French and Oriental Love in a Harem, page 149 by Mario Uchard
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Placed face to face with the inexorable logic of facts, I could not long deceive myself as to the course which the most elementary sense of delicacy prescribed to me. I could see clearly during this last evening party, that Kondjé-Gul had no further need of Madame Montier's lessons to complete her social education. Count Térals house being now ready to receive her, I need only settle her there with her mother in order to commence at once the happy life of which we had so often dreamed. Then it would be easy to withdraw gradually from the society of the Montague girls, and thus banish all future risks.
Having decided upon this course, I wrote the same evening to Kondjé-Gul to ask her to prepare for her return.
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CHAPTER XI.
You know, my dear Louis, that whenever I have formed any plan, whether a reckless one or even a wise one, I go straight at it with the stubbornness of a mule. This, perhaps, explains many of my follies. According to my view (as a believer in free-will), man is himself a will or independent power served by his organs; he is a kind of manifestation of the spirit of nature created to control matter. Any man who abdicates his rights, or gives way before obstacles, abandons his mission and returns to the rank of the beasts. His is a lost power, which has evaporated into space. Such is my opinion.
This highly philosophical prelude was necessary, as you will see, in order to fix my principles before proceeding any further; and, above all, in order to defend myself beforehand against any rash accusation of fickleness in my plans. Science has mysterious paths, along which we feel our way, without seeing clearly our destination. The consequence of which is that, just when we fancy that we have reached the end, new and immense horizons open out before us.
But I am getting tired of my metaphor.
It all amounts to this--that having the ho