conduct-stripes

Updated: May 28, 2025

Ruined fortunes are the conduct-stripes of these creatures. Carlos, in counting on Esther's memory, had not calculated wrongly. These tricks of warfare, these stratagems employed a thousand times, not only by these women, but by spendthrifts too, did not disturb Esther's mind.

Honoré de Balzac - Scenes from a Courtesan's Life