something very particular in seeing them dance together without

knowing each other; they called them, as soon as they had ended



their dance, without giving them time to speak to anybody, and

asked them if they had not a desire to know each other, and if



they were not at some loss about it. "As for me, Madam," said

the Duke to the Queen, "I am under no uncertainty in this



matter; but as the Princess of Cleves has not the same reasons to

lead her to guess who I am, as I have to direct me to know her, I



should be glad if your Majesty would be pleased to let her know

my name." "I believe," said the Queen-Dauphin, "that she



knows your name as well as you know hers." "I assure you,

Madam," replied the Princess a little embarrassed, "that I am



not so good a guesser as you imagine." "Yes, you guess very

well," answered the Queen-Dauphin; "and your unwillingness to



acknowledge that you know the Duke of Nemours, without having

seen him before, carries in it something very obliging to him."



The Queen interrupted them, that the ball might go on; and the

Duke de Nemours took out the Queen-Dauphin. This Princess was a



perfect beauty, and such she appeared in the eyes of the Duke de

Nemours, before he went to Flanders; but all this evening he



could admire nothing but Madam de Cleves.

The Chevalier de Guise, whose idol she still was, sat at her



feet, and what had passed filled him with the utmost grief; he

looked upon it as ominous for him, that fortune had destined the



Duke of Nemours to be in love with the Princess of Cleves. And

whether there appeared in reality any concern in the Princess's



face, or whether the Chevalier's jealousy only led him to suspect

it, he believed that she was touched with the sight of the Duke,



and could not forbear telling her, that Monsieur de Nemours was

very happy to commence an acquaintance with her by an incident



which had something very gallant and extraordinary in it.

Madam de Cleves returned home with her thoughts full of what had



passed at the ball; and though it was very late, she went into

her mother's room to give her a relation of it; in doing which



she praised the Duke of Nemours with a certain air, that gave

Madam de Chartres the same suspicion the Chevalier de Guise had



entertained before.

The day following the ceremony of the Duke of Loraine's marriage



was performed; and there the Princess of Cleves observed so

inimitable a grace, and so fine a mien in the Duke of Nemours,



that she was yet more surprised.

She afterwards saw him at the Court of the Queen-Dauphin; she saw



him play at tennis with the King; she saw him run the ring; she

heard him discourse; still she found he far excelled everybody



else, and drew the attention of the company to him wherever he

was; in short, the gracefulness of his person, and the



agreeableness of his wit soon made a considerableimpression on

her heart.



The Duke de Nemours had an inclination no less violent for her;

and hence flowed all that gaiety and sweetness of behaviour,



which the first desires of pleasingordinarilyinspire a man

with: hence he became more amiable than ever he was before; so



that by often seeing one another, and by seeing in each other

whatever was most accomplished at Court, it could not be but that



they must mutually receive the greatest pleasure from such a

commerce.



The Duchess of Valentinois made one in all parties of pleasure;

and the King was still as passionately fond of her as in the



beginning of his love. The Princess of Cleves being at those

years, wherein people think a woman is incapable of inciting love



after the age of twenty-five, beheld with the utmost astonishment

the King's passion for the Duchess, who was a grandmother, and



had lately married her granddaughter: she often spoke on this

subject to Madam de Chartres. "Is it possible, Madam," said



she, "that the King should still continue to love? How could he

take a fancy to one, who was so much older than himself, who had



been his father's mistress, and who, as I have heard, is still

• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)


• advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)


• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)


• prince [´prins] n.王子；亲王；君主 (初中英语单词)


• extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)


• ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)


• countenance [´kauntinəns] n.面部表情；脸色；面容 (初中英语单词)


• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)


• affect [ə´fekt] vt.影响；感动；假装 (初中英语单词)


• sensible [´sensəbəl] a.感觉得到的 (初中英语单词)


• entertain [,entə´tein] vt.招待；娱乐；使高兴 (初中英语单词)


• absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)


• ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)


• constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)


• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)


• thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)


• ambitious [æm´biʃəs] a.有雄心的；热望的 (初中英语单词)


• advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)


• whereas [weər´æz] conj.鉴于；因此；而 (初中英语单词)


• imagination [i,mædʒi´neiʃən] n.想象(力) (初中英语单词)


• magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)


• suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)


• assist [ə´sist] v.协助；援助；搀扶 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• govern [´gʌvən] v.统治；控制；指导 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• agreeable [ə´gri:əbəl] a.适合的；符合的 (初中英语单词)


• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)


• distinction [di´stiŋkʃən] n.差别；特征；卓越 (初中英语单词)


• carriage [´kæridʒ] n.马车；客车；货运 (初中英语单词)


