countess will be charmed at your
kind offer. As for the apparatus and arrangement, leave that to her,
she will be overjoyed when she hears that she is to expect you."

The abbe then took his leave, fully contented with his visit. Ivan
again read his letter, and again sat staring into space, as if a ghost
had appeared to him.

People said the Countess Theudelinde's _Soirees Amalgamantes_ would
certainly make history. The mixture was excellent: grandees jostled
elbows with poets; academicians with prelates; musicians, painters,
sculptors, actors, critics, professors, physicians, editors,
sportsmen, and politicians of all shades gathered under one roof. It
was a bold experiment, a brilliant society _in thesi_. Neither was
there wanting the element of female attraction; all that Pesth held of
beauty, charm, and grace lent its aid to the scheme of amalgamation.

Count Stefan, a cousin of Countess Theudelinde, was a great help to
her _soirees_, for he was a well-informed and cultivated young man,
able to talk on all subjects, and especially on the poetry of the
world. As for the Countess Angela, she was a classic beauty; her
grandfather was a political celebrity--a great man, who had a
surrounding of all kinds, bad and good. It was therefore quite in
keeping, according to the usages of society, that when an unfortunate
outsider was presented to Countess Angela, he should, after the third
word or so, make mention of her illustrious grandfather, Prince
Theobald of Bondavara, and inquire after his health. After this
question, however, the Countess Angela never addressed the stranger
another word. She allowed him to speak, if he so wished, and to retire
in some confusion. Even the most dried-up specimen of university
learning felt aggrieved. His heart could not resist the first glance
of those heavenly eyes, so sweet and friendly, now so cold and
haughty. And yet what had he done? The poor man will probably never
know; he is not in the inner circle.

Countess Angela was indeed a perfect ideal beauty; this cannot be too
often repeated. A pure, noble face, with classical, well-proportioned
features, nose and lips finely cut, long, straight eyebrows and
lashes, which veiled the eyes of a goddess. When these eyes glowed, or
when they were half-closed under their downy lids, they looked black,
but when they laughed at you, you would swear they were blue. Her hair
was rich, of that most lovely of all shades, chestnut brown; her who