The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 2 (of 3) — John Shaqi
The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 2 (of 3)Le Sage, Alain René
General
The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 2 (of 3)
Le Sage, Alain René
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction; Blas, Gil (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
One morning I was carrying, according to custom, a note to this
peerless pattern of perfection. There certainly were, or I was not
standing in the room, the feet of a man ensconced behind the
tapestry. Out slunk I, just as if I had no eyes in my head; yet,
though such a discovery was nothing but what might have been
expected, neither was the piper to be paid out of my pocket; my
feelings were a good deal staggered at the breach of faith. Ah,
traitress! exclaimed I, with virtuous indignation, abandoned
Euphrasia! Not satisfied to humbug a silly old gentleman with a tale
of love, you share his property in your person with another, and add
profligacy to dissimulation! But to be sure, on afterthoughts, I was
but a greenhorn when I took on so for such a trivial occurrence! It
was rather a subject for mirth than for moral reflection, and
perfectly justified by the way of the world; the languid, embargoed
commerce of my master's amorous moments had need be filliped by a
trade in some more merchantable wares. At all events it would have
been better to have held my tongue, than to have laid hold on such an
opportunity of playing the faithful servant. But instead of
tempering my zeal with discretion, nothing would serve the turn but
taking up the wrongs of Don Gonzales in the spirit of chivalry. On
this high principle, I made a circumstantial report of what I had
seen, with the addition of the attempt made by Euphrasia to seduce me
from my good faith. I gave it in her own words without the least
reserve, and put him in the way of knowing all that was to be known
of his mistress. He was struck all in a heap by my intelligence, and
a faint flash of indignation on his faded cheek seemed to give
security that the lady's infidelity would not go unpunished. Enough,
Gil Blas, said he; I am infinitely obliged by your attachment to my
service, and your probity is very acceptable to me. I will go to
Euphrasia this very moment. I will overwhelm her with reproaches,
and break at once with the ungrateful creature. With these words, he
actually bent his way to the subject of his anger, and dispensed with
my attendance, from the kind motive of sparing me the awkwardness
which my presence during their explanation would have occasioned to
my feelings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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