For him the universe did not extend beyond the circumference of her petticoat, and he reproached himself with not loving her. He wanted to see her again; he turned back quickly, ran up the stairs with a beating heart.
L’univers, pour lui, n’excédait pas le tour soyeux de son jupon; et il se reprochait de ne pas l’aimer, il avait envie de la revoir; il s’en revenait vite, montait l’escalier; le coeur battant.