--Central News.]
Has ever such a thing been heard of! And the result is merely to
create scandal and invite his own disgrace! A quoi bon!"
He lit a cigarette and puffed at it impatiently. His particular
"code" of morality had been completely upset;--things seemed to have
taken a turn for general offence, and the simplest thoughts became
like bristles in his brain, pricking him uncomfortably in various
sore and sensitive places. Then, added to his general sense of
spleen was the unpleasant idea that he was really in love, where he
had never meant to be in love. "In love", is a wide term nowadays,
and covers a multitude of poor and petty passing emotions,--and it
is often necessary to add the word "really" to it, in order to
emphasise the fact that the passion has perhaps,--and even then it
is only a perhaps,--taken a somewhat lasting form. Why could not
Sylvie Hermenstein have allowed things to run their natural course?-
-this natural course being according to Fontenelle, to drop into his
arms when asked, and leave those arms again with equal alacrity also
when asked! It would have been quite pleasant and satisfactory to
him, the Marquis;--and for Sylvie--well!--for Sylvie, she would soon
have got over it! Now there was all this fuss and pother about
virtue! Virtue, quotha! In a woman, and in Paris! At this time of
day! Could anything be more preposterous and ridiculous!
"One would imagine I had stumbled into a convent for young ladies,"
he grumbled to himself, "What with Sylvie actually gone, and that
pretty pattern of chastity, Angela Sovrani, preaching at me with her
big violet eyes,--and now Vergniaud who used to be 'bon camarade et
bon vivant', branding himself a social sinner--really one would
imagine that some invisible Schoolmaster was trying to whip me into
order .
Pages:
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318