Be merciful, and refuse her to me." M.Moriaz replied: "The fact is, you come, monsieur, in the words of the evangelist, 'like a thief in the night'; but I have nothing to refuse you.

You are not the son-in-law I frankly avow, whom I should have chosen.

This matters not; my daughter belongs to herself, she is mistress of her own actions, and I have no reason to believe that she errs in her choice.

You are a man of taste and of honour, and you know the worth of what she has given you.

If you render Antoinette happy, you will find in me a warm friend.