When the morning sun darted his
rays into the casement, the fair Inez, attended by the female
domestic, came blushing into the chamber. The student now took his
leave, having himself need of repose, but obtaining ready permission
to return and inquire after the sufferer.
When he called again, he found the alchymist languid and in pain, but
apparently suffering more in mind than in body. His delirium had left
him, and he had been informed of the particulars of his deliverance,
and of the subsequent attentions of the scholar. He could do little
more than look his thanks, but Antonio did not require them; his own
heart repaid him for all that he had done, and he almost rejoiced in
the disaster that had gained him an entrance into this mysterious
habitation. The alchymist was so helpless as to need much assistance;
Antonio remained with him, therefore, the greater part of the day. He
repeated his visit the next day, and the next. Every day his company
seemed more pleasing to the invalid; and every day he felt his
interest in the latter increasing. Perhaps the presence of the
daughter might have been at the bottom of this solicitude.
He had frequent and long conversations with the alchymist. He found
him, as men of his pursuits were apt to be, a mixture of enthusiasm
and simplicity; of curious and extensive reading on points of little
utility, with great inattention to the everyday occurrences of life,
and profound ignorance of the world.
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