She was not actually plain, but so
affected that she did not know what to do with herself, and made
such frightful grimaces that one was afraid to look at her. Nor
could she be called stupid, for she had the inborn natural wit of
the Andalusians, and when she spoke Spanish, could give very droll
turns to her remarks. Her French was calculated to induce toothache
in her hearers, and in the unfamiliar language the wit evaporated
and left only the vulgar behind. She was the terror of her female
friends, for she considered absolute freedom of speech to be the
privilege and badge of nobility, and thought herself every inch an
aristocrat when she alluded, without the faintest regard for
decency, not only to her own numerous affairs of gallantry, but to
those of her friends to their faces. Her tactlessness had been the
cause of many a disaster, but she remained incorrigible, in spite of
repeated and severe snubbings and even bitter insults.
No sooner had she entered the room than Wilhelm received a sample of
her peculiar style. Anne announced the Countess Cuerbo. Wilhelm
rose, prepared to leave Pilar alone, but the visitor had followed on
the heels of the maid, and rustled into the red salon, exclaiming in
her strident voice and horrible Spanish accent as she embraced
Pilar:
"This is your German friend, I suppose, about whom I have heard so
much.
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