dler enjoy his cigar, in the most enviable of scenes.
Trellised vine-walks zigzagged up the hills to some picturesque shrine
whose modest little spire rose above the olive-trees, or some rude
steps in the rock led down to a little nook, whole white sands glistened
beneath the crystal waters,--such a bath as no Sybarite, in all his most
glowing fancy, ever imagined. And amid all and through all there was
that air of wealth--that assurance of affluence and abundance--which
comes so home to the hearts of men whose sense of enjoyment can only be
gratified where there is to be no sacrifice to their love of ease.
In the noble Viscount's estimation, the place was perfect It was even
associated with the solitary bit of romance of his whole life. It was
here that he passed the first few weeks after his wedding; and though he
had preserved very little of those feelings which imparted happiness
to that period, though her Ladyship did not recall to his mind the
attractions which once had fascinated him,--new glazed and new lacquered
over and over again as was the vase, "the scent of the roses had clung
to it still," The distance that lends enchantment to the material has
also its influence on the moral picture. Memory softens and subdues many
a harsh tint, mellows many an incongruity, and blends into a pleasant
harmony many things which in their proximity were the reverse of
agreeable. Not that we would be understood to say that Lord Lackington's
honeymoon was not like yours, an elysium of happiness and bliss;
we would simply imply that, in recalling it, he only remembered the
rose-tints, and never brought up one of the shadows. He had, in his own
fashion, poetized that little episode of his life, when, dressed in
a fancy and becoming costume, he played gondolier to his young bride,
scaled the mountain to fetch her Alp-roses, and read aloud "Childe
Harold," as he interpolated Harrow recollections of its author. Not one
of these did he now remember; he'd as soon have dreamed of being marker
at a billiard table as of playing the barcarole; and as to mountain
excursions he 'd not have bargained for any success that required the
exertion of a steep staircase.

"There 's a little villa in a bay somewhere hereabouts," said he, as the
boat glided smoothly along; "I should like much to show it to you." This
was addressed to Molly O'Reilly, who sat beside him. "Do you happen to
know La Pace?" asked he of one of the boatmen.

"To be sure I