Frankness and candor are very charming things. They are the very soul of true friendship, and the spirit of all affectionate interest; but they can be made very disagreeable elements of mere acquaintanceship. Such was Madame de Heidendorf s. She freely told Kate, that of all the great Midchekoff's unaccountable freaks, his intended marriage with herself was the very strangest; and that to unite his vast fortune and high position with mere beauty was something almost incredible. There was a landgravine of Hohenhôckingen, an Archduchess, a _main gauche_ of the Austrian house itself; there was a granddaughter of the Empress Catherine, with any of whom she could easily have opened negotiations for him,--all of them alliances rich in political influences. Indeed, there was another party,--she was not at liberty to mention the name; and though, to be sure, she was “blind and almost idiotic,” a union with her would eventually have made him a “Serene Highness.” “So you see, my dear,” said she, in winding up, “what you have cost him! Not,” added she, after a few seconds' pause,--“not but I have known such marriages turn out remarkably well. There was that Prince Adalbert of Bohemia, who married the singing woman,--what's her name?----that young creature that made such a sensation at the 'Scala,'--' La Biondina' they called her. Well, it is true, he only lived with her during the Carnival; but there she is now, with her handsome house in the Bastey, and the prettiest equipage in the Prater. I know several similar cases. The Archduke Max and Prince Ravitzkay,--though, perhaps, not him; for I believe he sent that poor thing away to the mines.” “His wife----to the mines!” gasped Kate, in terror. “Don't be frightened, my dear child,” said Madame, smiling; “be a good girl, and you shall have everything you like. Meanwhile, try and unlearn all those _gaucheries_ you picked up with that strange Lady Hester. It was a shocking school of manners,--all those eccentric, out-of-the-way people, who lounged in and lounged out, talking of nothing but each other, utterly ignorant of the great interests that are at stake in Europe at this moment Try, therefore, and forget that silly coterie altogether. When we arrive at Vienna, you will be presented to the Archduchess Louisa.” “And I shall see dear--dear Frank!” burst out Kate, with an irrepressible delight. “And who is Frank, Madame?” said the other, proudly drawing herself up. “My brother,--my only brother,--who is in the Austrian service.” “Is he on the Emperor's staff?” “I know nothing of his position, only that he is a cadet.” “A cadet, child! Why, do you know that that means a common soldier,--a creature that mounts with a musket, or carries a bread-bag over its shoulder through the streets in a fatigue-jacket?”