Straight in front of the seat which he occupied was a marble monument of singular beauty, which naturally attracted his attention. It represented the figure of a very lovely babe, sleeping amongst water-lilies, the attitude and countenance depicting the peaceful slumber of innocence. Below was an inscription, which the boy read with strange emotion:—
IN MEMORY OF
ERNEST,
ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST LORD FONTONORE,
WHO WAS ACCIDENTALLY DROWNED
BEFORE HE HAD COMPLETED THE
FIRST YEAR OF HIS AGE.
“’Tis thus the snow-flake from the skies,
Touching the sod, dissolves and dies;
Ere mists of earth can its whiteness stain,
Raised by the sunbeams to heaven again.
“Though parted now on life’s thorny way,
’Twere weak, ’twere cruel, to wish his stay;
We must toil on through trials, griefs, alarms—