"Take care, Master Biche," she reminded
the painter, whom it was a time-honoured pleasantry to address as
'Master,' "to catch that nice look in his eyes, that witty little twinkle.
You know, what I want to have most of all is his smile; that's what I've
asked you to paint--the portrait of his smile." And since the phrase
struck her as noteworthy, she repeated it very loud, so as to make sure
that as many as possible of her guests should hear it, and even made use
of some indefinite pretext to draw the circle closer before she uttered it
again. Swann begged to be introduced to everyone, even to an old friend of
the Verdurins, called Saniette, whose shyness, simplicity and good-nature
had deprived him of all the consideration due to his skill in
palaeography, his large fortune, and the distinguished family to which he
belonged. When he spoke, his words came with a confusion which was
delightful to hear because one felt that it indicated not so much a defect
in his speech as a quality of his soul, as it were a survival from the age
of innocence which he had never wholly outgrown. All the cop-sonants which
he did not manage to pronounce seemed like harsh utterances of which his
gentle lips were incapable.
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