This day, Sunday, June 27th, were imbibed twelve bottles of twelve
different wines, regarded as exquisite; also were devoured melons,

"pates au jus romanum," and a fillet of beef with mushroom sauce.
Mademoiselle Mariette, the illustrious sister of our head-clerk

and leading lady of the Royal Academy of music and dancing, having
obligingly put at the disposition of this Practice orchestra seats

for the performance of this evening, it is proper to make this
record of her generosity. Moreover, it is hereby decreed that the

aforesaid clerks shall convey themselves in a body to that noble
demoiselle to thank her in person, and declare to her that on the

occasion of her first lawsuit, if the devil sends her one, she
shall pay the money laid out upon it, and no more.

And our head-clerk Godeschal has been and is hereby proclaimed a
flower of Basoche, and, more especially, a good fellow. May a man

who treats so well be soon in treaty for a Practice of his own!
On this record were stains of wine, pates, and candle-grease. To

exhibit the stamp of truth that the writers had managed to put upon
these records, we may here give the report of Oscar's own pretended

reception:--
This day, Monday, November 25th, 1822, after a session held

yesterday at the rue de la Cerisaie, Arsenal quarter, at the house
of Madame Clapart, mother of the candidate-basochien Oscar Husson,

we, the undersigned, declare that the repast of admission
surpassed our expectations. It was composed of radishes, pink and

black, gherkins, anchovies, butter and olives for hors-d'oeuvre; a
succulent soup of rice, bearingtestimony to maternal solicitude,

for we recognized therein a delicious taste of poultry; indeed, by
acknowledgment of the new member, we learned that the gibbets of a

fine stew prepared by the hands of Madame Clapart herself had been
judiciously inserted into the family soup-pot with a care that is

never taken except in such households.
Item: the said gibbets inclosed in a sea of jelly.

Item: a tongue of beef with tomatoes, which rendered us all
tongue-tied automatoes.

Item: a compote of pigeons with caused us to think the angels had
had a finger in it.

Item: a timbale of macaroni surrounded by chocolate custards.
Item: a dessertcomposed of eleven delicate dishes, among which we

remarked (in spite of the tipsiness caused by sixteen bottles of
the choicest wines) a compote of peaches of august and mirobolant

delicacy.
The wines of Roussillon and those of the banks of the Rhone

completely effaced those of Champagne and Burgundy. A bottle of
maraschino and another of kirsch did, in spite of the exquisite

coffee, plunge us into so marked an oenological ecstasy that we
found ourselves at a late hour in the Bois de Boulogne instead of

our domicile, where we thought we were.
In the statutes of our Order there is one rule which is rigidly

enforced; namely, to allow all candidates for the privilege of
Basoche to limit the magnificence of their feast of welcome to the

length of their purse; for it is publiclynotorious that no one
delivers himself up to Themis if he has a fortune, and every clerk

is, alas, sternly curtailed by his parents. Consequently, we
hereby record with the highest praise the liberal conduct of

Madame Clapart, widow, by her first marriage, of Monsieur Husson,
father of the candidate, who is worthy of the hurrahs which we

gave for her at dessert.
To all of which we hereby set our hands.

[Signed by all the clerks.]
Three clerks had already been deceived by the Book, and three real

"receptions of welcome," were recorded on this imposingregister.
The day after the arrival of each neophyte, the little sub-clerk (the

errand-boy and "gutter-jumper") laid upon the new-comer's desk the
"Archives Architriclino-Basochiennes," and the clerks enjoyed the

sight of his countenance as he studied its facetious pages. Inter
pocula each candidate had learned the secret of the farce, and the

revelation inspired him with the desire to hoax his successor.
We see now why Oscar, become in his turn participator in the hoax,

called out to the little clerk, "Forward, the book!"
Ten minutes later a handsome young man, with a fine figure and

pleasant face, presented himself, asked for Monsieur Desroches, and
gave his name without hesitation to Godeschal.

"I am Frederic Marest," he said, "and I come to take the place of
third clerk."

"Monsieur Husson," said Godeschal to Oscar, "show monsieur his seat
and tell him about the customs of the office."

The next day the new clerk found the register lying on his desk. He
took it up, but after reading a few pages he began to laugh, said

nothing to the assembled clerks, and laid the book down again.
"Messieurs," he said, when the hour of departure came at five o'clock,

"I have a cousin who is head clerk of the notary Maitre Leopold
Hannequin; I will ask his advice as to what I ought to do for my

welcome."
"That looks ill," cried Godeschal, when Frederic had gone, "he hasn't

the cut of a novice, that fellow!"
"We'll get some fun out of him yet," said Oscar.

CHAPTER IX
LA MARQUISE DE LAS FLORENTINAS Y CABIROLOS

The following day, at two o'clock, a young man entered the office,
whom Oscar recognized as Georges Marest, now head-clerk of the notary

Hannequin.
"Ha! here's the friend of Ali pacha!" he exclaimed in a flippant way.

"Hey! you here, Monsieur l'ambassadeur!" returned Georges,
recollecting Oscar.

"So you know each other?" said Godeschal, addressing Georges.
"I should think so! We got into a scrape together," replied Georges,

"about two years ago. Yes, I had to leave Crottat and go to Hannequin
in consequence of that affair."

"What was it?" asked Godeschal.
"Oh, nothing!" replied Georges, at a sign from Oscar. "We tried to

hoax a peer of France, and he bowled us over. Ah ca! so you want to
jockey my cousin, do you?"

"We jockey no one," replied Oscar, with dignity; "there's our
charter."

And he presented the famous register, pointing to a place where
sentence of banishment was passed on a refractory who was stated to

have been forced, for acts of dishonesty, to leave the office in 1788.
Georges laughed as he looked through the archives.

"Well, well," he said, "my cousin and I are rich, and we'll give you a
fete such as you never had before,--something to stimulate your

imaginations for that register. To-morrow (Sunday) you are bidden to
the Rocher de Cancale at two o'clock. Afterwards, I'll take you to

spend the evening with Madame la Marquise de las Florentinas y
Cabirolos, where we shall play cards, and you'll see the elite of the

women of fashion. Therefore, gentleman of the lower courts," he added,
with notarial assumption, "you will have to behave yourselves, and

carry your wine like the seigneurs of the Regency."
"Hurrah!" cried the office like one man. "Bravo! very well! vivat!

Long live the Marests!"
"What's all this about?" asked Desroches, coming out from his private

office. "Ah! is that you, Georges? I know what you are after; you want
to demoralize my clerks."

So saying, he withdrew into his own room, calling Oscar after him.
"Here," he said, opening his cash-box, "are five hundred francs. Go to

the Palais, and get from the registrar a copy of the decision in
Vandernesse against Vandernesse; it must be served to-night if

possible. I have promised a PROD of twenty francs to Simon. Wait for
the copy if it is not ready. Above all, don't let yourself be fooled;

for Derville is capable, in the interest of his clients, to stick a
spoke in our wheel. Count Felix de Vandernesse is more powerful than

his brother, our client, the ambassador. Therefore keep your eyes
open, and if there's the slightest hitch come back to me at once."