the salon I seemed suddenly to awake from my reverie and told them that
Grandmamma was in the drawing room, Madame Valakhin, whose face pleased
me extremely (especially since it bore a great resemblance to her
daughter's), stroked my head kindly.

Grandmamma seemed delighted to see Sonetchka, She invited her to come
to her, put back a curl which had fallen over her brow, and looking
earnestly at her said, "What a charming child!"

Sonetchka blushed, smiled, and, indeed, looked so charming that I myself
blushed as I looked at her.

"I hope you are going to enjoy yourself here, my love," said
Grandmamma. "Pray be as merry and dance as much as ever you can. See, we
have two beaux for her already," she added, turning to Madame Valakhin,
and stretching out her hand to me.

This coupling of Sonetchka and myself pleased me so much that I blushed
again.

Feeling, presently, that, my embarrassment was increasing, and hearing
the sound of carriages approaching, I thought it wise to retire. In the
hall I encountered the Princess Kornakoff, her son, and an incredible
number of daughters. They had all of them the same face as their mother,
and were very ugly. None of them arrested my attention. They talked in
shrill tones as they took off their cloaks and boas, and laughed as they
bustled about--probably at the fact that there were so many of them!

Etienne was a boy of fifteen, tall and plump, with a sharp face,
deep-set bluish eyes, and very large hands and feet for his age.