Josephlefthisstudioandwentdowntobreakfastwithhismother；butPhilippe’sconfessionhadtakenawayhisappetite。HetookMadameDescoingsasideandtoldhertheterriblenews。Theoldwomanmadeafrightenedexclamation，letfallthesaucepanofmilkshehadinherhand，andflungherselfintoachair。Agatherushedin；fromoneexclamationtoanotherthemothergatheredthefataltruth。
“He！tofailinhonor！thesonofBridautotakethemoneythatwastrustedtohim！“
Thewidowtrembledineverylimb；hereyesdilatedandthengrewfixed；shesatdownandburstintotears。
“Whereishe？“shecriedamidthesobs。“PerhapshehasflunghimselfintotheSeine。“
“Youmustnotgiveupallhope，“saidMadameDescoings，“becauseapoorladhasmetwithabadwomanwhohasledhimtodowrong。Dearme！weseethateveryday。Philippehashadsuchmisfortunes！hehashadsolittlechancetobehappyandlovedthatweoughtnottobesurprisedathispassionforthatcreature。Allpassionsleadtoexcess。Myownlifeisnotwithoutreproachofthatkind，andyetI