s, a profusion of satins, pelongs, and gauze of Tonquin, some plain,
and some beautifully decorated with flowers; the soft pekins, downy like
cloth; white and yellow nankeens, and the calicoes of Madagascar.

"Madame de la Tour wished her daughter to purchase every thing she liked;
and Virginia made choice of whatever she believed would be agreeable to her
mother, Margaret, and her son. 'This,' said she, 'will serve for furniture,
and that will be useful to Mary and Domingo.' In short, the bag of piastres
was emptied before she had considered her own wants; and she was obliged to
receive a share of the presents which she had distributed to the family
circle.

"Paul, penetrated with sorrow at the sight of those gifts of fortune, which
he felt were the presage of Virginia's departure, came a few days after to
my dwelling. With an air of despondency he said to me, 'My sister is going;
they are already making preparations for her voyage. I conjure you to come
and exert your influence over her mother and mine, in order to detain her
here.' I could not refuse the young man's solicitations, although well
convinced that my representations would be unavailing.

"If Virginia had appeared to me charming when clad in the blue cloth of
Bengal, with a red handkerchief tied round her head, how much was her
beauty improved, when decorated with the graceful ornaments worn by the
ladies of this country! She was dressed in white muslin, lined with
rose-coloured taffeta. Her small and elegant shape was displayed to
advantage by her corset, and the lavish profusion of her light tresses were
carelessly blended with her simple head-dress. Her fine blue eyes were
filled with an expression of melancholy: and the struggles of passion, with
which her heart was agitated, flushed her cheek, and gave her voice a tone
of emotion. The contrast between her pensive look and her gay habiliments
rendered her more interesting than ever, nor was it possible to see or hear
her unmoved. Paul became more and more melancholy; at length Margaret,
distressed by the situation of her son, took him aside, and said to him,
'Why, my dear son, will you cherish vain hopes, which will only render your
disappointment more bitter! It is time that I should make known to you the
secret of your life and of mine. Mademoiselle de la Tour belongs, by her
mother, to a rich and noble family, while you are but the son of a poor
peasant girl; and, what is worse, you are a natural ch