and then requested a
similar confidence.

He was le Marquis de Tonseca, and the young lady was his daughter; they
were proceeding to their chateau about seven miles distant, where he
hoped I would accompany them, and allow him an opportunity of showing
his gratitude.

I hesitated, talked of engagements--not that I intended to refuse the
invitation, but because the young lady had not joined in the request. My
plan had the desired effect; again the lovely face appeared from under
the cloak, and the sweetest voice in the world expressed a wish that I
would not refuse her father's invitation. I blushed, and stammered
consent. Pleased at her victory, she smiled, and again was folded up in
the cloak, which I could have torn to pieces for its envious
concealment.

Assistance had now arrived; a crowd of people, headed by an officer to
take the _proces verbal_, and two pair of post-horses came up; the
depositions of the Marquis and myself were briefly taken; his as to what
he had seen, and mine "to the best of my knowledge and belief." The
papers were signed, the dead bodies were carried off, the horses put to,
and, at the request of the Marquis, I took my seat in the carriage
between him and his daughter, and we proceeded to the chateau.

In two hours we arrived at a magnificent pile, which bespoke the wealth
and ancestry of the owner, and I had the pleasure of carrying in my
arms, up the long flight of steps by which we ascended to the entrance,
the beautiful girl, muffled up as she was in the cloak. As soon as I had
laid her down upon a sofa, I left her to the care of the females who
were in attendance and quitted the room. The Marquis had retired to his
own apartment, to supply the deficiencies in his attire, and for a short
time I was left alone to my own reflections. What is to be the result of
all this? thought I. Is there to be no end of my assumption of the
clothes and titles of other people,--this continual transmigration
before death? Yet how much more has it depended upon circumstances than
upon myself!

After much reflection, I determined upon letting things take their own
course, trusting to my own ready invention and good fortune for the
issue. I felt it to be impossible to tear myself from the sweet creature
whose personal charms had already fascinated me, and I vowed that there
was no risk, no danger, that I would not brave to obtain her love.

In an hour we met at the breakfast-table, and I was more than