so disastrous to us that we were thrown into a plight from which we were never able to recover.
We had supped one evening with M. Lescaut, and it was close upon midnight when we returned home. I called my valet, and Manon her maid, but neither of them made their appearance. We were told that they had not been seen about the house since eight o'clock, and that they had gone out after having had some chests carried away, in obedience to orders which they said they had received from me. I had a presentiment of part of the truth, but I entertained
no suspicions that were not exceeded by what I discovered upon entering my room. The lock on my closet-door had been forced, and my money, together with all my clothes, had been made away with. While I was pondering by myself over this misadventure, Manon ran in great dismay to tell me that her apartment had been similarly plundered. So cruelly did I feel this blow that it was only by a supreme effort of self-control that I restrained myself from bursting into tears. The fear of imparting my own despair to Manon forced me to assume an air of indifference. I told her jestingly that I would revenge myself on some dupe at the Hôtel de Transilvanie. She seemed to take our misfortune so much to heart, however, that her
