Page:Ten Years Later.djvu/291

Rh by his side, his head bewildered, and his eyes with their bright intelligence gone. It rarely happened that any uneasiness was excited on his account whenever a question of elegance or taste was under discussion, and De Guiche's defeat was accordingly attributed by the greater number present to his courtier-like tact and ability. But there were others — keen-sighted observers are always to be met with at court — who remarked his paleness and his altered looks, which he could neither feign nor conceal, and their conclusion was, that De Guiche was not acting the part of a flatterer. All these sufferings, successes, and remarks, were blended, confounded, and lost in the uproar of applause. When, however, the queens had expressed their satisfaction and the spectators their enthusiasm, when the king had retired to his dressing-room to change his costume, and while Monsieur, dressed as a woman, as he delighted to be, was, in his turn, dancing about, De Guiche, who had now recovered himself, approached madame, who, seated at the back of the theater, was waiting for the second part, and had quittted the others for the purpose of creating a sort of solitude for herself in the midst of the crowd, to meditate, as it were, beforehand, upon chorographic effects; and it will be perfectly understood that, absorbed in deep meditation, she did not see, or rather, she pretended not to see, anything that was passing around her. De Guiche, observing that she was alone, near a thicket constructed of painted cloth, approached her. Two of her maids of honor, dressed as hamadryads, seeing De Guiche advance, drew back out of respect, whereupon De Guiche proceeded toward the middle of the circle and saluted her royal highness; but, whether she did or did not observe his salutation, the princess did not even turn her head. A cold shiver passed through poor De Guiche; he was unprepared for so utter an indifference, for he had neither seen nor been told of anything that had taken place, and, consequently, could guess nothing. Remarking, therefore, that his obeisance obtained him no acknowledgment, he advanced one step further, and in a voice which he tried, though uselessly, to render calm, said:

"I have the honor to present my most humble respects to your royal highness."

Upon this madame deigned to turn her eyes languishingly toward the comte, observing:

"Ah! Monsieur de Guiche, is that you? Good-day."

The comte's patience almost forsook him as he continued: