Manon Lescaut | Page 7

to attempt anything in her behalf; but, not having sufficient experience
at once to imagine any reasonable plan of serving her, I did not go
beyond this general assurance, from which indeed little good could
arise either to her or to myself. Her old guardian having by this time
joined us, my hopes would have been blighted, but that she had tact
enough to make amends for my stupidity. I was surprised, on his
approaching us, to hear her call me her cousin, and say, without being
in the slightest degree disconcerted, that as she had been so fortunate as
to fall in with me at Amiens, she would not go into the convent until
the next morning, in order to have the pleasure of meeting me at supper.
Innocent as I was, I at once comprehended the meaning of this ruse;
and proposed that she should lodge for the night at the house of an
innkeeper, who, after being many years my father's coachman, had
lately established himself at Amiens, and who was sincerely attached to
me.
"I conducted her there myself, at which the old Argus appeared to
grumble a little; and my friend Tiberge, who was puzzled by the whole
scene, followed, without uttering a word. He had not heard our
conversation, having walked up and down the court while I was talking

of love to my angelic mistress. As I had some doubts of his discretion, I
got rid of him, by begging that he would execute a commission for me.
I had thus the happiness, on arriving at the inn, of entertaining alone the
sovereign of my heart.
"I soon learned that I was less a child than I had before imagined. My
heart expanded to a thousand sentiments of pleasure, of which I had not
before the remotest idea. A delicious consciousness of enjoyment
diffused itself through my whole mind and soul. I sank into a kind of
ecstasy, which deprived me for a time of the power of utterance, and
which found vent only in a flood of tears.
"Manon Lescaut (this she told me was her name) seemed gratified by
the visible effect of her own charms. She appeared to me not less
excited than myself. She acknowledged that she was greatly pleased
with me, and that she should be enchanted to owe to me her freedom
and future happiness. She would insist on hearing who I was, and the
knowledge only augmented her affection; for, being herself of humble
birth, she was flattered by securing for her lover a man of family.
After many reflections we could discover no other resource than in
flight. To effect this it would be requisite to cheat the vigilance of
Manon's guardian, who required management, although he was but a
servant. We determined, therefore, that, during the night, I should
procure a post-chaise, and return with it at break of day to the inn,
before he was awake; that we should steal away quietly, and go straight
to Paris, where we might be married on our arrival. I had about fifty
crowns in my pocket, the fruit of my little savings at school; and she
had about twice as much. We imagined, like inexperienced children,
that such a sum could never be exhausted, and we counted, with equal
confidence, upon the success of our other schemes.
"After having supped, with certainly more satisfaction than I had ever
before experienced, I retired to prepare for our project. All my
arrangements were the more easy, because, for the purpose of returning
on the morrow to my father's, my luggage had been already packed. I
had, therefore, no difficulty in removing my trunk, and having a chaise
prepared for five o'clock in the morning, at which hour the gates of the
town would be opened; but I encountered an obstacle which I was little
prepared for, and which nearly upset all my plans.
"Tiberge, although only three years older than myself, was a youth of

unusually strong mind, and of the best regulated conduct. He loved me
with singular affection. The sight of so lovely a girl as Manon, my
ill-disguised impatience to conduct her to the inn, and the anxiety I
betrayed to get rid of him, had excited in his mind some suspicions of
my passion. He had not ventured to return to the inn where he had left
me, for fear of my being annoyed at his doing so; but went to wait for
me at my lodgings, where, although it was ten o'clock at night, I found
him on my arrival. His presence annoyed me, and he soon perceived
the restraint which it imposed. `I am certain,' he said to me, without any
disguise, `that you have some plan in contemplation which you will not
confide