children resigned and courageous--two of the greatest virtues in the
world--and until now, my beloved son, courage and resignation have never
failed you. "At fifteen you competed for a scholarship in one of the
high schools, where you finished your studies. Your first education had
already borne excellent fruits; for, although many of your new
companions belonged to the aristocratic world, their contact never
altered your precious qualities, and you never knew the meaning of
either jealousy or envy. "Later, you entered as junior clerk in a
notary's office, with a man who has long been my friend, and who alone
holds the secret and administers my fortune. Until now, the discretion
of this friend has equaled his devotion. Near him, you have acquired a
perfect knowledge of business; and, thanks to my foresight, you shall be
in a position to skilfully and advantageously administer the
considerable wealth I have amassed. "My conscience does not reproach me;
and yet, I admit that I sometimes fear you will address this reproach to
my memory: "_While you accumulated these riches, my father, you
condemned me without mercy to the most cruel privations_. "Reflection
drives this fear from my heart, however; I remember how frequently you
have assured me that you were satisfied with your condition, and that if
you desired luxuries it was only for my sake. "In fact, your
inexhaustible humor and gentleness, your natural gaiety of spirits and
tender affection for me sufficiently prove that you are contented.
Moreover, do I not share your privations? Your own economies, added to
my earnings as a public scribe, have permitted us to live without
touching my revenues. The capital has thus been growing for twenty years
in the hands of my prudent administrator. "On the day on which I pen
these lines, my fortune amounts to about two millions and a half. "I
know not how many years of life may still be allotted to me, but in ten
years I shall have attained the average length of human life; you shall
then be thirty-five years of age; and since a capital doubles itself in
ten years, my wealth shall have attained the enormous sum of four or
five millions. "Unless I am stricken down suddenly, you shall therefore,
in all probability, attain your comple
