W here applause is
q uick and freq uent, conceit calculates all debts instan-
taneously; k nows what success is owed, and claims its due,
i3
?
q uick and freq uent, conceit calculates all debts instan-
taneously; k nows what success is owed, and claims its due,
i3
?
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
Corinne, enamoured as himself,
replied, " Dispose of me as you will; chain me lik e a
slave to your fate: had not the slaves of other days talents
that soothed their masters? S uch would I be to thee.
B ut, O swald, yet respect her who thus trusts thee: con-
demned by all the world, she must not blush to meet thine
eye. " -- " N o," heex claimed," I willloseall,orallob-
tain. I ought, I must either live thy husband, or die in
stifling the transports of my passion: but I will hope to
be thine before the world, and glory in thy tenderness.
Y et tell me, I conj ure thee, have I not sunk in thine
esteem by all these struggles? Canst thou believe thyself
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? corinne; O R MA L T. 271
less dear than ever? " H is accents were so sincere that,
for awhile, they gave her back her confidence, and the
purest, sweetest rapture animated them both.
Meanwhile the horses stopped. O swald alighted first.
The cold sharp wind almost made him fancy himself landing
in E ngland: this freezing air was not lik e that of I taly,
which bids young breasts forget all things save love. O swald
sunk back into his gloom. Corinne, who k new the un-
settled nature of his fancy, but too well guessed the cause.
O n the morrow they arrived at our L ady of L oretto,
which stands upon an eminence, from whence is seen the
A driatic. W hile O swald gave some orders for their
j ourney, Corinne entered the church, where the image of
the V irgin is enclosed in the choir of a small chapel,
adorned with bas-reliefs. The marble pavement that sur-
rounds the sanctuary is worn by pilgrim k nees. Corinne,
moved by these mark s of prayer, k nelt on the stones so
often pressed by the unfortunate, and addressed the type
of heavenly truth and sensibility. O swald here found her
bathed in tears. H e did not understand how a woman of
her mind could bow to the practices of the ignorant. S he
guessed this by his look s, and said, " Dear O swald, are
there not many moments when we dare not raise our hopes
to the S upreme B eing, or breathe to him the sorrows of
our hearts? I s it not pleasing, then, to behold a woman as
intercessor for our human weak ness? S he suffered on
this earth, for she lived on it; to her I blush not to pray
for you, when a petition to God himself would overawe
me. " -- " J cannot always directly supplicate my Mak er,"
replied O swald. " I , too, have my intercessor: the guardian
angel of children is their father: and since mine has been
in heaven, I have oft received an unex pected solace, aid,
and composure, which I
culous protection whence I
perplex ities. " -- " I
can but attribute to the mira-
still hope to escape from my
comprehend you," said Corinne, " and
believe there is no one who has not some mysterious idea of
his own destiny,-- one event which he has always dreaded,
and which, though improbable, is sure to happen. The
punishment of some fault, though it be impossible to trace
the connection our misfortunes have with it, often strik es
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? 272 corinne; or italt.
the imagination. F rom my childhood I trembled at the
idea of living in E ngland. W ell; my inability to do so
may be my worst regret; and on that point I feel there is
something unconq uerable in my fate, against which I
i struggle in vain. E very one conceives his life interiorly a
contrast to what it seems: we have a confused sense of
some supernatural power, disguised in the form of ex ternal
circumstance, while itself alone is the source of all our
actions. Dear friend, minds capable of reasoning for ever
plunge into their own abyss, but always fail to fathom it. "
O swald, as he heard her speak thus, wondered to find
that, while she was capable of such glowing sentiments, her
j udgment still could hover over them, lik e their presiding
genius. " N o," he freq uently said to himself, " no other
society on earth can satisfy the man who has possessed
such a companion as this. "
They entered A ncona at night, as he wished not to be
recognised: in spite of his precautions, however, he was
so; and the nex t morning all the inhabitants crowded
about the house in which he stayed, awak ing Corinne by
shouts of " L ong live L ord N evil, our benefactor! " S he
started, rose hastily, and mingled with the crowd, to hear
their praises of the man she loved. O swald, informed that
the people were impatiently calling for him, was at last
obliged to appear. H e believed Corinne still slept: what
was his astonishment at finding her already k nown and
cherished by the grateful multitude, who entreated her to
be their-interpretress! Corinne' s imagination -- by turns
her charm and her defect -- delighted in ex traordinary ad-
ventures. S he thank ed L ord N evil, in the name of the
people, with a grace so noble that the natives were in
ecstasies. S peak ing for them, she said, " Y ou preserved
us, -- we owe you our lives! " B ut when she offered him
the oak and laurel crown they had entwined, an indefinite
timidity beset her: the enthusiastic populace prostrated
themselves before him, and Corinne involuntarily bent her
k nee in tendering him the garland. O swald was so over-
whelmed at the sight, that he could no longer support this
scene, nor the public homage of his beloved; but drew her
away with him. S he wept, and thank ed the good inhabit-
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? CO R I K K E J O R I TA L Y . 273
ants of A ncona, who followed them with blessings, as
O swald, hiding himself in his carriage, murmured, " Co-
rinne at my feet! Corinne, in whose path I ought to k neel!
H ave I deserved this? Do you suspect me of such unworthy
pride? " -- " N o, no," she said; " but I was suddenly
seized with the respect a woman always feels for him she
loves. To us, indeed, is ex ternal deference most directed;
but in truth, in nature, it is the woman who reveres the
being capable of defending her. "
" Y es, I will be thy defender, to the last hour of my
life! " he answered. " H
genius shall not in vain seek
love! " -- " A las ! "
eaven be my witness, such a
refuge in the harbour of my
she sighed, " that love is all I need;
and what promise can secure it to me? N o matter. I
feel that you love me now better than ever: let us not
trouble this return of affection. " -- " R eturn! " interrupted
O swald. -- " I cannot retract the ex pression; but let us not
seek to ex plain it; " and she made a gentle sign for N evil
to be silent.
CH A PTE R V I .
F or two days they proceeded on the shore of the A driatic;
but this sea, on the R omagnan side, has not the effect of
the ocean, nor even of the Mediterranean. The high road
winds close to its waves, and grass grows on its bank s:
it is not thus that we would represent the mighty realm
of tempests. A t R imini and Cesena, you q uit the classic
scenes of history: their latest remembrancer is the R u-
bicon, which Ca? sar passed, to become the lord of R
ome.
N ot far from hence is the republic of S t. Marino, the last
weak vestige of liberty, besides the spot on which was re-
solved the destruction of the world' s chief republic. B y
degrees, you now advance towards a country very opposite
in aspect to the Papal state. B ologna, L ombardy, the en-
virons of F errara and R ovigo, are remark able for beauty
and cultivation -- how unlik e the poetic barrenness and
T
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? 274. corinne; or italy.
decay that announce an approach to R ome, and tell of the
terrible events that have occurred there!
Y ou then q uit what S abran calls ' black pines, the sum-
mer' s mourning, but the winter' s bravery,' and the. conical
cypresses that remind one of obelisk s, mountains, and the
sea. N ature, lik e the traveller, now parts from the south-
ern rays. A t first, the oranges are found no longer in the
open air, -- they are succeeded by olives, whose pale and
tender foliage might suit the bowers of the E lysian fields.
