"All very true," said De Breze, with a shrug of the shoulders and in a
tone of levity that seemed to ridicule the assertion he volunteered;
"Virtue and Honour banished from courts and salons and the cabinet of
authors ascend to fairer heights in the attics of _ouvriers_."

"The _ouvriers_, _ouvriers_ of Paris!" cried this terrible German.

"Ay, Monsieur le Comte, what can you say against our _ouvriers_? A
German count cannot condescend to learn anything about _ces petites
gens_."

"Monsieur," replied the German, "in the eyes of a statesman there are no
_petites gens_, and in those of a philosopher no _petites choses_. We in
Germany have too many difficult problems affecting our working classes to
solve, not to have induced me to glean all the information I can as to
the _ouvriers_ of Paris. They have among them men of aspirations as
noble as can animate the souls of philosophers and poets, perhaps not the
less noble because common-sense and experience cannot follow their
flight; but as a body the _ouvriers_ of Paris have not been elevated in
political morality by the benevolent aim of the Emperor to find them
ample work and good wages independent of the natural laws that regulate
the markets of labour. Accustomed thus to consider the State bound to
maintain them, the moment the State fails in that impossible task, they
will accommodate their honesty to a rush upon property under the name of
social reform.

"Have you not noticed how largely increased within the last few years is
the number of those who cry out, 'La Propriete, cest le vol'? Have you
considered the rapid growth of the International Association? I do not
say that for all these evils--the Empire is exclusively responsible. To