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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: henceforth safe. She might be the humblest of women, but at least she
was not what her mother was--an infamous courtesan.
The merchant and his wife had fulfilled their trust with scrupulous
integrity. Juana's fortune, managed by them, had increased tenfold.
Perez de Lagounia, now the richest merchant in the provinces, felt for
the young girl a sentiment that was semi-superstitious. Her money had
preserved his ancient house from dishonorable ruin, and the presence
of so precious a treasure had brought him untold prosperity. His wife,
a heart of gold, and full of delicacy, had made the child religious,
and as pure as she was beautiful. Juana might well become the wife of
either a great seigneur or a wealthy merchant; she lacked no virtue
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