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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: of a sob violently suppressed; I rushed into the salon and found the
countess sitting by the window with her handkerchief to her face. She
heard my step and made me an imperious gesture, commanding me to leave
her. I went up to her, my heart stabbed with fear, and tried to take
her handkerchief away by force. Her face was bathed in tears and she
fled into her room, which she did not leave again until the hour for
evening prayer. When that was over, I led her to the terrace and asked
the cause of her emotion; she affected a wild gaiety and explained it
by the news Monsieur Origet had given her.
"Henriette, Henriette, you knew that news when I saw you weeping.
Between you and me a lie is monstrous. Why did you forbid me to dry
The Lily of the Valley |
