y when I had not the twelve thousand francs, that I
would have given the rest of my miserable life to wipe out that wrong.
You see, I could have borne anything once, but latterly this want of
money has broken my heart. Oh! I did not do it by halves; I titivated
myself up a bit, and went out and sold my spoons and forks and buckles
for six hundred francs; then I went to old Daddy Gobseck, and sold a
year's interest on my annuity for four hundred francs down. Pshaw! I can
live on dry bread, as I did when I was a young man; if I have done it
before, I can do it again. My Nasie shall have one happy evening, at any
rate. She shall be smart. The banknote for a thousand francs is under
my pillow; it warms me to have it lying there under my head, for it is
going to make my poor Nasie happy. She can turn that bad girl Victoire
out of the house. A servant that cannot trust her mistress, did any one
ever hear the like! I shall be quite well to-morrow. Nasie is coming at
ten o'clock. They must not think that I am ill, or they will not go to
the ball; they will stop and take care of me. To-morrow Nasie will come
and hold me in her arms as if I were one of her children; her kisses
will make me well again. After all, I might have spent the thousand
francs on physic; I would far rather give them to my little Nasie, who
can charm all the pain away. At any rate, I am some comfort to her in
her misery; and that makes up for my unkindness in buying an annuity.
She is in the depths, and I cannot draw her out of them now. Oh! I will
go into business again, I will buy wheat in Odessa; out there, wheat
fetches a quarter of the price it sells for here. There is a law against
the importation of grain, but the good folk who made the law forgot to
prohibit the introduction of wheat products and food stuffs made from
corn. Hey! hey!... That struck me this morning. There is a fine trade to
be done in starch."

Eugene, watching the old man's face, thought that his friend was
light-headed.

"Come," he said, "do not talk any more, you must rest----" Just then
Bianchon came up, and Eugene went down to dinner.

The two students sat up with him that night, relieving each other in
turn. Bianchon brought up his medical books and studied; Eugene wrote
letters home to his mother and sisters. Next morning Bianchon thought
the symptoms more hopeful, but the patient's condition demanded
continual attention, which the two students alone were willing to
give--a