ty of
friends, ladies as well as gentlemen. I would dance, sing, and drink,
and would dip into every kind of life, so that----"

He paused for a second and then said, "There ought to be a fast horse or
so in your father's stables, eh? Well then, if there are, why not take
one for your own riding? Then at night, when you are supposed to be
snug between the sheets, creep down to the stable, clap a bridle on
the horse, and, hey, presto! you are in Poitiers. Put on the clothes
suitable to the handsome young noble you are, and have a joyous carouse
with your many companions; and if you do, next day, not choose to go
back until the morning, the servants will only tell your father that you
are out shooting."

Norbert was a thoroughly strong, honest youth, and the idea of meanness
and duplicity were most repugnant to his feelings in general; and yet he
listened eagerly to this proposition, for oppression had utterly changed
his nature. The career of dissipation and pleasure proposed so adroitly
by Daumon dazzled his imagination and his eyes began to sparkle.

"Well," asked the Counsellor invidiously, "and, pray, what is there to
prevent you doing all this?"

"Want of funds," returned Norbert, with a deep sigh; "I should want a
great deal, and I have hardly any; if I were to ask my father for any,
he would refuse me, and wonder----"

"Have you no friends who would find you such a sum as you would require
until you came of age?"

"None at all;" and, overwhelmed with the sense of his utter
helplessness, Norbert sank back upon a chair.

After a brief period of reflection, Daumon spoke with apparent
reluctance,--

"No, Marquis, I cannot see you so miserably unhappy without doing my
best to help you. A man is a fool who puts out his hand to interfere
between father and son, but I will find money to lend you what you
want."

"Will you do so, Counsellor?"

"Unluckily I cannot, I am only a poor fellow, but some of the
neighboring farmers intrust me with their savings for investment. Why
should I not use them to make you comfortable and happy?"

Norbert was almost choked with emotion. "Can this be done?" asked he
eagerly.

"Yes, Marquis; but you understand that you will have to pay very heavy
interest on account of the risk incurred in lending money to a minor.
For the law does not recognize such transactions, and I myself do not
like them. If I were in your place, I would not borrow money on these
terms, but wait until