walking with a few friends. I recognised him at once by his
corpulency and self-complacent air. He received me very well--just
as a rich man receives a poor devil; and turning to me, took my
letter. "Oh, from my brother! it is a long time since I heard from
him: is he well?--Yonder," he went on,--turning to the company, and
pointing to a distant hill--"Yonder is the site of the new
building." He broke the seal without discontinuing the
conversation, which turned upon riches. "The man," he said, "who
does not possess at least a million is a poor wretch." "Oh, how
true!" I exclaimed, in the fulness of my heart. He seemed pleased
at this, and replied with a smile, "Stop here, my dear friend;
afterwards I shall, perhaps, have time to tell you what I think of
this," pointing to the letter, which he then put into his pocket,
and turned round to the company, offering his arm to a young lady:
his example was followed by the other gentlemen, each politely
escorting a lady; and the whole party proceeded towards a little
hill thickly planted with blooming roses.

I followed without troubling any one, for none took the least
further notice of me. The party was in high spirits--lounging about
and jesting--speaking sometimes of trifling matters very seriously,
and of serious matters as triflingly--and exercising their wit in
particular to great advantage on their absent friends and their
affairs. I was too ignorant of what they were talking about to
understand much of it, and too anxious and absorbed in my own
reflections to occupy myself with the solution of such enigmas as
their conversation presented.

By this time we had reached the thicket of roses. The lovely Fanny,
who seemed to be the queen of the day, was obstinately bent on