, who, to do them justice, had derived most part
of their terrors from the superstitious view of the case, protested to their
partners that if The Masque, on making his appearance, should conduct himself in
a manner unbecoming a cavalier, or offensive to the ladies present, they should
feel it their duty to chastise him; »though,« said they, »with respect to old
Adorni, should The Masque think proper to teach him better manners, or even to
cane him, we shall not find it necessary to interfere.«
    Several of the very young ladies protested that, of all things, they should
like to see a battle between old Adorni and The Masque, »such a love of a quiz
that old Adorni is!« whilst others debated whether The Masque would turn out a
young man or an old one; and a few elderly maidens mooted the point whether he
were likely to be a single gentleman, or burdened with a wife and family. These
and similar discussions were increasing in vivacity, and kindling more and more
gaiety of repartee, when suddenly, with the effect of a funeral knell upon their
mirth, a whisper began to circulate, that there was one Masque too many in
company. Persons had been stationed by Adorni in different galleries, with
instructions to note accurately the dress of every person in the company; to
watch the motions of every one who gave the slightest cause for suspicion, by
standing aloof from the rest of the assembly, or by any other peculiarity of
manner; but, above all, to count the numbers of the total assembly. This last
injunction was more easily obeyed than at first sight seemed possible. At this
time, the Hungarian dances, which required a certain number of partners to
execute the movements of the figure, were of themselves a sufficient register of
the precise amount of persons engaged in them. And, as these dances continued
for a long time undisturbed, this calculation, once made, left no further
computation necessary than simply to take the account of all who stood otherwise
engaged. This list, being much the smaller one, was soon made; and the reports
of several different observers, stationed in different galleries, and checked by
each other, all tallied in reporting a total of just twelve hundred and one
persons, after every allowance was made for the known members of the Landgrave's
suite, who were all unmasqued.
    This report was announced, with considerable trepidation, in a very audible
whisper to Adorni and the Landgrave. The buzz of agitation attracted instant
attention; the whisper was loud enough to catch the ears