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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: been unable to win under the Empire, he acquired under the Restoration
by the rolling of his gold on the green cloth and by his talent for
all games that were in vogue. Ambassadors, bankers, persons with
newly-acquired large fortunes, and all those men who, having sucked
life to the dregs, turn to gambling for its feverish joys, admired
Diard at their clubs,--seldom in their own houses,--and they all
gambled with him. He became the fashion. Two or three times during the
winter he gave a fete as a matter of social pride in return for the
civilities he received. At such times Juana once more caught a glimpse
of the world of balls, festivities, luxury, and lights; but for her it
was a sort of tax imposed upon the comfort of her solitude. She, the
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