the great science we speak of, the Princess
held the first place. Mysterious stories ran of her acquaintance with
affairs the most momentous; there were narratives of her complicity in
even darker events. Her name was quoted by Savary in his secret report
of the Emperor Paul's death; an allusion to her was made by one of the
assassins of Murat; and a gloomy record of a celebrated incident in
Louis Philippe's life ascribed to her a share in a terrible tragedy.
Whether believed or not, they added to the prestige that attended her,
and she was virtually a "puissance" in European politics.

To all the intriguists in state affairs her arrival was actually a
boon. She could and would give them, out of her vast capital, enough
to establish them successfully in trade. To the minister of police
she brought accurate descriptions of suspected characters,--the
_signalements_ of Carbonari that were threatening half the thrones of
Europe. To the foreign secretary she brought tidings of the favor in
which a great Emperor held him, and a shadowy vision of the grand
cross he was one day to have. She had forbidden books for the cardinal
confessor, and a case of smuggled cigars for the minister of finance.
The picturesque language of a "Journal de Modes" could alone convey the
rare and curious details of dress which she imported for the benefit of
the court ladies. In a word, she had something to secure her a welcome
in every quarter,--and all done with a tact and a delicacy that the most
susceptible could not have resisted.

If the tone and manner of good society present little suitable to
description, they are yet subjects of great interest to him who would
study men in their moods of highest subtlety and astuteness. To mere
passing careless observation, the reception of the Princess was a
crowded gathering of a number of well-dressed people, in which the men
were in far larger proportion than the other sex. There was abundance of
courtesy; not a little of that half-flattering compliment which is the
small change of intercourse; some--not much--scandal, and a fair share
of small-talk. It was late when Sir Horace Upton entered, and, advancing
to where the Princess stood, kissed her gloved hand with all the
submissive deference of a courtier. The most lynx-eyed observer could
not have detected either in his manner or in hers that any intimacy
existed between them, much less friendship; least of all, anything still
closer. His bearing wa