She only
expressed her sense of the Baron of Arnheim's presence by something of a
quicker respiration, and a deep blush, accompanied by a slight smile.
"The Baron of Arnheim, for an instant, stood without breath or motion.
At once, however, he seemed to recollect that it was his duty to welcome
the fair stranger to his castle, and to relieve her from her precarious
situation. He stepped forward accordingly with the words of welcome on his
tongue, and was extending his arms to lift her from the pedestal, which
was nearly six feet high; but the light and active stranger merely
accepted the support of his hand, and descended on the floor as light and
as safe as if she had been formed of gossamer. It was, indeed, only by the
momentary pressure of her little hand, that the Baron of Arnheim was made
sensible that he had to do with a being of flesh and blood. 'I am come as
I have been commanded,' she said, looking around her: 'you must expect a
strict and diligent mistress, and I hope for the credit of an attentive
pupil.' After the arrival of this singular and interesting being in the
castle of Arnheim, various alterations took place within the interior of
the household. A lady of high rank and small fortune, the respectable
widow of a count of the empire, who was the baron's blood relation,
received and accepted an invitation to preside over her kinsman's domestic
affairs, and remove, by her countenance, any suspicions which might arise
from the presence of Hermione, as the beautiful Persian was generally
called.
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