Nay, try it with me; ask whate'er you please,
And if the triflings of my sportive fancy--
The sound half-uttered by the air absorbed--
The smile of joy checked by returning gloom--
If motions--looks from your own soul concealed
Have not escaped my notice--judge if I
Can err when thou wouldst have me understand thee?

CARLOS.
Why, this is boldly ventured; I accept
The wager, princess. Then you undertake
To make discoveries in my secret heart
Unknown even to myself.

PRINCESS (displeased, but earnestly).
Unknown to thee!
Reflect a moment, prince! Nay, look around;
This boudoir's not the chamber of the queen,
Where small deceits are practised with full license.
You start, a sudden blush o'erspreads your face.
Who is so bold, so idle, you would ask,
As to watch Carlos when he deems himself
From scrutiny secure? Who was it, then,
At the last palace-ball observed you leave
The queen, your partner, standing in the dance,
And join, with eager haste, the neighboring couple,
To offer to the Princess Eboli
The hand your royal partner should have claimed?
An error, prince, his majesty himself,
Who just then entered the apartment, noticed.