the cry of the cicale, and watched the birds of
brilliant plumage flitting from branch to branch. Though in the midst of
the desert there was no silence. A wonderful spot, with its rushing
streams, its vineyards and corn-fields, the magnificent sea flashing in
the sunshine. What a forest life it must have been before Sennacherib
laid it low!

"So we became thoroughly acquainted with Sinai and Palestine. I can
never understand those who leave this magic land with a sense of
disappointment. It is true that we were young, full of life and vigour,
ready to extract all the honey from our sweets; but to me no after
experience ever equalled this first lengthened journey of my manhood.
With what sorrow and regret I brought it to an end and parted from my
friend, you will easily imagine.

"But it had to be. I had been long absent from home. The Abbe wrote to
me regularly; all had gone well and quietly, but I began to feel anxious
to gaze once more upon the beloved groves and familiar shores; to hear
once more the voice of the good old man who I knew hungered and thirsted
for my return.

"One morning when the sun was shining and everything looked bright and
happy, I suddenly appeared before the Abbe. He was absorbed upon a MS.,
putting the finishing touches to a chapter of peculiar merit, when he
looked up and saw the desire of his eyes. For a moment I thought he was
about to lose consciousness. Then the blood rushed to his pale, refined
face, and I found myself clasped in his arms.

"We spent a quiet happy month together. I took up my abode in his house,
not in the chateau. Everything was pursuing the calm and even tenor of
its way. Every one was happy, and the return of the master made that
happiness complete. They all hoped I had come to remain; but I found
that could not be. I was unable to settle down to a quiet domestic life.
This home-coming had brought back all my loss, the happiness of days
gone for ever. I felt I must seek fresh scenes, and soon departed again
on my wanderings. This time they were not very distant.

"I crossed over to Algeria, and from the bright green slopes of the
Sahel learned to love the white terraces and hanging gardens that
contrasted so well with the matchless blue of the Mediterranean. That
was not all that I learned to love.

"I mixed freely with the Arabs and the French of all classes. Fate took
me to Djidjelly. I wished to ascend Mount Bubor, and from its summit
gaze as it were upon a