The pleasure with which he listened to Clerambault's _mea culpa_ may
be imagined; but the effect was surprising. Mignon, already ill at
ease, turned on Clerambault, whose self-accusations seemed to point
at him, and treated him like an enemy. In the sequel no one was more
violent than Mignon against this living remorse.
* * * * *
There were some politicians who would have understood Clerambault
better, for they knew as much as he did and perhaps more; but it did
not keep them awake at night. They had been used to mental
trickery ever since they cut their first teeth, and were expert at
_combinazione_; they had the illusion of serving their party, cheaply
gained by a few compromises here and there!... To think and walk
straightforwardly was the one thing impossible to these flabby
shufflers, who backed, or advanced in spirals, who dragged their
banner in the mud, by way of assuring its triumph, and who, to reach
the Capitol, would have crawled up the steps on their stomachs.
* * * * *
Here and there some clear-sighted spirits were hidden, but they were
easier to guess at than to see; they were melancholy glow-worms who
had put out their lanterns in their fright, so that not a gleam was
visible.
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