"
"His grace," said La Briere, with a spice of malice that was
nevertheless serious, "will furnish you with compensation in the
person of his sister."
At this instant, the Comte de La Bastie was announced; the two young
men rose at once, and La Briere hastened forward to present Canalis.
"I wished to return the visit that you paid me in Paris," said the
count to the young lawyer, "and I knew that by coming here I should
have the double pleasure of greeting one of our great living poets."
"Great!--Monsieur," replied the poet, smiling, "no one can be great in
a century prefaced by the reign of a Napoleon. We are a tribe of
would-be great poets; besides, second-rate talent imitates genius
nowadays, and renders real distinction impossible."
"Is that the reason why you have thrown yourself into politics?" asked
the count.
"It is the same thing in that sphere," said the poet; "there are no
statesmen in these days, only men who handle events more or less. Look
at it, monsieur; under the system of government that we derive from
the Charter, which makes a tax-list of more importance than a
coat-of-arms, there is absolutely nothing solid except that which you
went to seek in China,--wealth.
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