She renewed the attempt.

"I can do it! Well," she said, "you gave it a kiss just now for your own sake, let your lips touch it now for my sake."

Thereupon I leant over her and taking the rosebud between my lips I caressed it with the tip of my tongue.

She gave a little cry of pleasure:

"Oh, how nice!"

"As nice as yesterday's kiss?"

"Oh! yesterday's kiss. It is so long since, I cannot remember."

"Shall I begin again?"

"You know I should like you to, since you told me that was the proper way to kiss people you loved."

"But I don't know yet whether I love you."

"As for me, I am quite sure that I do love you dearly. So do not kiss me if you don't like to do it, but I shall kiss you all the same."

And as on the previous day she glued her lips to mine, with this difference, that this time her tongue touched my teeth.

I could not have got away had I wished to do so, she hugged me so tightly.

Her head fell back and with half closed eyes she murmured:

"Oh, how I love you!"

The kiss made me mad; I snatched her, so to speak, from the bed, and pressing her closely to my heart I covered her bosom with kisses.

"Oh, what are you doing, I feel quite faint?"

These words brought me to my senses, for it was not thus, by surprise, that I wished to possess her.

"Dear girl," said I, "I have had a bath got ready for you in the dressing room." With these words I carried her there in my arms.

"Ah!" said she, sighing, "how comfortable I feel in your arms."

The bath was just warm enough, I put her into it after having poured in half a bottle of eau-de-Cologne. I then lit the fire and placed the bearskin rug in front of it.

Then I brought out a dressing gown of white cashmere and put before an armchair a pair of small red Turkish slippers with gold embroidery.

After a quarter of an hour, my little bather came out quite shivering and ran to the fire.