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though he did not know what." I am vain enough," said he, "to flatter myself that perhaps my company may be as agreeable to lord Burton as yours, Melville, and therefore, as I have no one thing to detain me at Naples, I do not see why I should not enjoy his society on my journey to England.-What say you, Bur

ton ?"

Lord Burton made some objections, on account of the inconvenience to which such a sudden departure would put his friend; but the baron overruled all opposition." I am a soldier," said he, "and accustomed to move at short notice. There is only one stipulation I will make-that is, that we do not take Paris in our route."

Lord Burton assured him that he hadno such intention; and all being arranged satisfactorily, he was not at all averse to take advantage of the baron's friendly proposal.

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CHAPTER IV.

In this dim cave a Druid sleeps,
Where stops the passing gale to mɔan;
The rock he hollowed o'er him weeps,
And cold drops wear the fretted stone.

LANGHORNE.

The Cave.

FRIENDSHIP is perhaps the rarest sentiment to be met with, in any degree of purity, that the world affords. Instances of it do sometimes occur, but with the interval of centuries or ages between them.

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The common every-day connexion that passes by that name, is in general as selfish a passion as any to which human nature is subject; it commences in convenience, and ends with it; it arises from no principle but our own gratification, and lasts

no

no longer than we gain pleasure by it. There are indeed people who raise it above its ordinary level; and the man who sacrifices some part of his fortune, his time, or his comfort, for another, fancies himself a . friend of the antique mould, and inscribes his name with those of Damon and Pythias.

How far the friendship of the baron de S went for lord Burton is of little consequence. It is sufficient that he put himself to some inconvenience to accompany him; but let it also be said, that the society of lord Burton was more agreeable to the baron than that of most other men; and in the state of his own mind, he found change of scene quite as necessary as his companion.

However, lord Burton was very well contented-all the necessary arrangements were soon made, and they quitted Naples that very evening.

Mary was much grieved at her brother's departure; she loved him with the E 6 fondest

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fondest affection that a sister could feel; she admired him as one of the brightest of human beings. But now it would have been hard to say which was the dearest to her, Frederic or Charles; it would have been a question painful to her heart, and wisely she never put it; but, notwithstanding, she felt a great deal of consolation in Charles's society.

For his own sake, Mr. Melville was as sorry for lord Burton's leaving them, as he could be for any thing while Mary remained with him. There were few men he had ever met with endowed with such superiority of mind and person, that had such attaching qualities as his cousin ; but his love for Mary was the absorbing principle which engaged every feeling of Charles's mind; and engaged in diverting her attention from the absence of her brother, he soon forgot it himself.

One of their most constant amusements after lord Burton's departure was sailing in the bay. Mary had now become a

very tolerable performer on the Spanish guitar, and floating about on the clear sunshiny waves, they would sing together all the duets and songs which had been their delight in England, before they knew the nature of those sensations, which made the harmony of their voices seem but an echo to the feelings of their hearts. Nor to lady Anne Milsome were those moments at all tedious; what they felt had, with her indeed, long gone by; but she remembered the days of her youth; disappointment had never crushed the warm affections of her heart, nor had time had the power to steal them away. They were softened, but they were not lost; and like the rays of the moon, they were gentler, but not less sweet, for being but the reflection of brighter feelings.

About a week had elapsed since lord Burton had left them, when sailing along the shores of the bay, their boat was steered directly under the cliff on which stood the villa they inhabited. The tide was

out,

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