ung to have had much connexion, either in advantage or in
suffering," he rejoined, "with the erection of the gorgeous dwellings to
which thou alludest."

"This is true, Signore; except as one is the better or worse for those who
have gone before him. I am what I seem, more by the acts of others than by
any faults of my own. I envy not the rich or great, however; for one that
has seen as much of life as I, knows the difference between the gay colors
of the garment, and that of the shrivelled and diseased skin it conceals.
We make our feluccas glittering and fine with paint, when their timbers
work the most, and when the treacherous planks are ready to let in the sea
to drown us."

"Thou hast the philosophy of it, young man, and hast uttered a biting
truth, for those who waste their prime in chasing a phantom. Thou hast
well bethought thee of these matters, for, if content with thy lot, no
palace of our city would make thee happier."

"If, Signore, is a meaning word!--Content is like the north-star--we
seamen steer for it, while none can ever reach it!"

"Am I then deceived in thee, after all? Is thy seeming moderation only
affected; and would'st thou be the patron of the bark in which fortune
hath made thee only a passenger?"

"And a bad fortune it hath proved," returned Maso, laughing. "We appear
fated to pass the night in it, for, so far from seeing any signs of this
land-breeze of which Baptiste has so confidently spoken, the air seems to
have gone to sleep as well as the crew. Thou art accustomed to this
climate, reverend Augustine; is it usual to see so deep a calm on the
Leman at this late season?"

A question like this was well adapted to effect the speaker's wish to
change the discourse, for it very naturally directed the attention of all
present from a subject that was rather tolerated from idleness than
interesting in itself, to the different natural phenomena by which they
were surrounded. The sunset had now fairly passed, and the travellers were
at the witching moment that precedes the final disappearance of the day. A
calm so deep rested on the limpid lake, that it was not easy to
distinguish the line which separated the two elements, in those places
where the blue of the land was confounded with the well-known and peculiar
color of the Leman.

The precise position of the Winkelried was near mid-way between the shores
of Vaud and those of Savoy, though nearer to the first than to the last.
Not anothe