scond from a woman who never interested

my heart in the slightest degree that I could ascertain, although at first I thought otherwise, I confess. But suppose it had been she who wished to end our intimacy -that she, from any cause, had resolved to dismiss me? Why, she would have completed it between her breakfast and one o'clock-made a promenade with a light heart and a merry eye-gone to dinner with an excellent appetite--and in the evening received a new lover-listened with pleasure to his vows of constancy, and God knows what beside. But I see, by the length of her letter, that the separation will cost her some regrets. I must not judge too severely; a woman may regret a lover who abandons her, even if she cared nothing for him. Allonsthere is no danger of her coming here, as she did to uncle Hugh's. But what a beautiful creature Rosine has grown! How engaging! ay, irresistibly engaging! What looks-what gaiety-what perfect amiability

D 4

amiability and playfulness! and she seems to possess so much heart! Hah, may not such a neighbourhood be a little dangerous to a heart so very susceptible as mine? Is it in me to see such a fascinating being as she certainly is to see her every hour in the day-to be so exposed to the influence of her charms, and avoid making love to her? Halt there! by Heaven, if I thought it was in me to trifle with the feelings and affections of such an angel, if I thought I was capable of injuring her, I would almost put that pistol to my head, and-"

"Blow out my brains!" he probably would have added, but was here interrupted by Alphonse, who came to announce to him that dinner was ready to be served. He finished his toilette in haste, and handed his aunt Rose and his cousin Rosine to the table.

We must beg the reader's pardon, for passing over the long blessing of aunt Agatha, in which, of course, she invoked a blessing

a blessing on her nephew, as well as on the dinner.

We are also compelled to postpone an account of the various dishes, the meats, sauces, &c., the cook having by some accident mislaid the bill of fare, with which she had promised to furnish us. We were not a little chagrined at this disappointment, because, as it is the fashion with all our American Walter Scotts and Walter Scottesses to give the minutest details of such like matters to their readers, we had intended to follow their example on this occasion, both for the sake of being in the mode, and because a dinner is, of all subjects, the one which interests the greatest number of readers, though there be those who never dine. But we have it in our power to state, on what we consider the best authority, that both our hero and heroine did excellent justice to the cookery. We are further authorized to declare, that the party did something more than taste the wine. Even aunt

Agatha, pious as she was, recollecting the saying of the wisest of men, that "wine maketh the heart glad," did not scruple to try the experiment. The “genius of temperance" had not then begun to make his daring encroachments on that innocent, if not laudable custom of drinking good wine at our dinners.

Our hero, though very polite to his worthy aunts, continued to direct most of his attentions to Rosine, with whom he laughed and jested incessantly, to the infinite delight of the audience.

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Apropos de bottes," said he to Rosine, speaking of our first introduction, do you recollect when I first had the pleasure of your agreeable acquaintance, you could hardly speak a word of English, and I taught you how to speak it myself?"

"Oh! I have not forgotten it, I assure you, although I came very near forgetting my French since: in fact, I had to study it again at boarding-school. I assure you I did

I did not know the language had half so many words in it."

Here the three aunts joined in, and informed Hugh that Rosine had studied several languages besides; that she could read Italian, and even Latin, if not some Greek.

Hugh pretended to be alarmed-" Oh! mon Dieu! Rosine, you frighten me! What! Latin and Greek! my dear cousin, exorciso te. I adjure by all the living tongues not to speak to me in those dead ones. They have been dead indeed to me for these seven years: mais, que tu es

savante!"

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Mais, que tu es mechant, cousin! But is it possible that you have forgotten all that Latin which I helped you, you know, to learn when we were at the academy together? What a pity! and it cost you so much labour to acquire it!"

“Come, come, don't be saucy now; but I remember you did study Virgil with I ought not to have forgotten the