Jc"" SS"rd is Proftssor of Frcnch Litcsturc et thc Steodhal Univcrsity

in Gsmbh. Hc studiod in Peris and has hetd vrdoul pocitions at thc

univcrsitics of Gdebory (in Swodco), Prrir and Lyoo. Hc hr vritm
ABBE PREVOST
scvcral worts oo Pr€vct, hfwt w*b (1968 rnd 1989), I-r pw ct
htn d. Ptfrot (lW4 nd L'AhbC Pdnt: ht l&tufut th le ntrrllin
(19&{.), md is Crmcrel Editor of thc dcfinitivc oditioo of t}e sorls of, Manon Lescaut
Prrivct (cight voluocq Univcrsity of Grenoblc prcse). Hc bzs .bo
wdtm aumn'us.nicl4 oo thc scvenmth end cightcnth @turfus
and is thc Gwd Ediw ot Dictiwin & h ptm (t6N,-r759).
Tlanslatcd by
LEONAND TANCOCK

uith a na t Intmdwion and Notcs by

JEAN SGARD

PENGUIN BOOKS
 PREFACE
By ttc Autbor of Tb ilhntdlrf cItut{@fr5

T rrcnr bevc instod tbc edvcntures of thc Chcvdicr dcs

ICtUt ioto my Mcuroirs, but it smcd to mc theg es tbcrc
yrs no rcd cooocrion bctwocn thcm, thc rcedcr miglt fnd it
mole $$is&ctory to have trcm scporrtod. The thrced of my ovn
story would heve bm crrt 6r toolong by e nenrtive of,dris
size I alrl frr from bcing en srrct wrier, but I em sell cwarc
thet e nrrrrtivc must bc ligbEocd of circu'qstrnca tbot might
mekeitcumbersomeend involved- As Honoe seys:
Urjtt w dicatjt; w &hrtio dhi,
Pbqr dffca, r pesre h bsps mitttt.r
Nor is nrch esrGmioent euthority needcd to dcmoastrr,te such
e simph trudL br tb prire soue of thk de is common ccnsd,
If drc public hrs fruod 3oms slighl cnioymcat md inercst in
thc story of my lifr, I dercsey it will bc oo lcss plcescd with this
edditio. It will scc in ttc conduct of M. des Grfuur a tcrriblc
cxemple of thc sumgth of pasnioo. I hrve to porury r yourg
men who obsdmey rcfi$es to be heppyead dclibcnmlyplungcs
into Se most dire misfofiuncs' who, though giftd with dl th
quelitics which go m meke up thc moct bdllient merit, chooses
en ob*urc and vagebond lift in prcfcrcoa to dl the edventrgcs
betmsred by mture rnd brnroq who foters his misfornureq
but hrs oot thc will m evoid ttcur; who is scnsiblc of thcm end is
oyrcrphclnGd by thcm" but crnnot bcocfit by rcmodies coorandy
hcld out to him which might rt rny momcnt put sn cnd to thco;
in fiG, en ubiguous chencer, r mixtute of vimrcs end vioeg e
pcrpcual orurtrlrstbctwco good impuhcs end bad ections. $uch
is trc subctrne of thc picturc I prescnt. Pcopk of good sencc
will not.regerrd e vorl. of,this oature es hbo,ur toca Aprt from

,
 Manoa I*rcatt PrcJacc

the pleasure of interesting reading, they will 6nd fev things in it duties which are too vaguely implied in general notions of hu-
which may oot s€rve as lessons in the an of liviog, and in my manity and gendc behaviour. In such perplexity only erpcriencc
opinion it is no small service to the public ro instruct while en- or exemple can guide the instincts of the heart into r,easonablc
tertaining- channels. Now experience is not an advantage that everybody is
One cannot refect upon the precepts of morality u.ithout ftee to acquire; it depends upon thc various situations one has
being amazed to see them et one and the same time revered and bcen placed in by destiny. Therefore for many people there
neglected, and one wonders what is the erplanation of this remains only the example of others as a guiding principle in the
strenge contrediction of the human heart that drav's it towards practice of virtue.
theories of good and perfection which in practicc it repels. If It is precisely for such readers that works of this kind can be
people of a ertain order of intelligence end breeding will con- extremely useful, so long as they are written by a person of
sider r*'hat is the most usual subject of their conversadon or even honour and good sense. Each event describ€d therein is a kind of
of their private meditations, they will rcadily notice that they beacon, a lesson taking the place ofexperience; each adventure is
almost always turo upon some moral question. The most agree- a model upon which to form oneself: it has only to be adiusted
able moments of their lives are those they spend, whether alone to one's own circumstances. The whole work is a moral treatis€
or with a friend, in examining with a candid mind the charms of enteftainingly put into pradice.
virtue, the ioys of friendship, the ways of attaining happiness, A serious reader may possibly be displeased at seeing me take
and frailties of human nature which deny us thet happiness aod up my peo again, at my time of life, in order to write an adventure
rernedies for these frailties. Horace and Boileau indicate this sort story oflove and fortune: but if the thoughts I heve iust exprcssed
of conversation es one of the 6nest elements in their picture of are well founded, they are my iustification; if not, my error will
the happy life. How then does it come about that wc so easily fall be my excuse.
from these lofty spec'ulations and find ourselves so soon brought
down to the levcl of the most commonplace of men? I em much
mistaken if the reason I am going to adduce does not explain this
contradiction berwcen our theories and our bchaviour. It is this:
all mord prccepts ar€ so vegue and generalized that it is very
difficult to apply them ditecdy to our specific manncrs and
actions.
kt us take an example. Well-born souls fecl that gentleness
and humanity are virnres to be admired and are instinctively
inclined to practise tiem; but once they are feced rrith action
they often remain in doubt. Is this really the right momeot? How
far should one go? Is one not misaken about the obiect in view?
A hundred perplexities interveoe. Even when wishing to bc
generous and charitable one is afraid of being a dupe; by seeming
too tender-hearted and too easily moved one ftars to eppear
u'eak; in a word, ooe is efraid of overdoing or falling shon of

4
 PART ONE
0

f rusr tete you bect to thc timc wh I 6rst ct thc Cheydiet

I dcs C'rLur. It wes about rir moths bcfore I kft for Spain.l
At drt tinc I livcd donc md scldoan stincd ebroa{ but aov
rrd rgrin I wcot oo ohon iourncyr if my drughtcr vrnrcd
rcocthiog ettcodcd to, rnd I mdc thcsc es britf es I ould. I
ooa hed to go to Roueo whsc shc b.d rstd Erc to soe a casc
thlough tbc Low C-ourts lcLtiog je se6g lanrl lcft by my metecnel
graild&thff which I wishcd to hand ovcr to bcr. Oo my ery
bacl I slcPt thc fi151 niSht at Evreur, ud gclcd Pacy,r about
6ve or sir lcegucs funhcr oo, in tinc br diaaer. As I cesrc into
thc litdc tovo I s2s su4xbcd to re dl tbc peoph rushiog out of
tbcit houscr rod gafbffing in e crowd outddc e shrbby-lookiag
inn in &,ont of whidr trro corrccd vlgpr$ wctc sanding. The
tvo vrgorur had cvidcntly ooly iust etrivod" for thc horcs wece
p""tiog end stceming ia 6c sbafts" I stoppod r motrrcnt to
"titl
6od ont drc ceusc of th uproar, but I ould gct oo scosc out of
th" g"pi"g crowd who igoorcd my qucstioas aod lcpt e6 6ght-
ing thcir wey towrrds tlrc ino. But iust thco thcle eppcarcd in
thc doorvey e soldicr, complctc with bandolicr aod muskct, md
I bcckoacd him end e5ls{ him whet dl thc crcitcmt vas
rbout 0\ ids nothing Slq' he sri4 'iust e &zco stret-
velkcn 6et my fticods end I ere teLing to Hevrc to bc shi@
off to Amica. Sooc of thcsr ren't bad looLiog, eithcr, eod I
suppocc thrds whet thcsc yokclr ernt to scc.' I might bevc lcft it
rt thet end goac @ my vry if I hed not bcco pullcd up by tbc
c-ier o'f eo old wmao who cmcrged frm thc ina wdngiag hct
ha& ead rbouting 6c it wes e vickcd shemc eod coough to
givc enyooc thc horrotg. "Wht's tbc m*tcd'I esLcd. 'O\ comc
end re, Sirt I tcll IdL iCr cnoogh to brc* your hcertl' My

7
 Manon Le$attt
curiosity was now thoroughly aroused, and I dismounted, left
my horse with my rran and forced my way rhrough the crowd. It
was certainly a pathetic sight that m€t my eyes: amongst the twelve
women s.ho were chained rog€ther by the waist in rwo rows of
six was one whose face and bearing w€re so out of keeping
with her present situation that in anv other s€tting I would have
taken her for a ledy of the gentlest birth. She was in abject
misery and her clothes were 6lthy, but all that had so little effect
on her beauty rhat I felt nothing but pity and respect for her. Shc
was trying to turn an ay as much as the chains would allow, so as
to hide her face from us onlookers, and this effort at concealment
was so natural that it seemed to come from feelings of modesty.
The six guards escorting this party of outcasts were also in the
room, and I took the one in charge aside and asked him to tell
me som€thing about this lovely gid. But he could give me
nothing but a few bare facts. 'We picked her up from the H6pital
on policc orders. I don't €xpect she was put in th€re for her good
behaviour. I have qu€stioned her more than once on the road
but can't get a word out of her. But although I haven't got
orders to treat her anv better than the others, I seem to do little
things for her because she looks a cut aboye them, somehow.
There's a young fellow over there,' he added, 'who might be
able to tell you more than I can about what has brought her
doq'n to this. He has followed her all the way from Paris. Crying
neadv all the time, too. He must be her brother, or else a lover.'
I turned tou'ards the corner and sar*' a young man sitting
there, apparentl)' unconscious of everything around him. I have
n€ver s€en a more arresting pictutre of grief. His clothes r*'ere
very plain, but a mere glance is all vou need to gauge a man's
birth and upbringing. As I ureot over to him he stood up, and I
could sec in his eyes, face and everv- movement such gentle
refinement that I instinctively felt kindly disposed towards him. I
sat down by his side. 'Please excuse my troubling you,' I said,
'but could you satisS my curiosity? I should like to knou' that
charming p€rson over there. She does nor look as if she were
made for the sorry plight she is in.' He ansrrered quite civilly
8
Det Criccx
that he could not tell me who she was without giving away his
own identity, and thet he had the strongest rearions for wishing
to remain unknou'n. 'But what I can tcll you,' he welt on,
pointing to the guards,'and those wretches know it all too well,
is that I love her so passionately that she has made me the most
unhappy man alive. I used every possible means in Paris to get
her set free - petitions, intrigues, violence - nothing worked.
And so I made up my mind to follow her, if need be to the ends
of the earth. I shall embark with her and go to America. But,' he
continued, returning to the subject of the guards, 'can you
imagine aoyone more inhuman than those foul creatures? They
won't let me go near her. I had planned to attack them some
leagues out from Paris, r*'ith the promised help of four men to
whom I handed out a large sum. When it came to the fighting,
they left me in the lurch and decamped with my money, and so,
seeing that I could not succeed by force, I laid down my arrns.
Then I asked those guards to let me follow them, offering a
handsome rcward, of course. Their greed made them consent,
but ever,v time I have had permission to speak to her I have had
to pay. Mv purse wes soon empt]r, and now that I haven't a
penny left the devils shove me back roughly whenever I take a
step in her direction. Only a minute ago I made up my mind to
brave their threats and go up to her, and they had the effrontery
to raise the buns of their rifles at me. Now I shall have to sell the
poor old horse that I have ridden up to norr, so as to meet their
demands and be able to 6nish the journey on foot.'
He seemed quite calm while he was telling me all this, but by
the time he had finished there were tears in his eyes. The whole
story struck me as one of the strangest and saddest I had ever
heard. 'I don't want to press you to tell me vour private business,'
I said, 'but if I can help you in any way please take this as an
offer.' 'I cannot s€€ the faintest glimmer of hope,' he answered
with a sigh. 'I have got to go through with it to the end. No, I
shall go to America; at any rate I shall be free there with the
\r/oman I love. I have writteo to a friend of mine who udll send
me some help at Havre. The onlv trouble is to get that far and to
9
 Manon lascast
6nd what alleviation I can on the way for this poor creature's
sufferings-' As he spoke these v'ords he glanced sorrowfully at
his beloved. 'Look here,' I said, 'do let mc put an end to your
worries by giving you some money. I am sorry I cannot help you
in any other way.' I managed to give him four louis without the
guards noticing, for I was certain thet they would put up their
prices if they knew he had such a sum. ft cvcn occurrcd to me to
strike e bargaio with them so as to get permission for the young
nnn to talk uninternrptedly to his love dl the wey to Havrc. I
beckoned again to the man in charge, who came over, and when
I made the suggestion he seemed quite shamefaced, for all his
brazen greed. 'You see, Sir,' he managed to stafirmer out, 'it isn't
as though we rcfuse to let him talk to his gid, but he wants to be
with her all the time, and that is a nuisancc that ought to be paid
for. It's only fair.' 'Ir)0ell, how much do you want for not noticing
it?' He had the effrontery to esk for two louis, but I handed them
over without demur. 'But,' I said, 'miod you don't try on any
tricks- I am going to give this gentleman my address so that he
can let me know. And don't forget that I shall be in a position to
have the rnatter followed up.' The affair cost me six louis alto-
gether, but I could see that the young man deserved all my
generosity, and his gratitude and the good gmce with which he
thanked me showcd, if I needed any mo.e showing, thet he was a
born gentleman. Bcfore going out I had a word or two with the
girl, and she sounded so charming and modest that I found
myself making many a reflection on the inscrutable nature of
woman.
I went hack to my life of retirement and heard no mor€ of this
incident. Neady two years \yent by, and I had forgotten it alto-
gether, when a chance mceting ld to my lcerning the whole
story. On my way beck from l-ondon with mv pupil the Marquis
of X, I had just reached Cdais. We put up at the Golden Lion, if
I rcmember rightly, and for various reasons we had to stay there
all that day and the following night. During thc aftemoon I was
wdking along a strert when I thought I recognizcd the young
man I had seen at Pacy. He looked very shebby, end much paler
IO
Dcs Grieux
than when I had 6rst soen him, and seemed to have iust arrived
in the town, for he was carrying an old porurunteau. But I at
oncc remcmbered his face, which was too strikingly handsorne to
be easily forgoncn. I said to the Marquis that we must go over
and speak to him. I0hen he recognized me he seized my hand
and kissed it with unspeakable ioy, saying how glad he was to
havc another chance oferpressing his undying gratitude. I asked
him whele he had just come from and be answered that he had
landed from Havre, where he had rerumed from America shortly
before. 'You don't look too well o{f,,' I said. 'Go along to the
Golden Lion. That is where I am staf ing. I will ioin you th€rc in
a few minutes.' I hastened back there, full of impatience to hear
the detailed story of his misfortunes and his ioumey to Amcrica.
I trcated him to every kindness and ordered everything to be
done for his comfort- He needed no persuasion to tell me the
story of his life. 'Sir,' he said, 'you have been so good to me that
I should reproach myself with ingratitude if I kept anything back
from you. I am prepared to acquaint you not only with my
misfortunes and sufferings but also with my follies and shameful
weakncss. You will no doubt blame my behaviour but I am sure
you will not be able to help pitying me.'
At this point I must make it clear that I wrote down his story
almost immediately after heariog it; consequently this narrative is
perfectly accurate and faithful. By faithful I mean that it even
reproduces comments and emotiond digressions which the young
fellow put in with the most natural ease of manner. This is his
tde, and I shall add nothing to his own words, ftom beginning
to end.
II

