maid.'

"'But I am afraid for you,' I replied, 'your disguise is a crime in
itself; your reputation will suffer, and that will not tend to bring the
wish of your heart nearer.'

"In spite of my objections, my heart spoke in his favour, and he pleaded
so well and promised to be so discreet that at last I said I would see
him gladly whenever he liked to come.

"Count Al---- is twenty-two, and is shorter than I; he is small-boned, and
in his disguise as a lace-seller it was hard to recognize him, even by
his voice, which is very soft. He imitated the gestures and ways of women
to perfection, and not a few women would be only too glad to be like him.

"Thus for nearly three months the disguised count came to see me three or
four times a week, always in my maid's room, and mostly in her presence.
But even if we had been perfectly alone his fear of my displeasure was
too great to allow him to take the slightest liberties. I think now that
this mutual restraint added fuel to our flames, for when we thought of
the moment of parting it was with dumb sadness and with no idea of taking
the opportunity of rendering one another happy. We flattered ourselves
that Heaven would work some miracle in our favour, and that the day would
never come wherein we should be parted.

"But one morning the count came earlier than usual, and, bursting into
tears, told me that the minister had given him a letter for M. de Saa,
the Portuguese ambassador at London, and another letter open for the
captain of a ship which was shortly to sail for London. In this letter
the minister ordered the captain to embark Count Al----, to take him to
London, and to treat him with distinction.

"My poor lover was overwhelmed, he was nearly choked with sobs, and his
brain was all confusion. For his sake, and taking pity on his grief and
my love, I conceived the plan of accompanying him as his servant, or
rather to avoid disguising my sex, as his wife. When I told him, he was
at once stupefied and dazzled. He was beyond reasoning, and left
everything in my hands. We agreed to discuss the matter at greater length
on the following day, and parted.

"Foreseeing that it would be difficult for me to leave the house in
woman's dress, I resolved to disguise myself as a man. But if I kept to
my man's dress I should be obliged to occupy the position of my lover's
valet, and have to undertake tasks beyond my strength. This thought made
me resolve to impersonate the master