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vi Contents
Legal Authority 20
Charismatic Authority 22
Historical Perspectives 2.1: Louis Riel 23
Historical Perspectives 2.2: “Crush on Obama” 24
Questions for Discussion 25
Internet Links 25
Further Reading 25
4 The Nation 39
World View 4.1: Nation and State in Eastern Europe 41
Problems of Ethnicity 43
Nations and States 44
Is Canada a Nation? 45
Questions for Discussion 47
Internet Links 47
Further Reading 47
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Contents vii
6 Law 60
Customary Law and Common Law 61
Legislation 63
Natural Law and Human Rights 64
Law Focus 6.1: Delegated Legislation 65
Questions for Discussion 66
Internet Links 66
Further Reading 66
7 Constitutionalism 68
The British Unwritten Constitution 69
The American Written Constitution 70
The Canadian Hybrid 71
Canadian Focus 7.1: Constitutional Preambles 72
Judicial Interpretation 74
Constitutionalism 75
Rule of Law 75
Law Focus 7.1: The Supreme Court and the Rule of Law 78
Challenges to the Rule of Law 78
Questions for Discussion 80
Internet Links 80
Further Reading 81
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viii Contents
Part 2 Ideology 97
9 Ideology 99
A Wider Perspective 103
Left, Right, and Centre 104
Concept Box 9.1: Multidimensional Scaling 109
Questions for Discussion 110
Internet Links 110
Further Reading 110
10 Liberalism 112
The History of Liberalism 112
Classical Liberalism 115
Reform Liberalism 121
Comparative Perspectives 10.1: Keynesian Economics 124
Questions for Discussion 128
Internet Links 128
Further Reading 129
11 Conservatism 131
Social Conservatism and Libertarianism 138
Conservatism in Contemporary Politics 139
Questions for Discussion 141
Internet Links 141
Further Reading 142
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Contents ix
Selflessness 159
Governing 159
Conclusion 160
Questions for Discussion 161
Internet Links 161
Further Reading 161
13 Nationalism 163
National Mythology 163
Typical Forms of Nationalism 168
Historical Overview 169
Worldwide Nationalism 172
World View 13.1: New Nation-States Created after the Collapse of
Communism in Eastern Europe, 1991 173
Questions for Discussion 174
Internet Links 174
Further Reading 175
14 Feminism 177
Feminism 177
Liberal Feminism 178
Historical Perspectives 14.1: Canadian Women’s Political
Milestones 182
Marxist Feminism 183
Radical Feminism 185
Perennial Questions of Feminism 187
Women in Politics 189
World View 14.1: The Gender Gap 191
Questions for Discussion 193
Internet Links 193
Further Reading 193
15 Environmentalism 195
Conservationism 195
Human Welfare Ecology 196
Issues Box 15.1: The Tragedy of the Commons 197
Issues Box 15.2: Global Warming as a Tragedy of the
Commons 199
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x Contents
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Contents xi
Globalization 253
Conclusion 253
Questions for Discussion 255
Internet Links 255
Further Reading 256
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xii Contents
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Contents xiii
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xiv Contents
NEL
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Preface
Brenda O’Neill, who joined our writing team for the eighth edition, continues with us
for the ninth edition. Dr. O’Neill’s expertise in political engagement, gender and poli-
tics, political culture, and democratic procedures is reflected in extensive changes to the
chapters on those topics. As always, we have had the benefit of extensive feedback on
the text initiated by Nelson Education Ltd. While our conceptual approach remains,
the feedback has prompted a number of changes both in content and in format; but,
while updating the material and presentation, we have tried to remain faithful to the
basic approach that seems to have worked well over the past eight editions.
NEL
Copyright 201 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xvi Preface
●
New boxes include
●
Chapter 2, Historical Perspectives: “Crush on Obama”
●
Chapter 3, International Perspectives: “The Failed State of Somalia”
●
Chapter 13, World View: “New Nation-States Created after the Collapse of
Communism in Eastern Europe, 1991”
●
Chapter 14, World View: “The Gender Gap”
●
Chapter 17, World View: “The Arab Spring”
●
Chapter 24, World View: “Blogs and Politics”
●
Chapter 27, Canadian Focus: “Prime-Ministerial Government?”
