"
"Then how did the gentle saint perform her orisons?"
"Please do not so call me, sir! I tried to read the service, but I
could not get the children to be still, so I had to tell them about
Joseph, and I found a beautiful Bible full of pictures, like our
Dutch one at home."
"You found the old Bible? My mother used to show it to my brother
and me--my poor mother!"
He mentioned one or two of the engravings, which he had never
forgotten, but the evening was less of a success than usual, and
Aurelia doubted whether we would wish for her that day se'nnight.
All her dread of him was gone; she knew she had brought a ray of
brightness into his solitary broken life, and her mind was much
occupied with the means of affording him pleasure. Indeed she
might have wearied of the lack of all companionship save that of
the young children; and converse with a clever highly cultivated
mind was stimulating and expanding all her faculties. When the
stores or her memory were becoming exhausted, Jumbo was bidden
to open a case of books which had lain untouched since they were
sent sown from Mr. Belamour's chambers at the Temple, and they were
placed at her disposal. Here was Mr. Alexander Pope's translation
of the _Iliad_ of Homer, which had appeared shortly before the fatal
duel, and Aurelia eagerly learnt whole pages of it by heart for
the evening's amusement, enjoying extremely the elucidations and
criticisms of her auditor, who would dwell on a passage all day,
beg to have it repeated a second time in the evening, and then
tell her what his memory or his reflection had suggested about it.
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