From a reader, responding to my favorite De Gaulle quote on The Corner: “I

ran into this quote one summer in Paris, in a collection of grammatical

exercises in a French textbook: ‘Le mort de ceux que l’on aimait, on y

pense après un certain temps avec une inexplicable douceur.’ It was

attributed to DeGaulle, and my teacher explained that he was speaking of the

same daughter you mentioned. I never expected to be so deeply touched in a

grammar class.”

The French translates as: “After a certain time, one thinks of the death of

those one loved with an inexplicable sweetness.”