by
unexpected circumstances. The secret of this behavior, now dilatory and
again hurried, is known only to old women and to certain experienced
loungers. In this immense assembly the crowd does not trouble itself
much to watch the crowd; each one's interest is impassioned, and even
idlers are preoccupied.

The young dandy was so much absorbed in his anxious quest that he
did not observe his own success; he did not hear, he did not see the
ironical exclamations of admiration, the genuine appreciation, the
biting gibes, the soft invitations of some of the masks. Though he was
so handsome as to rank among those exceptional persons who come to an
opera ball in search of an adventure, and who expect it as confidently
as men looked for a lucky coup at roulette in Frascati's day, he seemed
quite philosophically sure of his evening; he must be the hero of one
of those mysteries with three actors which constitute an opera ball, and
are known only to those who play a part in them; for, to young wives
who come merely to say, "I have seen it," to country people, to
inexperienced youths, and to foreigners, the opera house must on those
nights be the palace of fatigue and dulness. To these, that black swarm,
slow and serried--coming, going, winding, turning, returning, mounting,
descending, comparable only to ants on a pile of wood--is no more
intelligible than the Bourse to a Breton peasant who has never heard of
the Grand livre.

With a few rare exceptions, men wear no masks in Paris; a man in a
domino is thought ridiculous. In this the spirit of the nation betrays
itself. Men who want to hide their good fortune can enjoy the opera ball
without going there; and masks who are absolutely compelled to go in
come out again at once. One of the most amusing scenes is the crush at
the doors produced as soon as the dancing begins, by the rush of persons
getting away and struggling with those who are pushing in. So the men
who wear masks are either jealous husbands who come to watch their
wives, or husbands on the loose who do not wish to be watched by
them--two situations equally ridiculous.

Now, our young man was followed, though he knew it not, by a man in a
mask, dogging his steps, short and stout, with a rolling gait, like a
barrel. To every one familiar with the opera this disguise betrayed
a stock-broker, a banker, a lawyer, some citizen soul suspicious of
infidelity. For in fact, in really high society, no one courts such
humil