e, gentlemen," pointing to her dogs, "all the
court I have at present, but in truth those courtiers there are well worth
all others. Here, Marquis! down, Duke! lie down, Chevalier! Do not be
offended, gentlemen, that I receive you in such company; but how was I to
know?..."--Grimm first spoke.--"You will excuse, mademoiselle, this
unannounced visit when you know the important object of it."--"I am as
curious as if I were only twenty years old," said Mademoiselle de Camargo;
"but, alas! when I was twenty, it was the heart that was curious; but now,
in the winter of life, I am no longer troubled on that score."--"The heart
never grows old," said Helvetius, bowing.--"That is a heresy, sir: those
only dare to advance such maxims who have never been in love. It is love
that never grows old, for it dies in childhood. But the heart--"--"You see,
madame, that your heart is still young; what you have just said proves
that you are still full of fire and inspiration."--"Yes, yes," said
Mademoiselle de Camargo, "you are perhaps right; but when the hair is gray
and the wrinkles are deep, the heart is a lost treasure; a coin that is no
longer current."--While saying this, she lifted up Marquis by his two paws,
and kissed him on the head: Marquis was a fine setter-dog, with a
beautiful spotted skin.--"They, at least, will love me to the last. But it
seems to me we are talking nonsense; have we nothing better to talk about?
Come, gentlemen, I am all attention!"

The visitors looked at each other with some embarrassment; they seemed to
be asking of each other who was to speak first. Pont-de-Veyle collected
his thoughts, and spoke as follows: "Mademoiselle, we have been
breakfasting together; we had a gay time of it, like men of spirit.
Instead of bringing before us, as the Egyptians in olden times, mummies,
in order to remind us that time is the most precious of all things, we
called up all those gay phantoms which enchanted our youth: need I say
that you were not the least charming of them? who did not love you? who
did not desire to live with you one hour, even at the expense of a wound?
Happiness never costs too much--" Mademoiselle Camargo interrupted the
speaker: "O gentlemen, do not, I beg, blind me with the memory of the
past; do not awaken a buried passion! Let me die in peace! See, the tears
are in my eyes!"--The visitors, affected, looked with a certain degree of
emotion at the poor old lady who had loved so much. "It is strange