boiteux-la_." "I do not like to see that lame dog;" in the Citizen
who apes the Nobleman (_le Bourgeois gentilhomme_), Act iii. sc. 9,
he even gives a portrait of his wife.]

As for my being deceived that may be; there is a better foundation for
that idea; nevertheless, I do not believe it can be easily done. I may
be a fool, but I do not see yet why you vex yourself thus. Lucile, to my
thinking, shows sufficient love for you; she sees you and talks to you,
at all times; and Valere, after all, who is the cause of your fear,
seems only to be allowed to approach her because she is compelled so to
act.

ERAS. A lover is often buoyed up by false hope. He who is best received
is not always the most beloved. The affection a woman displays is often
but a veil to cover her passion for another. Valere has lately shown too
much tranquillity for a slighted lover; and the joy or indifference he
displays at those favours, which you suppose bestowed upon me, embitters
continually their greatest charms, causes this grief, which you cannot
understand, holds my happiness in suspense, and makes it difficult for
me to trust completely anything Lucile says to me. I should feel
delighted if I saw Valere animated by a little more jealousy; his
anxiety and impatience would then reassure my heart. Do you as yourself
think it possible for any one to see a rival caressed and be as
satisfied as he is; if you do not believe it, tell me, I conjure you, if
I have not a cause to be perplexed?

GR.-RE. Perhaps he has changed his inclination, upon finding that he
sighed in vain.

ERAS. When love has been frequently repelled it frees itself, and wishes