carpet at the feet of
Mdlle. de Cardoville, in an attitude full of grace: and respect, rested
his chin on the palm of one of his hands, and gazed on her silently, in a
sort of mute adoration--while Adrienne, bending over him with a happy
smile "looked at the babies in his eyes," as the song says, with as much
amorous complacency, as if the hateful princess had not been present. But
soon, as if something were wanting to complete her happiness, Adrienne
beckoned to Mother Bunch, and made her sit down by her side. Then, with
her hand clasped in that of this excellent friend, Mdlle. de Cardoville
smiled on Djalma, stretched adoringly at her feet, and cast on the
dismayed princess a look of such calm and firm serenity, so nobly
expressive of the invincible quiet of her happiness, and her lofty
disdain of all calumnious attacks, that the Princess de Saint-Dizier,
confused and stupefied, murmured some hardly intelligible words, in a
voice trembling with passion, and, completely losing her presence of
mind, rushed towards the door. But, at this moment, the hunchback, who
feared some ambush, some perfidious plot in the background, resolved,
after exchanging a glance with Adrienne, to accompany the princess to her
carriage.

The angry disappointment of the Princess de Saint-Dizier, when she saw
herself thus followed and watched, appeared so comical to Mdlle. de
Cardoville that she could not help laughing aloud; and it was to the
sound of contemptuous hilarity that the hypocritical princess, with rage
and despair in her heart, quitted the house to which she had hoped to
bring trouble end misery. Adrienne and Djalma were left alone. Before
relating the scene which took place between them, a few retrospective
words are indispensable. It will easily be imagined, that since Mdlle. de
Cardoville and the Oriental had been brought into such close contact,
after so many disappointments, their days had passed away like a dream of
happiness. Adrienne had especially taken pains to bring to light, one by
one, all the generous qualities of Djalma, of which she had read so much
in her books of travels. The young lady had imposed on herself this
tender and patient study of Djalma's character, not only to justify to
her own mind the intensity of her love, but because this period of trial,
to which she had assigned a term, enabled her to temper and divert the
violence of Djalma's passion--a task the more meritorious, as she herself
was of the sam