ion--apparently harmless consequences at the
time--the destinies of Ovid, of Carmina, and of Benjulia proved to be
seriously involved.

Ovid's letter was thus expressed:

"I want to know, my love, if there is any other man in the world who is
as fond of his darling as I am of you? If such a person exists, and
if adverse circumstances compel him to travel, I should like to ask a
question. Is he perpetually calling to mind forgotten things, which he
ought to have said to his sweetheart before he left her?

"This is my case. Let me give you an instance.

"I have made a new friend here--one Mr. Morphew. Last night, he was so
kind as to invite me to a musical entertainment at his house. He is a
medical man; and he amuses himself in his leisure hours by playing
on that big and dreary member of the family of fiddles, whose name is
Violoncello. Assisted by friends, he hospitably cools his guests, in the
hot season, by the amateur performance of quartets. My dear, I passed
a delightful evening. Listening to the music? Not listening to a single
note of it. Thinking of You.

"Have I roused your curiosity? I fancy I can see your eyes brighten; I
fancy I can hear you telling me to go on!

"My thoughts reminded me that music is one of the enjoyments of your
life. Before I went away, I ought to have remembered this, and to have
told you that the manager of the autumn concerts at the opera-house is
an old friend of mine. He will be only too glad to place a box at your
disposal, on any night when his programme attracts your notice; I have
already made amends for my forgetfulness, by writing to him by this
mail. Miss Minerva will be your companion at the theatre. If Mr. Le
Frank (who is sure to be on the free list) pays you a visit in your box,
tell him from me to put a wig on his bald head, and to try if _that_
will make him look like an honest man!

"Did I forget anything else before my departure? Did I tell you how
precious you are to me? how beautiful you are to me? how entirely
worthless my life is without you? I dare say I did; but I tell it all
over again--and, when you are tired of the repetition, you have only to
let me know.

"In the meanwhile, have I nothing else to say? have I no travelling
adventures to relate? You insist on hearing of everything that happens
to me; and you are to have your own way before we are married, as
well as after. My sweet Carmina, your willing slave has something more
serious than common