him. And if he has not justified himself before the commission, it has only been because he has not wished to introduce my name."
Here she narrated with warmth what my reader already knows.
The lady listened attentively.
"Where are you staying?" she asked, when Maria Ivanovna had concluded; and, upon learning that it was at Anna Vlassievna's, added, with a smile—"Ah! I know. Good-bye; do not mention our meeting to any person. I hope that you will not have to wait long for an answer to your letter."
With these words she rose, and entered a covered walk. Maria Ivanovna returned to Anna Vlassievna full of hope.
Her hostess scolded her for taking so early a walk in autumn—so noxious, she said, to a young girl's health. She brought in the samovar, and, sipping a cup of tea, was just about to recommence her endless relations about the court, when a court carriage stopped at the door, and a chamber-groom entered with the announcement that the empress was pleased to invite Maria Ivanovna Mironoff to the palace. Anna Vlassievna became terribly fidgety in her astonishment.
"Dear me!" she exclaimed: "the empress requires you at court. How has she ever heard of you? And how are you, my dear, to appear before her majesty? Me thinks you do not even know how to walk in court fashion. Had I not better accompany you? I could at all events give you a hint occasionally. And how are