●
All end-of-chapter Internet links have been updated and are also available live on
the student website, at www.nelson.com/intropolitics9e.
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACh
The essence of our approach is the pedagogical method that E. D. Hirsch calls “selective
exemplification.” That is, we try to provide readers with “a carefully chosen but gen-
erous sampling of factual data that are set forth in a meaningful web of inferences and
generalizations about the larger domain.”1 According to Hirsch, educational research
shows that this method yields better results than either an abstract discussion of general
principles or an encyclopedic recitation of isolated facts. Of course, selective exemplifi-
cation will work only if the examples make sense to students; so, as with each previous
edition, we have taken care to update our examples to make them as current as possible.
This text is for a first-year course in political science. Although designed for use in
Canadian universities and colleges, it does not focus solely on Canadian government.
We use Canadian illustrations of general principles together with examples from many
other countries, but particularly the British and American political systems—both of
which are historically of great importance to Canada.
NEL
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Preface xvii
At the same time, many students are handicapped by certain deficiencies in the
social studies curriculum:
●
They have been offered little historical information and historical perspective
on events. History has suffered perhaps more than any other discipline through
being integrated into social studies. Students without a historical perspective
are adrift intellectually. They lack the important bearings that make sense of
Canada’s unique history, as well as the development of Western civilization and
the rise and fall of other civilizations.
●
They have little specific information about the institutions of Canadian gov-
ernment. Most students entering university are unable to say how a judge is
appointed or what an order-in-council is. Their knowledge of government is
focused more on current affairs, with heavy emphasis on issues as portrayed in
the mass media.
●
They are accustomed to discussing politics but not to using rigorously defined
concepts. They are used to applying looser reasoning than is required for an aca-
demic discipline.
Our textbook addresses each of these problems. We can do relatively little about stu-
dents’ lack of historical background, since the course for which this book is designed
cannot replace the systematic study of history. However, we do attempt to put impor-
tant topics in a historical or developmental perspective and we supply some informa-
tion about watershed events such as the French and Russian Revolutions. Also, we refer
whenever possible to authors, from Plato to Keynes, whose reputations are established
and who are important historical figures in their own right.
We can spend only limited time on the details of Canadian political institutions,
for those would require a course in Canadian government; rather, we have chosen to
emphasize concepts. The material in this book follows a careful sequence: concepts are
introduced one at a time, discussed at length, and then used as a basis for explaining
further ideas. Important terms are boldfaced where they first occur or where they are
thoroughly explained; these terms are used consistently throughout the text and are
listed alphabetically at the back of the book for easy reference. We believe that this will
equip the student with a comprehensive and logically consistent vocabulary for the
study of politics. In the last part of the book, we offer a method for conceptualizing
the process of politics and for organizing or arranging the many ideas and concepts
introduced in the earlier parts. Thinking about politics as a coherent process is an
essential first step in becoming a student of politics, evaluating politics, and becoming
a critic of one’s own political system. We hope that this approach will be of value not
only to students who intend to major in political science but also to those who are
seeking a shorter path toward becoming informed political observers (and, of course,
participants).
NEL
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xviii Preface
Organization
The book is divided into four parts that together constitute what we believe is a logical
way to begin the study of government and politics. Part One defines those terms, ideas,
and concepts that are basic to political science. An understanding of terms such as state
and society, authority and legitimacy, and law and sovereignty is essential to a systematic
study of politics. Part Two discusses the ideological basis of modern political systems.
Liberalism and socialism, the fundamental ideological systems in the modern world,
are discussed in the context of the political spectrum that runs from communism to
fascism. The emergent ideologies of feminism and environmentalism are also discussed
here and placed in context. Part Three looks at forms of government. Here we discuss
different types of political systems: liberal-democratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian;
parliamentary and presidential; federal and unitary. In Part Four we examine gov-
ernment as a process. A complex interaction of individuals and political institutions
produces law and public policies for a society, and we try to view this interaction as
a systemic process. The model of politics we offer is hypothetical; however, we draw
examples from Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries
to illustrate how the process works in reality.
