CHAPTER FOUR

The Hotel de la Mole

People thought Julien was very strange, and Marquise de la Mole suggested they send him on business when important people came to dinner. The marquis disagreed, saying, "I want to continue my experiment. Father Pirard says we are wrong to destroy the pride of people we hire. He's only out of place because he acts differently. He's quiet, anyway."

In the Salon, one could talk about anything as long as there were no jokes about God, the church, the king, the government, or artists popular with the king's Court, as long as no good thing was said about liberal newspapers, Voltaire, or Rousseau (whose writings influenced the revolution), and as long as no politics were discussed.

The conversations were all very boring. Any new idea seemed rude; everyone wanted only to be polite. Politeness was more important than anything else. Some people only came to eat lots of ice cream.

Later, Julien asked Father Pirard, "Is it a requirement of my job to eat dinner with the marquise?"

"It's an honor!" Father Pirard replied.

"It's the worst part of my job, Father. I'm afraid of falling asleep. Please ask them to let me eat in a restaurant."

Julien heard a noise, and he turned around. Ms de la Mole had been listening. She respected him more now. He's not a weak man who bows before my father, she thought.

That night Julien did not speak to Ms de la Mole, but she spoke to him. He sat with Ms de la Mole, Count Norbert, and their friends. They had no mercy for the others. They made fun of almost everyone. Sometimes Julien laughed, but he did not truly understand. The conversation was like a foreign language; he knew the words, but not the meaning.

Julien went to talk to Father Pirard for a few minutes. The priest was not comfortable in this society. He was a strict Jansenist and tried to be good; he did not like to think badly of everyone he saw. When Julien returned, Ms de la Mole said, "That Father Pirard! What an ugly face he has!"

Julien was angry, but she was right. The priest was the most honorable man in the room, but his face was awful. Whenever he had a true thought, it became worse. The others in the room had smooth faces, especially when they lied.

Later that night, Count Norbert and his friends were making fun of a Mr de Thaler. Mr de Thaler was very rich, but few people liked him. When he left, Julien thought about the difference between Mr de Thaler and himself. This man makes more money in one hour than I make in a month, but they still make fun of him! Julien thought. It's enough to cure a man of envy.

(end of section)