about her erred,
as it were, by an excess of delicacy.

M. de Montriveau willingly consented to be introduced to the Duchesse
de Langeais; and she, after the manner of persons whose sensitive taste
leads them to avoid banalities, refrained from overwhelming him with
questions and compliments. She received him with a gracious deference
which could not fail to flatter a man of more than ordinary powers,
for the fact that a man rises above the ordinary level implies that
he possesses something of that tact which makes women quick to read
feeling. If the Duchess showed any curiosity, it was by her glances;
her compliments were conveyed in her manner; there was a winning grace
displayed in her words, a subtle suggestion of a desire to please which
she of all women knew the art of manifesting. Yet her whole conversation
was but, in a manner, the body of the letter; the postscript with the
principal thought in it was still to come. After half an hour spent in
ordinary talk, in which the words gained all their value from her tone
and smiles, M. de Montriveau was about to retire discreetly, when the
Duchess stopped him with an expressive gesture.

"I do not know, monsieur, whether these few minutes during which I have
had the pleasure of talking to you proved so sufficiently attractive,
that I may venture to ask you to call upon me; I am afraid that it may
be very selfish of me to wish to have you all to myself. If I should
be so fortunate as to find that my house is agreeable to you, you will
always find me at home in the evening until ten o'clock."

The invitation was given with such irresistible grace, that M. de
Montriveau could not refuse to accept it. When he fell back again among
the groups of men gathered at a distance from the women, his
friends congratulated him, half laughingly, half in earnest, on the
extraordinary reception vouchsafed him by the Duchesse de Langeais. The
difficult and brilliant conquest had been made beyond a doubt, and the
glory of it was reserved for the Artillery of the Guard. It is easy to
imagine the jests, good and bad, when this topic had once been started;
the world of Paris salons is so eager for amusement, and a joke lasts
for such a short time, that everyone is eager to make the most of it
while it is fresh.

All unconsciously, the General felt flattered by this nonsense. From his
place where he had taken his stand, his eyes were drawn again and again
to the Duchess by countless waver