The Idol of Paris
Fran?ois Darbois had great difficulty in constraining himself to remain in the noisy vestibule. He suffered too acutely at seeing his daughter, that pure and delicate child, the focus of ever
not been one offensive
his arms, pressed close against his
you on the stage, dear little daughter. It is too painful for m
n me, it is such a force that impels me. I am sorr
efore her father, sobbi
nd his exuberance was dashed to the ground whe
ness," he said, helpin
this child away to compose herself, wash the tears off her
the hostess, and disappeared to see if
one of those creatures who are only born once in a hundred years or so; some come as preservers, like Joan of Arc; others serve as instruments of vengeance of some occult power" (Sardou was an ardent believer in the occult). "Your child is a force of nature, and nothing can prevent her destiny. The fact that you have seen her brilliant development in spite of the grey environment of her first six
Mademoiselle. Her father held out his arms to her and wh
st her beautiful pure forehead to avoid the em
instructive, drawn from his manifold sources of knowledge in art or science. Mlle. Frahender was stupified by so much eclecticism, the philosopher forgot his grief, Madame Darbois realized for the first time that there might exist a brain worthy of comparis
trances that she would find it fatiguing. The modesty and simplicity of her return to
ed a sharp young person, who was destined to
ness, in spite of his twenty-three years, pressed Jean Perliez's hand af
n ever. He had waited for her at the foot of the stairway, for the intimacy of th
she exclaimed at sight of him
atter with me?
with him?" echoed se
nothing. He realized the shock that it would be to Esperance. She liked him so much as a friend! On the long walks they took, with Genevieve H
," she would say, "and I w
ing a barrister, as his father had always wished him to do, but that
loved her, but Maurice's love was more selfish, less deeply rooted. He was not jealous of Perliez; he wa
he is really too yo
ld outdo me by the logic of her reasoning on the mysteries of religion. We both adore, my dear Jean, a very extraordinary little person. I will get out of
yal of the senses. She thought that love was the natural result of marriage. The great passions as the poets s