e humanity and success; and the senators,
in "Julius Caesar" and "Damon and Pythias," would have been less open to
bribery and corruption than the gentlemen who have really occupied
similar positions in the world. Perhaps, if M. Delille had been Admiral
Blank, he would have looked at his chart, and not run his ship upon that
rock in the Mediterranean on a clear summer morning. Perhaps, if Mme.
Delille had been Empress of France, she would not have striven quite so
hard to bring on the last war with Prussia.

From the church to the lodgings of Monsieur and Madame Delille. On
passing through the entrance, in Berlin generally a way for horses and
carriages, you would scarcely expect such elegant apartments. The moment
you crossed the threshold you were in another world. Everything rich,
tasteful, new; the walls superbly papered; the woodwork painted like
snow and varnished like a mirror: Brussels carpet, then not over-common
in the richest houses; lounges, _chaises longues_, sofas, divans; a
strong smell of Russia binding from splendid volumes on the table, and
gleaming from mahogany book-cases; beautiful paintings and engravings; a
lavish display of clocks on tables and writing-desks; one, looking down
from a loftier pedestal, clicked audibly the seconds and struck the
quarters with a solemn sound, like the booming of some far-off old
cathedral bell hanging in the clouds. Everything told of the new married
man: everything new, bright, unexceptionable, faultless, perfect--like
the new wife, the new husband, the new affection, the new hopes, yet
unexposed to the wear and tear of years.

I was among the first. My host and hostess awaited their guests.
Mademoiselle--I beg her pardon--madame received me with graceful
cordiality. The company immediately began to appear, principally
performers whose faces I had never seen before, except on the stage,
associated with incidents, words, actions, intrigues, and scenes of the
poet's imagination. I enjoyed as if I had been a boy, recognizing the
various characters whose pranks, joys, and sorrows I had followed with
so much interest: the wicked "jeune homme a la mode," the bewitching
"femme de chambre," the _vieux_ "general sous l'empire," the rich
_banquier de Paris_, the handsome, dangerous _guardien_, the naughty
husband who had exclaimed, "Ciel ma femme!" the jealous lover, the
hard-hearted landlord, and the _comique_ of the troupe, upon whose
mobile face I could scarcely look wit