Our work is meant to be objective and dispassionate, but that does not mean it is
value-free or without commitment. We consistently try to point out the value of the
leading ideas of the Western world’s political traditions. We pay particular attention to
two different and sometimes conflicting groups of ideas, both of which are of great impor-
tance. One group centres on constitutionalism and includes notions such as the rule of
law and individual freedom; the other centres on democracy and allied concepts such
as majority rule and popular sovereignty. For the past two centuries the Western world
has tried to combine these two clusters of ideas into the system of government known
as constitutional or liberal democracy, in which majorities rule within a legal framework
NEL
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Preface xix
intended to prevent the oppression of minorities. This form of government has been
most stable and successful in the countries of Western Europe and North America where
it originated. In Canada, where liberal democracy seems securely established, we are apt
to take it for granted, but it is far from being an obvious or universal form of government.
We hope that better understanding of liberal democracy will help it to flourish.
ANCILLARIES
The Nelson Education Teaching Advantage (NETA) program delivers research-based
instructor resources that promote student engagement and higher-order thinking to
enable the success of Canadian students and educators.
Instructors today face many challenges. Resources are limited, time is scarce,
and a new kind of student has emerged: one who is juggling school with work, has
gaps in his or her basic knowledge, and is immersed in technology in a way that
has led to a completely new style of learning. In response, Nelson Education has
gathered a group of dedicated instructors to advise us on the creation of richer and
more flexible ancillaries and online learning platforms that respond to the needs of
today’s teaching environments. Whether your course is offered in-class, online, or
both, Nelson is pleased to provide pedagogically-driven, research-based resources to
support you.
NETA Assessment relates to testing materials. Under NETA Assessment, Nelson’s
authors create multiple-choice questions that reflect research-based best practices
for constructing effective questions and testing not just recall but also higher-order
thinking. Our guidelines were developed by David DiBattista, a 3M National Teaching
Fellow whose recent research as a professor of psychology at Brock University has
focused on multiple-choice testing. All Test Bank authors receive training at work-
shops conducted by Prof. DiBattista. A copy of Multiple Choice Tests: Getting Beyond
Remembering, Prof. DiBattista’s guide to writing effective tests, is included with every
Nelson Test Bank/Computerized Test Bank package.
●
Instructor’s Resources: These include the test bank, computerized test bank,
PowerPoint presentation, image bank, and Day One slides. All are available under
“Instructor Resources” on the website, at www.nelson.com/intropolitics9e.
●
NETA Assessment: The Test Bank includes multiple-choice questions written
according to NETA guidelines for effective construction and development of
higher-order questions. Also included are true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short
answer questions. Test Bank files are provided in Word format for easy editing
and in PDF format for convenient printing whatever your system.
●
Computerized Test Bank in ExamView This computerized testing software
helps instructors create and customize exams in minutes. It contains all the ques-
tions from the printed test bank. Instructors can easily edit and import their own
NEL
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xx Preface
questions and graphics, change test layouts, and reorganize questions. It is avail-
able for both Windows and Macintosh.
●
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation This presentation features important
concepts and key points from the textbook and is provided to professors for class-
room use to add colour and interest to lectures.
●
Image Bank Most of the figures and tables from the text are available in this
image bank, which can be used for slides or transparencies.
●
dVd (978-0-17-665307-1) Nelson Education offers a compilation of current
cbc news clips covering a wide range of topics. The videos include suggested
discussion questions for use in class, making these videos a great enhancement to
lectures. Ask your Nelson Education sales representative for more information on
how to order the dvd.
ACKNOwLEDGMENTS
Special thanks are due to Jim Keeley and Gavin Cameron for (yet again) revising
Chapter 8, which is now titled “Cooperation under Anarchy.” Tyson Kennedy gave us
indispensable help in updating the Internet references and bibliographies and revising
the glossary. We extend our appreciation to Anne-Marie Taylor, Linda Sparks, and Ann
Byford at Nelson Education Ltd, and to Jitendra Kumar of MPS Limited. We would
also like to thank the readers retained by Nelson Education to review the eighth edi-
tion and give us suggestions for the ninth:
Christopher Erickson, University of British Columbia
Louise Carbert, Dalhousie University
Carlos Pessoa, St. Mary’s University
Lavinia Stan, St. Francis Xavier University
Todd Always, McMaster University
John Soroski, Grant MacEwan University
Gaelan Murphy, Grant MacEwan University
NEL
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
introduction
The Study of Political Science
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
xxii Introduction: The Study of Political Science
Political science is the systematic study of government and politics, terms that are
defined at greater length in Chapter 1. But before getting into the subject matter,
students may find it useful to learn something about the discipline itself.
