“A deception! I have them by hundreds; but the fact cannot be disputed,” said Raphael, “that you are most beautiful with this coiffure, and that your toilet is in perfect taste.”
“It pleases you?” cried the elegant Eloise, smirking.
“It is not extraordinary,” continued Raphael, “that this Englishman, whom you see here opposite to you, is dying for Spain and for the Spaniards.”
“What bad taste!” said Eloise, with a gesture of disdain. “He said there was nothing more beautiful in the world than a Spanish lady with her mantle, her fan, her little feet, her black eyes, and her walk, so sprightly and so graceful.”
“But does this gentleman not know that we consider ourselves as Parias.”
“Do you seek to convert him? I will present you.”
Arias left precipitately, with this thought: Eloise has a tender heart; and more, she has become very romantic. She has every quality to please the major.
The countess, during this time, asked the duke if his Filomena of Villamar was handsome.
“She is neither handsome nor ugly,” replied the duke. “She has a tint very brown, and her features are not absolutely regular; but she has very beautiful eyes, and the ensemble does not differ from what you see everywhere in our country.”
“Since her voice is so extraordinary,” said the countess, “we must, for the honor of Seville, make her a prima donna at once. Can we not hear her?”