w.es scycomco eod iust et the cnd of my philcophy oursc et
J
IAmieos, whcre I bsd bcco scat by my paseots, who bclongcd
to <xrc of the bcst femilics in P. My conduct et ollqe had bcen
so good rod stcady th.t thc mastcrs quotcd rrrc rs lo cprnFlc to
othcrs" Not tlrat I bed mdc any peniculat cfiors to dcacfl/c
such praisc, but I am quiet eod gcatle by disposition eod atudious
by natue. Morcovcr. cctain instinctivc avcrsion from cvil ves
crcditcd to Erc 18 e positivc virtuc. All thc bcst pcoplc in thc
town Lnev m aad rcspccrcd me fot my birt\ good looks md
Euffi at collcgc. At oy public orel cremioetioar I mede such
an crccllcnt imp'rcssioa tbet the bishop, who was prcscog rug-
gcstcd thet I should cmbark oo an calesiesri*l carcct, in which,
bc sai4 I crould crtainly go furthct than in thc Ordcc of Melt ,
which vas what my 6mily had plenncd for mc. I akcady worc
the Cross of Melte, end vith it I was elloc/cd thc stylc of Chcre-
licr dcs Gticur. Ar thc vrcatim was bcgioriog, I was g€tdlg
rcady to go home to my 6thct wio had promiscd to ecod rrre (xr
to thc Acadcmy. My oly rcgtet rt leaving Amicos wer thet it
elso mernt lcaving bchiod a fricnd ftom whom I hed dwayr boco
iascparabtc. Hc wes e few yeers oy scoior ead wc bd bcco
brought up togcdrcr, bw as his femily vas poor hc hed no
choice but to coer thc p'ricstbood eod stay on in Amieas b takc
thc occcssary @urse of study. FIc wes ooc of thc vcry bcst of
m, es you will scc letct io Ey story wbco you heer rbout hir
rdmirabh quditics and his stcadfast eod genctous frieadrhiF
supassing tbc most famous 6ro'nplcs in antiquity. If ooly I hed
followod his edvicc et that time I should dweys hevc bcco good
rod beppy. Ot if I bed listcocd to his criticisms whco my passioor
wcre dngging mc dovn to thc rbyss, I might et lcast beve eevcd
IE
Marcn
something from the wreck of my fornrne and good name. But
the onlv reward he has had has been the bittemess of seeing his
loving care unavailing and more often than not brutally rcpulsed
aod taken for an insult and a nuisance.
I had arranged the date for leaving Amiens - how I wish I had
fixed it a day eadier! I should have gone home to my father
decent and cl€an. The day before I intended to leave I was
walking along with mv friend, whose name was Tiberge, when
we saw the Arras coach5 arrive, and out of idle curiosity we
followed it to the inn where passeogers are set down. A few
women got our and went straight indoors. But there was one
very youog one who waited alone in the inn-yard while an oldish
man, who appeared to be in charge of her, was busv getring the
luggage out of the boot. My modesty and reserve had been the
admiration of all who knew me, and I had flever so much as
gil-en a thought to the differerce between the sexes, or more
than a passing glance to any woman; but she seemed so lovely to
me that then and there I was carried away by an overmastering
passion. I had always suffered from the drawback of being over-
shv and easily embarrassed, but far from being held back by rhis
non' I fouod myself confidently walking forward to meer the
woman of mv choice, the queen of my heart.
She was eyen younger than I was, but she was not in the least
taken aback by the complimerrts I addressed to her. I asked her
what brought her to Amiens and wherher she knew anybody
there. She answered quite simply that she had been sent rhere by
her parents to become a nun. I had not been in love for more
than a minute, but alreadv love had so sharpened mv wits that in
a flash I made up my mind that such a proiect must not be
allowed to blast my hopes. The way I spoke to her soon made
her realize the state of my feelings, for she was much more
experienced than I was. I gathered that she was being sent to the
convent against her will, and I see norr that it was probably to
check the pleasure-loving tendencies that had already shown them-
selves in her, and that were to bring so much suffering on herself
and rne. I used all the arguments that awakening love and scholas-
tt
 Manon Lcnafi
tic eloquence could devise to oppose her parents' inhuman plan.
She made no pretence at haughtiness or severity, but remained
silent for some time and then said that she knew quite well
that she u.as going to be miserable, but that she supposed
it must be God's will, since He had oot shown her any other way
out. Perhaps it was the soft appeal of her eves as she spoke
and her air of u'istful sadness, or, mor€ likely, it was the power
of destiny luring me on to my destruction: at all events I
did not hesitate a moment, but assured her that if she would
relv on mv honour and the deep affection I already felt for her, I
u'as readv to devote my life to rescuing her from her tvrannical
family and making her happy. On thinking it over since, I have
been amazed time and again at my daring and the ease with
which u'ords came to me, but I suppose love would never have
been called divine if it could not work miracles of this kind.
I went on to invent a hundred irresistible argum€nts, and my
beautiful stranger kner*' qurte n'ell that men of my age are nor
deceivers. She confided to me that if I could s€e anv means of
setting her free she would feel she owed me gratitude for some-
thing dearer than life itself. I said again and again thar I u'as
ready to undertake anything, but being too inexperienced to
think on the spur of the moment of any plan for helping her, I
\r'ent no further than this general declaration, '*'hich was nor
l-ery useful either to her or to m€. At this juncture her old
*'atchdog came back and all my hopes would have faded into
thin air had she not had enough presence of mind for us both.
To mv surprise, u'hen her maoservant came up, I heard her
reftrring to me as her cousin, and without seeming in the least
disconcerted she told me thar as she had been so fortunate as to
meet me in Amiens she q,'ould postpone going inro the convent
for one d"v so as to have the pleasure of dining with me. I saw
through her stratagem and played up well, suggesting that she
put up at an inn the proprietor of s'hich, having for many years
been mv father's coachman, had nov. set up on his own in
Amiens. He u,-ould do anything for me. I escorted her there, the
old chap muttering vaguely and Tiberge follo'*.ing on in silence
t4
Tiberge
with no idea what it was all about. He had not overheard
our conversiltion as he had walked up and down the yard whilc I
was holding forth about love to my fine lady, and now I got rid
of him by invetrting some errand for him to run. And so when
we r€ached the inn I had the joy of being alone with my idol. In
a very short time I realized that I was not neady as callow as I
thought. I had all sorts of pleasurable sensations the like of
which I had never dreamed of before: a kiod of ineffable warmth
spread through my whole being and I experienced such over-
powering emotion that for some time I could nor utter a sound,
but only let my passion declare itself through my eyes. Mademois-
elle l{anon kscaut (she told me that was her name) seemed
gratified by this proof of the power of her charms, and I thought
she was as deeply affected as I was. She admitted that she would
be overioyed to o$'e her freedom to me, for she found me most
charming. She then asked qrho I was, and when I told her, her
affection visibly increased because, being of humbler birth, she
felt flattered at having such a man as me for a lover. We discussed
ways and means of belonging to each other, and after much
thought agreed that the only way u/as ro elope. The first thing
was to dodge the watchful eye of her man, and, though he was
only a hired sen'ant, he was a person to be reckoned with. It was
decided that I should hire a post-chaise during the night and
bring it round to the inn v€ry eadv before he woke up; then we
s'ould steal away, make straight for Paris and get married as
soon as we arrivd. I had all my savings, about fifty 6cus, and
she had about twice as much. In our innocetrce we imagined that
this sum would last for ever, and nrere confident that every"thing
else would be equally satisfactory.
After the most delightful meal I had ever enioyed, I went
off to put the scheme into opcration. Arrangements were ell
the easier because my things were ready packed for my retum
home next day. I had no trouble in getting my tnrnk moved
and booking a chaise for five in the moming, the time when
the city gat€s wele opened; but the whole plan was nearly
wrecked by an unexpected obstacle - Tiberge.
rt
 Manon Lescart
Although he was only three years older than I, Tiberge had a
rrature judgement in addition to his upright character, and, more-
over, he loved me as a brother. The prettiness of Mademoiselle
lvlanon, my eagem€ss to take her to her lodgings and, above all,
the trouble I had taken to 6nd a pretext for getting rid of him,
gave him grounds for suspecting that I had falleo in love. He
had not dared to retum to the inn s'herc he had left me, for fear
of annoying me, but he had gone back to my lodgings, and he
was still waiting there u.hen I returned although it was ten
o'clock at night. I was put out at finding him there, and he saw
it, so he came straight to the point: 'I am sure you are planning
som€thing you want to hide from me. I can tell b.v the look of
you.' I answered rather roughly that I was not obliged to accouot
to him for all my plans. 'Perhaps not,' he r*-ent on, 'but so far
vou have always treated me as a friend, and as a friend I have a
right to a little confidence and frankness.' He urged me to let
him share my s€cret, and pleaded so long and so earnestly that,
never having hidden anlthing from him before, I ended by
taking him into my confidence about the v'hole affair. He heard
me w'ith such obvious disapproval that I trembled. I was par-
ticularlv vexed at having so rashly divulged mv intention to nm
au'ay. He said that he was too intimate a friend of mine nor to
oppose the idea with all his might, and that he r:,'ould begin by
mustering all the reasons he could think of to dissuade me . But it
I did not give up such an absurd notion he w'ould go and wam
somebody in a position to stop me. Thereupon he read me a
lecture lasting over a qrxrrt€r of an hour, finishing up by reneured
threats to inform against me unless I gave him mv word of
honour to behave more r€asonably. I was furious at having
given the game awev at such an awkward moment. But in those
two or three hours love had taught me meny things, and now it
occurred to me rhat I had not mentioned that the proiect was to
be carried out the very next day. So I decided to deceive him by
prevarication. 'Tiberge,' I said, 'so far I have assumed rhat you
were my friend, and I wanted to test you by lctting you into this
secret. It is guite true that I am in love, I have not deceived you
T6
Elopenmt
over that; but as to the elopement idea, that is not the soft of
thing to be rushed through without careful thought. Come and
call for me tomorrow at nine, and if it can be managed I will let
vou s€e her. You shall then ludge for yourself whether she is
worthy of the step I am contemplating.' This sperch called forth
many friendly protestations on his part, and he left me alone.
I spent all night setding my affairs, and at dau'n I found
Itlademoiselle lr{anon waiting for me at the inn. She was starioned
at her windou', which looked on to the streer, and, as soon as she
sav' me, stole dowo and opened the door herself. \ffe got away
without a sound. I carried the bundle of clothes which vras all
she had by way of luggage. The chaise was readv to leave and in
a moment we v'ere speeding away from the town.6 I will tell vou
later u'hat Tiberge did u'hen he found that I had tricked him. IvIy
treatment of him in no way lessened his determination ro do his
best for me- You will see the lengths to which he went and honr
bitterly I was to regret my persistent ingratitude.
Manon and I made such good speed that \r'e were ar Saint-
Denis before nightfall. I had galloped by the side of the chaise
and we had had no chance of talking except during the stops for
changing horses, but now that Paris and safety were so near, \f,'e
allor*'ed ourselves time to ear something, as we had had nothing
since leaving Amiens. Passionatelv as I loved her, she found
ue1's of showing me that her love for me was no less passionate,
and we cared so little about other people rhat we gave ourselves
up to our embraces q'ithout waiting to be alone. The postillions
and the folk at the inn looked on with amazemenr, and I noticed
that they u'ere surprised to see such transports of love in two
voungsters of our age. All our idees about marriage w€re forgot-
ten at Saint-Denis; we tricked the Church of its rights, and
before we had given the matter a thought found ourselves man
and wife. I am quite sure that with my loyal and affectionate
nature I should haye been happy for life with Manon if onlv she
had been faithful to me. The better I got to know her, the more
charms of mind, hean, character and above all beautv I dis-
covered in her, and her manifold and ever-fresh attractions bound
t7
 Manon l*tcact
me to her by ties so strong yet so delightful that I should have
been content never ttr break them. I0hat a terrible change of
fortune was to be mine! Those very things which have brought
me to despair might have made me rapturously happy, and I
rii
have become the most wretched man alive through that very
constancy of mine which might have broughr me the ineffable
iovs of true love.
Ve took furnished rooms in Paris, in the Rue V.7 As ill-luck
would have it, we were quite near the house of M. de B., the
notorious tax-farmer. Three n'eks werlt by, weeks of such deliri-
ous passion that I scarcely gave a thought to my family and the
sorrow my disappearance must have given my father. But as my
love rras not as yet sullied bv debauchery', and as Manon behaved
u'ith much circumspection, we lived in a peaceful atmosphere
that gradually recalled m€ to a sense of duty. In this frame of
mind I decided to seek a reconciliation with m;,- farher. I[anon
was so enchanting that it seemed to me she could not fail to
please him, if only I could find a way of telling him about her
many qualities: in short, I imagined that I could get his permis-
sion to marq. her, having found that I could not do so without
his consent. I spoke about it to Manon, and gave her to under-
stand thar, apart altogether from motives of filial dury, sheer
necessity might soon come into the picture because our funds
were running low and I was beginning to revise my opinion that
thev were inexhaustible.
Manon heard this news with marked coolness. But as the
obiections she raised were based on her affection for me and the
fear that when my father had found out our hiding-place she
would lose me, if he did not come round to our point of l-iew, I
had not the slightest suspicion of the crucl blow being prepared
for me at that very moment. She countered the argument of
financial necessity by saying that we sdll had enough left for
several weeks, and that after that she would write to some rela-
tives in the country from whom she was sure she could manage
to wheedle some money. And her refusal was softened by such
tender caresses that I could oot entertain the least doubt about
I8
Sagicion
her love, but even applauded all her erguments and plans. As I
lived for her alone, how could I do otherwise?
I had left the management of our exchequer and the running
of our daily life entirely to her. Soon after this conversation, I
nodced that we were living in a much better style and that she
had some new and quite expensive clothes. As I knew that we
could not have much more than twelve or fifteen pistoles left, I
let her see how surprised I was at this obvious improvement in
our position. She laughed, told me not to worrv and said: 'Didn't
I promise vou I would 6nd the wherewithal?' I loved her too
singleheartedly to be easilv disturbed by suspicions.
One afternoon I went out, having warned her that I would be
away longer than usual. When I came back I was suqprised to be
kept waiting two or three minutes at the door. We had but one
servant-girl ofabout our own age, and when at length she opeoed
the door I ashed her why she had been so long. She mumbled
some tale about never having heard a knock. As I had only
knocked once I said: 'But if you didn't hear me, why have you
opened the door now?' She was so taken aback at this that she
lost her head altogether and began to cry. It was not her fault,
she explained; Madame had ordered her not to open the door
until M. de B. had gone down by the other staircase that con-
I was so staggered that I
nect€d direcdy with our private room.
could not 6nd the courage to enter the flat, but murmured
something about imponant business and ran downstairs again,
ordering the gid to tell her mistress that I would soon be back
but not to say that she had mentioned M. de B.
I was almost dazed as I went dourn the stairs, and there were
tears running down my cheeks, though I had no idea why I was
cryinC. I went into the nearest cafe, sat at a table, buried my face
in my hands and tried to sort out my conflicting emotions. I
scarcely darcd recall what I had iust heard, but tried to think it
was some illusion, and once or twice nearly went back to the flat
intending to act es though nothing had happened. It seemed so
impossible that Manon had deceived me that I felt it wes insulting
even to susp€ct her. I worshipped hcr; that was certain, and she
r9
 Manon l-e$ant Betralal
had retumed mv love no less ardently. How could I accuse her
now I felt more sure than ever that I was right), but I held hack
ofbeing any less sincere and loyal thao I had been? Ifhat possible
in the hope that she would make the 6rst move and tell me
reason could shc have for deceiving me? Scarccly three hours
everything that had happened.
before she had lavished the most affectionate caresses on me, and
Supper was brought in, and I sat down gaily enough, The
had received mine with every appearance of passionate abandon.
c4ndle \*'as on the able between us, and as it lit up her face I
I felt that I could be as sure of her heart as I was of my own. thought there was an uneasy look in her eyes. This uneasiness
'No, no,'I kept on saying to myself, 'it can'r be true. She could began to affect me too. I noticed that she was looking at me with
never betrav me, for she knows that I live for her alone, that I
an unusual expression, whether it was love or pitv I could not
adore her. There is nothing in that to make her hate me.'
tell, but there was something gentl€ and sed about it. I studied
And yet - hou' could I explain M. de B.'s visit, and especially her face just as atterrtively as she did mine, and possibly she was
his furtive departure? And what about lvlanon's little luxuries, equally puzzled about rxrhat was going on in my mind. Neither of
which cerainly went far beyond our pres€nr means? It all us touched any food or said a word. And rhen I sas' thar her eyes
smacked of the generosity of a nec/ lover. How else could I v'ere shining with tears - treacherous tears!
explain the confidenr way she relied on resources I must know
'Ah, deerest Manon,' I cried, 'vou are weeping, you are moved
nothing about? I was hard put to it to find as favourable an to tears, and vou u'on't tell me anything about your troubles.'
answer to thes€ riddles as I should have liked. But on the other
But she ansn'ered by heaving sighs which only added to my
hand she had scarcelv been our of mv sight since r*.e came to
apprehension. I rose from table and begged her u'ith all the
Paris. In the daily round, our on walks or at the theatr€, we had
tender solicitude of love to say why she was crving. I felt more
alu'ays been together for the simple reason rhat we could not
dead than alive, and even while drying her tears I u'as n'eeping
endure to be paned for a momenr. We had had ro keep on
myself. The hardest hean rvould have melted at thes€ signs of
declaring love to each other for fear of dying of anxiety. In m1, grief and fear. While I was whollv concerned rvith her in this
short, I could scarcely remember a minute u'hen l\lanon could
way, I heard some footsteps on the stairs. Somebodv tapped
have had dealings r*,ith anl.one but me. At last I thought I had
softly on the door. Manon gal.e me a kiss, s'renched herself out
found the clue to the mystery. Of course, I said to myself, M. de of my arms, ran quicklv into the other room and shut the door
B. was a man of far-reaching business connexions, and no doubt
behind her. For a moment I imagined that she did not wanr the
Manon's relatives had used him as an agent for letting her have
strangers to see the state she was in. I opened the outer door.
some money; she must bave had some from him already and
Scarcelv had I done so before I was seized by three men whom I
today he must have brought another instalment. All this secrecy,
recognized as my father's lackeys. They did not rough-handle
then? Simply a little joke of hers, so as to give me a nice surprise.
me, but two of them pinioned my arms while the rhird went
Illaybe she would have told me all about it if I had gone home in
through my pockets end removed the only weepon I had on me,
a normal manner instead of coming here to mope. Anvhow, she
a small knife. They apologized for being obliged ro show me
will not conceal ir now, if I mention it myself. such scant respect, and explained, of course, that they were
By dint of repeating this theory to myself, I managed to sti_fle
acting on my father's orders and that mv elder brother was
most of my forebodings. I went straight home, embraced Manon
waiting for me down below in a carriage. I was so aken by
as though nothing were amiss, and she greeted m€ quite naturallv.
surprise that I let them lead me away without question or prorest.
Mv first impulse was ro let her know what I had guessed (and Sure enough my brother was waiting in the carriage and I was
20
2t
 Manon Lcscast
put next to him. The coachman, who dready had his orders,
drove us at full speed to Saint-Deois. My brother embraced me
with every sign of affection but did not say a word, so that I had
all the leisure I needed for thinking things over.
At 6rst it all seemed so confused that I could see no daylight at
all. Clearly I had becn heartlessly berayed but by whom? Tiberge
was the first to come to mind. 'You wretclr,' I thought to myself,
'it's all up with you if my suspicions prove true!' But then I recol-
lected that he did not know my address, so it could not have
been obtained through him. I could not bring myself to accuse
l\{anon. True, the strange mood of sadness which she had been un-
able to shake off, her tears and the tender kiss she had given me
as she ran off, were all so many mysteries, but I was inclined to
put all that down to some presentiment of disaster for us both,
and even while I was deploring the accident that had toro me away
from her, I was simple enough to fancy that at that verl moment
she was more to be pitied rhan I. After much cogitation I came to
the conclusion that I must haye been seen in the streets of Paris
by some acquaintances who had passed the information on to my
father. This thought comforted me, for I counted on getting out
of it with some slight punishment or perhaps merely a few heavy
paternal homilies. I resolved to bear everything patiendy and
promise to do enything I was asked, so as to make it easier to
return at once to Paris and restore life and ioy to my own Maoon.
We soon reached Saint-Denis. My brother ascribed my strange
silence to fear, and tried to cheer me up by assuring me that
father's severity need have no terrors for me provided I was
ready to be tractable, dutiful and wonhy of his love. But at
Saint-Denis he took the precaution of making the three lackeys
sleep in the same room with me. It was humiliating to 6nd
myself at the same inn where I had stopped with Manon on our
joumey from Amiens to Paris. The host and the s€rvants rec-
ognized me, put two and two togethet and guessed my story. I
overheard the host saving: 'It's the pretry young gentleman who
called here six weeks ago with the lirde girl he was so taken withl
Wasn't she a beauty! And didn't they make love, poor kids!
2Z
I Aa Takcn Hoae
Well, I say it's a pity they've been parted.' I pretended not to
have heard, and kept out of sight as much as possible. At Saint-
Dcnis my brother had a small chaise waiting and we sct off in it
very eady the next morning, reaching home in the evening of the
next day. He went and sau/ my father first and told him how
willingly I had let myself be brought home, and thanks to his inter-
vention on my behalf I was welcomed less unkindlv than I had
expected. Fatler indulged in a few general reprimands about my
having absented myself without permission. Conceming my mis-
tress, he said that I had deserved what had befallen me for hav-
ing let myself fall into the clutches of an unknou'n woman; that
he had thought me more prudent, but hoped that this little ad-
venture would make me more sensible, I chose to interpret this
speech in the way that 6med in best with my own ideas, thanked
him for his kind forgiveress and promised to behave with obedi-
ence and circumspection. But in my heart I was already triumph-
ant, for as things were turning out I was certain that I should be
able to escape ftom the house, probably even thar very night.
We sat down ro supper, and I was chaffed a good deal on the
'conquest' I had made at Amiens and on my elopement with
such a faithful mistress. But I took these barbed shafts in good
part and was ev€n rather glad of the chance they gave me to talk
freely about u'hat was continually on mv mind. Suddenly, how-
ever, something father said made me prick up my ears. He
mentioned perfidy and paid services on the pan of Nl. de. B.
This name gave me a shock and I begged him to explain in more
detail. He tumed to my brother and asked him if he had not told
me the whole story. My brother answered rhat on the journey I
had seemed so quiet that he had not thought I needed such a
remedy to cure me of my folly. My father appeared to be hesitat-
ing as to whether he should go on with his explanations, but I
urged him to do so with such insistence that he satisfied me, or
rather tortured me with a most horrible tale.
He began by asking me whether I was still gullible enough to
believe that this woman loved me. I made so bold as to declare
that I was quite sure she did and that nothing could ever shake
2J
 Mann Itscattt
that belief. He roared with laughter. 'Ha, ha, ha!' he cried, 'that's
lovelv! A 6ne fool you are, I must say, and it's nice to see vou in
this frame of mind. You know, my boy, it's really a pity- to put
you into the Order of Malta; you've got all the ingredients for a
most long-suffering and complaisant husband.' And he added
various other witticisms in the same st,vle on what he called mv
sillv credulitv. As I made no attempr to speak, he u'ent on to sav
that, according to calculations he had made, I![anon had loved
me ior about twelve days after our departure from Amiens. 'I
knov',' he said, 'that vou left Amiens on the zSth of lasr mooth.
It is nou'the zgth of this month. It is eleven days since tr{. de. B.
wrot€ to me. [-et us suppose it took him eight &ys to get to
know vour lady friend properly. So if u'e take eleven and eighr
from the thirtv-one betq'ecn the zSrh of last month and the rgth
of this, we get twelve , or thereabouts.' I\{ore roars of laughter. I
\r'as so overcome that I q'as afraid I should never hold out until
rhe end of this w'retched comedy; but father began talking again:
'l'ou had better know, since you don't seem ro, thar \{. de B.
has won your princess's heart, ft's all nonsense ior him to make
out that he u.anted to ger vou as'ay from her out of purely
disinterested regard for my feelings. Just as though we could
expect such noble sentiments from a man of his son. \Vhy, he
doesn't even knov' me! He found out from her r-ho your father
v'as, and simply ro get rid of vou he wrote givhg me vour
address and an account of your goings-on, taking care to give
me to understand that force u'ould be needed to make sure of
you. He offered to 6nd means of laving hands on vou, and 1,our
brother caught 1'ou napping on information supplied bv him and
the lady herself. Now pat yourself on the back on )'our long
success. You can conquer pretty quickl)', mJ-- son, but you don't
knou'how to safeguard your conquests.'
I could not stand anv more of this specla every word of
u'hich pierced me to the heart. I got up and made for the door,
but had onlv taken a fe\r' steps when I collapsed on the floor in a
I was quickly revived, but only to fall into paroxvsms
dead faint.
of weeping, interspersed with lamenations and heanrending
2+
MJ Fatber
cries. My father did his utmost to console me, for he was really
very fond of me. I heard his voice but did not follow rvhat he
was saying, and in the end I begged him on bended knee and
u'ith clasped hands to let me go back to Paris and give lvt. de B.
. what he deserved. 'No,' I said, 'he has never won her love; he
hes forced her to ir; he has seduced her by some charm or even
drug; he may have violated her. Manon loves me, I am certain of
that. He must have threatened her at the dagger's point to make
her give me up. Oh God! could it be possible that l{anon
betrayed me or has ceased to care for me?'
Nly father realized that, in my pres€nt state of mind, nothing
would stop me trying to carry out mv repeated threats to rush
straight back to Paris. I even kept trying to iump up and do so
there and then. And so he took me to a room at rhe top of the
house and left two servants to keep an eye on me. I was frantic; I
would have given up life itself a thousand times for just one
quarter of an hour in Paris, but I saw that I had given myself
awav so unmistakably that I r*'ould nor be allowed to leave that
room. I had a look at the distance from the windou's to the
ground, and saw at once that there was no escaping that u'av. So
I tried caioling the two servants, swearing to make their fortunes
some day if they rrould let me slip as.ay. But argumeors, r*'heed-
lings, threats were in vain, and I gave up all hope, determined to
die, and threw myself on rhe bed intending never to leave it
alive. All that night and all the following dav I refused the food
that was brought me. In the afternoon my father came up to see
m€ and did evervthing he could to comfon me, enjoining me
with such urgency to ear something rhar I did so out of resp€ct
for his authority. For several days I ate oothing except when he
was pr€s€nt and had to be obeyed. He persel-ered in finding
arguments calculated to bring me back to my senses and make
me s€e the faithlessness of the despicable llfanon. It is quite true
that by then I had ceased to r€spect her r,-irtue - how could I
respect anvone so fickle and disloyal? But her picrure, her lovely
features, were imprinted on my mind for ever. Yet I was oot
deceived. 'I may die,' I said, 'and I deserve to die after so much
2J
 Manon Itscatt
shame and suffering, but if I died a thousand deaths how could I
ever forget my heartless Manon?'
My father was astonished to see how profoundly I was affected.
Koowing how honourable my principles were, and feeling ertain
that I must therefore scorn her for her baseness, he came to the
conclusion that my constancy must com€ not so much from this
panicular passion as from a tastc for women in general. He took so
much to this idea rh4t one day, prompted solely by his desire to see
me happy, he sounded me about it. 'My boy,'he said, .until now I
had proposed ro pur you into the Order of Malta, but it is plain that
your natural inclinations do not lie in rhat direction. you are fond of
pretty women. I think we shall have to 6nd one to your liking.
Tell me frankly what you think about it.' I answered that I had
ceased to draw any distinction between \f,'omen, and that after my
i to the meaoing of many a passage in Horace and Virgil which had
bitter experieoce I hated them all alike. He smiled and said, .I will
6nd you one like Manon, but more dependable.''If you really want
to help me,' I said, 'you must give her back to me. Believe me,
father, she has not betraved me, she is incapable of anything so
hase and cruel. I am sure that it is this treacherous B. who has
tricked all three of us, you, her and me. If only you knew how
affectionate and straightforward she is - I mean, if you really
knew her - you would love her vours€lf,'
'What a baby you are!'he replied. 'How can you be so blind,
after all I have told you about her? She handed you over to your
brother herself, I tell you. You ought to put even her name out of
your mind and have the sense to make the best of my leniency.' I
realized all too clearly that he was right, but some involuntary
impulse made me still want to take her part. 'Ah! yes,' I wenr on
after a pause, 'it is all too uue that I am the wretched dupe of the
m@nest of tricks. Yes, I agree that I must still be only a baby,
for they found it the easiest thing in the world to erploit my
gullibility. But I know what to do for revenge.'My father u/anted
to know what I m€ant. 'I shall go to Paris,' I said, 'set fire to B.'s
house and burn him and Manon alive.' There were tears of
mortification running down my cheeks; this silly ourbursr made
my father laugh again and only madc him redouble his vigilance.
z6
r was imprisoned in *"::::six whote months. The 6rst
rnonth sar*' litde change in my stete of mind. I continually alter-
neted between extremes of hate and love, hope and despair,
according to th€ garticular memory of Manon that came up-
permost in my mind. Half the time I conjured up a vision of her as
the most lovablc of womerr and longed with all my heart to see her
again, but the other half I saw her as a vicious and deceitful whore
and resolved with all sorts ofoaths to hunt her out and punish her.
But in time I began to read the books that were given me, and
reeding brought back a certain amount of calm. I rt-read all the
great authors and widened my field of knowledgc by adding new
ones. My old aste for study retumed, and you will see later what
use f was to make of it. My own experience of love opened my eyes
always been obscure before. I wrote a sentimental commentarv on
the fourth book of the Amaifl still hope to publish it and venture
to think the public will find it interesting. As I worked on it I
reflected that what the hapless Dido needed was a heart like mine.
One day Tiberge came to see me in my prison. The warmth of
his affection quite took me by surprise, for so far I had not had
any proofs of his feelings towards me which justified my thinking
of them as aoything more than the usual college friendship which
springs up between young fellows of about the same age. In the
6ve or six months since I had last seen him, he had developed
and matured so much that his expression and tone of voice
commanded my r€sp€ct. He spoke more like a wise counsellor
than a school friend, deploring my exc€sses and welcoming my
recovery which he thought well under wav. He finished by
exhoning me to learn from this youthful indiscretion and oPen
my eyes to the vaoity of dl sensual pleasures. But at this point he
noticed the astonishment in my face, for he went on: 'My dear
fellow, I am saying nothing that is not founded on solid trut\
and I have only reached this conviction efter long and carcful
thought. There was a time wheo I was as much given to sensud
gratiGcation as you are, but God also gave me a love of virtue. I
used my intelligence and compared the fruis of sin with those of
z7
 Manm Lc$ast
virtue, and, God helping me, I soon found out the difference. The
world has no charms for me now. Can you gu€ss what has
kept me in thc world and prevented mc from seeking the peace
of the solitar,v life? Simply my friendship for you. I know your
qualities of heart and mind and that there is no good thing you
ar€ not capable of. The lust of the flesh has led you astray, and
what a loss it has been for the forces of good! Your flight from
Amiens u'as such a grievous shock to me that I have not had a
moment's happiness since. You can tell the truth of that by all
the things I have felt impelled ro do. Listen.'
He told me how, after realizing thar I had deceived him and
gone off with Manon, he had taken horse to follow me, but as
we had four or five hours' start h€ had found it impossible to
overtake me- Nevertheless he had reached Saint-Denis only half an
hour after I had left. Being fairly certain that I u'ould stav in Paris,
he had spent six weeks vainly searching for me; he had been to all
the places where he thought I might be found, and eventually one
day he had recognized l{anon io a theatre. She n'as so gorgeously
amired that he thought she must owe such opul€nce ro a new lover.
He had followed her carriage home and found out from a s€rvant
that she was being kept by M. de B. 'But I didn't lear.e it at that,'he
continued. 'I n'ent back there the next dav to find out from her
what had become of you. As soon as I mentioned your name she
rudely turned her back on me, and I had ro return to the country
without finding out anything else. There I heard of your adven-
ture and of your subcequenc breakdown, but I did not want to
see you until I was sure of finding you calmer.'
'So vou have seen Manon!' I ansu.ered. 'You are luckier t}an I
am, for I am doomed n€\'er to s€t eyes on her again.' And I
heaved a sigh. That sigh revealed how little resistance I had as
far as she was concerned, and he did not like it, but he adroitly
divened the talk to the flattering subject of my characrer and rcal
inclinations, and he did it so well that, even during that 6rst visir
of his, I began to conceive a strong desire to give up all woddly
pleasures and, like him, enter the priesthood.
So strongly did this idea appcal to me that my mind came back
zt
A Fresb Start
to it whenever I was alone. I recalled thc same advice that had been
given to me by the bishop of Amiens, and the glowing picrure he
had painted of my prospects if I made up my, mind to go into the
Church. But these meditations of mine u/ere not without a certain
admixture of genuine piety. I resolved to lead a good Christian life
II devoted to study and religion, which would leave me no timc to
dally with dangerous visions of love. I would scorn what most merr
,, admire, and as the desires of mv heart were hencefonh to be
founded on reason and respect alone, I should have as few worries
as desires. Along these lines I mapped out a plan for the pea.ceful
and solitary life. The ingredients included a sequestered cottage
with a litde copse and a babbling brook at the end of the garden, a
library of choice books, a select number of virtuous and intel-
lectual friends and good but frugal and wholesome fare. I thres'in
a literarv correspondence with a friend in Paris who kept me
informed about the news - not so much to gratiE my idle curiosity
as to entertain me rvith the distant spectacle of the vain and feverish
pursuits of men. 'What bliss udll be mine!'I thought, 'and will not
all my ambitions be satisfied?' These proiects u/ere calculated to
flatter all mv oatural teodencies. But when all these sage delibera-
tions were over, I felt that there was something still wanting,
and that to make this peaceful retirement delightful beyond all
possibility of improvement lvlanon would have to be there.
Meanwhile Tiberge frequently came to s€f me and did his best
to encourag€ me to follow up the plan he had suggested, and I
seized a chance to broach the maner with my father. He declared
that he wished to leave his children a free choice of career and
that, whatever I s'ere to decide, he would not int€rfere but only
give me his advice. And the advice he gave me was very wise
and, far from turning me away from my proiect, it made me go
into it with my eyes open. It was almost time for the beginning
of the academic year, and I agreed with Tiberge that we would
go up together to the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, where he could
6nish his theology and I could start mine. He was very well
thought of by the bishop of our diocese, and through him he
was awarded a generous grant before we left,
29

