chimneys mark out upon the walls before mid-day.

The little balcony of wrought iron which advanced in front
of this window was furnished with a pot of red gilliflowers,
another pot of primroses, and an early rose-tree, the
foliage of which, beautifully green, was variegated with
numerous red specks announcing future roses.

In the chamber lighted by this window was a square table,
covered with an old large-flowered Haarlem tapestry; in the
center of this table was a long-necked stone bottle, in
which were irises and lilies of the valley; at each end of
this table was a young girl.

The position of these two young people was singular; they
might have been taken for two boarders escaped from a
convent. One of them, with both elbows on the table, and a
pen in her hand, was tracing characters upon a sheet of fine
Dutch paper; the other, kneeling upon a chair, which allowed
her to advance her head and bust over the back of it to the
middle of the table, was watching her companion as she
wrote, or rather hesitated to write.

Thence the thousand cries, the thousand railleries, the
thousand laughs, one of which, more brilliant than the rest,
had startled the birds in the gardens, and disturbed the
slumbers of Monsieur's guards.

We are taking portraits now; we shall be allowed, therefore,
we hope, to sketch the two last of this chapter.