F arther on, even the olive disappears.
O n entering B ologna' s smiling plain, the vines garland
the elms together, and the whole land is deck ed as for a
festival. Corinne was sensible of the contrast between her
present state of mind and the resplendent scene she now
beheld. -- " A h, O swald! " she sighed, " ought nature to
spread such images of happiness before two friends per-
haps about to lose each other ? " -- " N o, Corinne ! never!
each day I feel less able to resign thee: that untiring gen-
tleness unites the charm of habit with the love I bear thee.
O ne lives as contentedly with you as if you were not the
finest genius in the world, or, rather, because you are so;
for real superiority confers a perfect goodness, that mak es
one' s peace with one' s self and all the world. W hat angry
thoughts can live in such a presence? " They arrived at
F errara, one of the saddest towns in I taly, vast and de-
serted. The few inhabitants found there, at distant intervals,
loiter on slowly, as if secure of time for all they have to
do. I t is hard to conceive this the scene of that gay
court sung both by Tasso and A riosto; yet still are shown
their manuscripts, with that also of the Pastor F ido. A riosto
k new how to live at ease here, amid courtiers; but the
house is yet to be seen wherein they dared confine Tasso
as a maniac. I t is sad to read the various letters which
he wrote ask ing the death it was so long ere he obtained.
Tasso was so peculiarly organised, that his talent became
its owner' s formidable foe. H is genius dissected his own
heart. H e could not so have read the secrets of the soul
if he had felt less sorrow. The man who has not suffered,
says a prophet, what does he k now 9 I n some respects,
Corinne resembled him. S he was more cheerful and more
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? CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 275
versatile, but her imagination req uired ex treme govern-
ment: far from assuaging any grief, it lent each pang
fresh might. N evil deceived himself if he believed her
brilliant faculties could give her means of happiness apart
from her affections. W hen genius is united with true
feeling, our talents multiply our woes. W e analyse, we
mak e discoveries, and, the heart' s urn of tears being ex -
haustless, the more we think the more we feel it flow.
CH A PTE R V I I .
They embark ed for V enice on the B renta. A t each side
they beheld its palaces, grand but dilapidated, lik e all
I talian magnificence. They are too wildly ornamented
to remind us of the antiq ue: V enetian architecture betrays
a commerce with the E ast: there is a blendure of the
Gothic and Moresco that tak es the eye, though it offends
the taste. The poplar, regular almost as architecture
itself, borders the canals. The sk y' s bright blue sets off
the splendid verdure of the country, which owes its green
to the abundant waters. N ature seems to wear these two
colours in mere coq uetry; and the vague beauty of the
south is found no more. V enice astonishes more than it
pleases at first sight: it look s a city under water; and one
can scarce admire the ambition which disputed this space
with the sea. The amphitheatre of N aples is built as if to
welcome it; but, on the flats of V enice, steeples appear,
lik e masts, immovable in the midst of waves. I n entering
the city, one tak es leave of vegetation; one sees not even
a fly there: all animals are banished ; man alone remains to
battle with the waves. I n a city whose streets are all
canals the silence is profound-- the dash of oars its only
interruption. Y ou cannot fancy yourself in the country,
for you see no trees; nor in a town, for you hear no
bustle; or even on board ship, for you mak e no way; but
in a place which storms would convert into a prison, -- for
T2
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? 276 corinne; or italy.
there are times when you cannot leave the city, nor even
your own house.
Many men in V enice never went from one q uarter to
another,-- never heheld S t. Mark ' s,-- a horse or a tree were
actual miracles to them. The black gondolas glide along
lik e biers or cradles, the last and the first beds of human
k ind. A t night, their dark colour renders them invisible,
and they are only traced by the reflection of the lights
they carry -- one might call them phantoms, guided by
faint stars. I n this abode all is mysterious -- the govern-
ment, the habits, love itself. Doubtless the heart and
reason find much food when they can penetrate this
secrecy, but strangers always feel the first impression sin-
gularly sad.
Corinne, who was a believer in presentiments, and now
made presages of every thing, said to N evil, -- " I
s not the
melancholy that I feel on entering this place a proof that
some great misfortune will befall me here? " A s she said
this, she heard three reports of cannon, from one of the isles
of the L agune -- she started, and enq uired the cause of a
gondolier. -- " I t is a woman tak ing the veil," he said,
" at one of those convents in the midst of the sea. The
custom here is, that the moment such vow is uttered, the
female throws the flowers she wore during the ceremony
behind her, as a sign of her resigning the world, and the
firing you have j ust heard announces this event. " Corinne
shuddered. O swald felt her hand grow cold in his, and
saw a death-lik e pallor overspread her face. -- " My life!
he cried, " why give this importance to so simple a
chance ? " -- " I t is not simple," she replied. " I
have thrown the flowers of youth behind me. " -- " H ow!
"
, too,
' when I love thee more than ever? when my whole soul is
thine ? " -- " The thunders of war," she continued, " else-
where devoted to victory or death, here celebrate the
obscure sacrifice of a maiden -- an innocent employment
for the arms that shak e the world with terror: -- a solemn
message from a resigned woman to those of her sisters
who still contend with fate. "
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 277
CH A PTE R V I I I .
The power of V enetian government, during its latter years,
has almost entirely consisted in the empire of habit and
association of ideas. I t once was formidably daring, it
has become lenient and timorous: hate of its past potency
is easily revived, and easily subdued, by the thought that
its might is over. The aristocracy woo the favour of the
people, and yet by a k ind of despotism, since they rather
amuse than enlighten them; an agreeable state enough,
while the common herd are afforded no pleasures that can
brutify their minds, while the government watches over its
subj ects lik e a sultan over his harem, forbidding them to
meddle with politics, or presume to form any j udgment of
ex isting authorities, but allowing them sufficient diversion,
and not a little glory. The spoils of Constantinople enrich
the churches; the standards of Cyprus and Candia float over
the Piazza; the Corinthian horses delight the eye; and the
winged lion of S t. Mark ' s appears the type of fame. The
situation of the city rendering agriculture and the chase
impossible, nothing is left for the V enetians but dissipation.
Their dialect is soft and light as a zephyr. O ne can hardly
conceive how the people who resisted the league of Cambray
should speak so flex ible a tongue: it is charming while ex -
pressive of graceful pleasantry, but suits not graver themes;
verses on death, for instance, breathed in these delicate and
almost infantine accents, sound more lik e the descriptions
of poetic fable. The V enetians are the most intelligent
men in I taly; they think more deeply, though with less
ardent fancies than their southern countrymen; yet, for
the most part, the women, though very agreeable, have
acq uired a sentimentality of language, which, without
restraining their morals, merely lends their gallantry an
air of affectation. There is more vanity, as there is more
society, here, than in the rest of I taly.
W here applause is
q uick and freq uent, conceit calculates all debts instan-
taneously; k nows what success is owed, and claims its due,
i3
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? 278 corinne; or italy.
without giving a minute' s credit. I ts bills must be paid
at sight. S till much originality may be found in V enice.
