BRIGNAC. What ceremony? Sorting my letters? LUCIE. Without opening them. BRIGNAC. I know what’s inside by looking at them. LUCIE. Nonsense! BRIGNAC. Don’t you believe it? Well, look. Here’s one from the mayor of St. Sauveur. Something he asks me to forward to the préfet. [_He opens it and hands the letter to his wife, who does not take it_] There! LUCIE. Why doesn’t he send it direct to the préfet? BRIGNAC. What would be the use of _us_ then? LUCIE [_laughing_] That’s true. BRIGNAC. Now I suppose you’ll make some more jokes about sous-préfets and their work. It’s easy, and not particularly clever. Perhaps some of us don’t take our jobs very seriously, but I’m not like that. If we _are_ useless, our business is to make ourselves indispensable. Just take to-day for example and see if I’m not busy enough. This morning I signed thirty documents; afterwards I went to the meeting of the Council of Revision.[A] Then came this luncheon of the mayor’s to all these gentlemen. Now I shall have an hour of office-work, and then I shall have to go and meet our guests and bring them here, to our own dinner. [_Pause_] Oh! and I forgot—after dinner there will be that reception at the Club that they put off to suit me. That’s a fairly full official day, isn’t it? [Footnote A: The Board appointed to inspect conscripts, and see if they are fit for military service.—_Note by the Translator._] LUCIE. Yes. BRIGNAC. We shall only have part of the Committee at dinner. Some of the members have refused. [_With interest_] Hullo! I didn’t see this. A letter from the Minister of the Interior. LUCIE. Perhaps it’s your promotion. BRIGNAC [_opening the letter_] One never knows—No, it’s a circular [_pause_] upon the decline of the population. [_He runs his eye through the paper_] Most important. [_He goes to the door on the right_] M. Lioret! _A clerk comes in._ CLERK. Yes, monsieur le sous-préfet? BRIGNAC [_giving him papers_] Give that to M. Mouton. It must be done by five o’clock, and _well_ done. This for M. Lamblin—M. Rouge—And put this upon my desk. I will see to it myself and give it the attention it requires. _The clerk goes out._ LUCIE. Perhaps it’s not worth attention. BRIGNAC. It needs an acknowledgment anyway; and the terms used in the original must be most carefully reproduced in the acknowledgment. LUCIE. Now tell me how the luncheon went off. BRIGNAC. I _have_ told you. It went off very well. Too well. The mayor wanted to be even with us. All the same, our dinner to-night will be better. [_He takes a cigar out of his pocket_] I brought away a cigar to show it to you. Are ours as big? LUCIE. Pretty much the same. BRIGNAC. He doesn’t give you cigars like that at his big receptions. There’s the menu. LUCIE [_glancing at it_] Oh! I say! BRIGNAC. The champagne was decanted!