Another Study of Woman

Early one morning, young Eugène de Rastignac wrote a passionate letter to his mistress, making the fatal mistake of not writing his address on the envelope immediately. Lost in thought, he later wrote that of the Marquise de Listomère, the very embodiment of virtue in the eyes of high society, with whom he had enjoyed a pleasant conversation the previous evening.

How many violent emotions can arise from such a small mistake! The pride one cannot help but feel, even as the ideal wife, at bein...