u. It is, perhaps, but four hundred? three? two? well
if it be but one hundred louis d'or, continued he, seeing that I shook my
head at every sum which he had named, there is no great mischief done;
one hundred pistoles will not ruin him, provided you have won them
fairly.' 'Friend Brinon,' said I, fetching a deep sigh, 'draw the
curtains; I am unworthy to see daylight' Brinon was much affected at
these melancholy words, but I thought he would have fainted, when I told
him the whole adventure. He tore his hair, made grievous lamentations,
the burden of which still was, 'What will my lady say?' And, after
having exhausted his unprofitable complaints, 'What will become of you
now, Monsieur le Chevalier?' said he, 'what do you intend to do?'
'Nothing,' said I, 'for I am fit for no thing. After this, being
somewhat eased after making him my confession, I thought upon several
projects, to none of which could I gain his approbation. I would have
had him post after my equipage, to have sold some of my clothes. I was
for proposing to the horse-dealer to buy some horses of him at a high
price on credit, to sell again cheap. Brinon laughed at all these
schemes, and after having had the cruelty of keeping me upon the rack for
a long time, he at last extricated me. Parents are always stingy towards
their poor children; my mother intended to have given me five hundred
louis d'or, but she had kept back fifty, as well for some little repairs
in the abbey, as to pay for praying for me. Brinon had the charge of the
other fifty, with strict injunctions not to speak of them, unless upon
some urgent necessity. And this you see soon happened.

"Thus you have a brief account of my first adventure. Play has hitherto
favoured me; for, since my arrival, I have had, at one time, after paying
all my expenses, fifteen hundred louis d'or. Fortune is now again become
unfavourable: we must mend her. Our cash runs low; we must, therefore,
endeavour to recruit."

"Nothing is more easy," said Matta; "it is only to find out such another
dupe as the horse-dealer at Lyons; but now I think on it, has not the
faithful Brinon some reserve for the last extremity? Faith, the time is
now come, and we cannot do better than to make use of it!"

"Your raillery would be very seasonable," said the Chevalier, "if you
knew how to extricate us out of this difficulty. You must certainly have
an overflow of wit, to be throwing it away upon every occasion as at
present.