Volume III Part 57 (2/2)
Perhted o away, you shall stay here and court your charmer To-day you can turn two mischievous wo is so straightforward that M---- will be the first to laugh at it His wife cannot be ignorant of your love for her, and I know enough of wouise cannot have displeased her She does know of your love?”
”Undoubtedly”
He went away laughing, and at the door of his coach embraced me for the third time
I could not doubt that my charmer had told the whole story to her three friends as they were returning from Einsiedel to Zurich, and this made the part they had played all the more ill-natured; but I felt that it was to my interest to let their malice pass for wit
I went to the a reet the coenerous air, I went up to theof the two (she was la) and asked if she recognized me
”You confess, then, that you are the waiter at the 'Sword'?”
”Well, not quite that, madam, but I confess that I was the waiter for an hour, and that you cruelly disdained to address a single word to ed for the bliss of seeing you But I hope I shall be a little more fortunate here, and that you will allow e”
”This is very wonderful! You played your part so well that the sharpest eye would have been deceived Noe shall see if you play your new part as well If you do ood welcome”
After these complimentary speeches, the story beca itself with it, when I had the happiness of seeing M---- and Madaood-natured waiter,” said she to her husband
The worthydone his wife the honour of taking off her boots
This told lad Dinner was served, M de Chavigni ht hand, and I was placed between ah I disliked thelance at Mada I did not find her husband either as old or as jealous as I had expected The a to an impromptu ball, and then said, that in order for me to be able to tell the Duc de Choiseul that I ell ahted to have a play, if Madaain She said she should be delighted, but two ht,” said the kind old gentleman, ”I will play Montrose”
”And I, Murray,” I reement, which only left her the very bad part of Lady Alton, could not help lancing a shaft at me
”Oh! why isn't there a waiter's part in the play?” said she, ”you would play it so well”
”That is well said, but I hope you will teach ot the words of iven inan elaborate toilette I returned to the brilliant coed hest born but not the most beautiful lady in the place I then danced with all the ladies present until the good-natured old ot me the object of my vows as a partner in the quadrilles, which he did so easily that no one could have made any remark ”Lord Murray,” said he, ”must dance with no one but Lindane”
At the first pause I took the opportunity of saying that I had only come to Soleure for her sake, that it was for her sake that I had disguised myself at Zurich, and that I hoped she would permit me to pay my addresses to her
”I cannot invite you to my house,” said she, ”for certain sufficient reasons; but if you will stay here some time we shall be able to see each other But I entreat you not to shew me any marked attention in public, for there are those ill spy upon our actions, and it is not pleasant to be talked about”
I was quite satisfied with this, and told her that I would do all ineyes should have nothing to fix on I felt that the pleasure I looked forward to would be rendered all the sweeter by a tincture of mystery
I had proclaimed myself as a novice in the h to instruct , but she could only flatter herself that hers was a reflected light, as I had opportunities for paying reat her vanity may have been, she must have had soed between thirty and forty years, of a jaundiced co and malicious aspect In her efforts to hide the inequality of her legs, she walked with a stiff and aard air; and, wishi+ng to be thought a wit, she increased her natural dullness by a ceaseless flow of sreat air of respect, and one day she said that, having seen ht I was a man of a timid nature