"Speak to her! why, Lord! M. Charles, what a man you are! You know very well that I rather pride myself upon my prudence and good management in all difficult cases; and don't you see, that, up to the moment of her entering the grounds of the Hôtel Lambert by the private door, nothing had transpired to satisfy me she really formed one of the princess's household? And that was my first day's work; I confess it does not seem like doing much; but, at least, I had learned who to inquire for when I presented myself at the Hôtel." "So far, so well. Now, go on." "The next day I started off, with my box of patterns of lace and blond. What a capital idea it was, my making a pretence to carry a box, and call myself a lace-dealer come to exhibit the last new fashions in such articles, wasn't it, M. Charles? and Lord knows how many times you and I have found it serviceable in our plans to gain admittance to a house, or steal five minutes' conversation with some sweet lady. Ah, I remember----" "Never mind what you remember, go on." "Well; this time I went quite boldly up to the principal entrance and knocked at the great gates; a door was instantly opened, and, you may believe me or not, M. Charles, just as you like, when I say, that, although I am no coward, I felt a kind of fearful pit-a-patting of my heart, that sounded almost like the ticking of a clock. As I heard it shut again behind me, I found myself standing within the court-yard." "But, why should you have felt afraid?" "The court was small, flagged, and surrounded with high, gloomy-looking buildings. I am quite sure the sun never yet contrived to make it look bright with one of his beams,--no, not for an instant; it had just the dull air of a cloister. At the bottom of the court was an immense portico, so deep as to be quite dark within; still I could distinctly make out, by reason of the whiteness of the stone itself, the balustrades of a vast horse-shoe staircase, which ascended outside up to the first story of the Hôtel;--the portico went all round the house." "It must be a perfect palace!"