I sense. The later months went by so peacefully that I thought I
;
fHrNrrxc I bad now quite recovcred,.my father nised oo
I obirrtions to letting me go. Vc wcnt to Parb, wherc tlre
cassock took tbc placc of tbc C-ross of Mda end thc style of
AbbC dcs Gricux thet of Chevdier. I took to my shrdi€s ao
diligcntly tbt in a ftw months I mede repid stridcs. By dint of
workiog all day and hdf the cight, I acquircd such a leputetion
that pcoplc drcrdy Qen to coagretulateme on thc swift edvrocc-
meot I could mt fril to gc! md without my heving madc aoy
movc mysclf my nrmc ves put down on the list of liviogp to be
ewaded. Nor did I ncglcct thc dcvotiooel ride, but took pat in
dl thc rcligious cxercises with fcrvcnt picty. Tibergc was so
ovcrjoyed widr whet hc lookcd upon as his brndiwo*, tht
morc thru oncc I saw tcas iq his cycs wbca he qpokc of what he
celled my convcrsion. All human resolutio,ns are subi€ct to
change thet in itsclf hes aevcr suqprisod me, for ttcy ere born of
e passion and anothu passioo mry dcsttoy tbco. But whcn I
thinlr of tbc purity of the tesolves which led gre to Saiot-Sdpi"C
and thc dccp inncr pcace which God pourcd into my soul rs I
carricd thcm out, I arn eppalled at thc cesc vith which I brokc
drcm. If it bc truc thet Heevco elways givcs us stlength cquel to
thgt of our passioos, how Eq wc cxphin th€ tcribh porrcr
which can suddealy carry us frt ewey from our duty, sttipping
us of all strcngth to resist end dl feclings of rcootsc? I thought I
was sevcd for evcr from thc wcakncss of love; I insgio€d that I
should alweys prefcr r,eadiog e pqge of St Augustine or a qrruEt
of an hoq/s pious mcditrtion to atl thc plcasurcs of thc scnscg
sneo thosc tlut Manoo *ight g"". And yet onc accurscd moncot
pluog€d mc back into the abyss, and my fall rras gll the morc
ircparablc bccause, vhcn I fouod oysdf brought es locr as I
to
Saint-Silpice
had been before, new excesses dragged me even further down.
I had been in Paris nearly a year without attempting to find
out what had become of Manon. At first this had cost me a
considerable effiort, but I managed to conquer the temptation
thanks to the unfailing advice of Tiberge and my own common
was on the point of forgetting that lovely, 6ckle creature for
ever. The time came for me to make my public oration in the
school of theology, and I invited several distinguished people to
honour me q'ith their presence.s This made my name known all
over Paris, and it even reached the ears of my former mistress.
She did not recognize it for certain under its new style of abM,
but her curiosity was aroused by a name so similar to mine,
though whether it was from some lingering feeling of interest or,
perhaps, compunction for her deceitful treatment of me I have
never been able to decide. At dl events, she came to the Sorbonne
tyith some other ladies, was pr€s€nt at mv discourse and doubtless
recognized me at once.
I had no idea that she was there. You know thatin that hall
there are some private alcoves for ladies, where they can sit
behind a curtain. At six o'clock I returned to Saint-Sulpice,
covered with glory and complimented on all sides. A moment
after I had got back I was told that a ladv was asking to see me
and I went straight to the padour. God! Vhat did I see? tr{anon
herself. Manon, more dazzlingly beautiful than I had ever known
her. She was not 1'et eighteen and her loveliness was th€n beyond
description. Such gentle grace, y€t at the same time such vivacity
and subtle charm - she looked like the incarnation of love itself.
Every line of her face was enchandng.
I stood as though petrified, and waited, trembling and not
daring to look at her, hoping that she would explaio the pu{pose
of her visit. For a. time she seemed as embarassed as I was, but
at length, seeing that I was not going to break my silence, she
began in faltering toncs and with one hand held over her eyes as
though to hide her tears. She admitted that her infidelities merited
my hatred, but went on to sat' that if it were true that I had ever
1r
 Manoz ltscant
cared for her, it was very unfeeling of me to have let two years
go by without troubling to 6nd out what bad become of her,
and still more cruel to see her now in front of me in such a
pitiful condition and not say a word. As I stood listening to her
the ferment within my soul was indescribable.
She sat down, but I remained standing, half turning away
from her, nor daring to look her straight in the eyes. Over and
over again I began to say something but could not 6nish a
s€otence. At last, bv dint of a supreme effort, I shouted rather
than said: 'Manon, you devil, oh you deceitful devil!' She
repeated, amid floods of tears, that she was not trying to justi$
her abominable behaviour. 'I0hat do you went, then?' I cried. .i
want to die,' she answered, 'unless you give me back your love,
for without that I cannot live.' .Then whv don't you ask for my
Ife} I said, now weeping too, in spite of myself; .ask for my life,
u.hich is all I have left to give vou, for you have had my love all
along.' Scarcely w€re thes€ words out of my mouth before she
leaped up, flung her arms round me and smothered me with
caresses, calling me all those magical names which love inl-ents
in its most frenzied moments of passion. I only half responded,
for I was horror-stricken at the contrast between the serenitv of
but a few mom€nrs ago and the wild stirrings of desire I could
alreadv feel within me. I was shuddering as you do when y,ou
find yourself alone at night on some desolate moodand, when all
familiar bearings are lost and a paoic fear comes orrer vou that
vou can dispel only by calmly studying all the landmarks.
IFe sat down together, f took her hands in mine and looked at
her with despair in my eyes. .Oh, Manon,' I said, .I never
expected my love to be repaid with such black hgratitude. It rvas
not hard for you to deceive a man you had so completely under
your spell, who thought himself supremely happy if he could but
please and obey. Tell me, hav€ you found an.v- other man so
loving and devoted? No, I do not think so; narur€ has not made
manv of my temper. lfill you at least say whether you have
missed me sometim€s? How much trust can I put in this suddeo
6t of kindness thar has sent vou back today to console me? It
tz
Saint-Srlpicc
is easy enough to see that you are lovelier thm ever, but, in
rhe name of all I have suffered for you, tell me, Manon, will
you be truer this time?'
She expressed her penitence in such pathetic terms, and swore
ro be true with so many oaths and protestations, tlnt she touched
m)' heart and stirred me to the depths of my being. 'Dearest
IfenoR,' I said, in a profane mixture of amorous and theological
language, 'you are too adorable for a mortal cr€atur€. I can feel
my heart being carried aloft in a triumph of ecstasy. All the talk
about liberty here at Saint-Sulpice is sheer nonsense. I am going
ro throw a\r'ay my carerr and good name for vou - yes I know I
am, I can read it io your e)'es - but what sacrifices will not be
fully repaid by your loveT Fortune's favours have no charms for
me, honour and glory are mere will o' the wisps; all mv clerical
ambitions n'ere vain imaginings; all possessions, exc€pt what I
hope to share with you, ar€ worthless because they carry no
weight in my heart against one glance from your eyes.'
And yet, although I promised to forgive and forget all her
frailties, I felt t must know all about how she had been seduced
by llt. de B. I learned that he had seen her at the windorr', desired
her passionately, and wooed her in true farmer-general style, that
is to say by stating in a letter that payment would be in proportion
to favours received. She had yielded first of all with no other
obiect than to get out of him some large sum thet would keep us
both comfortably. Then he had held out in front of her such
dnz\ng promises that she had given in little by little, and (she
said) I could tell how bittedv she regretted doing so by the grief
I had seen on her face just before our separation. In spite of the
luxury with which he had surrounded her she had never tasted
any real pleasure with him, not only because he had none of my
delicacy and refinement of manner, but because, in the midst of
all the amusements he constantlv lavished on her, in her heart of
hearts she had never ceased to have a haunting memory of my
love and a growing sense of guilt for her unfaithfulness. She told
me about Tiberge and how his visit had embarrassed her. 'I
could have stood up better to a stab io the heart,' she said, 'and I
tt
 Manon Lescatt
turned my back on him because I could not fac€ him even for
one moment.'
She went on to tell me how she had found our that I was in paris
and about my change of condition and examination at the Sor_
bonne. I gathered that during my public disputation she had had
the greatest difficulty in nithhording not only her tears but even
audible sobs and groans, so deeply had she been moved. She had
stayed behind until last so that nobody should see her emotion, and
then, acting on a sudden irresistible impulse, she had come straight
to the seminary u/ith a mind to die there if I refused to forgi'e her.
What heart of stone would not have been softened by such a
touching proof of bitter remorse? For my peft I felt at that
moment that I would have gi'en up alt rhc bishoprics in Christen-
dom for Manon, I asked her what steps we ought to take next,
and she said that first and foremost we must get out of the
seminary and think things out in some safer place. I fell in with
all her wishes without quesdon. She drove in her carriage to the
corner of the sreet and waited there, while I slipped out and
ioined her a minute later without having been noticed by the
doorkeeper. We began by going to a n ardrobe dealer's, where I
resumed the braided coat and sword, Manon paying for every_
thing as I had not a penny (for fear of anlthing happening io
prer.ent my getting out of Saint-Sulpice, she had not allowed me
to go back to mv room even for a moment to get my monev). In
any case my fortune was verv modest, while tlranks to the liber-
ality of M. de B. she was rich enough to think nothing of what
she was making me leave behind. While we u,ere still in the shop
we had a conference about urhat we should do next.
She announced her intention of making a crean break with Ir{.
de
B. This was celculated to make me appreciate the fuIl varue of
what
she was prepared to give up for me. .I am willing to leave him all
his furniture,' she said; 'the thiogs are his anyway, but it is onlv
right that I should take the jewellery and crose on sixty thousa.ri
francs I have got out of him in these two vears. I Mven'i given him
any hold over me, and so we can stay in paris without any dangerand
take a nice house rvhere we shall live happilv ever after.,
,4
Cbaillot
I pointed out that even if there were no danger for her in Paris
there was a great deal for me, for I u'as bound to be recognizcd
sooner or latet and would always run the risk of repeating the
€xperience I had already had. Bur she gave me to understand that
she would be reluctant to leave Paris, and I was so afraid of
upsetting her that there were no risks I was not willing to scom
so long as she were pleased. However, we found a compromise,
rrhich was to rent a house in some village oo the outskirts
,l
from which it would be easy to go into town for business or
I
pleasure whenever we wanted. We decided on Chaillot, which is
not far out. Manon went straight home and I made for the litrle
gate of the Tuileries garden, where I wes to wait for her.
She came back an hour later in a cab, with her maid and some
trunks containing her clothes and valuables. We were soon ar
Chaillot, where we pur up for the first night at a hotel in order to
have time to look for a house or, failing that, a convenient flat.
!0e found somethiog to our liking the very next day.
At 6rst I thought that my happiness was built on unshakable
foundations. Manon was sweetness and kindness itself, and the
manv thoughtful little aftentions with which she surrounded me
seemed more than a reward for all my troubles. As by now we had
both had a little experierrce of life, we gave some thought to our
financial position. Our capital of sixty thousand francs was not
likely to last for a long lifetime, bur neither werc we inclined to
cut down our expenditure too drastically. Economv ulas not Men-
on's outstaoding quality any more than it nras mine. This was the
plan I suggested: 'Sixty thousand francs,'I said,'might kerp us go-
ing for ten years.e If we stay at Chaillot we can manage on rwo
thousand €cus a year. We shall be able to live a respectable but
simple life, and our main outgoings will be on theatres and the up-
keep of a catriage. lVe must work it out systemerically: you are
fond of the Op.o; we can go twice a week, and as for gaming, we
must control it so that our losses never exceed two pistoles. It is
most unlikely that ten years will not bring about some change in
my family; my father is old and may die, and then I shall have
some prop€rty and we shall be at thc end of all our anxieties.,
tt
 Marun Lcscaut
If only we had hed the wisdom to keep to it closely, this arrang€-
ment would cerrainly nor have beeo the silliest one I had made
in my life. Bur our resolutions lasted little more than a month.
Manon was pleasure-mad and I was mad on her. Some new
reason for spending money aros€ at every moment, and far
from regrerting the sums she squandered I was the 6rst to buy
her anything she fancied. Even our home at Chaillot began to
get on her nerves, for u'ith the approach of winter everybody
'$.ent back to town and the country was deserted. She sug-
gested taking a house in Paris again. I did not agree, but in
order to give her some sarisfaction I said rhat we might take
furnished rooms there. It would be somewhere to spend the
night when we sayed late at the assembly-rooms u'here we
went sel'eral evenings a week - her pretext for wanting to
leave Chaillot was the difficulty of getting home late ar night.
So now we had two homes, one in town and the other in the
countrv, and this change promptly led to the 6nal breakdown
of our affairs, because it was directlv responsible for two adven-
tures n'hich brought disaster.
l\,Ianon had a brother in the Lifeguards. Unfortunatelv for us
his lodgings in Paris were in rhe same str€et as ours. One moming
he sau'his sister at the u'indoq, recognized her and made straight
for our rooms. He was a coarse, unprincipled scoundrel. He burst
into our room sr*'earing horriblv, and as he kneu. something of
his sister's u'av of life he spared her neither insults nor foul
names. I had gone out a moment before, which was perhaps as
well for him or for me, as I was not prepared to put up with
insults. I came back just after he had gone, and I could tell by the
state Nfanon was in that something ver]'untov/ard had happened.
She described the distressing scerre she had iust gone through
and her brother's brutal threats. I s'as so enraged that I would
have rushed off there and then to take revenge had I not been
held back by her tears, and, moreover, while we were still talking
about him, he came back into the room unannounced. If I had
known him I would not have received him as civilly as I did, but
having greeted us with an ingratiating smile he plunged straight
t6
I-rscatJt
into an apology to Manon for his fit of temper. He had hed a
rnistaken impression, so he said, that she was living an irregular
life, and this had made him angry, but he had inquired of one of
our servants who I was and had heard such glowing accounts of
l
; me that he wanted to be on good terms r*'ith us. It was somerrhat
srrange and disconcerting to hear that he had had this information
from one of my lackeys, but I accepted the compliment with a
faidy good grace in order to please Manon. She seemed delighted
ro se€ her brother in such a conciliatory mood, and we asked him
ro stay to dinner. In a very short time he made himself so much
et home that, when he heard us mention retuming to Chaillot, he
insisted on going with us. We had to give him a seat in our
carriage. It was like an official entry into possession. He soon
developed such an affection for us that he made our home his
ou'n and took over control of all our belongings. He called me
his brother, and, using as an excuse the freedom that erists
betr*'een brothers, he considered himself endtled to bring all his
friends to our Chaillot home and entertain them at our expense.
He 6tted himself out q'ith sumptuous clothes and had the bills
s€nt to us. He even pledged our name to pav his debts. I shut my
eres to this barefaced exploitation so as not to displease Manon,
and even pretended not to notice that from time to time he u'as
relieving her of large sums in cash. True, being a born gambler,
he had the good faith to give her a share in any bit of good luck
that came his way, but our own resources were by now too
slender to cope for aoy lengtl of time with such extravagant
outgoings. I was on the point of having a verv clear explanation
with him so as to put an end to his impornrnities, when a
disastrous accident saved me this trouble by inflicting another
one on us which ruined us beyond all hope of recovery.
One night we had slept in Paris, as we often did. In the
morning our sen'ant, who on these occasions stayed alone at
Chaillot, came and told me that 6re had broken out in mv house
during the night and had been extinguished only with great
difficulty. I asked her whether the furniture had ben damaged,
and she said that there had been such confusion, owing to the
t7
 Marwtt Lesca$
crowds of folk who hed come oftring help, that shc could not
be sure of anythhg. I uembled for our mooey which was kept
in
a little coffer, aod went offto Cheillot with all spccd. No nocd
to
hurry: it had already gone.
At that moment I understood how you can love money with_
out ncaessarily being a miser. The locs neady drove me out of
my mind. In a flash I could see dl thc frcsh evils I should be
exposed to, end povertl' was far from being the worsl I knew
my Menon; experience had elrcedy taught me all too clcady thag
however etached to me she might bc vhen things went we[ it
uras no usc ountiog on lrcr in hard timcs. She vas too fond of
wealth and plcasure to glve thcm up for me. I knev that once
again I should lose her and everything I loved, end this ceraio
knowledge so tornrted me tbat for some time I played with the
thought of putting an cnd to all my woes by deeth.
However, I kept enough presence of mind to think out first of
all whether I had any r€sourc€s left, and a comforting ides ceme
to my mind, which was that I might not find it impossible to
conceol our loss from Maoon while by skill or gooJ fortune I
found enough to keep her from want. I .orr*l"d myself by
recalling that I had calculated that twenty thousand 6cus would
keep us for ten yean. Now, I thought, supposing tlre tcn years
had gone by without any of the family chaoges f ka nopj for.
What should I have done? I am not at all sure, but whatls there
to prcvent my doing oow whatever I should have done in thosc
circumstances? Hov many people arc there in paris at .\is
moment who have neither my wits nor my natutal advantages,
but who menage to make a living by their ralcnrs, such as ihcy
are? Thereupon I fell to musing on the ups and downs of life
ani
came to the conclusion that p'ovidence had arranged things
prctty wiseln for the majority of the rich are fools _ .{at mo.hls
to anybody vith some slight knowldge of the wotld.
clear
Which prove$ the ultimate iustice of things, for, if they had
brains as well es rich€s, they would bc too happy and the icst of
men too wretched. The poor are vouchsafed qualitics of mind
and body to raise thcm out oftheir povefty. Some get a shatc of
,8
Lescarls Afuicc
the vealth of the gleat by pandering to theit pleasures and
svindliog them. Othcrs try to teach them to be useful citizeos -
usually, it is true, without success - but that is oot the obiect of
divine wMom; they drew a dividend from their labouts by
[viog at the erpensc of those they instruct, end, ftom whatcver
angle you look at it, the stupidity of the rich and grcat is an
excellent soutcc of revenue for the poor and humble.
Thesc rcflactions put a littlc hean back in me aod clearcd my
mind. I decidd to begin by consulting Lescaut, Manon's brother.
He kaew his Paris inside oug aod it had been dl too cleedy
borne in on me that his main soure of incomc could be ncither
his pmperty nor his ermy pay. All I had left was about twcnty
pistolcs thet fornrnately I had in my pocket. I showed him my
purse, dcscribd my mishap and my frars, and asked hirn if there
sres eny choice op€o to mc apart from dying of hunger or taking
my own [fe. He answered thet suicide was the last tesort of
fools, and, as for dying of hungcr, plenty of clever people found
themsclves in that predicament if they rp€re oot prq>ared to use
their wits. It was up to me to 6nd out what I was capable of, and
I could count on his advie aad help in anything I undetook.
'That all sounds rather vegue, Monsieur Lescaut,' I said. 'My
troubles require a more immediate remcdy. For insance, what
do you expect me to sey to Manon?'
'Manon! why worry about het? Surely with her you have
always got the means to end your worries vhcncver you like? A
gid like her ought to be able to keep all thrce of us.' This
outrageous suggestion brought a shaqp reply to my lips, but he
geve me oo time to make it, going on to tJre eftct that he could
gu4reotec a thousand 6cus to share out betlveen us before thc
day was out. If I would be advised by him, he knew of a noblc
lord who qras so liberal u'herc his pleasurcs werc coocemed that
be ftlt sure he would think nothing of a thousend 6cus for tbc
favours of a gid like Manon.
At last I managed to stop him. 'I thought better of you. I
imagincd that the motives behind your fricndship were quite thc
rrcvcrsc of thosc you rre showing me now.' He impudeady
,9
 Marct Lercarl
admitted that he had always thought the same way himself, but
that once his sister had brokeo the laws of her sex albeit with
- than once I was on the point of rnding my frthcr e letter full of
the meo he likcd best io thc wodd he had only nnde his pcace
- feigncd contrition in tlrc hopc of extracting money from him,
with her in the hope of making a bit out of her misconduct.
It was easy to soe that so far he had been using us for his owo
cnds, but I needed his help so desperately that f stifed aoy anger
I felt and answered laughingly that his suggestion *", L.
r€source tfiat we must nor use unless dl else failed. Was "tbcre
any othef \ray oPen to me?
He next ptoposed that I should make capial out of my own
youth and good looks, end meke up to somc eldedy party who
was free with her money. I did not fancy this merhod iither, for
it would have meant infidelity to Maoon. I mentioned gambling
as the easiest way aod one more in keeping with my position. Hi
said yes, there certeinly was gambling, but that that would have
to be gone into very carefully: just plain gambting, with the
ordinery chances, was the surest vey to tuin. To anernpt to
practise thc little ricks that a skilled player uses to help oL hi,
luck was much too risky if Jrou ryer€ alone and unsulported.
Thete was a third way, and that was to go into a syndicate, but
he was afraid that conftderates ryould think me too young and
grean to have the skill neessary for ioint operatioos. All the
he promised ro put in a word for me' and, to my suqprise,
lame
hc offered to give me some money if I fouod myself short. Thc
only favour I asked of him, in the circumstances, rras to say
nothing to Maaon about my loss or our conversation,
When I left him f wes even less happy in my mind thao
before, and I was already un€asy about having let him into my
secret. He had done nothing for mc that I could not have done
iust as well for myself without having confided in him, and I was
mortally afreid hc would brcak his promise to say nothing to
Manon. What I had heard of his sentiments geve
-. gno.rod. fo,
fearing that he would decide to make somcthiog out of her (to
usc his own expression), by taking her out of my hends, or at
any rete advisiog her to leavc mc and take some richer lovcr who
might pnove luckicr. The thought plunged me ooce agaio into
40
tuckTo Tihrg,
the samc naggtng despar thet I had been in that morning. More
but I remembcrcd eadr time that with ell his kindness he had
shut mc up for six months for my 6rst escapade, and I wes snre
thet he would dcal much more harshly with me after the scnsation
my flight ftom Saint-Sulpicc must havc caused. Out of this
weltcr of ideas one finally emerged which suddcnly brought some
sort of caln back to my mind, and I was surprised not to
heve thought of it before. Why not fdl back on my friend
Tiberge, in whom I was always sure to 6nd the same unstinting
affection? The confidence with which we go to people of tried
and testcd probity is the best tribute to virtuc I know. We feel that
no risk is bcing run. If they are not alweys in a position to
oftr practical hclp, they can et least be relied on for kindness and
understanding. As a flowcr needs only the soft warrnth of the
sun to make it open out, so the hurnan heart, so tighdy closed
against all other m€f,I, oaturelly opens in such people's pr€seoce.
I inte4rrcted this timely recollection of Tiberge as a sign of
heevenly intervention, and I resolved to find a way of seeing him
that very day. I went straight back home and wrotc him a note
suggesting a suitable meeting-place and enioining absolute se-
crecy as the most important thing he could do fot me in rny
pr€scnt circumstances. Fortunately my ioy at the prospect of
seeing him again smoothed away from my face the traces of
worry Manon could not have failed to notice. I referred to out
Chaillot mishep as a mere bagatelle not to bc taken at all seriously,
and, as she enjoyed being io Paris better tha': anywhcre else in
the wodd, shc was not sorry to heer me sey that we had better
stay there until the slight damage caused at Chaillot by the fire
hed ban put right. An hour leter I had word from Tibecge
promising to keep the appointment. Although I fclt a little
ashamed et showing myself to a friend whose v€ry pr€sence u/a!r
a reproach to my excesses, f went thete with dl speed, keepiog
my courage up by my knowledge of his kindness of hean and
my conaem for Manon's inter,ests.
4r

