ther that Madame Lebrun was a handsome
woman, while the husband was nothing to boast of--at all events compared
to the Sieur Grimod,) he hurries on to the facts--and they rather alter
the appearance of affairs.

It was in the year 1760, as we have said, that the Sieur Lebrun married
the Demoiselle de Surcourt. Interest and ambition had nothing to do with
the match. Love was the only fastener of the bond. The Sieur Lebrun and
the Demoiselle de Surcourt had been acquainted--had been lovers--for
three years. And that passion, born of a sympathy of tastes and
sentiments, had grown in mystery--a secret correspondence was its
aliment and interpreter--a delicious correspondence--where the
Demoiselle de Surcourt knew how to combine the sallies of imagination
with the soft outpourings of the soul, or the burning expressions of her
love! Pardon the Sieur Lebrun if he transcribes a few passages from her
letters; Madame Lebrun, above all, ought to excuse him. It is not
betraying her secrets; it is recalling her to herself, and to a
sentiment she would never have forsworn, if she had been allowed to
follow the dictates of her heart:--

"From my bed, this Tuesday evening.

"If it is flattering to be loved by those we love, it is still more so
when the loved object is you, my dear Misis. 'Twould make me vain to
think I pleased you really as much as you say I do; but I feel my
happiness too truly to give way to pride on account of it. Is it true,
then, that you think of me, and prefer my remembrance to the gaieties of
society? Ah! why am I not in the room where you remain for my sake? You
make me wish more--I wish I could be with you wherever you think of me.
You are right in saying our hearts are made for one another; they have
the same sentiments, they burn with the same fires. That charming
harmony is the work of love; but nature had created a sympathy between
them that seems to tell us they were made to love and to be united. Yes,
my dear Misis, they must love for ever; but in the mean time will you
consent to languish in absence and constraint? I would not remind you
of your unhappiness, since you have interdicted me from the subject, if
you did not complain yourself; and your complaints make me wretched.
They reveal to me your sufferings, and awaken all my affection. Do you
think, if I had an opportunity of seeing you, that I would not seize it?
Ah! you ought to feel assured of all I would do for you if I had it in
my powe