No More Learning

N ow answer, strangers; N ature, in your home, -
I s she as generous or as beautiful?
N ot only with vine-leaves and ears of corn
I s N ature dress' d, but ' neath the feet of man,
A s at a sovereign' s feet, she scatters flowers
A nd sweet and useless plants, which, born to please,
Disdain to serve.
H ere pleasures delicate, by nature nurst,--
F elt by a people who deserve to feel: --
The simplest food suffices for their wants.
W hat though her fountains flow with purple wine
F rom the abundant soil, they drink them not!
They love their sk y, their arts, their monuments;
Their land, the ancient, and yet bright with spring;
B rilliant society; refined delight:
Coarse pleasures, fitting to a savage race,
S uit not with them.
H ere the sensation blends with the idea;
L ife ever draws from the same fountain-head;
The soul, lik e air, ex pands o' er earth and heaven.
H ere Genius feels at ease; its reveries
A re here so gentle f its unrest is soothed:
F or one lost aim a thousand dreams are given.
A nd nature cherishes, if man oppress;
A gentle hand consoles, and binds the wound:
E ' en for the griefs that haunt the strick en heart,
I s comfort here: by admiration fill' d,
F or God, all goodness; taught to penetrate
The secret of his love; not by brief days --
Mysterious heralds of eternity --
B ut in the fertile and maj estic breast
O f the immortal universe!
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? S O CO R I N N E ; O B . I TA L Y .
Corinne was interrupted for some moments by impetuous
applause. O swald alone j oined not in the noisy transport
around him. H e had. bowed his head on his hand, when
Corinne said--
" E ' en for the sorrows of the strick en heart
I s comfort here:"
he had not raised it since. Corinne observed him; and,
from his features, the colour of his hair, his dress, his
height-- indeed, from his whole appearance -- recognised
him as E nglish. S he was struck by the mourning which
he wore, and his melancholy countenance. H is gaze, then
fix ed upon herself, seemed gently to reproach her: she
entered into his thoughts, and felt a wish to sympathise
with him, by speak ing of happiness with less reliance, and
consecrating some few verses to Death in the midst of a
festival. W ith this intention she again took up her lyre;
a few prolonged and touching tones silenced the assem-
blage, while thus she continued: --
Y et there are griefs which our consoling sk y
May not efface: but where will grief convey
N oble and soft impressions to the soul,
A s it does here?
E lsewhere the living cannot find them space
F or all their hurrying paths, and ardent hopes;
A nd deserts, ruins, vacant palaces,
L eave a vast vacancy to shadows; -- R ome,
I s she not now the country of the tomb?
The Coliseum, and the obelisk s --
The wonders brought from E gypt and from Greece -- ?
F rom the ex tremity of time, here met,
F romR omulustoL eo,-- allarehere,
Greatness attracting greatness, that one place
Might garner all that man could screen from time;
A ll consecrate to funeral monuments.
O ur idle life is scarcely here perceived;
The silence of the living to the dead
I s homage: they endure, but we decay.
The dead alone are honour' d, and alone
R ecorded still; -- our destinies obscure
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 31
Contrast the glories of our ancestors;
O ur present life leaves but the past entire,
A nd deep the q uiet around memory:
O ur trophies are the work of those no more:
Genius itself rank s ' mid th' illustrious dead.
I t is R ome' s secret charm to reconcile
I magination with our long last sleep.
W e are resign' d ourselves, and suffer less
F or those we love. The people of the S outh
Paint closing life in hues less terrible
Than do the gloomy nations of the N orth:
The sun, lik e glory, even warms the grave.
The chill, the solitude of sepulchres 1
' N eath our fair sk y, beside our funeral urns
S o numerous, less haunt the frighted soul.
W e deem they wait for us, yon shadowy crowd:
A nd from our silent city' s loneliness ^ ^
Down to the subterranean one below
I t is a gentle passage.
The edge of grief is blunted thus, and turn' d,
N ot by a harden' d heart, a wither' d soul,
B ut by a yet more perfect harmony, --
A n air more fragrant, -- blending with our life.
