come to a weak woman with your purpose definitely planned out. You
say--'For a certain length of time she will talk to me of her husband,
then of God, and then of the inevitable consequences. But I will use
and abuse the ascendancy I shall gain over her; I will make myself
indispensable; all the bonds of habit, all the misconstructions of
outsiders, will make for me; and at length, when our _liaison_ is taken
for granted by all the world, I shall be this woman's master.'--Now, be
frank; these are your thoughts! Oh! you calculate, and you say that you
love. Shame on you! You are enamoured? Ah! that I well believe! You
wish to possess me, to have me for your mistress, that is all! Very well
then, No! The _Duchesse de Langeais_ will not descend so far. Simple
_bourgeoises_ may be the victims of your treachery--I, never! Nothing
gives me assurance of your love. You speak of my beauty; I may lose
every trace of it in six months, like the dear Princess, my neighbour.
You are captivated by my wit, my grace. Great Heavens! you would soon
grow used to them and to the pleasures of possession. Have not the
little concessions that I was weak enough to make come to be a matter of
course in the last few months? Some day, when ruin comes, you will give
me no reason for the change in you beyond a curt, 'I have ceased to
care for you.'--Then, rank and fortune and honour and all that was the
Duchesse de Langeais will be swallowed up in one disappointed hope.
I shall have children to bear witness to my shame, and----" With an
involuntary gesture she interrupted herself, and continued: "But I am
too good-natured to explain all this to you when you know it better than
I. Come! let us stay as we are. I am only too fortunate in that I can
still break these bonds which you think so strong. Is there anything so
very heroic in coming to the Hotel de Langeais to spend an evening
with a woman whose prattle amuses you?--a woman whom you take for a
plaything? Why, half a dozen young coxcombs come here just as regularly
every afternoon between three and five. They, too, are very generous, I
am to suppose? I make fun of them; they stand my petulance and insolence
pretty quietly, and make me laugh; but as for you, I give all the
treasures of my soul to you, and you wish to ruin me, you try my
patience in endless ways. Hush, that will do, that will do," she
continued, seeing that he was about to speak, "you have no heart,
no soul, no delicacy. I know wha