d lady had one or two little peculiarities. In the first
place, she was very sentimental, and always dreaming of some hero of
romance; secondly, she was extremely sensitive, and if any person
unmercifully wounded her tender heart, she was always sure to swoon
away; and thirdly, having swooned away, she always waited till the
whole household had assembled round her, and could not be brought to
herself as long as one member of it failed.

Boho Biri being constantly with the Countess, had the full benefit of
her eccentricities. This, however, did not seem to annoy her in the
least: when the lady spoke of her love affairs, Boris spoke of her
own; when the Countess sighed deeply, Boho Biri sighed still deeper;
if the Countess described her injuries or her bitter fate in prose,
Biri illustrated hers in verse; and when the Countess, overcome by her
emotions, fainted away on a sofa, Boho Biri fainted on another, and
always remained full half an hour longer in her swoon than the lady
herself. If it were necessary to take cramp, when the Countess had
only commenced, Boho Biri was already roaring so as to bring the whole
household to the rescue.

Finally, however, it became too much for Boris. One day, taking up her
guitar, and putting a roll in her pocket, she announced her intention
to depart.

The good lady in astonishment asked why.

Boho Biri struck an accord on her guitar, and raising herself on the
tips of her toes, she answered, with dignified composure: "Two fools
are one too many in one house!"

COMORN.

Monument of war! unhappy and deserted town! where are thy churches and
thy towers--thy hospitable mansions and thy lively inhabitants? Where
are the cheerful bells, calling the people to prayer, and the sound of
music to mirth?

Alas! what a contrast from the proud fortress of former times, when
the pinnacles of many a tower or steeple were seen glistening from
afar, with their single and double crosses, their eagles and golden
balls!

There were churches in Comorn unrivalled in Hungary for their
beautiful frescoes. There was the great Universal Academy, opposite
the Reformed Church; the old County-house, crowning three streets; the
gigantic Town-hall; the great Military Hospital; the fine row of
buildings on the Danube, which gave the town the air of a great city;
the High Street, with its quaint edifices; the Calvary,[39] and the
romantic promenade in the centre of the town.

[Footnote 39: In most