mother, no
longer the sinner suffering from repentance and self-reproach.

She stood before the glass, and arranged her disordered dress and
smoothed her dishevelled hair.

"I must be bewitching and fascinating," she murmured, with a smile that
showed two rows of pearl-like teeth; "the prince must gain courage from
my glance, to offer me his hand. Oh, I know he is quite prepared to do
so, if it were only to annoy his brother!" As she saw the carriage drive
up, she exclaimed, with sparkling eyes, "The battle begins--to victory!"

CHAPTER IV. AT THE MASKED BALL.

The feast had commenced. As Louise von Kleist, the beautiful odalisque,
entered the dancing-saloon, she was almost blinded by the gay and
sparkling assembly. The fairy-like and fantastic robes sparkled with
gold and jewels. The sea of light thrown from the crystal chandelier
upon the mirrors and ornaments of the brilliant saloon dazzled the eye.
The entertainments of the Prince of Prussia were renowned for their
taste and splendor.

Unrecognized, the beautiful Louise slipped through the gay assembly of
masks, and, when detecting some friends under the muffled forms of
their disguise, she murmured their names, and some mischievous and witty
remark; then springing gayly on to shoot again her arrow, and excite
astonishment and surprise.

"Oh, that life were a masked ball!" she murmured softly to herself,
"mysterious and sweet! where you find more than you seek, and guess more
than is known. No one recognizes me here. The brave and handsome
Count Troussel, who is leaning against that pillar, and casting such
melancholy glances through the crowd, hunting for the one his heart
adores, never dreams that she is standing opposite him, and is laughing
at his perplexity. No, he does not recognize me, and no one knows my
costume but the prince and Pollnitz, and as they have not yet found me,
I conclude they have not arrived. I will therefore amuse myself during
their absence."

She was just approaching the sentimental cavalier, when she suddenly
felt her arm touched, and, turning around, saw two masks wrapped in dark
dominoes before her.

"Beautiful odalisque, I bring you your sultan." murmured one of them, in
whom she recognized Baron Pollnitz.

"And where is my sultan?" she asked.

"Here," said the second mask, offering the beautiful lady his arm.
Louise saw those glorious eyes beaming upon her through his mask-eyes
which the king and Prince Henry alo