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 young good-for-nothing enough; "and these are the objects women break their hearts about—dress for them, dance for them, die for them; nay, even come to masked balls, disfigured and disguised for their unworthy sakes. What fools you must think us, Captain George; and what fools we are!"

"You know me, madame," exclaimed the Musketeer, affecting surprise, rather as entering into the spirit of the scene than with any deeper motive. "You must know, then, that I am amongst the most devoted and respectful admirers of your sex."

She laughed again the low soft laugh that was one of her greatest charms, and lost, moreover, none of its attraction from her disguise.

"Know you!" she repeated, still leaning on his arm perhaps a little heavier than before. "What lady in Paris does not know you as the citadel to resist all her efforts of attack?—as the Orson, the woman-hater, the man of marble, who has no vanity, no feelings, no heart?—the only creature left in this uninteresting town worth conquering? And all those who have tried it, no small number, vow that victory is impossible."

"It shows how little they comprehend me," he replied, in a tone of jest, and still pretending not to recognise his companion, who held her head down and took refuge studiously beneath her mask. "If you, madame, would condescend to become better acquainted with me, you would soon learn the falsehood of these ladies' reports to my discredit!"

"Discredit!" she echoed, and to his surprise, nay, to his dismay, a tear fell on the gloved hand within his arm. What could he do but dry it with a kiss? "Discredit!" she said again, in a tone of increasing emotion. "How little you must understand us if you can make use of such a term! Who would care to possess that which half the town has worn and thrown away? What is the value of a heart that has been cut into little scraps and shreds, and left in portions at different friends' houses like gifts on New-year's-day? No, monsieur, if I must give all I am worth for a diamond, let it be such a diamond as the Regent's—large, clear, and entire—not a collection of frag