me, though I knew it not, and I could not enjoy anything. I went home
feeling sad and ill pleased with myself. Common sense told me to drive
all thoughts of that wretched woman out of my head, but something I
called honour bade me not leave her the triumph of having won the two
bills of exchange from me for nothing, and made me determine to get them
back by fair means or foul.

M. Malingan, at whose house I had made the acquaintance of this creature,
come and asked me to dinner. He had asked me to dine with him several
times before, and I had always refused, and now I would not accept until
I had heard what guests he had invited. The names were all strange to me,
so I agreed to come.

When I arrived I found two young ladies from Liege, in one of whom I got
interested directly. She introduced me to her husband, and to another
young man who seemed to be the cavalier of the other lady, her cousin.

The company pleased me, and I was in hopes that I should spend a happy
day, but my evil genius brought the Charpillon to mar the feast. She came
into the room in high glee, and said to Malingan,--

"I should not have come to beg you to give me a dinner if I had known
that you would have so many guests, and if I am at all in the way I will
go."

Everybody welcomed her, myself excepted, for I was on the rack. To make
matters worse, she was placed at my left hand. If she had come in before
we sat down to dinner I should have made some excuse and gone away, but
as we had begun the soup a sudden flight would have covered me with
ridicule. I adopted the plan of not looking at her, reserving all my