Volume II Part 16 (2/2)
Coraline was not so sprightly as Caan toht would not attract attention: but all hours belong by right to the established lover, and I therefore found myself sometimes with her when the Prince of Monaco called to see her At first I would bow to the prince and withdraw, but afterwards I was asked to re princes find a tete-a-tete with their ether, and they both listened, while it was htmy court to the prince, and he received , as I called on Coraline, he said to lad to see you, for I have promised the duchess of Rufe to present you to her, and we can go to her iain a duchess! My star is decidedly in the ascendant Well, let us go!
We got into a 'diable', a sort of vehicle then very fashi+onable, and at eleven o'clock in theere introduced to the duchess
Dear reader, if I were to paint it with a faithful pen, ine sixty winters heaped upon a face plastered with rouge, a blotched and piliness of libertinis upon the sofa As soon as she sees ood-lookinghim to me Come and sit near me, my fine fellow!”
I obeyed respectfully, but a noxious smell of musk, which seemed to me almost corpse-like, nearly upset me The infamous duchess had raised herself on the sofa and exposed all the nakedness of the eousto have soe for me in a short time
As soon as ere alone, the plastered skeleton thrust its ar ave an to stray with the most bare-faced indecency
”Let me see, my fine cock,” she said, ”if you have a fine ”
I was shuddering, and resisted the atteusting Messaline; ”are you such a novice?”
”No, madam; but”
”But what?”
”I have”
”Oh, the villain!” she exclai to expose myself to!”
I availed myself of the opportunity, snatched my hat, and took to my heels, afraid lest the door-keeper should stop me
I took a coach and drove to Coraline's, where I related the adventure
She laughed heartily, and agreed with me that the prince had played me a nasty trick She praised the presence of mind hich I had invented an i to her that I had deceived the duchess
Yet I was not without hope, and suspected that she did not think me sufficiently enamoured of her
Three or four days afterwards, however, as we had supper together and alone, I told her so s, and I asked her so clearly to ave me an appointment for the next day
”To-oes to Versailles, and he will not return until the day after; ill go together to the warren to hunt ferrets, and have no doubt we shall coht”
The next day at ten o'clock we took a coach, but as ere nearing the gate of the city a vis-a-vis, with servants in a foreign livery came tip to us, and the person as in it called out, ”Stop! Stop!”
The person was the Chevalier de Wurtelance onhis head entirely out of his carriage he whispered to her She answered hi ly,
”I have soo to the warren alone, my dear friend, enjoy the hunt, and come to me to-morrow”