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poorfather！ah！iknowthosemomentsoftemptationwhenvirtuehasfailedtorewardus；andweregrethavingobeyedher！whohasnotfeltthisweaknessinhoursoftrial；andwhohasnotuttered；atleastonce；themournfulexclamationofbrutus？
butifvirtueisonlyaword；whatistheretheninlifethatistrueandreal？no；iwillnotbelievethatgoodnessisinvain！itdoesnotalwaysgivethehappinesswehadhopedfor；butitbringssomeother。
intheworldeverythingisruledbyorder；andhasitsproperandnecessaryconsequences；andvirtuecannotbethesoleexceptiontothegenerallaw。ifithadbeenprejudicialtothosewhopractisedit；experiencewouldhaveavengedthem；butexperiencehas；onthecontrary；madeitmoreuniversalandmoreholy。weonlyaccuseitofbeingafaithlessdebtorbecausewedemandanimmediatepayment；andoneapparenttooursenses。wealwaysconsiderlifeasafairytale；inwhicheverygoodactionmustberewardedbyavisiblewonder。wedonotacceptaspaymentapeacefulconscience；self…content；oragoodnameamongmen鈥斺�攖reasuresthataremorepreciousthananyother；butthevalueofwhichwedonotfeeltillafterwehavelostthem！
michaeliseback；andhasreturnedtohiswork。hissonhasnotyetarrived。
bytellingmeofhishopesandhisgrievousdisappointments；hebecameexcited；heunceasinglywentoveragainthesamesubject；alwaysaddingsomethingtohisgriefs。hehadjustwounduphisconfidentialdiscoursebyspeakingtomeofajoinersbusinesswhichhehadhopedtobuy；andworktogoodaccountwithrobertshelp。thepresentownerhadmadeafortunebyit；and；afterthirtyyearsofbusiness；hewasthinkingofretiringtooneoftheornamentalcottagesintheoutskirtsofthecity；ausualretreatforthefrugalandsuccessfulworkingman。michaelhadnotindeedthetwothousandfrancswhichmustbepaiddown；butperhapshecouldhavepersuadedmasterbenoittowait。robertspresencewouldhavebeenasecurityforhim；fortheyoungmancouldnotfailtoinsuretheprosperityofaworkshop；besidesscienceandskill；hehadthepowerofinventionandbringingtoperfection。hisfatherhaddiscoveredamonghisdrawingsanewplanforastaircase；whichhadoccupiedhisthoughtsforalongtime；andheevensuspectedhimofhavingengagedhimselftotheversaillescontractorfortheverypurposeofexecutingit。theyouthwastormentedbythisspiritofinvention；whichtookpossessionofallhisthoughts；and；whiledevotinghismindtostudy；hehadnotimetolistentohisfeelings。
michaeltoldmeallthiswithamixedfeelingofprideandvexation。isawhewasproudofthesonhewasabusing；andthathisverypridemadehimmoresensitivetothatsonsneglect。
sixoclockp。m鈥斺�攊havejustfinishedahappyday。howmanyeventshavehappenedwithinafewhours；andwhatachangeforgenevieveandmichael！
hehadjustfinishedfixingtheshelves；andtellingmeofhisson；whileilaidtheclothformybreakfast。
suddenlyweheardhurriedstepsinthepassage；thedooropened；andgenevieveenteredwithrobert。
thejoinergaveastartofjoyfulsurprise；butherepresseditimmediately；asifhewishedtokeepuptheappearanceofdispleasure。
theyoungmandidnotappeartonoticeit；butthrewhimselfintohisarmsinanopen…heartedmanner；whichsurprisedme。genevieve；whosefaceshonewithhappiness；seemedtowishtospeak；andtorestrainherselfwithdifficulty。
itoldrobertiwasgladtoseehim；andheansweredmewitheaseandcivility。
