Marie—Jeanne—BrigitteThuillier，fouryearsolderthanherbrother，hadbeenutterlysacrificedtohim；itwaseasiertogiveacareertoonethana\"dot\"totheother。Misfortunetosomenaturesisapharos，whichilluminestotheireyesthedarklowcornersofsocialexistence。Superiortoherbrotherbothinmindandenergy，Brigittehadoneofthosenatureswhich，underthehammerofpersecution，gatherthemselvestogether，becomecompactandpowerfullyresistant，nottosayinflexible。Jealousofherindependence，shekeptalooffromthelifeofthehousehold；choosingtomakeherselfthesolearbiterofherownfate。Atfourteenyearsofage，shewenttolivealoneinagarret，notfarfromtheministryoffinance，whichwasthenintherueVivienne，andalsonotfarfromtheBankofFrance，then，andnow，intheruedelaVrilliere。Thereshebravelygaveherselfuptoaformofindustrylittleknownandtheperquisiteofafewpersons，whichsheobtained，thankstothepatronsofherfather。
ItconsistedinmakingbagstoholdcoinfortheBank，theTreasury，andthegreatfinancialhouses。Attheendofthreeyearssheemployedtwoworkwomen。ByinvestinghersavingsontheGrand—Livre，shefoundherself，in1814，themistressofthreethousandsixhundredfrancsayear，earnedinfifteenyears。Asshespentlittle，anddinedwithherfatheraslongashelived，and，asgovernmentsecuritieswereverylowduringthelastconvulsionsoftheEmpire，thisresult，whichseemsatfirstsightexaggerated，explainsitself。
Onthedeathoftheirfather，BrigitteandJerome，theformerbeingtwenty—seven，thelattertwenty—three，unitedtheirexistence。Brotherandsisterwereboundtogetherbyanextremeaffection。IfJerome，thenattheheightofhissuccess，waspinchedformoney，hissister，clothedinserge，andherfingersroughenedbythecoarsethreadwithwhichshesewedherbags，wouldgivehimafewlouis。InBrigitte’seyesJeromewasthehandsomestandmostcharmingmaninthewholeFrenchEmpire。Tokeephouseforthischerishedbrother，tobeinitiatedintothesecretsofLindorandDonJuan，tobehishandmaiden，hisspaniel，wasBrigitte’sdream。Sheimmolatedherselflovinglytoanidolwhoseselfishness，alwaysgreat，wasenormouslyincreasedbyherself—sacrifice。Shesoldherbusinesstoherfore—
womanforfifteenthousandfrancsandcametolivewithThuillierintherued’Argenteuil，whereshemadeherselfthemother，protectress，andservantofthisspoiledchildofwomen。Brigitte，withthenaturalcautionofagirlwhoowedeverythingtoherowndiscretionandherownlabor，concealedtheamountofhersavingsfromJerome，——fearing，nodoubt，theextravaganceofamanofgallantry。Shemerelypaidaquotaofsixhundredfrancsayeartotheexpensesofthehousehold，andthis，withherbrother’seighteenhundred，enabledhertomakebothendsmeetattheendoftheyear。
Fromthefirstdaysoftheircomingtogether，Thuillierlistenedtohissisterastoanoracle；heconsultedherinhistriflingaffairs，keptnoneofhissecretsfromher，andthusmadehertastethefruitofdespotismwhichwas，intruth，theonelittlesinofhernature。