Suddenly she remembered having torn out and thrown away two or three leaves,--those containing her futile attempts to sketch the Colosseum.
At this point a letter was delivered to the princess.

It was from Prince Cagliari, and asked Blanka to assign an hour at which to receive him.
She answered the note at once, naming ten o'clock of the following morning.
Promptly on the hour appointed the prince's equipage appeared at the hotel door, and he himself came up the stairs, leaning on his gold-headed cane.

He enjoyed the full use of only one foot, although his gouty condition was not very apparent except when he climbed a flight of stairs.

Ordinarily he showed admirable skill in disguising his defect.
He was still a fine-looking man, and only the whiteness of his hair betrayed his age.

Clean-shaven and of florid complexion, he wore a constant smile on his finely chiselled lips, and bore himself with a graceful air of self-assertion that seldom failed of its effect on the women whom he chose to honour with his attentions.
The head waiter hurried on before him to announce his coming.