whole, more of the haughtiness of command, and the quickness of
discernment, than of any other character.

Signor Cavigni, his friend, appeared to be about thirty--inferior in
dignity, but equal to him in penetration of countenance, and superior
in insinuation of manner.

Emily was shocked by the salutation with which Madame Cheron met her
father--'Dear brother,' said she, 'I am concerned to see you look so
very ill; do, pray, have advice!' St. Aubert answered, with a
melancholy smile, that he felt himself much as usual; but Emily's
fears made her now fancy that her father looked worse than he really
did.

Emily would have been amused by the new characters she saw, and the
varied conversation that passed during dinner, which was served in a
style of splendour she had seldom seen before, had her spirits been
less oppressed. Of the guests, Signor Montoni was lately come from
Italy, and he spoke of the commotions which at that period agitated
the country; talked of party differences with warmth, and then
lamented the probable consequences of the tumults. His friend spoke
with equal ardour, of the politics of his country; praised the
government and prosperity of Venice, and boasted of its decided
superiority over all the other Italian states. He then turned to the
ladies, and talked with the same eloquence, of Parisian fashions, the
French opera, and French manners; and on the latter subject he did
not fail to mingle what is so particularly agreeable to French taste.
The flattery was not detected by those to whom it was addressed,
though its effect, in producing submissive attention, did not escape
his observation. When he could disengage himself from the