received or to pass current? The sound of Mme. de Beauseant's name
revived a young man's dreams and wakened urgent desires that had lain
dormant for a little.

Gaston de Nueil was absent-minded and preoccupied for the rest of the
evening. He was pondering how he might gain access to Mme. de
Beauseant, and truly it was no very easy matter. She was believed to
be extremely clever. But if men and women of parts may be captivated
by something subtle or eccentric, they are also exacting, and can read
all that lies below the surface; and after the first step has been
taken, the chances of failure and success in the difficult task of
pleasing them are about even. In this particular case, moreover, the
Vicomtesse, besides the pride of her position, had all the dignity of
her name. Her utter seclusion was the least of the barriers raised
between her and the world. For which reasons it was well-nigh
impossible that a stranger, however well born, could hope for
admittance; and yet, the next morning found M. de Nueil taking his
walks abroad in the direction of Courcelles, a dupe of illusions
natural at his age. Several times he made the circuit of the garden
walls, looking earnestly through every gap at the closed shutters or
open windows, hoping for some romantic chance, on which he founded
schemes for introducing himself into this unknown lady's presence,
without a thought of their impracticability. Morning after morning was
spent in this way to mighty purpose; but with each day's walk, that
vision of a woman living apart from the world, of love's martyr buried
in solitude, loomed larger in his thoughts, and was enshrined in his
soul. So Gaston de Nueil walked under the walls of Courcelles, and
some gardener's heavy footstep would set his heart beating high with
hope.