nao 6lsl him to bc in thc gardca of tlc Pehis-Royel. Hc
fIwrs
6crc 6rst As sooo es hc sw mc lrc mc forvard with
outsttctcbcd em rnd cmbtrod mc long eod mfuly. flc wes
m @ly movod tbrt I could focl hb rerl8 oo my cfuccL I told
him how cobarressed I wrs rt seing hin eod how frrll of e tocn
ccnse of my ingntinrdc, {od implorcd hi"r m ell mc 6rsr of ell
whedcr I could stitl look upon him r* my fricod rftcr I hed eo
tichly dcscrvcd to losc dl his respcct aod eftctioa. llc ryrcwcred
in tbc tiodet wey tbet nothing could poraitily meke him give up
such e tith,6et my ycry misfottuns err4 if h might sey ro, m}
sios rnd cf,cesleE had ooly scrEd to rodoubh his fticadship. But,
bc rddc4 wbt hc wrs ftcti4g wrs thc tind of love, miaglod
with bitct grid, tbet oac fcels whilc hclplcssly witnccaiog e dcar
fticod moving s1ledily towerds his doom.
Ve set downon a seet
'My dear Tlbcrgc,' I said vith e docp righ, trow boundlcss
your pity must bc if, as you essurc mc, it is qurl to my wocs. I
am .shem€d to lct you ccc thcm es tky terl}y rrc, for I rdmit
tbet thcy spring ftom e sourroe that is anythiog but noblc. But th
qrtoomc of it ell is so dcplomble thet yor could not fril to bc
ouctrcd eeco if you did aot lovc mc as you do.'
Hc askcd mc, es e proof of frin&hip, to tcll him fuokly
Tq9hg that hed happcood sincc I left Saint-Sulpicc. I did m,
rod 6r &om tooing down thc tmtr in a[y s.y 1rr mini'ri#ng
my mirdccds 3<r ss to rrlele thcrn sound more cxOrseblC, I ttcd
about my pession vfuh atl thc vehcnrcnce it inspir€d in
rcprcacotod it er me o'f thoc pccutier bbwr, rgeinst shich
-e. f
yiftuc is dcftnoclcss eod wigd@t Ennot bc forcarmd whiefi
Dctiny eims rt sonrc poor trlctd whcn shc is beot oo his
42
Hit GflcntiA
desmrction. I paintcd a vivid picture of the depths of anxiery
fr1alt arod despair I hed been in two hours before seeiog hirr" and
into which I would assurcdly fall back again if my friends aban-
doned mc as hcanlessly as Fortune had. In shorg I so worked
on poor Tibergeis feelings that he sas as overcome by com-
passion as I was by self-pity. He was unwearying in his tcnder
cxhonatioos to cheer up and take heart, but all thc time he was
assuming that I would have to break with Manon. So I let him
see quitc dearly thet it was this very separation that I looked
upon as the greatest of all my misfortunes, and that I was
prepared to suffer not only the most abject misery but even the
cruellcst of dcaths before I would accqrt e remedy more unbear-
able than all the other ills put together.
'Irt us be quite clear, then,' he said; 'what sort of help cen I
give you if you reicct everything I suggest?' I dared nor say
outright that what I really wanted was his money. But at length
he realizd this, seid thet he thought he sew what was in my
mind, and then hesitated for some time, obviously woodering
what to do. After a pausc hc said: 'Don't put down my stopping
to think this out to any cooling of my friendship or for my dcsire
to help. But think what a quandery you ere putting me in! I have
either to refuse the only help you are willing ro acoepr, or violate
mJr sense of duty by giving it to you. For shdl I not be sharing
in your debaucheries if I enablc you to persist in them?' He
paused again for thought and then went on, 'But perhaps pov€rty
has upsct thc balence of your mind and not left you ft,ee to
choose the right path; you cennot apprcciate rrisdom and truth
unless your mind is at p€ace. I will 6nd r uray to let you have
some money, bug' he embraced me (xlce again as he said this,
'you must let me make one stipulation. It is that you will let me
know where you are living and'allow me at least to do what I
can to bring you back to virtuc. I knou' you really want to live
the good life. It is only the violence of your passioos that is
holding you back.'I ftll in u,ith dl his crishcs freely and sincrely,
and asked him to try to undersand the unhappy f,rte which yas
making me rcspond so grudgingly to the advice of such a good
4t
 Ma"n lasca4t
friend. He took me at once to a bankcr hc knew, who edvanced
me a hundrod pistoles against a promissory note signed by him.
I have already said drat Tibetge s/eri not rictr, and the last thing
he had was ready money. His living wrs worth a thousand
6cus, but as that was his first year he had rc far rreceived
nothing in cosh and was making me this loan out of his erpecta-
tions-.
I appreciatcd the full value of his gencrosity aod was touched
by it to the point of deploriog the blhd passion which was
driving me on to dishonour my obligations. For thosc ftw
minutes vinue found cnough sttength to rise up within mc end
combat my infatuation, and in that moment of illuminetion at
least I perceived thc fctters of shamc and degradation that wetc
binding me. The cont€st, however, was but a skirmish, and
shortJived er rhaL The mere sight of Manon would have sufficed
to meke me leap down from Heaven itself, and indeed, when I
found myself with her agein I wondered how I could for a single
moment have bcen ashemed of such a natural feeling for so
bewitching a creatune,
Manon had a most exttaordinary character, No woman was
ever less atmched to money for its own sake, and yet she could
not for e moment endurc the risk of being without it. She had to
have pleasures and amusements, but she would oevet have
waoted a sou if enioyment could have been hed ft,ee of charge.
So long as the day could be spert in plcasure she never troubled
her head wherc the money came from; and so as she was not
particulady addicted to gambling, nor dazzlcd by the mere displey
of wealth, it was the easiest thing io the wodd to setisfr her by
supplying from day to dey the sorr of amusements she likcd. But
this eascless round of pleasures wes so €ss€ntial to her being,
that s'ithout it there was no relying oo whet she might feel or
do. Although she loved me tendedy, and I was the only one, es
she was the 6rst to admit, with whom she could taste the full
pleasure of love, yet I w:rs dmost sure het love would never
sand 6rm against aeftaio kinds of anxiety. Had I hed erreo a
modest fortune shc would have prcftrrcd me to anyonc in the
4 4J
I bcotc a Card-sbmpt
q'odd, but I hed not thc slightest doubt thet she would throw
for rcme new B. the moment I hed nothing to offer her
nre ovcr
but consaocY and fidclitY.
With ell this in mind I resolved to limit my personal expendi-
tur€ so rigorously that I could elways provide for hers, and to
give up a multitude of necessities rather than deprive het even of
superfuities. I0hat woried me more than aoythiog else was the
upkeep of a cariage, for I could not soe hou' to mainain horses
end a coechman. I mcntioned my perplexity to M. Lcscaut (from
whom I hed not concealed my having had a hundred pistoles
from a friend); and once again he said that if I wanted to try my
hand at gaming he did not think it impossiblc thet, providcd I
werc willing to invest a hun&ed francs or so and treat his friends
to a dinnet, I might be admitted on his recommendation to the
fratemity.to I swallos'ed the distaste I had for swindling, and let
mysdf be carried along by cruel necessity.
That very evening M. I-escaut introduced me as a relation of
his, explaining that I was all thc morc likely to succccd because I
was io urgent need of a suoke of good luck. But to makc it cleat
that my Povertt' was not as abject as all that, he announced thet I
s'ished to enterain them to supper. The invitation was acceptd
and I feasted them royally. For a considerable time the conversa-
don ran aloog the lines of my handsome app€arance and natural
gifts. It was asserted that great things might be hoped from me
because there was something about my face which suggested the
honest men, and nobody would think of cxpecting anything
crooked from mc. In 6oe, a vote of thanks was passed to M.
Lescaut for having brought along such a promising novice to the
brotherhood, and one of theit number was detaild to givc mc e
few days of necessary instruction. The principal scene of my
cxploits rva$ to be the H6tel de Transylvanie, where tlrcre was a
faro table in one room and various card aod dice gemes in the
gallery. This institutioo u'as run for the benefit of the Prince of
R., who u/as theo living at Cl"g.y, and most of his officcrs
bclonged to our cirde.tl I must confess to my shame that h a
very short timc I assimilated all my instructor's lessons. I beceme
 We Scont Tibcrgc

