HENRIETTA RYDE. I was delighted with her poetry, which incited me to write the verses that I venture to give here, written in the slang style that I had picked from my Stuttgart English friends. The lines ran thus:— Dear Ettie, spare some minutes few, To read this poetry, will you? It’s awful, stupid balderdash, And nothing better than mere trash, But be indulgent, damsel sweet, And mind, you puggie, be discreet, Don’t show this rubbish to your beaus, Nor to your friends, nor to your foes, For I’m afraid to be laughed at, And to be called a stupid brat. Do you remember, darling child, How I was fast, and oh, so wild? But I’m not changed as yet the least, Now, am I not a horrid beast? Oh what a booby, dear, I was, To care for so many fellows. But the real object of my flame, I truly should not know—to name. (_Ungrateful being._) I liked Jeffrey pretty well, Because he was such a swell, I liked Skinner very much too, Somebody else did, don’t you know who? Oh, Ettie, you were an awful flirt, The idea of my being so pert! But it’s the truth, dear, isn’t it, dove, You must confess it as a love. Poor old girl, how you must feel forlorn, Now that sweet Teddie Thomson’s gone! He was a darling little man, But as dark as a frying pan. (_My revenge for the comparison of my Greek adorer to a candle made of tallow._) Just remember, at Mary’s party, You nearly fainted, my hearty, Then Teddie with a haggard face, Bustled near you with a great deal of grace. He ran for water, for Eau-de-Cologne, And went right smartly through his _besogne_ Now, old girlie, I must bid you good-bye, Really, duckie, ’tis not without a sigh! VAVA GALITZINE. CHAPTER III MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN SOCIETY I was to be taken out in St. Petersburg for my first season, and presented at Court. How my heart palpitated at the idea of my first dance! I made my appearance in public in Kharkoff, at a ball given by the Count Sievers, the governor of the town. I am not afflicted with shyness, nevertheless I was seized with a sudden access of bashfulness on entering the ball-room, and feeling horribly uncomfortable with the big bouquet that my brother had given to me, I flung it on the floor in the ante-room. It was not long, however, before I was quite at my ease again, enjoying the ball enormously, and dancing to my heart’s content all through the evening. I came to St. Petersburg full of happy hopes and expectations, and an eager desire to spread my wings in the wide world. It would be a delightful existence—every hour filled with enjoyment.