Second Part Chapter 51

When he is Captain, my beggar will be able to make a wealthy marriage,
and take a position in society as good as his elder brother's.

These considerations of prudence determined the acceptance in our
family of the new order of things. The new dynasty, as was natural,
raised Louis to the Peerage and made him a grand officer of the Legion
of Honor. The oath once taken, l'Estorade could not be half-hearted in
his services, and he has since then made himself very useful in the
Chamber.

The position he has now attained is one in which he can rest
upon his oars till the end of his days. He has a good deal of
adroitness in business matters; and though he can hardly be called an
orator, speaks pleasantly and fluently, which is all that is necessary
in politics. His shrewdness and the extent of his information in all
matters of government and administration are fully appreciated, and
all parties consider him indispensable. I may tell you that he was
recently offered an embassy, but I would not let him accept it. I am
tied to Paris by the education of Armand and Athenais--who are now
respectively thirteen and nearly eleven--and I don't intend leaving
till little Rene has completed his, which is just beginning.

We could not have remained faithful to the elder branch of the dynasty
and returned to our country life without allowing the education and
prospects of the three children to suffer. A mother, my sweet, is
hardly called on to be a Decius, especially at a time when the type is
rare. In fifteen years from now, l'Estorade will be able to retire to
La Crampade on a good pension, having found a place as referendary for
Armand in the Audit Department.