Marmousets. When Godefroid stopped before the arched portal of Madame
de la Chanterie's house, the priest turned towards him and examined
him by the light of the hanging street-lamp, probably one of the last
to disappear from the heart of old Paris.

"Have you come to see Madame de la Chanterie, monsieur?" said the
priest.

"Yes," replied Godefroid. "The words I heard you say to that workman
show me that, if you live here, this house must be salutary for the
soul."

"Then you were a witness of my defeat," said the priest, raising the
knocker of the door, "for I did not succeed."

"I thought, on the contrary, it was the workman who did not succeed;
he demanded money energetically."

"Alas!" replied the priest, "one of the great evils of revolutions in
France is that each offers a fresh premium to the ambitions of the
lower classes. To get out of his condition, to make his fortune (which
is regarded to-day as the only social standard), the working-man
throws himself into some of those monstrous associations which, if
they do not succeed, ought to bring the speculators to account before
human justice. This is what trusts often lead to."

The porter opened a heavy door. The priest said to Godefroid:
"Monsieur has perhaps come about the little suite of rooms?"

"Yes, monsieur."