"What do you mean by that, my dear abbé?"
"I mean that your success will have an enormous, an incalculable influence. Yes, all those fine young gentlemen who pose as freethinkers, all the lukewarm, all the indifferent, who uphold us but weakly, will see what one gains by being with us, for us, and of us. These advantages have also been demonstrated to some extent, I think, by the very enviable position—especially for one of your years and of—of your—obscure birth—" added the abbé, blushing a little, and Célestin somehow seemed to share this embarrassment.
"So, my dear Célestin," the priest continued, "while envious and insolent aristocrats squander their wealth and their health in vile orgies and senseless dissipation, you, my dear child,—come from nobody knows where, aided and pushed forward by nobody knows whom,—will quietly make your way in the world, and soon every one will be petrified with amazement at your marvellous good fortune."
"Ah, my dear abbé, you may rest assured that my gratitude—"
But the abbé again interrupted him by saying, with a peculiar smile:
"Do not persist in talking of your gratitude. No one has a chance to be ungrateful to us. We are not children; we take our precautions; besides, our best guarantee is the love and good-will of those who are indebted to us."
And the abbé, again pinching the young man's ear in a paternal way, continued:
"Now let me mention another no less important matter. You know the saying, 'He who hears only one bell hears but one note.' You may rest assured that Mlle. Helena will descant eloquently upon your many virtues to the little Beaumesnil. Your goodness, your piety, the angelic sweetness of your face, the dignified modesty of your demeanour, will be her constant theme. She will do everything she can to make the girl fall madly in love with you; but it would be an excellent thing if these praises were echoed by somebody else, and particularly if they were repeated by persons of such prominence that the words would exert a great influence upon the mind of the little Beaumesnil."
"That would be a great help, I admit, my dear abbé."
"Let us see, then, my dear Célestin. Among your fashionable friends is there no lady who could be entrusted with this delicate mission? How about Madame de Francville?"