. However Emily might prefer La Vallee to
Tholouse, she could not be insensible to the indecorous and unkind
conduct of her aunt, in suffering her to return thither, where she had
no longer a relation to console and protect her; a conduct, which was
the more culpable, since St. Aubert had appointed Madame Cheron the
guardian of his orphan daughter.

Madame Cheron's servant made the attendance of the good La Voisin
unnecessary; and Emily, who felt sensibly her obligations to him, for
all his kind attention to her late father, as well as to herself, was
glad to spare him a long, and what, at his time of life, must have been
a troublesome journey.

During her stay at the convent, the peace and sanctity that reigned
within, the tranquil beauty of the scenery without, and the delicate
attentions of the abbess and the nuns, were circumstances so soothing to
her mind, that they almost tempted her to leave a world, where she had
lost her dearest friends, and devote herself to the cloister, in a spot,
rendered sacred to her by containing the tomb of St. Aubert. The pensive
enthusiasm, too, so natural to her temper, had spread a beautiful
illusion over the sanctified retirement of a nun, that almost hid from
her view the selfishness of its security. But the touches, which a
melancholy fancy, slightly tinctured with superstition, gave to the
monastic scene, began to fade, as her spirits revived, and brought once
more to her heart an image, which had only transiently been banished
thence. By this she was silently awakened to hope and comfort and sweet
affections; visions of happiness gleamed faintly at a distance, and,
though she knew them to be illusions, she could not resolve to shut them
out for ever. It was the remembrance of Valancourt, of his taste, his
genius, and of the countenance which glowed with both, that, perhaps,
alone determined her to return to the world. The grandeur and sublimity
of the scenes, amidst which they had first met, had fascinated her
fancy, and had imperceptibly contributed to render Valancourt more
interesting by seeming to communicate to him somewhat of their own
character. The esteem, too, which St. Aubert had repeatedly expressed
for him, sanctioned this kindness; but, though his countenance and
manner had continually expressed his admiration of her, he had not
otherwise declared it; and even the hope of seeing him again was so
distant, that she was scarcely conscious of it, still less that it
i