"No, you do not know me," said Cosel, laughing.
"That is what I think. You cannot be the one whom I take you for, for that one would not dare to come here without my permission."
"A woman would not dare to come here?" said Cosel. "A woman would ask your permission?"
And she laughed.
The King shivered, as if he recognized the laugh; he seized her hand, but she withdrew it quickly.
"Beautiful mask," said Augustus, "you perplex me, and you pretend to know me."
"No, I do not know you," answered Cosel. "Some time ago I knew somebody who resembled you; but that one had a noble heart and the soul of a hero, while you--"
The King became angry.
"Mask," cried he, "this surpasses the limits of carnival freedom."
"The freedom is boundless."