ow.

"M. de Rubempre," said the Marquise with flattering graciousness, "this
is your first visit to the Opera, is it not? You must have a view of the
house; take this seat, sit in front of the box; we give you permission."

Lucien obeyed as the first act came to an end.

"You have made good use of your time," Louise said in his ear, in her
first surprise at the change in his appearance.

Louise was still the same. The near presence of the Marquise d'Espard, a
Parisian Mme. de Bargeton, was so damaging to her; the brilliancy of the
Parisienne brought out all the defects in her country cousin so clearly
by contrast; that Lucien, looking out over the fashionable audience in
the superb building, and then at the great lady, was twice enlightened,
and saw poor Anais de Negrepelisse as she really was, as Parisians
saw her--a tall, lean, withered woman, with a pimpled face and faded
complexion; angular, stiff, affected in her manner; pompous and
provincial in her speech; and, and above all these things, dowdily
dressed. As a matter of fact, the creases in an old dress from Paris
still bear witness to good taste, you can tell what the gown was meant
for; but an old dress made in the country is inexplicable, it is a thing
to provoke laughter. There was neither charm nor freshness about the
dress or its wearer; the velvet, like the complexion had seen wear.
Lucien felt ashamed to have fallen in love with this cuttle-fish bone,
and vowed that he would profit by Louise's next fit of virtue to leave
her for good. Having an excellent view of the house, he could see
the opera-glasses pointed at the aristocratic box par excellence. The
best-dressed women must certainly be scrutinizing Mme. de Bargeton, for
they smiled and talked among themselves.

If Mme. d'Espard knew the object of their sarcasms from those feminine
smiles and gestures, she was perfectly insensible to them. In the first
place, anybody must see that her companion was a poor relation from the
country, an affliction with which any Parisian family may be visited.
And, in the second, when her cousin had spoken to her of her dress with
manifest misgivings, she had reassured Anais, seeing that, when once
properly dressed, her relative would very easily acquire the tone of
Parisian society. If Mme. de Bargeton needed polish, on the other
hand she possessed the native haughtiness of good birth, and that
indescribable something which may be called "pedigree." So, on Monday