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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: "My dear Montefiore," said the ex-quartermaster, after making a tour
of the salon, "I owe you a hundred thousand francs; but my money is in
Bordeaux, where I have left my wife."
Diard had the money in bank-bills in his pocket; but with the self-
possession and rapid bird's-eye view of a man accustomed to catch at
all resources, he still hoped to recover himself by some one of the
endless caprices of play. Montefiore had already mentioned his
intention of visiting Bordeaux. Had he paid his debt on the spot,
Diard would have been left without the power to take his revenge; a
revenge at cards often exceeds the amount of all preceding losses. But
these burning expectations depended on the marquis's reply.
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