Act II. Room in a handsome, well-furnished apartment in Paris. This

apartment is _Linda's_. In it she has been installed by _Charles_. The natural supposition, that it has been paid for by her virtue, is in this instance a mistake, but one, I am sure, made by nine people out of ten of those who see the opera, since the explanation of how she got there consists merely of a few incidental lines in recitative.

_Linda_ herself, but for her incredible naïveté would realize the impossibility of the situation.

A voice singing in the street she recognizes as _Pierrot's_, calls him up to her, and assists him with money, of which she appears to have plenty. She tells him that the _Prefect's_ brother, in whose house she was to have found protection, had died. She was obliged to support herself by singing in the street. Fortunately she had by chance met _Charles_, who disclosed to her his identity as the _Viscount de Sirval_. He is not ready to marry her yet on account of certain family complications, but meanwhile has placed her in this apartment, where he provides for her. There is a duet, in which _Linda_ and _Pierrot_ sing of her happiness.

_Pierrot_ having left, the _Marquis_, who has discovered her retreat, but does not know that it is provided by his nephew _Charles_, calls to force his unwelcome attentions upon her. He laughs, as is not unnatural, at her protestations that she is supported here in innocence; but when she threatens him with possible violence from her intended, he has a neat little solo of precaution, ending "Guardati, pensaci, marchese mio" (Be cautious--ponder well, Marquis most valiant).

The _Marquis_, having prudently taken his departure, _Linda_ having gone to another room, and _Charles_ having come in, we learn from his recitative and air that his mother, the Marquise de Sirval, has selected a wife for him, whom she insists he shall marry. He hopes to escape from this marriage, but, as his mother has heard of _Linda_ and also insists that he shall give her up, he has come to explain matters to her and temporarily to part from her. But when he sees her, her beauty so moves him that his courage fails him, although, as he goes, there is a sadness in his manner that fills her with sad forebodings.

For three months _Linda_ has heard nothing from her parents. Letters, with money, which she has sent them, have remained unanswered--another of the situations in which this most artless heroine of opera discovers herself, without seeking the simple and obvious way of relieving the suspense.

In any event, her parents have become impoverished through the _Marquis de Boisfleury's_ disfavour, for at this moment her father, in the condition of a mendicant, comes in to beg the intercession in his behalf of the _Viscount de Sirval_ (Charles). Not recognizing _Linda_, he mistakes her for _Charles's_ wife. She bestows bounteous alms upon him, but hesitates to make herself known, until, when he bends over to kiss her hand she cannot refrain from disclosing herself. Her surroundings arouse his suspicions, which are confirmed by _Pierrot_, who comes running in with the news that he has learned of preparations for the marriage of _Charles_ to a lady of his mother's choice. In a scene (which a fine singer like Galassi was able to invest with real power) _Antonio_ hurls the alms _Linda_ has given him at her feet, denounces her, and departs. _Pierrot_ seeks to comfort her. But alas! her father's denunciation of her, and, above all, what she believes to be _Charles's_ desertion, have unseated her reason.