“Remember this, Bébé, there is nothing more transient than the love of cats. Far from being pleased at my constancy, Brisquet became impatient with me.
“ ‘I cannot understand,’ he exclaimed angrily, ‘why love, the most gay and agreeable pastime of youth, should become the most serious, absurd, and bothering business of our maturer years.’
“I abandoned my mother and sister, because I loved you! I, I——wept!
“My grief only hardened his heart, he became cruel, even brutal, and I, who had rebelled against my poor mother’s neglect, bent under his oppression, and waited, hoping for brighter days. But time is a pitiless monster, and teaches us many a hard lesson we would rather not learn. Time may also be likened to a good physician, who, after many days heals the deepest wounds. I became calm, feeling that the last ember of my unrequited love had been rudely stamped out; and I forgave him.
“Brisquet was one of those who love themselves better than all the world, and who are easily elated by anything that flatters their vanity. He was a true disciple of the school of gallantry, whose doctrines are framed to please, without the troublesome sentiment of love. Their hearts have two doors which open almost simultaneously, the one to let you in, the other to kick you out. Naturally, Brisquet while ceasing to care for me, had found another dupe. Fortune had furnished a singular rival, a Chinese creature from the province of Peichihli, who, soon after she had landed, set all the cats in Paris in a ferment. This gay intriguer had been imported by the manager of a theatre, who wisely foresaw that a Chinese cat would create a tremendous sensation among the Parisians.
“The novelty of this last conquest pricked the self-love of Brisquet, while the drooping ears of the foreigner did the rest. Not long after he announced his intention of leaving me.
“ ‘I found you poor, I leave you rich. You were despairing and { 291} knew nothing of the world, now, your instinct has been sharpened by experience. You owe all to me; thank me, and let me go.’
“ ‘Go,’ I said, ‘I ought never to have loved you,’ and he left me.
“His departure lifted a load from my heart. I no longer cared for him. O Bébé, if I could only have forgotten all, and become a kitten again.