Page:The Seaside and the Fireside.djvu/157

the possession of a sum which made him a rich man for life, the kindness of the Duchess gratified him even more.

“ He then made us sit down while he read us two new poems; both charming, and full of grace and naïveté; and one very affecting, being an address to the king, alluding to the death of his son. As he read, his wife stood by, and fearing we did not quite comprehend his language, she made a remark to that effect: to which he answered impatiently, ' Nonsense,—don't you see they are in tears.' This was unanswerable; and we were allowed to hear the poem to the end; and I certainly never listened to any thing more feelingly and energetically delivered.

“ We had much conversation, for he was anxious to detain us, and, in the course of it, he told me that he had been by some accused of vanity. ' O,' he rejoined, ' what would you have! I am a child of nature, and cannot conceal my feelings; the only difference between me and a man of refinement is, that he knows how to conceal his vanity and exultation at success, which I let every body see.'”—Béarn and the Pyrenees, I. 369, et seq.