“Certainly, my lord, I will tell you all without reserve, but in confidence, as this ridiculous report may injure the honour of one who is dear to me, and whom I would not injure for the world.”

“It is true, then?  I am quite interested to hear all about it.”

“It is true to a certain extent; I hope you don’t take me for the real waiter at the ‘Sword.’”

“Certainly not, but I supposed you played the part of waiter?”

“Exactly.  Did they tell you that they were four in company.”

“Ah, I have got it!  Pretty Madame was one of the party.  That explains the riddle; now I understand everything.  But you were quite right in saying that discretion was needful; she has a perfectly blameless reputation.”

“Ah!  I did not know that.  What happened was quite innocent, but it might be so garbled in the telling as to become prejudicial to the honour of a lady whose beauty struck me with admiration.”

I told him all the details of the case, adding that I had only come to Soleure in the hopes of succeeding in my suit.

“If that prove an impossibility,” said I, “I shall leave Soleure in three or four days; but I will first turn the three ugly companions of my charmer into ridicule.  They might have had sense enough to guess that the waiter’s apron was only a disguise.  They can only pretend to be ignorant of the fact in the hope of getting some advantage over me, and injuring their friend, who was ill advised to let them into the secret.”

“Softly, softly, you go too fast and remind me of my own young days.  Permit me to embrace you, your story has delighted me.  You shall not go away, you shall stay here and court your charmer.  To-day you can turn two mischievous women into ridicule, but do it in an easy way.  The thing is so straightforward that M.——­ will be the first to laugh at it.  His wife cannot be ignorant of your love for her, and I know enough of women to pronounce that your disguise cannot have displeased her.  She does know of your love?”

“Undoubtedly.”

He went away laughing, and at the door of his coach embraced me for the third time.

I could not doubt that my charmer had told the whole story to her three friends as they were returning from Einsiedel to Zurich, and this made the part they had played all the more ill-natured; but I felt that it was to my interest to let their malice pass for wit.

I went to the ambassador’s at half-past one, and after making my bow to him I proceeded to greet the company, and saw the two ladies.  Thereupon, with a frank and generous air, I went up to the more malicious-looking of the two (she was lame, which may have made me think her more ill-looking) and asked if she recognized me.

“You confess, then, that you are the waiter at the ’Sword’?”

“Well, not quite that, madam, but I confess that I was the waiter for an hour, and that you cruelly disdained to address a single word to me, though I was only a waiter, because I longed for the bliss of seeing you.  But I hope I shall be a little more fortunate here, and that you will allow me to pay you my respectful homage.”