One may excuse this only on the ground that he was completely carried away by his emotion, so that to him there was no one present save this enigmatically fascinating woman and himself.  But the lady on her side was wiser; or perhaps a slight delay gave her time to recover her discretion.  When Gambetta’s note was brought to her she took it quietly and tore it into little pieces without reading it; and then, rising, she glided through the crowd and disappeared.

Gambetta in his excitement had acted as if she were a mere adventuress.  With perfect dignity she had shown him that she was a woman who retained her self-respect.

Immediately upon the heels of this curious incident came the outbreak of the war with Germany.  In the war the empire was shattered at Sedan.  The republic was proclaimed in Paris.  The French capital was besieged by a vast German army.  Gambetta was made minister of the interior, and remained for a while in Paris even after it had been blockaded.  But his fiery spirit chafed under such conditions.  He longed to go forth into the south of France and arouse his countrymen with a cry to arms against the invaders.

Escaping in a balloon, he safely reached the city of Tours; and there he established what was practically a dictatorship.  He flung himself with tremendous energy into the task of organizing armies, of equipping them, and of directing their movements for the relief of Paris.  He did, in fact, accomplish wonders.  He kept the spirit of the nation still alive.  Three new armies were launched against the Germans.  Gambetta was everywhere and took part in everything that was done.  His inexperience in military affairs, coupled with his impatience of advice, led him to make serious mistakes.  Nevertheless, one of his armies practically defeated the Germans at Orleans; and could he have had his own way, even the fall of Paris would not have ended the war.

“Never,” said Gambetta, “shall I consent to peace so long as France still has two hundred thousand men under arms and more than a thousand cannon to direct against the enemy!”

But he was overruled by other and less fiery statesmen.  Peace was made, and Gambetta retired for a moment into private life.  If he had not succeeded in expelling the German hosts he had, at any rate, made Bismarck hate him, and he had saved the honor of France.

It was while the National Assembly at Versailles was debating the terms of peace with Germany that Gambetta once more delivered a noble and patriotic speech.  As he concluded he felt a strange magnetic attraction; and, sweeping the audience with a glance, he saw before him, not very far away, the same woman with the long black gloves, having about her still an air of mystery, but again meeting his eyes with her own, suffused with feeling.

Gambetta hurried to an anteroom and hastily scribbled the following note: 

At last I see you once more.  Is it really you?