“Not these verses, which you just now declared to be so charming? Come, come, let me see whether our opinions are the same. I promise that you shall find in me an indulgent critic.”

The boy produced his paper with seeming reluctance; but the satisfaction which sparkled in his dark expressive eyes betrayed the vanity of his little bosom. The Marquis smiled while he observed the emotions of an heart as yet but little skilled in veiling its sentiments. He seated himself upon a sofa: Theodore, while hope and fear contended on his anxious countenance, waited with inquietude for his master’s decision, while the Marquis read the following lines.

Love and age

The night was dark; the wind blew cold;

Anacreon, grown morose and old,

Sat by his fire, and fed the cheerful flame:

Suddenly the cottage-door expands,

And lo! before him Cupid stands,

Casts round a friendly glance, and greets him by his name.

“What! is it thou?” the startled sire