scover "the attenuating
circumstances;" for the petty larcenies of fashion they have nothing but
whipcord.

Amidst the various knots where such discussions were carried on, one
was eminently conspicuous. It was around a handsome open carriage, whose
horses, harnessing, and liveries were all in the most perfect taste. The
equipage might possibly have been deemed showy in Hyde Park; but in
the Bois de Boulogne or the Cascine it must be pronounced the acme of
elegance. Whatever might have been the differences of national opinion
on this point, there could assuredly have been none as to the beauty of
those who occupied it.

Though a considerable interval of years divided them, the aunt and her
niece had a wonderful resemblance to each other. They were both--the
rarest of all forms of beauty--blond Italians; that is, with light
hair and soft gray eyes. They had a peculiar tint of skin, deeper and
mellower than we see in Northern lands, and an expression of mingled
seriousness and softness that only pertains to the South of Europe.
There was a certain coquetry in the similarity of their dress, which in
many parts was precisely alike; and although the niece was but fifteen,
and the aunt above thirty, it needed not the aid of flattery to make
many mistake one for the other.

Beauty, like all other "Beaux Arts," has its distinctions. The same
public opinion that enthrones the sculptor or the musician, confers
its crown on female loveliness; and by this acclaim were they declared
Queens of Beauty. To any one visiting Italy for the first time, there
would have seemed something very strange in the sort of homage rendered
them: a reverence and respect only accorded elsewhere to royalties,--a
deference that verged on actual humiliation,--and yet all this blended
with a subtle familiarity that none but an Italian can ever attain to.
The uncovered head, the attitude of respectful attention, the patient
expectancy of notice, the glad air of him under recognition, were
all there; and yet, through these, there was dashed a strange tone of
intimacy, as though the observances were but a thin crust over deeper
feelings. "La Contessa"--for she was especially "the Countess," as one
illustrious man of our own country was "the Duke"--possessed every gift
which claims preeminence in this fair city. She was eminently beautiful,
young, charming in her manners, with ample fortune; and, lastly,--ah!
good reader, you would surely be puzzled to supp