It was very evident that if he went on
in this way, each twelvemonth would deepen an abyss where in the
one hundred and sixty thousand francs a year, left him by his
father, would finally be swallowed up. But he had plenty of time
to reflect upon this unpleasant possibility ere it could come to
pass! And, besides, he found his present life so delightful, and
he obtained so much gratification for his money, that he was
unwilling to make any change. He possessed several fine estates,
and he found plenty of men who were only too glad to lend him
money on such excellent security. He borrowed timidly at first,
but more boldly when he discovered what a mere trifle a mortgage
is. Moreover, his wants increased in proportion to his vanity.
Occupying a certain position in the opinion of his acquaintances,
he did not wish to descend from the heights to which they had
exalted him; and the very fact that he had been foolishly
extravagant one year made it necessary for him to be guilty of
similar folly during the succeeding twelvemonth. He failed to pay
his creditors the interest that was due on his loans. They did
not ask him for it; and perhaps he forgot that it was slowly but
surely accumulating, and that at the end of a certain number of
years the amount of his indebtedness would be doubled. He never
thought what the end would be. He became absolutely ignorant of
the condition of his affairs, and really arrived at the conclusion
that his resources were inexhaustible.
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