and Mr. Morris to pay his respects to her and Madame d'Azay. For while
Adrienne attracted him, he was yet conscious that it was best for him
not to be drawn into the circle of her fascinations, and, although he
made a thousand excuses for her caprice and coquetry, he had no
intention of becoming the victim of either. Indeed, he had already
experienced somewhat of her caprice and had found it little to his
liking. Since the afternoon on which they had skated together she had
never again treated him in so unaffected and friendly a fashion. A
hundred times had she passed him at the opera or the play or in the
salons which they both frequented, with scarcely a nod or smile, and Mr.
Calvert was both offended and amused by such cavalier treatment and
haughty manners.

"She has the air of a princess royal and treats me as the meanest of her
subjects. 'Tis a good thing we Americans have cast off the yoke of
royalty," he thought to himself, with a smile. "And as for beauty--there
are a dozen belles in Virginia alone almost her equal in loveliness and
surely far sweeter, simpler, less spoiled. And yet--and yet--" and the
young man would find himself wondering what was that special charm by
virtue of which she triumphed over all others. He did not himself yet
know why it was that he excused her follies, found her the most
beautiful of all women, or fell into a sort of rage at seeing her in the
loose society of the day, with such men as St. Aulaire and a dozen
others of his kind in her train. But though unable to analyze her charm
he was yet vaguely conscious of its danger, and had it depended upon
himself he would have seen but little of her. This, however, was an
impossibility, as Mr. Jefferson was a constant visitor at the hotel of
Madame d'Azay, who, true to her word, seemed to take the liveliest
interest in Mr. Calvert and commanded his presence in her salon
frequently. Indeed, the old Duchess was pleased to profess herself
charmed with the young American, and would have been delighted,
apparently, to see him at any and all hours, had his duties permitted
him so much leisure. Besides the cordial invitations of the dowager
Duchess to the hotel in the rue St. Honore, there were others as
pressing from d'Azay himself, who, having secured his election in
Touraine, had returned to Paris. The young nobleman was frequently at
the American Legation in consultation with the Minister, whose opinions
and character excited his greatest a