Ah! a few days yet, and you will be with us; and if you
would only be tutored by me, I would put you in the way of achieving
all your ambitions. You should no sooner form a wish than it should be
realized to the full; you should have all your desires--honors,
wealth, or women. Civilization should flow with milk and honey for
you. You should be our pet and favorite, our Benjamin. We would all
work ourselves to death for you with pleasure; every obstacle should
be removed from your path. You have a few prejudices left; so you
think that I am a scoundrel, do you? Well, M. de Turenne, quite as
honorable a man as you take yourself to be, had some little private
transactions with bandits, and did not feel that his honor was
tarnished. You would rather not lie under any obligation to me, eh?
You need not draw back on that account," Vautrin went on, and a smile
stole over his lips. "Take these bits of paper and write across this,"
he added, producing a piece of stamped paper, "_Accepted the sum of
three thousand five hundred francs due this day twelvemonth_, and fill
in the date. The rate of interest is stiff enough to silence any
scruples on your part; it gives you the right to call me a Jew.
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