midnight
How shall society exist unless every individual of which it is composed will make the necessary sacrifices of inclination demanded by its laws ? If you accept the benefits of civilized society , do you not by implication engage to observe the conditions , the conditions of its very existence ? And yet , starving wretches , compelled to respect the laws of property , are not less to be pitied than women whose natural instincts and sensitiveness are turned to so many avenues of pain . A few days after that scene of which the secret lay buried in the midnight couch , d'Aiglemont introduced Lord Grenville . Julie gave the guest a stiffly polite reception , which did credit to her powers of dissimulation . Resolutely she silenced her heart , veiled her eyes , steadied her voice , and she kept her future in her own hands . Then , when by these devices , this innate woman-craft , as it may be called , she had discovered the full extent of the love which she inspired , Mme. d'Aiglemont welcomed the hope of a speedy cure , and no longer opposed her husband , who pressed her to accept the young doctor 's offer .