UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 251 



this picturesque country. Madeleine's father was 

 interested by his appearance of ill health, and 

 pleased by the manner in which he expressed 

 his gratitude for the kindness he had received, 

 and therefore invited him, whenever his wander- 

 ings should lead him that way, to take up his 

 quarters at Beaufort. He came more than 

 once in the course of the autumn, and was al- 

 ways welcomed with warmth and hospitality by 

 the good old Swiss and Madeleine. 



At length he bade them adieu, and pursued his 

 way to Italy, leaving them in happiness and pros- 

 perity. At the end of two years he again re- 

 turned, and found them sunk into poverty and 

 misery. The overflowing of the Doron, early in 

 spring, had caused universal destruction in the 

 valley : houses, gardens, and vineyards were 

 swept away, and even the cattle, which were to 

 have gone in a few weeks to the hills, were in- 

 cluded in the general ruin. All was gone 

 a few hours had reduced these amiable people 

 from affluence to absolute want. He who had 

 been master there whose active head and in- 

 dustrious hands had planned so well and executed 

 so much, was now the passive object of his daugh- 

 ter's cares. The shock had irreparably injured 

 his mind, for he had spent his whole fortune in 

 making this place for her, and he had now the 

 melancholy consciousness that both were beg- 

 gars. But Madeleine's energy rose above mis- 



