sad reflections
for another time, and let us enjoy the happiness of being once more
together."

"I have no time for fooling, madame," said he, sternly. "I have come a
long and weary journey about this boy. It is unlikely that I can afford
to occupy myself with his affairs again. Let him have the benefit--if
benefit there be--of my coming. I would relieve you of the burden of his
support, and himself of the misery of dependence."

I started with surprise. It was the first time I had ever heard the word
with reference to myself, and a sense of shame, almost to sickness, came
over me as I stood there.

"Jasper is my child; he is all that a son could be to his mother," cried
Polly, clasping me in her arms, and kissing my forehead; and I felt
as if my very heart was bursting. "Between us there is no question of
burden or independence."

"We live in an age of fine sentiments and harsh actions," said the
Count. "I have seen M. de Robespierre shed tears over a dead canary, and
I believe that he could control his feelings admirably on the Place de
Greve. Jasper, I see that we must finish this conversation when we are
alone together. And now to dinner."

He assumed a half air of gayety as he said this; but it was unavailing
as a means of rallying my poor mother, whose tearful eyes and trembling
lips told how sadly dispirited she felt at heart.

I had heard much from my mother about the charms of the Count's
conversation, his brilliant tone, and his powers of fascination. It had
been a favorite theme with her to dilate upon his wondrous agreeability,
and the vast range of his acquaintance with popular events and topics.
She had always spoken of him, too, as one of buoyant spirits, and even
boyish light-heartedness. She had even told me that he would be my
companion, like one of my own age. With what disappointment, then, did I
find him the very reverse of all this! All his views of life savored of
bitterness and scorn; all his opinions were tinged with scepticism and
distrust; he sneered at the great world and its vanities, but even these
he seemed to hold in greater estimation than the humble tranquillity of
our remote village. I have him before me this instant as he leaned out
of the window and looked down the valley towards the Splugen Alps. The
sun was setting, and only the tops of the very highest glaciers were now
touched with its glory; their peaks shone like burnished gold in the sea
of sky, azure and cloudless. The