\"Ishouldbedelighted,forwecouldhavesomeconversation,buttakecare,sir,yourtaskwillnotbeaneasyone,youwilloftenfindyourselfobligedtotranslateforbothofus。\"
\"Ishalldosowithgreatpleasure;Iamonlysorrythatthejourneyisnotlonger。Wecanarrangeeverythingatsupper—time;allowmetoleaveyounowasIhavesomebusinesstosettle。\"
Mybusinesswasinreferencetoacarriage,fortheoneIhadboastedofexistedonlyinmyimagination。Iwenttothemostfashionablecoffee—house,and,asgoodluckwouldhaveit,heardthattherewasatravellingcarriageforsale,whichnoonewouldbuybecauseitwastooexpensive。Twohundredsequinswereaskedforit,althoughithadbuttwoseatsandabracket—stoolforathirdperson。ItwasjustwhatIwanted。Icalledattheplacewhereitwouldbeseen。I
foundaveryfineEnglishcarriagewhichcouldnothavecostlessthantwohundredguineas。Itsnobleproprietorwasthenatsupper,soIsenthimmyname,requestinghimnottodisposeofhiscarriageuntilthenextmorning,andIwentbacktothehotelwellpleasedwithmydiscovery。AtsupperIarrangedwiththecaptainthatwewouldnotleaveCesenatillafterdinneronthefollowingday,andtheconversationwasalmostentirelyadialoguebetweenHenrietteandmyself;itwasmyfirsttalkwithaFrenchwoman。Ithoughtthisyoungcreaturemoreandmorecharming,yetIcouldnotsupposehertobeanythingelsebutanadventurers,andIwasastonishedatdiscoveringinherthosenobleanddelicatefeelingswhichdenoteagoodeducation。However,assuchanideawouldnothavesuitedtheviewsIhadabouther,Irejecteditwheneveritpresenteditselftomymind。WheneverItriedtomakehertalkaboutthecaptainshewouldchangethesubjectofconversation,orevademyinsinuationswithatactandashrewdnesswhichastonishedanddelightedmeatthesametime,foreverythingshesaidboretheimpressofgraceandwit。
Yetshedidnoteludethisquestion: