'The first,' said she, 'produces a little flower of a
deep violet, which loves to hide itself beneath the bushes, but is soon
discovered by its delightful odours.' She desired those seeds might be sown
along the borders of the fountain, at the foot of her cocoa tree. 'The
scabious,' she added, 'produces a beautiful flower of a pale blue, and a
black ground, spotted with white. You might fancy it was in mourning; and
for this reason, it is called the widow's flower. It delights in bleak
spots beaten by the winds.' She begged this might be sown upon the rock
where she had spoken to him for the last time, and that, for her sake, he
would henceforth give it the name of the Farewell Rock.

"She had put those seeds into a little purse, the tissue of which was
extremely simple; but which appeared above all price to Paul, when he
perceived a P and a V intwined together, and knew that the beautiful hair
which formed the cipher was the hair of Virginia.

"The whole family listened with tears to the letter of that amiable and
virtuous young woman. Her mother answered it in the name of the little
society, and desired her to remain or return as she thought proper;
assuring her, that happiness had fled from their dwelling since her
departure, and that, as for herself, she was inconsolable.

"Paul also sent her a long letter, in which he assured her that he would
arrange the garden in a manner agreeable to her taste, and blend the plants
of Europe with those of Africa. He sent her some fruit culled from the
cocoa trees of the mountain, which were now arrived at maturity: telling
her that he would not add any more of the other seeds of the island, that
the desire of seeing those productions again might hasten her return. He
conjured her to comply without delay with the ardent wishes of her family,
and, above all, with his own, since he was unable to endure the pain of
their separation.

"With a careful hand Paul sowed the European seeds, particularly the violet
and the scabious, the flowers of which seem to bear some analogy to the
character and situation of Virginia, by whom they had been recommended: but
whether they were injured by the voyage, or whether the soil of this part
of Africa is unfavourable to their growth, a very small number of them
blew, and none came to perfection.

"Meanwhile that envy, which pursues human happiness, spread reports over
the island which gave great uneasiness to Paul. The persons who had brought