"Not accept it!" repeated Mademoiselle Chatteneuf.
"No (replied the Countess); two nights of dissipation would be more than I could bear."
The sparkling eyes of Madeline, which had been turned towards her, were instantly bent to the ground; and the gloom of disappointment overspread her countenance.
"Suppose then, my good friend (said Madame Chatteneuf, who saw, by the looks of Madeline, the wishes of her heart, and knew her daughter would be mortified at losing her company), that you and I enjoy a tete-a-tete this evening, and entrust our girls to the care of some matron less soberly inclined than ourselves."
"I thank you for your obliging offer (replied the Countess); but I can neither let you relinquish an amusement you have sufficient health and spirits to enjoy, nor give up my determination of returning to the
