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Rh too, after his death, was very like the conduct of those who are always "wonderfully supported;" suited also to her particular situation, in which there was so little need for keeping up the semblance of grief, and in strict accordance with her own paramount selfishness. When those around her thought to pay their court by exaggerating the merits of the deceased, she exclaimed, "Mon Dieu! we must drop the subject—I am sure the King is sick of it; we have really enough to do, without wasting time in useless words." It would be no uncharitable supposition were we to conclude, that newly recovered liberty—that word which always appears so charming—was sufficiently agreeable to afford a widow's consolation.

Francesca—who, like all persons of naturally fine taste that have lived much in solitude, was keenly alive to the charms of manner—fixed her whole attention on the card-table where the queen was playing. She was struck with the grace which made the common courtesies of the game appear like personal compliment, while the caressing air with which she occasionally addressed individuals standing round seemed at once so pleasing and so much in earnest. "How is it possible," thought the young Italian, "that one so fascinating could ever have been neglected by her husband, and the