He had conquered, yet it did not seem
to him that he had gained very much by his conquest. The night before
he had grudged the risk of his life which appeared to him magnificent,
worthy of preservation as an opportunity to win a girl's love. He had
known moments when, by a marvellous illusion, this love seemed to
be already his, and his threatened life a still more magnificent
opportunity of devotion. Now that his life was safe it had suddenly lost
its special magnificence. It had acquired instead a specially alarming
aspect as a snare for the exposure of unworthiness. As to the marvellous
illusion of conquered love that had visited him for a moment in the
agitated watches of the night, which might have been his last on earth,
he comprehended now its true nature. It had been merely a paroxysm of
delirious conceit. Thus to this man, sobered by the victorious issue
of a duel, life appeared robbed of its charm, simply because it was no
longer menaced.
Approaching the house from the back, through the orchard and the kitchen
garden, he could not notice the agitation which reigned in front.
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