acted fairly on the occasion, obliging them to be contented with an hundred pistoles, of which he had twenty for his own share. I thanked my stars that I had got off so cheaply; I left the inn, never to return to it, and repaired to my own house, very happy that the adventure had been hushed up with so little noise.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

GUZMAN PAYS HIS ADDRESSES ΤΟ THE BANKER's DAUGHTER, AND MARRIES HER-CONSEQUENCES OF THIS MARRIAGE.

As soon as I had got rid of Helena, her mother and the hostess, I devoted myself entirely to my new amour, and thought of nothing else but to become the son-in-law of Don Andrea, who, on his side, fearing that I should embark in some new intrigue, had no less impatience to give me his daughter than I to obtain her. I went the very next day to the banker's house, who kept me to dinner, towards the end of which my intended bride appeared, as if by chance; I rose immediately to pay my respects to her, and express the agreeable surprise her presence excited in me. She returned my compliments with a modest air, and would have retired, but her father prevented her. "Eugenia," said he to her, "stay with us; this gentleman is my friend, and I am happy to let him have a proof of it by giving you leave to converse with him.” I did not fail to thank him for so great a favour, with which I was quite delighted, and more so indeed than I really appeared to be.

I then entered into .conversation with Eugenia, and to increase my joy, Don Andrea, under pretence of writing some letters, retired to a corner of the drawing-room, to leave us more to ourselves.

If he acted in this manner to afford me the opportunity of a delightful conversation, he did not favour a fool, for I availed myself of this interview, not knowing when I should have a more favourable one, to declare my passion. I called forth all my genius, which served me well enough on the occasion, and the lady enchanted me by the delicacy of her replies. In the meantime the father, still pretending to be very busy, now and then asked pardon for being no better company; I returned him compliment for compliment, and, following my point, still courted the daughter in a low voice, as if afraid of disturbing him in his reading. We had been three hours together, when the banker, thinking proper to put an end to our conversation, came and joined us, and Eugenia, after having made a curtsey, disappeared.

I now felt so much esteem, or rather was so much in love with this lady, that I could not forbear breaking out in praise of her; and speaking from the fulness of my heart, I told Don Andrea, that no one could possibly be more sensible of his daughter's merit than I was. The old fox listened to me very attentively, and to encourage me to explain myself more clearly, he held a long discourse on the necessity of persons of my age marrying, to avoid an infinite number of precipices to which they are daily exposed, and on the importance of the choice of a wife, since it commonly decided the happiness or misery of her husband. He then proceeded to assure me

of the good opinion he had conceived of me, telling me that I had won his heart by my ingenious manners and the confidence I had placed in him; and that I might rely that there was nothing that lay in his power which he would not do to convince me of it. I was not much behind hand with him in professions. I opened my whole heart to him, and protested that he might make me the happiest of men in giving me Eugenia. He considered for some time, or appeared to do so, to persuade me that I set his friendship at too great a trial; however, before we parted, I knew what I had to expect. He embraced me tenderly when I left him, and told me he had certain views of establishing his daughter more advantageously, but that he had given them all up to show me how dear I was to him. At these words, I took one of his hands, and kissed it with a transport that proved more fully than all I could have said the gratitude of my heart. From this time the banker called me his son. He managed all my affairs; the six thousand francs which he had engaged to pay me in three months, he now advanced immediately, to assist me in furnishing my house, and he bought for me, at a cheap rate, several elegant pieces of furniture, which a person in want of money was obliged to sell. In a word, I dined every day with my future father-in-law. I saw his daughter every day, and enjoyed all the privileges of a son-in-law; except that one only, which the title of a husband could give a right to. One thing alone surprised me, which was, that in all the conversations I had as yet had with Don Andrea, he had never uttered a word about any portion. I attempted to sound him on this subject, but he gave me to under

stand that his intention was not to part with much ready money on the wedding-day. "You will receive only ten thousand francs down," said he, "but you may rely on the sum of fifty thousand after my death." I thought ten thousand francs but a paltry portion for the daughter of a man whom I had thought so rich; nevertheless, considering that tradesmen do not like to lessen their capitals, I was obliged to be contented.

I now earnestly entreated Don Andrea not to let me languish in the expectation of being in reality his son-in-law. He yielded to my solicitations, and our nuptials were celebrated with great pomp. My fatherin-law paid me the ten thousand francs, as had been agreed, and I soon found employment for them. I made my bride a present of all the jewels I had left, bought her most superb dresses, kept up incessant rejoicings in my new house for the first fortnight, provided women and footmen to attend her; in a word, I set up a way of living which would soon have ruined me, had I not by my own industry supplied the means to meet this increased expenditure. The banker, it is true, promised mountains of gold, if fortune would but smile on his speculations. He was a man of vast designs and projects, and his son-in-law being something of the same turn of mind, we thought of no less than monopolising in a very short time the whole business of the kingdom. Unluckily, however, for the success of our enterprises, his sole reliance was on my purse, and mine on his; and the illusion soon vanished, when we found ourselves obliged to communicate the state of our affairs to each other. The eyes of both of us were opened without recrimination,

for, in fact, we had nothing to reproach each other with; on the contrary, our mutual confidence had the effect of making our union more close; and being now known to each other for what we really were, like robbers we swore to be faithful.

Our partnership at first made a great noise, owing to the mysterious tone with which Don Andrea told everybody that he had chosen for his son-in-law a man who was possessed of immense riches. It was soon spread about, and every one was for dealing with us, and came to us in preference to other bankers; and we might by our credit only have increased every day the favourable opinion they had of our wealth, if we had been contented to have associated with tradesmen, and no doubt we should have made a considerable fortune; but the uncommon weak partiality that my father-in-law always had for people of the court, put a check to our success. What he received with one hand was squandered with the other. If a marquis, a count, or a knight of San Jago, were civil to him, they were sure to obtain any loan of money, and, knowing his vanity, they would not fail to lavish upon him the most flattering compliments.

If a minister looked favourably on him, the very next day he would send him some rich present to no purpose whatever. He always had his head filled with chimerical projects which he would put in execution, and if I happened to show him the folly of them, he laughed at me, and treated me with contempt, as a man who had not common sense, and was quite a novice in the business of the great world.

However, with all his experience, our best substance was soon spent, our stock grew low, and we were re