answered the young man; "but as I don't know how to deal with a
bourgeois--ah! excuse me, monsieur, the word slipped out--I must warn
you that it is impossible to calculate the costs of tearing down and
rebuilding. It will take at least eight days before I can give even an
approximate idea of them. Trust yourself to me: you shall have a
charming staircase, lighted from above, with a pretty vestibule
opening from the street, and in the space under the stairway--"

"Must that be used?"

"Don't be worried--I will find room for a little porter's lodge. Your
house shall be studied and remodelled _con amore_. Yes, monsieur, I
look to art and not to fortune. Above all things I do not want fame
before I have earned it. To my mind, the best means of winning credit
is not to play into the hands of contractors, but to get at good
effects cheaply."

"With such ideas, young man," said Birotteau in a patronizing tone,
"you will succeed."

"Therefore," resumed Grindot, "employ the masons, painters,
locksmiths, carpenters, and upholsterers yourself. I will simply look
over their accounts. Pay me only two thousand francs commission. It
will be money well laid out. Give me the premises to-morrow at twelve
o'clock, and have your workmen on the spot."

"How much it will cost, at a rough guess?" said Birotteau.

"From ten to twelve thousand francs," said Grindot. "That does not
count the furniture; of course you will renew that. Give me the