Blinded by his passion, the master showed no regret; he felt so sure of repairing the loss that in selling the pictures he reserved the right of redemption.

In Josephine's eyes a hundred pictures were as nothing compared to domestic happiness and the satisfaction of her husband's mind; moreover, she refilled the gallery with other paintings taken from the reception-rooms, and to conceal the gaps which these left in the front house, she changed the arrangement of the furniture.
When Balthazar's debts were all paid he had about two hundred thousand francs with which to carry on his experiments.

The Abbe de Solis and his nephew took charge secretly of the fifteen thousand ducats reserved by Madame Claes.

To increase that sum, the abbe sold the Dutch ducats, to which the events of the Continental war had given a commercial value.
One hundred and sixty-five thousand francs were buried in the cellar of the house in which the abbe and his nephew resided.
Madame Claes had the melancholy happiness of seeing her husband incessantly busy and satisfied for nearly eight months.

But the shock he had lately given her was too severe; she sank into a state of languor and debility which steadily increased.