"I think, sir, that your love for your brothers and sisters would completely have changed your view of this subject. But excuse me, madame," said the prince, addressing Bertha, "for talking politics; and without any transition I will ask you, what you thought of the new comedy at the Théâtre Français? Madame de Hansfeld and myself had the pleasure of seeing you, I may not say of remarking you, there." "Why you could hardly do otherwise," said Bertha, with a little more confidence, "for I was seated beside Madame Girard, who wore so singular a head-dress that it attracted universal attention." "I assure you, madame," remarked Paula, "that on casting our eyes towards your box, we saw the singular cap, the sobieska of Madame Girard, by chance." "The comedy seemed to me delightful and replete with interest," said Bertha; "and without knowing the author, M. de Gercourt, I was delighted at his success, he had so many persons who envied him." "M. de Gercourt, the author, is quite a fashionable man, is he not?" inquired Madame de Hansfeld. "Yes, madame," replied De Brévannes, "he was one of the five or six most fashionable men in Paris--he ranked even directly after _handsome_ Morville, that star which for so long a time has shone with unrivalled brilliancy: between ourselves, I scarcely know why: it was a ridiculous infatuation, nothing more, for Gercourt and many others have a thousand times more attractions than this assuming M. de Morville." Paula started when she heard the name so dear to her pronounced. The glances of the princess and Iris met, and the look of the latter fell on Paula's heart like lead. Completely ignorant of Paula's love for De Morville, and thinking it would have a good effect, in her eyes, to display his contempt of one of the most distinguished men in Paris, and moreover giving way to a feeling of envy and a habit of aspersion, which he had long entertained towards De Morville, whom he detested for no other cause than mean jealousy, De Brévannes continued,-- "This Monsieur de Morville has a pretty face, if you please, but he has, at the same time, such a besotted air of self-satisfaction that he is really sickening. They talk of his successes, but then he has never succeeded but with women whose facility of conquest makes them hardly worth a struggle for men who are in the same society as themselves. There was an immense deal of talk as to his affair with that English lady. He was certainly very deeply in love with her, but she laughed at him as every woman of good taste must do: for do you not think, madame, that we may always judge of the value of a woman by the value of the man whom she distinguishes?" "That is generally true, sir," said Paula, restraining herself. "Well, madame, then you may imagine the silly and ridiculous enthusiasts of this silly and ridiculous De Morville."