man-servant calling me aside to say, 'MM. the Cures of Saint-Paul and
of the White Friars have been waiting in the drawing-room for two
hours.'

"It was nine o'clock.

"'Well, gentlemen, you find yourselves compelled to dine with
priests,' said Comte Octave to his colleagues. 'I do not know whether
Grandville can overcome his horror of a priest's gown----'

"'It depends on the priest.'

"'One of them is my uncle, and the other is the Abbe Gaudron,' said
I. 'Do not be alarmed; the Abbe Fontanon is no longer second priest at
Saint-Paul----'

"'Well, let us dine,' replied the President de Grandville. 'A bigot
frightens me, but there is no one so cheerful as a truly pious man.'

"We went into the drawing-room. The dinner was delightful. Men of real
information, politicians to whom business gives both consummate
experience and the practice of speech, are admirable story-tellers,
when they tell stories. With them there is no medium; they are either
heavy, or they are sublime. In this delightful sport Prince Metternich
is as good as Charles Nodier. The fun of a statesman, cut in facets
like a diamond, is sharp, sparkling, and full of sense. Being sure
that the proprieties would be observed by these three superior men, my
uncle allowed his wit full play, a refined wit, gentle, penetrating,
and elegant, like that of all men who are accustomed to conceal their
thoughts under the black robe. And you may rely upon it, there was