some food. He seated himself 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 made as though he would offer her whatever
he knew as most agreeable to her taste: 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 from which she used to drink; and
after kissing a thousand times these relics of his beloved, to him the
most precious treasures which the world contained, he hid them in his
bosom. Amber does not shed so sweet a perfume as the veriest trifles
touched by those we love. At length, perceiving that the indulgence of
his grief increased that of his mother and Madame de la Tour, and that
the wants of the family demanded continual labour, he began, with the
assistance of Domingo, to repair the damage done to the garden.

But, soon after, this young man, hitherto indifferent as a Creole to
every thing that was passing in the world, begged of me to teach him
to read and write, in order that he might correspond with Virginia. He
afterwards wished to obtain a knowledge of geography, that he might form
some idea of the country where she would disembark; and of history, that
he might know something of the manners of the society in which she would
be placed. The powerful sentiment of love, which directed his present
studies, had already instructed him in agriculture, and in the art of
laying out grounds with advantage and beauty. It must be admitted, that
to the fond dreams of this restless and ardent passion, mankind are
indebted for most of the arts and sciences, while its disappointments
have given birth to philosophy, which teaches us to bear up under
misfortune. Love, thus, the general link of all beings, becomes the
great spring of society, by inciting us to knowledge as well as to
pleasure.

Paul found little satisfaction in the study of geography, which, instead
of describing the natural history of each country, gave only a view of
its political divisions and boundaries. History, and especially modern
history, interested him little more. He there saw only general and
periodical evils, the causes of which he could not discover; wars
without either motive or reason; uninteresting intrigues; with nations
destitute of principle, and princes void of humanity. To this branch
of re