n live from hand to mouth, but that the fate of a
young girl is fixed on the day of her marriage. Thus, little by little,
he expressed what was in his heart, and I watched Brigitte listening to
him. Then, when he arose to leave us, I accompanied him to the door, and
stood there, pensively listening to the sound of his footsteps on the
stairs.

Upon examining our trunks we found that there were still a few things
needed before we could start; Smith was asked to purchase them. He was
remarkably active, and enjoyed attending to matters of this kind. When I
returned to my apartments, I found him on the floor, strapping a trunk.
Brigitte was at the piano we had rented by the week during our stay. She
was playing one of those old airs into which she put so much expression,
and which were so dear to us. I stopped in the hall; every note reached
my ear distinctly; never had she sung so sadly, so divinely.

Smith was listening with pleasure; he was on his knees holding the
buckle of the strap in his hands. He fastened it, then looked about the
room at the other goods he had packed and covered with a linen cloth.
Satisfied with his work, he still remained kneeling in the same spot;
Brigitte, her hands on the keys, was looking out at the horizon. For the
second time I saw tears fall from the young man's eyes; I was ready to
shed tears myself, and not knowing what was passing in me, I held out my
hand to him.

"Were you there?" asked Brigitte. She trembled and seemed surprised.

"Yes, I was there," I replied. "Sing, my dear, I beg of you. Let me hear
your sweet voice."

She continued her song without a word; she noticed my emotion as well as
Smith's; her voice faltered. With the last notes she arose, and came to
me and kissed me.

On another occasion I had brought an album containing views of
Switzerland. We were looking at them, all three of us, and when Brigitte
found a scene that pleased her, she would stop to examine it. There
was one view that seemed to attract her more than the others; it was
a certain spot in the canton of Vaud, some distance from Brigues;
some trees with cows grazing in the shade; in the distance a village
consisting of some dozen houses, scattered here and there. In the
foreground a young girl with a large straw hat, seated under a tree, and
a farmer's boy standing before her, apparently pointing out, with his
iron-tipped stick, the route over which he had come; he was directing
her attention to a w