elations, then."

"I have no relations now."

"Oh then indeed I pity you, Mr. Fogg. Solitude is a terrible thing.
Not a single person to whom you can confide your sorrow? Though they
say that even grief, shared with another, is more easily supported."

"So they say, madam."

"Mr. Fogg," said Aouda, rising and extending her hand to him, "do you
care to possess at the same time a relative and a friend? Will you
take me for your wife?"

Mr. Fogg had risen also. There was an unusual gleam in his eyes, and
his lips trembled. Aouda looked at him. In this regard of a noble
woman, who had dared everything to save the man to whom she owed her
life, her sincerity, firmness, and sweetness were all apparent. He was
at first astonished, and then completely overcome. For a moment his
eyes closed, as if to avoid her glance, and when he opened them again
he said simply:

"I love you. By all I hold sacred, I love you dearly; and I am yours
for ever."

"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Aouda, as she pressed her hand upon her bosom.

Passe-partout was immediately summoned. Mr. Fogg was still holding the
lady's hand. Passe-partout understood it all, and his face became
radiant.

Mr. Fogg asked him if it were too late to notify the Rev. Samuel
Wilson, of Marylebone Church, about the wedding.

Passe-partout smiled, as he replied, "It is never too late." It was
then five minutes past eight.

"Will the wedding take place to-morrow, Monday?" he said

"Shall we say to-morrow?" asked Mr. Fogg, turning to Aouda.

"If you please," she replied, blushing.

Passe-partout hurried away as fast as he could go.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

In which Phileas Fogg's Name is once again at a Premium on the
Exchange.

It is now time to say something of the change which English opinion
underwent when the true bank robber, one James Strand, was arrested in
Edinburgh on the 17th of December.

Three days before Fogg was a criminal, followed by the police; now he
was a gentleman, who had only been taking an eccentric journey round
the world. There was great discussion in the papers, and those who had
laid wagers for or against Mr. Fogg rose once more as if by magic. The
"Fogg Bonds" were once more negotiated, and Phileas Fogg's name was at
a premium.

The members of the Reform Club passed those three days in great
discomfort. Would Phileas Fogg, whom they had forgotten, return? Where
was he on that 17th of December, which was the seventy-sixth day after