few minutes I heard the swish of a satin dress coming down the big
salon and a lady appeared, very handsome and well dressed, whom I
didn't know at all. She evidently was accustomed to the state of
things; she looked about her smilingly, then came up to me, called me
by name, and introduced herself, Mme. A. the wife of an admiral whom I
often met afterward. She told me not to mind, there wasn't the
slightest intention of rudeness, that both ladies would wake up in a
few minutes quite unconscious of having really slept. We talked about
ten minutes, not lowering our voices particularly. Suddenly Mme.
Thiers opened her eyes, was wide awake at once--how quietly we must
have come in; she had only just closed her eyes for a moment, the
lights tired her, etc. Mlle. Dosne said the same thing, and then we
went on talking easily enough. Several more ladies came in, but only
two or three men. _They_ all remained in the farther room talking, or
rather listening, to M. Thiers. He was already a very old man, and
when he began to talk no one interrupted him; it was almost a
monologue. I went back several times to the Place St. Georges, but
took good care to go later, so that the ladies should have their nap
over. One of the young diplomat's wives had the same experience,
rather worse, for when the ladies woke up they didn't know her. She
was very shy, spent a wretched ten minutes before they woke, and was
too nervous to name herself. She was half crying when her husband came
to the rescue.

We left the next morning early, as W. had people coming to him in the
afternoon. I enjoyed my visit thoroughly, and told them afterward of
my misgivings and doubts as to how I should get along with strangers
for two or three days. I think they had rather the same feeling. They
were very old friends of my husband's, and though they received me
charmingly from the first, it brought a foreign and new element into