“ ‘But allow me to say that you must have been very young then.’⁠—‘I was four years old; but as those events deeply concerned me, not a single detail has escaped my memory.’⁠—‘In what manner could these events concern you? and who are you, that they should have made so deep an impression on you?’⁠—‘On them depended my father’s life,’ replied she. ‘I am Haydée, the daughter of Ali Tepelini, pasha of Yanina, and of Vasiliki, his beloved wife.’

“The blush of mingled pride and modesty which suddenly suffused the cheeks of the young woman, the brilliancy of her eye, and her highly important communication, produced an indescribable effect on the assembly. As for the count, he could not have been more overwhelmed if a thunderbolt had fallen at his feet and opened an immense gulf before him.

“ ‘Madame,’ replied the president, bowing with profound respect, ‘allow me to ask one question; it shall be the last: Can you prove the authenticity of what you have now stated?’