De la Brive My dear friend!  In every profession, whether of art, science or literature, a man needs intellectual capital, special knowledge and capacity.  But in politics, my dear fellow, a man wins everything and attains to everything by means of a single phrase—­

Mericourt
What is that?

De la Brive
“The principles of my friends, the party for which I stand, look
for—­”

Mericourt
Hush!  Here comes the father-in-law!

Scenefifth

The same persons and Mercadet.

Mercadet Good-day, my dear Mericourt! (To De la Brive) The ladies have kept you waiting, sir.  Ah!  They are putting on their finery.  For myself, I was just on the point of dismissing—­whom do you think?—­an aspirant to the hand of Mlle. Julie.  Poor young man!  I was perhaps hard on him, and yet I felt for him.  He worships my daughter; but what could I do?  He has only ten thousand francs’ income.

De la Brive
That wouldn’t go very far!

Mercadet
A mere subsistence!

De la Brive
You’re not the man to give a rich and clever girl to the first comer—­

Mericourt
Certainly not.

Mercadet
Before the ladies come in, gentlemen, we must talk a little serious
business.

De la Brive (to Mericourt)
Now comes the tug of war!

(They all sit down.)

Mercadet (on the sofa)
Are you seriously in love with my daughter?

De la Brive
I love her passionately!

Mercadet
Passionately?

Mericourt (to his friend)
You are over-doing it.

De la Brive (to Mericourt) Wait a moment. (Aloud) Sir, I am ambitious—­and I saw in Mlle. Julie a lady at once distinguished, full of intellect, possessed of charming manners, who would never be out of place in the position in which my fortune puts me; and such a wife is essential to the success of a politician.

Mercadet I understand!  It is easy to find a woman, but it is very rare that a man who wishes to be a minister or ambassador finds a wife.  You are a man of wit, sir.  May I ask your political leaning?

De la Brive
Sir, I am a socialist.

Mercadet
That is a new move!  But now let us talk of money matters.

Mericourt
It seems to me that the notary might attend to that.

De la Brive
No!  M. Mercadet is right; it is best that we should attend to these
things ourselves.

Mercadet
True, sir.

De la Brive Sir, my whole fortune consists in the estate which bears my name; it has been in my family for a hundred and fifty years, and I hope will never pass from us.

Mercadet The possession of capital is perhaps more valuable in these days.  Capital is in your own hand.  If a revolution breaks out, and we have had many revolutions lately, capital follows us everywhere.  Landed property, on the contrary, must furnish funds for every one.  There it stands stock still like a fool to pay the taxes, while capital dodges out of the way.  But this is not real obstacle.  What is the amount of your land?