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The
abbé
,
a
well-fed
man
with
a
plump
,
clean-shaven
chin
,
a
pleasant
firm
mouth
,
and
white
hands
meekly
folded
on
his
knees
,
sat
close
to
Hélène
and
,
with
a
subtle
smile
on
his
lips
and
a
peaceful
look
of
delight
at
her
beauty
,
occasionally
glanced
at
her
face
as
he
explained
his
opinion
on
the
subject
.
Hélène
with
an
uneasy
smile
looked
at
his
curly
hair
and
his
plump
,
clean-shaven
,
blackish
cheeks
and
every
moment
expected
the
conversation
to
take
a
fresh
turn
.
But
the
abbé
,
though
he
evidently
enjoyed
the
beauty
of
his
companion
,
was
absorbed
in
his
mastery
of
the
matter
.
The
course
of
the
Father
Confessor
's
arguments
ran
as
follows
:
"
Ignorant
of
the
import
of
what
you
were
undertaking
,
you
made
a
vow
of
conjugal
fidelity
to
a
man
who
on
his
part
,
by
entering
the
married
state
without
faith
in
the
religious
significance
of
marriage
,
committed
an
act
of
sacrilege
.
That
marriage
lacked
the
dual
significance
it
should
have
had
.
Yet
in
spite
of
this
your
vow
was
binding
.
You
swerved
from
it
.
What
did
you
commit
by
so
acting
?
A
venial
,
or
a
mortal
,
sin
?
A
venial
sin
,
for
you
acted
without
evil
intention
.
If
now
you
married
again
with
the
object
of
bearing
children
,
your
sin
might
be
forgiven
.
But
the
question
is
again
a
twofold
one
:
firstly
...
"
But
suddenly
Hélène
,
who
was
getting
bored
,
said
with
one
of
her
bewitching
smiles
:
"
But
I
think
that
having
espoused
the
true
religion
I
can
not
be
bound
by
what
a
false
religion
laid
upon
me
.
"
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The
director
of
her
conscience
was
astounded
at
having
the
case
presented
to
him
thus
with
the
simplicity
of
Columbus
'
egg
He
was
delighted
at
the
unexpected
rapidity
of
his
pupil
's
progress
,
but
could
not
abandon
the
edifice
of
argument
he
had
laboriously
constructed
.
"
Let
us
understand
one
another
,
Countess
,
"
said
he
with
a
smile
,
and
began
refuting
his
spiritual
daughter
's
arguments
.
Hélène
understood
that
the
question
was
very
simple
and
easy
from
the
ecclesiastical
point
of
view
,
and
that
her
directors
were
making
difficulties
only
because
they
were
apprehensive
as
to
how
the
matter
would
be
regarded
by
the
secular
authorities
.
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So
she
decided
that
it
was
necessary
to
prepare
the
opinion
of
society
.
She
provoked
the
jealousy
of
the
elderly
magnate
and
told
him
what
she
had
told
her
other
suitor
;
that
is
,
she
put
the
matter
so
that
the
only
way
for
him
to
obtain
a
right
over
her
was
to
marry
her
.
The
elderly
magnate
was
at
first
as
much
taken
aback
by
this
suggestion
of
marriage
with
a
woman
whose
husband
was
alive
,
as
the
younger
man
had
been
,
but
Hélène
's
imperturbable
conviction
that
it
was
as
simple
and
natural
as
marrying
a
maiden
had
its
effect
on
him
too
.
Had
Hélène
herself
shown
the
least
sign
of
hesitation
,
shame
,
or
secrecy
,
her
cause
would
certainly
have
been
lost
;
but
not
only
did
she
show
no
signs
of
secrecy
or
shame
,
on
the
contrary
,
with
good-natured
naïveté
she
told
her
intimate
friends
(
and
these
were
all
Petersburg
)
that
both
the
prince
and
the
magnate
had
proposed
to
her
and
that
she
loved
both
and
was
afraid
of
grieving
either
.
A
rumor
immediately
spread
in
Petersburg
,
not
that
Hélène
wanted
to
be
divorced
from
her
husband
(
had
such
a
report
spread
many
would
have
opposed
so
illegal
an
intention
)
but
simply
that
the
unfortunate
and
interesting
Hélène
was
in
doubt
which
of
the
two
men
she
should
marry
.
The
question
was
no
longer
whether
this
was
possible
,
but
only
which
was
the
better
match
and
how
the
matter
would
be
regarded
at
court
.
There
were
,
it
is
true
,
some
rigid
individuals
unable
to
rise
to
the
height
of
such
a
question
,
who
saw
in
the
project
a
desecration
of
the
sacrament
of
marriage
,
but
there
were
not
many
such
and
they
remained
silent
,
while
the
majority
were
interested
in
Hélène
's
good
fortune
and
in
the
question
which
match
would
be
the
more
advantageous
.
Whether
it
was
right
or
wrong
to
remarry
while
one
had
a
husband
living
they
did
not
discuss
,
for
that
question
had
evidently
been
settled
by
people
"
wiser
than
you
or
me
,
"
as
they
said
,
and
to
doubt
the
correctness
of
that
decision
would
be
to
risk
exposing
one
's
stupidity
and
incapacity
to
live
in
society
.