He said I was a warlike Gildippe still, and that
he would stand by me.
So the coachman received his orders; we fell in among the long line
of carriages, and in due time made our way to the salon, where Madame
le Duchesse de Longueville sat enthroned in all the glory of her fair
hair and beautiful complexion, toying with her fan as she conversed
with the Prince of Marsillac, the most favoured at that time of a
whole troop of admirers and devoted slaves. She was not an
intellectual woman herself, but she had beyond all others who I ever
saw the power of leading captive the very ablest men.
The hero had not yet come from the palace, and having made our
compliments, and received a gracious smile and nod, we stood aside,
waiting and conversing with others, and in some anxiety lest the
Prince should be detained at the Louvre. However, before long he
came, and his keen eagle face, and the stars on his breast, flashed
on us, as he returned the greetings of one group after another in
his own peculiar manner, haughty, and yet not without a certain
charm.
A troop of officers followed, mingling with the gay crowd of ladies
and gentlemen, and among them Solivet pointed out the Count
d'Aubepine. I should not otherwise have known him, so much was he
altered in these six years, changing him from youth to manhood. His
hair was much darker, he had a small pointed beard, and the childish
contour of cheek and chin had passed away, and he was altogether
developed, but there was something that did not reassure me.
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