Short stories of the tragedy and comedy of life with a critical preface . afraid of Mala-vistas great sword. AN ADVENTURE IN PARIS s THERE any stronger feeling thancuriosity in a woman ? Fancy see-ing, knowing, touching what onehas dreamed about! What woulda woman not do for that? Oncea womans eager curiosity is roused,she will be guilty of any folly, com-mit any imprudence, venture uponanything, and recoil from nothing. Iam speaking of women who are reallywomen, who are endowed with thatiple-bottomed disposition, which appears^, . cv^ oe reasonable and cool on the surface, ^^ but whose three
Short stories of the tragedy and comedy of life with a critical preface . afraid of Mala-vistas great sword. AN ADVENTURE IN PARIS s THERE any stronger feeling thancuriosity in a woman ? Fancy see-ing, knowing, touching what onehas dreamed about! What woulda woman not do for that? Oncea womans eager curiosity is roused,she will be guilty of any folly, com-mit any imprudence, venture uponanything, and recoil from nothing. Iam speaking of women who are reallywomen, who are endowed with thatiple-bottomed disposition, which appears^, . cv^ oe reasonable and cool on the surface, ^^ but whose three secret compartments arefilled as follows: The first, with female uneasiness,which is always in a state of fluttering; the next,with sly tricks which are colored, in imitation ofgood faith, with the sophistical and formidable wilesof apparently devout women; and the last, with allthose charming, improper acts, with that delightfuldeceit, exquisite perfidy, and all those wayward qual-ities which drive lovers who are stupidly credulousto suicide, but delight others.(256). AN ADVENTURE IN PARIS 257 The woman whose adventure I am about to relatewas a little person from the provinces, who had beeninsipidly chaste till then. Her life, which was ap-parently so calm, was spent at home, with a busyhusband and two children, whom she brought up likean irreproachable woman. But her heart beat withunsatisfied curiosity and unknown longing. She wascontinually thinking of Paris, and read the fashionablepapers eagerly. The accounts of parties, of thedresses and various entertainments, excited her long-ing; but, above all, she was strangely agitated bythose paragraphs which were full of double meaning,by those veils which were half raised by cleverphrases, and which gave her a glimpse of culpableand ravishing delights, and from her country home,she saw Paris in an apotheosis of magnificent andcorrupt luxury. During the long nights, when she dreamed, lulledby the regular snores of a husband, slee
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