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162 at the palace, and must dine at the king's table, I may be late; but I shall have the honour of attending Mademoiselle the moment I'm released. Adieu! till the evening."

"C'est singulier," thought he, as he drove away. "Her beauty is exquisite; yet she is without the slightest education, and has the manners of a peasant. I much doubt whether this man's her uncle. Why leave her alone to receive me? There is a mystery which I am determined to solve."

"Eh bien, Rochechouart?" said D'Armagnac, when they met presently at the palace. "Comment trouvez vous votre déesse?"

"Absolument divine," answered Rochechouart, who had no idea of depreciating the value of his own anticipated triumph; and who was oftener urged to these pursuits by the silly ambition of outstripping his companions, and the desire to show them that he could accomplish whatever he chose to undertake, than by his own passions or inclinations. "She is charming, and her naïveté is as captivating as her beauty."

"I have been making acquaintance with the uncle," said D'Armagnac; "and he has invited me to visit him."