g her delicate cheeks, and clinging to
Paulo's arms, she whispered: "Protect me, Paulo, I am so frightened by
this crowd!"

Just at that moment the doorkeeper cried with a loud voice: "Princess
Natalie Tartaroff and Count Paulo!"

At the sound of these strange names all glanced toward the door, and
all flaming, curious, prying eyes were fixed with astonishment and
admiration upon the young maiden.

But Natalie did not remark it. She glanced at Paulo with a glad smile,
and a proud happiness beamed from her features. She had, then, a name;
she was no longer an abandoned, nameless orphan. At length the enigma of
her birth was solved, and what she had so often prayed for, Count Paulo
had vouchsafed her as a surprise to-day.

He had at the same time announced her name to herself and the world, and
she not only had a name, but she was a princess; she took a rank in the
company, and Count Paulo and Carlo had no reason to be ashamed of her.
But where was Carlo? At the thought of him this feeling of effervescing
pride vanished from the young maiden's heart; she even forgot that she
was a princess, to remember only that Carlo, her music-teacher, had
promised her to be present at this festival, and to wonder that she
could not discover him in this gay and confused assemblage.

She did not remark that, since her appearance, a deep stillness had
supervened in the hall, that all eyes were upon her, that people
secretly whispered to each other, and gave utterance to murmured
expressions of astonishment and delight; she saw not how the beauties
here and there turned pale and indignantly bit their proud lips; she saw
not how the eyes of the men glowed and flashed, and what eagerly lusting
glances the cardinals and princes of the Church cast upon her.

She was so unconstrained, this charming child, she knew not how handsome
she was. But she was to-day of a wonderfully touching beauty. Like a
white and delicate lily stood she there in the heavy white satin robe
that enveloped her graceful form, and the brilliants that adorned her
hair, neck, and arms, shone and sparkled like sun-lighted dew-drops in
the calyx of the flower. So beautiful was she that even Cardinal Bernis
stood speechless and as if blinded before her, finding no expression for
his joyful surprise and astonishment.

"Oh," at length he smilingly said, with a low bow, "I shall have to
quarrel with Count Paulo! He promised us the presence of a mortal woman,
and now he l