"You are so painstaking."
"It is not that I have talent; but as for fire, I possess some of that."
"One can see," she returned, pausing between the words, "that you—were in love—in your early days."
"Only in my early days, you believe?"
She stopped. "I know nothing about it."
"What does she mean?" And Bouvard felt his heart beating.
A little pool in the middle of the gravel obliging them to step aside, they got up on the hedgerow.
Then they chatted about the recital.
"What is the name of your last piece?"
"It is taken from Hernani, a drama."