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Paul and Virginia, from the French of Bernardin Saint-Pierre
Paul and Virginia from the French of Bernardin SaintPierre Author:Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: bestowed upon Paul, my daughter Zephora, in mar- ' At other times, she represented the history of Ruth, who, poorand widowed, accompanied her mother-in-law on... more » her return to her native land, and found herself among strangers. Domingo and Mary personated the reapers; Virginia, as Ruth, followed them, and appeared to glean in their track; Paul advanced, and interrogated her with all the gravity of a patriarch; she timidly, and with a faltering voice, replied to his inquiries. Soon, moved with pity by her modesty and misfortunes, he granted her an asylum, where she would meet with a hospitable welcome, and filled her lap with corn. He then led her to the place where we were sitting, as before the old man of the city, and informed us that he intended to take her in marriage, notwithstanding her poverty. This scene, which recalled to Madame de la Tour the destitute state in which she had been left by her family, her early widowhood, the consolations she had met with from the friendship of Margaret, and the delightful anticipations of a happy union between the two children, overpowered her; she could not refrain from weeping ; and the sympathetic feelings of her companions led them to join their tears with hers—but they were tears of mingled joy and sorrow. 'The simplicity with which these dramas were performed, gave them such an air of reality, that I have frequently almost fancied myself transported to the plains of Syria or Palestine. Nor did we want for scenery, lights, or orchestra, to suit therepresentation. We commonly contrived to place the scene in an opening of the forest, where we sat in an alcove formed by the thick foliage of the trees, which sheltered us from the heat of the sun at noon; but when he descended the horizon, his mys diverged among the trees, and appearin...« less