Frascati's, Or, Scenes in Paris (Volume 3) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IIL ' An, messieurs," pursued the proprietaire, after pause, " who would not have been duped by such language, and deceived by such an appearance of candour and sincerity ? But what could I do ? What could any other person have done under similar circumstances ? If I persisted in arresting the major, it could be to no serviceable end, since I was fully aware that he had no money whatever to defray my bill; and though any feeling of resentment I might have entertained against him by reason of his disingenuous conduct, might have been gratified by the ig. nominy to which he would have been exposed in being turned out of the country as an adventurer and a vagabond, still this would not at all have advanced the interests of my house; and you well know, gentlemen, that with us poor proprietaires, who fag and toil unceasingly in the service of others, to neglect our interests would be to draw down certain ruin on our heads. What wonder, then, if I yielded to the solicitation of the strange lady, whose manner and language were certainly such as to convince me that she was not a person of the ordinary class ? In a word, I assented to her proposal; desired the major to consider himself at liberty to go where he pleased, and even held the door of the carriage while he ascended and placed himself at her side. From that hour to the present I have never beheld either of them." " What!" exclaimed the baronet, " did she not call as she promised on the following day ? Well, how very singular! I did not expect this from such a woman as you have described her to be. But what style of person was this lady; and could you not ascertain her rank from the arms on her carriage ?" " She was a woman of about forty," pursued the proprietaire, " and still in all the vigour of her beauty. He...