let."

"Ah, here's old Rosin again!" cried several of the party, who, with all
this familiarity, appeared to view him with no small respect.

"Shall I find you a partner, Monsieur de Congreganne?" said he to me.

"Thanks," said I; "but, with your permission, I'll not dance just yet."

"As you please, it is but a contre-danse," said he shrugging his
shoulders, while he moved away to arrange the figures.

I had not perceived before that a kind of orchestra, consisting of two
fiddles, a flute, and a tambourine, was stationed in a long gallery
over the door by which we entered; Monsieur Palamede being, however,
director, not alone of the music, but of the entire entertainment. The
band now struck up a well-known English country-dance, and away went the
couples, flying down the room to the merry measure; Monsieur de
Rosanne arranging the figures, beating the time, preserving order, and
restraining irregularities, with the energy of one possessed.

"Ah, Monsieur le Capitaine de Cocks, c*en est trop. Mademoiselle de
Spicer, pas si haut! de arms graceful! Ladies, no keep your hands under
your--what ye call him--jupe--apron--ha! ha! Black man--negro--no talk
so loud when you make punch!"

"Chassez--balancez! La grace! Madame la Marquise, la grace!" Then, as
he passed me, he muttered with a voice guttural from anger, "Quel
supplice!"

As I continued to gaze on the scene, I could not help being struck with
the extreme diversity of look and expression; for while there were some
faces on which iniquity had laid its indelible stamp, there were others
singularly pleasing, and some actually beautiful. Among the men, the
same character prevailed throughout,--a rude, coarse good-humor,--the
sailor-type everywhere; but a few seemed persons of a higher class,
and on these a life of vice and debauchery had produced the most marked
change, and you could still see, amid the traces of nights of riot and
abandonment, the remnant of finer features, the expression they had worn
before their "fall." If I was surprised at the good looks of many of
the women, still more was I by a gracefuluess of carriage and an air
of deportment that seemed as much out of place as they were unsuited to
such companionship. One young fellow appeared to be a general favorite
with the company. He was tall, well-made, and had that indescribably
rakish character about his very gesture that is rarely a bad indication
of the possessor's mode of life. I had no diffi