" Why did I tell her that 'Je vous aime'?" he kept repeating to himself.

And when he had said it for the tenth time, Molibre's words: "Mais que diable alloit-il faire dans cette galere?" occurred to him, and he began to laugh at himself.

In the night he called his valet and told him to pack up to go to Petersburg.

He could not imagine how he could speak to her now.

He resolved to go away next day and leave a letter informing her of his intention to part from her forever.