never an event beyond the tinkle of the
shop-bell announcing a customer, a little bell with a short, sharp,
cracked ring, stopping on a single note without vibration, as though it
were the very voice of the little souls which it excited.

In contrast with this humble destiny, I considered my own full of
difficulty and agitation, so crowded and yet doubtless equally empty; I
followed in my mind's eye the lives of my friends; and I reflected that
the nature of us women, alike of the most wayward and the most direct,
is too delicate and too complex for us easily to keep our balance in a
state of complete liberty.

"When we achieve it," I said to Rose, "it is thanks to a close and
constant observation of ourselves; for woman never has any real moral
strength. Self-sacrifice and kindness alone lend us some, because our
capacity for loving knows no limit: our strength is then a loan which we
make to ourselves at difficult moments by a miracle of love. Once the
crisis is over, we have to pay ... with interest!"

"In Paris," said Rose, "even from the very first, I had a feeling that I
should never dare to move in the absolute liberty that was offered me.
You are not angry with me?"

"How could I be? We were both wanderers, you and I, where circumstances
led us, both of us with a passion for sincerity, both of us with the
best of intentions. A cleverer mind than mine would doubtless have
saved you from going out of your way. It had many unnecessary turnings.
But perhaps they had their uses...."

"Yes," replied my friend, wisely, "for without them, I should not have
been so certain that my choice was right...."

7

Around us the mysterious life of the night was gradually awaking. All
the animals that shun the daylight were beginning to stir. A hedgehog
brushed against my skirt. In the grass, two glowworms summoned love with
all their fires. The smell of the garden became overpowering. Our
movements and our words throbbed in a scented air. Rose leant towards
me:

"There is one thought that troubles me," she said. "Have I discouraged
you? Will others better equipped than I still find you ready to lend
them a helping hand?"

"Why not, Roseline?" And I would have liked to put my very soul into the
kiss which I gave her. "No, you have not discouraged me. The only thing
that matters is to have the power to choose what suits us. Then alone
is it possible for us to develop ourselves without restraint. With your
limited hori