me also; and in my present circumstances, I cannot believe that she
would abandon me for the son of the man who had incarcerated her in the
Magdalen.' In fine, I persisted in my intentions, and taking Manon
aside, I candidly told her what I had learned.

"She thanked me for the good opinion I entertained of her, and promised
to receive G---- M----'s offers in a way that should prevent a
repetition of them. 'No,' said I, 'you must not irritate him by
incivility: he has it in his power to injure us. But you know well
enough, you little rogue,' continued I, smiling, 'how to rid yourself
of a disagreeable or useless lover!' After a moment's pause she said:
'I have just thought of an admirable plan, and I certainly have a
fertile invention. G---- M---- is the son of our bitterest enemy: we
must avenge ourselves on the father, not through the son's person, but
through his purse. My plan is to listen to his proposals, accept his
presents, and then laugh at him.'

"'The project is not a bad one,' said I to her; 'but you forget, my
dear child, that it is precisely the same course that conducted us
formerly to the penitentiary.' I represented to her the danger of such
an enterprise; she replied, that the only thing necessary was to take
our measures with caution, and she found an answer to every objection I
started. 'Show me the lover who does not blindly humour every whim of
an adored mistress, and I will then allow that I was wrong in yielding
so easily on this occasion.' The resolution was taken to make a dupe
of G----M----, and by an unforeseen and unlucky turn of fortune, I
became the victim myself.

"About eleven o'clock his carriage drove up to the door. He made the
most complaisant and refined speeches upon the liberty he had taken of
coming to dine with us uninvited. He was not surprised at meeting M.
de T----, who had the night before promised to meet him there, and who
had, under some pretext or other, refused a seat in his carriage.
Although there was not a single person in the party who was not at
heart meditating treachery, we all sat down with an air of mutual
confidence and friendship. G---- M---- easily found an opportunity of
declaring his sentiments to Manon. I did not wish to annoy him by
appearing vigilant, so I left the room purposely for several minutes.

"I perceived on my return that he had not had to encounter any very
discouraging austerity on Manon's part, for he was in the best possible