CHAPTER I

1836 _Paris, January 2, 1836._--M. de Talleyrand is working hard to advance the claims of M. Molé to a seat in the French Academy. He is supported alike by M. Royer-Collard and by the Ministers; hence M. de Villemain found occasion to say, yesterday evening, that all the most _diverse_ and _inverse_ influences were in combination to _transport_ or to _export_ M. Molé to the Academy, and that he himself was strongly in favour of _importation_, as a seat in the Academy was no obstacle to other posts. This play on wor…