thoughts; and again a second time with greater force, by becoming at last familiar to it, success might still be his.
Alas! to what an infatuation,—to what an illusion did he yield himself! Would it be possible to discover a more unprincipled dissembler, seeking but the consummation of his selfish views. To bind himself in the bonds of matrimony and the day after what might he expect but to be arrested for debts he had no means of discharging, and by an execution in his house to be deprived of every, the least article of furniture then decorating his spacious and well-arranged apartments. What an opposition is there in the sentiments and feelings of a man like Melliphant to those who in religiously regarding marriage, make the happiness of the beloved object the primary desire of the soul.
Nevertheless, the elated Melliphant, upon bestowing welcome upon his guests, rejoiced at beholding a smile of satisfaction illumine the eloquent countenance of her against whom his arts were directed. On a pier table lay an assortment of valuable prints. An Indian cabinet, consisting of a small but choice collection of petrefactions and fossils, was placed in a recess at the bottom of the room; a few paintings and portraits from the pencil of the most eminent artists adorned the walls. With the nicest care, Melliphant had combined for the entertainment of Rosilia, both in art and science, what he was well
