9 Words loaded with political significance in France and Europe of the early nineteenth century; legitimists being a broad term describing supporters of the Bourbon monarchy, and the doctrine of legitimacy being the guiding principle of the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
The Red and the Black
Monsieur de Rênal left his wife, in order to pay some visits, when she went into the first drapery shop. He came back even glummer than before: he was convinced that the whole world was thinking of nothing but him and Julien. In fact, nobody had given him the slightest indication that, in the eyes of the public, he might be the offended party. Whatever had been recounted to His Honor the Mayor was exclusively concerned with Julien, and whether he'd be staying for six hundred francs, or accepting the eight hundred offered by Monsieur Valenod. And Monsieur Valenod, when he met Monsieur de Rênal, cut him cold. Nor was this a spontaneous maneuver: almost nothing, in the countryside, is done without good reason. Genuine emotion is so rare, out in the provinces, that it gets pushed as far down as it can go. Monsieur Valenod was what's called, three hundred miles from Paris, a slick operator, a man of natural, coarse brazenness. His triumphant career, since 1815, had reinforced these handsome characteristics. He ruled, in other words, subject to Monsieur de Rênal's orders, but being so much more active, never squeamish about anything, able to mix with the populace, always on the go, writing, speaking, brushing off humiliation, totally devoid of personal pretentions, he had come, in the eyes of the ecclesiastical power, to quite balance out his mayor. Monsieur Valenod had more or less said to the province's grocers: "Let me have the two most stupid among you." He'd said to the purveyors of justice: "Show me your two most notable ignoramuses." To the supervisors of health: "Tell me who are your two most crooked." And when he had gathered together the most brazen, in every business and profession, he'd said to them: "Let's rule together." These people's methods had offended Monsieur de Rênal. Valenod's coarseness was offended by nothing, not even by the wild denunciations spouted against him, in public, by little Father Maslon. Yet in the middle of all his prosperity, Monsieur Valenod felt the need to bolster his confidence by tiny, trivial acts of haughtiness, directed against the coarse truths he knew, quite well indeed, the whole world had the right to address to him. His activity had sharply multiplied since the fears he'd experienced, following Monsieur Appert's visit. He'd made three trips to Besançon; every courier who'd ridden out of town carried letters from him; he'd sent others by the hands of people, known to no one, who came to his house when darkness fell. He had perhaps been wrong to take old Father Chélan's office from him, for that vindictive proceeding had made him seem, to several devout people of good birth and breeding, a profoundly evil man. In addition, the clerical assistance rendered him, in this matter, left him absolutely dependent on the vicar-general,10 Monsieur de Frilair, and he'd already been asked to do some strange things. His political standing had reached this point when, indulging his personal pleasure, he wrote an anonymous letter. Even worse, his wife told him she wanted Julien to dine with them, a notion vanity had put into her head. At this juncture, Monsieur Valenod expected a decisive scene with his old associate, Monsieur de Rênal. The latter had spoken harsh words to him, which did not bother Monsieur Valenod a bit, but de Rênal had the power of direct communication with Besançon, and even with Paris. Some royal minister's relative might suddenly drop down on Verrières and take over the Pauper's Bureau. Monsieur Valenod wondered about approaching the liberals, which is why several of them had been invited to the occasion at which Julien recited. He would have powerful support against the mayor. But elections might intervene, and it was all too obvious that directing a bureau and giving votes to the opposition were incompatible.