“And the women, my friend, how I pity the poor beings!  All their joy, all their power, all their life, lies in their beauty, which lasts ten years.

“As I said, I aged without noticing it; I thought myself practically a youth, when I was almost fifty years old.  Not feeling the slightest infirmity, I went about, happy and peaceful.

“The revelation of my decline came to me in a simple and terrible manner, which overwhelmed me for almost six months—­then I became resigned.

“Like all men, I have often been in love, but most especially once.

“I met her at the seashore, at Etretat, about twelve years ago, shortly after the war.  There is nothing prettier than this beach during the morning bathing hour.  It is small, shaped like a horseshoe, framed by high while cliffs, which are pierced by strange holes called the ‘Portes,’ one stretching out into the ocean like the leg of a giant, the other short and dumpy.  The women gather on the narrow strip of sand in this frame of high rocks, which they make into a gorgeous garden of beautiful gowns.  The sun beats down on the shores, on the multicolored parasols, on the blue-green sea; and all is gay, delightful, smiling.  You sit down at the edge of the water and you watch the bathers.  The women come down, wrapped in long bath robes, which they throw off daintily when they reach the foamy edge of the rippling waves; and they run into the water with a rapid little step, stopping from time to time for a delightful little thrill from the cold water, a short gasp.

“Very few stand the test of the bath.  It is there that they can be judged, from the ankle to the throat.  Especially on leaving the water are the defects revealed, although water is a powerful aid to flabby skin.

“The first time that I saw this young woman in the water, I was delighted, entranced.  She stood the test well.  There are faces whose charms appeal to you at first glance and delight you instantly.  You seem to have found the woman whom you were born to love.  I had that feeling and that shock.

“I was introduced, and was soon smitten worse than I had ever been before.  My heart longed for her.  It is a terrible yet delightful thing thus to be dominated by a young woman.  It is almost torture, and yet infinite delight.  Her look, her smile, her hair fluttering in the wind, the little lines of her face, the slightest movement of her features, delighted me, upset me, entranced me.  She had captured me, body and soul, by her gestures, her manners, even by her clothes, which seemed to take on a peculiar charm as soon as she wore them.  I grew tender at the sight of her veil on some piece of furniture, her gloves thrown on a chair.  Her gowns seemed to me inimitable.  Nobody had hats like hers.

“She was married, but her husband came only on Saturday, and left on Monday.  I didn’t cencern myself about him, anyhow.  I wasn’t jealous of him, I don’t know why; never did a creature seem to me to be of less importance in life, to attract my attention less than this man.