mon. Her wants are not mine, nor are mine hers. She offends all my tastes as I offend all hers. If I display so much bitterness against the merry-andrews who perform in her salon, it is because of her. I hate to see her countenancing their grimaces and posturings."
She said nothing. He asked:
"You blame me for it, don't you? Yes, yes, I feel it. ... And how strange: in your presence, I too think that I am wrong and, while I was saying those things, I blushed as if I had uttered ugly thoughts!"
She laughed:
"They were not very pretty ones."
"Never mind, I prefer you to know them. I do not wish to trick you into liking me. If I ever win your esteem, I want to do so without hypocrisy, without trying to hide my faults from you."
No one had ever spoken to Gilberte with such seriousness and deference. She felt quite touched and, with a spontaneous move-
