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I.]
THE EUROPEANS.
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number, gender, their respective ages—all about them. Be sure you observe everything; be ready to describe to me the locality, the accessories—how shall I say it?—the mise en scène. Then, at my own time, at my own hour, under circumstances of my own choosing, I will go to them. I will present myself—I will appear before them!" said the Baroness, this time phrasing her idea with a certain frankness.
"And what message am I to take to them?" asked Felix, who had a lively faith in the justness of his sister's arrangements.
She looked at him a moment—at his expression of agreeable veracity; and, with that justness that he admired, she replied,
