attention and distracted it at the same time.

I did not know what these people were thinking about. I did not know
who they were. They hid themselves from one another. Their shining
fronts made a wall against which I dashed in vain.

Bracelets, necklaces, rings. The sparkling of the jewels made me feel
far away from them as do the stars. A young girl looked at me with
vague blue eyes. What could I do against that kind of sapphire?

They talked, but the noise left each one to himself, and deafened me,
as the light blinded me.

Nevertheless, at certain moments these people, because in the course of
conversation they thought of things they had at heart, revealed
themselves as if they were alone. I recognized the revelation of this
truth, and felt myself turning pale on remembering that other
revelation.

Some one spoke of money, and the subject became general. The assembly
was stirred by an ideal. A dream of grasping and touching shone
through their eyes, just as a little adoration had come into the eyes
of the servant when she found herself alone.

They recalled military heroes triumphantly, and some men thought, "Me,
too!" and worked themselves up into a fever, showing what they were
thinking of, in spite of their ridiculously low station and the slavery
of their social position. One young girl seemed dazzled, looked
overwhelmed. She could not restrain a sigh of ecstasy. She blushed
under the effect of an inscrutable thought. I saw the surge of blood