on in her breast, and who yet could command herself so thoroughly,
as a kind of miracle, and at last said to himself: "The world is right;
woman is a riddle!"

The Princess remained there for some weeks longer, and always maintained
the same polite and friendly, but cool and sometimes ironical, demeanor
towards him, but he easily endured being looked upon as her unfortunate
adorer by the world, for at least every other day a small, scented note,
stamped with her arms and signed _Leonie_, summoned him to the pavilion,
and there he enjoyed the full, delightful possession of the beautiful
woman. It, however, struck him as strange that she would never let him
see her face. Her head was always covered with a thick black veil,
through which he could see her eyes, which sparkled with love,
glistening; he passed his fingers through her hair, he saw her well-known
dresses, and once he succeeded in getting possession of one of her
pocket-handkerchiefs, on which the name _Leonie_ and the princely coronet
were magnificently embroidered.

When she returned to Vienna for the winter, a note from her invited him
to follow her there, and as he had indefinite leave of absence from his
regiment, he could obey the commands of his divinity. As soon as he
arrived there he received another note, which forbade him to go to her
house, but promised him a speedy meeting in his rooms, and so the young
officer had the furniture elegantly renovated, and looked forward to a
visit from the beautiful woman with all a lover's impatience.

At last she came, wrapped in a magnificent cloak of green velvet, trimmed
with ermine, but still thickly veiled, and before she came in she made it
a condition that the room in which he received her should be quite dark,
and after he had put out all the lights she threw off her fur, and her
coldness gave way to the most impetuous tenderness.

"What is the reason that you will never allow me to see your dear,
beautiful face?" the officer asked. "It is a whim of mine, and I suppose
I have the right to indulge in whims," she said, hastily. "But I so long
once more to see your splendid figure and your lovely face in full
daylight," the Count continued. "Very well then, you shall see me at the
Opera this evening."

She left him at six o'clock, after stopping barely an hour with him, and
as soon as her carriage had driven off he dressed and went to the opera.
During the overture, he saw the Princess enter her box and loo