crative trade among the luxury-loving _Mexicanos_. To know there were
French people in the place, was to be certain you would find them at the
ball; and there were they, numbers of them, pirouetting about, and
comporting themselves with the gay _insouciance_ characteristic of their
nation. I was not surprised, then, when my blue domino addressed me in
French.

"A French _modiste_!" conjectured I, as soon as she spoke.

Milliner or no, it mattered not to me; I wanted a dancing partner; and
after another phrase or two in the same sweet tongue, away went she and
I in the curving whirl of a waltz.

After sailing once round the room, I had two quite new and distinct
impressions upon my mind: the first, that I had a partner _who could
waltz_, a thing not to be met with every day. My blue domino seemed to
have no feet under her, but floated around me as if borne upon the air!
For the moment, I fancied myself in Ranelagh or Mabille!

My other impression was, that my arm encircled as pretty a waist as ever
was clasped by a lover. There was a pleasing rotundity about it,
combined with a general symmetry of form and serpentine yieldiness of
movement that rendered dancing with such a partner both easy and
delightful. My observation at the moment was, that if the face of the
modiste bore any sort of proportion to her figure, she needed not have
come so far from France to push her fortune.

With such a partner I could not otherwise than waltz well; and never
better than upon that occasion. We were soon under the observation of
the company, and became the cynosure of a circle. This I did not
relish, and drawing my blue domino to one side, we waltzed towards a
seat, into which I handed her with the usual polite expression of
thanks.

This seat was in a little recess or blind window, where two persons
might freely converse without fear of an eaves-dropper. I had no desire
to run away from a partner who danced so well, though she were a
modiste. There was room for two upon the bench, and I asked permission
to sit beside her.

"Oh, certainly," was the frank reply.

"And will you permit me to remain with you till the music recommences?"

"If you desire it."

"And dance with you again?"

"With pleasure, monsieur, if it suit your convenience. But is there no
other who claims you as a partner?--no other in this assemblage you
would prefer?"

"Not one, I assure you. You are the only one present with whom I care
to da