W e yield ourselves to N ature with less fear --
N ature, whose great Creator said of old, --
" The lilies of the vale, lo! they toil not,
A nd neither do they spin:
Y et the great S olomon, in all his glory,
W as not array' d lik e one of these. "
O swald was so enchanted by these stanzas, that he tes-
tified his transport with a vehemence uneq ualled by the
R omans themselves: in sooth, it was to him, rather than to
her countrymen, that the second improvisation of Corinne
had been addressed. The generality of I talians read poetry
with a k ind of monotonous chant, that destroys all effect. (3)
I n vain the words vary, the impression is ever the same;
because the accent is unchanged: but Corinne recited with
a mobility of tone which increased the charm of its sus-
tained harmony. I t was lik e listening to different airs,
all played on the same celestial organ.
A language so stately and sonorous, breathed by so
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? 3. 2 corinne; or italy.
gentle and affecting a voice, awak ened a very novel sens-
ation in the mind of O swald. The natural beauties of the
E nglish tongue are all melancholy; tinted by clouds, and
tuned by lashing waves: but I talian, among sounds, may
be compared to scarlet, among colours; its words ring lik e
clarions of victory, and glow with all the bliss a delicious
clime can shower on human hearts. W hen, therefore,
I talian is spok en by a faltering tongue, its splendour melts,
its concentrated force causes an agitation resistless as un-
foreseen. The intents of N ature seem defeated, her boun-
ties useless or repulsed; and the ex pression of sorrow in the
midst of enj oyment, surprises, touches us more deeply,
than would despair itself, if sung in those northern lan-
guages, which it seems to have inspired.
CH A PTE R I V .
The senator took the crown of bays and myrtle he was
to place on the brow of Corinne. S he removed the shawl
which had bound the ebon curls that now fell about her
shoulders, and advanced with an air of pleased thank ful-
ness, which she strove not to dissemble. A gain she k
nelt;
but not in trepidation, as at first. S he had j ust spok en,
had filled her soul with godlik e images; enthusiasm had
surmounted timidity; she was no longer the shrink ing maid,
but the inspired vestal who ex ultingly devoted herself to
the worship of Genius.
W hen the chaplet was set upon her head, the musicians
sent forth one of those triumphant airs which so power-
fully ex alt the soul. The clash of cymbals, and the
flourish of trumpets, overwhelmed Corinne afresh; her
eyes filled, she sunk on a seat, and covered her face. O s-
wald rushed from the crowd, and made a few steps towards
her, but an uncontrollable embarrassment k ept him silent.
Corinne, tak ing care that he should not detect her, look ed
on him for some time; and when Prince Castel F orte took
her hand to lead her from the Capitol she yielded in abs-
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? CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . S 3
traction, freq uently turning, on various pretex ts, to gaze
again on O swald. H e followed her; and as she descended
the steps, one of these gestures displaced her crown, which
O swald hastily raised, and presenting it, said in I talian a
few words, implying that humble mortals lay at the feet
of their deities the crowns they dare not place upon their
brows. (4) W hat was his astonishment when Corinne
thank ed him in E nglish, with that insular accent, which
can scarce ever be acq uired on the Continent: he remained
motionless, till, feeling himself almost faint, he leaned
against one of the basaltic lions that stand at the foot of
the staircase. Corinne gazed on him again, forcibly struck
by his emotion; but they led her to her car, and the whole
crowd had disappeared, long ere O swald recovered his pre-
sence of mind. Till now, he had been enchanted as with
a most attractive foreigner; but that E nglish intonation
had brought back all the recollections of his country, and,
as it were, naturalised in his heart the charms of Corinne.
W as she E nglish? H ad she not passed many years of her
life in E ngland? H e could not guess; but it was impossible
that study alone could have taught her to speak thus. S he
must have lived in the same country with himself.
W ho could tell, but that their families might have been
related? perhaps he had even seen her in his childhood.
There is often in the heart some innate image of the beings
we are to love that lends to our first sight of them almost an
air of recognition. O swald had believed the I talians,
though impassioned, too vacillating for deep or constant
affection. A lready had the words of Corinne given him a
totally distinct view of their character. W hat then must
he feel should he thus at once revive the remembrance of
his home, and receive a new-born life, for future enj oy-
ment, without being weaned from the past? I n the midst
of these reveries he found himself on the bridge of S t.
