Oneday，whenthepairwereengagedonthesheetsofthepamphlet，adiscussionaroseupontheword\"nepotism，\"whichThuillierwishedtoeliminatefromoneoflaPeyrade’ssentences，declaringthatneverhadhemetwithitanywhere；itwaspureneologism——which，totheliterarynotionsofthebourgeoisie，isequivalenttotheideaof1793andtheTerror。
GenerallylaPeyradetooktheridiculousremarksofhisdear，goodfriendprettypatiently；butonthisoccasionhemadehimselfexceedinglyexcited，andsignifiedtoThuillierthathemightterminatehimselfaworktowhichheappliedsuchluminousandintelligentcriticism；afterwhichremarkhedepartedandwasnotseenagainforseveraldays。
AtfirstThuilliersupposedthisoutbreaktobeamerepassingeffectofill—humor；butwhenlaPeyrade’sabsencegrewprolongedhefeltthenecessityoftakingsomeconciliatorystep，andaccordinglyhewenttoseethebarrister，intendingtomakehonorableamendsandsoputanendtohissulkiness。Wishing，however，togivethisadvanceanairwhichallowedanhonestissuetohisownself—love，heenteredlaPeyrade’sroomwithaneasymanner，andsaid，cheerfully：——
\"Well，mydearfellow，itturnsoutthatwewerebothright：
’nepotism’meanstheauthoritythatthenephewsofpopestakeinpublicaffairs。Ihavesearchedthedictionaryanditgivesnootherexplanation；but，fromwhatPhelliontellsme，Ifindthatinthepoliticalvocabularythemeaningofthewordhasbeenextendedtocovertheinfluencewhichcorruptministerspermitcertainpersonstoexerciseillegally。Ithink，therefore，thatwemayretaintheexpression，thoughitiscertainlynottakeninthatsensebyNapoleonLandais。\"