128 " Pauvre Genevieve:" a Continental Adoatiure. [Aua. 



poor girl, Genevieve (whom he could not fail to remember, as well as the 

 whole night scene) had survived her lover but a very short time, and was 

 interred in the same grave with k him, in the cemetery of a village, which lay 

 at a little distance from the chateau. He was informed that she had be- 

 come so disordered in her fancy, as to be unable to comprehend the expla- 

 nation given, and to imbibe the strange and horrible impression, that the 

 spirit of her lover had indeed moved from the bed, but being offended 

 with her, had, on her approach, taken an unknown form, in order to 

 escape her embrace and her intimacy. Her dying exclamation was to this 

 effect: "Dear Isidore, since in life you would not know me, perhaps in 

 another world our spirits may be reconciled, and our loves re-united 1" 



Such was the account that my friend gave me of his singular adventure 

 at the chateau in question ; describing it to me, at the same time, as a 

 structure worthy of inspecting, if ever chance led me in that direction. 

 Three years since, on returning through the south of France, from the con- 

 fluence of the Rhone, I found myself in the neighbourhood of Pont Saint- 

 Esprit, and that name recalling the above circumstance to my mind, I re- 

 solved to pay the chateau du Vergney a visit. Twenty-five years had 

 then passed away since the period of my friend's demanding its hospitable 

 shelter for the night; but I had still sufficient curiosity to inquire of the 

 old domestic, who conducted me over the domain, some particulars rela- 

 tive to the above occurrence. He, however, being the servant of another 

 family, and having been but recently placed in care of the chateau, could 

 give me no information ; but my inquiries having been luckily made in the 

 hearing of a dark -eyed lively girl, who had come to him on a message from 

 a neighbouring farm-house, who, it appears, had heard her mother relate the 

 circumstance a thousand times, with the most fascinating alacrity of man- 

 ner she offered to gratify the object of my wishes, by conducting me over 

 the fields to the church-yard, where the lovers had been interred, in the 

 way to her own home. I need not here digress into any panegyric upon 

 women, particularly young ones ; and more particularly those who have 

 dark eyes, delightful spirits, and obliging manners suffice it that I felt tho 

 necessary gratefulness for the kind attentions of the fair little French girl, 

 and she seemed amply repaid for her trouble in the pleasure she had occa- 

 sioned me. 



Our path lay through a few fields, and down a slight hill into the vil- 

 lage of , whose name I forget. The church-yard in question lay at 

 the side of it, adjoining a venerable dilapidated building, which had the 

 appearance of an abbey. The lovers' grave was a little to the right of the 

 foot-path which ran through it. I followed my fair conductor a tew steps, 

 and paused to decipher the inscription on a stone which she pointed to ; 

 having been but rudely and slightly engraved, a great deal of it, from the 

 effects of the weather, was effaced, or indistinct ; but at the bottom the 

 two words were singularly legible of " Pauvre Genvmeve /" B. 



