For some days now, she had thought of giving a reception which was to be a surprise to her friends.  She had heard of Japanese exhibitions being given at other houses.  She herself was determined to give a soiree exotique.  It happened just then that a friend of Guy de Lissac, Monsieur Jose de Rosas, a great lounger, had returned from a journey around the world.  What a piece of good fortune!  She too had known De Rosas formerly, and if she could only get him to consent, she could announce a most attractive soiree:  the travels of such a man as Monsieur de Rosas:  a rare treat!

“The Comtesse d’Horville gives literary matinees,” said Sabine, quite on fire with the idea; “Madame Evan has poems and tragedies read at her receptions, I shall have lecturers and savants, since that is fashionable.”

And what a woman wishes, a grandee of Spain willed, it appeared.  Monsieur de Rosas decided, egged on a little by Guy de Lissac, to come and relate to Madame Marsy’s friends his adventures in strange lands.  The invitations to the soiree were already out.

Madame Marsy had also obtained a promise from three Ministers of State that they would be present.  She had spread the news far and wide.  A little more and she would have had their names printed on the programmes for the evening.  She had had a success quite unlooked for—­a promise from Monsieur Pichereau to be present—­from Pichereau, that starched Puritan, and all the newspapers had announced his intention.  When suddenly—­stupidly—­a cabinet crisis had arisen at the most unexpected moment, a useless crisis.  Granet had interpellated Pichereau with a view to succeed him, and Pichereau fell without Granet succeeding him.  A Ministry had been hastily formed, with Collard at its head, and Sulpice Vaudrey as Minister of the Interior in place of Pichereau!  And all those Ministers of State who had promised to be present to hear Monsieur de Rosas at Madame Marsy’s, fell from power with Pichereau.

“Such a Cabinet!” Sabine had exclaimed in a rage.  “A Cabinet of pasteboard capuchins.”

“A Ministry of pasteboard, certainly,” Guy had answered.

Madame Marsy was quite beside herself.  Granet indeed!  Why could he not have waited a day or two longer before upsetting the whole administration.  It would have been quite as easy to have overthrown Pichereau a day after her soiree as a few days before.  Was Granet then, in a great hurry to be made minister?  Oh! her opinion of him had always been a correct one!  An ambitious schemer.  He had triumphed, or at least he had expected to triumph.  And the consequence was that Sabine found herself without a Minister to introduce to her guests.  It was as if Granet had purposely designed this.

No, she did not know a single member of the new Cabinet.  She had spoken once to the President of the council, Collard, a former advocate of Nantes, at a reception at the Elysee.  Collard had even, in passing by her, torn off a morsel of the lace of her flounce.  How charmingly, too, he had excused himself!  But this acquaintanceship with him would hardly justify her in asking him brusquely to honor her with his presence at this soiree upon which her social success depended.