The Lady of the Camellias

a word about Armand, but on the other hand the

poken to you before. Next thing, you discover that the person in question was there, just out of range, all the while. You realize that your paths have crossed many times without your noticing, and you find in the events which others recount some tangible link or affinity with certain events in your own past. I had not quite reached that point with

ched any friends, with whom I had neve

meone called Mar

of the C

t's

the

with smiles which left no poss

of girl was she

decent

hat a

more brains and perhaps a bit mo

othing particul

ned Baro

ne el

istress of the

eally his

t any rate, he gave her

same genera

to learn a little about the affai

live habitually on intimate terms with the

ow Margueri

was that sa

t of girl

arted type. Her death wa

called Armand Duv

p with fa

t's

she

as this Arm

had on her, I believe, and was forced to gi

about

, but as girls of her sort love. You should

came of

ayed five or six months with Marguerite, in the countr

ven't seen

ver

Marguerite's death had not exaggerated the love he had once felt for her and therefore his grief, and I to

n a note of real sincerity and, moving from one extreme to the other, I imagined that his grief could well

an element of selfishness; perhaps I had glimpsed a touching love story behind his grief, perhaps, in

text was not difficult to find. Unfortunately, I did not know his address, an

re had been a change of porter. He did not know any more than I did. I then asked i

; in a word, it was already warm enough for the living to remember the dead and visit them. I went to the cemetery, telling myself: '

22nd of the month of February, a woman named Marguerit

to their final place of rest are entered and given a number, and he answered

ity of the dead which has its streets like the cities of the living. The keeper called a gardener, to whom he gave the necessary

' I s

ifferent flowers fr

person who lo

s took as good care of the departed as the yo

ater, the gardener

we a

which no one would ever have taken for a grave if a white ma

d the boundary of the plot that had been bought, and e

y to that?' sai

ery bea

ithers, my orders are to put

ave you yo

iend of the departed, I'll be bound, because they do say she was a bit of

es

' the gardener said

ver spike

ce of you, because people who come to see the po

one c

that young chap

t on

, si

never re

come as soon as

travellin

es

u know whe

ne to see Mademoisell

he doing

tion to exhume the body and

n't he leav

, we do. This plot was bought for five years only, and that young chap wants a

u call the

n kept like it is nowadays, there wouldn't have been another like it in the world; but th

do you

ey was against putting her here, and that there ought to be ground set apart for women of her sort, like there is for the poor. Ever hear the like of it? I told them straight, I did; very well-to-do folks who can't even come four times a year to pay their respects to their departed. They bring their own flowers and some flowers they are too, are very particular about arranging upkeep for them as they say they mourn, inscribe on their tombstones th

will understand, without my having to explain

lings, no doubt,

embers her, he does right by the others as well. But we've got poor girls here of the same sort and the same age that get thrown into a pauper's grave, and it breaks my heart when I hear their poor bodies drop into the earth. And not a soul looks out for them once they're dead! It's not always very chee

re to listen to me going on. I was told to take you to Mademoiselle Gaut

uer Duval's address

least that's where I went to get pai

you, my

would have gladly plumbed for a sight of what the earth had done with the beauti

Duval, sir?' continued the ga

es

ain that he's not back yet. Otherwi

d that he hasn't for

this wanting to move her to another grave

o you

ties that have to be gone through to secure a transfer, because, you know, before bodies can be moved from one grave to another, they must be identified, and only the family can authorize the operat

gardener again, slipping a few coins into his hand

was not

me and see me as soon as he arrived, or

formed me of his return and asked me to drop by, adding that,

b