But for ever clutched at by the desire to continue the search, to set out again on the tracks of his lost love, he must doubtless have disappeared on several occasions ; and in his letters, with tragic embarrassment, he tried to justify himself to Valentine.
Mais sans cesse repris par le désir de chercher encore, de partir encore sur la trace de son amour perdu, il avait dû, sans doute, plusieurs fois disparaître ; et, dans ces lettres, avec un embarras tragique, il cherchait à se justifier devant Valentine.