Page:Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal, t. I.djvu/132

 believe in such tomfoolery?"

"It might be tomfoolery, as you say; but still it is a fact. Hypnotize a person, and then you will see if you can get the mastery over him or not."

"Still, you had not hypnotized Teleny?"

"No, but our natures seemed to be bound to one another by a secret affinity."

"At that moment I felt a secret shame for Teleny. Not being able to understand the working of his brain, she seemed to regard him in the light of a young cock, who, having crowed lustily once or twice at early dawn, has strained his neck to such a pitch that he can only emit hoarse, feeble, gurgling sounds out of it after that.

"Moreover, I almost felt sorry for that woman; and I thought, if I were only in her place, how disappointed I should be. And I sighed, repeating almost audibly,—'Were I but in her stead.'

"The image which had formed itself within my mind so vividly was all at once reverberated within Réné's brain; and he thought, if instead of this lady's mouth those lips were my lips; and