'Our situation affected those, who happened to witness it,' continued
Mons. Bonnac, 'and one generous friend, who was in confinement at the
same time, afterwards employed the first moments of his liberty in
efforts to obtain mine. He succeeded; the heavy debt, that oppressed
me, was discharged; and, when I would have expressed my sense of the
obligation I had received, my benefactor was fled from my search. I have
reason to believe he was the victim of his own generosity, and that he
returned to the state of confinement, from which he had released me;
but every enquiry after him was unsuccessful. Amiable and unfortunate
Valancourt!'

'Valancourt!' exclaimed Mons. Du Pont. 'Of what family?'

'The Valancourts, Counts Duvarney,' replied Mons. Bonnac.

The emotion of Mons. Du Pont, when he discovered the generous benefactor
of his friend to be the rival of his love, can only be imagined; but,
having overcome his first surprise, he dissipated the apprehensions of
Mons. Bonnac by acquainting him, that Valancourt was at liberty, and had
lately been in Languedoc; after which his affection for Emily prompted
him to make some enquiries, respecting the conduct of his rival, during
his stay at Paris, of which M. Bonnac appeared to be well informed. The
answers he received were such as convinced him, that Valancourt had been
much misrepresented, and, painful as was the sacrifice, he formed the
just design of relinquishing his pursuit of Emily to a lover, who, it
now appeared, was not unworthy of the regard, with which she honoured
him.

The conversation of Mons. Bonnac discovered, that Valancourt, some
time after his arrival at Paris, had been drawn into the snares, which
determined vice had spread for him, and that his hours had been chiefly
divided between the parties of the captivating Marchioness and those
gaming assemblies, to which the envy, or the avarice, of his brother
officers had spared no art to seduce him. In these parties he had lost
large sums, in efforts to recover small ones, and to such losses the
Count De Villefort and Mons. Henri had been frequent witnesses. His
resources were, at length, exhausted; and the Count, his brother,
exasperated by his conduct, refused to continue the supplies necessary
to his present mode of life, when Valancourt, in consequence of
accumulated debts, was thrown into confinement, where his brother
suffered him to remain, in the hope, that punishment might effect a
reform of conduct,