'Don't be afraid; I expect him only towards evening,' added Cosel. 'But who was here with you? Why did he hide?'
Moszynski was silent, not knowing what to answer: her mother looked at her silently with a kind of pity.
'I understand,' said she with a disdainful smile. 'Some court intrigue. New master, new servants; you must try not to fall on that slippery ice.'
What Moszynski was afraid of happened at that moment. Brühl appeared at the door, and having perceived the woman whom he had never seen before but guessed who she was, became dumb with astonishment and did not know what to do.
Moszynski blushed, then grew pale. Cosel looked at the man, trying as it seemed to guess his character.
'Then it is he?' said she smiling. 'Who is he?'
'The minister Brühl,' her daughter answered.
'Everything new now! Brühl! I don't remember. Come nearer,' she said to Brühl, 'don't be afraid. You see before you a priestess of a new faith. Have you heard of me? I am the widow of Augustus the Strong. I was his wife. You see the Countess Cosel, famous throughout the world both for her success and her misfortunes. At my feet lay the rulers of the world, I commanded millions. Augustus loved nobody but me.'
She spoke quietly; her daughter did not dare to interrupt her; Brühl stood silent, and leaning a little forward seemed to listen attentively.
'You have chanced to see the queen who has come from another world--she was dead, buried, but she is still living in order to convert unbelievers to the true faith of the one God who appeared to Moses in a burning bush.'