NearlyallthecollateralheirsofoldDoctorMinoretwerenowassembledinthesquare；theimportanceoftheeventwhichbroughtthemwassogenerallyfeltthatevengroupsofpeasants，armedwiththeirscarletumbrellasanddressedinthosebrilliantcolorswhichmakethemsopicturesqueonSundaysandfete-days，stoodby，withtheireyesfixedonthefrightenedheirs。Inalllittletownswhicharemidwaybetweenlargevillagesandcitiesthosewhodonotgotomassstandaboutinthesquareormarket-place。Businessistalkedover。InNemoursthehourofchurchservicewasaweeklyexchange，towhichtheownersofpropertyscatteredoveraradiusofsomemilesresorted。
“Well，howwouldyouhavepreventedit？“saidthepostmastertoGoupilinreplytohisremark。
“Ishouldhavemademyselfasimportanttohimastheairhebreathes。
Butfromtheveryfirstyoufailedtogetholdofhim。Theinheritanceofarichuncleshouldbewatchedascarefullyasaprettywoman——forwantofpropercarethey’llbothescapeyou。IfMadameDioniswerehereshecouldtellyouhowtruethatcomparisonis。“
“ButMonsieurBongrandhasjusttoldmethereisnothingtoworryabout，“saidMassin。
“Oh！thereareplentyofwaysofsayingthat！“criedGoupil，laughing。“Iwouldliketohaveheardyourslyjusticeofthepeacesayit。Ifthereisnothingtobedone，ifhe，beingintimatewithyouruncle，knowsthatallislost，theproperthingforhimtosaytoyouis，’Don’tbeworried。’“
AsGoupilspoke，asatiricalsmileoverspreadhisface，andgavesuchmeaningtohiswordsthattheotherheirsbegantofeelthatMassinhadletBongranddeceivehim。Thetax-collector，afatlittleman，asinsignificantasatax-collectorshouldbe，andasmuchofacipherasacleverwomancouldwish，hereuponannihilatedhisco-heir，Massin，withthewords:——“Didn’tItellyouso？“
Trickypeoplealwaysattributetrickinesstoothers。MassinthereforelookedaskanceatMonsieurBongrand，thejusticeofthepeace，whowasatthatmomenttalkingnearthedoorofthechurchwiththeMarquisduRouvre，aformerclient。
“IfIweresureofit！“hesaid。
“YoucouldneutralizetheprotectionheisnowgivingtotheMarquisduRouvre，whoisthreatenedwitharrest。Don’tyouseehowBongrandissprinklinghimwithadvice？“saidGoupil，slippinganideaofretaliationintoMassin’smind。“Butyouhadbettergoeasywithyourchief；he’sacleveroldfellow；hemightusehisinfluencewithyouruncleandpersuadehimnottoleaveeverythingtothechurch。“
“Pooh！wesha’n’tdieofit，“saidMinoret-Levrault，openinghisenormoussnuff-box。
“Youwon’tliveofit，either，“saidGoupil，makingthetwowomentremble。Morequick-wittedthantheirhusbands，theysawtheprivationsthislossofinheritancesolongcountedonformanycomfortswouldbetothem。“However，“addedGoupil，“we’lldrownthislittlegriefinfloodsofchampagneinhonorofDesire！——sha’n’twe，oldfellow？“hecried，tappingthestomachofthegiant，andinvitinghimselftothefeastforfearheshouldbeleftout。
Beforeproceedingfurther，personsofanexactturnofmindmayliketoreadaspeciesoffamilyinventory，soastounderstandthedegreesofrelationshipwhichconnectedtheoldmanthussuddenlyconvertedtoreligionwiththesethreeheadsoffamiliesortheirwives。Thiscross-breedingoffamiliesintheremoteprovincesmightbemadethesubjectofmanyinstructivereflections。
TherearebutthreeorfourhousesofthelessernobilityinNemours；
amongthem，attheperiodofwhichwewrite，thatofthefamilyofPortenduerewasthemostimportant。Theseexclusivesvisitednonebutnobleswhopossessedlandsorchateausintheneighbourhood；ofthelatterwemaymentionthed’Aiglemonts，ownersofthebeautifulestateofSaint-Lange，andtheMarquisduRouvre，whoseproperty，crippledbymortgages，wascloselywatchedbythebourgeoisie。Thenoblesofthetownhadnomoney。MadamedePortenduere’ssolepossessionswereafarmwhichbroughtarentalofforty-sevenhundredfrancs，andhertownhouse。
