and nothing to blush for. To tell the truth, some people asserted that
this bravado had not originated with himself, but had been instilled into
him without his knowledge by the quiet and innocent Celia, who wished to
exhibit her happiness to all applauding Rome.

* The Italian succession law is similar to the French. Children
cannot be disinherited. All property is divided among them,
and thus the piling up of large hereditary fortunes is
prevented.--Trans.

"Dear me!" said Narcisse, whom the throng prevented from advancing. "We
shall never get in. Why, they seem to have invited the whole city." And
then, as Pierre seemed surprised to see a prelate drive up in his
carriage, the /attache/ added: "Oh! you will elbow more than one of them
upstairs. The cardinals won't like to come on account of the presence of
the King and Queen, but the prelates are sure to be here. This, you know,
is a neutral drawing-room where the black and the white worlds can
fraternise. And then too, there are so few /fetes/ that people rush on
them."

He went on to explain that there were two grand balls at Court every
winter, but that it was only under exceptional circumstances that the
/patriziato/ gave similar /galas/. Two or three of the black /salons/
were opened once in a way towards the close of the Carnival, but little
dances among intimates replaced the pompous entertainments of former
times. Some princesses moreover merely had their day. And as for the few
white /salons/ that existed, these likewise retained the same character
of intimacy, more or less mixed, for no lady had yet become the
undisputed queen of the new society.