at name I became agitated. M. Bertollon stood thoughtfully at the
window and appeared melancholy. We resumed the conversation, and he
asked my name and the nature of my studies. Having mentioned my
fondness for the harp, he said: "Do you play the harp and love it
passionately without possessing one?"

"I am too poor, sir, to purchase one, for the little money I have is
scarcely sufficient to procure the books that I need most."

"My wife has two harps and can well spare one," he replied, and left me.

Before an hour elapsed the harp was sent. How happy was I! I now
thought of Clementine, and struck the chords. Sentiments are
speechless; words have been invented to express thoughts, and melodious
tones to express the feelings of the heart.

On the following morning the amiable Bertollon came again, and I
thanked him with emotion. He asked me to play, and I complied with his
request, still thinking of Clementine. He was leaning with his
forehead against the window, and gazed sadly on the opposite roofs. My
soul was enrapt in the fulness of harmony, and I did not perceive that
he had turned and stood listening near me.

"You are a delightful magician," he said, and embraced me with warmth;
"we must become friends."

I was his friend already, and in the space of a few weeks our intimacy
increased. During our short excursions, when the weather was fine, he
gradually introduced me to a numerous acquaintance, who treated me
uniformly with esteem and attention, and Bertollon seemed only happy in
my society. In possession of a considerable library, and a museum of
natural history, he entrusted me with their superintendence, and
appeared to have chosen this as a way of assisting my slender means, by
a considerable annual income, without hurting my feelings.

Bertollon was in more than one respect a distinguished man. His
acquirements were various; he possessed wit and eloquence; he
captivated by his gracefulness and dignity; in company he was the
spirit of joy, and his sole aim was to gain the esteem of his
fellow-citizens. He had already refused several public appointments
with a modesty which made him still more worthy of general confidence.
He was wealthy, the partner in a large commercial house, was possessed
of one of the most delightful chateaux on the height of the
neighbouring village of Castelnau, and was the husband of the most
beautiful woman of Montpellier. His wife usually lived at the chateau,