exotique_. It happened just then that a friend of Guy de Lissac,
Monsieur José de Rosas, a great lounger, had returned from a journey
around the world. What a piece of good fortune! She too had known De
Rosas formerly, and if she could only get him to consent, she could
announce a most attractive soirée: the travels of such a man as Monsieur
de Rosas: a rare treat!

"The Comtesse d'Horville gives literary matinées," said Sabine, quite on
fire with the idea; "Madame Evan has poems and tragedies read at her
receptions, I shall have lecturers and savants, since that is
fashionable."

And what a woman wishes, a grandee of Spain willed, it appeared.
Monsieur de Rosas decided, egged on a little by Guy de Lissac, to come
and relate to Madame Marsy's friends his adventures in strange lands.
The invitations to the soirée were already out.

Madame Marsy had also obtained a promise from three Ministers of State
that they would be present. She had spread the news far and wide. A
little more and she would have had their names printed on the programmes
for the evening. She had had a success quite unlooked for--a promise
from Monsieur Pichereau to be present--from Pichereau, that starched
Puritan, and all the newspapers had announced his intention. When
suddenly--stupidly--a cabinet crisis had arisen at the most unexpected
moment, a useless crisis. Granet had interpellated Pichereau with a view
to succeed him, and Pichereau fell without Granet succeeding him. A
Ministry had been hastily formed, with Collard at its head, and Sulpice
Vaudrey as Minister of the Interior in place of Pichereau! And all those
Ministers of State who had promised to be present to hear Monsieur de
Rosas at Madame Marsy's, fell from power with Pichereau.