“You should struggle against such feelings; they only render one morbid to no purpose; they make us dissatisfied with the present, and skeptical of the future; it only requires a slight effort of the will to overcome these presentiments; if you indulge in them, Mademoiselle, they will wither your freshness of heart, and impart to your gentle face an expression of gloom.’
“A pause succeeded for a moment; Monsieur de Serval bit his lip, and looked down at the floor; he appeared to be absent in mind and thinking. I could not help admiring his elegant appearance, and classical face; he was the first handsome, accomplished man, I had ever seen, secluded for so many years within the walls of my school. The men I had seen there at the monthly exhibitions, were generally commonplace and unattractive, although many of them were of the nobility of Vienna. Elegance and grace are indeed rare attributes, and almost as rarely to be met with among the nobility, as among the commonalty.
“How fascinating is beauty, and the winning ways some persons possess; how frequently it conceals a depraved heart and bad disposition. Oh, had I known at that moment of time, what I now know, how many days of sorrowful unhappiness might I have been spared the misery of enduring; but youth is presumptuous, self-confident, and conceited. Knowledge of the heart is only acquired by experience, and that generally comes too late to be of use to one; but let me not anticipate: everything has its time.
“Glancing around the room, Monsieur de Serval observed the canary bird, who resting upon his perch, seemed to regard us attentively.
“‘Is that little feathered songster yours, Mademoiselle?’
“‘No, Monsieur, it is Madame Bonni’s little favorite.’
“‘Madame Bonni,’ he repeated, abstractedly.
“‘The lady to whom this house belongs, with whom my teacher and I board.’
“‘Ah, yes, I think I recollect having seen her once; she is a pleasant woman, and companionable for you sometimes, I presume.’