my poor child, has it not? Well, then, you must try to arm yourself
against tyranny."

"Ah, madame, before coming in here, only seeing you as I came in, I
already detected some arts of which I had no suspicion."

"Well, come and see me sometimes, and it will not be long before you
have mastered the knowledge of these trifles, important, too, in their
way. Outward things are, to fools, half of life; and in that matter
more than one clever man is a fool, in spite of all his talent. But I
dare wager you never could refuse your Theodore anything!"

"How refuse anything, madame, if one loves a man?"

"Poor innocent, I could adore you for your simplicity. You should know
that the more we love the less we should allow a man, above all, a
husband, to see the whole extent of our passion. The one who loves
most is tyrannized over, and, which is worse, is sooner or later
neglected. The one who wishes to rule should----"

"What, madame, must I then dissimulate, calculate, become false, form
an artificial character, and live in it? How is it possible to live in
such a way? Can you----" she hesitated; the Duchess smiled.

"My dear child," the great lady went on in a serious tone, "conjugal
happiness has in all times been a speculation, a business demanding
particular attention. If you persist in talking passion while I am
talking marriage, we shall soon cease to understand each other. Listen
to me," she went on, assuming a confidential tone. "I have been in the
way of seeing some of the superior men of our day. Those who have