—That surprises you?
—Still.
—You?
—Me.
—So you have forgotten your adventure with la Deschamps and the profound despair into which you fell when this creature closed her doors to you.
—Drop it; continue.
—I had said to you, `So she is very beautiful?´ And you answered sadly, `No.—She has a good personality?—She is foolish.—So it is her talents that sway you?—She has but one.—And this rare, sublime, marvelous talent?—Is to make me happier in her arms than I have ever been with any other woman.´ But Mademoiselle de La Chaux, the good, sensible Mademoiselle de La Chaux, secretly counted on, by instinct, unbeknownst to him, the good fortune that you once knew, and which made you say of la Deschamps: `If this unfortunate girl, if this despicable woman insists on kicking me out, I will grab a gun and blow my brains out in her foyer.´ You said that, correct?
—I said it; and even now I do not know why I did not do it.
—Admit it, then.
—I will admit to anything if it pleases you.