"Young ladies enjoy great liberty here--liberty which they lose only by
marrying. Go and ask, and you will see:"

I went to M. d'O---- and made my request, trembling lest I should meet
with a refusal.

"Have you a carriage?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I need not give orders to get mine ready. Esther!"

"Yes, father."

"Go and dress, my dear; M. Casanova has been kind enough to offer to take
you to the concert."

"How good of him! Thank you, papa, for letting me go."

She threw her arms around his neck, ran to dress, and reappeared an hour
after, as fair as the joy which was expressed on her every feature. I
could have wished she had used a little powder, but Esther was jealous of
her ebon tresses, which displayed the whiteness of her skin to
admiration. The chief aim of women in making their toilette is to please
men, but how poor is the judgment of most men in such matters compared to
the unerring instinct of the generality of women!

A beautiful lace kerchief veiled her bosom, whose glories made my heart
beat faster.