to give
them to me."

"And you have read them?" asked he again.

"Not yet," said I; "I make it a rule never to risk the pleasure of a
happy day by opening a letter at hazard."

"What if its contents were but to increase the enjoyment; what if the
tidings were to fill up the very measure of your wishes, Senhor?"

"In that case," rejoined I, as coldly as before, "they will be very
acceptable to-morrow morning; and thus I shall have gained two days of
happiness, _vice_ one."

"Admirable philosophy, indeed," said he. "Still, I must be pardoned for
interfering with its exercise. I shall therefore take upon me to inform
the honorable company that her Majesty, my royal mistress, has named the
Count de Cregano a Grand Cordon of the Fleece, in consideration of
his distinguished services in arranging the Mexican debt; that all his
property, taken from him under a false and traitorous imputation, shall
be at once restored; that any additional recompense he may demand for
his imprisonment and other inconveniences incurred shall be immediately
accorded; and that all Envoys and Ministers of the Court of Spain
are instructed to receive the Count de Cregano with every honor and
distinction, affording him every protection, and facilitating him in the
prosecution of any project in which he may be interested."

This speech, delivered in a very imposing manner, was followed by
a round of felicitation from the assembled company the Marchesa offering
me her hand in congratulation, and whispering the words, "How soon?"

"To-morrow, if I must," replied I, sorrowfully.

"To-morrow be it," said she, and turned away hastily.

The information conveyed to me by the Ambassador was what formed the
substance of two of the letters; the third I contrived to peep into
unobserved, was a formal notification from the Havannah that my bills
for the amount in the bankers' hands would be accepted and negotiated at
a well-known house in Paris. Thus, then, and in one moment, was I once
more rich,--the possessor of immense wealth, and not alone of mere
fortune, but of all the honors and dignities which can grace and adorn
it. Of course I became the hero of the day. To me was intrusted the arm
of the Marchesa as we descended to the pier; to me was accorded the seat
of honor beside her in the boat. All the pleasant flatteries that are
reserved for rich men were heaped upon me, and I felt that life had but
one prize more with which to fill up the most ambi