e shadow! May your fornrne perish uttedy, leaving you naked

rnd elone to learo the vanity of these worldly possessions with
which you in your folly are so intoxicatedl And when that day
comes Jrou will 6nd me ready with my love and help, but from
oow on I sever dl conncxion with you, for I dctest the life you
are living.' This apostolic haranguc was delivercd in my room
and in ftont of Manon. He got up to go. My instinct was to hold
him back, but I was checked by Manon, who said he rras out of
his mind and the sooner we let him go the better.
And yet these words of his left an impression on my mind. I
em careful, you s€e' to point out the various occasions whco I
felt an impulse to retum to the path of virtue, because such
recollcctions werc to be a source of strcngth to me in some of
the most .nhappy moments of my life. But at the time Manon's
kisses dispelled all my gloom in an instant, and we went on vith
our life of love and pleasure. Our affection multiplied with our
riches, and Venus aod Fortune could not have had two more
contented slaves. Why, oh why call this wodd a valc of tcars
when it is full of such fascineting delights? But ales, tlre weakness
of such delights is thet they pzrss so soon. If only they were made
to last, what other joys could man desire? Ours had the common
fate they did not endure and were followed by bitter regr€r. I
had amassed such profits from gaming that I thought about
investing some of my money. My servants were fully aurare of
my gains, especially my valet and Manon's maid" in front of
whom we often alked quite freely. The maid was prety and the
valet in love with her; they had young and easy-going employers
to deal with, and they thought they could deceivc us without
difficulty. They worked out a plao and carried it out rrith such
devasating results for us that thcy brought us down to a lcvcl
from which \ve were never able to rise agein.
One day Lescaut had invited us to supper aod we returned
home at about midnight. I called for my valet and Manon for her
maid. Neithcr ceme. We were told that they had not been seen in
the house for cight hours, and that they had gone off after
having had some packing-cases dispatched - by -y orders, so

+7
 Matnt l-tscast
they said. I guesscd pen of the truth, but my worst suspicions
were nothing like as bad as thc sight I saw when I lookcd into
my noom. The lock of my doset had bccn folced and my mdrey
hed gone, togethcr with all my clothes. As I was trying to grther
my wits together Menon came in, pde with frighg aod said that
the same thing had ban donc in het room. The shock was so
terriblc that it was only by a supremc effoft of reason that I
pieventd mysclf from glving way to tears and wailing. But, for
fear of communicating my despeir to Manon, I put on a calm
erterior and even told her fippently that I would g€t my own
back out of some poor dupe at the H6tcl de Transylvanie. But I
could see tbet she wes so well aware of out plight that she
succeded far more in upetting me by her sadness then I did in
k".pirg up ber spirits by my feigned ctreerfulness. 'We ere
6nished,' she said, with tears in her eyes. I tried vainly to console
her with caresscs, but my own t€ars betreyed my constemation
and despair. The tnrth was that we were so complctely ruined
that ye had oot a stitch left.
Thc best thing seemed to be to send at oncc for M. Lesczut.
He adviscd m€ to go without deley to the Lieutenant of Policc
and Grand Ptovoet of Paris. I went, but it only served to com-
plete my undoing. This step, and those I got the police to take
on my behelf, gained me nothing, and by going out I gave
Lescaut time to alk to his sister and put a horrible idea into her
head. He told her about M. de G. M., an old voluptuary famous
for his liberality whete his pleasures were coocerned, and he let
hir sce so meny advantages in being kept by this man that in her
troubled state of mind she entered into everything he liked to
suggest. This honourable bargain was concludcd bdore I
returned and the execution of it fixed for the oext dey, after
Lescaut had prepared M. de G. M. Whcn I got back I found him
waiting for me, but Maoon had retired to her room, having
given ordcrs for me to be told that she necded rest and quiet and
asked me to leave her alone that night. Lcscaut offered me a little
money, which I accepted, and then he left. It was ncady four in
the morning when I wenr ro bcd, aod then I lay awakc for hours
48
M. dc G. M.
tuming over rrays of recovering my money. Eventually I went
ro sleep, but so late that I did not wake up until neerly noon. I
got up at one to go and see how Manon was, but was told that
she had gone out an hour beforc with het brother, who had
called fot her in a cab. Such an outing with kscaut sounded
rrost mysterious to me, but I stifled my suspicions and whiled
eway some hours in reading, But my uneasiness finally gained
the mastery, and I fetl to striding up and down our rooms. In
Manon's room my eyes fell on a sealed letter on her table. It was
addressed to me, in her hend. I shuddered as I opened it. This is
what she hed written:
I ttut tbatyt an tfu iful of a1 lxart, ;1 dtar CLwalir, sd tkr it
nobofi ckc ir th yorld I loe u I yr. B* du't 1or rc?, nJ pot
looc
&rlirg, tfut loyltl is a ti$ irt* itr th pr w are fu? Dolw rca$ tbi*
tc est loot cocb othr oitb ntbing to tat? On fn b f**, toild hd pc
into mactatal uirtab, ad ttiatiag I ut
sigbingfor low I rfuild rca$ be
&aing ry last bnatb. I loatlor, fu fuli& ac, btt tr1 to lcoc w
affiirs
in ry badtfor a lirlc rybih. Vu hti& tbwrfalk into n1 cbtcba; I aa
ott to uab s1 &anil Cfuaticr ricb ad fupb- Ml hmtlw vill telllot
to leoc 1nr, ed fnn bin 1w yill fu abh to
tfut I dtd bixcrj at boitg
futuuoJ-ynoya Manon-
I could never describe the sate I wes io when I had read this
letter, and to this day I cannot decidc what son of emotions
swirled round in rny soul. It was one of those unique situations,
the like of which has oever been erperienced bdore: you srnnor
e=Flnin to others because they have no concepdoo of whet is
meaot, and you cennot unravel them for yourself because, being
uniquc, they have no connexion with anything in your memory,
nor even with any known feeling at all. And yet, whatever my
emotions werc, ceraio it is that grief, rage, iealousy, and humilie-
tion dl had a share in them. How I wish that love had oor had
an evcn gr€ater share! 'She loves me,' I rcflectd'yes, I suplrcsc
she does, but efter all, what ao uooanrral monst€r shc would
have to be to hate me! C-ould it be pocsiblc to heve e becer right
t to anybody's love than I have to hers? Is there anythiog else I
I
,l could do for hct after all I have sacrificd? And yet shc casts me
\
49
 Mznn l-esca# M. dr G- M.
off and thinks she can cleer hcrsclf of all blamc simply by saying sund, in e tactful son of wey, that Manon had tost e good deal
that she still loves me! Shc is afreid of hunger good Godl what
- of money. I managed to tickle up his geoerosity to thc tune of
I coarsc, metcrialistic outlook, and what e rcsponse to all my two hundrcd pistoles, which he gave hcr as r plescnt to begin
delicacy! Hunger has oo rcrros for me; I have faced it wilingly
s'ith. I said that thet rpes very kind of him for the time beiog,
for her by giving up my fornrnc end thc comforts of my father's
but thet the future would bring many cells on my sister's money
home. I have given up necessities so ,rs to satisfy hcr mcrest
as she had undertaken to look after a young brother who hed
whims and capriccs. Shc loves mc, she says! If shc did, I t<now
been on our hands sioce our parents' deeth. Ifhe thought Manon
whose advice the wanton creatrlre would hrve tekcn; she would
wonhy of his inrcrest (I went on), he would not like to see her
oot have left me without even saying good-bye. I em the one to
suffer on account ofthis poor lad whom shc thought ofes part
telk about the cruel pains of separation, not she! Anyonc who
of herself. This story touched his hearg end no mistake. He hes
deliberately brings such tornrcnts upon himself must be out of
promised to nent a nice house for you and Manon, for you ere
his mind.'
the poor little orphan brother. Vhat's morc, to Gt you out with
I was intemrpted in these recriminatioos by an nncf,p€cted deent furaiture and pay you four hundred livrcs e month in
visitor - Lescaut. As soon as I saw him I put hand to sword. hard cash - that is, if my arithmetic is corrcct, fout thousand
'You unspea.kable wretch!' I said, .wherc is Manon? what have eight hundred by the etrd of each year. Beforc lcaving for the
you done with hcr?' He answcrd ncrvously that if this was how
country, he gave ordcrs to his stewerd to 6nd a house and have
I welcomed him" iust r*'hen he was going to tell mc about the it ready for his retum. And then you will see Manon ag"ein. She
bcst thing he had cver done for me, he would go away and never
told me to givc you a thousand kisses for her and to say shc
s€t foot in my house again. I ren to the door, shut it carcfully
loves you more thm ever.'
and tumed to face him. 'Don't imagine you cao take me io again
I sank on to e s&rt and mused on this strang€ twist of fortuoe.
with your fairy-tales,' I shouted, .defend yoursclf, or hclp me My fcclings w€ne so dividcd and I wes in such a state of bewildcr-
find Maoon,' 'Nov, now, don't you be so hastn'he seid, .tirat is
m€ot thet I went on sitting there without making any answ€r to
the very thing I have come for. I have come to give you some
the questions Lcscaut fired at me one after the othcr. At that
good news you aren't cxpecting, and I hope you'll show a linle
momeot honour and virnre once aga.in stung me with remorse,
gratitude for it,'
and my thoughts tumed wistfully towards Amiens, home, Seint-
I demanded to be told at once, and he spnn me a yarn about Sulpice and all the plaes I hed livd in es e dean, self-rcspecting
how Manon had been unable to face the prospect of poverty, and
being. I0hat an immcnse gulf ley between me and thet happy
still less that of heving to cut down our household all of a state! It now seemed like some far-off dream, still cleer enough
suddcn, and so hed asked him to introduce her to M. dc G. M.,
to 6ll me with wishes and regrets, but too vegue and misty to
who had a rcputetion for generosity. He tootc good cere not to stir me to action. I7hat faal poq/er hed dragged me dourn to
say that the idca had first come from him and that hc hed
crime? How ceme it that love, an innoccnt passion, had turned
prepared the way before taking her to the old mao's house. .I
for me into the source of all miscry and vicc? Who preveoted my
took her thse this moming,'he seid, .and thc gentlemao yas so
living pcaccfully end innocently with Menon? Why had I not
aken urith her that he began by inviting her to go aad spcnd a
married her before clei'qing anything from hcr love? rf I had
few days with him et his country house. Now I saur et oncc how
really urgcd a reasoneble claim, sutely my father would have
you could get something out of this, and I gave him to under_
cons€ntd, if only for love of me? He would heve loved hcr es a
to tr
 M. dc C. M.

cupied, I could not hclp sighing and uttcring such wotds as

.perfidious' and 'Faithless', but she, on the contfirry, soemed over-

ioyed at soeing mc again aod scolded me

for my coolness.
At 6rst she reased me for what she celled my greenness, but
wheo she saw how serious I looked, and how hard I was finding
it to accept e state of affrirs so distesteful to my charactcr and
wishes, shc went off to her room. I followed her a moment latet
aod found her in tears. When I asked her the reason she said:
'It's pedecdy easy to see why. How do you erpect me to go on
existing if the vcry sight of me makes you look so gloomy end
pained? You have beeo hcre e whole hour and not given me so
much as a single kiss, and you heve accepted mine with all the
condesccnsion of the Grand Turk in his harem.'
'LisEn, Manon,' I sai4 taking her in my erm$, 'it's no ute
that am oot cut to thc heart, for I am. I am not
I
referring nov to the shock your unexp€cted fight gave me, no.
to your cruelty in leaving me vithout one word of comfort after
spending thc night in another bed than mine. All that and much
more besides would be charmed eway by your met€ pr€s€oce.
But do you suppose I can contemplate the miserable, degrading
lift you want me to live in this house without being upset even
to the point of tears?' I was weeping myself by now. 'Lct us
leave my honour and sation in llFe out of this,' I went on; 'little
things like that have long eased to have pover to compete with
e love like minc. But can't you see that it is this very love of
mine that is groaning at being so ill rcwerded, or rather so
brutally ill-tr,eated by a cellous and ungrateful mistress?'
She cut me short. 'Now look here, my dear,' she said; 'what is
the use of tormenting me with reproaches that can only break
my heart, coming as they do from you-) I can see what is uprtting
you. I had hoped thet you would fall in with the plan I mede for
rccovcdng some of our lost fornrne, and if I had begun to put
thc plan into effect without your having a say io it, it was simply
out of respect for the delicecy of your feelings. But since you
disapprove I shall iust throw it up!' She added that all she asked
was a little forbearance on my part for the rest of that day; she

'J
 Manon l-.cscant
had already had two hundred pistoles from her old gentleman,
and he had promised to bring her that night a h"rrdJome pe"ri
necklace and other jewels, together with harf the year's alrow^ance
he had setded on her. 'only give me time to get his presents into
my hands,' she said, 'and I swear he v,ill never be able to boast
of anv other benefit from the hold I have given him over me, for
up to now I have managd to put him off until I am io town. Of
course, he has kissed mv hands more than a million times, and it
is only right that he should pay for the pleasure. I don't think
the
price of five or six thousand francs is too high when you take
into account his money - and his age.,
This decision of hers pleased me much more rhan the prospect
of the 6ve thousand livres. I had not yet lost every honourable
feeling, it seemed to me, since I was so glad to be spared this
infamv. But I was born to fleeting
ioys and lasting zufferings.
Fate rescued me from one abyss only to hurl me down inlo
another. I showed my gratitude for this change of plan bv embrac_
ing Nfanon passionately, and then said that we must inform M.
frscaut so that the three of us could act togerher. He demurred
at 6rst, but the four or five thousand in hard cash brought him
cheerfullv round to our point of vie*,. It was settled that we
should all be present at supp€r rrith M. de G. Nl., and for tu,o
reasons: firstlv for the fun of the comic rurn I was to put
on as
I{anon's srudent brother, and secondly to prevenr the old rake
from making too free rrith his mistress on the strength of having
paid liberallv in advance. It was arranged that Lescaut and I
*'ould take our leave wherr he u,ent up to the room u,here he
proposed to spend the night, and jnstead of following him lvtanon
promised ro come out and spend it with me. Lescaut undenook
to have a carriage waiting at the proper moment outside the
door.
Supper-time came, and with it IvI. de G. M. _ Lescaut '*,as
there in the room with his sister. By way of an introductory.
complimeor the old chap presenred his lady- love with a necklace,
bracelets and ear-rings, all ofpearls and urorth at least
a thousand
6cus. Next he counted out two thousand four hundred livres
in
t4
M. dc G. M. Hoofuiabd
g"ld - hdf thc agrccd onnual allowence. He seesoncd his Ctft"
with many greceful ancndons in the style of thc hst reigo.
Manon could scarely rcfuse him a few kisses, if only by way of
esteblishing as meny chisls 66 thc money lre was Sving hcr. All
this timc I wes bchind the door, listening for thc cue to be givcn
mc by Iccaut.
Vbeo Meoon had put away thc money and jewels Lescaut
carle oyet, took mc by the hand, lcd me up to M. de G. M. and
ordercd mc to make my bow. I made trro or thrcc, of thc most
obscquious I could. 'Excuse him, Sir,' seid Lescaut; 'as you czn
sec he is quitc inexpcrienced and far from heving Padsian
Irranneri, but'we hope that rrith a litde practice he will soon pick
things up. You (turning towards me) will oftcn have the honour
of seing this gendeman hcte, and it is up to you to benefit by
such a distinguished cxamplc.' The old lover seemed pleased to
see !ne. He tappcd me once or tcrice on the cheek, and told me I
must be on my guard in Paris, for young people could easily fall
into bad habits thcre. I-escaut assured him that I was so pious
tbat I was always t"lkirg of becoming a priest, and that my
greatcst hobby was making little drapcls. 'I can see something
of Manon in him,'said the old man, chucking me under the chin.
I answcred in e silly voice: 'Sir, you see we two are onc flcsh,
and I love my sister like a second self.' 'There, nowl'he said to
Lescaut,'isn't he clevert lt's a pity this young man hasn't seeo a
little more of the world.' 'OlL Sir,'I went on, t have seeo plenty
of folk in the churchcs at home, and I think I shall find lots of
peoplc in Peris who are not es clever as I am.' 'Fancy!' said he,
'isn't hc bright for a corurtry led!' All through supper the con-
vctsatioo was oo about the same level. Manon, who was in e gay
mood, nearly upset everFhing several timcs by shrieking with
laughter. I contdved to rcll him his ovn story, oot crduding tbc
msty d€nouemcnt in store for hi-. It s715 1g111sing to scc Mmofl
and Lcsceut trembling, espccidly while I wes doing e lifrlitc
impcrsonetion of hitn, but hc wlrE too vain to tccognizc himsslf,
rnd I brought the etory to so oeat 3 cooclusioo that hc was tle
first to 6nd it vesdy amusing. You sill scc io duc coursc that I
tt
 Illffi l-ttce
hrvc my rclroor for dsclliog 6a rhir tidiculoru cpiroda At
lcagd bc&ic ftary nco', end bc h.grn lsting rhingr rbout rhc
of,lovec. Lmut end I withdrcs. ltre wrr hdpod up
o hir rooq rod l,ftooo, rtleging e ortunl nccd, rlippod ewry
rod ioiod rrr rt +c froot door. Tb c.triegc rrs wriring thre
or four doon down thc nrcct, rnd it crc to Fkt ru qr. In r
triocverrrc&t ewry.

firrnoucn I rcelircd tht tbis rctim wrr r rcd picoc of

,[ \ rogrrry it vrs not vhrt lry mlt bcevily 6 my mscicnc-
I hrd fu morc scnrplcs rbout tbc moocy I hsd Edc rt &c
grmbling-trbl€. And yct we did not gst tbc bcocfit o'f ddrcr, eod
Hcevco m&iood tbrt tbc nore vcniel of ecs crim vrr b
bvethchcrvict
M. dc G. M. sooo found out tbat bc hrd bcco trictcd. I do not
know whcthct hc took stqx tbat vtty night to hrrc us t11ficd
down, bot his inftrcns wrs pourcrfrrlcnougho mrkc$f scpc hc
ook immodienly cftctivg whib rc wcte reshcnough to ouot frr
too murtr oo thc sizc of Brds rod thc distuce bcteoco our
ndghboufrood .nd his" Not ooly did bc qoidly 6nd out our
eddrcas rod our rcel positioo, but ebo lrho I wrr, thc lift I hd bcca
hdhg io Petie, thc story of Mrooo'g formcr liriroo wi& B. .lrd thc
vey rbc hrd swindlcd hir'r rco-in fictdlthc sceoddoqs &trils of
otrrpara He madc up his miod to bevrus errtsedend treetod lcss rs
criminqh rhrn rs outand<mt inmorrl c.hrnctcrc. Vc strc rtill in
bcd vbco e polioc officcrcnuc4 followcd by hrlf e doa gudr.
Tkirfintart vrs to si* outooocy, otr$lcctht ofD[. &G. l[.;
thco tbsy hutcd ur brnally out o'f bcd md mok us outri& whcc
tro vehiclcr w€rc vriting; pffi Menm ers uocctmioudt
bundbd ioto ooc rnd in tbc otbff I srs trtco offo Scint-Lezerc.
Nobody wbo ber no,t bcca dlougb ruch viciriurdcr crl ooaive
into wht dcpthr o'f dceafu tbcf cnq tbilos yo,u. Ttc loutith gc$dt
would ootcvco dlos c o Lig Mrnoo good-byc ot ny r riogb
sod to hcr. For e hog rirnc I hed ao idcr whrt hed bcooc o'f hct,
shfrfisu pc*rpc u vrdl for cio Sc6tst ftw &yr' bt ruche
crtrstrophc might hevc oort m Ey ttrroo, aot o rry oy li&. .

