“What is the matter?” I asked abruptly; and I pressed him with questions, tormented him until he told me all.  Bankruptcy was at his door; and he spoke of his wife and children in such heart-rending terms, that I mingled my tears with his, thinking of course that I was not rich enough to give him the money he needed.

“My poor Frederic,” I finally said, “is it such a very large amount?” He replied with a gesture of despair.  “Come, how much?” I asked again.

“Five hundred thousand francs!” he cried, in a gloomy stupor.  I arose, took him by the arm, and under the pretext of diverting him, drew him on the boulevards.  I left him at the door of my notary and joined him on coming out.  “Frederick,” I said, giving him a line I had just written, “take that and hasten to embrace your wife and children.”  Then I jumped into a cab which carried me home; my journey was over.  I returned from Jerusalem.

Dupe!  I hear you say, Ah, no, Edgar!  I am young and I understand men, but there dwell in them both the good and the beautiful, and to expect to derive any other satisfaction than that found in cultivating these qualities has always seemed to me to be an unreasonable expectation.

What! you, as a poet, enjoy the intoxication of inspiration, the feast of solitude, the silence of serene and starry nights and that does not satisfy you; you would have fortune hasten to the sound of the Muses’ kisses.

What! as a generous man, you can enjoy the delights of giving and only sow a field of benefits in the hope of reaping some day the golden harvest of gratitude!

Of what do you complain? wretched man!  You are the ingrate.  Besides, even with this view, be convinced, dear Edgar, that the good and the beautiful are still two of the best speculations that can be made here below, and nothing in the world succeeds better than fine verses and noble deeds.  Only wicked hearts and bad poets dare to affirm the contrary.  For myself, experience has taught me that self-abnegation is profit enough to him who exercises it, and disinterestedness is a blossom of luxury that well cultivated bears most savory fruit.  I encountered fortune in turning my back on her.  I owe to Lady Penock the touching care and precious friendship of Madame de Braimes, and if this system of remuneration continue I shall end by believing that in throwing myself into the gulf of Curtius I would fall upon a bed of roses.

The fact is, I was ruined, but whoever could have seen me at the moment would have said I was overcome with delight.  I must tell you all, Edgar; I pictured to myself the transports of Frederick and his wife on seeing the abyss that was about to engulf them so easily closed; these sweet images alone did not cause my wild delight; would you believe it, the thought of my ruin and poverty intoxicated me more.  I had suffered for a long time from an unoccupied youth, and was indignant at my uneventful life.  At twenty