At the end of a week Philippe had a new suit of clothes,--coat,
waistcoat, and trousers,--of good blue Elbeuf cloth, bought on credit,

to be paid for at so much a month; also new boots, buckskin gloves,
and a hat. Giroudeau sent him some linen, with his weapons and a

letter for Carpentier, who had formerly served under Giroudeau. The
letter secured him Carpentier's good-will, and the latter presented

him to his friend Mignonnet as a man of great merit and the highest
character. Philippe won the admiration of these worthy officers by

confiding to them a few facts about the late conspiracy, which was, as
everybody knows, the last attempt of the old army against the

Bourbons; for the affair of the sergeants at La Rochelle belongs to
another order of ideas.

Warned by the fate of the conspiracy of the 19th of August, 1820, and
of those of Berton and Caron, the soldiers of the old army resigned

themselves, after their failure in 1822, to await events. This last
conspiracy, which grew out of that of the 19th of August, was really a

continuation of the latter, carried on by a better element. Like its
predecessor, it was absolutely" target="_blank" title="ad.绝对地；确实">absolutely unknown to the royal government.

Betrayed once more, the conspirators had the wit to reduce their vast
enterprise to the puny proportions of a barrack plot. This conspiracy,

in which several regiments of cavalry, infantry, and artillery were
concerned, had its centre in the north of France. The strong places

along the frontier were to be captured at a blow. If success had
followed, the treaties of 1815 would have been broken by a federation

with Belgium, which, by a military compact made among the soldiers,
was to withdraw from the Holy Alliance. Two thrones would have been

plunged in a moment into the vortex of this sudden cyclone. Instead of
this formidablescheme--concerted by strong minds and supported by

personages of high rank--being carried out, one small part of it, and
that only, was discovered and brought before the Court of Peers.

Philippe Bridau consented to screen the leaders, who retired the
moment the plot was discovered (either by treachery or accident), and

from their seats in both Chambers lent their co-operation to the
inquiry only to work for the ultimate success of their purpose at the

heart of the government.
To recount this scheme, which, since 1830, the Liberals have openly

confessed in all its ramifications, would trench upon the domain of
history and involve too long a digression. This glimpse of it is

enough to show the double part which Philippe Bridau undertook to
play. The former staff-officer of the Emperor was to lead a movement

in Paris solely for the purpose of masking the real conspiracy and
occupying the mind of the government at its centre, while the great

struggle should burst forth at the north. When the latter miscarried
before discovery, Philippe was ordered to break all links connecting

the two plots, and to allow the secrets of the secondary plot only to
become known. For this purpose, his abjectmisery, to which his state

of health and his clothing bore witness, was amply sufficient to
undervalue the character of the conspiracy and reduce its proportions

in the eyes of the authorities. The role was well suited to the
precarious position of the unprincipled gambler. Feeling himself

astride of both parties, the crafty Philippe played the saint to the
royal government, all the while retaining the good opinion of the men

in high places who were of the other party,--determined to cast in his
lot at a later day with whichever side he might then find most to his

advantage.
These revelations as to the vast bearings of the real conspiracy made

Philippe a man of great distinction in the eyes of Carpentier and
Mignonnet, to whom his self-devotion seemed a state-craft worthy of

the palmy days of the Convention. In a short time the tricky
Bonapartist was seen to be on friendly terms with the two officers,

and the consideration they enjoyed in the town was, of course, shared
by him. He soon obtained, through their recommendation, the situation

in the insurance office that old Hochon had suggested, which required
only three hours of his day. Mignonnet and Carpentier put him up at

their club, where his good manners and bearing, in keeping with the
high opinion which the two officers expressed about him, won him a

respect often given to external appearances that are only deceitful.
Philippe, whose conduct was carefully considered and planned, had

indeed made many reflections while in prison as to the inconveniences
of leading a debauched life. He did not need Desroches's lecture to

understand the necessity of conciliating the people at Issoudun by
decent, sober, and respectable conduct. Delighted to attract Max's

ridicule by behaving with the propriety of a Mignonnet, he went
further, and endeavored to lull Gilet's suspicions by deceiving him as

to his real character. He was bent on being taken for a fool by
appearing generous and disinterested; all the while drawing a net

around his adversary, and keeping his eye on his uncle's property. His
mother and brother, on the contrary, who were really disinterested,

generous, and lofty, had been accused of greed because they had acted
with straightforward simplicity. Philippe's covetousness was fully

roused by Monsieur Hochon, who gave him all the details of his uncle's
property. In the first secret conversation which he held with the

octogenarian, they agreed that Philippe must not awaken Max's
suspicions; for the game would be lost if Flore and Max were to carry

off their victim, though no further than Bourges.
Once a week the colonel dined with Mignonnet; another day with

Carpentier; and every Thursday with Monsieur Hochon. At the end of
three weeks he received other invitations for the remaining days, so

that he had little more than his breakfast to provide. He never spoke
of his uncle, nor of the Rabouilleuse, nor of Gilet, unless it were in

connection with his mother and his brother's stay in Issoudun. The
three officers--the only soldiers in the town who were decorated, and

among whom Philippe had the advantage of the rosette, which in the
eyes of all provincials gave him a marked superiority--took a habit of

walking together every day before dinner, keeping, as the saying is,
to themselves. This reserve and tranquillity of demeanor had an

excellent effect on Issoudun. All Max's adherents thought Philippe a
"sabreur,"--an expression applied by soldiers to the commonest sort of

courage in their superior officers, while denying that they possess
the requisite qualities of a commander.

"He is a very honorable man," said Goddet the surgeon, to Max.
"Bah!" replied Gilet, "his behavior before the Court of Peers proves

him to have been either a dupe or a spy; he is, as you say, ninny
enough to have been duped by the great players."

After obtaining his situation, Philippe, who was well informed as to
the gossip of the town, wished to conceal certain circumstances of his

present life as much as possible from the knowledge of the
inhabitants; he therefore went to live in a house at the farther end

of the faubourg Saint-Paterne, to which was attached a large garden.
Here he was able in the utmostsecrecy to fence with Carpentier, who

had been a fencing-master in the infantry before entering the cavalry.
Philippe soon recovered his early dexterity, and learned other and new

secrets from Carpentier, which convinced him that he need not fear the
prowess of any adversary. This done, he began openly to practise with

pistols, with Mignonnet and Carpentier, declaring it was for
amusement, but really intending to make Max believe that, in case of a

duel, he should rely on that weapon. Whenever Philippe met Gilet he
waited for him to bow first, and answered the salutation by touching

the brim of his hat cavalierly, as an officer acknowledges the salute
of a private. Maxence Gilet gave no sign of impatience or displeasure;

he never uttered a single word about Bridau at the Cognettes' where he
still gave suppers; although, since Fario's attack, the pranks of the

Order of Idleness were temporarily suspended.
After a while, however, the contempt shown by Lieutenant-colonel

Bridau for the former cavalry captain, Gilet, was a settled fact,
which certain Knights of Idleness, who were less bound to Max than

Francois, Baruch, and three or four others, discussed among
themselves. They were much surprised to see the violent and fiery Max

behave with such discretion. No one in Issoudun, not even Potel or
Renard, dared broach so delicate a subject with him. Potel, somewhat

disturbed by this open misunderstanding between two heroes of the
Imperial Guard, suggested that Max might be laying a net for the

colonel; he asserted that some new scheme might be looked for from the
man who had got rid of the mother and one brother by making use of

Fario's attack upon him, the particulars of which were now no longer a
mystery. Monsieur Hochon had taken care to reveal the truth of Max's

atrocious accusation to the best people of the town. Thus it happened