L adies of the highest rank receive visits in the cafes, and
this strange confusion prevents their salons becoming the
arenas of serious self-love. There yet remain here some
ancient usages that evince a respect for their forefathers,
and a certain youth of heart which tires not of the past,
nor shrink s from melting recollections. The sight of the
city itself is always sufficient to awak en a host of memories.
The Piazza is crowded by blue tents, beneath which rest
Turk s, Greek s, and A rmenians, who sometimes also loll
carelessly in open boats, with stands of flowers at their
feet. S t. Mark ' s,too,look sratherlik eamosq uethana
Christian temple; and its vicinity gives a true idea of
the oriental indolence with which life is spent here, in
drink ing sherbet, and smok ing perfumed pipes.
Men and women of q uality never leave their houses,
ex cept in black mantles; while the gondolas are often
winged along by rowers clad in white, with rose-colour
sashes, as if holiday array were abandoned to the vulgar,
while the nobility k ept up a vow of perpetual mourning.
I n most E uropean towns, authors are obliged carefully to
avoid depicting the daily routine; for our customs, even in
lux ury, are rarely poetic; but in V enice nothing appears
coarse; the canals, the boats, mak e pictures of the com-
monest events in life.
O n the q uay of the galleys you constantly encounter
puppet shows, mountebank s, and story-tellers; the last are
worthy of remark . I t is usually some episode from Tasso or
A riosto which they relate in prose, to the great admiration
of their hearers, who sit round the speak er half clad, and
motionless with curiosity; from time to time they purchase
glasses of water, as wine is bought elsewhere, and this
refreshment is all they tak e for hours, so strongly are their
minds interested. The narrator uses the most animating
gestures; his voice is raised; he irritates himself; he grows
pathetic; and yet one sees, all the while, that at heart he is
perfectly unmoved. O ne might say to him, as did S appho
to the Circean nymph, who, in perfect sobriety, was as-
suming fury, -- " B acchante-- who art not drunk -- what
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? corinne; or italy. 279
wouldst thou with me? " Y
the south does not appear q
habit handed down from the R
et the lively pantomime of
uite artificial: it is a singular
omans, and springing from
q uick ness of disposition. A people so enslaved by pleasure
may soon be alarmed by the dream of power in which the
V enetian government is veiled. N ever are soldiers seen
there. I f even a drummer appears in their comedies they
are all astonishment; yet a state inq uisitor needs but show
himself to restore order among thirty thousand people,
assembled for a public fete. I t were well if this influence
was derived from a respect for the laws; but it. is fortified
by terror of the secret means which may still be used to
preserve the peace. The prisons are in the very palace of
the Doge, above and below his apartments. The L ion'
Mouth, into which all denunciations are thrown, is also
here; the hall of trial is hung with black , and mak
j udgment appear anticipating condemnation. The B
of S ighs leads from the palace to the state prison. I
s
es
ridge
n pass-
ing the canal, how oft were heard the cries of " J ustice!
Mercy! " in voices that could be no longer recognised.
W hen a state criminal was sentenced, a bark removed him
in the night, by a little gate that opens on the water: he
was tak en some distance from the city, to a part of the
L agune where fishing is prohibited, and there drowned:
thus secrecy is perpetuated, even after death, not leaving
the unhappy wretch a hope that his remains may inform
those who loved him that he suffered, and is no more.
W hen L ord N evil and Corinne visited V enice, these ex e-
cutions had not tak en place for nearly a century: but suffi-
cient mystery still ex isted; and, though O swald was the last
man to interfere with the politics of foreign lands, he felt
oppressed by this arbitrary power, from which there was no
appeal, that seemed to hang over every head in V enice.
CH A PTE R I X .
" Y ou must not," said Corinne, " give way merely to the
gloomy impressions which these silent proceedings have
t4
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? 280CO R I N N E ; O H I TA L Y .
created; you ought also to observe the great q ualities of
this senate, which mak es V enice a republic for nobles,
and formerly inspired that aristocratic energy, the result
of freedom, even though concentrated in the few. Y ou
will find them severe on one another, at least establishing,
in their own breasts, the rights and virtues that should
belong to all. Y ou will see them as paternal towards their
subj ects as they can be, while merely considering that
class of men with reference to physical prosperity. Y ou
will detect a great pride in the country which is their
property, and an art of endearing it even to the people,
whom they allow so few actual possessions there. "
Corinne and O swald visited the hall where the great
council was then assembled. I t is hung with portraits
of the Doges; on the space which would have been occu-
pied by that of F aliero, who was beheaded as a traitor,
is painted a black curtain, whereon is written the date
and manner of his death. The regal magnificence of the
other pictures adds to the effect of this ghastly pall. There
is also a representation of the L ast J udgment, another of
the powerful emperor, F rederic B arbarossa, humbling him-
self to the V enetian senate. I t was a fine idea thus to
unite all that can ex alt pride upon earth, and bend it
before H eaven.
They proceeded to the arsenal: before its gates are two
Grecian lions, brought from A thens, to become the guar-
dians of V enetian power. Motionless guardians, that defend
but what they respect. This repository is full of marine
trophies. The famous ceremony of the doge' s marriage
with the A driatic, in fact, all the institutions, here attest
their gratitude to the sea: in this respect they resemble
the E nglish, and N evil strongly felt the similarity. Co-
rinne now led him to the tower called the S teeple of S t.
Mark ' s, though some paces from the church. Thence is
seen the whole city of the waves, and the huge embank -
ment which defends it from inundation. The coasts of
I stria and Dalmatia are in the distance. " B ehind the
clouds, on this side, lies Greece," said Corinne: " is not
that thought enough to stir the heart? There still are
men of lively, ardent characters, victims to fate; yet
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? corinne; or italy. 281
destined, perhaps, some day, to resuscitate the ashes of
their sires. I t is always something for a land to have
been great; its natives blush at least beneath degradation;
while, in a country never consecrated to fame, the in-
habitants do not even suspect that there can be a nobler
doom than the obscure servility beq ueathed to them by
their fathers. Dalmatia, which was of yore occupied by
so warlik e a race, still preserves something of the savage.
I ts natives are so little aware of the changes wrought by
fifteen centuries, that they still deem the R omans ' all-
powerful ; ' yet they betray more modern k
calling the E nglish ' the heroes of the sea,'
have so often landed in their ports; but they k
nowledge, by
because you
now no-
thing about the rest of the world. I love all realms where,
in the manners, customs, language, something original is
left. Civilised life is so monotonous; you k now its secrets
in so short a time; I have already lived long enough for
that. " -- " L iving with you," said N evil, " can we ever
behold the end of new thoughts and sensations? " -- " God
grant that such may prove ex haustless ! " she replied, con-
tinuing,-- " L et us give one moment more to Dalmatia:
when we descend from this height we shall still see the
uncertain lines which mark that land, as indistinctly as
a tender recollection in the memory of man. There are
improvisatores among the Dalmatians as among the sa-
vages;
always ex
vanity. N
they were found, too, with the Grecians, and almost
ist where there is much imagination, and little
atural talent turns rather to epigram, in coun-
tries where a fear of ridicule mak es every man anx ious to
be the first who secures that weapon; but people thrown
much with N ature feel a reverence for her that greatly
nurtures fancy. ' Caverns are sacred,' say the Dalmatians,
doubtless thus ex pressing an indefinite terror of the old
earth' s secrets. Their poetry, S outherns though they be,
resembles O ssian' s; but there are only two ways of feeling
the charms of nature. Men either animate and deify
them, as did the ancients, beneath a thousand brilliant
shapes, or, lik e the S cottish bards, yield to the melancholy
fear inspired by the unk nown. S ince I met you, O swald,
this last manner has best pleased me. F ormerly I had
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? 282 corinne; or italy.
