Guy de Maupassant,
The False Gems(The Jewels)
“ Monsieur Lantin, observing them, said to himself: "The rich, indeed, are happy. With money it is possible to forget even the deepest sorrow. One can go where one pleases, and in travel find that distraction which is the surest cure for grief. Oh if I were only rich!" He perceived that he was hungry, but his pocket was empty. He again remembered the necklace. Eighteen thousand francs! Eighteen thousand francs! ”
Guy de Maupassant,
The False Gems(The Jewels)
“ We cannot change our nature." Then she would wind the pearl necklace round her fingers, make the facets of the crystal gems sparkle, and say: "Look! are they not lovely? One would swear they were real." Monsieur Lantin would then answer, smilingly: "You have bohemian tastes, my dear." Sometimes, of an evening, when they were enjoying a tete-a-tote by the fireside, she would place on the tea table the morocco leather box containing the "trash," as Monsieur Lantin called it. She would examine the false gems with a passionate attention, as though they imparted some deep and secret joy ”
Guy de Maupassant,
The False Gems(The Jewels)
“ To the last days of her life she had continued to make purchases, bringing home new gems almost every evening, and he turned them over some time before finally deciding to sell the heavy necklace, which she seemed to prefer, and which, he thought, ought to be worth about six or seven francs; for it was of very fine workmanship, though only imitation. He put it in his pocket, and started out in search of what seemed a reliable jeweler's shop. At length he found one, and went in, feeling a little ashamed to expose his misery, and also to offer such a worthless article for sale. ”