A ngelo, which leads to the castle of that name, or rather to
A drian' s tomb, which has been converted into a fortress.
The silence of the scene, the pale waves of the Tiber, the
moon-beams that lit up the statues, till they appeared lik e
pallid phantoms, steadfastly watching the current of time,
by which they could be influenced no more; all these ob-
D
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? 34CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y .
j ects recalled him to his habitual train of thought: he lay
his hand on his breast, and felt the portrait of his father,
which he always wore; he drew it forth, and gazed on it,
while the cause of the felicity he had j ust enj oyed but too
strongly reminded him of all that long since had tempted
his rebellion against his parent.
" E ver haunting memory ! " he cried, with revived re-
morse, " too wronged and too forgiving friend! could I
have believed myself capable of feeling so much pleasure
thus soon after thy loss? but it is not thine indulgent
spirit which rebuk es me: thou wouldst have me happy in
spite of my faults; or may I not mistak e thy mandates
now uttered from above, I , who misunderstood them while
thou wert yet on earth? "
BOOKIII.
CH A PTE R I .
The Count d' E rfeuil had been present at the capitol, and
called the nex t day on L
O swald! would you lik
ord N evil, saying, " My dear
e me to tak e you to Corinne' s this
evening ? " -- " H ow! " interruptedO swald, eagerly," do you
k nowher? " -- " N otI ; butsofamousapersonisalways
gratified by a desire to see her; and I wrote this morning
for her permission to visit her house to-night, with you. "
-- " I could have wished," replied O swald, blushing, " that
you had not named me thus without my consent. " -- "
should rather thank me for having spared you so maiiy
tedious formalities. I nstead of going to an ambassador,
who would have led you to a cardinal, who might have
tak en you to a lady, who, perhaps, could have introduced
you to Corinne, I shall present you, you will present me,
Y ou
and we shall both be very well received. " -- " I am less
confident than you; and, doubtless, it is but rational to
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? CO R I N N E J O B I TA L Y . 35
conclude that so hasty a req uest must have displeased her. "
-- " N ot at all, I assure you, she is too sensible a girl, as
her polite reply may prove. " -- " H as she then answered you?
W hathadyousaid,mydearCount! " -- " A h! ' mydear
Count,' is it? " laughed d' E rfeuil, " you melt apace, now
you k now that she has answered me; but I lik e you too
well not to forgive all that. I humbly confess, then, that
my note spok e more of myself than of you, and that hers
gives your lordship' s name precedence; but then, you
k now,I ' mneverj ealousofmyfriends. " -- " N ay," re-
turned N evil, " it is not in vanity to ex pect that either of
us can render ourselves agreeable to her. A ll I seek is
sometimes to enj oy the society of so wondrous a being.
This evening, then, since you have so arranged it. " -- "
Y ou
willgowithme? " -- " W hy,yes," rej oinedN evil,in
visible confusion " W hy then all this regret at what I ' ve
done? though ' tis but j ust to leave you the honour of
being more reserved than I , always provided that you lose
nothing by it. S he' s really a delightful person, this Co-
rinne! with a vast deal of ease and cleverness. I could
not very well mak e out what she talk ed of, but, I ' ll wager
you she speak s F rench: we can decide that to-night.
S he leads a strange life. Y oung, free, and wealthy, yet
no one k nows whether she has any lovers or no. I t seems
plain that at present she favours no one; that she should
never have met, in this country, with a man worthy of her,
don' t astonish me in the least. " D' E rfeuil ran on for some
time, in this k ind of chat, without any interruption from
O swald. H e said nothing which could ex actly be called
coarse, yet his light matter-of-fact manner, on a topic so
interesting, clashed with the delicacy of his companion.
