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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: she who gave me this diamond, but indeed I saw her but once--that kind
lady was very ill; she had, no doubt, given up all hope, for she died
without choosing to send for a doctor; indeed, many of our ladies
fancied she was not quite right in her head. Well, sir, my curiosity
was strangely excited by hearing that Madame de Merret had need of my
services. Nor was I the only person who took an interest in the
affair. That very night, though it was already late, all the town knew
that I was going to Merret.
" 'The waiting-woman replied but vaguely to the questions I asked her
on the way; nevertheless, she told me that her mistress had received
the Sacrament in the course of the day at the hands of the Cure of
 La Grande Breteche |