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V
THE SUITORS
Gilberte went to more of Mme. de la Vaudraye's evenings: not that she liked them much; but she did not wish to have it thought that she disliked them.
And her presence delighted all the frequenters of the salon, the most cross-grained ladies and the most indifferent men alike. It was a curious influence exercised by that mere child; and she owed it neither to her experience—for what did she know of life?—nor to her tact—for what aim had she in view?—but to an inexplicable charm which affected all who came near her and which, at the same time, protected her against them. Her innocence was a greater attraction than any subtlety or intellectual charm and de-
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