of GoutAnd I received promotion, not on my own merits, but becausemy master had the gout.

　　BERTOLOTTIThe reader is perhaps surprised at this free and almost friendly tone;we have forgotten to say that for six weeks the Marquis had been confined to the house by an attack of gout.

　　Mademoiselle de La Mole and her mother were at Hyeres, with theMarquise's mother. Comte Norbert saw his father only for brief moments; they were on the best of terms, but had nothing to say to one another. M. de La Mole, reduced to Julien's company, was astonished tofind him endowed with ideas. He made him read the newspapers aloud.

　　Soon the young secretary was able to select the interesting passages.

　　There was a new paper which the Marquis abhorred; he had vowed thathe would never read it, and spoke of it every day. Julien laughed. TheMarquis, out of patience with the times, made Julien read him Livy; thetranslation improvised from the Latin text amused him.

　　One day the Marquis said, with that tone of over-elaborate politeness,which often tried Julien's patience:

　　'Allow me, my dear Sorel, to make you the present of a blue coat:

　　when it suits you to put it on and to pay me a visit, you will be, in myeyes, the younger brother of the Comte de Chaulnes, that is to say, theson of my old friend the Duke.'

　　Julien was somewhat in the dark as to what was happening; that evening he ventured to pay a visit in his blue coat. The Marquis treated himas an equal. Julien had a heart capable of appreciating true politeness,but he had no idea of the finer shades. He would have sworn, before thiscaprice of the Marquis, that it would be impossible to be received by himwith greater deference. 'What a marvellous talent!' Julien said to himself; when he rose to go, the Marquis apologised for not being able to see himto the door on account of his gout.

　　Julien was obsessed by this strange idea: 'Can he be laughing at me?'

　　he wondered. He went to seek the advice of the abbe Pirard, who, lesscourteous than the Marquis, answered him only with a whistle andchanged the subject. The following morning Julien appeared before theMarquis, in a black coat, with his portfolio and the letters to be signed.

　　He was received in the old manner. That evening, in his blue coat, it waswith an entirely different tone and one in every way as polite as theevening before.

　　'Since you appear to find some interest in the visits which you are sokind as to pay to a poor, suffering old man,' the Marquis said to him,'you must speak to him of all the little incidents in your life, but openly,and without thinking of anything but how to relate them clearly and inan amusing fashion. For one must have amusement,' the Marquis wenton; 'that is the only real thing in life. A man cannot save my life on abattle-field every day, nor can he make me every day the present of amillion; but if I had Rivarol here, by my couch, every day, he would relieve me of an hour of pain and boredom. I saw a great deal of him atHamburg, during the Emigration.'

　　And the Marquis told Julien stories of Rivarol among the Hamburgers,who would club together in fours to elucidate the point of a witty saying.

　　M. de La Mole, reduced to the society of this young cleric, sought toenliven him. He stung Julien's pride. Since he was asked for the truth,Julien determined to tell his whole story; but with the suppression of twothings: his fanatical admiration for a name which made the Marquis furious, and his entire unbelief, which hardly became a future cure. His littleaffair with the Chevalier de Beauvoisis arrived most opportunely. TheMarquis laughed till he cried at the scene in the cafe in the Rue Saint-Honore, with the coachman who covered him with foul abuse. It was aperiod of perfect frankness in the relations between employer andprotege.

　　M. de La Mole became interested in this singular character. At first, heplayed with Julien's absurdities, for his own entertainment; soon hefound it more interesting to correct, in the gentlest manner, the youngman's mistaken view of life. 'Most provincials who come to Paris admireeverything,' thought the Marquis; 'this fellow hates everything. Theyhave too much sentiment, he has not enough, and fools take him for afool.'

　　 The attack of gout was prolonged by the wintry weather and lasted forsome months.

　　'One becomes attached to a fine spaniel,' the Marquis told himself;'why am I so ashamed of becoming attached to this young cleric? He isoriginal. I treat him like a son; well, what harm is there in that! Thisfancy, if it lasts, will cost me a diamond worth five hundred louis in mywill.'

　　Once the Marquis had realised the firm character of his protege, he entrusted him with some fresh piece of business every day.

　　Julien noticed with alarm that this great nobleman would occasionallygive him contradictory instructions with regard to the same matter.

　　This was liable to land him in serious trouble. Julien, when he came towork with the Marquis, invariably brought a diary in which he wrotedown his instructions, and the Marquis initialled them. Julien had engaged a clerk who copied out the instructions relative to each piece ofbusiness in a special book. In this book were kept also copies of allletters.

　　This idea seemed at first the most ridiculous and tiresome thing imaginable. But, in less than two months, the Marquis realised its advantages. Julien suggested engaging a clerk from a bank, who should keep anaccount by double entry of all the revenue from and expenditure on theestates of which he himself had charge.

　　These measures so enlightened the Marquis as to his own financial position that he was able to give himself the pleasure of embarking on twoor three fresh speculations without the assistance of his broker, who hadbeen robbing him.

　　'Take three thousand francs for yourself,' he said, one day to his youngminister.

　　'But, Sir, my conduct may be criticised.'

　　'What do you want, then?' replied the Marquis, with irritation.

　　'I want you to be so kind as to make a formal agreement, and to writeit down yourself in the book; the agreement will award me a sum ofthree thousand francs. Besides, it was M. l'abbe Pirard who first thoughtof all this book-keeping.' The Marquis, with the bored expression of theMarquis de Moncade, listening to M. Poisson, his steward, reading hisaccounts, wrote out his instructions.

　　In the evening, when Julien appeared in his blue coat, there was neverany talk of business. The Marquis's kindness was so flattering to our hero's easily wounded vanity that presently, in spite of himself, he felt asort of attachment to this genial old man. Not that Julien was sensitive,as the word is understood in Paris; but he was not a monster, and noone, since the death of the old Surgeon-Major, had spoken to him sokindly. He remarked with astonishment that the Marquis showed a polite consideration for his self-esteem which he had never received fromthe old surgeon. Finally he realised that the surgeon had been prouder ofhis Cross than the Marquis was of his Blue Riband. The Marquis was theson of a great nobleman.

　　One day, at the end of a morning interview, in his black coat, and forthe discussion of business, Julien amused the Marquis, who kept him fora couple of hours, and positively insisted upon giving him a handful ofbank notes which his broker had just brought him from the Bourse.

　　'I hope, Monsieur le Marquis, not to be wanting in the profound respect which I owe you if I ask you to allow me to say something.'

　　'Speak, my friend.'

　　'Will Monsieur le Marquis be graciously pleased to let me decline thisgift. It is not to the man in black that it is offered, and it would at onceput an end to the liberties which he is so kind as to tolerate from the manin blue.' He bowed most respectfully, and left the room without lookinground.

　　This attitude amused the Marquis, who reported it that evening to theabbe Pirard.

　　'There is something that I must at last confess to you, my dear abbe. Iknow the truth about Julien's birth, and I authorise you not to keep thisconfidence secret.

　　'His behaviour this morning was noble,' thought the Marquis, 'and Ishall ennoble him.'

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