"There is something that works quicker than time in the cure of love; to wit, another love. You ought to have had ten mistresses in Spain."
"Impossible! I thought of nobody but her."
"You can fairly boast of being a paladin of the good old times. You could have given Roland and Amadis points. So you are going to leave Paris again! Would you like me to travel with you?"
"Thanks! my company is far from agreeable; my sole pleasure consists in musing by myself—thinking of the happiness to which I looked forward for some time, but which I am never to know."
"We would have sought adventures together, aye, and found them too, I promise you! That would have diverted your thoughts."
"I do not care to divert my thoughts, as my only pleasure is the thought of her."
"Sapristi! yours is a devilishly persistent passion! However, as you're so obstinate——"
Cherami paused, and seemed to reflect upon the best means of changing the subject.
XXXI
A NEW SWITCH
"In that case, it will be another long while before I see you again?" he said at last. "That troubles me—especially as there are times when a friend is very essential!"