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Rh "It is too true that nothing realises your previous idea—and then how bitter is your disappointment!" replied Francesca.

"You seem to have acquired much experience in a brief space; it is somewhat soon to be convinced of the worthlessness of pleasure," answered De Joinville, with an almost imperceptible sneer. Slight as the expression was, it had its effect on the young Italian, who instantly resumed her usual silence.

We talk of youth as our happiest season, because, perhaps, we do not begin to moralise upon it till it has been long past. The present sorrow always exceeds its predecessors—not so the present joy; comparison exaggerates the one, while it diminishes the other; and people talk of their youth as if it had not been a period of feverish sensitiveness, awkward embarrassments, many heart-burnings, and an utter want of that self-reliance which alone can ensure content. It is folly to dwell on any season's peculiar happiness; each might in turn be weighed in the balance, and found wanting.

The week following Madame de Mercœur's recovery was one of great gaiety. Fête succeeded fête in honour of the arrival of Christina of Sweden, who seemed to communicate her own