vivacious hope enough to prefer a fearless enj oyment of
smiling imagery. " -- " I t is I , then," said N evil, " who
have withered the fair ideal, to which I owed the richest
pleasures of my life. " --
my own passion. Talent req
as true love destroys. " --
" N o, you are not in fault, but
uires internal freedom, such
" A h! if you mean that your
genius may lose its voice, and your heart speak but for
me " H e could not proceed, the words promised
more to his mind than he dared utter. Corinne guessed
this, and would not answer, lest she should dissipate their
present hopes. S he felt herself beloved, and, used to live
where men lose all for love, she was easily persuaded
that N evil could not leave her. A t once ardent and in-
dolent, she deemed a danger past which was no longer
mentioned. S he lived as many others do, who have been
long menaced by the same misfortune, and think it will
never happen, merely because it has not done so yet.
The air of V enice, and the life led there, is singularly
calculated for lulling the mind into security: the very boats,
peacefully rock ing to and fro, induce a languid reverie;
now and then a gondolier on the R ialto sings a stanza from
Tasso; one of his fellows answers him, by the nex t
verse, from the ex tremity of the canal. The very antiq ue
music they employ is lik e church psalmody, and mono-
tonous enough when near: but, on the evening breeze, it
floats over the waters lik e the last beams of the sun; and,
aided by the sentiment it ex presses, in such a scene, it
cannot be heard without a gentle pensiveness. O swald
and Corinne remained on the canals, side by side, for
hours; often without a word; holding each other' s hands,
and yielding to the formless dreams inspired by love and
nature.
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? corinne; or italy. 283
BOOKXVI.
PA R TI N GA N DA B S E N CE .
CH A PTE R I . x
A s soon as Corinne' s arrival was k nown in V enice, it
ex cited the greatest curiosity. W hen she went to a cafe
in the piazza of S t. Mark , its galleries were crowded, for
a moment' s glimpse at her; and the best society sought
her with eager haste. S he had once loved to produce this
effect wherever she appeared, and naturally confessed that
admiration had many charms for her. Genius inspires
this thirst for fame: there is no blessing undesired by
those to whom H eaven gave the means of winning it. Y
in her present situation she dreaded every tiling in oppo-
sition with the domestic habits so dear to N evil. Corinne
was blind to her own welfare, in attaching herself to a
man lik ely rather to repress than to ex cite her talents;
it is easy to conceive why a woman, occupied by literature
and the arts, should love the tastes that differed from her
own. O ne is so often weary of one' s self, that a resem-
blance of that self would never tempt affection, which
req uires a harmony of sentiment, but a contrast of cha-
racter; many sympathies, but not unvaried congeniality.
et
but
N evil was supremely blessed with this double charm. H is
gentle ease and gracious manner could never sate, because
his liability to clouds and storms k ept up a constant in-
terest. A lthough the depth and ex tent of his acq uire-
ments fitted him for any life, his political opinions and
military bias inclined him rather to a career of arms than
one of letters,-- the thought that action might be mors
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? 284CO R I N N E J O B I TA L Y .
poetical than even verse itself. H e was superior to the
success of his own mind, and spok e of it with much in-
, difference. Corinne strove to please him by imitating
this carelessness of literary glory; in order to grow more
lik e the retiring females for whom E nglish womanhood
offers the best model. Y et the homage she received at
V enice gave O swald none but agreeable sensations. There
was so much cordial good breeding in the reception she
met, the V enetians ex pressed the pleasure her conversation
afforded them with such vivacity, that O swald felt proud
of being dear to one so universally admired. H e was no
longer j ealous of her celebrity, certain that she prized him
far above it; and his own love increased by every tribute
I she elicited. H e forgot E ngland, and revelled in the
I talian heedlessness of days to come. Corinne perceived
this change; and her imprudent heart welcomed it, as if
to last for ever.
I talian is the only tongue whose dialects are almost
languages of themselves. I n that of each state book s
might be written distinct from the standard I
though only the N eapolitan, S icilian, and V
have yet the honour of being ack nowledged;
talian;
enetian dialects
and that of
V enice as the most original, most graceful of all. Corinne
pronounced it charmingly; and the manner in which she
sung some lively barcaroles proved that she could act
comedy as well as tragedy. S he was pressed to tak e a
part in an opera which some of her new friends intended
playing the nex t week . S ince she had loved O swald she
concealed this talent from him, not feeling sufficient peace
of mind for its ex ercise, or, at other times, fearing that
any outbreak of high spirits might be followed by mis-
fortune; but now, with unwonted confidence, she con-
sented, as he, too, j oined in the req
that she should perform in a piece, lik
composed of the most diverting fairy ex
uest; and it was agreed
e most of Gozzi' s,
travagances. (3)
Truffaldin and Pantaloon, in these burlesq ues, often j ostle
the greatest monarchs of the earth. The marvellous fur-
nishes them with j ests, which, from their very order,
cannot approach to low vulgarity. The Child of the A ir,
or S emiramis in her Y outh, is a coq uette, endowed by tha
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 285
celestials and infernals to subj ugate the world; bred in
a desert, lik e a savage, cunning as a sorceress, and im-
perious as a q ueen, she unites natural wildness with pre-
meditated grace, and a warrior' s courage with the frivolity
of a woman. The character demands a fund of fanciful
drollery, which but the inspiration of the moment can
bring to light.
CH A PTE R I I .
F ate sometimes has its own strange cruel sport, repulsing
our presuming familiarity. O ft, when we yield to hope,
calculate on success, and trifle with our destiny, the sable
thread is blending with its tissue, and the weird sisters
dash down the airy fabrics we have reared.
I t was now N ovember; yet Corinne arose enchanted
with her prospects. F or the first act she chose a very
picturesq ue costume: her hair, though dishevelled, was
arranged with an evident design of pleasing; her light
fantastic garb gave her noble form a most mischievously
attractive air. S he reached the palace where she was to
play. E very one but O swald had arrived. S he deferred
the performance as long as possible, and began to be uneasy
at his absence; when she came on the stage, however, she
perceived him, though he sat in a remote part of the hall,
and the pain of having waited redoubled her j oy. S he was
as inspired by gaiety as she had been at the Capitol by en-
thusiasm. This drama blends song with speech, and even
gives opportunities for ex tempore dialogue, of which Co-
rinne availed herself to render the scene more animated.
