, mademoiselle. I will never part with
them,' he said. The last I saw of him, when our carriages were turning a
bend in the road, was a truly picturesque figure on horseback, waving
his hand."

More than eight years elapsed before I met Taglioni again, and then she
looked absolutely like an old woman, though she was under fifty. It was
at the Comte (afterwards Duc) de Morny's, in '52, and, if I remember
rightly, almost immediately after his resignation as Minister of the
Interior. Taglioni and Mdlle. Rachel were the only women present. Just
as we were sitting down to dinner, Count Gilbert de Voisins came in, and
took the next seat but one on my left which had been reserved for him.
We were on friendly, though not on very intimate terms. He was evidently
not aware of the presence of his wife, for after a few minutes he asked
his neighbour, pointing to her, "Who is this governess-looking old
maid?" He told him. He showed neither surprise nor emotion; but, if an
artist could have been found to sketch his face there, its perfect blank
would have been more amusing than either. He seemed, as it were, to
consult his recollections; then he said, "Is it? It may be, after all;"
and went on eating his dinner. His wife acted less diplomatically. She
recognized him at once, and made a remark to her host in a sufficiently
loud voice to be overheard, which was not in good taste, the more that
De Morny, notwithstanding his many faults, was not the man to have
invited both for the mere pleasure of playing a practical joke. In fact,
I have always credited De Morny with the good intention of bringing
about a reconciliation between the two; but the affair was hopeless from
the very beginning, after Taglioni's exhibition of temper. I am far
from saying that Count Gilbert would have been more tractable if it had
not occurred, but his spouse shut the door at once upon every further
attempt in that direction. Nevertheless, whether out of sheer devilry or
from a wish to be polite, he went up to her after dinner, accompanied by
a friend, who introduced him as formally as if he and she had never seen
one another. It was at a moment when the Comte de Morny was out of the
room, because I feel certain that he was already sorry then for what he
had endeavoured to do, and had washed his hands of the whole affair.
Taglioni made a stately bow. "I am under the impression," she said,
"that I have had the honour of meeting you before, about the year 1832."