“Oh! of course I believe it, but I am afraid your sweetheart will be rather sceptical.”

“She knows that I cannot love anyone besides herself.”

“Well, well, we will say no more about it.”

When the guests came the marquis said that as the costumes would amuse us we had better put them on before supper.

We followed him into the next room, and he pointed out two thick bundles.

“Here, ladies, are your disguises,” said he; “and here is your maid who will help you while we dress in another room.”

He took the larger of the two bundles, and when we were shut up in our room he undid the string, and gave us our dresses, saying,—­

“Let us be as quick as we can.”

We burst out laughing to see a set of women’s clothes.  Nothing was wanting, chemises, embroidered shoes with high heels, superb garters, and, to relieve us of the trouble of having our hair done, exquisite caps with rich lace coming over the forehead.  I was surprised to find that my shoes fitted me perfectly, but I heard afterwards that he employed the same bootmaker as I did.  Corsets, petticoats, gowns, kerchief, fans, work-bags, rouge-boxes, masks, gloves-all were there.  We only helped each other with our hair, but when it was done we looked intensely stupid, with the exception of the young officer, who really might have been taken for a pretty woman; he had concealed his deficiency in feminine characteristics by false breasts and a bustle.

We took off our breeches one after the other.

“Your fine garters,” said I, to the marquis, “make me want to wear some too.”

“Exactly,” said the marquis; “but the worst of it is nobody will take the trouble to find out whether we have garters or not, for two young ladies five feet ten in height will not inspire very ardent desires.”

I had guessed that the girls would be dressed like men, and I was not mistaken.  They were ready before us, and when we opened the door we saw them standing with their backs to the fireplace.

They looked three young pages minus their impudence, for though they endeavoured to seem quite at their ease they were rather confused.

We advanced with the modesty of the fair sex, and imitating the air of shy reserve which the part demanded.  The girls of course thought themselves obliged to mimic the airs of men, and they did not accost us like young men accustomed to behave respectfully to ladies.  They were dressed as running footmen, with tight breeches, well-fitting waistcoats, open throats, garters with a silver fringe, laced waistbands, and pretty caps trimmed with silver lace, and a coat of arms emblazoned in gold.  Their lace shirts were ornamented with an immense frill of Alencon point.  In this dress, which displayed their beautiful shapes under a veil which was almost transparent, they would have stirred the sense of a paralytic, and we had no symptoms of that disease.  However, we loved them too well to frighten them.