On rising in the morning he was somewhat more rational than on the previous evening.

Why?

How pretty she was formerly, so dainty, with fair curly hair, and always laughing.  Sandres was not the man she should have chosen.  She was now fifty-two years of age.  She seemed happy.  Ah! if she had only loved him in days gone by; yes, if she had only loved him!  And why should she not have loved him, he, Saval, seeing that he loved her so much, yes, she, Madame Sandres!

If only she could have guessed.  Had she not guessed anything, seen anything, comprehended anything?  What would she have thought?  If he had spoken, what would she have answered?

And Saval asked himself a thousand other things.  He reviewed his whole life, seeking to recall a multitude of details.

He recalled all the long evenings spent at the house of Sandres, when the latter’s wife was young, and so charming.

He recalled many things that she had said to him, the intonations of her voice, the little significant smiles that meant so much.

He recalled their walks, the three of them together, along the banks of the Seine, their luncheon on the grass on Sundays, for Sandres was employed at the sub-prefecture.  And all at once the distinct recollection came to him of an afternoon spent with her in a little wood on the banks of the river.

They had set out in the morning, carrying their provisions in baskets.  It was a bright spring morning, one of those days which intoxicate one.  Everything smells fresh, everything seems happy.  The voices of the birds sound more joyous, and-they fly more swiftly.  They had luncheon on the grass, under the willow trees, quite close to the water, which glittered in the sun’s rays.  The air was balmy, charged with the odors of fresh vegetation; they drank it in with delight.  How pleasant everything was on that day!

After lunch, Sandres went to sleep on the broad of his back.  “The best nap he had in his life,” said he, when he woke up.

Madame Sandres had taken the arm of Saval, and they started to walk along the river bank.

She leaned tenderly on his arm.  She laughed and said to him:  “I am intoxicated, my friend, I am quite intoxicated.”  He looked at her, his heart going pit-a-pat.  He felt himself grow pale, fearful that he might have looked too boldly at her, and that the trembling of his hand had revealed his passion.

She had made a wreath of wild flowers and water-lilies, and she asked him:  “Do I look pretty like that?”

As he did not answer—­for he could find nothing to say, he would have liked to go down on his knees—­she burst out laughing, a sort of annoyed, displeased laugh, as she said:  “Great goose, what ails you?  You might at least say something.”

He felt like crying, but could not even yet find a word to say.

All these things came back to him now, as vividly as on the day when they took place.  Why had she said this to him, “Great goose, what ails you?  You might at least say something!”