S he sung the buffa airs with peculiar elegance. H er
gestures were at once comic and dignified. S he ex torted
laughter, without ceasing to be imposing. H er talents,
lik e her part, q ueened it over actors and spectators, plea-
santly bantering both parties. A h! who would not have
wept over such a sight, could they have k nown that this
bright armour but drew down the lightning, that this triumph-
ant mirth would soon give place to bitter desolation? The
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replied, " Dispose of me as you will; chain me lik e a
slave to your fate: had not the slaves of other days talents
that soothed their masters? S uch would I be to thee.
B ut, O swald, yet respect her who thus trusts thee: con-
demned by all the world, she must not blush to meet thine
eye. " -- " N o," heex claimed," I willloseall,orallob-
tain. I ought, I must either live thy husband, or die in
stifling the transports of my passion: but I will hope to
be thine before the world, and glory in thy tenderness.
Y et tell me, I conj ure thee, have I not sunk in thine
esteem by all these struggles? Canst thou believe thyself
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? corinne; O R MA L T. 271
less dear than ever? " H is accents were so sincere that,
for awhile, they gave her back her confidence, and the
purest, sweetest rapture animated them both.
Meanwhile the horses stopped. O swald alighted first.
The cold sharp wind almost made him fancy himself landing
in E ngland: this freezing air was not lik e that of I taly,
which bids young breasts forget all things save love. O swald
sunk back into his gloom. Corinne, who k new the un-
settled nature of his fancy, but too well guessed the cause.
O n the morrow they arrived at our L ady of L oretto,
which stands upon an eminence, from whence is seen the
A driatic. W hile O swald gave some orders for their
j ourney, Corinne entered the church, where the image of
the V irgin is enclosed in the choir of a small chapel,
adorned with bas-reliefs. The marble pavement that sur-
rounds the sanctuary is worn by pilgrim k nees. Corinne,
moved by these mark s of prayer, k nelt on the stones so
often pressed by the unfortunate, and addressed the type
of heavenly truth and sensibility. O swald here found her
bathed in tears. H e did not understand how a woman of
her mind could bow to the practices of the ignorant. S he
guessed this by his look s, and said, " Dear O swald, are
there not many moments when we dare not raise our hopes
to the S upreme B eing, or breathe to him the sorrows of
our hearts? I s it not pleasing, then, to behold a woman as
intercessor for our human weak ness? S he suffered on
this earth, for she lived on it; to her I blush not to pray
for you, when a petition to God himself would overawe
me. " -- " J cannot always directly supplicate my Mak er,"
replied O swald. " I , too, have my intercessor: the guardian
angel of children is their father: and since mine has been
in heaven, I have oft received an unex pected solace, aid,
and composure, which I
culous protection whence I
perplex ities. " -- " I
can but attribute to the mira-
still hope to escape from my
comprehend you," said Corinne, " and
believe there is no one who has not some mysterious idea of
his own destiny,-- one event which he has always dreaded,
and which, though improbable, is sure to happen. The
punishment of some fault, though it be impossible to trace
the connection our misfortunes have with it, often strik es
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? 272 corinne; or italt.
the imagination. F rom my childhood I trembled at the
idea of living in E ngland. W ell; my inability to do so
may be my worst regret; and on that point I feel there is
something unconq uerable in my fate, against which I
i struggle in vain. E very one conceives his life interiorly a
contrast to what it seems: we have a confused sense of
some supernatural power, disguised in the form of ex ternal
circumstance, while itself alone is the source of all our
actions. Dear friend, minds capable of reasoning for ever
plunge into their own abyss, but always fail to fathom it. "
O swald, as he heard her speak thus, wondered to find
that, while she was capable of such glowing sentiments, her
j udgment still could hover over them, lik e their presiding
genius. " N o," he freq uently said to himself, " no other
society on earth can satisfy the man who has possessed
such a companion as this. "
They entered A ncona at night, as he wished not to be
recognised: in spite of his precautions, however, he was
so; and the nex t morning all the inhabitants crowded
about the house in which he stayed, awak ing Corinne by
shouts of " L ong live L ord N evil, our benefactor! " S he
started, rose hastily, and mingled with the crowd, to hear
their praises of the man she loved. O swald, informed that
the people were impatiently calling for him, was at last
obliged to appear. H e believed Corinne still slept: what
was his astonishment at finding her already k nown and
cherished by the grateful multitude, who entreated her to
be their-interpretress! Corinne' s imagination -- by turns
her charm and her defect -- delighted in ex traordinary ad-
ventures. S he thank ed L ord N evil, in the name of the
people, with a grace so noble that the natives were in
ecstasies. S peak ing for them, she said, " Y ou preserved
us, -- we owe you our lives! " B ut when she offered him
the oak and laurel crown they had entwined, an indefinite
timidity beset her: the enthusiastic populace prostrated
themselves before him, and Corinne involuntarily bent her
k nee in tendering him the garland. O swald was so over-
whelmed at the sight, that he could no longer support this
scene, nor the public homage of his beloved; but drew her
away with him. S he wept, and thank ed the good inhabit-
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? CO R I K K E J O R I TA L Y . 273
ants of A ncona, who followed them with blessings, as
O swald, hiding himself in his carriage, murmured, " Co-
rinne at my feet! Corinne, in whose path I ought to k neel!
H ave I deserved this? Do you suspect me of such unworthy
pride? " -- " N o, no," she said; " but I was suddenly
seized with the respect a woman always feels for him she
loves. To us, indeed, is ex ternal deference most directed;
but in truth, in nature, it is the woman who reveres the
being capable of defending her. "
" Y es, I will be thy defender, to the last hour of my
life! " he answered. " H
genius shall not in vain seek
love! " -- " A las ! "
eaven be my witness, such a
refuge in the harbour of my
she sighed, " that love is all I need;
and what promise can secure it to me? N o matter. I
feel that you love me now better than ever: let us not
trouble this return of affection. " -- " R eturn! " interrupted
O swald. -- " I cannot retract the ex pression; but let us not
seek to ex plain it; " and she made a gentle sign for N evil
to be silent.
CH A PTE R V I .
F or two days they proceeded on the shore of the A driatic;
but this sea, on the R omagnan side, has not the effect of
the ocean, nor even of the Mediterranean. The high road
winds close to its waves, and grass grows on its bank s:
it is not thus that we would represent the mighty realm
of tempests. A t R imini and Cesena, you q uit the classic
scenes of history: their latest remembrancer is the R u-
bicon, which Ca? sar passed, to become the lord of R
ome.
N ot far from hence is the republic of S t. Marino, the last
weak vestige of liberty, besides the spot on which was re-
solved the destruction of the world' s chief republic. B y
degrees, you now advance towards a country very opposite
in aspect to the Papal state. B ologna, L ombardy, the en-
virons of F errara and R ovigo, are remark able for beauty
and cultivation -- how unlik e the poetic barrenness and
T
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? 274. corinne; or italy.
decay that announce an approach to R ome, and tell of the
terrible events that have occurred there!
Y ou then q uit what S abran calls ' black pines, the sum-
mer' s mourning, but the winter' s bravery,' and the. conical
cypresses that remind one of obelisk s, mountains, and the
sea. N ature, lik e the traveller, now parts from the south-
ern rays. A t first, the oranges are found no longer in the
open air, -- they are succeeded by olives, whose pale and
tender foliage might suit the bowers of the E lysian fields.
F arther on, even the olive disappears.
