line's place. We shall hear of Rinaldi later on.

We drove on for fifteen posts without stopping, and passed the night at
Valence. The food was bad, but Marcoline forgot her discomfort in talking
of Irene.

"Do you know," said she, "that if it had been in my power I should have
taken her from her parents. I believe she is your daughter, though she is
not like you."

"How can she be my daughter when I have never known her mother?"

"She told me that certainly."

"Didn't she tell you anything else?"

"Yes, she told me that you lived with her for three days and bought her
maidenhead for a thousand sequins."

"Quite so, but did she tell you that I paid the money to her father?"

"Yes, the little fool doesn't keep anything for herself. I don't think I
should ever be jealous of your mistresses, if you let me sleep with them.
Is not that a mark of a good disposition? Tell me."

"You have, no doubt, a good disposition, but you could be quite as good
without your dominant passion."

"It is not a passion. I only have desires for those I love."

"Who gave you this taste?"

"Nature. I began at seven, and in the last ten years I have certainly had
four hundred sweethearts."

"You begin early. But when did you begin to have male sweethearts?"

"At eleven."

"Tell me all about it."

"Father Molini, a monk, was my confessor, and he expressed a desire to
know the girl who was then my sweetheart. It was in the carnival time,
and he gave us a moral discourse, telling us that he would take us to the
play if we would promise to abstain for a week. We promised to do so, and
at the end of the week we went to tell him that we had kept our word
faithfully. The next day Father Molini called on my sweetheart's aunt in
a mask, and as she knew him, and as he was a monk and a confessor, we
were allowed to go with him. Besides, we were mere children; my
sweetheart was only a year older than I.

"After the play the father took us to an inn, and gave us some supper;
and when the meal was over he spoke to us of our sin, and wanted to see
our privates. 'It's a great sin between two girls,' said he, 'but between
a man and a woman it is a venial matter. Do you know how men are made?'
We both knew, but we said no with one consent. 'Then would you like to
know?' said he. We said we should like to know very much, and he added,
'If you will promise to keep it a secret, I may be able to satisfy your
curiosity.' We gave our promises, and the