In the Days of the Comet

  Section 8

  One irrelevant memory comes back to me, irrelevant, and yet by somesubtle trick of quality it summarizes the Change for me. It is thememory of a woman's very beautiful face, a woman with a flushedface and tear-bright eyes who went by me without speaking, raptin some secret purpose. I passed her when in the afternoon of thefirst day, struck by a sudden remorse, I went down to Menton to senda telegram to my mother telling her all was well with me. Whitherthis woman went I do not know, nor whence she came; I never saw heragain, and only her face, glowing with that new and luminousresolve, stands out for me. . . .

  But that expression was the world's.

  CHAPTER THE THIRD

  THE CABINET COUNCIL