NEL
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Introduction: The Study of Political Science xxiii
of the cultural tradition of the Western world. Political science continued to exist as a
branch of moral philosophy, and important contributions were made by authors who
also wrote in other areas of philosophy, such as Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and
John Locke. Such writings, extending over more than two millennia, constitute a rich
body of wisdom that is still the foundation of political science.
In the eighteenth century, political science started to differentiate itself from moral
philosophy—not yet as an independent study but as part of the new science of polit-
ical economy. Writers such as Adam Smith, who held the chair of moral philosophy
at the University of Glasgow, began to study and write about the workings of the
market. They did not do this in a vacuum; in the society of the time, market processes
were being freed from mercantilist policies predicated on governmental control of the
economy. The study of government was a junior partner in the new science of political
economy, which emphasized market forces. Government was seen as a limited aux-
iliary that could carry out a few functions not performed well in the marketplace. In
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, universities established chairs of
political economy. During this period, much work that today we would call political
science was also done in faculties of history and law, especially under the guise of com-
parative and constitutional law.
Economics and political science began to diverge in the second half of the nine-
teenth century as scholars began to specialize. The discovery of the principle of mar-
ginal utility in the 1870s made it possible for economics to become mathematical, and
hence more specialized and remote from the everyday concerns of government and
politics. Universities in the United States took the lead in establishing autonomous
departments of political science, which united the work of professors who might pre-
viously have gravitated to political economy, history, and law. Political science in its
modern academic form thus stems from developments in the United States in the late
nineteenth century. The first American department of political science was founded at
Columbia University in 1880; by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, there were 40
such departments in U.S. universities.1
Why in the United States? Partly because this rapidly expanding country was
opening scores of new universities that were not bound by old traditions about aca-
demic specialties. But the more important reason is that the United States—a nation
founded on a political act of revolution—has always been fascinated with government.
Political science at the university level was a logical extension of the civics education
that was so important in the public schools. Also, those early political scientists tended
to be moralistic crusaders for governmental reform—a good example being Woodrow
Wilson, the only political science professor ever to become an American president.
In the first half of the twentieth century, political science as an academic discipline
remained largely an American phenomenon, with only a few chairs being established
in universities in other countries. Of course, the substance of political science was
pursued elsewhere, but it was usually conducted within departments of law, political
economy, economics, and history. However, after World War II, political science was
NEL
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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
que ce soit, et donnez-leur Paris, cette ville aux tentations, cette
succursale de l’Enfer, comme le milieu dans lequel sera planté le
caissier! Eh! bien, les Religions défileront l’une après l’autre, les
Colléges, les Institutions, les Morales, toutes les grandes et les
petites Lois humaines viendront à vous comme vient un ami intime
auquel vous demandez un billet de mille francs. Elles auront un air
de deuil, elles se grimeront, elles vous montreront la guillotine,
comme votre ami vous indiquera la demeure de l’usurier, l’une des
cent portes de l’hôpital. Néanmoins, la nature morale a ses caprices,
elle se permet de faire çà et là d’honnêtes gens et des caissiers.
Aussi, les corsaires que nous décorons du nom de Banquiers et qui
prennent une licence de mille écus comme un forban prend ses
lettres de marque, ont-ils une telle vénération pour ces rares produits
des incubations de la vertu qu’ils les encagent dans des loges afin
de les garder comme les gouvernements gardent les animaux
curieux. Si le caissier a de l’imagination, si le caissier a des
passions, ou si le caissier le plus parfait aime sa femme, et que cette
femme s’ennuie, ait de l’ambition ou simplement de la vanité, le
caissier se dissout. Fouillez l’histoire de la caisse? vous ne citerez
pas un seul exemple du caissier parvenant à ce qu’on nomme une
position. Ils vont au bagne, ils vont à l’étranger, ou végètent à
quelque second étage, rue Saint-Louis au Marais. Quand les
caissiers parisiens auront réfléchi à leur valeur intrinsèque, un
caissier sera hors de prix. Il est vrai que certaines gens ne peuvent
être que caissiers, comme d’autres sont invinciblement fripons.
