over me, and my hand is yours. Oh!" she added, seeing him
about to kneel at her feet, "I have more to say. I must not deceive you.
In my heart I cherish one inextinguishable feeling. Friendship is the
only sentiment which I can give to a husband. I wish neither to affront
him nor to violate the laws of my own heart. But you can possess my hand
and my fortune only at the cost of doing me an inestimable service."

"I am ready for all things," said the president.

"Here are fifteen hundred thousand francs," she said, drawing from her
bosom a certificate of a hundred shares in the Bank of France. "Go to
Paris,--not to-morrow, but instantly. Find Monsieur des Grassins, learn
the names of my uncle's creditors, call them together, pay them in full
all that was owing, with interest at five per cent from the day the debt
was incurred to the present time. Be careful to obtain a full and legal
receipt, in proper form, before a notary. You are a magistrate, and I
can trust this matter in your hands. You are a man of honor; I will put
faith in your word, and meet the dangers of life under shelter of your
name. Let us have mutual indulgence. We have known each other so long
that we are almost related; you would not wish to render me unhappy."

The president fell at the feet of the rich heiress, his heart beating
and wrung with joy.

"I will be your slave!" he said.

"When you obtain the receipts, monsieur," she resumed, with a cold
glance, "you will take them with all the other papers to my cousin
Grandet, and you will give him this letter. On your return I will keep
my word."

The president understood perfectly that he owed the acquiescence of
Mademoiselle Grandet to some bitterness of love, and he made haste to
obey her orders, lest time should effect a reconciliation between the
pair.

When Monsieur de Bonfons left her, Eugenie fell back in her chair and
burst into tears. All was over.

The president took the mail-post, and reached Paris the next evening.
The morning after his arrival he went to see des Grassins, and together
they summoned the creditors to meet at the notary's office where the
vouchers had been deposited. Not a single creditor failed to be present.
Creditors though they were, justice must be done to them,--they were all
punctual. Monsieur de Bonfons, in the name of Mademoiselle Grandet, paid
them the amount of their claims with interest. The payment of interest
was a remarkable event in the Parisian comme