Moths by Ouida — page 314: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

MAO _ MOTHS. believe in spirits and saints; she will never do any harm what: ever. But for that very reason she shuts her relic up in her sil- ver box and worships it at home. Correze is always worshiped, though not always so spiritually. No one ever worships you, my dear; you are not of that order of men, Why do you look so angry? You should be thankful. It is very nice that your wife should admire a relic; she might, you know, be dragging your name across Europe at the coat-tails of a dozen young dragoons, and though you could shoot them, no doubt, that is always ver ridiculous. Itisso impossible for husbands at any time not to loo ridiculous. You must have looked very so when Correze was singing that song. Oh, I shall regret to the last day of my life that I was not there!” | . Madame Jeanne leaned back and laughed aloud, with her hands behind her head and her eyes shut, Zourofi continued to pace to and fro the little, pretty, crowded chamber. ‘*You will break some of my idols,” she said, when she had done laughing. ‘‘I hope I have not broken one of your idols. How could one ever suppose you cared for your wife?’ . ‘‘Tt is not that,” said Zourofi, roughly : he was shaken, disturb- ed, enraged; he did not know what to think, and the vanity and arrogance that served him in the stead of pride were up in arms, ‘Of course, yes; it is that,” said Madame Jeanne, coolly. ‘**I always wondered you were so indifferent to her, she is so hand- some, And I always thought that if she ever loved any one else you would be madly in love with her once more, or rather much more than you were at first.” Zourofi made a gesture so savage as he motioned her to silence - that even her tongue ceased for a moment its chatter. ‘‘One must not say too much,” she thought, ‘‘or he will go and do something premature,” “What does it matter?’ she said, consolingly: ‘“‘“a woman who is so much left to herself as Vera is will be certain to find some compensation for all you deny her. You clumsy Baltic bear! you do not understand women. Believe’me, it is very dangerous to marry a mere girl, achild, hurlallher illusions and all her modesties away in one month, and then leave her all alone with the reflections you have inspired and the desires you have awakened. Iam no moralist, mon ami. as you know, but that Ido say. It is trueten thousand times in ten years; and ten thousand times the result is the same, Were tue Princess Zouroff to have a lover, Correze or any other, you could not complain, It would sim- ply be the natural sequence of your own initiations. As it is, you must be thankful that she is Madame Saint Elizabeth. You are not more ridiculous than the world is; mothers screen their daughters from every hint and every glimpse of impropriety, and — then they marry them and think no harm can come of it. Can a bishop’s blessing muzzle sense once eveillees, passions once let loose? Vere is faithful to you as yet. But, if she were not, _ could you blame her? Can you expect a woman of her years to live the life of a nun when you have treated her as if she were a fille de joie? Be reasonable, You cannot tear the skin of a —_ 4 ye " 7% j vif ; é : 7 comicbooks (e(0) = >} : » = ~ ae ' > al