would for the future be more prudent; to this end she now affected to
laugh at the dilemma into which she told him he had brought himself, by
making addresses in two places at the same time, and advised him in a
gay manner to be more circumspect.

Thus was this beautiful lady, by her jealousy, convinced of her
sensibility; and as difficult as Horatio found it to remove the one, he
found his consolation in the discovery of the other.

From the time he had been disengaged from mademoiselle Sanferre, he had
retired with Charlotta to one corner of the room; and the greatest part
of the company being in a grand dance, the others were taken up in
looking on them, so that our young lovers had the opportunity of talking
to each other without being taken much notice of; but several of the
masquers now drawing nearer that way, prevented Horatio from saying any
thing farther at that time, either to clear his innocence or prosecute
his passion; and Charlotta, glad to avoid all discourse on a subject she
thought herself but ill prepared to answer, joined some ladies, with
whom she stayed till the ball was near concluded.

Horatio after this withdrew to a window, and flickered behind a large
damask curtain, threw himself on a sopha he found there, and ruminated
at full on the adventure had happened to him, in which he found a
mixture of joy and discontent: the behaviour of Charlotta assured him he
was not indifferent to her; but then the thoughts that he appeared in
her eyes as ungrateful, inconstant and perfidious, made him tremble,
left the idea of what he seemed to be should utterly erase that
favourable one she had entertained of what he truly was. By what means
he should prove his sincerity he knew not; and as he was utterly
unpracticed in the affairs of love, lamented the absence of his good
friend the baron de la Valiere, who he thought might have been, able to
give him same advice, how to proceed.

He remained buried, as it were, in these cogitations, when a lady
plucked back the curtain which screen'd him, and without seeing any one
was there, threw herself on the sopha almost in his lap.--Oh heaven!
cried she, perceiving what she had done, and immediately rose; but
Horatio starting up, would not suffer her to quit the place, telling
her, that since she chose it, it was his business to retire, and leave
her to indulge whatever meditations had brought her thither. She thank'd
him in a voice which, by its trembling, testif