O n entering B ologna' s smiling plain, the vines garland
the elms together, and the whole land is deck ed as for a
festival. Corinne was sensible of the contrast between her
present state of mind and the resplendent scene she now
beheld. -- " A h, O swald! " she sighed, " ought nature to
spread such images of happiness before two friends per-
haps about to lose each other ? " -- " N o, Corinne ! never!
each day I feel less able to resign thee: that untiring gen-
tleness unites the charm of habit with the love I bear thee.
O ne lives as contentedly with you as if you were not the
finest genius in the world, or, rather, because you are so;
for real superiority confers a perfect goodness, that mak es
one' s peace with one' s self and all the world. W hat angry
thoughts can live in such a presence? " They arrived at
F errara, one of the saddest towns in I taly, vast and de-
serted. The few inhabitants found there, at distant intervals,
loiter on slowly, as if secure of time for all they have to
do. I t is hard to conceive this the scene of that gay
court sung both by Tasso and A riosto; yet still are shown
their manuscripts, with that also of the Pastor F ido. A riosto
k new how to live at ease here, amid courtiers; but the
house is yet to be seen wherein they dared confine Tasso
as a maniac. I t is sad to read the various letters which
he wrote ask ing the death it was so long ere he obtained.
Tasso was so peculiarly organised, that his talent became
its owner' s formidable foe. H is genius dissected his own
heart. H e could not so have read the secrets of the soul
if he had felt less sorrow. The man who has not suffered,
says a prophet, what does he k now 9 I n some respects,
Corinne resembled him. S he was more cheerful and more
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? CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 275
versatile, but her imagination req uired ex treme govern-
ment: far from assuaging any grief, it lent each pang
fresh might. N evil deceived himself if he believed her
brilliant faculties could give her means of happiness apart
from her affections. W hen genius is united with true
feeling, our talents multiply our woes. W e analyse, we
mak e discoveries, and, the heart' s urn of tears being ex -
haustless, the more we think the more we feel it flow.
CH A PTE R V I I .
They embark ed for V enice on the B renta. A t each side
they beheld its palaces, grand but dilapidated, lik e all
I talian magnificence. They are too wildly ornamented
to remind us of the antiq ue: V enetian architecture betrays
a commerce with the E ast: there is a blendure of the
Gothic and Moresco that tak es the eye, though it offends
the taste. The poplar, regular almost as architecture
itself, borders the canals. The sk y' s bright blue sets off
the splendid verdure of the country, which owes its green
to the abundant waters. N ature seems to wear these two
colours in mere coq uetry; and the vague beauty of the
south is found no more. V enice astonishes more than it
pleases at first sight: it look s a city under water; and one
can scarce admire the ambition which disputed this space
with the sea. The amphitheatre of N aples is built as if to
welcome it; but, on the flats of V enice, steeples appear,
lik e masts, immovable in the midst of waves. I n entering
the city, one tak es leave of vegetation; one sees not even
a fly there: all animals are banished ; man alone remains to
battle with the waves. I n a city whose streets are all
canals the silence is profound-- the dash of oars its only
interruption. Y ou cannot fancy yourself in the country,
for you see no trees; nor in a town, for you hear no
bustle; or even on board ship, for you mak e no way; but
in a place which storms would convert into a prison, -- for
T2
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? 276 corinne; or italy.
there are times when you cannot leave the city, nor even
your own house.
Many men in V enice never went from one q uarter to
another,-- never heheld S t. Mark ' s,-- a horse or a tree were
actual miracles to them. The black gondolas glide along
lik e biers or cradles, the last and the first beds of human
k ind. A t night, their dark colour renders them invisible,
and they are only traced by the reflection of the lights
they carry -- one might call them phantoms, guided by
faint stars. I n this abode all is mysterious -- the govern-
ment, the habits, love itself. Doubtless the heart and
reason find much food when they can penetrate this
secrecy, but strangers always feel the first impression sin-
gularly sad.
Corinne, who was a believer in presentiments, and now
made presages of every thing, said to N evil, -- " I
s not the
melancholy that I feel on entering this place a proof that
some great misfortune will befall me here? " A s she said
this, she heard three reports of cannon, from one of the isles
of the L agune -- she started, and enq uired the cause of a
gondolier. -- " I t is a woman tak ing the veil," he said,
" at one of those convents in the midst of the sea. The
custom here is, that the moment such vow is uttered, the
female throws the flowers she wore during the ceremony
behind her, as a sign of her resigning the world, and the
firing you have j ust heard announces this event. " Corinne
shuddered. O swald felt her hand grow cold in his, and
saw a death-lik e pallor overspread her face. -- " My life!
he cried, " why give this importance to so simple a
chance ? " -- " I t is not simple," she replied. " I
have thrown the flowers of youth behind me. " -- " H ow!
"
, too,
' when I love thee more than ever? when my whole soul is
thine ? " -- " The thunders of war," she continued, " else-
where devoted to victory or death, here celebrate the
obscure sacrifice of a maiden -- an innocent employment
for the arms that shak e the world with terror: -- a solemn
message from a resigned woman to those of her sisters
who still contend with fate. "
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 277
CH A PTE R V I I I .
The power of V enetian government, during its latter years,
has almost entirely consisted in the empire of habit and
association of ideas. I t once was formidably daring, it
has become lenient and timorous: hate of its past potency
is easily revived, and easily subdued, by the thought that
its might is over. The aristocracy woo the favour of the
people, and yet by a k ind of despotism, since they rather
amuse than enlighten them; an agreeable state enough,
while the common herd are afforded no pleasures that can
brutify their minds, while the government watches over its
subj ects lik e a sultan over his harem, forbidding them to
meddle with politics, or presume to form any j udgment of
ex isting authorities, but allowing them sufficient diversion,
and not a little glory. The spoils of Constantinople enrich
the churches; the standards of Cyprus and Candia float over
the Piazza; the Corinthian horses delight the eye; and the
winged lion of S t. Mark ' s appears the type of fame. The
situation of the city rendering agriculture and the chase
impossible, nothing is left for the V enetians but dissipation.
Their dialect is soft and light as a zephyr. O ne can hardly
conceive how the people who resisted the league of Cambray
should speak so flex ible a tongue: it is charming while ex -
pressive of graceful pleasantry, but suits not graver themes;
verses on death, for instance, breathed in these delicate and
almost infantine accents, sound more lik e the descriptions
of poetic fable. The V enetians are the most intelligent
men in I taly; they think more deeply, though with less
ardent fancies than their southern countrymen; yet, for
the most part, the women, though very agreeable, have
acq uired a sentimentality of language, which, without
restraining their morals, merely lends their gallantry an
air of affectation. There is more vanity, as there is more
society, here, than in the rest of I taly.
W here applause is
q uick and freq uent, conceit calculates all debts instan-
taneously; k nows what success is owed, and claims its due,
i3
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? 278 corinne; or italy.
without giving a minute' s credit. I ts bills must be paid
at sight. S till much originality may be found in V enice.
L adies of the highest rank receive visits in the cafes, and
this strange confusion prevents their salons becoming the
arenas of serious self-love. There yet remain here some
ancient usages that evince a respect for their forefathers,
and a certain youth of heart which tires not of the past,
nor shrink s from melting recollections. The sight of the
city itself is always sufficient to awak en a host of memories.
