nvoluntarily; for her husband pays his court
to every one of them in her presence. She was esteemed a great beauty
once upon a time; but care and sorrow have made her quite old within the
last two years."

"Poor lady!" sighed Fanny.

"And now let me introduce you to Madame George Malnay. Beware of her.
She will be eternally flattering you, in the hope that some secret, some
unguarded word may escape you. She is a veritable Mephistopheles in
female form. She is the enemy of every one she knows; but whenever she
meets you she will kiss and embrace you, till you fancy she is quite in
love with you. It is of no use quarrelling with her. The very next day
she will embrace, kiss, and traduce you, as if nothing had happened. The
best way is to keep clear of her. Receive her, therefore, with a cold,
forbidding countenance. She'll requite you, perhaps, by calling you
boorish and underbred behind your back; but that is the kindest thing
you can expect from her."

Fanny gratefully pressed Lady Szentirmay's hand. What blunders she must
have made but for her!

"And is there any one really worth mentioning among so many?" she asked.

"Yes; Dame Marion."

"Really!"

"She is just as you saw her; she is always like that. And it is no
affectation, but her natural character."

"Then what is her real character?"

"Well, she is--like the rest of them--a treacherous scandalmonger, with
an ill word for every one, who takes a delight in picking out people's
most secret faults; but you need not fear her, for she loves you
sincerely, and will never betray, disparage, or injure you behind your
back. Have you not found that out already?"

Fanny, half-laughing half-weeping, hid her head in her friend's bosom,
and embraced her tightly; and then they kissed each other, and laughed
at the facility with which they also had fallen into the scandalizing
ways of the world.

CHAPTER XII.

THE HOUSE-WARMING.

Carriage after carriage rumbled into the courtyard of Karpathy Castle.
Every sort and kind of four-wheeled conveyance was visible that day
within the gates of the crowded mansion.

There seemed to be no end to the continuous flow of guests, male and
female, and Madame Karpathy won and captivated every heart. Of course
she had the immense advantage of knowing them all beforehand, of knowing
their weak and their strong points, their virtues and vices; but it is
due to her to add that she had learnt her lesson excellently well,