condescension, which fills me with shame now, seemed to me then
something to be proud of; he had fascinated me, that is my one excuse.

Friday.

This man is really very handsome. He talks admirably, and has remarkable
intellectual power. My dear, he is a very Bossuet in force and
persuasiveness when he explains the mechanism, not only of the Spanish
tongue, but also of human thought and of all language. His mother tongue
seems to be French. When I expressed surprise at this, he replied that
he came to France when quite a boy, following the King of Spain to
Valencay.

What has passed within this enigmatic being? He is no longer the same
man. He came, dressed quite simply, but just as any gentleman would for
a morning walk. He put forth all his eloquence, and flashed wit, like
rays from a beacon, all through the lesson. Like a man roused from
lethargy, he revealed to me a new world of thoughts. He told me the
story of some poor devil of a valet who gave up his life for a single
glance from a queen of Spain.

"What could he do but die?" I exclaimed.

This delighted him, and he looked at me in a way which was truly
alarming.

In the evening I went to a ball at the Duchesse de Lenoncourt's. The
Prince de Talleyrand happened to be there; and I got M. de Vandenesse,
a charming young man, to ask him whether, among the guests at his
country-place in 1809, he remembered any one of the name of Henarez.
Vandenesse reported the Prince's reply, word for word, as follows:

"Henarez is the Moorish name of the Soria family, who are, they say,
descendants of the Abencerrages, converted to Christianity. The old Duke
and his two sons were with the King. The eldest, the present Duke de
Soria, has just had all his property, titles, and dignities confiscated
by King Ferdinand, who in this way avenges a long-standing feud. The
Duke made a huge mistake in consenting to form a constitutional ministry
with Valdez. Happily, he escaped from Cadiz before the arrival of the
Duc d'Angouleme, who, with the best will in the world, could not have
saved him from the King's wrath."

This information gave me much food for reflection. I cannot describe to
you the suspense in which I passed the time till my next lesson, which
took place this morning.

During the first quarter of an hour I examined him closely, debating
inwardly whether he were duke or commoner, without being able to come to
any conclusion. He seemed to read my fancies as they aros