Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/167

 The morning was beautifully serene, and Elmira showed me the whole of her new premises, which respired neatness and simplicity, blended with elegance. She had also purchased a select collection of good books, and a fine guitar stood in the room neither covered with dust nor out of tune. She had received a young country girl into her service, whom she treated rather as a companion than a menial dependant. This girl had acquired such a degree of cultivation by the example and conversation of her mistress, as to prove worthy of such distinguished treatment. Her mind was well stored with good sense, and The often shortened or rather charmed away the tedious hours of Elmira.

We took breakfast in the garden, in a large bower of lilac-trees, whose shades protected us from the sultriness of the day, and the coolness of the evening. Every spot in this little garden was tastefully laid out, and all the favorite flowers were collected in romantic groups.

"All this," exclaimed Elmira with a kind of enthusiasm, "becomes henceforth the con-