"I wish it were otherwise, uncle," replied Lorenzo, leaning forward
upon the table and covering his face with his hands. "It was my
folly, and the flattery of this man, which have driven me to it," he
continued.

"Oh! cursed inconsistency: and you have now fallen back upon the
last resource, to save a name that, once gone, cannot reinstate
itself. Tell me, Marco Graspum; are you not implicated in this
affair? Your name stands full of dark implications; are you not
following up one of those avenues through which you make so many
victims? What is the amount?" returned Marston.

"You will know that to-morrow. He has given paper in your name to an
uncertain extent. You should have known this before. Your nephew has
been leading a reckless gambler's life-spending whatsoever money
came into his possession, and at length giving bills purporting to
be drawn by you and his father. You must now honour them, or
dishonour him. You see, I am straightforward in business: all my
transactions are conducted with promptness; but I must have what is
due to me. I have a purpose in all my transactions, and I pursue
them to the end. You know the purport of this document, Marston;
save yourself trouble, and do not allow me to call too often." Thus
saying, he took his hat and left the room.

Uncle," said Lorenzo, as soon as Graspum had left, "I have been led
into difficulty. First led away by fashionable associations, into
the allurements with which our city is filled, from small vices I
have been hurried onward, step by step, deeper and deeper, until now
I have arrived at the dark abyss. Those who have watched me through