InoppositiontothisveryinsignificantFaubourgSt。Germainwasagroupofadozenrichfamilies，thoseofretiredmillers，orformermerchants；inshortaminiaturebourgeoisie；belowwhich，again，livedandmovedtheretailshopkeepers，theproletariesandthepeasantry。
ThebourgeoisiepresentedlikethatoftheSwisscantonsandofothersmallcountriesthecuriousspectacleoftheramificationsofcertainautochthonousfamilies，old-fashionedandunpolishedperhaps，butwhoruleawholeregionandpervadeit，untilnearlyallitsinhabitantsarecousins。UnderLouisXI。，anepochatwhichthecommonsfirstmaderealnamesoftheirsurnamessomeofwhichareunitedwiththoseoffeudalismthebourgeoisieofNemourswasmadeupofMinorets，Massins，LevraultsandCremieres。UnderLouisXIII。thesefourfamilieshadalreadyproducedtheMassin-Cremieres，theLevrault-
Massins，theMassin-Minorets，theMinoret-Minorets，theCremiere-
Levraults，theLevrault-Minoret-Massins，Massin-Levraults，Minoret-
Massins，Massin-Massins，andCremiere-Massins，——allthesevariedwithjuniorsanddiversifiedwiththenamesofeldestsons，asforinstance，Cremiere-Francois，Levrault-Jacques，Jean-Minoret——enoughtodriveaPereAnselmeofthePeoplefrantic，——ifthepeopleshouldeverwantagenealogist。
ThevariationsofthisfamilykaleidoscopeoffourbrancheswasnowsocomplicatedbybirthsandmarriagesthatthegenealogicaltreeofthebourgeoisieofNemourswouldhavepuzzledtheBenedictinesoftheAlmanachofGotha，inspiteoftheatomicsciencewithwhichtheyarrangethosezigzagsofGermanalliances。ForalongtimetheMinoretsoccupiedthetanneries，theCremiereskeptthemills，theMassinswereintrade，andtheLevraultscontinuedfarmers。
Fortunatelyfortheneighbourhoodthesefourstocksthrewoutsuckersinsteadofdependingonlyontheirtap-roots；theyscatteredcuttingsbytheexpatriationofsonswhosoughttheirfortuneelsewhere；forinstance，thereareMinoretswhoarecutlersatMelun；LevraultsatMontargis；MassinsatOrleans；andCremieresofsomeimportanceinParis。Diversarethedestiniesofthesebeesfromtheparenthive。
RichMassinsemploy，ofcourse，thepoorworkingMassins——justasAustriaandPrussiataketheGermanprincesintotheirservice。ItmayhappenthatapublicofficeismanagedbyaMinoretmillionaireandguardedbyaMinoretsentinel。Fullofthesamebloodandcalledbythesamenameforsolelikeness，thesefourrootshadceaselesslywovenahumannetworkofwhicheachthreadwasdelicateorstrong，fineorcoarse，asthecasemightbe。Thesamebloodwasintheheadandinthefeetandintheheart，intheworkinghands，intheweaklylungs，intheforeheadbigwithgenius。
Thechiefsoftheclanwerefaithfultothelittletown，wherethetiesoffamilywererelaxedortightenedaccordingtotheeventswhichhappenedunderthiscuriouscognomenism。InwhateverpartofFranceyoumaybe，youwillfindthesamethingunderchangednames，butwithoutthepoeticcharmwhichfeudalismgavetoit，andwhichWalterScott’sgeniusreproducedsofaithfully。Letuslookalittlehigherandexaminehumanityasitappearsinhistory。Allthenoblefamiliesoftheeleventhcentury，mostofthemexcepttheroyalraceofCapet
extinctto-day，willbefoundtohavecontributedtothebirthoftheRohans，Montmorencys，Beauffremonts，andMortemartsofourtime，——infacttheywillallbefoundinthebloodofthelastgentlemanwhoisindeedagentleman。Inotherwords，everybourgeoisiscousintoabourgeois，andeverynobleiscousintoanoble。Asplendidpageofbiblicalgenealogyshowsthatinonethousandyearsthreefamilies，Shem，Ham，andJaphet，peopledtheglobe。Onefamilymaybecomeanation；unfortunately，anationmaybecomeonefamily。Toprovethisweneedonlysearchbackthroughourancestorsandseetheiraccumulation，whichtimeincreasesintoaretrogradegeometricprogression，whichmultipliesofitself；remindingusofthecalculationofthewisemanwho，beingtoldtochoosearewardfromthekingofPersiaforinventingchess，askedforoneearofwheatforthefirstmoveontheboard，therewardtobedoubledforeachsucceedingmove；whenitwasfoundthatthekingdomwasnotlargeenoughtopayit。Thenet-workofthenobility，hemmedinbythenet-
