But Celeste, the more she loved Felix, the more grave and serious she became with him; partly because her mother sharply lectured her, saying to her one evening:—­

“Don’t give any hope whatever to that young Phellion.  Neither your father nor I can arrange your marriage.  You have expectations to be consulted.  It is much less important to please a professor without a penny than to make sure of the affection and good-will of Mademoiselle Brigitte and your godfather.  If you don’t want to kill your mother —­yes, my dear, kill her—­you must obey me in this affair blindly; and remember that what we want to secure, above all, is your good.”

As the date of the final sale was set for the last of July, Theodose advised Brigitte by the end of June to arrange her affairs in time to be ready for the payment.  Accordingly, she now sold out her own and her sister-in-law’s property in the Funds.  The catastrophe of the treaty of the four powers, an insult to France, is now an established historical fact; but it is necessary to remind the reader that from July to the last of August the French funds, alarmed by the prospect of war, a fear which Monsieur Thiers did much to promote, fell twenty francs, and the Three-per-cents went down to sixty.  That was not all:  this financial fiasco had a most unfortunate influence on the value of real estate in Paris; and all those who had such property then for sale suffered loss.  These events made Theodose a prophet in the eyes of Brigitte and Thuillier, to whom the house was now about to be definitely sold for seventy-five thousand francs.  The notary, involved in the political disaster, and whose practice was already sold, concealed himself for a time in the country; but he took with him the ten thousand francs for Claparon.  Advised by Theodose, Thuillier made a contract with Grindot, who supposed he was really working for the notary in finishing the house; and as, during this period of financial depression, suspended work left many workmen with their arms folded, the architect was able to finish off the building in a splendid manner at a low cost.  Theodose insisted that the agreement should be in writing.

This purchase increased Thuillier’s importance ten-fold.  As for the notary, he had temporarily lost his head in presence of political events which came upon him like a waterspout out of cloudless skies.  Theodose, certain now of his supremacy, holding Thuillier fast by his past services and by the literary work in which they were both engaged, admired by Brigitte for his modesty and discretion,—­for never had he made the slightest allusion to his own poverty or uttered one word about money,—­Theodose began to assume an air that was rather less servile than it had been.  Brigitte and Thuillier said to him one day:—­

“Nothing can deprive you of our esteem; you are here in this house as if in your own home; the opinion of Minard and Phellion, which you seem to fear, has no more value for us than a stanza of Victor Hugo.  Therefore, let them talk!  Carry your head high!”