"And where would the empire of the Caesars have been but for these
queens?" Blondet went on; "Lais and Rhodope are Greece and Egypt. They
all indeed are the poetry of the ages in which they lived. This
poetry, which Napoleon lacked--for the Widow of his Great Army is a
barrack jest, was not wanting to the Revolution; it had Madame
Tallien! In these days there is certainly a throne to let in France
which is for her who can fill it. We among us could make a queen. I
should have given La Torpille an aunt, for her mother is too decidedly
dead on the field of dishonor; du Tillet would have given her a
mansion, Lousteau a carriage, Rastignac her footmen, des Lupeaulx a
cook, Finot her hats"--Finot could not suppress a shrug at standing
the point-blank fire of this epigram--"Vernou would have composed her
advertisements, and Bixiou her repartees! The aristocracy would have
come to enjoy themselves with our Ninon, where we would have got
artists together, under pain of death by newspaper articles. Ninon the
second would have been magnificently impertinent, overwhelming in
luxury. She would have set up opinions. Some prohibited dramatic
masterpiece should have been read in her drawing-room; it should have
been written on purpose if necessary. She would not have been liberal;
a courtesan is essentially monarchical. Oh, what a loss! She ought to
have embraced her whole century, and she makes love with a little
young man! Lucien will make a sort of hunting-dog of her."

"None of the female powers of whom you speak ever trudged the
streets," said Finot, "and that pretty little 'rat' has rolled in the
mire."

"Like a lily-seed in the soil," replied Vernou, "and she has improved
in it and flowered. Hence her superiority. Must we not have known
everything to be able to create the laughter and joy which are part of