"Say no harm of him, poor fellow," protested Malaga. "D'Estourny was a
good sort."

"You can imagine the part that a ruined man was sure to play in 1830
when his name in politics was 'the courageous Cerizet." He was sent
off into a very snug little sub-prefecture. Unluckily for him, it is
one thing to be in opposition--any missile is good enough to throw, so
long as the flight lasts; but quite another to be in office. Three
months later, he was obliged to send in his resignation. Had he not
taken it into his head to attempt to win popularity? Still, as he had
done nothing as yet to imperil his title of 'courageous Cerizet,' the
Government proposed by way of compensation that he should manage a
newspaper; nominally an Opposition newspaper, but Ministerialist _in
petto_. So the fall of this noble nature was really due to the
Government. To Cerizet, as manager of the paper, it was rather too
evident that he was as a bird perched on a rotten bough; and then it
was that he promoted that nice little joint-stock company, and thereby
secured a couple of years in prison; he was caught, while more
ingenious swindlers succeeded in catching the public."

"We are acquainted with the more ingenious," said Bixiou; "let us say
no ill of the poor fellow; he was nabbed; Couture allowed them to
squeeze his cash-box; who would ever have thought it of him?"

"At all events, Cerizet was a low sort of fellow, a good deal damaged
by low debauchery. Now for the duel I spoke about. Never did two
tradesmen of the worst type, with the worst manners, the lowest pair
of villains imaginable, go into partnership in a dirtier business.
Their stock-in-trade consisted of the peculiar idiom of the man about
town, the audacity of poverty, the cunning that comes of experience,