old family plate, and as it was during the
passion of his son for Marguerite, and after Dumiger had carried off
the prize, he had discovered from the loquacious goldsmith all the
particulars relative to Dumiger, and amongst others the account of
his pecuniary obligations, and that Hoffman had a bond from him for a
very large sum in his possession. The object of the count's present
interview with Hoffman was to know on what terms he could purchase the
bond; and when the jeweler arrived, the bargain was soon concluded.
Hoffman thought the bond would never be paid, and so the count
purchased it for three times its apparent value.

On the previous evening Dumiger returned flushed and excited to his
house. The moment his friends had left him, he began to regret the
confidence he had placed in them, and the frankness with which he
had expressed himself. He retained but a very slight recollection of
all that he had said, but he thought it was quite sufficient to
have aroused the ridicule of those around him. Most painful of all
sensations, the vague sense of a folly committed, the extent and the
consequences of which are alike unknown to us! As he approached
his home it seemed to him that he had profaned his affection for
Marguerite by mentioning her name in that rude society, and broken
her confidence by alluding to his hopes and his fears. While his
secret had been confined to his own breast, or communicated only
to Marguerite, his confidence in himself had never for a moment
been weakened; but now that others were made acquainted with his
convictions and his hopes, they seemed to him exaggerated and
unfounded. He had for a moment forgotten that the chief secret
of success in all undertakings in life is Silence. Silence in the
scheming, silence in the execution, silence in the fulfillment; half
the charm that had given him strength was lost now that he had opened
his breast and disclosed its secrets to others. And it was with a
feeling approaching to disgust that he entered his workroom, and saw
all the material of his great enterprise scattered about the floor.

He went to Marguerite's room. She was sleeping with all the freshness
of youthful dreams glowing on her cheek; after the tumult of the day
the stillness of that room soothed his spirit. He reflected how little
satisfactory were all these pursuits compared to the tranquillity of
home, but then, even as he sat by the bedside, and with her hand in
his, pondered on th