In her way back she happened to meet Candide. She blushed; he blushed also. She wished him a good morning in a flattering tone; he returned the salute without knowing what he said. The next day, as they were rising from dinner, Cunegund and Candide slipped behind the screen; Miss dropped her handkerchief the young man picked it up. She innocently took hold of his hand, and he as innocently kissed hers with a warmth, a sensibility, a grace--all very particular: their lips met; their eyes sparkled; their knees trembled; their hands strayed. The baron chanced to come by; he beheld the cause and effect, and without hesitation salutes Candide with some notable kicks on the rear, and drove him out of doors. Miss Cunegund, the tender, the lovely Miss Cunegund, fainted away, and, as soon she came to herself, the baroness boxed her ears. Thus a general consternation was spread over this most magnificent and most agreeable of all possible castles. CHAPTER II. What befell Candide among the Bulgarians. CANDIDE, thus driven out of this terrestrial paradise, rambled a long time without knowing where he went; sometimes he raised his eyes, all bedewed with tears, towards heaven, and sometimes he cast a melancholy look towards the magnificent castle, where dwelt the fairest of young baronesses. He laid himself down to sleep in a furrow, heart-broken and supperless. The snow fell in great flakes, and in the morning when he awoke, he was almost frozen to death; however, he made shift to crawl to the next town, which was called Walds-berghoff-trarbk-dikdorff, without a penny in his pocket, and half-dead with hunger and fatigue. He took up his stand at the door of an inn. He had not been long there, before two men dressed in blue fixed their eyes stedfastly upon him. "Faith, comrade," said one of them to the other, "yonder is a well-made young fellow, and of the right size; "upon which they made up to Candide, and with the greatest civility and politeness invited him to dine with them. |
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