"To-morrow at noon."
"I shall have my post?"
"I hope so."
"Upon my word, my dear sir, you will have done me an immense service."
"I will do it for you. Go and sleep soundly, without a care. And the day after to-morrow you will wake up with a salary of twelve hundred francs."
Louët went away with this pleasant prospect before him, and I wrote to the prince royal to ask him for an interview next morning. A quarter of an hour later, I received his assent. I was then lodging at No. 22 rue de Rivoli. My windows were exactly opposite those of the Duc d'Orléans and he often used to answer by a sign requests such as I had just addressed to him. Such demands on my part were seldom asked; I always waited until the prince sent for me, for I knew that the king, and particularly the queen, looked askance at my visits to their son. So, next day, when I presented myself to the prince, he said—
"Ah, here you are! Why the deuce are you in such a hurry to see me?"
"Ah, monseigneur, to ask a favour which I am sure you will grant me with great pleasure."
"For whom, or of what is it about?"
"I do not know, monseigneur, why you are so categorical with me; you know I am no purist."