to shock
him; to his natural, easy good-nature he united an innate respect for
grandeurs and for princesses. She did not neglect so good an opportunity
to air her monkey-development theories. He merrily flung back the ball;
he declared that he should prefer to be a fallen angel rather than a
perfected monkey; that in his estimation a parvenu made a much sorrier
figure in the world than the descendent of an old family of ruined
nobility. She replied that she was more democratic than he. "It is
pleasant to me," said she, "to think that I am a progressive ape, who
has a wide future before him, and who, by taking proper pains, may hope
to attain new advancement."

While they were thus chatting, Samuel Brohl was striving with all his
might to recover from the terrible blow he had received. He noted with
keen satisfaction that the eyesight of the princess was considerably
impaired; that the microscopic studies, for which she had always had a
taste, had resulted in rendering her somewhat near-sighted; that she was
obliged to look out carefully to find her way among her wine-glasses.
"She has not seen me for six years," thought he, "and I have become
a different man, I have undergone a complete metamorphosis; I have
difficulty sometimes in recognising myself. Formerly, my face was
close-shaven, now I have let my entire beard grow. My voice, my accent,
the poise of my head, my manners, the expression of my countenance, all
are changed; Poland has entered my blood--I am Samuel no longer, I am
Larinski." He blessed the microscope, which enfeebled the sight of old
women; he blessed Count Abel Larinski, who had made of him his
twin brother. Before the end of the repast he had recovered all his
assurance, all his aplomb. He began to take part in the conversation:
he recounted in a sorrowful tone a sorrowful little story; he retailed
sundry playful anecdotes with a melancholy grace and sprightliness; he
expressed the most chivalrous sentiments; shaking his lion's mane, he
spoke of the prisoner at the Vatican with tears in his voice. It were
impossible to be a more thorough Larinski.

The princess manifested, in listening to him, an astonished curiosity;
she concluded by saying to him: "Count, I admire you; but I believe only
in physiology, and you are a little too much of a Pole for me."

After they had left the table and repaired to the _salon_, several
callers dropped in. It was like a deliverance to Samuel. If the society
was no