There is a refinement which even wit and k nowledge of
the world cannot teach their votaries, who often wound
the heart, without violating perfect politeness. L ord
N evil was much disturbed during the day in think ing over
the visit of the evening; but he did his utmost to banish
his disq uieting presentiments, and strove to persuade him-
self that he might indulge a pleasing idea, without per-
mitting it to decide his fate. F alse hope! the heart can
receive no bliss from that which it k nows must prove
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? S 6 CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
evanescent. A ccompanied by the Count he arrived at the
house of Corinne, which was situated a little beyond the
castle of S t. A ngelo, commanding a view of the Tiber.
I ts interior was ornamented with the most perfect elegance.
The hall embellished by casts of the N iobe, L aocoon,
V enus de Medicis, and dying Gladiator; while in the
sitting-room usually occupied by Corinne, he found but
book s, musical instruments, and simple furniture, arranged
for the easy conversation of a domestic circle. Corinne
was not there when he entered; and, while waiting for her,
he anx iously ex plored the apartment, remark ing in its every
detail a happy combination of the best F rench, I talian,
and E nglish attributes; a taste for society, a love of let-
ters, and a zeal for the fine arts. Corinne at last appeared;
though ever picturesq ue, she was attired without the least
research. S he wore some antiq ue cameos in her hair, and
round her throat a band of coral. N atural and familiar as
she was among her friends, they still recognised the di-
vinity of the capital. S he bowed first to Count d' E rfeuil,
though look ing at his friend; then, as if repenting this
insincerity, advanced towards O swald, and twice repeated
" L ord N evil! " as if that name was associated in her
mind with some affecting reminiscence. A t last she said
a few words in I talian on his obliging restoration of her
crown. O swald endeavoured to ex press his admiration,
and gently complained of her no longer addressing him in
E nglish. " A m I a greater stranger than I was yesterday? "
he said. -- " Certainly not," she replied; " but when one
has been accustomed for many years of one' s life to speak
two or three different languages, one chooses that which
will best ex
he cried, "
you speak
press what one desires to say. " -- " S urely,"
E nglish is your native tongue -- that which
to your friends. " -- " I am an I talian,"
inter-
rupted Corinne. " F orgive me, my L ord! but I
perceive in you the national importance which so often
think I
characterises your countrymen. H ere we are more lowly,
neither self-complacent, lik e the F rench, nor proud of our-
selves, lik e the E nglish. A little indulgence suffices us
from strangers; and we have the great fault of wanting,
as individuals, that dignity which we are not allowed as a
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 37
people; but when you k now us, you may find some traces
of our ancient greatness, such as, though few and half
effaced, might be restored by happier times. I shall now
and then speak to you in E nglish, but I talian is more dear
to me. I have suffered much," she added, sighing, " that
I might live in I taly.
" D' E rfeuil here gallantly upbraided
her for conversing in languages of which he was entirely
ignorant. " I n mercy, fair Corinne," he said, " speak
F rench: you are truly worthy to do so. " S he smiled at
this compliment, and granted its req uest, with ease, with
purity, but with an E nglish accent. N evil and the Count
were eq ually astonished; but the latter, who believed that
he might say what he pleased, provided he did so with a
grace, imagining that impoliteness dwelt not in matter
but in manner, put the direct q uestion to Corinne, on the
reason of this singularity. S he seemed at first somewhai
uneasy, beneath this sudden interrogation ;
herself, said, " I t seems, monsieur, that I
learnt F rench of an E nglish person. " H
then recovering
must have
e renewed his
attack with earnest gaiety. Corinne became more confused,
and at last said, gravely, " During the four years that I have
lived in R ome, monsieur, none even of the friends most
interested in me have ever enq uired into my fate: they un-
derstood, from the first, that it was painful for me to
speak of it. " This check silenced the Count; but Corinne
feared that she had hurt him; and, as he seemed so inti-
mate with L ord N evil, she dreaded still more, without
confessing it to herself, that he might speak
of her to his companion, and therefore took
pains in atoning to him. The Prince Castel F
unfavourably
sufficient
orte now
arrived, with many of their mutual acq uaintance, men of
lively and amiable minds, of k ind and courteous manners,
bo easily animated by the conversation of others, so capable
of appreciating all that deserved approval, that they made
the best listeners possible. The I talians are usually too
indolent to display in society, or often in any way, the wit
they really possess. The generality of them cultivate not,
even in seclusion, the intellectual faculties of their natures;
but they revel in the mental delights which find them
without any trouble of their own. Corinne had all a
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? 38CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y .
