"I had entirely forgotten my Indian, when about four years later he arrived at my door, accompanied by another savage. I could scarcely recognize him. He was splendidly clad, and everything about him bespoke the great hunter and the mighty warrior. In one corner of my room he and his companion laid down two bundles of merchandise of great value—the richest furs, moccasins splendidly embroidered with porcupine quills, and exquisite pieces of work in birch bark, such as the Indians alone know how to make. I congratulated him upon the happy turn his affairs had taken.
"'Listen to me, my brother,' said he. 'I owe you much, and I am come to pay my debt. You saved my life, for you know good medicine. You have done more, for you know the words which reach the heart; dog of a drunkard as I was, I am become once more a man as I was created by the Great Spirit. You were rich when you lived beyond the great water. This wigwam is too small for you; build one large enough to hold your great heart. All these goods belong to you,' The gratitude of this child of the forest brought tears to my eyes; for in all my long life I had found but two men who could be grateful—the faithful André, my foster-brother, and this poor Indian, who, seeing that I was going to accept nothing but a pair of deer-hide moccasins, struck three fingers rapidly across his mouth with a shrill cry of 'houa,' and took himself off at top speed with his companion. Never after could I find a trace of him. Our good curé undertook the sale of the goods, the product of which, with interest, was lately distributed among his tribe."
The good gentleman sighed, reflected a moment, then resumed his speech:
"I am now going to tell you, my dear Jules, of the most happy and most wretched periods of my life. Five years of happiness! Five years of misery! O God! for one single day of the joy of my youth, the joy as keen as pain, which could make me forget all that I have suffered! Oh, for one of those happy days when I believed in human friendship, when I knew not the ingratitude of men!
"When I had completed my studies, all careers were open to me. That of arms seemed most suitable, but I hated to shed blood. I obtained a place of trust under the government. For me such a place was ruin. I had a great fortune of my own, my office was a lucrative one, and I scattered by handfuls the gold which I despised.
"I do not accuse others in order to palliate my own follies. But one thing is sure, I had more than enough for all my own expenses, though not for those of my friends and my friends' friends, who rushed upon me like hungry wolves. I bear them no grudge; they but acted according to their nature. As for me, my hand was never shut. Not only my purse, but my signature was at everybody's disposal. There was my greatest mistake; for I may say in all sincerity that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, in my times of greatest embarrassment, I had to meet their liabilities with my own cash in order to save my credit. A great English poet has said:
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,
And loan oft loses both itself and friend.
"Give, my dear boy, with both hands; but be chary of your signature.
"My private affairs were so mingled with those of my office that it was long before I discovered how deeply I was involved. The revelation came upon me like a thunderbolt. Not only was I ruined, but I was on the verge of a serious defalcation. At last I said to myself, 'what matters the loss of the gold, so long as I pay my debts? I am young, and not afraid to work, and I shall always have enough. Moreover, my friends owe me considerable sums. When they see my difficulties, not only will they hasten to give back what they owe, but they will do for me as I have so often done for them.' What a fool I was to judge others by myself! For me, I would have moved heaven and earth to save a friend from ruin. How innocent and credulous I was! They had good reason, the wretches, to laugh at me.