The Piazza is crowded by blue tents, beneath which rest
Turk s, Greek s, and A rmenians, who sometimes also loll
carelessly in open boats, with stands of flowers at their
feet. S t. Mark ' s,too,look sratherlik eamosq uethana
Christian temple; and its vicinity gives a true idea of
the oriental indolence with which life is spent here, in
drink ing sherbet, and smok ing perfumed pipes.
Men and women of q uality never leave their houses,
ex cept in black mantles; while the gondolas are often
winged along by rowers clad in white, with rose-colour
sashes, as if holiday array were abandoned to the vulgar,
while the nobility k ept up a vow of perpetual mourning.
I n most E uropean towns, authors are obliged carefully to
avoid depicting the daily routine; for our customs, even in
lux ury, are rarely poetic; but in V enice nothing appears
coarse; the canals, the boats, mak e pictures of the com-
monest events in life.
O n the q uay of the galleys you constantly encounter
puppet shows, mountebank s, and story-tellers; the last are
worthy of remark . I t is usually some episode from Tasso or
A riosto which they relate in prose, to the great admiration
of their hearers, who sit round the speak er half clad, and
motionless with curiosity; from time to time they purchase
glasses of water, as wine is bought elsewhere, and this
refreshment is all they tak e for hours, so strongly are their
minds interested. The narrator uses the most animating
gestures; his voice is raised; he irritates himself; he grows
pathetic; and yet one sees, all the while, that at heart he is
perfectly unmoved. O ne might say to him, as did S appho
to the Circean nymph, who, in perfect sobriety, was as-
suming fury, -- " B acchante-- who art not drunk -- what
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? corinne; or italy. 279
wouldst thou with me? " Y
the south does not appear q
habit handed down from the R
et the lively pantomime of
uite artificial: it is a singular
omans, and springing from
q uick ness of disposition. A people so enslaved by pleasure
may soon be alarmed by the dream of power in which the
V enetian government is veiled. N ever are soldiers seen
there. I f even a drummer appears in their comedies they
are all astonishment; yet a state inq uisitor needs but show
himself to restore order among thirty thousand people,
assembled for a public fete. I t were well if this influence
was derived from a respect for the laws; but it. is fortified
by terror of the secret means which may still be used to
preserve the peace. The prisons are in the very palace of
the Doge, above and below his apartments. The L ion'
Mouth, into which all denunciations are thrown, is also
here; the hall of trial is hung with black , and mak
j udgment appear anticipating condemnation. The B
of S ighs leads from the palace to the state prison. I
s
es
ridge
n pass-
ing the canal, how oft were heard the cries of " J ustice!
Mercy! " in voices that could be no longer recognised.
W hen a state criminal was sentenced, a bark removed him
in the night, by a little gate that opens on the water: he
was tak en some distance from the city, to a part of the
L agune where fishing is prohibited, and there drowned:
thus secrecy is perpetuated, even after death, not leaving
the unhappy wretch a hope that his remains may inform
those who loved him that he suffered, and is no more.
W hen L ord N evil and Corinne visited V enice, these ex e-
cutions had not tak en place for nearly a century: but suffi-
cient mystery still ex isted; and, though O swald was the last
man to interfere with the politics of foreign lands, he felt
oppressed by this arbitrary power, from which there was no
appeal, that seemed to hang over every head in V enice.
CH A PTE R I X .
" Y ou must not," said Corinne, " give way merely to the
gloomy impressions which these silent proceedings have
t4
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? 280CO R I N N E ; O H I TA L Y .
created; you ought also to observe the great q ualities of
this senate, which mak es V enice a republic for nobles,
and formerly inspired that aristocratic energy, the result
of freedom, even though concentrated in the few. Y ou
will find them severe on one another, at least establishing,
in their own breasts, the rights and virtues that should
belong to all. Y ou will see them as paternal towards their
subj ects as they can be, while merely considering that
class of men with reference to physical prosperity. Y ou
will detect a great pride in the country which is their
property, and an art of endearing it even to the people,
whom they allow so few actual possessions there. "
Corinne and O swald visited the hall where the great
council was then assembled. I t is hung with portraits
of the Doges; on the space which would have been occu-
pied by that of F aliero, who was beheaded as a traitor,
is painted a black curtain, whereon is written the date
and manner of his death. The regal magnificence of the
other pictures adds to the effect of this ghastly pall. There
is also a representation of the L ast J udgment, another of
the powerful emperor, F rederic B arbarossa, humbling him-
self to the V enetian senate. I t was a fine idea thus to
unite all that can ex alt pride upon earth, and bend it
before H eaven.
They proceeded to the arsenal: before its gates are two
Grecian lions, brought from A thens, to become the guar-
dians of V enetian power. Motionless guardians, that defend
but what they respect. This repository is full of marine
trophies. The famous ceremony of the doge' s marriage
with the A driatic, in fact, all the institutions, here attest
their gratitude to the sea: in this respect they resemble
the E nglish, and N evil strongly felt the similarity. Co-
rinne now led him to the tower called the S teeple of S t.
Mark ' s, though some paces from the church. Thence is
seen the whole city of the waves, and the huge embank -
ment which defends it from inundation. The coasts of
I stria and Dalmatia are in the distance. " B ehind the
clouds, on this side, lies Greece," said Corinne: " is not
that thought enough to stir the heart? There still are
men of lively, ardent characters, victims to fate; yet
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? corinne; or italy. 281
destined, perhaps, some day, to resuscitate the ashes of
their sires. I t is always something for a land to have
been great; its natives blush at least beneath degradation;
while, in a country never consecrated to fame, the in-
habitants do not even suspect that there can be a nobler
doom than the obscure servility beq ueathed to them by
their fathers. Dalmatia, which was of yore occupied by
so warlik e a race, still preserves something of the savage.
I ts natives are so little aware of the changes wrought by
fifteen centuries, that they still deem the R omans ' all-
powerful ; ' yet they betray more modern k
calling the E nglish ' the heroes of the sea,'
have so often landed in their ports; but they k
nowledge, by
because you
now no-
thing about the rest of the world. I love all realms where,
in the manners, customs, language, something original is
left. Civilised life is so monotonous; you k now its secrets
in so short a time; I have already lived long enough for
that. " -- " L iving with you," said N evil, " can we ever
behold the end of new thoughts and sensations? " -- " God
grant that such may prove ex haustless ! " she replied, con-
tinuing,-- " L et us give one moment more to Dalmatia:
when we descend from this height we shall still see the
uncertain lines which mark that land, as indistinctly as
a tender recollection in the memory of man. There are
improvisatores among the Dalmatians as among the sa-
vages;
always ex
vanity. N
they were found, too, with the Grecians, and almost
ist where there is much imagination, and little
atural talent turns rather to epigram, in coun-
tries where a fear of ridicule mak es every man anx ious to
be the first who secures that weapon; but people thrown
much with N ature feel a reverence for her that greatly
nurtures fancy. ' Caverns are sacred,' say the Dalmatians,
doubtless thus ex pressing an indefinite terror of the old
earth' s secrets. Their poetry, S outherns though they be,
resembles O ssian' s; but there are only two ways of feeling
the charms of nature. Men either animate and deify
them, as did the ancients, beneath a thousand brilliant
shapes, or, lik e the S cottish bards, yield to the melancholy
fear inspired by the unk nown. S ince I met you, O swald,
this last manner has best pleased me. F ormerly I had
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? 282 corinne; or italy.
