The Duke's Letter to the Duke of Chameras

One morning papa received a letter, but wait, sonya, get me the lupin papers out of the bureau. Sonia rose from the writing table and went to a bureau, an admirable example of the work of the great english maker chippendale. It stood on the other side of the hall between an oriental cabinet and a sixteenth century italian cabinet - for all the world as if it were standing in a crowded curiosity shop. The three pieces took something each from the beauty of the other. I reckon indeed that the stones in your cornet are, at the very lowest, worth half a million francs. But above all, i have set my heart on