uld have concluded that she was affected by some
distressing pain; but it rather seemed to me that she was struggling
with gloomy apprehensions of a future pregnant with dark misfortunes;
and with these, strangely enough, I connected the apparition of the
castle, though I could not give the least explanation of why I did so.

On the morning following the Baron's arrival, when the company
assembled to breakfast, my old uncle introduced me to the Baroness;
and, as usually happens with people in the frame of mind in which I
then was, I behaved with indescribable absurdity. In answer to the
beautiful lady's simple inquiries how I liked the castle, &c., I
entangled myself in the most extraordinary and nonsensical phrases, so
that the old aunts ascribed my embarrassment simply and solely to my
profound respect for the noble lady, and thought they were called
upon condescendingly to take my part, which they did by praising
me in French as a very nice and clever young man, as a _garcon tres
joli_ (handsome lad). This vexed me; so suddenly recovering my
self-possession, I threw out a _bonmot_ in better French than the old
dames were mistresses of; whereupon they opened their eyes wide in
astonishment, and pampered their long thin noses with a liberal supply
of snuff. From the Baroness's turning from me with a more serious air
to talk to some other lady, I perceived that my _bonmot_ bordered
closely upon folly; this vexed me still more, and I wished the two old
ladies to the devil. My old uncle's irony had long before brought me
through the stage of the languishing love-sick swain, who in childish
infatuation coddles his love-troubles; but I knew very well that the
Baroness had made a deeper and more powerful impression upon my heart
than any other woman had hitherto done. I saw and heard nothing but
her; nevertheless I had a most explicit and unequivocal consciousness
that it would be not only absurd, but even utter madness to dream of an
amour, albeit I perceived no less clearly the impossibility of gazing
and adoring at a distance like a love-lorn boy. Of such conduct I
should have been perfectly ashamed. But what I could do, and what I
resolved to do, was to become more intimate with this beautiful girl
without allowing her to get any glimpse of my real feelings, to drink
the sweet poison of her looks and words, and then, when far away from
her, to bear her image in my heart for many, many days, perhaps for
ever. I was excite