workofthebourgeoisie，——theantagonismoftwoprotectedraces，oneprotectedbyfixedinstitutions，theotherbytheactivepatienceoflaborandtheshrewdnessofcommerce，——producedtherevolutionof1789。Thetworacesalmostreunitedareto-dayfacetofacewithcollateralswithoutaheritage。Whataretheytodo？Ourpoliticalfutureisbigwiththeanswer。
ThefamilyofthemanwhounderLouisXV。wassimplycalledMinoretwassonumerousthatoneofthefivechildrentheMinoretwhoseentranceintotheparishchurchcausedsuchinterestwenttoParistoseekhisfortune，andseldomreturnedtohisnativetown，untilhecametoreceivehisshareoftheinheritanceofhisgrandfather。Aftersufferingmanythings，likeallyoungmenoffirmwillwhostruggleforaplaceinthebrilliantworldofParis，thissonoftheMinoretsreachedanoblerdestinythanhehad，perhaps，dreamedofatthestart。Hedevotedhimself，inthefirstinstance，tomedicine，aprofessionwhichdemandsbothtalentandacheerfulnature，butthelatterqualificationevenmorethantalent。BackedbyDupontdeNemours，connectedbyaluckychancewiththeAbbeMorelletwhomVoltairenicknamedMords-les，andprotectedbytheEncyclopedists，DoctorMinoretattachedhimselfasliegemantothefamousDoctorBordeu，thefriendofDiderot，D’Alembert，Helvetius，theBarond’HolbachandGrimm，inwhosepresencehefelthimselfamereboy。
Thesemen，influencedbyBordeu’sexample，becameinterestedinMinoret，who，abouttheyear1777，foundhimselfwithaverygoodpracticeamongdeists，encyclopedists，sensualists，materialists，orwhateveryouarepleasedtocalltherichphilosophersofthatperiod。
ThoughMinoretwasverylittleofahumbug，heinventedthefamousbalmofLelievre，somuchextolledbythe“MercuredeFrance，“theweeklyorganoftheEncyclopedists，inwhosecolumnsitwaspermanentlyadvertised。TheapothecaryLelievre，acleverman，sawastrokeofbusinesswhereMinorethadonlyseenanewpreparationforthedispensary，andheloyallysharedhisprofitswiththedoctor，whowasapupilofRouelleinchemistryaswellasofBordeuinmedicine。
Lessthanthatwouldmakeamanamaterialist。
Thedoctormarriedforlovein1778，duringthereignofthe“NouvelleHeloise，“whenpersonsdidoccasionallymarryforthatreason。HiswifewasadaughterofthefamousharpsichordistValentinMirouet，acelebratedmusician，frailanddelicate，whomtheRevolutionslew。
MinoretknewRobespierreintimately，forhehadoncebeeninstrumentalinawardinghimagoldmedalforadissertationonthefollowingsubject:“Whatistheoriginoftheopinionthatcoversawholefamilywiththeshameattachingtothepublicpunishmentofaguiltymemberofit？Isthatopinionmoreharmfulthanuseful？Ifyes，inwhatwaycantheharmbewardedoff。“TheRoyalAcademyofArtsandSciencesatMetz，towhichMinoretbelonged，mustpossessthisdissertationintheoriginal。Though，thankstothisfriendship，theDoctor’swifeneedhavehadnofear，shewassoindreadofgoingtothescaffoldthatherterrorincreasedadispositiontoheartdiseasecausedbytheover-sensitivenessofhernature。Inspiteofalltheprecautionstakenbythemanwhoidolizedher，UrsulaunfortunatelymetthetumbrilofvictimsamongwhomwasMadameRoland，andtheshockcausedherdeath。Minoret，whointendernesstohiswifehadrefusedhernothing，andhadgivenheralifeofluxury，foundhimselfafterherdeathalmostapoorman。Robespierregavehimanappointmentassurgeon-in-chargeofahospital。