anner, half kindly,
half sardonic, and said that I was at that happy age when I had no need
to think of anything, as my kind friends and relations did all my
thinking for me.

"I only answered by an incredulous smile, which, for all his monastic
subtlety, struck him as the expression of a young girl's coyness.

"Foreseeing the persecution to which I should be subjected, I went the
next day to my aunt the abbess, who could not refuse me her advice. I
began by stating my firm resolve to die rather than wed a being I
detested.

"The worthy nun replied that the count had been introduced to her, and
that to tell the truth she thought him insufferable; all the same, she
said she was afraid I should be made to marry him.

"These words were such a shock to me that I turned the conversation, and
spoke of other subjects for the remainder of my visit. But when I got
back to my house I pursued an extraordinary course. I shut myself up in
my closet and wrote a letter to the executioner of my unhappy father, the
pitiless Oeiras, telling him the whole story, and imploring him to
protect me and to speak to the king in my favour; 'for,' said I, 'as you
have made me an orphan it is your duty before God to care for me.' I
begged him to shelter me from the anger of the Princess of Brazil, and to
leave me at liberty to dispose of my hand according to my pleasure.

"Though I did not imagine Oeiras to be a humane man, yet I thought he
must have some sort of a heart; besides, by this extraordinary step and
the firmness of my language, I hoped to appeal to his pride and to
interest him in my favour. I felt sure that he would do me justice, if
only to prove that he had not been unjust to my father. I was right, as
will be seen, and although I was but an inexperienced girl my instinct
served me well.

"Two days elapsed before I was waited on by a messenger from Oeiras, who
begged the honour of a private interview with me. The messenger told me
that the minister wished me to reply to all who pressed me to marry that
I should not decide until I was assured that the princess desired the
match. The minister begged me to excuse his not answering my letter, but
he had good reasons for not doing so. The messenger assured me that I
could count on his master's support.

"His message delivered, the gentleman took leave with a profound bow, and
went back without waiting for an answer. I must confess that the young
man's looks had made a great impres