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A young gentleman had just entered in a two-horse carriage, and,

after making a turn about the yard, he stopped before the porch

and descended; his horses, left to themselves, slowly moved

towards the gate, nibbling the grass. The mansion was deserted,

for the porch doors were barred and the bar fastened with a pin.

The traveller did not run to make inquiries at the farmhouse but

opened the door and ran into the mansion, for he was eager to

greet it. It was long since he had seen the house, for he had

been studying in a distant city and had at last finished his

course. He ran in and gazed with eager emotion upon the ancient

walls, his old friends. He sees the same furniture, the same

hangings with which he had loved to amuse himself from babyhood,

but they seemed less beautiful and not so large as of old. And

the same portraits hung upon the walls.