Page:The Decameron of the West (1839).djvu/163

 in danger of losing their money, that the master of the mansion had shown better taste than his father, in preferring a pavement of marble-mosaic to one of ancient silver coins. The profuse and thoughtless mode of life in which Francis indulged had completely ruined his fortunes, and all that he could save out of the wreck of former affluence was a few family jewels. He now found himself reduced to the necessity of exchanging his splendid apartments for an obscure lodging in a narrow lane, and to become the boarder of a poor but honest man. The frugal kitchen of his host supplied the mere wants of hunger, yet what could divert the toilsome ennui that pressed now so heavily on his soul! Two hundred years ago, there was none of that cheap periodical literature which now fertilizes the minds of the poorer classes of society, and whose ample stores of knowledge are calculated to enlighten the most cultivated ranks of mankind. He tuned his lute, and endeavoured to draw forth sounds which might haply cheer his solitude, but being no proficient in music, that employment soon wearied him. He next, from his elevated situation in the garret, commenced making observations on the still more elevated sky, and thence drawing conclusions regarding the future state of the weather. However, a 2