'My brother had a favorite dog, which, before he set off, he presented
to Louisa, and committing it to her care, begged she would be kind to
it, and sometimes remember its master. He checked his rising emotion,
but as he turned from her, I perceived the tear that wetted his cheek.
He departed, and with him the spirit of our happiness seemed to
evaporate. The scenes which his presence had formerly enlivened, were
now forlorn and melancholy, yet we loved to wander in what were once
his favorite haunts. Louisa forbore to mention my brother even to me,
but frequently, when she thought herself unobserved, she would steal
to her harpsichord, and repeat the strain which she had played on the
evening before his departure.
'We had the pleasure to hear from time to time that he was well: and
though his own modesty threw a veil over his conduct, we could collect
from other accounts that he had behaved with great bravery. At length
the time of his return approached, and the enlivened spirits of Louisa
declared the influence he retained in her heart. He returned, bearing
public testimony of his valour in the honors which had been conferred
upon him. He was received with universal joy; the count welcomed him
with the pride and fondness of a father, and the villa became again
the seat of happiness. His person and manners were much improved; the
elegant beauty of the youth was now exchanged for the graceful dignity
of manhood, and some knowledge of the world was added to that of the
sciences. The joy which illumined his countenance when he met Louisa,
spoke at once his admiration and his love; and the blush which her
observation of it brought upon her cheek, would have discovered, even
to an uninterested spectator, that this joy was mutual.
'Orlando brought with him a young Frenchman, a brother officer, who
had rescued him from imminent danger in battle, and whom he introduced
to the count as his preserver. The count received him with gratitude
and distinction, and he was for a considerable time an inmate at the
villa. His manners were singularly pleasing, and his understanding was
cultivated and refined. He soon discovered a partiality for me, and he
was indeed too pleasing to be seen with indifference. Gratitude for
the valuable life he had preserved, was perhaps the groundwork of an
esteem which soon increased into the most affectionate love. Our
attachment grew stronger as our acquaintance increased; and at length
the chevalier de Menon asked me of the count, who consulted my heart,
and finding it favorable to the connection, proceeded to make the
necessary enquiries concerning the family of the stranger. He obtained
a satisfactory and pleasing account of it. The chevalier was the
second son of a French gentleman of large estates in France, who had
been some years deceased. He had left several sons; the family-estate,
of course, devolved to the eldest, but to the two younger he
had bequeathed considerable property. Our marriage was solemnized in a
private manner at the villa, in the presence of the count, Louisa, and
my brother.