“You are a believer, then, in final causes?  I think you are right, but still I believe you would have scratched yourself if God had forgotten to give you any nails.”

My remarks made him laugh, and he then began to speak of our common business, and I soon found him to be a man of intellect.  He was the elder of the two brothers, and a bachelor.  He was expert in all kinds of calculations, an accomplished financier, with a universal knowledge of commerce, a good historian, a wit, a poet, and a man of gallantry.  His birthplace was Leghorn, he had been in a Government office at Naples, and had come to Paris with M. de l’Hopital.  His brother was also a man of learning and talent, but in every respect his inferior.

He shewed me the pile of papers, on which he had worked out all the problems referring to the lottery.

“If you think you can do without me,” said he, “I must compliment you on your abilities; but I think you will find yourself mistaken, for if you have no practical knowledge of the matter and no business men to help you, your theories will not carry you far.  What will you do after you have obtained the decree?  When you speak before the council, if you take my advice, you will fix a date after which you are not to be held responsible—­that is to say, after which you will have nothing more to do with it.  Unless you do so, you will be certain to encounter trifling and procrastination which will defer your plan to the Greek Kalends.  On the other hand, I can assure you that M. du Vernai would be very glad to see us join hands:” 

Very much inclined to take these gentlemen into partnership, for the good reason that I could not do without them, but taking care that they should suspect nothing, I went down with the younger brother, who introduced me to his wife before dinner.  I found present an old lady well known at Paris under the name of General La Mothe, famous for her former beauty and her gout, another lady somewhat advanced in years, who was called Baroness Blanche, and was still the mistress of M. de Vaux, another styled the President’s lady, and a fourth, fair as the dawn, Madame Razzetti, from Piedmont, the wife of one of the violin players at the opera, and said to be courted by M. de Fondpertuis, the superintendent of the opera.

We sat down to dinner, but I was silent and absorbed, all my thoughts being monopolized by the lottery.  In the evening, at Silvia’s, I was pronounced absent and pensive, and so I was in spite of the sentiment with which Mademoiselle Baletti inspired me—­a sentiment which every day grew in strength.

I set out for Versailles next morning two hours before day-break, and was welcomed by M. de Bernis, who said he would bet that but for him I should never have discovered my talent for finance.