"Monsieur," he said at last, "you are bound to submit wholly to the
judgment which you have come here to seek, otherwise you are now
playing a farce."
"Oh, monsieur!"
"Listen to me," said the father, nailing La Briere where he stood with
a glance. "I shall be neither harsh, nor hard, nor unjust. You shall
have the advantages and the disadvantages of the false position in
which you have placed yourself. My daughter believes that she loves
one of the great poets of the day, whose fame is really that which has
attracted her. Well, I, her father, intend to give her the opportunity
to choose between the celebrity which has been a beacon to her, and
the poor reality which the irony of fate has flung at her feet. Ought
she not to choose between Canalis and yourself? I rely upon your honor
not to repeat what I have told you as to the state of my affairs. You
may each come, I mean you and your friend the Baron de Canalis, to
Havre for the last two weeks of October. My house will be open to both
of you, and my daughter must have an opportunity to study you. You
must yourself bring your rival, and not disabuse him as to the foolish
tales he will hear about the wealth of the Comte de La Bastie.
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