iness,
was still within my reach. Notwithstanding the shocks which my frame had
endured, the anguish of my thoughts no sooner abated than I recovered my
health.

I now willingly listened to my uncle's solicitations to be the companion
of his voyage. Preparations were easily made, and after a tedious
passage, we set our feet on the shore of the ancient world. The memory
of the past did not forsake me; but the melancholy which it generated,
and the tears with which it filled my eyes, were not unprofitable. My
curiosity was revived, and I contemplated, with ardour, the spectacle of
living manners and the monuments of past ages.

In proportion as my heart was reinstated in the possession of its
ancient tranquillity, the sentiment which I had cherished with regard to
Pleyel returned. In a short time he was united to the Saxon woman,
and made his residence in the neighbourhood of Boston. I was glad that
circumstances would not permit an interview to take place between us. I
could not desire their misery; but I reaped no pleasure from reflecting
on their happiness. Time, and the exertions of my fortitude, cured me,
in some degree, of this folly. I continued to love him, but my passion
was disguised to myself; I considered it merely as a more tender species
of friendship, and cherished it without compunction.

Through my uncle's exertions a meeting was brought about between Carwin
and Pleyel, and explanations took place which restored me at once to
the good opinion of the latter. Though separated so widely our
correspondence was punctual and frequent, and paved the way for that
union which can only end with the death of one of us.

In my letters to him I made no secret of my former sentiments. This
was a theme on which I could talk without painful, though not without
delicate emotions. That knowledge which I should never have imparted to
a lover, I felt little scruple to communicate to a friend.

A year and an half elapsed when Theresa was snatched from him by death,
in the hour in which she gave him the first pledge of their mutual
affection. This event was borne by him with his customary fortitude. It
induced him, however, to make a change in his plans. He disposed of his
property in America, and joined my uncle and me, who had terminated
the wanderings of two years at Montpellier, which will henceforth, I
believe, be our permanent abode.

If you reflect upon that entire confidence which had subsisted from our
infancy