vivacious hope enough to prefer a fearless enj oyment of
smiling imagery. " -- " I t is I , then," said N evil, " who
have withered the fair ideal, to which I owed the richest
pleasures of my life. " --
my own passion. Talent req
as true love destroys. " --
" N o, you are not in fault, but
uires internal freedom, such
" A h! if you mean that your
genius may lose its voice, and your heart speak but for
me " H e could not proceed, the words promised
more to his mind than he dared utter. Corinne guessed
this, and would not answer, lest she should dissipate their
present hopes. S he felt herself beloved, and, used to live
where men lose all for love, she was easily persuaded
that N evil could not leave her. A t once ardent and in-
dolent, she deemed a danger past which was no longer
mentioned. S he lived as many others do, who have been
long menaced by the same misfortune, and think it will
never happen, merely because it has not done so yet.
The air of V enice, and the life led there, is singularly
calculated for lulling the mind into security: the very boats,
peacefully rock ing to and fro, induce a languid reverie;
now and then a gondolier on the R ialto sings a stanza from
Tasso; one of his fellows answers him, by the nex t
verse, from the ex tremity of the canal. The very antiq ue
music they employ is lik e church psalmody, and mono-
tonous enough when near: but, on the evening breeze, it
floats over the waters lik e the last beams of the sun; and,
aided by the sentiment it ex presses, in such a scene, it
cannot be heard without a gentle pensiveness. O swald
and Corinne remained on the canals, side by side, for
hours; often without a word; holding each other' s hands,
and yielding to the formless dreams inspired by love and
nature.
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? corinne; or italy. 283
BOOKXVI.
PA R TI N GA N DA B S E N CE .
CH A PTE R I . x
A s soon as Corinne' s arrival was k nown in V enice, it
ex cited the greatest curiosity. W hen she went to a cafe
in the piazza of S t. Mark , its galleries were crowded, for
a moment' s glimpse at her; and the best society sought
her with eager haste. S he had once loved to produce this
effect wherever she appeared, and naturally confessed that
admiration had many charms for her. Genius inspires
this thirst for fame: there is no blessing undesired by
those to whom H eaven gave the means of winning it. Y
in her present situation she dreaded every tiling in oppo-
sition with the domestic habits so dear to N evil. Corinne
was blind to her own welfare, in attaching herself to a
man lik ely rather to repress than to ex cite her talents;
it is easy to conceive why a woman, occupied by literature
and the arts, should love the tastes that differed from her
own. O ne is so often weary of one' s self, that a resem-
blance of that self would never tempt affection, which
req uires a harmony of sentiment, but a contrast of cha-
racter; many sympathies, but not unvaried congeniality.
et
but
N evil was supremely blessed with this double charm. H is
gentle ease and gracious manner could never sate, because
his liability to clouds and storms k ept up a constant in-
terest. A lthough the depth and ex tent of his acq uire-
ments fitted him for any life, his political opinions and
military bias inclined him rather to a career of arms than
one of letters,-- the thought that action might be mors
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? 284CO R I N N E J O B I TA L Y .
poetical than even verse itself. H e was superior to the
success of his own mind, and spok e of it with much in-
, difference. Corinne strove to please him by imitating
this carelessness of literary glory; in order to grow more
lik e the retiring females for whom E nglish womanhood
offers the best model. Y et the homage she received at
V enice gave O swald none but agreeable sensations. There
was so much cordial good breeding in the reception she
met, the V enetians ex pressed the pleasure her conversation
afforded them with such vivacity, that O swald felt proud
of being dear to one so universally admired. H e was no
longer j ealous of her celebrity, certain that she prized him
far above it; and his own love increased by every tribute
I she elicited. H e forgot E ngland, and revelled in the
I talian heedlessness of days to come. Corinne perceived
this change; and her imprudent heart welcomed it, as if
to last for ever.
I talian is the only tongue whose dialects are almost
languages of themselves. I n that of each state book s
might be written distinct from the standard I
though only the N eapolitan, S icilian, and V
have yet the honour of being ack nowledged;
talian;
enetian dialects
and that of
V enice as the most original, most graceful of all. Corinne
pronounced it charmingly; and the manner in which she
sung some lively barcaroles proved that she could act
comedy as well as tragedy. S he was pressed to tak e a
part in an opera which some of her new friends intended
playing the nex t week . S ince she had loved O swald she
concealed this talent from him, not feeling sufficient peace
of mind for its ex ercise, or, at other times, fearing that
any outbreak of high spirits might be followed by mis-
fortune; but now, with unwonted confidence, she con-
sented, as he, too, j oined in the req
that she should perform in a piece, lik
composed of the most diverting fairy ex
uest; and it was agreed
e most of Gozzi' s,
travagances. (3)
Truffaldin and Pantaloon, in these burlesq ues, often j ostle
the greatest monarchs of the earth. The marvellous fur-
nishes them with j ests, which, from their very order,
cannot approach to low vulgarity. The Child of the A ir,
or S emiramis in her Y outh, is a coq uette, endowed by tha
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 285
celestials and infernals to subj ugate the world; bred in
a desert, lik e a savage, cunning as a sorceress, and im-
perious as a q ueen, she unites natural wildness with pre-
meditated grace, and a warrior' s courage with the frivolity
of a woman. The character demands a fund of fanciful
drollery, which but the inspiration of the moment can
bring to light.
CH A PTE R I I .
F ate sometimes has its own strange cruel sport, repulsing
our presuming familiarity. O ft, when we yield to hope,
calculate on success, and trifle with our destiny, the sable
thread is blending with its tissue, and the weird sisters
dash down the airy fabrics we have reared.
I t was now N ovember; yet Corinne arose enchanted
with her prospects. F or the first act she chose a very
picturesq ue costume: her hair, though dishevelled, was
arranged with an evident design of pleasing; her light
fantastic garb gave her noble form a most mischievously
attractive air. S he reached the palace where she was to
play. E very one but O swald had arrived. S he deferred
the performance as long as possible, and began to be uneasy
at his absence; when she came on the stage, however, she
perceived him, though he sat in a remote part of the hall,
and the pain of having waited redoubled her j oy. S he was
as inspired by gaiety as she had been at the Capitol by en-
thusiasm. This drama blends song with speech, and even
gives opportunities for ex tempore dialogue, of which Co-
rinne availed herself to render the scene more animated.
S he sung the buffa airs with peculiar elegance. H er
gestures were at once comic and dignified. S he ex torted
laughter, without ceasing to be imposing. H er talents,
lik e her part, q ueened it over actors and spectators, plea-
santly bantering both parties. A h! who would not have
wept over such a sight, could they have k nown that this
bright armour but drew down the lightning, that this triumph-
ant mirth would soon give place to bitter desolation? The
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