ed no longer. When he reached Guiche's residence, he was informed
that Guiche was with Monsieur. Raoul took the road to the Luxembourg,
and when arrived, without suspecting that he was going to the place
where La Valliere had lived, he heard so much music and respired so
many perfumes, he heard so much joyous laughter, and saw so many dancing
shadows, that if it had not been for a charitable woman, who perceived
him so dejected and pale beneath a doorway, he would have remained there
a few minutes, and then would have gone away, never to return. But, as
we have said, in the first ante-chamber he had stopped, solely for the
sake of not mixing himself with all those happy beings he felt were
moving around him in the adjacent salons. And as one of Monsieur's
servants, recognizing him, had asked him if he wished to see Monsieur or
Madame, Raoul had scarcely answered him, but had sunk down upon a bench
near the velvet doorway, looking at a clock, which had stopped
for nearly an hour. The servant had passed on, and another, better
acquainted with him, had come up, and interrogated Raoul whether he
should inform M. de Guiche of his being there. This name did not even
arouse the recollections of Raoul. The persistent servant went on to
relate that De Guiche had just invented a new game of lottery, and
was teaching it to the ladies. Raoul, opening his large eyes, like the
absent man in Theophrastus, made no answer, but his sadness increased
two shades. With his head hanging down, his limbs relaxed, his mouth
half open for the escape of his sighs, Raoul remained, thus forgotten,
in the ante-chamber, when all at once a lady's robe passed, rubbing
against the doors of a side salon, which opened on the gallery. A lady,
young, pretty, and gay, scolding an officer of the household, entered by
that way, and expressed herself with much vivacity. The officer replied
in calm but firm sentences; it was rather a little love pet than a
quarrel of courtiers, and was terminated by a kiss on the fingers of the
lady. Suddenly, on perceiving Raoul, the lady became silent, and pushing
away the officer:

"Make your escape, Malicorne," said she; "I did not think there was any
one here. I shall curse you, if they have either heard or seen us!"

Malicorne hastened away. The young lady advanced behind Raoul, and
stretching her joyous face over him as he lay:

"Monsieur is a gallant man," said she, "and no doubt--"

She here interrupted herself by ut