Reaching the head of the flight, where was a soldier on guard,
the page opened the door of the antechamber, and standing aside
bade me enter. I did so, and heard the door close behind me.

For a moment I stood still, bashful and confused. It seemed to
me that there were a hundred people in the room, and that half
the eyes which met mine were women's, Though I was not altogether
a stranger to such state as the Prince of Conde had maintained,
this crowded anteroom filled me with surprise, and even with a
degree of awe, of which I was the next moment ashamed. True, the
flutter of silk and gleam of jewels surpassed anything I had then
seen, for my fortunes had never led me to the king's Court; but
an instant's reflection reminded me that my fathers had held
their own in such scenes, and with a bow regulated rather by this
thought than by the shabbiness of my dress, I advanced amid a
sudden silence.

'M. de Marsac!' the page announced, in a tone which sounded a
little odd in my ears; so much so, that I turned quickly to look
at him. He was gone, however, and when I turned again the eyes
which met mine were full of smiles. A young girl who stood near
me tittered. Put out of countenance by this, I looked round in
embarrassment to find someone to whom I might apply.

The room was long and narrow, panelled in chestnut, with a row of
windows on the one hand, and two fireplaces, now heaped with
glowing logs, on the other. Between the fireplaces stood a rack
of arms. Round the nearer hearth lounged a group of pages, the
exact counterparts of the young blade who had brought me hither;