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of news to him; and that they wondered how so pretty a girl as
Manon Lescaut could have thought of eloping with a servant: that
he replied with seeming indifference, that it by no means
astonished him, for people would do anything for the sake of
liberty.

"He continued to tell me how he then went to Lescaut's
apartments, in the hope of finding me there with my dear
mistress; that the master of the house, who was a coachmaker,
protested he had seen neither me nor Manon; but that it was no
wonder that we had not appeared there, if our object was to see
Lescaut, for that we must have doubtless heard of his having been
assassinated about the very same time; upon which, he related all
that he knew of the cause and circumstances of the murder.

"About two hours previously, a guardsman of Lescaut's
acquaintance had come to see him, and proposed play. Lescaut had
such a rapid and extravagant run of luck, that in an hour the
young man was minus twelve hundred francs--all the money he had.
Finding himself without a sou, he begged of Lescaut to lend him
half the sum he had lost; and there being some difficulty on this
point, an angry quarrel arose between them. Lescaut had refused
to give him the required satisfaction, and the other swore, on
quitting him, that he would take his life; a threat which he
carried into execution the same night. M. de T---- was kind
enough to add, that he had felt the utmost anxiety on our
account, and that, such as they were, he should gladly continue
to us his services. I at once told him the place of our retreat.
He begged of me to allow him to sup with us.

"As I had nothing more to do than to procure the linen and
clothes for Manon, I told him that we might start almost
immediately, if he would be so good as to wait for me a moment
while I went into one or two shops. I know not whether he
suspected that I made this proposition with the view of calling
his generosity into play, or whether it was by the mere impulse
of a kind heart; but, having consented to start immediately, he
took me to a shopkeeper, who had lately furnished his house. He
there made me select several articles of a much higher price than
I had proposed to myself; and when I was about paying the bill,
he desired the man not to take a sou from me. This he did so
gracefully, that I felt no shame in accepting his present. We
then took the road to Chaillot together, where I arrived much
more easy in mind than when I had left it that morning.

"My return and the polite attentions of M. de T---- dispelled
all Manon's melancholy. `Let us forget our past annoyances, my
dear soul,' said I to her, `and endeavour to live a still happier
life than before. After all, there are worse masters than love:
fate cannot subject us to as much sorrow as love enables us to
taste of happiness.' Our supper was a true scene of joy.

"In possession of Manon and of twelve hundred and fifty francs,
I was prouder and more contented than the richest voluptuary of

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