Volume II Part 22 (1/2)
”Yes I intend to call with my brother upon the secretary of war, and I hope he will take pity on me”
”You do not know anybody here?”
”Not one person, sir; you are the first man in France to whom I have exposed my situation”
”I am a countryman of yours, and you are recoe; I wish to be your adviser, if you will perrateful I would be!”
”Do not mention it Give me your papers, I will see what is to be done with them Do not relate your history to anyone, and do not say one word about your position You had better remain at this hotel Here are two Louis which I will lend you until you are in a position to return theratitude
Made brunette of sixteen She had a good knowledge of French and Italian, graceful nity which endowed her with a very noble appearance She informed me of her affairs without meanness, yet without that timidity which see disposed to take advantage of the distressing position confided to his honour She seemed neither humiliated nor bold; she had hope, and she did not boast of her courage
Her virtue was by no means ostentatious, but there was in her an air of modesty which would certainly have put a restraint upon anyone disposed to fail in respect towards her I felt the effect of it ure, of the freshness of her coee--in one word, all that can te desires, I did not for one instant lose control overof respect which helped me to masteragainst her virtue, but also not to be the first ht it better to postpone to another interview a little speech on that subject, the result of which ht be to make me follow a different course
”You are now in a city,” I said to her, ”in which your destiny must unfold itself, and in which all the fine qualities which nature has so bountifully bestowed upon you, and which may ultimately cause your fortune, may likewise cause your ruin; for here, by dear countrywoman, wealthy men despise all libertine women except those who have offered them the sacrifice of their virtue If you are virtuous, and are deterreat deal of misery; if you feel yourself sufficiently above what is called prejudice, if, in one word, you feel disposed to consent to everything, in order to secure a comfortable position, be very careful not to ether the sords which every passionateyour favours, for, his passion once satisfied, his ardour will cool down, and you will find yourself deceived Be wary of your adorers; they will give you abundance of counterfeit coin, but do not trust them far As far as I am concerned, I feel certain that I shall never injure you, and I hope to be of some use to you To reassure you entirely on my account, I will treat you as if you wereto play the part of your father, and I would not tell you all this if I did not think you a very char together He was a good-looking young hteen, well made, but without any style about him; he spoke little, and his expression was devoid of individuality We breakfasted together, and having asked him as ere at table for what profession he felt an inclination, he answered that he was disposed to do anything to earn an honourable living
”Have you any peculiar talent?”
”I write pretty well”
”That is soo out, mistrust everybody; do not enter any cafe, and never speak to anyone in the streets Eat your meals in your rooive you a s in French to-day, let , and ill see what can be done As for you, mademoiselle, my books are at your disposal, I have your papers; to-morrow I ain to-day, for I generally come home very late” She took a few books,voice that she had every confidence indisposed to be useful to her, wherever I went during that day I spoke of nothing but of her and of her affairs; and everywhere men and women told me that if she was pretty she could not fail, but that at all events it would be right for her to take all necessary steps I received a promise that the brother should be eht that the best plan would be to find some influential lady ould consent to present Mdlle Vesian to M d'Argenson, and I knew that in the ed Silvia to reat influence with the secretary of war She pro girl
I returned to the hotel towards eleven o'clock, and seeing that there was a light still burning in the room of Mdlle Vesian I knocked at her door She opened it, and told ave her an account of what I had done I found her disposed to undertake all that was necessary, and rateful for my assistance She spoke of her position with an air of noble indifference which she assu them back, but theto prevent the from one subject to another I learned that she had never loved, and that she was therefore worthy of a lover ould reward her in a proper manner for the sacrifice of her virtue It would have been absurd to think that irl had not yet made what is called a false step, but she had none of the prudish feelings of those girls who say that they would not take such a step for all the gold in the universe, and usually give way before the slightest attack; allfriend wanted was to dispose of herself in a proper and advantageousas I listened to her very sensible re the position in which she was placed by an adverse destiny
Her sincerity was char with desire Lucie of Pasean came back to my memory; I recollected how deeply I had repented the injury I had done in neglecting a sweet flohich another man, and a less worthy one, had hastened to pluck; I felt myself near a lareedy wolf; and she, with her noble feelings, her careful education, and a candour which an impure breath would perhaps destroy for ever, was surely not destined for a lot of shah to make her fortune, and to save her honour and her virtue I felt that I could neither el, and that by becoood; in one word, instead of helping her out of the unfortunate position in which she was, I should, perhaps, only contribute to her entire ruin During that ti to her in a sentile word of love; but I kissed her hand and her ar a thing which would have too rapidly come to an end, and which would have compelled me to keep her for er any hope of a fortune for her, and forrid of her I have loved women even to madness, but I have always loved liberty better; and whenever I have been in danger of losing it fate has come to my rescue
I had remained about four hours with Mdlle Vesian, consuh to conquer the ofwhy I did not shew more boldness she must have supposed that I was either ill or i her to dinner for the next day
We had a pleasant dinner, and her brother having gone out for a walk after our ether out of thefro to the Italian Coo; she answered ht, and we started at once
I placed her in the a her that ould meet at the hotel at eleven o'clock I would not remain with her, in order to avoid the questions which would have been addressed toshe looked
After I had left the theatre, I went to sup at Silvia's and returned to the hotel I was surprised at the sight of an elegant carriage; I enquired to whoe of a young noble on
The first thing nextmy head out of the , I saw a hackney coach stop at the door of the hotel; a youngcostume, came out of it, and a minute after I heard hie! I hadof complete indifference in order to deceive o out, and while I was at o into his sister's rooentleman who had supped with her had just arrived
”That's a matter of course,” I said