L'Abbé Prévost

“ But if you knew the power of love—if you could appreciate the anguish that is felt by an unhappy young man who sees all that he most cherishes about to be torn from his arms—then, perhaps, you would not think it an unpardonable offence that I should have sought to enjoy some slight revenge; or you would at least consider me sufficiently punished by the affront to which I have just been subjected. There is no need of either imprisonment or torture to force me to reveal your son's whereabouts. He is safe. ”

“ The Archers were growing impatient, and ordered us not to keep them waiting any longer. They had a coach ready at the door. I held out my hand to Manon to assist her downstairs, and said:
"Come, sweet mistress of my heart! Come and submit to the cruel decrees of our destiny. Some day, perchance, it may please Heaven to grant us a happier fate!" ”

“ He added that he believed me to have finally separated from Manon, but expressed his surprise at my not having given him any news of myself for a week past.
My father was not a man to be easily duped. He surmised that this silence of which Tiberge complained had something behind it which that simple soul had not penetration enough to discover, and he made such diligent efforts to trace me, that before two days had passed he had found out that I was a prisoner in the Châtelet. ”

“ The poor fellow, supposing his master to be in peril of his life, and thinking that he was in duty bound to sacrifice every other consideration to that of obtaining aid for him, made a full disclosure of all that he knew regarding G——— M———'s passion for Manon, and the money he had squandered upon her; detailing how he had spent the afternoon and evening at her house until about nine o'clock; how he had then gone out, and the mishap he had met with on his way back. The father saw good grounds in all this for suspecting that his son's trouble was the result of some love-scrape. ”

“ Even supposing that it were proved, on Marcel's evidence, that it was our intention to commit a theft, I was well enough versed in the law to be aware that no penalty attaches to the mere contemplation of an offence. I decided to write to my father without delay, and beg him to come to Paris in person. As I have already said, I felt much less shame at being imprisoned in the Châtelet than at Saint-Lazare. Moreover, though I still retained all due respect for the paternal authority, increased age and experience had greatly diminished my former timidity. ”

“ Meanwhile, our evil genius was busy plotting our downfall. At the very moment when we were draining the cup of bliss, the sword was hanging suspended over our heads, and the slender thread by which it was upheld was soon to snap. But, for the better understanding of all the circumstances attending our ruin it will be necessary to throw some light upon the causes which led up to it.
When G——— M——— had been waylaid by the Guardsman, he had had a lackey following him. Terrified by the adventure which had befallen his master, the fellow had turned about and taken to his heels. ”

“ The Archers, whose quick eyes had detected the object of my sudden movement, ran at once to wrest the weapon from me. A man in his night-shirt is scarcely in a condition to offer much resistance, and I was quickly deprived of all means of defence. ”