I saw Julian; we talked of grand medals. Lefèvre and Rochegrosse — and this Tony who wants to get married… At each visit Tony tells me of his solitude, his desires, his need to settle. I argue against every match he proposes; I offer him a major painting instead. I regret that Dina has no three-hundred-thousand-franc dowry — Tony would be perfect: good, honest, well-bred, kind, a great artist, an excellent position, his father at the Institut, allied to the Desmarre medical family. Bourgeois, but the right kind of bourgeois. He wants to marry for money, which is understandable; brave Tony, it is time to settle. Painting alone is not enough for a bourgeois. Julian, ever prudent, has promised a mention in advance. He says the jury gave second-class medals last year for things less than mine — he has seen the painting. "If you don't get it," he says, "after all these men having said yes — especially careful Rodolphe — it will look suspicious." They gave second medals last year for lesser things, perhaps, but when men like that say yes together, it would be suspicious to miss.