He gave me the number of her box, and added,--

"I will come for you towards the close, and we will sup together as
before."

I had no need to order my horses to be put in, as there was always a
carriage ready for me in the courtyard.

When I got to the theatre the opera had begun. I presented myself to
Leonilda, who received me with the pleasant words, "Caro Don Giacomo, I
am so pleased to see you again."

No doubt she did not like to thou me, but the expression of her eyes and
the tone of her voice were much better than the to which is often used
lavishly at Naples.

The seductive features of this charming girl were not altogether unknown
to me, but I could not recollect of what woman she reminded me. Leonilda
was certainly a beauty, and something superior to a beauty, if possible.
She had splendid light chestnut hair, and her black and brilliant eyes,
shaded by thick lashes, seemed to hear and speak at the same time. But
what ravished me still more was her expression, and the exquisite
appropriateness of the gestures with which she accompanied what she was
saying. It seemed as if her tongue could not give speech to the thoughts
which crowded her brain. She was naturally quick-witted, and her
intellect had been developed by an excellent education.

The conversation turned upon Lafontaine's epigram, of which I had only
recited the first ten verses, as the rest is too licentious; and she
said,--