"The sun has disappeared behind the high trees some minutes since, so that I should not have recognized the fennel and the Angelica if I had not bean pretty well acquainted with them. The weather is hot and close: this is a capital opportunity for testing the phenomenon of the fraxinella.

"Varai, bring me a taper".

"Monsieur, there is somebody knocking at the garden gate".

"Give me the taper then, and go and open it"

"Monsieur, I have lit the taper twice, and twice the wind has extinguished it Only hear how they are knocking 1"

In fact, somebody did knock - almost enough to break the gate down.

"Varai, go and open it, pray." A man presents himself whom at first I did not recognise.

"Well Stephen, my good fellow, what a while it is since I have seen thee! I am going to-----------------, and I could not pass so near thy hermitage without passing a few days with thee".

Only at this moment I recognized Edmond. You know, my dear friend, or else you do not know, what Edmond I mean. Perhaps, like me, it would be necessary for you to have him before your eyes to remember that he exists. He had never taken the liberty to tutoyer me in his life. I remember that he once borrowed a few livres of me, of which he never said anything since. Nevertheless, he gave his valise to my servant and said, "Thingummy! What's your name ? Pay the coachman and give him something to drink. Ah! by-the bye, Stephen, I can't think why thou dost not get the road put to rights that leads hither, that is, if thou canst call it a road; it's enough to break one's back. Fortunately, I have not my horses here. I have left them at the top of the hill Hast thou dined?

I had been for some time endeavoring to recover from the stupor into which this arrival or rather this invasion had plunged me, and I racked my invention for a sentence in which there should be neither a thou nor a you, not being willing that the said Edmond should force me to tutoyer him, and being equally unwilling to offend him by not thee and thouing him after he had made use of that mode of speaking towards me, which would have appeared to me equivalent to witholding your hand from a person who stretches out his to you, an insult that can only be caused by a deep resentment I thought I had discovered a sentence.

"Yes, but I have not supped".

"Ah! thou suppest, dost thou? Well, come, that is not too savage; I shall find thee better than thou art reputed to be. I am dying with hunger".

I made a signal to Varai to get supper ready, and we went into the dining room. The cloth was soon laid. Edmond poured himself out two glasses of wine successively. "What wine is this ? - Bordeaux-Dost thou like Bordeaux? - Hast thou no Burgundy ?

Shall I confess my friend, that I felt myself blush whilst humbly stammering that I had but one sort of wine ? And I must tell you all, I was very near making an excuse by saying that my wine-merchants had disappointed me, or some other such subterfuge as is emploped by people in my situation.

"Why didst thou have thy dining-room of this dark-colored wood ? I have a charming one; it is all in white stucco".

"That must be very handsome".

"It is magnificent Upon a mahogany sideboard are Bohemian crystals of the greatest richness.

At this moment I heard in the garden a noise like that made by a wild deer followed by her fawn when roused from a thicket.

"What can that be in the garden ?"

"Ah! cried Edmond, I'll lay a wager it is Phanor".

"What is Phanor?

"A superb pointer, an English dog".

"But he is ruining my garden !"

I rose in haste. Edmond followed me after finishing what was in his plate, saying partly to himself, "It's very astonishing! he generally keeps to the walks." When we gained the garden, we could hear a wild chase across the masses of flowers: a cat first appeared followed by a great dog, which Edmnod called to in vain; the cat dashed into another clump of flowers, and Phanor followed closely at her heels.

"Ah! I'm not astonished at it now; he can't bear cats. Phanor! Phanor! here, Sir I"

The cat jumped over a wall. Phanor sat, eagerly looking after her, at the bottom of it. At length he obeyed the voice of his master; but as he found he had a good chance of being beaten, he slunk back and ran away.

"In the name of Heaven, Edmond, lay hold of your dog, he will break my best rose trees".

"Phanor! come here !""

"But if you show him your cane, he will not come".

"Ay, hut he must be made to come. Phanor, here! Phanor, here I"

"Don't threaten him - call him".

"I must correct him here on the spot. Gome here, Phanor!"

"Well, but correct him when you have got hold of him".

"No, no; he must come in obedience to the cane. Oh, I never let dogs have their own way. Phanor! Phanor, here!"

The dog took a few steps towards his master, but on seeing the cane, again set off. Edmond, in a rage, threw his cane at the dog, which missed him, but knocked off the head of a lilly in bloom. Edmond now pursued the dog exactly as the dog pursued the cat some minutes before; both trampling as if in emulation of each other, upon my most beautiful plants. At length, Varai seized the dog in his passage and held him fast. Edmond rushed towards a tree and tore of a large branch.

"Oh, my Toussaint cherry-tree, which ripens its cherries in October!"

He beat his dog with the finest branch of my cherry-tree.

"Ah, master Phanor! I'll teach you to destroy gardens!"

The evil was done and was irreparable; I demanded grace for Phanor, if it were only for the sake of not hearing him cry. Besides, the branch of the cherry-tree was broken on Phanor's back, and I did not know what tree Edmond would apply to next for a weapon. "Come, come, Edmond, don't beat him any more, the evil is done; besides, it may not be so serious as you imagine".

"Oh, it's not for the few nonsensical bunches of flowers he may have destroyed, my dear Stephen; it is because he disobeyed me that I correct him.1'