"Oh, I know. Only your ideas don't coincide with mine. I shall
never consent to make myself ridiculous among the ladies of my
set--among my friends."

"It would indeed be a pity to arouse the disapproval of your
friends."

This sneering remark certainly irritated the baroness, for it was
with the greatest vehemence that she replied: "All my friends are
ladies of the highest rank in society--noble ladies!"

The baron no doubt shrugged his shoulders, for in a tone of
crushing irony and scorn, he exclaimed: "Noble ladies! whom do you
call noble ladies, pray? The brainless fools who only think of
displaying themselves and making themselves notorious?--the
senseless idiots who pique themselves on surpassing lewd women in
audacity, extravagance, and effrontery, who fleece their husbands
as cleverly as courtesans fleece their lovers? Noble ladies! who
drink, and smoke, and carouse, who attend masked balls, and talk
slang! Noble ladies! the idiots who long for the applause of the
crowd, and consider notoriety to be desirable and flattering. A
woman is only noble by her virtues--and the chief of all virtues,
modesty, is entirely wanting in your illustrious friends----"

"Monsieur," interrupted the baroness, in a voice husky with anger,
"you forget yourself--you----"

But the baron was well under way. "If it is scandal that crowns
one a great lady, you ARE one--and one of the greatest; for you