"And surely you will succeed. Can any one refuse you anything? Do you remember when we were at school, as soon as a petition was to be addressed to our mistress you were always chosen as ambassadress; and they were right, for, really, you seem to possess a talisman for obtaining all you want." "I assure you, my good Sophie," replied Madeleine, smiling in spite of herself, "I assure you I am often a magician without trying to be one. My God!" added the marquise, laughing, "how many fine extravagances I have to tell you. But we will see, some other time. Come, dear Sophie, good-bye,--will see you soon." "Oh, yes, come again soon, I implore you!" "My God! you can count on my coming almost every day, because I am a bird of passage, and I have decided to employ my time in Paris well, that is to say, I shall see you very often." "What! you are not thinking of leaving Paris soon?" "I do not know; that will depend upon the inspiration that my hero, my passion, my ideal will give me, for I decide on nothing without consulting him in thought. But, as he always inspires me admirably, I doubt not he will induce me to stay near you as long a time as possible." "Ah, my God, Madeleine; but, now I think of it, you told my husband that you had a favour to ask of him." "That is true, I forgot it. It is a very simple thing. I understand nothing of money affairs. I learned that recently, to my cost, in Germany. I had a letter of credit on a certain Aloysius Schmidt, of Vienna; he cheated me shamefully, so I promised myself to be on my guard in the future. So I have taken another letter of credit on Paris. I wish to ask your husband to demand money for me when I have need of it. He will watch over my interests, and, thanks to him, I shall not be exposed to the possibility of falling into the clutches of a new Aloysius Schmidt." "Nothing easier, my dear Madeleine. Charles will endorse your letter of credit and verify at hand all your accounts." "That will be all the more necessary, since, between us, I am told that the person on whom they have given me this letter of credit is enormously rich, and as solvent as one could be, but crafty and sordid to the last degree." "You do well to inform me beforehand. Charles will redouble his watchfulness." "Besides, your husband, who is in business, ought to know the man of whom I speak,--they say he is one of the greatest capitalists in France." "What is his name?" "M. Pascal." "M. Pascal?" repeated Madame Dutertre. And she could not help trembling and turning pale. The marquise, seeing her friend's emotion, said, quickly: "Sophie, pray, what is the matter?" "Nothing, nothing, I assure you." "I see that something is the matter; answer me, I implore you." "Ah, well, if I must tell you, my husband has had some business relations with M. Pascal. Unhappily, a great misunderstanding was the result, and--"