I thought of existence as one outside it, I balanced this against that, and wondered whether, after all, the red soutane were so much better than the homely jerkin, or the fame of a day than ease and safety.
And life at Cocheforet was all after the pattern of this dinner.

Each day, I might almost say each meal, gave rise to the same sequence of thoughts.

In Clon's presence, or when some word of Madame's, unconsciously harsh, reminded me of the distance between us, I was myself.

At other times, in face of this peaceful and intimate life, which was only rendered possible by the remoteness of the place and the peculiar circumstances in which the ladies stood, I felt a strange weakness, The loneliness of the woods that encircled the house, and only here and there afforded a distant glimpse of snow-clad peaks; the absence of any link to bind me to the old life, so that at intervals it seemed unreal; the remoteness of the great world, all tended to sap my will and weaken the purpose which had brought me to this place.
On the fourth day after my coming, however, something happened to break the spell.

It chanced that I came late to dinner, and entered the room hastily and without ceremony, expecting to find Madame and her sister already seated.