ceive a little
nourishment. He seated himself with us at table, next to the place which
used to be occupied by the companion of his childhood, and, as if she had
still been present, he spoke to her, and offered whatever he knew was most
agreeable to her taste; and then, starting from this dream of fancy, he
began to weep. For some days he employed himself in gathering together
every thing which had belonged to Virginia; the last nosegays she had worn,
the cocoa shell in which she used to drink; and after kissing a thousand
times those relics of his friend, to him the most precious treasures which
the world contained, he hid them in his bosom. The spreading perfumes of
the amber are not so sweet as the objects which have belonged to those we
love. At length, perceiving that his anguish increased that of his mother
and Madame de la Tour, and that the wants of the family required continual
labour, he began, with the assistance of Domingo, to repair the garden.

"Soon after, this young man, till now indifferent as a Creole with respect
to what was passing in the world, desired I would teach him to read and
write, that he might carry on a correspondence with Virginia. He then
wished to be instructed in geography, in order that he might form a just
idea of the country where she had disembarked; and in history, that he
might know the manners of the society in which she was placed. The powerful
sentiment of love, which directed his present studies, had already taught
him the arts of agriculture, and the manner of laying out the most
irregular grounds with advantage and beauty. It must be admitted, that to
the fond dreams of this restless and ardent passion, mankind are indebted
for a great number of arts and sciences, while its disappointments have
given birth to philosophy, which teaches us to bear the evils of life with
resignation. Thus, nature having made love the general link which binds all
beings, has rendered it the first spring of society, the first incitement
of knowledge as well as pleasure.

"Paul found little satisfaction in the study of geography, which, instead
of describing the natural history of each country, only gave a view of its
political boundaries. History, and especially modern history, interested
him little more. He there saw only general and periodical evils of which he
did not discern the cause; wars for which there was no reason and no
object; nations without principle, and princes without humanity. H