"Yes. That is the one thing. It is our fate; if not the first thing that we pursue, it is always the last that we give up. There is no help for it—none. We may be all our life forcing upon ourselves the conviction that we have the same rights as men, and are capable of bearing the same amount of liberty as they; but there must come a moment when, for that one true love, we most willingly give up all its counterfeits."
"But you have, Madame, the comfort to know that men too are liable to a similar reaction. When quite sated with freedom, the very greatest profligates will settle down to a married life."
"Only for a short while, and then they begin all over again, and return to their favourite pastime. … Why, take Imszanski, for instance; you surely know him well. …"
My face flushed up as red as fire, but I undauntedly raised my eyes to hers. She, on encountering my gaze, blushed, too. Once more I felt an uneasy flutter at my heart.
She burst into a sudden transport.
"I love, I love, and without any return!—Oh, how unlike me, is it not?"
Whereupon she laughed hysterically, and
