But as I am
sure that what passes between us will be buried in oblivion, I do not
fear embroiling myself in a quarrel with all my sex, they might,
perhaps, claim the right to blame my ingenuity.
But the Countess is above all such petty things, she agrees, however,
with everything I have just said. Are there many women like her?
XL
Oratory and Fine Phrases do Not Breed Love
The example of the Marquise has not yet had any effect on the heart of
her friend. It appears, on the contrary, that she is more on guard
against you, and that you have drawn upon yourself her reproaches
through some slight favor you have deprived her of.
I have been thinking that she would not fail on this occasion to
recall to your recollection, the protestations of respect and
disinterestedness you made when you declared your passion for her. It
is customary in similar cases. But what seems strange about it is,
that the same eagerness that a woman accepts as a proof of disrespect,
before she is in perfect accord with her lover, becomes, in her
imagination, a proof of love and esteem, as soon as they meet on a
common ground.
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