e studiously
refrained from annoying her in any way--even by staring at her too
fixedly. He was moderate in his applause, and quietly attentive, as he
sat in a careless attitude in his arm-chair on the stage throughout the
piece. His lip curled scornfully sometimes when Captain Fracasse was
receiving the shower of blows and abuse that fell to his share, and his
whole countenance was expressive of the most lofty disdain, but that was
all; for though violent and impetuous by nature, the young duke was too
much of a gentleman--once his first fury passed--to transgress the rules
of courtesy in any way; and more especially towards an adversary
with whom he was to fight on the morrow--until then hostilities were
suspended, and he religiously observed the truce.

The masked lady quietly withdrew a little before the end of the second
piece, in order to avoid mingling with the crowd, and also to be able
to regain her chair, which awaited her close at hand, unobserved; her
disappearance mightily disturbed Leander, who was furtively watching
the movements of the mysterious unknown. The moment he was free, almost
before the curtain had fallen, he threw a large cloak around him to
conceal his theatrical costume, and rushed towards the outer door in
pursuit of her. The slender thread that bound them together would be
broken past mending he feared if he did not find her, and it would be
too horrible to lose sight of this radiant creature--as he styled her
to himself--before he had been able to profit by the pronounced marks
of favour she had bestowed upon him so lavishly during the evening. But
when he reached the street, all out of breath from his frantic efforts
in dashing through the crowd, and bustling people right and left
regardless of everything but the object he had in view, there was
nothing to be seen of her; she had vanished, and left not a trace
behind. Leander reproached himself bitterly with his own folly in not
having endeavoured to exchange a few words with his lost divinity in the
brief interval between the two plays, and called himself every hard name
he could think of; as we are all apt to do in moments of vexation.

But while he still stood gazing disconsolately in the direction that she
must have taken, a little page, dressed in a dark brown livery, and with
his cap pulled down over his eyes, suddenly appeared beside him, and
accosted him politely in a high childish treble, which he vainly strove
to render more m