The second more

Compared with the gaffe of Sainte-Beuve's anger, Mérimée's performance was much calmer.

When he opened the newspaper and saw the contents of the "Prisoner's Song, To Your Excellency Mérimée", he just smiled indifferently. He even held his coffee while reading aloud.

"The door for people to get in and out is locked, and the hole for the dog to crawl out is open. Your voice shouts: Like me, climb out and give you freedom! It's funny, it's funny, even if it's a desperate blow, you have to stand on the moral high ground and put the mark of an evil opponent on me from above. ”

Mérimée held his forehead, he was indeed angry. But at least not like the ugly Sainte-Beuve, who, as a nobleman, at least knew how to suppress his bad emotions.

Sainte-Beuve was nothing more than a clown who got rich overnight, and he was a truly elegant and noble aristocrat.

"Despicable foreigner, I have tolerated you for a long time, you have been encouraging the thugs to come out and destroy the peaceful life of Paris, to call for a mass revolution, to overthrow everything I am enjoying now, but I will not let you go any further."

Mérimée stood up, patted his sleeve, and said with a sneer, "After all, I'm a member of the House of Lords, so it's okay to say hello to the Press Censorship Department." I'm afraid you'll come back and beg me to let you go, right? ”

He picked up another newspaper on the couch, which republished Garion's previous serial, "1984," and Dumas even labeled the book: a must-read for those who love freedom.

Mérimée has been reading "1984" for the past few days, and he was finally surprised to find that this novel is not as simple as he imagined, and the author even quietly wrote some public opinion warfare, revolutionary methods, explosives manufacturing and assassination methods between the lines, as if it had become a revolutionary operation guide.

The more Mérimée read, the more frightened he became, and he would never have imagined that such a book would appear in a newspaper novel series before 1859.

And thanks to the advertising and celebrity effects, "1984" was serialized with great success, and even gathered a large number of readers in a short period of time, and the vast majority of them were frustrated revolutionaries looking for inspiration, the depressed petty bourgeoisie, and some literate workers, who often played a vanguard role in the history of the revolution.

These are dangerous elements, the triggers for a revolution that could break out at any moment.

Mérimée couldn't help but feel disgusted at the fact that even if His Majesty Napoleon III loosened his grip on public opinion for the purpose of wooing the working class, the terrible influence of "1984" was like a termite in a dead wood, which became a prerequisite for the collapse of the empire without being seen by the naked eye.

As staunch supporters of the Second Empire, even if the Emperor is unwilling to act, then they will fight to the end.

"Now that you've left Paris, I have nothing to worry about."

Mérimée clenched the newspaper tightly and muttered, "In a month's time, I will wipe out all traces of you in Paris, leaving no trace of you!" Against Bonaparte, against the censorship department, there is only one end! ”

"Garion, I'm going to get you out of here once again, penniless!"

"Ahh

Garion sneezed, he touched his nose and muttered, "Who cursed me behind my back." ”

"What's wrong, Garion?"

Zola walked out of the room carrying a gray suitcase, and when he saw the other party standing in the hallway, he kept rubbing his nose and asked with concern, "Do you have a cold?" ”

"I don't know, maybe my nose is a little itchy."

Garion didn't care, picking up the suitcase at his feet and walking downstairs. By this time, the carriage had already stopped downstairs, ready to send him out of the city.

As he walked downstairs, Mrs. Ferrorand was standing in the doorway, reluctantly saying goodbye to Garion. She gave Garion a warm hug and reluctantly said, "If you have time, remember to come back and sit." ”

"Yes, Mrs. Feloran," said Garrien, softly. ”

Then he stepped out the door, only to see a familiar figure standing on the side of the road.

Baudelaire stood beside the carriage and came to see Garrian off.

"Mr. Baudelaire, I didn't expect you to come."

Garion put down the suitcase in his hand, greeted him warmly, and said with a smile, "Thank you Mr. Baudelaire for everything you have done during my arrest. ”

When Galian learned from Zola what Baudelaire had done for him, he always wanted to find an opportunity to thank him in person.

"It's fine."

Baudelaire looked at Garion's luggage, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "It's been a great luck to get this verdict, and we don't want a good up-and-comer to end up in jail, but I still don't know one more thing, and I want to ask you face to face." ”

"Say it."

"Do you know who Mérimée is?"

Garion nodded and said, "Of course I know, Empress Eugenie's uncle, academician of France, member of the upper house of parliament, and also a 'respected' authority on the Parisian literary and artistic circles. ”

Baudelaire frowned and asked rhetorically, "Why do you do this when you know the identity of Your Excellency Mérimée?" Although the Prisoner's Song is wonderfully written, it angers His Excellency Mérimée, and it is more than worth the loss for you. ”

Garion turned his head and greeted the waiting coachman, motioning for him to wait a little longer, then turning back to the subject, "That's why I did this because I knew the identity of His Excellency Mérimée. ”

"Huh?"

Baudelaire wondered what the young man in front of him was thinking.

"I was probably told that there was an evil dragon ahead, and the knight was going forward, because the princess was on the tower."

"Interesting analogy."

Baudelaire asked, "Aren't you afraid of being serialized and seized?" ”

"Why should I be afraid, a novel without an ending will impress the reader, right?"

“……”

Baudelaire was speechless about this theory.

Garion pulled out a letter sealed in red fire paint from his pocket and handed it to Baudelaire in front of him. He explained, "In my absence from Paris, if Mérimée is to attack my article, then let Monsieur Goncourt make a statement as requested on the envelope, and as for the rest, you can just watch the excitement." ”

"You ......"

Baudelaire took the envelope, not knowing what Garian was planning.

Garion, on the other hand, smiled and pointed to his eyes, and said word by word, "Don't worry, the eyes of the crowd are bright." The literary and artistic world has not always been controlled by a group of guys who rely on the old and sell the old. ”