"I know what you are thinking of."

"You astonish me, sir, as I have told nobody of my plan."

"If you have no other engagement, do me the honour of dining with me
to-morrow, and I will tell you what your project is. It is a good one,
but surrounded, I believe, with insuperable difficulties. Nevertheless,
we will talk it over and see what can be done. Will you come?"

"I will do myself that honour."

"Very good, I will expect you at Plaisance."

After he had gone, M. de Boulogne praised his talents and honesty. He was
the brother of M. de Montmartel, whom secret history makes the father of
Madame de Pompadour, for he was the lover of Madame Poisson at the same
time as M. le Normand.

I left the comptroller's and went to walk in the Tuileries, thinking over
the strange stroke of luck which had happened to me. I had been told that
twenty millions were wanted, and I had boasted of being able to get a
hundred, without the slightest idea of how it was to be done; and on that
a well-known man experienced in the public business had asked me to
dinner to convince me that he knew what my scheme was. There was
something odd and comic about the whole affair; but that corresponded
very well with my modes of thought and action. "If he thinks he is going
to pump me," said I, "he will find himself mistaken. When he tells me
what the plan is, it will rest with me to say he has guessed it or he is
wrong as the inspiration of the moment suggests. If the question lies