"There is," added the man, "a meeting of the council
of state to-day, at which Monsieur le baron is obliged to be present."
"Is this really the house of Monsieur Canalis," said Dumay, "a writer
of poetry?"
"Monsieur le baron de Canalis," replied the valet, "is the great poet
of whom you speak; but he is also the president of the court of Claims
attached to the ministry of foreign affairs."
Dumay, who had come to box the ears of a scribbling nobody, found
himself confronted by a high functionary of the state. The salon where
he was told to wait offered, as a topic for his meditations, the
insignia of the Legion of honor glittering on a black coat which the
valet had left upon a chair. Presently his eyes were attracted by the
beauty and brilliancy of a silver-gilt cup bearing the words "Given by
_Madame_." Then he beheld before him, on a pedestal, a Sevres vase on
which was engraved, "The gift of Madame la _Dauphine_."
These mute admonitions brought Dumay to his senses while the valet
went to ask his master if he would receive a person who had come from
Havre expressly to see him,--a stranger named Dumay.
Pages:
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226