"Reflect, M. le duc. Remember that saying of Talleyrand—"
"You quote Talleyrand very often."
"He is my teacher, M. le duc."
"And you do him honour. But to what saying of the great diplomatist do you refer?"
"This, M. le duc: 'One should always distrust one's first impulse, because it is usually a good one.' The saying is a wise one. Profit by it."
"Ah, monsieur, you little know how much truth there is in what you say, and how extremely apropos it is, so far as you are concerned."
"Indeed?"
"I accepted your counsel in advance, for if I had yielded to the first impulse which your proposition inspired, I—I should have—"
"Should have done what, M. le duc?"
"You are too shrewd not to suspect what it was, my dear baron, and I am too polite—to tell you—in my own house."