ABSTRACT
3201828. July 6. Mrs. Aders, an old London friend of mine, who was in the habit of spending her summers at a chateau she had on the Rhine, hearing I was going for a twelvemonth’s tour on the continent, begged me to visit her at Godesberg on my road south. I had read so much of the beauty of the place, and heard so much of the cultivated society she contrived to attract around her, that I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation. When I had been under her roof for a fortnight, fearing to outstay my welcome, I announced my intention of 321leaving on the morrow. The declaration was received with flattering indignation. I was accused of being ennuyé with the place and the people in it. On my expatiating on the enjoyment I had had in my visit, I was challenged to prove the sincerity of my protestations by consenting to prolong my stay another fortnight. ‘You will not regret doing so,’ said my hostess, ‘for I expect those here to-morrow whom I am sure you would like to meet. Who they are I shall not tell you, till I introduce you to them.’ She then reiterated her invitation with such sincere cordiality, that I felt no longer any hesitation in accepting it.
