cealing the pale,
well-shaped ear. The deep, dark eyelash contrasted well with the clear
eye it shaded, the crystal of which was tinged with that blue cast which
bestows so much and such charming expression to the Indian eye. By a
singular caprice of nature, the thick, silky moustache which graced his
lip was the only ornament of a similar description visible on his
countenance, the chin and cheeks being smooth as those of a young
maiden. Perhaps it might be vanity which dictated the narrow black satin
cravat placed so low as to reveal the perfect contour of a throat which,
for whiteness and symmetrical roundness, might have furnished a model
for the artist's studio. The long ends of his cravat were confined by a
single pearl, inestimable for its size, the beauty of its shape, and the
splendour of its colour,--so vivid, that an opal could scarcely have
rivalled its continued prismatic changes. The perfect taste, and
exquisite style of M. de Saint-Remy harmonised well with the magnificent
simplicity of this jewel.

Once seen, the face and figure of M. de Saint-Remy was never forgotten,
so entirely did it differ from the usual style of _elegants_. He spared
no expense in procuring the most faultless turnout, and his carriages
and horses were everywhere cited as models of taste and correct
judgment. He played high, but skilfully; while the annual amount of his
betting-book was never less than from two to three thousand louis. The
costly elegance of his mansion, in the Rue de Chaillot, was everywhere
spoken of and admired. There he gave the most exquisite dinner-parties.
The highest play followed, and the hospitable host would lose large and
heavy sums with the most perfect indifference, though it was known that
his fortune had been dissipated long ago. All the viscount's property
had been derived from his mother; while his father lived in utter
seclusion in the wilds of Anjou, upon an income of the most slender
description.

By way of accounting for the unbounded expenditure of M. de Saint-Remy,
many among the envious or ill-natured referred, as Sarah had done, to
the large fortune of the Duchess de Lucenay; but they forgot that,
setting aside the infamy of the idea, M. de Lucenay would naturally
direct the disposal of his wife's property, and that M. de Saint-Remy's
annual expenses were at least two hundred thousand francs. Suspicions
were entertained of his being deeply indebted to imprudent
money-lenders; for Saint-Re