In the city of Paris it is impossible to find a more fashionable quarter than the one which is bounded on the one side by the Rue Faubourg Saint Honore and on the other by the Seine, and commences at the Place de la Concorde and ends at the Avenue de l’Imperatrice.  In this favored spot millionaires seem to bloom like the rhododendron in the sunny south.  There are the magnificent palaces which they have erected for their accommodation, where the turf is ever verdant, and where the flowers bloom perennially; but the most gorgeous of all these mansions was the Hotel de Mussidan, the last chef d’oeuvre of Sevair, that skilful architect who died just as the world was beginning to recognize his talents.  With a spacious courtyard in front and a magnificent garden in the rear, the Hotel de Mussidan is as elegant as it is commodious.  The exterior was extremely plain, and not disfigured by florid ornamentation.  White marble steps, with a light and elegant railing at the sides, lead to the wide doors which open into the hall.  The busy hum of the servants at work at an early hour in the yard tells that an ample establishment is kept up.  There can be seen luxurious carriages, for occasions of ceremony, and the park phaeton, and the simple brougham which the Countess uses when she goes out shopping; and that carefully groomed thoroughbred is Mirette, the favorite riding horse of Mademoiselle Sabine.  Mascarin and his confederate descended from their cab a little distance at the corner of the Avenue Matignon.  Mascarin, in his dark suit, with his spotless white cravat and glittering spectacles, looked like some highly respectable functionary of State.  Hortebise wore his usual smile, though his cheek was pale.

“Now,” remarked Mascarin, “let me see,—­on what footing do you stand with the Mussidans?  Do they look upon you as a friend?”

“No, no; a poor doctor, whose ancestors were not among the Crusades, could not be the intimate friend of such haughty nobles as the Mussidans.”

“But the Countess knows you, and will not refuse to receive you, nor have you turned out as soon as you begin to speak; for, taking shelter behind some rogue without a name, you can shelter your own reputation.  I will see the Count.”

“Take care of him,” said Hortebise thoughtfully.  “He has a reputation for being a man of ungovernable temper, and, at the first word from you that he objects to, would throw you out of the window as soon as look at you.”

Mascarin shrugged his shoulders.  “I can bring him to reason,” answered he.

The two confederates walked a little past the Hotel de Mussidan, and the doctor explained the interior arrangements of the house.

“I,” continued Mascarin, “will insist upon the Count’s breaking off his daughter’s engagement with M. de Breulh-Faverlay, but shall not say a word about the Marquis de Croisenois, while you will take the opportunity of putting his pretensions before the Countess, and will not say a word of M. de Breulh-Faverlay.”