THE FIFTH STRING
gerous man for a jealous woman to love. You are not a cloistered monk, you are a man before the public; you win the admiration of many; some women do not hesitate to show you their preference. To a woman like Mildred that would be torture; she could not and would not separate the professional artist from the lover or husband."
And Diotti, remembering Mildred's words, could not refute the old man's statements.
"If you had known her mother as I did," continued the old man, realizing his argument was making an impression on the violinist, "you would see the agony in store for the daughter if she married a man such as you, a public servant, a public favorite."
"I would live my life not to excite her suspicions or jealousy," said the artist, with boyish enthusiasm and simplicity.
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