She accordingly rose, but was so weak, she was obliged to lean upon the arm of Madeline in descending the stairs; and was then so exhausted by this exertion, that she had only power to reach a seat beneath the spreading branches of a chestnut;—a seat to which she had often led Madeline, as to one peculiarly dedicated to love and friendship; it owed its formation to her lord, whom the noble size and situation of the tree had charmed; and this circumstance, together with a complimentary line, devoting it to her, was carved upon its rind: in a beautiful opening of the wood it stood, commanding a fine view of the lake, and all around
The violet,
Crocus, and hyacinth, with rich inlay
Broider'd the ground.
"I love the shelter of those venerable boughs (said the Countess); they recall a thousand tender recollections: at such an hour as this, when day was declining, often
