"
"Well, let it be then; but it will be all your fault, Jeanne, if I fail
to receive as much admiration as usual this evening. Do you know whether
the marquis has invited many people to come and see this play?"
"Yes, madame, several messengers have been sent off on horseback
in different directions, and there will be sure to be a large
gathering--they will come from all the chateaux within driving
distance--for such an occasion as this is rare, here in the depths of
the country."
"You are right," said Mme. la Marquise, with a deep sigh, which was
almost a groan; "we are buried alive in this dreary place. And what
about these players?--have you seen them, Jeanne?--are there any
handsome young actors among them?"
"I have only had a glimpse of them, madame, and such people are so
painted and fixed up, they say, that it is hard to tell what they really
do look like; but there was one slender young man, with long, black
curls and a very good figure, who had quite a grand air."
"That must be the lover, Jeanne, for it is always the best looking young
actor in the troupe who takes that part. It would be ridiculous, you
know, to have a stout old codger, or a very ugly man, or even an awkward
one, making declarations of love, and going down on their knees, and all
that sort of thing--it would not do at all, Jeanne!"
"No, madame, it would not be very nice," said the maid with a merry
laugh, adding shrewdly, "and although it seems to make very little
difference what husbands may be like, lovers should always be everything
that is charming.
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