Sometimesshestealsalookatmethatpositivelyscorchesme。HerfaceislikeRaphael\'sMadonna。Youknow,theSistineMadonna\'sfacehassomethingfantasticinit,thefaceofmournfulreligiousecstasy。
Haven\'tyounoticedit?Well,she\'ssomethinginthatline。Thedayafterwe\'dbeenbetrothed,Iboughtherpresentstothevalueoffifteenhundredroubles-asetofdiamondsandanotherofpearlsandasilverdressing-caseaslargeasthis,withallsortsofthingsinit,sothatevenmyMadonna\'sfaceglowed。Isatheronmyknee,yesterday,andIsupposerathertoounceremoniously-sheflushedcrimsonandthetearsstarted,butshedidn\'twanttoshowit。Wewereleftalone,shesuddenlyflungherselfonmyneckforthefirsttimeofherownaccord,putherlittlearmsroundme,kissedme,andvowedthatshewouldbeanobedient,faithful,andgoodwife,wouldmakemehappy,woulddevoteallherlife,everyminuteofherlife,wouldsacrificeeverything,everything,andthatallsheasksinreturnismyrespect,andthatshewants\'nothing,nothingmorefromme,nopresents。\'You\'lladmitthattohearsuchaconfession,alone,fromanangelofsixteeninamuslinfrock,withlittlecurls,withaflushofmaidenshynessinhercheeksandtearsofenthusiasminhereyesisratherfascinating!Isn\'titfascinating?
It\'sworthpayingfor,isn\'tit?Well……listen,we\'llgotoseemybetrothed,onlynotjustnow！”
“Thefactisthismonstrousdifferenceinageanddevelopmentexcitesyoursensuality!Willyoureallymakesuchamarriage？”
“Why,ofcourse。Everyonethinksofhimself,andhelivesmostgailywhoknowsbesthowtodeceivehimself。Ha-ha!Butwhyareyousokeenaboutvirtue?Havemercyonme,mygoodfriend。Iamasinfulman。Ha-ha-ha！”