My -tfpy mirtrcrr hd bcco tr&- o'ff end put iom ea

$ t7
 i[tnn Lrscatt
institution which I cxnoot neme without hortor.r2 What a fate
for the most beautiful of women, who, if all men had my eycs
and hcart, might have sat on the most exalted throne in the
woddl She uras not roughly tr€eted, but confined alone in a
narrow prison and condemned to perform somc mcnial task
every day as a ocaessery ondition for obaining some revolting
food. An this I learned only long afterwards, when I myself
had undergone severel months of cmel and monotonous punish-
mcnt. As the guetds hed not told me where they had orders
to trke me, I found out my destination only at the very gates
of Saint-l azarc. I hed such tctrible ideas about this plece that
at that momeot I would have preferred death to thc fatc I
believed to be in store for me.t3 My fears werc redoubled at
the entrancg when thc guards went through my pockets for
the second time to make sure that I had no weapons or meros
of dcfence. My arrival was reported to thc Father Superior,
rrho came at onoe and greeted me very kirdly. .Father,' I said,
'no humiliations, pleasc. I would rather die.' ,No, no, Sir,' he
said, 'if you behave reasonably we shell get along quite well
with each other.'He bede me follow him to an.upper nd)rn,
and I meekly obcyed. The soldiers came with us es far as
the door, and then the Superior discharged them and came in
with me.
'So I am your prisoner,' f said. .Well, Fathcr, whet do you
propose to do with me?' He said he was very pleased to see me
take such a reasonable line end that his duty was to strive to
inspire in me a taste for virtue and rcligion, whilst mine was
to mark wcll his exhorations and advice. If only I would try to
respond to kindness I would find my coofinement quitc enioy_
able. 'Enjoyablct' I said. You do not knov the only thing inthe
world I could enjoy.' 'Yes I do,' he said .but I hope your
inclinations will change.' I gathered from this reply that he was
aware of my story and probably of my neme' and I bcggcd him
to say if this was so. He answercd, of coursc, that he hed bcen
told everything.
This was thc rudcst shock of all. I could not gct ovcr thc
t8
G. M.'s Rcwngc
humiliation of being the alk of dl my ecquaintenc€s and the
shame of the family. At first I wept bittcrly, in violeot con-
vulsions of despair, and theo for a whole week was cest down
ioto the decpest apathy, with no ear or thought for anything but
my disgrece. Eveo thoughts of Menon lost their Pow€r to add
to my grief, but recedcd into the background of my mind, where
they lurkcd as thc memory of ao eadiet pain. My hean was filled
with shame end confusion which dominated every other
ernotion.
Few can know tlre frrll power of these affiictions of the soul.
Most men are touched only by 6ve or six passions, and their
whole life, vith all its storms and sttesscs, moves round within
this cir,cle. Take eway love aod hetred, pleasure and sorrow,
hope and fear, aod tftere is nothing else t]ey feel. But charactcrs
of a more delicarc t€rtutt can be tossed about in a hundted
differcnt weys; they soem to have mote than 6ve senscs, and to
be a prey to ideas and sensations surpassing the otdinary limits
of neturc. And being conscious of this refinement which raises
them above the otdinary run of men, tl:ey chcrish this sensibility
of theirs more iealously than anything else. Thet is why scorn or
laughtet toftures and exasprates them, that is why shame is one
of their most violent emotions.
This sorry distinction uras mine et Saint-Lazere. My grief
smred so excessive to thc Superior that hc ftlt obliged to treat
me with great gendcncss and hdulgence, for fear of what I
might do. He came and saw me two or thnee times a day, and
ofteo took me for walks round thc garden. On these walks he
never tircd of reasoning with me and offering me sound advice. I
listened with great docility and even expresscd my gretitud€, end
he took this as en eamest of my approaching conversion. 'You
have such a good and gentle disposition,' he seid one day, 'thet I
cannot comPrehend the excesses you ar€ accused of. Two things
astonish me: one is how, with dl your great qualities, you can
have given yourself over to such dissiEation, aod the other,
which I find even more difficult to undersand, is how you heed
my advice and instruction so mcckly after living for several years
' ,9
 Manon Lescast
in habitual vice. If it is repentance, you are a signal example of
the mercv of God; if it is natural goodness, at least it means that
vour character is unimpaired, aod rhat leads me to hope that we
shall not need to hold you here for long before we can bring you
hack to a sane and balanced life.' I was delighted that he had
such a good opinion of me, and I resoh,ed to cultivate his esteem
by behaviour u'hich would completelv satisfv him, in the belief
that it would be the surest wav of shonening mv imprisonment.
I asked for some books. He left me a free choice of v,hat I
r*'anted to read, aod u'as sulprised that I selected serious authors.
I pretended to study them with rhe utmost concentration, and on
everv occasion I gave him evidence of the change of heart he
u'ished to see.
All this, of course, u'as purelv external. To mv shame it must
be said that at Saint-I azare I played the perfect hl,pocrite. \tr!'hen
I was unobserved, instead of srudving I did nothiog bur rail
against my destiny, and curse m1, prison and the tvranny that
kept me rhere- No sooner did I feel some relief from the over_
u'helming sense of humiliation than I was seized aneu, by the
connents of love- All I could think of v,as mv absent Manon, mv
uncertaintv of her whereabouts and mv fear of never seeing her
again. I picured her in rhe arms of llt. de G. lv{. that r*,as rhe
-
first thought I h4d - for, far from imagining that he had dealt
out to her the same treatment as he had to me, I felt sure that he
had had me put out of the way simply in order to possess her in
Peace.
And so the seemingly eternal davs and nights dragged on, and
my only hope lay in the eflect of mv hypocrisv on the Superior. I
carefully studied his words and the expressions on his face so as
to find out what he thought of me, and as he was the arbiter of
my fate I spared no effort to please him. It was easv to see that I
u'as in his good books and I was sure thar he could be rclied
upon to do his besr for me.
One day I made so bold as to ask hjm *.hether my liberation
depended on him. He said that his powers did not quite extend
to that, but that his report would, he hoped, persuade M. de
6o
Saint-l-tqdre
G. M., at whose request I had been imprisoned, to restone me
rny froedom. 'Dare I hope,'I said in honeyed tones, 'that he will
think thc two months'imprisonment I have already served are a
sufficient expiation?' He promised to speak to him about it if I
wishcd, aod I most €arn€sdl bcgged him to do me this kindness.
Two &ys later he told me that G. M. had been so touched by
the good report he had had of me that not onlv did he seem
disposed to s€t me free, but had dso shown a strong desire to
know me better and intended to visit me. Although I could
scarcely look forward to seeing him, I interpreted this visit as a
further step towards liberty.
In due cours€ he came to Saint-Lazare- H€ looked more dig-
nified and less foolish than when I had seen him in lvlanon's
house. He made a few edifuing remarks about my misconduct,
and added, apparently to iustifv his own goings-on, that it was
permissible for men in their frailtv to gradry cenain of nature's
demands, but that swindling and scoundrelly trickery ought to
be punished. He seemed pleased by the meekness with which I
listened. I did not even take offence when he allou'ed himself a
few jokes about my supposed familv relationship with Lescaut
and lvlanon, and the litde chapels of which, he presumed, I must
have made quite a number at Saint-Lazare, since I found so
much enjoyment in that pious occupation. But, unfortunatell- for
him and for me, he let slip a remark that no doubt Manon too
must have made some pr€tty ones in the H6pital. This word
gave me a shock, but I kept enough self-control to ask him to be
so good as to explain. 'Why, yes,' he said, 'for the past two
months she had been learning wisdom at the H6pital, and I trust
she has benefited there as much as you have at Saint-Lazare.'
Even if at that mom€nt I had been faced with imprisonment
for life or death itself, I could not have restrained m.v- fury at this
terrible news. I flung mvself upon him with such uncontrollable
rage that I had only half my real strength, but I still had enough
left to throw him on to the floor and seize him by the throat. I
had half strangled him when the sound of his fall and the shrill
cries he managed to utter, in spite of my grip on his throat,
6r
 Saint-I-aqare

off by his orders and put ignominiously into thc H6pital - lrc
had thc impertinence to tell me so himself this very day. Thc
H6pial, Fethcrl My beautiful Menon, my own bclovcd, thrown
into thrt plae lile thc filthiest hadotl Shall I evcr find strength
to live through thc grief rnd shamc of it all?' Soi"g me in such
dcpths of affiictioo, the worthy priest uied to coo$ole mc, saying
that he had never known the true facts of my story as I had fust
put them. He had known, of coutse, about my disordcdy lifq
but he had supposed that the motives behind M. de G. M.'s
ection had becn concern for me end family friendship. That was
the only interprctation he had been able to find, and what I had
iust told him put e very differcnt complexion on thc affair. He
ftlt surc that the true eocount hc now intcnded giving to the
Licutcnaot-General of Police would hasten thc day when I should
be set free. He then esked me why I had not yet thought of
letting my family koow what had become of me; since they were
not responsible for my captivity. I met this obiection with reasons
drawn from the gtief I hed ben afreid of inflicting on my father,
and the shame I should heve felt myself. He finally promised to
g() et oncc to the Lieutenant-Geneml if only to forestall some
still more sinister movc on thc pert of M. de G. M., who had
gone off in en ugly mood and who v'as influeotial enough to be
&ngerous.
I waited for his rcnrm with all the apprehension of a poor
u/retch whose sentenoe is about to be pronounccd. It 'rras an
indescribable tortur€ to imagine Maoon at the H6pital. Apett
from the disgrace of hcr being there at all, there was my ignorance
of what sort of treetment she was receiving, while recollections
of the few details I had hcard about that horrible place constantly
tevived my anxieties. I was so determind to help her, at any cost
and by any means, that I would have set fire to Saint-Lazare if it
had not been possible to get out by *y other method. And so I
pondered over the ways op€o to me if the Lieutenant-General of
Police persisted in keeping mc there by force. I cudgelled my
brains and explored every possibility, but I could find nothing
that would guarantee e ccrtaio escrpe, and was afraid of having

