That woman is surely the devil in person! She says the most commonplace nothings, and, doing so, brings a dead man back to life.
And yet the Princess has carefully weighed every word spoken by Zeneida. Which can have been the magical one? There was none. The little word "too" had escaped her attention.
And it was from that one word that the Prince knew that the Czarina would go to the Crimea, and with her the Czar. His breast was relieved of a heavy load.
Chevalier Galban escorted the ladies to their carriage, and Bethsaba, leaning out of the carriage-window, looked back at him.
"I have caught her!" thought Chevalier Galban to himself.
CHAPTER XLIII
UNDER THE COMETS
In the summer of the year 1825 no oil was needed for the streets of St. Petersburg, the nights were so light. The first lighting of the lamps falls on the day the court leaves Peterhof for the Winter Palace. The lighting of the lamps, on this occasion, was looked forward to by many.
A great plan was in course of operation among the lower strata of society, which they had imparted neither to the matadores of the Szojusz Blagodenztoiga nor to the Szojusz Spacinia.
A succession of gloomy, rainy days came with the new moon. When on the fourth day a keen north wind blew away the clouds from the sky, people were astonished to see near the silver sickle of the moon yet another wonder, like a fiery sword—a comet. So quickly had it come that it was only perceived when in its full blaze of glory.
What is a comet?