htness of
her footsteps, even in her bare arms, to which invisible wings seemed
attached, and, finally, in her ardent and magnetic personality, I
felt an indescribable something foreign to the nature of humanity; an
indescribable something inferior and yet superior to the woman God has
created in his formidable goodness, so that she should be our companion
in this earthly exile. From the moment I saw her one feeling alone
overmastered my soul and pervaded it; I felt a profound aversion towards
everything that was not this woman.

"Seeing her enter, Paul frowned slightly, but changing his mind, he made
an effort to smile.

"'Leila, I wish to present to you my best friend.'

"Leila replied:

"'I know M. Ary.'

"These words could not but seem strange as we had certainly never
seen each other before; but the voice with which they were uttered was
stranger still.

"If crystal could utter thought, so it would speak.

"'My friend Ary,' continued Paul, 'is to be married in six weeks.'

"At these words Leila looked at me and I saw distinctly that her golden
eyes said 'No!'

"I went away greatly disturbed, nor did my friend show the slightest
desire to detain me. All that day I wandered aimlessly through the
streets, my heart empty and desolate; then, towards night, finding
myself in front of a florist's shop, I remembered my _fiancee_, and went
in to get her a spray of white lilac. I had hardly taken hold of the
flowers when a little hand tore them out of my grasp, and I saw Leila,
who turned away laughing. She wore a short grey dress and a jacket of
the same colour and a small round hat. I must confess that this costume
of a Parisian dressed for walking was most unbecoming to her fairy-like
beauty and seemed a kind of disguise. And yet, seeing her so, I felt
that I loved her with an undying love. I tried to rejoin her, but I lost
her among the crowd and the carriages.

"From this time on I seemed to cease to live. I called several times at
Paul's without seeing Leila again. He always received me in a friendly
manner, but he never spoke of her. We had nothing to say to each other,
and I was sad when we parted. At last, one day, the footman said that
his master was out. He added 'Perhaps you would like to see Madame?' I
replied 'Yes.' O, my father, what tears of blood can ever atone for this
little word! I entered. I found her in the drawing-room, half reclining
on a couch, in a dress as yellow as gold, under which s