61
 Mzton ltscatt
the watch on me tightencd still more if I made an uosuccessful
attempt. I went over the names of friends from vhom I might
exp€ct assistance, but how could I let them know about my
predicament? In the end I thought I had settled on a plao so
skilful thet it could hardly fail, and I decided to postpone improv-
lng on it until the Father Superio/s return end the fruitlessness
ofhis errand had rnade it oeccssary.
Hc soon came back, end his exptession bore none of the signs
of ioy tlnt one associates with good news. .I have spoken to the
Lieutenant4€oeral,' hc seid" 'but I was too late. M. de G. M.
u'ent to him straight from here and has so prciudied him against
you that he was on the point of sending me fresh ordets to
confine you more dosely. Yet when I told him the fuIl deails of
your story, he seemed much more favourably disposed, smilsd a1
old M. de G. M.'s lechctousness and seid that you would have to
be left here six months to pacify him. And it would be all to the
good,' he added, 'since this place could not do you eny hatm_ He
enioined me to tr€at you well, and I assure you that you will
have nothing to complain of ftom me.'
This explanation lasted long eoough for me to make the pru-
dcnt reflection that if I showed too much enthusiasm for my
freedom I might risk upsetting all my plans. I therefore afErmed
that as I had to stay there in any case, it would be a grcat
consolation for me to know that I had some small shere in his
affection. Then, rrithout appearing to attach too much impor-
tance to it, I asked him to do me a Favour which would greatly
contribute to my peflae of mind; it was to notify a frietrd of mine,
a priest at Saint-Sulpice, that I was at Saiot-r.azare, and to allow
him to visit me from time to time. He granted this without hesita-
tion.
I was thinking of Tiberge. Not that I hoped he would help to
sct me free, but I meant to use him indirectty to thet €f,rd,
without his even being awarc of it. This, in a word, was my
scheme: I proposed to write to kscaut and get him and our
friends to liberate me, but the first difficulty wes to havc a letter
delivered into his haods, and that was where Tiberge came in.
64
Saint-I-aqarc
qras my mistress's brothcr, he
But tbco, as Tibcrge knev that he
mtght bc reluctant to unde,rtake such a task. My idea ves to
a letter to Lcscaut inside enother addressed to a pcrfecdy
eocloce
acqueintence, with a r€qu€st that it be sent on
r€specteble
promptly. It was essential to se Lescaut so that we could agrec
Ln a plan of rction, and I purposed instructing him to corne to
Seint-Iszere in the guise of an eldet brother of mine who had
corne to Paris especidly to 6nd out hou/ things stood with me. I
would weit until I saw him bcfore setding on the safest aod
quickest way ofescaPe.
The Father Superior hed Tibergc informed of my wish to see
him. That loyal fricnd had not lost touch with me to the cxtent
of not knoving what had become of me; he knew I was in Saint-
I-xzare, and possibly he was not altogether sorry to know about
rny disgtace, for he thought it might bring me back to a sense of
duty. He came with all s@.
We talked in the friendliest way. He wanted to know iust what
my position was. I hid nothing from him excePt my intention to
escape. 'My dear friend,' I said, 'you ate not tlrc sort of man
before whom I want to aPp€ar what I am not. If you think you
have come here to see a reformed character, with passions all
under control a libertine whosdeyes have been opcned by the
chastisement of God, in e word a heart Purged of desire and no
longer ensnered by Manon's wiles, you have iudged me too
indulgcntly. You see nrc now iust as you left me four months
ago, stitl susceptible, still haunted by tlnt fatel passion, still
untiringly seeking happincss there and there alone-'
He teplied that such an admission madc my conduct unpardon-
able. Meny a sinner was so intoxicated with the tteacherous ioys
of evil that he openly preferred them to vifire, but such a man
was et any rate lured on by eppearances of happiness' eYeal
though spurious. But to see clearly, as I did, that the obiect
which held me in its toils could only mahe me wiched and
unhappy, aod to persist" nevertheless, in plunging into misery
and crime, was a conttadiction between knowledge and behaviour
vhich did litde credit to my good sensc.
61
 Marcn Lesca$
'Tibergc,' I said, 'hov casy it is for you to cxrrry the day with
nothing to withsand your attacks! But let me have e turo at
arguing. Can you asser thet whet you call the happiness of
virtue is frce from pain, disappointm€ots aod anxicties? How
would you d€scribc the prircns, ctrosrs€s, torturcs and erecutions
inflicted by tytants? IVould you say, likc the mystics, thet whet
totrrenB the body is bliss to the souP You would never dare,
the paradox is indefensible. No, this happiness you rank so high
is mixcd with couodcss sufferings, or rather it is a tissuc of ills
through which felicity may possibly bc diserned. Now if by
shecr imeginxtion men can 6nd pleesure io thcse very ills on the
grounds that they may lead to some ultimate and hoped-for jon
why do you disrniss en exactly similer lioe of conduct oo my paft
as contredictory end senseless? I love lvfanon; I em striving
through a thousand ills towards a goal of peace and happiness
with her. The path I am treading is herd, but it is softened by -y
hope of reaching the goal, and I shall deem ell thc cares on the
way moFe than rcpaid by one moment with her. So things soein
about eq 'nl on your side and on mine. If there is a differeoce it is
still in my favour, for the bliss I hope for is near, and yours is hr
off; mine is of the sam€ nature as the sorrow, that is to say
corporel, whilst yours is of an unknown kind vhich feith alone
can substantiatc.'
This argument horified Tiberge. He lecoiled from mc, seytng
in the most solernn way thet not only qrerc my wotds an affront
to cornmon sense, but that thcy verie a heinous sophism bom of
impiety and irreligion" for it was a most monstrou.s and godless
thing to make such a compa.rison between the goal of my suftr-
ings end that of religion.
'I grant you,' I replid, 'that it is not a fair comparison, but
uke note tl at my ergument does not depend on that. I simply
wented to cxplain whet you call a contradiction in my pcrsever-
ance in an unheppy love, and I think I havc satisfectorily ptovod
that, if contrediction thcre bc, you canrror avoid falling into it
any more '\en I caq, That is the only sense in which I trstcd the
things as equal, and I still meintein that they are. you urill ao
66
Saint-I4rc
doubt enswcr thet the aim of virnre is infinitely higher thao thet
of love. Who would gainsey drat? But is that the point at issue?
Arcn't wc discussing thc powcr of cech of thesc things to cneble
us to berr sufferings? They must be iudgcd by results. How
many people dcsert the cause of strict virtue, but how fev forsake
that of love! Or again, petheps you will enswcr that if thetc ale
ditrculties in the good life they atr not ineviable aod necessary,
that tyrents md torturcs me no longer thc rule and that meny
virtuous people nowedeys lead a tranquil and happy lift. But in
the samc way I can say that love oftecr runs a peaceful and
untroublod coursc, but with this dilffcrcne *rat is most advan-
tagcolrs to my ergument. Lovc, I must add, though it may often
dcceive us, docs et least promise only setisfaction aod pleasure,
whereas religion erpects us to be prepared for a life of gloom
end mortificetion.' Sc"irg signs of righteous enger oo his pan I
went on: 'Don't be elarmed; thc only conclusion I want to draut
ftom this is thet, if you want to cure a lovesick heart, the worst
method you ca$ adopt is to dccry thc joys of love and promisc
grcate! happincss in the exercisc of virnre. Bcing made as wc ar€,
it is indisputable that our felicity is found in pleasurg and I
challenge enyon€ to define it io any othcr way. Now the human
hean does not need prolonged study to ftcl that of dl pleasures
thosc of love are $veet€st, aod it very soon peraives that a
pnomise of greatcr ioys elsewhcre is a fraud and a freud which
predispoaes it to mistrust the moot solemn e$suranc€s. Let the
preachers who seck to lead mc back to vinue say by all meens
thet virtuc is nccessary and indispenseble, but they must not hide
th€ frct tlnt it is eustene and painful. I-et them establish that the
delights of lovc are cphemeral, forbidden and lieble to be
followed by ctemd punishment, and, whet might make a still
strong€f, impression on mq that the mor€ swcst aad captivating
th"y * the more magnanimously Hcaven will reward such a
great sacrificc. But thcy must ellow thet with heans like ours rre
cennot find more pcrfect ioys hcre below.'
Tibcrge was somevhet cheer,ed by this conclusion to my dis-
course, aod admittcd thet thcrc wes some sense in my opinions.
67
 Maaoa l*vatt
His only other obiectioo was to ask why I did not follow out my
own principles by sacrificing my present love for the prospect of
a reward which I valued so highly. 'My dear fcllow,' f answercd,
'This is where I admit nry unworthiness and lack of streogth. Ah
yes, duty says I should ptactise what I preach, but am I capable
of any action et all? Think of the help I should need to make me
forget Manon's charms!' 'God forgive me,' said Tiberge, 'this
souods like some more of this Jansenist fatalism.' 'I don't know
what I em,' I enswered, 'and I am not at all sure what I ought to
&t he llccdcd in gcttiog &ur8h b rc c by
{rnr E hiilFlf
f Pudng ofi:.r nt brodct I nrr ovctiopd rt Eiqt
be, but I am experiencing dl too clcarly thc uuth of what the
bin ntrt in ny rcoo, rnd rhut ftcdmcscfrlly.'Itcreb m
Jansenists say.'
This conversation had et least the one useful result ofreviving
I EoGG to lorg' I rril tirrt tdl c rht ret of ffrooo, rcd
Scn hf, b gct out of bcrc.' t+ crphlrcd thfr he bnd o* a
my friend's sympethy. He realized that my misdeeds were due
not so much to perversity as to weekoess, and this made his hb dG doe 6c &y bcforc I wo irydmd thct hG hrd
friendly soul more rcady to help me later on when urithout him I
fruodorqthctfusd rinc mly bydhtof crtrfrl elctdgdim.
IIG f,.d ptard hirnerf 1sq or tbc€c ti'-.e c 6c H0pitrl bnt
should assuredly have perished of misery and want. But I did not
hrd oc ba dlosed b AG.t !o b. tsffi oo G. ltr F I cdcd.
give him the slightest hint of my htention to escape from Saiot-
Lazare. I merely esked him to undertake to deliver my letter,
'tlCll pry de.'ly frr'hi.F
${os rbot tctdry yon ftoc,' rrid Leut Thb i. oot tu.h
which I had got ready before he came. I easily found reasons for
having had to write it, and he was loyal enough to anrry out my
ts ctry iob c you rrtinr- lbo of, ny fue rod I rycat dl
instructions exacdy. Before the end of the day lrscaut received tcltcldrt crtahg lootiog t tLc outri& of thc tuildiag end rc
crm ro tbc ooclqrln rhrr ft p'a114 bc rcry diffisft to gct yon
the note addressed to him.
oot, vith your windowr looLbg oo ED I ctrttouod.d
by bdcb rd nonrr, rr tou yourlcf bld ue. Wbrt'r EodG, too
rrt 6 ftG Sfud f,ooreodwrcro'tbriag in ery hddcn croF
So I cn't lcc Gt ctrna ftoo 6c o,uildda Smctting sill hvc
o bc worH od frr ea iside iob.' 'l'lo,'I sdil, 'I here lootGd
im crcrything, cryoddty tioc I bve m ba rdcd o
docly, trrmlr to bchg io thc Supcriot'r good boott. Thcy ao
torgcr loct my fur, ud I em &oc b vdt rbort in tb mtr'
qdhticr, ha dt tDc rtrircr*r rrt cut offby hc.ry doon 6at erc
tcp $c dgtt rod &y. Ttcrc ir m wry of ggtiog m by merc
tlill.'I peurod to thint tbingr ou, rod rn dhat Dotkn G"rrc
to E lnbd - or it rred so b ra J,trt r Einrcf I !rid.
'C-orlld yo bciag m epimlP'Quits dqtle,'aid Lcrcut,'but
yon doo't Td b fil mmcbody' do tooP I rrrurcd hirn rlrrt r
fir ftoo ny trrating b LiIl rnytody I did oc creo rniod wtcttcr
68
69
 Manoa lttcatt
the pistol was loaded or not. 'Bring it tomorrrov,'I said, 'and
don't fail to bc oppositc the main entrance at eleven o'clock at
night, with turo or thr,ee friends. I hope to be able to ioin you
there.' He did his best to meke me tell him somc morc, but in
vain. I said that the eoterprise I had in mind was of the sort that
could seem feasible only after it had succeeded. I then asked him
to cut his visit short so as to have no uoublc about being
admitted the next day. He was allowed in with as litde trouble as
thc 6tst time. He wore I very dignifisd look, and nobody would
have takerr him for anything but an honourable man.
When I found myself possessed of the instmmcnt that wes to
gain me my frdom, I had scarcely any doubt lcft that my
scheme was going to corne off successfully- It was a strangc and
daring one, but with such motives as mine I fdt that therc s,as
nothing I could not do. Sine I had been allowed to leeve my
room and walk about in the galleries, I hed noticed that cvery
eveoing the janitor took the keys of all doors to thc Superior,
and that eftcr that everybody vent to bed aod a deqr silence
reigned throughout the building. Therc was nothing to prevcnt
my passing from my room to his through the cornmunicating
gallery. My object lras to get the keys fmm the Superior by
threatening him with the pistol if he showed signs of refusing,
after which I would use them to gein thc street. I impatiently
waited for the time to come. The janitor did his rounds ar the
usual time, rcon after nioe. I let anothcr hour go by so as to be
sure that all the monks aod servants wete asleep, and then I set
out with my weapon and a lighted candle. I knocked softly on
the Superior's door so as to wake hirn without a lot of noise. He
hcard me the second time I knocked, end rose from bcd and
opened the door, probably thioking rhat one of the monks was
unwell and in need of help. But he first took the precaution of
calling through the door to ask who it was and what I wanted. I
had to say my name, but I put on a plaintive tooe to suggest that
I felt ill. Then he opened the door and said: 'Ah! my dear son, is
it you? What brings you here so late?' I went in, and drawing
him to thc far end of the room madc it dcar to him that I could
7o
I Escapfron Saht-Lqare
oor stay aoy longer in Saint-Lazare, that night-time was best for
cettlog out unobserved and thet I asked him, as a friendly acg to
t so kind as to open the doors or to lend me the keys so that I
could open them mYself-
This polite spaech must have astonished him. He looked me
up end down for somc time without saying a ltord- As I had no
timc to lose I weot on to say thet I had been most touched by his
kindness, but thet liberty being the most precious of all posses-
sions, especially for onc uniusdy deprivcd of it' I was deterrniocd
to get it that night and at any price. Fot fear he might teke it
into his head to reise his voie and call for help I let him see the
vcry convincing argurnent for silcnce that I had under my iacket-
'A pistol!' he said. 'What, my son, do you rnean to show your
gratitude for my kindness to you by taking my life?''God forbidl'
I aoswercd. 'You have too much intelligence to Put me to that
nec€ssity; but I mean to be free, and I am so sct on it thet if my
plan miscerries because of you, it's all up with you.' 'But, my
dear son,' said he, pale and trcmbling, 'what harm have I done
you, what leason havc you for desiring my death?' 'No, no,' I
answered impetiently, 'I heve no intcntion of killing you if you
\yent to live. Simply open that door, and I shall be your bcst
friend.'I noticed the keys on the able, took them and requested
him to follow me and make as linle noise as possible'
He had to resign himself to it. Each time he oPened a door as
we went along he said with a sigh,'Ah, my son! Ah, who would
ever heve believed it?' And cach time I replid 'Not so much
noise, Father.' At length we rcveched a sort of barrier iust short
of the mein €ntrence. I already ftlt free, and was sanding behind
the reverend father with the candle in one band and my pistol in
the othet. While he was busying himself with the door the sound
of the bolts bcing shot back awoke e servent who slept in the
adloining room. He got up and poked his head out of the door'
Apparently the wonhy priest thought this fellow could stop me,
for he nshly ordered him to come to his aid. He vas a powerful
man and without hesiating he mede one leap et me. I did not
stop to ergue with him, but fired point blank ioto his chest.
7t
 Manon Ltsca$
'Therc, thet is your doing, Fethcr,' I vithout pridc, ,but
seid, not
that is no reeson for not finishing the iob.' I pushed him to the
last door, which he darcd not r€fu$c to open, and Lt ppod g"ily
out and found Lcscaut waiting a ftw yards away, with two
friends as he hed promised. Ve made off
Lescaut esked mc if he had not heerd a pistol-shot .yes, it,s
your faulg' I said. 'I9hat did you bring me a loadod pistol forl
But dl the same I thanked him for h"riog talsn -\is prcceution,
but for vhich I should ccrtainly have bcen at Saint-Lazarc for a
long time. We went for the night to a teyem whcrc I made up
somewhet for the m€agre farc I hed had for neady three moothi.
But I could not really enjoy mysef for in my mind I was sharing
Manon's cruel sufferings. 'Shc must bc sct frec,' I said to thi
three others; 'it was for that alone that I wanted to g€t ftce
myself. I want you to lend me your btains for my own part I
- wes good enough for me.
am ready to give my lift.'
Lescaut, who was both intelligent and ceutious, pointed out that
I must hasten slowly, for my escape from Seint-Iazare, and in
particular the mishep I had had on the !r'aJr out, would ccrtainly
cilxile a sensatio,n, the chief of police would hunt me out, and his
arrn ures long. In fact, unless I was anxious to corrt somcthing
nrorse then Saint-Lezare, I should be well advised to lie low and
say indoors for a ftw &ys until the initial fury of my eoemies
had had timc to die down. This vas wise counsel, but it needcd a
wise man to follow it. All this delay and circumspection accordcd
ill with my pession, and the funhcst I q'ould go was to promise
to spend the next day in bed. He shut me in his room, where I
stayed until evening.
I spent part of this timc tuming over wa5rs and means of
rescuing Manon. One ccrtain thing, I ftlt, was tlrat her pdson
wes evcn morc impcnetrable than mine hed been. Forcc or vio_
leoce would be unavailing, some sort of trickery would
be
needed; but the goddess of invention herself would not heve
known whete to begin. I could sec so littlc daylight that I put off
going into it more carefully until after I had fouod out something
about the intcrnal:urangements of the place.
72
Tltc Hipital
As soon xs nighdall came and it was safe for me to go out, I
rsked I-esceut to aacompany me. We struck up a conversation
with one of the dootkeepers who seemcd a scnsible fcllow. I
palrned mysclf off as a stranger who had heard very good opin-
ions expressed about the H6pital and the excellent way it was
pn. I questioned him on the minutest details, the talk led on to
the board of govemors, and I asked him to tell me theit names
and something about ttreir penonal circumstances. Tte answers
under this second heading put an idea into my head which I at
once thought e yery good onc and set to work to put into
pracdce. I asked him (it was a most imponant part of my plan)
whether aoy of these gentlemen had children, and was told thet
he could not givc me a firll list, but that hc knew M. de T., one
of the principal govemors, had a son of merriageable age who
had often visited the institution u'ith his father. This information
I broke off the conversation es soon as I could and on the way
back told Irscaut thc schemc I had thought of. 'I am assuming,'
I said,'that M. de T. the younger, bcing rich and wdl connected,
is no more averse from a little pleasurre than most young ftllows
of his age. Hc canoot bc a womao-hater, nor so abcurd as to
refusc his help io an affair of the heart. I proposc to intelest him
in Manon's freedom. If he is a man of fteling and a gendeman he
will help us out of the kindness of his heart. If he cennot be
influenced by that motive he will at aoy rate do something for a
prctty gid, if only in the hopc of having a sharc in her favours. I
m€an to see hirt and I don't $'ent to put it off any longer than
tomorrow. The ptoiect has cheered me up so much tlut I think
it must be a good omen.'
I-escaut agroed that thcre was something in it and wc might
hope for rcsults ftom this course. I was not so misereble that
night.
Ncxt moming I dlessed es smatdy as my poveny-stricken condi-
tion alloved, and took a cab to the house of M. de T. Hc was
surprised at this visit by $omeone uoknown to him, but his
cxpression and politencss struck me as promising. I explained the
71
 Mamn Lesatt
obiect of my visit in e straighdorward way end appcalod to his
natural felings by describing my passion and my mistrcss's
channs lrs turo thingp bcyond compa.rison cxcpt vith cach othcr.
He said that he had not seen Manoo, but had heard of hcr - at
lcast if she was the one who had bccn old G. M.'s mistrress. I
guesd thet hc would have been told about the paft I had playcd
in that e&ir, and so I decided to vin his sympathy by a littlc
praisewonhy candour. I told him the whole story of Mrnoo and
mysclf. 'So you sec, Sir,'I concluded, 'that both my lift end my
heart's desile are oow in your hends, and the one is no morc
precious to rnc than the other. I am hiding nothing from you
bocause I heve been told how generous you er€, aod thc similarity
between our ege$ makcs me hopc that our inclinrtions mey also
heve something in common.' This show of franknas and cnn-
dour samcd to impress him. Hc ansvered like a mao who
knows the wodd and also has delicacy of mind, a quality the
world does not alyeys give but often tekes away. He said that he
counted my visit as a stroke of good forhrnc, that he rcgarded
my friendship as onc of his moet valued acquisitions and that
he would srive to dcserye it by helping me as energetically as he
was eble. He did not promise to give me back Manon, for he
said that his influence was neither powerful nor infallible, but.
he did offer to armoge for me to have tte pleasure of sceing her,
and to do his utmost to restore hcr to me. This diffidence of his
pleascd me bctter than a swecping promise to ful6l all my wishes,
for the vcry moderation of his offers eppca.led to me as a sign of
hooesty. In e wotd, I confdcndy expectd great things from his
good offie. Thc merc promisc to get me an interview with
Manon would in itself have made me his dcvotd servant. I
showed him something of what I fclt in a way that made him fcel
on his side that I was oot wenting in charecter. S0c ernbraced
each othct affectionately, and becamc firrr frieods out of sheer
goodncss of heart and that oatural impulse vhictr &aws I watuF
hcafted and honourablc man towards another of the same type.
He exprcssed his fricndship in still more practical fornr, for
heving poodercd over my advenrurcs end gucsscd that I could
74
M. dt T.
not hryc becn well off when I came out of Seint-Lezarc, hc
offered me his purse aod urged me to lcoePt i1. I dgclined, but
5aid, 'No, my dear Sir, you art too good. If through your greet
kindness and frieodly hclp I succeed in sceing Menon again, I am
your scrernt 6or lifc. If you restorc hcr to me altogether, I shdl
think thet my dcbt to you cul never bc rcpeid even if I shed dl
my blood for you.'
Beforc ure selnreted we agreed on the time end place of our
oext rneeting. Hc wes kind enough oot to keep mc waiting
longer than the eftcrnoon of the samc day.
At about four o'clock he ioined me in a cefr, end togetlr€r u/e
set out for the H6pial. As we made our rvey through the court-
yards I was trcmbliog at the knecs. 'Oh, all-powerful god of
love,' I said, 'so I am to see once again the idol of my hean, the
obiect of so nrany tears and anxicties! Vouchsaft mc life to reach
her sidc, only that, and thcreefter do as you will with my fortune
and my lift. I hevc no other boon to ask.'
M. de T. had a word with various warden who were only too
willing to do anything they could to Pleese him. He bad the
block poioted out where Manon's room was, and the attcndaot
who took us had a gigantic kcy which opened the door. This
rvur ves dso the onc detailcd to look efter her, and on the way I
asked him how she had spent her time. Hc seid that shc was as
gcntle as an angel; hc had never had a hald word from her. For
six wecks aftct her arrival she had done nothing but weep, but
for some time now she secmcd to be bearing her troubles more
patieotly, and spcot all her day from moming till night scwing,
epart ftom an hour ot two set aside for rcediog. I renewed my
inquiries whcther she had been properly looked aftet, end he
essured me that at aoy ratc she had ncver lacked nccessitics.
As we dreqr neer her door my heert was beeting furiously- I
seid to M. dc T., 'You go in alone aod prepare het for my
coming, for I fear thet shc vill bc too ovencome if she sccs me all
ofa sudden.'Ttc door was opened. I staycd in the passage, but
overheard their cnnversrtion. He said that hc was one of my
friends and very oncerned for our happiness, and that he had
7t
 Monn Ltsca*t
come to bring her a litde comfortiog news. Shc begged him
most urgendy to $ey whether he could tcll her what had become
of me. He promiscd to bring mc knecling at hcr ftct, still as
loving end devoted as she could wish. 'Vhen?' she seid. 'Now,
this very day,' he answered. 'Thc long wished-for mom€rit is
coming. Hc will be here now, if you went him.' She rc'alizd that
I was at thc door, and was rushing there as I cntered and caught
her in my arms. !0e clung to each other with all the outpouring
of tcnderness true lovers 6nd so sweet after three months of
scparation. For a quarter of an hour M. de T. beheld a touching
scene comlnscd of sighs, half-stifled exclamations and a thousand
loving nemes murmured softly to each other. 'f envy you,' he
said at lcngth, making us sit down; 'there is no caroer of glory I
would not give up for such a beautiful and loviog mistress.'
'And I would scom all the empires of the world,' I answercd,
'for the joy of knowing I was loved by her.'
Needless to sey, dl the rest of the conversation we had so
longed for was 6lled with infnite tenderness. Poor Maoon told
me hcr story and I told her mine. The pitiful state she was in and
the privations from which I had iust emerged moved us both to
bitter tears. M. de T. consoled us with rcnewed promises to
devote himself unstintingly to bringing abut 4n end to our
woes. He advised us not to spin this first interview out to too
gr€at a length so that he could more easily arrange othets for us.
But he found it very hard to make us see the point of this advice.
Manon found it especielly difFcult ro meke up her mind to let
me go; shc continually held on to my hands and clothes, pushing
me back on my chair and saying, 'What a placc to leave me inl
How do I know I shell ever soe you agein)'M. de T. promised to
come frequcody and to bring me with him. 'And as to this
place,' he added with a stnile, 'we must not call it the H6pital any
more, Since a person worthy to reign over all hearts has been
kept here, it is Vcrsaillesl'
As we wsrt out I gave e geoerous tip to the att€ndent to
encourage him to do his best for her, The man vas less m€nceoary
and hard-hearted than such fellows usudly are. He had been
76
Tbc Hdpital
pr€sent at orrf meeting and had been touched by our love, end
the gold piece with which I pres€ritcd him won him over com-
plaely. On the way dowo to thc courtyards he took mc to rrne
side and said, 'Sir, if you will take me into your service or give
rne some suitable compcnsation for the loss of my iob here, I
think I could easily set Mademoiselle lvfenon free for you.' I
listened to his proposal and pr,omised him things far beyond his
desires, although I was penniless myself, for I relied oo finding
some easy way of rewardiog e man of his stamp. 'Take it from
rne, my frieo4' I
said, 'that thcre is nothing I will not do for
you, and your futue is as safe as mine.'I wantod to know whet
rneans he intended to employ. ''lWhy,'he said, 'simply to unlock
her door one evening and escort her as far as the street, wherc
you must be ready to meet her.' I asked whether there was any
fe*l of het being recognized in the passages and courtyards. He
admined that there wes sonre danger of that, but said that there
were some risks that had to be taken.
His keconess delighted me, but I called in M. de T. to lay the
proicct beforc him, togcther with the only drawback which might
make it unsafe. He saw more difficulties then I had. He agreed
thet it vas quite possible that she might get away by such means,
but hc pointed out thet if she were recognized and stopped while
attempting to €scape it might be all up with her for good.
'Morcovef,' he went on, 'you would havc to leave Paris at once,
for you would never be sufhcieotly hidden from a search. The
scarch would be intensified for you as well as for her, and while
one man alone can easily dodge his pursuers, it is nerct to im-
possible to remain unobserved in the company of a pretty
wo[ran.' This ergument, however well-founded it might seem,
could not carry any weight in my mind against an immediate
prospect of sening Manon free. I said so to M. de T., begging
him to be indulgent towards a lover"s imprudence and rashness.
I added that I ccrainly did mean to leave Paris and put up in
some nearby village as I had done before. So we settled with the
aneodant that our attempt should not b€ put off any later t}en
the morrow, and" to meke assurance as sure as in us lay, we
77
 Manon ltscatt
daided to smuggle in men's clothes to simpli$ thc escepe. It
was not €asy to get the clothes ioto her roorrq but my r€soutce-
fulness was not at a loss for e way. I mcrely asked M. dc T. to
we4r two thin qrdgjgoals, on€ over the othcr, when he casre nert
day, and I undertook to s€ to the rest
When we vent back on the following dey I had with me
undetclothcs, stockings, etc. for Manon, and wes wcaring a loog
cloak over my jecket to hide any bulges in my pockcts. Ve
sayed only a minute in her room; M. de T. left hcr one of his
waistcoats and I gave her my jacket, trusting to thc cloak to get
me safely out. She thus had a completc out6t - except the
brceches, which I had unfornrnately overlookcd.
We might havc had a good laugh at the absencc of this vital
g.rment if it had not put us into so serious a predicament. As it
was, I was in despair et our being held up by such a silly littte
thing. Howcycr, rhere was only onc thing to be dooe, and that
uras for me to leave my own bleeches for Manon end get out
rcmehow without them. My cloak was very long, and thanks to
the help of a pin her,e and thcre I was 6t to pass through the
door with the decencies preserved. Wheo at last night had fellcn,
after a day that semcd interminable to me, q'e took a carriage to
a position iust down the stroet ftom the door of the H6pial. tVe
had not long to wait before we saqr Manon app€ar with her
guide. We had thc door open and they both jumpcd in at ooce.
My dearest Manon sank into my arms. She was trembling likc a
leaf. The driver asked us whcre he was to go. 'To the end of the
wodd!' I cded. 'Anyrrhcre you like, so long as I am nevet paned
again ftom Manonl'
This involuntary fourish nearly landed me io a nasty mess.
The coachman noticed my language, and when I went on to tcll
him thc name of the strcet to which we wanted to be takcn, he
answered that he was afraid I was lening him in for rcme shady
business; that it was plain to see that this pretty young mao,
whose narne was Menon" was a gid I was sm'ggling out of the
H6pial; that he was not fecling in the mood to get himsclf i.oto
rouble for love of me. This fellov's scruples were merely a
78
Vc Rescre Marcn
desire to mahe me Pay mote for the carriage. We were too oear
the H6pial not to go warily. 'Be quiet!' I said. 'There's a louis
for rhc eaming.' After that he would have helped me bum down
jhe Hdpital itself. We rceched the house where Lescaut lodgcd,
but as it was late we droppd M. de T. on the way, with
prornises to meet next day. The attendant stayed with us.
I was holding Manon so tightly in my arms that the two of us
took up only one seat. She was weeping for ioy and I could feel
her tears on my face. When we had to alight at Lescaut's lodgings
I had a fresh altercation with the driver which was to have a
disestrous sequel. I regtetted having promised hirn a louis, not
only because it was an absurd sum, but for another and much
better reason which uras ttrat I was not in a position to pay. I
seot for Lescaut who came doutn from his room, and I told him
in a whispc whet a 6x I was in. He was an outspoken man end
not at all given to humouring coachmeo, and he seid I must be
loking. 'A gold louisl' he said. 'Twenty strokes with a stick for a
vould be more like it!' I tried in vain to poiot out
r,ogue like that
in an undertone that he would be our undoing; he snatched my
stick out of my hand end made as if to go for the cabby. The
men, who most likely koew by experience what it was like to fall
into the hands of a Lifeguardsrnan or Musketeer, fd in terror
with his cab, shouting that I had swindled him and would hear
from him again. Once more I shouted to him to stop, but to no
purpos€. I vas most uneasy at his having run off in this way, fot
I was surc he would go to the policc. 'You ate putting me in a
terrible position,' I said to Lcscaut. 'I shell not be safe herc; we
shall have to clear offat once.' I gave Manon my arm to help her
along, and we hurried away fmm ttrat dengetous strect, kscaut
aod all.
79

