Besides,  the  two  wily  foxes  of  the  opposition  at  Provins —
an  Opposition  that  was  growing  in  strength — ^were  rash
enough  to  believe  themselves  stronger  than  the  Priesthood;
they  were  the  first  to  fire.  Vinet,  whose  gratitude  was  stirred
up  by  the  claw-fingers  of  self-interest,  went  to  fetch  Made-
moiselle de  Chargeboeuf  and  her  mother.  The  two  women,
who  had  about  two  thousand  francs  a  year,  lived  very  nar-
rowly at  Troyes.  Mademoiselle  Bathilde  de  Chargeboeuf  was
one  of  those  splendid  women  who  believe  in  marrying  for
love,  and  change  their  minds  towards  their  five-and-twentieth
year  on  finding  themselves  still  unwedded.  Vinet  succeeded
in  persuading  Madame  de  Chargeboeuf  to  combine  her  two
thousand  francs  with  the  thousand  crowns  he  was  making
now  that  the  newspaper  was  started,  and  to  come  and  live
with  him  at  Provins,  where  Bathilde,  he  said,  might  marry  a
simpleton  named  Eogron,  and,  so  clever  as  she  was,  rival
handsome  Madame  Tiphaine.
The  reinforcement  of  Vinet's  household  and  ideas  by  the
arrival  of  Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chargeboeuf  gave  the
utmost  cohesion  to  the  Liberal  party.  This  coalition  brought
consternation  to  the  aristocracy  of  Provins  and  the  Tiphaine
party.  Madame  de  Breautey,  in  dismay  at  seeing  two  women
of  family  so  misled,  begged  them  to  come  to  see  her.  She
bewailed  the  blunders  committed  by  the  Royalists,  and  was
furious  with  those  of  Troyes  on  learning  the  poverty  of  this
mother  and  daughter.
"What !  was  there  no  old  country  gentleman  who  would
marry  that  dear  girl,  born  to  rule  a  chateau?"  cried  she.