F renchwoman' s sense of the ridiculous, and evinced it
with all the fancy of an I talian; but she mingled in both
such sweetness of temper that nothing appeared precon-
certed or hostile -- for, in most things, it is coldness which
offends; while vivacity, on the contrary, has almost in-
variably an air of good nature. O swald found in Corinne
a grace which he had never before met.
A terrible event of his life was associated with recol-
lections of a very lovely and gifted F renchwoman;
Corinne in no way resembled her. E very creature'
seemed united in the conversation he now partook
but
s best
. I nge-
niously and rapidly as she twined its flowers, nothing was
frivolous, nothing incomplete; such was her depth of feel-
ing, and k nowledge of the world, that he felt borne away,
and lost in wonder, at q ualities so contrasted. H e ask ed
himself, if it was from an all-embracing sensibility, or from
a forgetfulness of each mood, as a new one succeeded, that
she fled, almost in the same instant, " from grave to gay,
from lively to severe," from learning that might have in-
structed men, to the coq uetry of a woman who amused
herself with mak ing conq uests; yet, in this very coq
there was such perfect nobleness, that it ex acted as much
respect as the most scrupulous reserve. The Prince Castel
uetry,
F orte, and all her other guests, paid her the most assiduous
and delicate attention. The habitual homage with which
they surrounded her gave the air of a fete to every day of
her life. S he was happy in being beloved, j ust as one is
happy to breathe in a gentle clime, to hear harmonious
sounds, and receive, in fact, none but agreeable impressions.
H er lively and fluctuating countenance betrayed each emo-
tion of her heart; but the deep and serious sentiment of
love was not yet painted there. O swald gazed on her in
silence: his presence animated and inspired her with a
wish to please. N evertheless, she sometimes check ed her-
self, in the midst of her most brilliant sallies, astonished
at his ex ternal composure, and doubting whether he might
not secretly blame her, or if his E nglish notions could
permit him to approve such success in a woman. H e was,
however, too fascinated to remember his former opinions
on the obscurity which best becomes a female; but he
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 39
ask ed himself, who could ever become dear to her? W hat
single obj ect could ever concentrate so many rays, or tak
captive a spirit gifted with such glorious wings? I n truth,
he was alik e dazzled and distressed; nay, though, as he
took leave, she politely invited him to visit her again, a
whole day elapsed without his going to her house, re-
strained by a species of terror at the feeling which ex cited
him. S ometimes he compared it with the fatal error of
his early youth; but instantly rej ected such comparison.
Then it was by treacherous arts he had been subdued; and
who could doubt the truth, the honour of Corinne? W ere
e
her spells those of poetry or of magic? W as she a S appho
or an A rmida? I t was impossible to decide. Y et it was
evident, that not society, but H eaven itself, had formed this
ex traordinary being, whose mind was as inimitable as her
character was unfeigned. " O h, my father! " he sighed
" had you k nown Corinne, what would you have thought
of her? "
CH A PTE R I I .
The Count d' E rfeuil called on L o>> d N evil, as usual, nex t
morning; and, censuring him for not having visited Corinne
the preceding night, said gaily, " Y ou would have been de-
lightedifyouhad. " -- " A ndwhy? " ask edhisfriend. --
" B ecause yesterday gave me the most satisfactory assurance
that you have ex tremely interested her. " -- " S till this le-
vity? Do you not k now that I neither can nor will endure
it ? " -- " W hat you call levity is rather the readiness of my
observation: have I the less reason, because my reason is
active? Y ou were formed to grace those blest patriarchal days
when man had five centuries to live; but I warn you that
we have retrenched four of them at least. " -- " B e it so!
