THÉODORE. And who examined me so closely. ROSETTE. Himself. THÉODORE. He's a very good-looking fellow.--And he has not made you forget me? ROSETTE. No. Unfortunately you are not one of those whom one forgets. THÉODORE. He loves you dearly no doubt? ROSETTE. I am not so sure of that.--There are moments when you would think he loved me very dearly; but at heart he doesn't love me, and he is not far from hating me, for he is angry with me because he can't love me.--He did as many others before him have done; he developed a very keen taste for passion, and was greatly surprised and disappointed when his desire was surfeited.--It is a mistake to think that two people must mutually adore each other because they have lain together. THÉODORE. And what do you propose to do with this lover who is not a lover? ROSETTE. What we do with bygone quarters of the moon or with last year's fashions.--He hasn't courage enough to leave me the first, and although he does not love me in the true sense of the word, he is bound to me by the habit of enjoyment, and those are the habits it is hardest to break. If I don't assist him, he is quite capable of conscientiously submitting to be bored with me till the last judgment and beyond; for he has within him the germ of all noble qualities; and the flowers of his soul ask naught but an opportunity to bloom in the sunshine of everlasting love.--Really I am very sorry that I did not prove to be the sunbeam for him. Of all my lovers whom I have not loved, I love him the most; and, if I were not as kind-hearted as I am, I would not give him back his liberty, but I would still keep him.--But that is what I will not do; I am finishing with him at this moment. THÉODORE. How long will it last? ROSETTE. A fortnight, three weeks, but at all events not so long as if you had not come.--I know that I shall never be your mistress.--There is, you say, an unknown reason for that, to which I would bow if it were possible for you to disclose it to me. Thus I am forbidden to entertain any hope in that direction, and yet I cannot make up my mind to be another man's mistress when you are here; it seems to me like a profanation, and as if I should not have the right to love you. THÉODORE. Keep this lover for love of me. ROSETTE.