"Let's forget all that. I am a little whimsical! But it's all over now. We are reconciled. As for--as for what made me angry, I am sure that you won't be guilty of the same offence again. You were a little bewildered that night--otherwise, it never would have occurred to you to kiss me." I was at a loss what to reply; for there are offences for which it is a blunder to apologize. But Frédérique gave me no time, for she continued: "Once more, let's say no more about it! The poet is right when he sings: "'The past is but a dream!' From this day forth, we are and will remain good friends. You will tell me all your secrets, make me the confidante of all your love affairs. How entertaining it will be to know everything!" "And you, Frédérique, will you tell me all your thoughts, all the feelings that agitate your heart?" "To be sure! But you will receive few confidences from me, for I have no intrigues now. I don't propose to form any more liaisons of that sort. In short, I am done with loving; I am happy as I am. I have resolved never to listen to any man again." "At your age! Nonsense! That resolution won't last long." "Very well; if I change--why, I'll let you know. But let us come to you, the man of the thousand and one passions! You ought to tell the story of them, as a supplement to the _Thousand and One Nights_." "That may have been true once; but I've been getting rusty of late. It isn't virtue, I suppose; but I fancy that I am becoming hard to please." "You will undoubtedly hasten to console Armantine, who may, perhaps, regret her former position in society, but surely doesn't regret her husband!" "I, go to see Madame--Madame Montfort! Oh, no! no, indeed! Do you imagine that I still love her?" "Of course! Weren't you mad over her?" "Love is a form of madness that can be cured, and I am surprised that you think it possible for me to love that woman still--after the scene that you witnessed on the Champs-Élysées." "What do you say? What scene?" "Oh! my dear friend, let us not begin already to go back on the promise we made only a moment ago! You were on the Champs-Élysées, were you not, when an intoxicated man claimed acquaintance with me?" "Yes; that is, I arrived just at the end. Armantine was running away; I saw that." "It was you who paid the man who threatened to have the unfortunate fellow I had thrown down arrested." Frédérique said nothing; she dared not deny it. "How much did you give the man?" "Twenty-nine francs, I believe." "Here is the money, my dear friend; accept at the same time my thanks for your kind impulse, which did not occur to me, because I thought of nothing but that woman who was running away from me. Furthermore, I know that you also offered money to that poor devil, whom I left there." "That is true; but he refused it."