A nd what may you have discovered by these q uick ly
matured observations of yours ? "
love with you. L ast evening, when I
was well enough received, of course;
-- " That Corinne is in
went to her house, I
but her eyes were
fix ed on the door, to look whether you followed me. S he
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? 40 corinne; or italy.
attempted to speak of something else; but, as she happens
to be a mighty natural young person, she presently, in all
simplicity, ask ed why you were not with me ? -- I said,
because you would not come, and that you were a gloomy,
eccentric animal: I ' ll spare you whatever I might have
further said in your praise. -- ' H e is pensive,' re-
mark ed Corinne: ' doubtless he has lost some one who
wasdeartohim:forwhomisheinmourning? ' -- ' H is
father, madame, though it is more than a year since his
death; and, as the law of nature obliges us to survive our
relations, I conclude that some more private cause ex ists
for his long and settled melancholy. ' -- ' O h,' ex
she, ' I am far from think ing that griefs apparently the
same act alik e on all. The father of your friend, and
your friend himself, were not, perhaps, men of the common
order. I am greatly inclined to think so. ' H er voice
was so sweet, dear O swald, as she uttered these words! "
-- " A nd are these all your proofs of her interest in me?
-- " W hy, truly, with half of them I should mak e sure
of being beloved; but since you will have better, you
shall. I k ept the strongest to come last. The Prince
Castel F orte related the whole of your adventure at A
n-
cona, without k nowing that it was of you he spok
told the story with much fire, as far as I could j
thank s to the two I talian lessons I have tak
e. H e
udge,
are so many F rench words in all foreign languages, that
one understands them, without the fatigue of learning.
B esides, Corinne' s face ex plained what I should not else
have comprehended. ' T was so easy to read the agitation
of her heart: she would scarcely breathe, for fear of
losing a single word: when she enq uired if the name of
this E nglishman was k nown, her anx iety was such, that I
could very well estimate the dread she suffered, lest any
other name than yours should be pronounced in reply.
Castel F orte confessed his ignorance; and Corinne, turn-
ing eagerly to me, cried, ' A m I not right, monsieur? was
itnotL ordN evil? ' -- ' Y es,madame,' saidI ,andthen
she melted into tears. S he had not wept during the his-
tory: what was there in the name of its hero more affect-
ing than the recital itself? " -- " S he wept! " repeated
claimed
"
en; but there
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? CO R I N N B ; O R I TA L Y . 41
O swald. " A h, why was I not there? " then instantly
check ing himself, he cast down his eyes, and his manly
face ex pressed the most delicate timidity. H e hurriedly
resumed the topic, lest d' E rfeuil should impair his sacred
j oy by one comment. " I f the adventure at A ncona be
worth the telling, its honour belongs to you, also, my dear
Count. " -- " They certainly did speak of a most engaging
F renchman, who was with you, my L ord," rej oined d' E r-
feuil, laughing; " but no one, save myself, paid any
attention to that parenthesis. The lovely Corinne pre-
fers you, doubtless believing that you would prove more
faithful than I -- this may not be the case -- you may
even cost her more pains than I should have done; but
your very romantic women love trouble, therefore you will
suit her ex actly. " N evil smarted beneath each word; but
what could he say? D' E rfeuil never argued; nay, he
could not even listen with sufficient attention to alter his
opinions: once uttered, he cared no more about them, and
the best plan was to forget them, if possible, as q uick ly as
he did himself.
CH A PTE R I I I .
That evening O swald reached the house of Corinne with
entirely new sensations. H e fancied that he might be
ex pected. H ow entrancing that first beam of intelligence
between one' s self and the being we adore! ere memory
contends the heart with hope, ere the eloq uence of words
has sought to depict our feelings. There is, in these first
hours of love, some indefinite and mysterious charm, more
fleeting, but more heavenly than even happiness itself.
O swald found Corinne alone: this abashed him much:
he could have gazed on her in the midst of her friends;
but would fain have been in some way convinced of her
preference, ere thus suddenly engaged in an interview
which might chill her manner towards him; and in that
ex pectation his own address became cold from very embar-
rassment. W hether she detected this, or that similar feel-
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? 42CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
ings made her desire to remove his restraint, she speedily
enq uired if he had yet seen any of the antiq uities of R ome.
