On February 26 of that year, a young German _danseuse_, Mlle. Heinel by name, who had already achieved a reputation in Vienna, made her appearance at the Opera, and created a great sensation. “Mlle. Heinel,” says Grimm, “afflicted with seventeen or eighteen years, two large, expressive eyes, and two well-shaped legs, which support a very pretty face and figure, has arrived from Vienna and made her _début_ at the Opera in the _danse noble_. She displays a precision, a sureness, an aplomb, and a dignity of bearing comparable to the great Vestris. The connoisseurs of dancing pretend that, in two or three years, Mlle. Heinel will be the first _danseuse_ in Europe, and the connoisseurs of charms are disputing the glory of ruining themselves for her.”[29]
In a letter written some months later, Grimm becomes quite ecstatic over the beauty and talent of his young compatriot:
“Her grace and dignity make of her a celestial creature. To see her, I do not say dance, but merely walk across the stage, is alone worth the money that one pays at the door of the Opera.”[30]
The charms of this “celestial creature” proved more than the susceptible heart of M. de Lauraguais could withstand, and we read in the _Mémoires secrets_, under date March 28, 1768:
“Her (Mlle. Heinel’s) attractions have so captivated M. le Comte de Lauraguais as to cause him to forget those of Mlle. Arnoux (sic). He has given her, as a wedding-present _à l’Allemand_, 30,000 livres, 20,000 livres to a brother, to whom she is much attached, an exquisite set of furniture, a coach, and so forth. It is computed that the _première_ cost this magnificent nobleman 100,000 livres.”
Sophie appears to have been anything but heart-broken at the desertion of her eccentric lover--probably she was as anxious to be rid of him, for a season, as he was to leave her--and, less than a year later, we find her corresponding with him in the friendliest manner. By that time the count had had more than enough of the society of Mlle. Heinel, concerning whom Sophie has many spiteful things to say. She herself, she informs him--perhaps with a view of exciting his jealousy--is receiving great attention from the Prince de Conti, who often invites her, together with other past, present, and potential members of his seraglio,[31] to his box at the Opera, where he invariably greets her with a kiss upon the chin.[32]