January 1840

Guy wished all his friends dead on very slight occasion. Whoever was privy to one of his gaucheries had the honour of this Stygian op- tation. Had Jove heard all his prayers, the planet would soon have been unpeopled. At last it occurred to Guy that, instead of wringing this hecatomb of friends' necks every morning, he would dine better if he gave as much life as he now took. He found to his astonishment the em- bryos of a thousand friends hid under his own heart, and that for every offence he forgave, and for every great choice he made, suddenly from afar a noble stranger knocked at his street gate.