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THE CONFESSION OF A FOOL 67
last time straightened the basket containing the roses,
and a moment later my guests, exhausted with having
climbed four flights of stairs, stood panting before my
door.
I opened. The Baroness, dazzled by the lights, clapped
her hands as if she were admiring a successful stage setting.
"Bravo! " she exclaimed, "you are a first-class stage
manager."
"Yes," I replied, "I occasionally amuse myself with
play-acting, for the sake of discipline and patience."
I took off her cloak, bade her be welcome, and made her
sit down on the sofa. But she coukl not keep still.
With the curiosity of a woman who has never been in a
bachelor’s chambers, but has gone straight from her
father’s house to that of her husband, she began to
examine the room. She seized my penholde]*, handled
my blotter, searched about as if she were determined to
discover a secret. Strolling to my book-shelves, she
glanced curiously at the back of the volumes. In passing
the looking-glass she stopped for a few seconds to arrange
her hair and push the end of a piece of lace into the open-
ing of her blouse. She examined the furniture, piece by
piece, and smelt the flowers, all the time uttering little
cries of delight.
When she had finished her voyage of discovery round
my room, she asked me, naively, without any arrière-
pensée, seeking with her eyes a piece of furniture which
appeared to be missing
—
"But where do 3’ou sleep?
"
"On the sofa."
"Oh, how jolly a bachelor’s life must be! "
And the forgotten dreams of her girlhood awoke in
her brain.
"It’s often very dull," I replied.
" Dull to be one’s own master, have one’s own home,
F 2
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