Étrange civilisation! La Société décerne à la Vertu cent louis de rente
pour sa vieillesse, un second étage, du pain à discrétion, quelques
foulards neufs, et une vieille femme accompagnée de ses enfants.
Quant au Vice, s’il a quelque hardiesse, s’il peut tourner habilement
un article du Code comme Turenne tournait Montécuculli, la Société
légitime ses millions volés, lui jette des rubans, le farcit d’honneurs,
et l’accable de considération. Le Gouvernement est d’ailleurs en
harmonie avec cette Société profondément illogique. Le
Gouvernement, lui, lève sur les jeunes intelligences, entre dix-huit et
vingt ans, une conscription de talents précoces; il use par un travail
prématuré de grands cerveaux qu’il convoque afin de les trier sur le
volet comme les jardiniers font de leurs graines. Il dresse à ce métier
des jurés peseurs de talents qui essayent les cervelles comme on
essaye l’or à la Monnaie. Puis, sur les cinq cents têtes chauffées à
l’espérance que la population la plus avancée lui donne
annuellement, il en accepte le tiers, le met dans de grands sacs
appelés ses Écoles, et l’y remue pendant trois ans. Quoique
chacune de ces greffes représente d’énormes capitaux, il en fait
pour ainsi dire des caissiers; il les nomme ingénieurs ordinaires, il
les emploie comme capitaines d’artillerie; enfin, il leur assure tout ce
qu’il y a de plus élevé dans les grades subalternes. Puis, quand ces
hommes d’élite, engraissés de mathématiques et bourrés de
science, ont atteint l’âge de cinquante ans, il leur procure en
récompense de leurs services le troisième étage, la femme
accompagnée d’enfants, et toutes les douceurs de la médiocrité.
Que de ce Peuple-Dupe il s’en échappe cinq à six hommes de génie
qui gravissent les sommités sociales, n’est-ce pas un miracle?
Ceci est le bilan exact du Talent et de la Vertu, dans leurs
rapports avec le Gouvernement et la Société à une époque qui se
croit progressive. Sans cette observation préparatoire, une aventure
arrivée récemment à Paris paraîtrait invraisemblable, tandis que,
dominée par ce sommaire, elle pourra peut-être occuper les esprits
assez supérieurs pour avoir deviné les véritables plaies de notre
civilisation qui, depuis 1815, a remplacé le principe Honneur par le
principe Argent.
Par une sombre journée d’automne, vers cinq heures du soir, le
caissier d’une des plus fortes maisons de banque de Paris travaillait
encore à la lueur d’une lampe allumée déjà depuis quelque temps.
