I have, according to your wishes, deposited in the Bank of France,
and in my name, the sum of one hundred thousand crowns, destined to the
restitution of which you are the intermediate agent and which was to pass
through my hands. You have preferred that this deposit should not remain in
your possession, although it seems to me it had been quite as secure there
as in the bank."
"In that respect, M. l'Abbe, I have conformed to the intentions of the
unknown author of this restitution. It is an affair of conscience. At his
request I have placed this sum in your hands, and begged you to remit it to
madame the widow Fermont, whose maiden name was Renneville" (the voice of
the notary trembled slightly in uttering these names), "when she should
present herself to you, and prove herself to be entitled to the same."
"I will accomplish the mission which you confided to me," said the priest.
"It is not the last, M. l'Abbe."
"So much the better, if the others resemble this; for without wishing to
seek for the motives which impel it, I am always touched by a voluntary
restitution. These lofty acts, which conscience alone dictates, are always
the indications of sincere repentance, and it is no barren expiation."
"In truth, M. l'Abbe, to restore a hundred thousand francs at once is rare;
as for me, I have been more curious than you; but what availed my curiosity
against the unshaken discretion of Jacques! Thus, I am still ignorant of
the person's name who has made this noble restitution.
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