But as the King had arrived very late it was more than six hours before the matinée was even half way through. And I had to leave the party without seeing its conclusion. But what I have told you about it will perhaps be sufficient evocation, which in any case is far too long, of those brief moments that could never be forgotten, in which a fairy-tale Countess, with the profile of a queen, diffused the magical emanations of her mysterious charm.
Heavily corrected manuscript fragment held at the University of Illinois, Urbana. Within the text, but crossed out, is a mention of the rue d'Astorg, home of the Comtesse Greffulhe, which identifies her as the subject. Probably written in 1903. The proofs for the salon article were only rediscovered in 2014.