that wayside refuge where private secretaries wait for the storm to
blow over. The young man is not precisely a government official; he is
a political character, however; and sometimes his politics are limited
to those of one man. When we think of the number of letters it is the
private secretary's fate to open and read, besides all his other
avocations, it is very evident that under a monarchical government his
services would be well paid for. A drudge of this kind costs ten
or twenty thousand francs a year; and he enjoys, moreover, the
opera-boxes, the social invitations, and the carriages of the minister.
The Emperor of Russia would be thankful to be able to pay fifty thousand
a year to one of these amiable constitutional poodles, so gentle, so
nicely curled, so caressing, so docile, always spick and span,
--careful watch-dogs besides, and faithful to a degree! But the private
secretary is a product of the representative government hot-house; he
is propagated and developed there, and there only. Under a monarchy
you will find none but courtiers and vassals, whereas under a
constitutional government you may be flattered, served, and adulated
by free men. In France ministers are better off than kings or women;
they have some one who thoroughly understands them. Perhaps, indeed,
the private secretary is to be pitied as much as women and white
paper. They are nonentities who are made to bear all things. They are
allowed no talents except hidden ones, which must be employed in the
service of their ministers. A public show of talent would ruin them.
The private secretary is therefore an intimate friend in the gift of
government-- However, let us return to the bureaus.

Three men-servants lived in peace in the Billardiere division, to wit:
a footman for the two bureaus, another for the service of the two
chiefs, and a third for the director of the division himself. All
three were lodged, warmed, and clothed by the State, and wore the