s not in the sweet tones, and with the sweeter smiles of the polished
and gentle girl we had left in Picardie. There was a sentiment in HER
admiration that touched all our hearts, even to the most exaggerated
republican among us, for she seemed to go deeper in her examination of
merits than the mere texture and price. She saw her offering in our
beauty, the benevolence of the dauphine in our softness, her own
gratitude in our exquisite fineness, and princely munificence in our
delicacy. In a word, she could enter into the sentiment of a
pocket-handkerchief. Alas! how different was the estimation in which we
were held by Desiree and her employers. With them, it was purely a
question of francs, and we had not been in the magazin five minutes,
when there was a lively dispute whether we were to be put at a certain
number of napoleons, or one napoleon more. A good deal was said about
Mad. la Duchesse, and I found that it was expected that a certain lady
of that rank, one who had enjoyed the extraordinary luck of retaining
her fortune, being of an old and historical family, and who was at the
head of fashion in the faubourg, would become the purchaser. At all
events, it was determined no one should see us until this lady returned
to town, she being at the moment at Rosny, with madame, whence she was
expected to accompany that princess to Dieppe, to come back to her
hotel, in the rue de Bourbon, about the last of October. Here, then,
were we doomed to three months of total seclusion in the heart of the
gayest capital of Europe. It was useless to repine, and we determined
among ourselves to exercise patience in the best manner we could.

{faubourg = neighborhood; Rosny = Chateau of Rosny, country estate of
the Dukes of Berry at Rosny-sur-Seine; Madame = title of Princess Marie
Therese Charlotte, wife of the Dauphin Louis Antoine, heir to Charles X}

Accordingly, we were safely deposited in a particular drawer, along
with a few other favorite articles, that, like our family, were
reserved for the eyes of certain distinguished but absent customers.
These specialites in trade are of frequent occurrence in Paris, and
form a pleasant bond of union between the buyer and seller, which gives
a particular zest to this sort of commerce, and not unfrequently a
particular value to goods. To see that which no one else has seen, and
to own that which no one else can own, are equally agreeable, and
delightfully exclusive. All minds that do no