Page:The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux.pdf/276

280 I had no difficulty in obtaining permission to join the ship. At that time the authorities were glad to find young men who were willing to go out and settle in the Colony, and my passage and provisions were granted me free of cost.

The mail for Paris was to leave the following day, and I took advantage of the fact to post a letter to Tiberge. It was a touching epistle, and must have moved him deeply; for it inspired him with a resolve that could only have originated in a heart that was filled with an infinite wealth of generous sympathy for an unhappy friend.