The Two Brothers by Honoré de Balzac
page 70 of 401 (17%)
page 70 of 401 (17%)
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"He! to fail in honor! the son of Bridau to take the money that was trusted to him!" The widow trembled in every limb; her eyes dilated and then grew fixed; she sat down and burst into tears. "Where is he?" she cried amid the sobs. "Perhaps he has flung himself into the Seine." "You must not give up all hope," said Madame Descoings, "because a poor lad has met with a bad woman who has led him to do wrong. Dear me! we see that every day. Philippe has had such misfortunes! he has had so little chance to be happy and loved that we ought not to be surprised at his passion for that creature. All passions lead to excess. My own life is not without reproach of that kind, and yet I call myself an honest woman. A single fault is not vice; and after all, it is only those who do nothing that are never deceived." Agathe's despair overcame her so much that Joseph and the Descoings were obliged to lessen Philippe's wrong-doings by assuring her that such things happened in all families. "But he is twenty-eight years old," cried Agathe, "he is no longer a child." Terrible revelation of the inward thought of the poor woman on the conduct of her son. "Mother, I assure you he thought only of your sufferings and of the |
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