The Discussion
- At the secret political meeting, a servant runs in and announces the arrival of an important Duke. The Duke tells him to be quiet before the guy can even finish, though.
- The marquis introduces the man to Julien. He mentions that Julien has an incredible memory. The man quizzes Julien on the content of that day's newspaper, and Julien has it all by heart.
- Julien is sent into the next room for a while, then called back. The men start talking all about what France needs and how they're going to achieve it. By the time he's done, Julien has twenty-six pages of notes.
- Despite his best intentions, the narrator decides to include some excerpts from these notes.
- There's some talk of an assassination in France, of a revolution, of an invasion by a foreign country… everyone just sounds like a big blowhard, though.
- In the end, Julien is asked to memorize the letter and deliver it's message to a certain Duke living outside of France.