fxrra linkr ir roocOiog uoc.soy rbout thc wry in which provi-
I dcocc onc cvcot to eao&cr. Vc hed bccn wdkiag for
fivc or sir minutcs rt te morg whco e *., whocc fc I could
oot Ee, Lcscaut. No doub't hc wes bofing for him
round ebout his todging! with tbc ftll pupocc bc now curicd
ouc You're Lcsceutt' he sdd. 'Toaight you'Il bc hrving $rppcr
sith thc rngd!!' Hc 6lcd a pistol 4 him rd et ooe
"'"dc ofr.
Lccceut ftl hhlcr* I ugcd M.m to fly, for wc vsse usclcss to
r cory€c, o"d I wrs a*eid of bciog rrrestcd by thc vetch who
vcrc bound b ctxDe m thc sqc. With hcr and thc rncndent I
&rad dosn thc 6rst n.r"ow torning. Sbc wrs ro panic-rtriclca
thrt I could bardty plsveot bcr from collrpcing. At lrst I nw e
ceb et tb cad of tbc srect Vc tunpod io- But wlca thc &ivcc
rslcd us thc eddrcss I wer aoaplussc4 for I hed oo eaft retreeg
oo truty frid I darcd A[ bacl oo, rnd no Eoosy citbcr,
h.yiog brrcly balf a pistolc left in my purrc Mrnoo wea !o
rrohingd by ulor end frtiguc thet shc wer only belf cmscious
rod firmpcd dourn by my side Motrovec, my own rbought!
spp hontcd by th. murdcr of Lcsceut end I src still ncflrous
$out &c vetch. Vhet war to bc dooc? Hrppity I rcmcmbercd
tbc inn et Cbeillot whcrc I bed spcat coc ri-c wi$ lfrooa
whco vc hd fust gooc to tbet vllbge o l,ook for smcryhcre to
liye. I bopcd to 6nd saftty thcre,
"n4 wbt wes Eor€, o bc ablc
to livc thcre for a vhilc urithout treving to pry. So I otdaed thc
&ivcc to r"te us o Cbaillot. Hc cfrrucd to go ar &t ra tbat co
lerc et night for lcls rhan s pistoh. Anothct ewlwerd rnornaoL
Bvcaurdly ve egteod oa sir francr - dl I hrd lcft in my purrc.
On 6c i)umcy, for dl my tnc@prr O coorolc Meaon, I hnd
&th io my hcert llrd I not brd il ury rrEu tb oaly thing
8o
j
Moael
which bound me to this world, I would have taken my own life,
aod this consideration alone restored some calm to my mind. 'I
love her, she loves me, she is mine,' I seid to mvself. 'Tiberge
can say what he likes. This is no empty shadou' of happiness. I
would see all the rest of the world perish and not care a rap.
V'hy? Because I have no love left for anything else.' There u'as
some truth in the sentiment; but, all the same, at that moment
when I was so lightll' dismissing this world's possessions I felt
that I could have done u'ith just a small share of them, if only so
as to be able to scorn the rest more loftill'. Love is stronger than
wealth, mightier than treasures and riches, but it can do rvith
their help; and nothing is more exasperating to a delicate-minded
lover than to see himself brought, willy-nilly, down to the level
of coarser souls simply through lack of money.
It was eleven o'clock when we reached Chaillot. Thev v'el-
comed us at the inn like old friends, and were not surprised
to see Manon in male attire, for it is quite cormnon in and
around Paris to see u'omen in all sorts of disguises. I ordered
evert'thing to be done for her iust as though I v'ere at the height
of opulence. She did not knov' that mv purse was so poorly,
and I took cilre not to let her knou'', having decided to go hack
to Paris alone next day to seek some remedy for this tiresome
complaint.
At supper I sau' hor*' much paler and thinner she *'as. I had
not noticed it at the H6pital because the lighting in the room
'*'here I had seeo her was not of the best. I asked her whether
this pallor \r'as still the effect of the shock of seeing her brother
murdered. She declared that, although she was verv upset bv the
accident, her paleness was due solelv to her har.ing been parted
from me for tu'o or three months. 'You really love me ven
much?' I said. 'A thousand times more than I can sav,' she
replied. 'You will never leave me again?' 'No, never.' And this
vow was sealed by so many oaths and caresses that I felt it
impossible that she could ever forget. I had alwavs been con-
vinced that at the moment she meant q'hat she said, for what
reason could she have had for plav-acting to that extent? But she
8r
 Maan Ltscact
was even more 6cklc than sincere; or tathcr, when she was in
poverty and necd and saw orhcr women liviog in luxury, she
eascd to have any 6xed character at ell, and did nor eveo rec_
ognize herself. I was about to have a 6nd ptoofefthi5, a proof
more conclusive than all tlre otherc, and orle which has led to the
strengct adventure ev€r to befall a man of my birth and position.
As I was awarc of this sidc of het character I hurriod off to
Paris nert day. Her brother's death and the urgeot neod of get_
ting dothes and e change of linen for herself and me werc such
good rearcns thet I did not have to look for excuses. As I went
out I said to Manon and tlre host thet I was going to take a ceb,
but that \Fas mene bravado. Sheer nccessity oblig€d me to go oo
foot, and I walked with all speed as far as the Cours-la-Reine,
where I intended to stop fot a moment of peace and quiet in or_
der to think things out end decide what I was going to do in paris.
I sat down on the grass and launched into a sea of r,easoning
and arguments which gradually soned themselves out under thre
main headingsl I needed immediate financial help for countless
pressing necessities; I had to find some means of living which vould
at any rete lead to hopes offuture securiry, and, last but not leasg
I had to see how the land lay and take steps to guarantce Manon's
persond safety and my own. After having gone through alt the
plans and calculations I could think of under these three heads, I
decided that after all I had better cut out the last two. V/e were fair-
ly well hiddcn in our room at Chaillot, and it seemed time enough
to think of firture needs when I had satisfied the ptcseot ones.
So the real point was to refill my purs€ at once. M. de T. had
kindly offercd me his, but I was most rcluctant to have to raise
the point with him. What e paft to have to play that of
-
displaying one's poverty to a stranger end bcgging him to sharr
his money vith one! Only a craven little soul, so devoid of
feding that he could not s€e the humilislisll of it, would be
capable of such a thing: or else a Christiao, whose real humanity
aod greatness of soul raised him above such difFdence. I was
neither one thing nor the other, and I would have givcn half my
blood to bc spared this indignity.
8z
Explanztint
.Thco therc is Tiberge,' I thought. 'Surely my good Tiberge
sill not tefuse anything he can give me? No, my plight will
rouch his heart, but his moral sermoos will be thc death of
ne. I shdl havc to swallow his reproachcs, exhortations and
threats; he will exact such a price for his help thet there again
I would give part of my btood rether than have to face a tire-
sorne scenc which will lcave me dl upset and plagued with
Fmorsie. Very welt then, I shall have to give up all hope, since
there is no alternative left eod I am so averse from stoppiog
to consider these, that I would rather shed half my blood than
have rrecourse to either - that is to say the whole of my blood
rather than try both. Yes, the whole of my blood,' I rcflectcd;
'I would checrfully shed it all rather than stoop to grovdling
supplicetions.
'But what has my blood got to do with id Wbat matters is
Manoo's life and how to keep her dive; all that matters is het
love, her loyalty. Have I anFhing wonhy to be weighed in thc
balance agaiost her? Such e thought has never occutred to me
until now. Fot me she is glory, happioess and fornrne. No doubt
there are many things I would give my life to have ot to avoid,
but to value a thing higher than my life is no reason for valuing
it as high as Manon.' After t}is thought I did not take long to
meke up my mind. I went on my way, interrding to call 6rst on
Tiberge and to go on from him to M. de T.
When I reached Paris itself I took a cab, although I had not
the whcrewithal to pay for it I relied on the help I was going to
ask for. I had mysclf driven to the Luxcmbourg, whcnce I sent a
message telling Tibetge that I was waiting for him. He satisfied
my impatience by coming et once. I told him of my desperate
situation without any beating about the bush. He asked me if the
hundred pistoles I had repaid him would do, and rrithout a word
of objection he went sueight off to get the mooey, udth thet
look of open-heartcd loy in giving only secn in love end truc
fricndship. Although I had never fot a moment doubtd that my
appeal would suce4 I was sutprised to have got what I vanted
with so little trouble, that is to say without hard rrords from him
81
 fuPlarutiont

tekc up cn €cclcsiasticel calliog agein. And, sedously, I uras

not
$ sll aversc ftom what I wes prepared to Promise him; on the
corrtfiLql,I was really lookiog forward with pleasure to taking up
sonething regular aod intcllectud, insoFer es it would fit in with
ny love. I reckoncd that I could live with Manon end do my stud-
ics rt thc samc time. The two things werc pcrfecdy compotible!
Thcsc ideas pleased me so much that I promised Tiberge to seod
off a letter to my fathcr that vcry day. When I lcft him I did in
ha go to a public writing-room and wrote such an affectionete
rod submissive lettcr thet when I read it ovcr I fanctod mysdf
thet it would coax sonething out of the paternal heart.
Although I could havc takcn a cab and paid fot it after lcaving
Tibcrgc, I took special pleasure in striding boldly along to M' de
T.'s and €oioylog the liberty which my friend had assured me
wes no longer in any danger. But suddcnly it occurred to me that
his reassurancs epplied only to Saint-Lazare, and that on top of
thet I had the H6pital affair on my hands, to say nothing of my
being involved" if only as a witness, in the dcath of I-escaut' This
recollection scarcd me so much that I ran down the first alley I
could 6nd and from there hailcd a cab. I went straight to M. de
T., who leughed at my teror, which seemed laughable to me'
roo, efter he had told mc that I had oothing to fear from the
H6pital, not over thc Lescaut affeir. Hc ercpleined thet, thinking
he might be suspectcd of having had some Part in the abduction
of Manon, he had gone to the H6pital that moming and had
asked for hct, pteteoding not to know what had happened. Fet
from accusing cithcr of us, they had made a point of tdling him
thc exmaordinery story; they were emazed that such a pretty gid
as Manon should havc btought herself to nrn away with an
attendent He bad simply obscrved in e detachd wey thet he was
not at all surpriscd end that pcople will stop at nothing in otder
to gct free. He had gone oo from thcre to Lesctut's lodgings, he
told me, hopiog to 6nd me and my charming misttcss therc, but
the landlord, a coachbuildcr by uade, had sworn that he had oot
set cycs on eith€f, of us, adding that it wes not surprising that wc
hed not bccn to his housc if it was to sec Lescaut, bccausc wc

81
 Manon l*scact
must certainly have learned that he had just been killed ar about
the same time. After that he had not needed pressing to retail dl
he knew about thc cause and circumstaoces of the murder. About
two hours earlier one of I-escaut's friends in the Lifeguards had
been to see him and had suggested a game of cards. Lescaut had
won so quickly that within en hour his friend had found himself
the poorer by a huodred €rus, that is to say all his money. The
poor devil, now quitc perrniless, had askd Iscaut to lend him
half of what he had lost, aod this had led to some haggling
which had develo@ into a most violent quarrel. Lcscaut had re-
fused to go and 6ght it out with swords, and the other had gone
off vowing to smash his skull in, which threat he had carried
out that very evening. M. de T. was good enough to add thar
he hed been very worried about us, and that his offcr of help was
still open. I did not hesitate to tell him where we were hidiag
and he asked me to allow him to come to supper.
As my only remaining task was to get some linen and clothes
for Manon, I said that we could set off at once if he would not
mind stopping for a. few minutes with mc at one or two shops. I
do not know whaher he thought I was suggesting this with a
view to exciting his generosity, or whether it was a spontenoous
impulse of his kindly naturc; but having agteed to leave et onc€,
he took me to the shops that supplied his own home, made me
choose various materials coosiderably morie expensive than I had
meent to get, and when I was about to pay, forbade the shop-
keepers to acaept a penny from me. This graceful gesture was so
tactfully nade ttrat I ftlt quite at ease in profiting by ir
Togethcr we madc for Chaillot, and when I arrived there I
was in a much lcss worried sate of mind than when I had left.
The Chevalier des Gtieux had been speakiog for over an hour,
and I asked him to take a litde rest and have some supper with
us. He kneu' dret we had enioyed listening 16 him because our
intercst had never fl"gg"4 and he promised us that we should
6nd something still more interesting in the scquel ro his story,
When supper uras over he took up the tde again in thesc words.
E6
PART T\TO
0
a rfr DrBsBlrcB rd Sc polit affiti@! of ItI" dc T. rooo
IYI dbpcllcd 6c hst tres of Mrooo'c glm. Dcurrt lovg'
I rr I crnc in, 'l€t us forgc tbc pert md itr tctro'q ltt ue
reid
rw eod b.ppicr lift tlnn cvct Aftcr dL Lovc ir e kind
drrt I
d$cr who givce ua mott plcesurc rllln {t 6c ilb choq8lnS
fomrnc ould inflict"' Sop,pcr wes e rcelly ftstivG frir.
Vift Mrooo ead my huodtd pistold I wrr proudcr md
b+efur thrn thc ddcst ur-olhcror in kds wi& dl hb pilcr of
tcrsurc Vcdth rhould bc rcckomd by our mcrns b reti$ our
drsirc!, rod nc @c of ndm ver l€ft uofrlflled. Evco thc foturc
grvc mc ftr qrnlms; I wrr dmost gua 6rt oy h$cr would
nalcao ditrcutty ebout giving mc coough to livc on dmtly in
Prrir, for es I wrs now ia my tvctrticth ycer I should eooo hevc
r ngr't to dcmend my shrre of my mothcdl Psopcrq.l{ I did not
hidc from Meooo th"t tDI ctpiul coosiscd of oly e hurdrcd
pfublcs. It was coougb b livc m in I sorll wry whilc writing
for 6c brppicr tun of fotunc whiclL I fclg wrs bound to oomc
cithcrthrough rrry own rights of suecsioa or tbrcugb grning.
Aod ro for tbc 6rst fcv woekr my oly oomn rrr b gst ec
moct coioyncot I could out of tlc aihutioo. It wes rr much oy
sca* of hmour as e lingcriog lctFct for 6c polic tht medc
Dc put offftom dry to &y cocwiog my old relcionchip with
tbc frrmnity.t tbc Hdtcl dc Tnnsyhenh. I rcrtrictd my rc-
tivitirs to plrying in e ftry lcrs notoriou: heuotq whcrc good
lu.L sp$cd mc tbc humilhtioo of bving to lercrt to rhe4iag. I
lpcd Frt of crch rftcrnoon il town, ttffinirg to Chrilbt br
fuppcr, er o'ftco rs oot vith M. & T. whoa ftfondship frr ur
grcrr mrc intimre crcqt dry.
Mrnm fouod wryr of conbeting borfu. Vitb 6G Goning
t7