"Your husband may come at any moment; he must be charmed, fascinated, and he will be." Then turning to Antonine, Madeleine added: "Quick, quick, my child; help me to place this table before the window, and we will first arrange Sophie's hair." "But really, Madeleine," said Madame Dutertre, smiling, for she was awakening in spite of herself to hope and happiness, "you are silly." "Not so silly," replied the marquise, making Sophie sit down before the toilet-table. Uncoiling her friend's magnificent hair, she said: "With such hair, if I were as ugly as a monster, I would make myself attractive in the highest degree; judge for yourself, Sophie. Here, help me, Antonine, this hair is so long and so thick, I cannot hold it all in my hand." It was a charming sight to see the three friends of such diverse beauty, thus grouped together. The pure face of Antonine expressed an innocent astonishment at this improvised toilet; Sophie, touched, and distressed by the tender recollections of other days, felt under her veil of brown hair her lovely face, sad and pale up to that moment, colour with an involuntary blush; while Madeleine, handling her friend's superb hair with marvellous skill, was making a ravishing coiffure. "Now," said the marquise to Sophie, "what gown are you going to wear? But now I think of it, they all fit you horribly, and all of them are cut on the same pattern." "They are, unfortunately," said Sophie, smiling. "Very well," replied the marquise, "and all are high-necked, I warrant." "Yes, all are high-necked," replied poor Sophie. "Better and better," said Madeleine, "so that these dimpled shoulders, these beautiful arms are condemned to perpetual burial! it is deplorable! Let us see, you have at least some elegant morning gown,--some coquettish dressing-gown,--have you not?" "My morning gowns are all very simple. It is true that formerly--" "Formerly?" "I did have some beautiful ones." "Well, where are they?" "I thought they were too young for the mother of a family like me," said Sophie, smiling. "So I relegated them, I believe, to a shelf in that wardrobe with the glass door." The marquise waited to hear no more; she ran to the wardrobe, which she ransacked, and found two or three very pretty morning gowns of striped taffeta of great beauty. She selected one of deep blue, with straw-coloured stripes; the sleeves open and floating exposed the arms to the elbow, and although it lapped over in front, the gown opened enough to show the neck in the most graceful manner possible. "Admirable!" exclaimed Madeleine, "this gown is as fresh and beautiful as when it was new. Now I must have some white silk stockings to match these Cendrillon slippers I found in this wardrobe where you have buried your arms, Sophie, as they say of warriors who do not go to battle any more." "But, my dear Madeleine," said Sophie, "I--"