"Madame could not have been more correct had she seen his license."
"Did that man serve under the Restoration?"
"No, Madame."
"I am glad for the Restoration."
The prefect now returned, entering without being announced, as before; and, as before, he did not remove his hat. Apparently, the prefect was hungry on that particular morning, for he brought with him, on a plate which he held in his hand, a slice of pâté. He put the plate on the table, asked for a knife and fork, and began to eat with his back to the princess.
Madame looked at him with an expression of mingled anger and contempt.
"General," she said, "do you know what I most regret in the station I once occupied?"
"No, Madame."
"Two ushers, to turn that man out."
When the prefect had finished his repast he turned round and asked the duchess for her papers.