letter from you, very concise, and melancholy enough in its
solitude; it is, however, a token of your remembrance. That you
may be happy is the wish of my heart, a very pure and
disinterested wish, since you have decided that thus it is to be.
I once more take up my work, and in that, as in a battle, the
struggle occupies one entirely; one suffers, but the heart becomes
calm."

_Facino Cane_ was dedicated to Louise:

"As a mark of affectionate gratitude."



CHAPTER V

SENTIMENTAL FRIENDSHIPS


MADAME DE BERNY

"I have to stand alone now amidst my troubles; formerly I had
beside me in my struggles the most courageous and the sweetest
person in the world, a woman whose memory is each day renewed in
my heart, and whose divine qualities make all other friendships
when compared with hers seem pale. I no longer have help in the
difficulties of life; when I am in doubt about any matter, I have
now no other guide than this final thought, 'If she were alive,
what would she say?' Intellects of this order are rare."