• admiration [,ædmə´reiʃən] n.赞赏，钦佩 (初中英语单词)


• majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)


• utmost [´ʌtməust] a.最大的 n.极端 (初中英语单词)


• reality [ri´æliti] n.现实(性)；真实；逼真 (初中英语单词)


• monsieur [mə´sjə:] n.先生 (初中英语单词)


• commence [kə´mens] vt.&vi.开始 (初中英语单词)


• acquaintance [ə´kweintəns] n.相识；熟人，相识的人 (初中英语单词)


• gallant [´gælənt, gə´lænt] a.英勇的；华丽的 (初中英语单词)


• extraordinary [ik´strɔ:dinəri] a.非常的；额外的 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• wherever [weər´evə] conj.无论在哪里 (初中英语单词)


• considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)


• impression [im´preʃən] n.印刷；印象；效果 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• inspire [in´spaiə] v.鼓舞；使感悟；吸入 (初中英语单词)


• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• grandmother [´græn,mʌðə] n.(外)祖母 (初中英语单词)


• lately [´leitli] ad.近来，不久前 (初中英语单词)


• mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• comprehension [,kɔmpri´henʃən] n.理解；领悟 (高中英语单词)


• tenderness [´tendənis] n.娇嫩；柔软；温柔 (高中英语单词)


• perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)


• jealousy [´dʒeləsi] n.妒忌；猜忌 (高中英语单词)


• duchess [´dʌtʃis] n.公爵夫人；女公爵 (高中英语单词)


• throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)


• undertaking [,ʌndə´teikiŋ] n.任务；事业；计划 (高中英语单词)


• banquet [´bæŋkwit] n.宴会，盛宴 (高中英语单词)


• tennis [´tenis] n.网球(运动) (高中英语单词)


• discourse [´diskɔ:s] n.论文；演说；说教 (高中英语单词)


• inclination [,inkli´neiʃən] n.倾斜；爱好；天资 (高中英语单词)


• sweetness [´swi:tnis] n.甜蜜；芳香；亲切 (高中英语单词)


• pleasing [´pli:ziŋ] a.使人愉快的；合意的 (高中英语单词)


• ordinarily [´ɔ:dinərili] ad.平常地；普通地 (高中英语单词)


• wherein [weər´in] ad.那里面 (高中英语单词)


• civility [si´viliti] n.礼貌；礼仪 (英语四级单词)


• impatience [im´peiʃəns] n.不耐烦，急躁 (英语四级单词)


• unjust [ʌn´dʒʌst] a.不公平(正)的 (英语四级单词)


• modesty [´mɔdisti] n.谨慎；端庄；羞怯 (英语四级单词)


• requisite [´rekwizit] a.需要的；必要的 n.必需品 (英语四级单词)


• uneasiness [ʌn´i:zinis] n.不安，担忧；不自在 (英语四级单词)


• daring [´deəriŋ] a.&n.勇敢(的) (英语四级单词)


• discretion [di´skreʃən] n.谨慎；判断(力) (英语四级单词)


• brussels [´brʌslz] n.布鲁塞尔 (英语四级单词)


• grandeur [´grændʒə] n.伟大；富丽；壮观 (英语四级单词)


• uncommon [ʌn´kɔmən] a.非常的，非凡的，罕见的 (英语四级单词)


• forbear [fɔ:´beə, fə-] v.容忍；克制 n.祖先 (英语四级单词)


• uncertainty [ʌn´sə:tənti] n.不可靠；不确定的事 (英语四级单词)


• ominous [´ɔminəs] a.不祥的；预示的 (英语四级单词)


• amiable [´eimiəbəl] a.亲切的，温和的 (英语四级单词)


• accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt] a.完成了的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)


• passionately [´pæʃənitli] ad.多情地；热烈地 (英语四级单词)


• incapable [in´keipəbəl] a.无能力的；不能的 (英语四级单词)


• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)


• decency [´di:sənsi] n.正派；体面 (英语六级单词)


• mademoiselle [,mædəmə´zel] n.小姐；法国女教师 (英语六级单词)


• endear [in´diə] vt.使受喜爱 (英语六级单词)


• brother-in-law [´brʌðəinlɔ:] n.姐夫；妹夫；内弟 (英语六级单词)


• applied [ə´plaid] a.实用的，应用的 (英语六级单词)


• impracticable [im´præktikəbəl] a.不切实际的 (英语六级单词)


• obstruct [əb´strʌkt] vt.阻塞；阻挡；挡住 (英语六级单词)


• gaiety [´geəti] n.欢乐；乐事；华丽 (英语六级单词)