Suivant les us et coutumes du commerce, la caisse était située dans
la partie la plus sombre d’un entresol étroit et bas d’étage. Pour y
arriver, il fallait traverser un couloir éclairé par des jours de
souffrance, et qui longeait les bureaux dont les portes étiquetées
ressemblaient à celles d’un établissement de bains. Le concierge
avait dit flegmatiquement dès quatre heures, suivant sa consigne:—
La Caisse est fermée. En ce moment, les bureaux étaient déserts,
les courriers expédiés, les employés partis, les femmes des chefs de
la maison attendaient leurs amants, les deux banquiers dînaient
chez leurs maîtresses. Tout était en ordre. L’endroit où les coffres-
forts avaient été scellés dans le fer se trouvait derrière la loge grillée
du caissier, sans doute occupé à faire sa caisse. La devanture
ouverte permettait de voir une armoire en fer mouchetée par le
marteau, qui, grâce aux découvertes de la serrurerie moderne, était
d’un si grand poids, que les voleurs n’ auraient pu l’emporter. Cette
porte ne s’ouvrait qu’à la volonté de celui qui savait écrire le mot
d’ordre dont les lettres de la serrure gardent le secret sans se laisser
corrompre, belle réalisation du Sésame, ouvre-toi! des Mille et Une
Nuits. Ce n’était rien encore. Cette serrure lâchait un coup de
tromblon à la figure de celui qui, ayant surpris le mot d’ordre, ignorait
le dernier secret, l’ultima ratio du dragon de la Mécanique. La porte
de la chambre, les murs de la chambre, les volets des fenêtres de la
chambre, toute la chambre était garnie de feuilles en tôle de quatre
lignes d’épaisseur, déguisées par une boiserie légère. Ces volets
avaient été poussés, cette porte avait été fermée. Si jamais un
homme put se croire dans une solitude profonde et loin de tous les
regards, cet homme était le caissier de la maison Nucingen et
compagnie, rue Saint-Lazare. Aussi, le plus grand silence régnait-il
dans cette cave de fer. Le poêle éteint jetait cette chaleur tiède qui
produit sur le cerveau les effets pâteux et l’inquiétude nauséabonde
que cause une orgie à son lendemain. Le poêle endort, il hébète et
contribue singulièrement à crétiniser les portiers et les employés.
Une chambre à poêle est un matras où se dissolvent les hommes
d’énergie, où s’amincissent leurs ressorts, où s’use leur volonté. Les
Bureaux sont la grande fabrique des médiocrités nécessaires aux
gouvernements pour maintenir la féodalité de l’argent sur laquelle
s’appuie le contrat social actuel. (Voyez les Employés.) La chaleur
méphitique qu’y produit une réunion d’hommes n’est pas une des
moindres raisons de l’abâtardissement progressif des intelligences,
le cerveau d’où se dégage le plus d’azote asphyxie les autres à la
longue.
Le caissier était un homme âgé d’environ quarante ans, dont le
crâne chauve reluisait sous la lueur d’une lampe-Carcel qui se
trouvait sur sa table. Cette lumière faisait briller les cheveux blancs
mélangés de cheveux noirs qui accompagnaient les deux côtés de
sa tête, à laquelle les formes rondes de sa figure prêtaient
l’apparence d’une boule. Son teint était d’un rouge de brique.
Quelques rides enchâssaient ses yeux bleus. Il avait la main potelée
de l’homme gras. Son habit de drap bleu, légèrement usé sur les
endroits saillants, et les plis de son pantalon miroité, présentaient à
l’œil cette espèce de flétrissure qu’y imprime l’usage, que combat
vainement la brosse, et qui donne aux gens superficiels une haute
idée de l’économie, de la probité d’un homme assez philosophe ou
assez aristocrate pour porter de vieux habits. Mais il n’est pas rare
de voir les gens qui liardent sur des riens se montrer faciles,
prodigues ou incapables dans les choses capitales de la vie. La
boutonnière du caissier était ornée du ruban de la Légion-d’Honneur,
car il avait été chef d’escadron dans les dragons sous l’Empereur.
Monsieur de Nucingen, fournisseur avant d’être banquier, ayant été
jadis à même de connaître les sentiments de délicatesse de son
caissier en le rencontrant dans une position élevée d’où le malheur
l’avait fait descendre, y eut égard, en lui donnant cinq cents francs
d’appointements par mois. Ce militaire était caissier depuis 1813,
époque à laquelle il fut guéri d’une blessure reçue au combat de
Studzianka, pendant la déroute de Moscou, mais après avoir langui
six mois à Strasbourg où quelques officiers supérieurs avaient été
transportés par les ordres de l’Empereur pour y être particulièrement
soignés. Cet ancien officier, nommé Castanier, avait le grade
honoraire de colonel et deux mille quatre cents francs de retraite.
