It was not difficult to guess the meaning of this; the Baron of Arnheim
and his fair guest, speaking a language different from all others, could
enjoy their private conversation, even amid all the tumult of gaiety
around them; and no one was surprised to hear it formally announced, after
a few weeks of gaiety, that the fair Persian was to be wedded to the Baron
of Arnheim.

"The manners of this fascinating young person were so pleasing, her
conversation so animated, her wit so keen, yet so well tempered with good
nature and modesty, that, notwithstanding her unknown origin, her high
fortune attracted less envy than might have been expected in a case so
singular. Above all, her generosity amazed and won the hearts of all the
young persons who approached her. These good qualities, her liberality
above all, together with a simplicity of thought and character, which
formed a beautiful contrast to the depth of acquired knowledge which she
was well-known to possess,--these, and her total want of ostentation, made
her superiority be pardoned among her companions. Still there was notice
taken of some peculiarities, exaggerated perhaps by envy, which seemed to
draw a mystical distinction between the beautiful Hermione and the mere
mortals with whom she lived and conversed. In the merry dance she was so
unrivalled in lightness and agility, that her performance seemed that of
an aerial being. She could, without suffering from her exertion, continue
the pleasure till she had tired out the most active revellers; and even
the young Duke of Hochspringen, who was reckoned the most indefatigable at
that exercise in Germany, having been her partner for half an hour, was
compelled to break off the dance and throw himself, totally exhausted,
on a couch, exclaiming he had been dancing not with a woman, but with an
_ignis fatuus_. Other whispers averred, that while she played with her
young companions in the labyrinth and mazes of the castle gardens at
hide-and-seek, or similar games of activity, she became animated with the