ANOTHER CHAPTER ON THE u RIGHTS OF WOMAN." 279 



ficient skill to profit by her vices ; for be she the most austere or the most 

 perverse of women, we are all equally ignorant, and probably we shall 

 never be enlightened on the subject. Such women should be branded on 

 the forehead with a zero, to indicate that they are beyond the pale of 

 humanity, and that they ought to be treated as abstractions." 



Here was new matter for augmenting the embarrassment and tor- 

 menting perplexity of St. Julien. How is he to pierce all this 

 mystery, unravel this web of intricacies, reconcile all these contradic- 

 tions ? Nor is this all ; an additional mystification occurs before his 

 own eyes. A stranger, disguised as a scarabaeus, and masked, con- 

 trary to the orders of Quintilia, appears at the insect ball. The 

 princess, being informed of the circumstance, gives orders for his 

 immediate expulsion ; but her anger is converted into the most ex- 

 uberant delight, when the stranger's name, Rosenheim, is breathed in 

 her ear. She proceeded to whisper some directions to her master of 

 the ceremonies, of which the last words only reached the ears of 

 St. Julien, and 



" ' Be silent as the tomb !' 



" ' Ah !' thought St. Julien, ' I am on the point of discovering some- 

 thing infernal.' 



" The princess remained motionless on the balcony for five minutes. 

 She had the appearance of a statue, illuminated by the moon ; she then 

 raised both arms towards the starry firmament, heaved a deep sigh, placed 

 her hand on her heart, and returned to the ball with a countenance perfectly 

 calm and composed." 



While descending the stairs, St. Julien meets the page, whose 

 curiosity was also on the qui vive. 



<( ' Who is this Rosenheim ?' said St. Julien. 

 " ' I have not the slightest idea/ 

 " ' Then we know nothing.'" 



While he is in this state of perplexity, St. Julien is summoned to 

 the apartment of the princess, who expounds to him at great length 

 her peculiar sentiments, opinions, arid feelings. As this passage may 

 be taken as an exposition of the moral tenets and sentimental theory 

 of our authoress, we regret that its length must prevent our ex- 

 tracting it. Its principal features are, a contempt for the opinion of 

 the crowd, a steady reliance on the consciousness of internal firm- 

 ness and rectitude, without conforming to the established ideas of 

 virtue a firm belief in friendship and love. 



"The world," ejaculates the princess/'has not understood me, but I 

 hold my course onwards still, and perhaps I may succeed in convinc- 

 ing it. Doubtless it will comprehend me one day or other, and if that 

 day should not come I care not ; I shall have opened the way to other 

 women. Other women will succeed, other women will dare to be frank; 

 and without laying aside the gentleness of their sex, they will perhaps 

 assume the firmness of yours. They will venture to depend upon 

 their own strength, trample hypocritical prudence, that rampart of 

 vice, under foot ; and say to their lover, ' this is only my friend,' 

 without exciting the suspicion of that lover.' 



" f A golden dream,' replied St. Julien ; ' an enthusiast's hope.' " 



