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"Alas! monsieur, a poor man with a large family must not lose certain profit because 'tis attended with a little danger; and perhaps my lord the baron may give me a trifle for my pains: besides, I have nothing to lose except my life, and that will not be worth the robbers taking."
I thought his arguments bad, and advised his waiting till the morning; but, as the baroness did not second me, I was obliged to give up the point. The baroness Lindenberg, as I found afterwards, had long been accustomed to sacrifice the interests of others to her own, and her wish to send Claude to Strasbourg blinded her to the danger of the undertaking. Accordingly, it was resolved that he should set out without delay. The baroness wrote her letter to her husband; and I sent a few lines to my banker, apprising him that I should not be at Strasbourg till the next day. Claude took our letters, and left the cottage.
The lady declared herself much fatigued by her journey: besides havingcome
