"Nothing of the sort is being talked about. The references to Mme.
de Lastaola are in a very different tone, I can assure you, thanks
to her discretion in remaining here. And, I must say, thanks to
the discreet efforts of her friends. I am also a friend of Mme. de
Lastaola, you must know. Oh, no, I have never spoken to her in my
life and have seen her only twice, I believe. I wrote to her
though, that I admit. She or rather the image of her has come into
my life, into that part of it where art and letters reign
undisputed like a sort of religion of beauty to which I have been
faithful through all the vicissitudes of my existence. Yes, I did
write to her and I have been preoccupied with her for a long time.
It arose from a picture, from two pictures and also from a phrase
pronounced by a man, who in the science of life and in the
perception of aesthetic truth had no equal in the world of culture.
He said that there was something in her of the women of all time.
I suppose he meant the inheritance of all the gifts that make up an
irresistible fascination--a great personality. Such women are not
born often. Most of them lack opportunities. They never develop.
They end obscurely.
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