〃iexpectedyouyesterday；〃saidmichaelarout；ratherdryly。
〃forgiveme；father；〃repliedtheyoungworkman；〃butihadbusinessatst。germains。iwasnotabletoebacktillitwasverylate；andthenthemasterkeptme。〃
thejoinerlookedathissonsidewise；andthentookuphishammeragain。
〃allright；〃mutteredhe；inagrumblingtone；〃whenwearewithotherpeoplewemustdoastheywish；buttherearesomewhowouldlikebettertoeatbrownbreadwiththeirownknifethanpartridgeswiththesilverforkofamaster。〃
〃andiamoneofthose；father；〃repliedrobert；merrily；〃but；astheproverbsays；〃youmustshellthepeasbeforeyoucaneatthem。〃itwasnecessarythatishouldfirstworkinagreatworkshop鈥斺�敗�
〃togoonwithyourplanofthestaircase；〃interruptedmichael；ironically。
〃youmustnowsaymonsieurraymondsplan；father；〃repliedrobert；smiling。
〃why？〃
〃becauseihavesoldittohim。〃
thejoiner；whowasplaningaboard；turnedroundquickly。
〃soldit！〃criedhe；withsparklingeyes。
〃forthereasonthatiwasnotrichenoughtogiveithim。〃
michaelthrewdowntheboardandtool。
〃thereheisagain！〃resumedhe；angrily；〃hisgoodgeniusputsanideaintohisheadwhichwouldhavemadehimknown；andhegoesandsellsittoarichman；whowilltakethehonorofithimself。〃
〃well；whatharmistheredone？〃askedgenevieve。
〃whatharm！〃criedthejoiner；inapassion。〃youunderstandnothingaboutit鈥斺�攜ouareawoman；buthe鈥斺�攈eknowswellthatatrueworkmannevergivesuphisowninventionsformoney；nomorethanasoldierwouldgiveuphiscross。thatishisglory；heisboundtokeepitforthehonoritdoeshim！ah；thunder！ifihadevermadeadiscovery；ratherthanputitupatauctioniwouldhavesoldoneofmyeyes！dontyouseethatanewinventionislikeachildtoaworkman？hetakescareofit；hebringsitup；hemakesawayforitintheworld；anditisonlyapoorcreaturewhosellsit。〃
robertcoloredalittle。
〃youwillthinkdifferently；father；〃saidhe；〃whenyouknowwhyisoldmyplan。〃
〃yes；andyouwillthankhimforit；〃addedgenevieve；whocouldnolongerkeepsilence。
〃never！〃repliedmichael。
〃but；wretchedman！〃criedshe；〃hesolditonlyforoursakes！〃
thejoinerlookedathiswifeandsonwithastonishment。itwasnecessarytoetoanexplanation。thelatterrelatedhowhehadenteredintoanegotiationwithmasterbenoit；whohadpositivelyrefusedtosellhisbusinessunlessonehalfofthetwothousandfrancswerefirstpaiddown。itwasinthehopesofobtainingthissumthathehadgonetoworkwiththecontractoratversailles；hehadhadanopportunityoftryinghisinvention；andoffindingapurchaser。thankstothemoneyhereceivedforit；hehadjustconcludedthebargainwithbenoit；andhadbroughthisfatherthekeyofthenewwork…yard。
thisexplanationwasgivenbytheyoungworkmanwithsomuchmodestyandsimplicitythatiwasquiteaffectedbyit。genevievecried；michaelpressedhissontohisheart；andinalongembraceheseemedtoaskhispardonforhavingunjustlyaccusedhim。
allwasnowexplainedwithhonortorobert。theconductwhichhisparentshadascribedtoindifferencereallysprangfromaffection；hehadneitherobeyedthevoiceofambitionnorofavarice；noreventhenoblerinspirationofinventivegenius：hiswholemotiveandsingleaimhadbeenthehappinessofgenevieveandmichael。thedayforprovinghisgratitudehade；andhehadreturnedthemsacrificeforsacrifice！
aftertheexplanationsandexclamationsofjoywereover；allthreewereabouttoleaveme；but；theclothbeinglaid；i