Castanier, en qui depuis dix ans le caissier avait tué le militaire,
inspirait au banquier une si grande confiance, qu’il dirigeait
également les écritures du cabinet particulier situé derrière sa caisse
et où descendait le baron par un escalier dérobé. Là se décidaient
les affaires. Là était le blutoir où l’on tamisait les propositions, le
parloir où s’examinait la place. De là, partaient les lettres de crédit;
enfin là se trouvaient le Grand-livre et le Journal où se résumait le
travail des autres bureaux. Après être allé fermer la porte de
communication à laquelle aboutissait l’escalier qui menait au bureau
d’apparat où se tenaient les deux banquiers au premier étage de
leur hôtel, Castanier était revenu s’asseoir et contemplait depuis un
instant plusieurs lettres de crédit tirées sur la maison Watschildine à
Londres. Puis, il avait pris la plume et venait de contrefaire, au bas
de toutes, la signature Nucingen. Au moment où il cherchait laquelle
de toutes ces fausses signatures était la plus parfaitement imitée, il
leva la tête comme s’il eût été piqué par une mouche en obéissant à
un pressentiment qui lui avait crié dans le cœur:—Tu n’es pas seul!
Et le faussaire vit derrière le grillage, à la chatière de sa caisse, un
homme dont la respiration ne s’était pas fait entendre, qui lui parut
ne pas respirer, et qui sans doute était entré par la porte du couloir
que Castanier aperçut toute grande ouverte. L’ancien militaire
éprouva, pour la première fois de sa vie, une peur qui le fit rester la
bouche béante et les yeux hébétés devant cet homme, dont l’aspect
était d’ailleurs assez effrayant pour ne pas avoir besoin des
circonstances mystérieuses d’une semblable apparition. La coupe
oblongue de la figure de l’étranger, les contours bombés de son
front, la couleur aigre de sa chair, annonçaient, aussi bien que la
forme de ses vêtements, un Anglais. Cet homme puait l’anglais. A
voir sa redingote à collet, sa cravate bouffante dans laquelle se
heurtait un jabot à tuyaux écrasés, et dont la blancheur faisait
ressortir la lividité permanente d’une figure impassible dont les
lèvres rouges et froides semblaient destinées à sucer le sang des
cadavres, on devinait ses guêtres noires boutonnées jusqu’au-
dessus du genou, et cet appareil à demi puritain d’un riche Anglais
sorti pour se promener à pied. L’éclat que jetaient les yeux de
l’étranger était insupportable et causait à l’âme une impression
poignante qu’augmentait encore la rigidité de ses traits. Cet homme
sec et décharné semblait avoir en lui comme un principe dévorant
qu’il lui était impossible d’assouvir. Il devait si promptement digérer
sa nourriture qu’il pouvait sans doute manger incessamment, sans
jamais faire rougir le moindre linéament de ses joues. Une tonne de
ce vin de Tokay nommé vin de succession, il pouvait l’avaler sans
faire chavirer ni son regard poignardant qui lisait dans les âmes, ni
sa cruelle raison qui semblait toujours aller au fond des choses. Il
avait un peu de la majesté fauve et tranquille des tigres.
—Monsieur, je viens toucher cette lettre de change, dit-il à
Castanier d’une voix qui se mit en communication avec les fibres du
caissier et les atteignit toutes avec une violence comparable à celle
d’une décharge électrique.
—La caisse est fermée, répondit Castanier.
—Elle est ouverte, dit l’Anglais en montrant la caisse. Demain est
dimanche, et je ne saurais attendre. La somme est de cinq cent mille
francs, vous l’avez en caisse, et moi, je la dois.
—Mais, monsieur, comment êtes-vous entré?
L’Anglais sourit, et son sourire terrifia Castanier. Jamais réponse
ne fut ni plus ample ni plus péremptoire que ne le fut le pli
dédaigneux et impérial formé par les lèvres de l’étranger. Castanier
se retourna, prit cinquante paquets de dix mille francs en billets de
banque, et, quand il les offrit à l’étranger qui lui avait jeté une lettre
de change acceptée par le baron de Nucingen, il fut pris d’une sorte
de tremblement convulsif en voyant les rayons rouges qui sortaient
des yeux de cet homme, et qui venaient reluire sur la fausse
signature de la lettre de crédit.
IMP. S RAÇON
CASTANIER.
Il prit dans la caisse cinq cent mille
francs en billets et bank-notes.
(MELMOTH RÉCONCILIÉ.)