to the country to enjoy the sports and delights of the vintage. A great number of visitors waited on the count or spent whole days at his mansion. Both he and I disliked too much gaiety, and the countess, notwithstanding her being constantly in the midst of it, appeared now more and more depressed by her secret chagrin.
Chance, as adverse as favorable to lovers, unravelled, in fine, on some unhappy day her profoundest secrets. We had a great deal of company, and rather embarrassed in what manner to entertain them, the count proposed a walk after dinner to a mill, romantically situate in our vicinage. The ladies also wishing to accompany the gentlemen, followed them all on foot. The count and I, arm in arm, led the way.
The path grew narrower and narrower the more we approached the mill. To increase the nuisance, a miller's boy, leading a horse, made his appearance, and regardless of the sight of so many noble and respectable characters, and of the outcries of his master, brushed through the middle of us with the
