When we had nearly finished dinner Mdlle.  Roman passed a compliment on my three fair waiting-maids, and this giving me occasion to speak of their talents I got up and brought the gloves I had purchased from them.  Mdlle.  Roman praised the quality of the material and the work.  I took the opportunity, and begged leave of the aunt to give her and her niece a dozen pair apiece.  I obtained this favour, and I then gave Madame Morin the horoscope.  Her husband read it, and though an unbeliever he was forced to admire, as all the deductions were taken naturally from the position of the heavenly bodies at the instant of his daughter’s birth.  We spent a couple of hours in talking about astrology, and the same time in playing at quadrille, and then we took a walk in the garden, where I was politely left to enjoy the society of the fair Roman.

Our dialogue, or rather my monologue, turned solely on the profound impression she had made on me, on the passion she had inspired, on her beauty, her goodness, the purity of my intentions, and on my need of love, lest I should go down to the grave the most hapless of men.

“Sir,” said she, at last, “if my destiny points to marriage I do not deny that I should be happy to find a husband like you.”

I was emboldened by this frank declaration, and seizing her hand I covered it with fiery kisses, saying passionately that I hoped she would not let me languish long.  She turned her head to look for her aunt.  It was getting dark, and she seemed to be afraid of something happening to her.  She drew me gently with her, and on rejoining the other guests we returned to the dining-room, where I made a small bank at faro for their amusement.  Madame Morin gave her daughter and niece, whose pockets were empty, some money, and Valenglard directed their play so well that when we left off to go to supper I had the pleasure of seeing that each of the three ladies had won two or three louis.

We sat at table till midnight.  A cold wind from the Alps stopped my plan of proposing a short turn in the garden.  Madame Morin overwhelmed me with thanks for my entertainment, and I gave each of my lady-visitors a respectful kiss.

I heard singing in the kitchen, and on going in I found Le Duc in a high state of excitement and very drunk.  As soon as he saw me he tried to rise, but he lost his centre of gravity, and fell right under the kitchen table.  He was carried away to bed.

I thought this accident favourable to my desire of amusing myself, and I might have succeeded if the three Graces had not all been there.  Love only laughs when two are present, and thus it is that the ancient mythology tells no story of the loves of the Graces, who were always together.  I had not yet found an opportunity of getting my three maids one after the other, and I dared not risk a general attack, which might have lost me the confidence of each one.  Rose, I saw, was openly jealous of her cousin, as she kept a keen look-out after her movements.  I was not sorry, for jealousy leads to anger, and anger goes a long way.  When I was in bed I sent them away with a modest good night.