nd the
bones had come trough the flesh. She did not complain, and merely said,
with admirable resignation: 'I am punished, well punished!'

"I sent for assistance and for the work-girl's relatives and told them a
made-up story of a runaway carriage which had knocked her down and lamed
her outside my door. They believed me, and the gendarmes for a whole
month tried in vain to find the author of this accident.

"That is all! And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to
the race of those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history.

"That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin. She was a martyr,
a noble soul, a sublimely devoted woman! And if I did not absolutely
admire her, I should not have told you this story, which I would never
tell any one during her life; you understand why."

The doctor ceased. Mamma cried and papa said some words which I did
not catch; then they left the room and I remained on my knees in the
armchair and sobbed, whilst I heard a strange noise of heavy footsteps
and something knocking against the side of the staircase.

They were carrying away Clochette's body.

THE KISS

My Little Darling: So you are crying from morning until night and from
night until morning, because your husband leaves you; you do not know
what to do and so you ask your old aunt for advice; you must consider
her quite an expert. I don't know as much as you think I do, and yet
I am not entirely ignorant of the art of loving, or, rather, of making
one's self loved, in which you are a little lacking. I can admit that at
my age.

You say that you are all attention, love, kisses and caresses for him.
Perhaps that is the very trouble; I think you kiss him too much.

My dear, we have in our hands the most terrible power in the world:
LOVE.

Man is gifted with physical strength, and he exercises force. Woman
is gifted with charm, and she rules with caresses. It is our weapon,
formidable and invincible, but we should know how to use it.

Know well that we are the mistresses of the world! To tell the history
of Love from the beginning of the world would be to tell the history
of man himself: Everything springs from it, the arts, great events,
customs, wars, the overthrow of empires.

In the Bible you find Delila, Judith; in fables we find Omphale, Helen;
in history the Sabines, Cleopatra and many others.

Therefore we reign supreme, all-powerful. But, like kings, we must make
use of delicate di