happened to speak of anything even remotely connected with politics,
some one quickly changed the subject to a more innocent theme; and if a
stranger chanced to mention so delicate a matter as, say, the dinner
which had been given by the emperor's nephew at Very's, which cost
seventy-five thousand francs, while forty thousand laborers were
starving, then the witty Countess Themire herself turned the
conversation to the "toilet rivalry" between the Mesdames Tallien and
Récamier.

On this particular evening the Countess Dealba was discussing the
beauties of the latest opera with a few of her most intimate friends,
when the Marquis de Fervlans approached, and, bending over her,
whispered: "I must see you alone; find an opportunity to leave the room,
and join me in the conservatory."

At that time it was the fashion to clothe children in garments similar
to those worn by their elders. A company of little ones, therefore,
looked like an assemblage of Lilliputian merveilleuses and incroyables.
The little men and women also accompanied their mamas to receptions and
the theatre, where they joined in the conversation, danced vis-à-vis
with their elders, made witty remarks, criticized the toilets and the
play, gave an opinion as to whether Hardy's confections or those of
Riches were the better, and if it were safe to depend on the friendship
of the Czar Alexander.

In this company of little ones the Countess Amélie was, beyond a doubt,
the most conspicuous.

One could not have imagined anything more interesting or entertaining
than the manner of this miniature dame when left by her mama to do the