THE LOVERS.

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; for, lo, the winter
is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the
earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of
the turtle is heard in the land.

--SONG OF SOLOMON.


To a man who is a little of a philosopher, and a bachelor to boot; and
who, by dint of some experience in the follies of life, begins to look
with a learned eye upon the ways of man, and eke of woman; to such a
man, I say, there is something very entertaining in noticing the
conduct of a pair of young lovers. It may not be as grave and
scientific a study as the loves of the plants, but it is certainly as
interesting.

I have, therefore, derived much pleasure, since my arrival at the
Hall, from observing the fair Julia and her lover. She has all the
delightful, blushing consciousness of an artless girl, inexperienced
in coquetry, who has made her first conquest; while the captain
regards her with that mixture of fondness and exultation with which a
youthful lover is apt to contemplate so beauteous a prize.

I observed them yesterday in the garden, advancing along one of the
retired walks. The sun was shining with delicious warmth, making great