I tried to smoke, and for the first time in my life, tobacco was tasteless, I was falling in love with a Princess.
I confess that it did not horrify me; on the contrary, I grew thrilled and excited.

There was a spice here which hitherto had been denied me.
The cost was unspelled.

I fell as far as I could fall.

The uncertainty of the affair was in itself an enchantment.
Well, the next day I strolled up the Avenue of Legations and saw her on horseback.

She was accompanied by an elderly man with a face like an eagle's.