" N o. " " Then how were you employed yesterday? "
she ask
S ince I
ed with a smile. -- " I passed the day at home.
came hither I have seen hut you, madame, or re-
mained alone. " S he wished to speak of his conduct at
A ncona, and began, --
paused, and then said, "
party have j oined us. "
" I
but I
L
learnt last night-- " here she
will talk of that when our
ord N evil had a dignity which
intimidated Corinne; besides, she feared, in alluding to his
noble behaviour, that she should betray too much emotion;
and trusted to feel less before witnesses. O swald was
deeply touched by this reserve, and by the frank
which she unconsciously disclosed its motive;
more oppressed he became, the less could he ex
self. H e hastily rose, and went to the window;
ness with
but the
plain him-
then
remembering that this action must be unintelligible to
Corinne, he returned to his seat, without speak ing; and
though she had more confidence than himself, his diffidence
proved so contagious, that, to cover her abstraction, she
ran her fingers over her harp, and struck a few uncon-
nected chords: these melodious sounds, though they in-
creased the emotions of O swald, lent him a slight degree
of firmness. H e dared to look on her; and who could do
so without being struck by the divine inspiration enthroned
in her eyes? R e-assured by the mildness which veiled their
splendour, he might have spok en, had not Prince Castel
F orte that instant entered the room. I t was not without
a pang that he beheld N evil tete-a-tete with Corinne:
but he was accustomed to conceal his sensations; and that
habit, which an I talian often unites with the most vehe-
ment passions, in him was rather the result of lassitude
and natural gentleness. H e had resigned the hope of
being the first obj ect of Corinne' s regard; he was no
longer young. H e had j ust the wit, taste, and fancy,
which varies, without disturbing one' s ex istence; and felt
it so needful for his life to pass every evening with Corinne,
that, had she married, he would have conj ured her hus-
band to let him continue this routine; on which condition
it would not have cost him much regret to see her united
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? O O B I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . 43
with another. The heart' s disappointments are not, in
I taly, aggravated by those of vanity. Y ou meet some men
j ealous enough to stab their rivals, others sufficiently
modest to accept the second place in the esteem of a
woman whose company they enj oy; but you seldom find
those who, rather than appear rej ected, deny themselves
the pleasure of k eeping up a blameless intimacy. The
dominion of society over self-love is scarcely k nown in the
land. The Count d' E rfeuil and Corinne' s wonted guests
having assembled, the conversation turned on the talent
for improvisation, which she had so gloriously displayed
at the Capitol; and she was ask ed what she thought of it
herself. " I t is so rare a thing," said Castel F orte, " to
find a person at once susceptible of enthusiasm, and capa-
ble of analysis; endowed as an artist, yet gifted with so
much self-k nowledge, that we ought to implore her reve-
lation of her own secret. " -- " The faculty of ex tem-
porising," returned Corinne, " is not more ex traordinary
in southern tongues, than senatorial eloq uence or lively
repartee in other languages. I should even say that, un-
fortunately, it is easier for us to breathe impromptu verse
than to speak well in prose, from which poetry differs
so widely, that the first stanzas, by their mere ex pressions,
remove the poet from the sphere of his auditors, and thus
command attention. I t is not only to the sweetness of
I talian, but to the emphatic vibration of its syllables, that
we should attribute the influence of poetry amongst us.
I talian has a musical charm, which confers delight by the
very sound of its words, almost independent of ideas,
though nearly all those words are so graphic, that they
paint their own significations on the mind: you feel that
but in the midst of the arts, and beneath a beauteous sk y,
could a language so melodious and highly coloured have had
birth. I t is, therefore, easier in I taly than any where
else to mislead by speeches, unaided by depth or novelty
of thought. Poetry, lik e all the fine arts, captivates the
senses as much as the mind. N evertheless, I venture to
assert, that I never act the improvisatrice, unless beneath
some real feeling, or some image which I believe original.
I hope that I rely less than others on our bewitching
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? 44CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
tongue; on which, indeed, one may prelude at random,
and bestow a vivid pleasure, solely by the charm of
rhythm and of harmony. " -- " Y ou think , then," said one
of her friends, " that this genius for spontaneous verse
does rnj ury to our literature? 1 thought so too, till I
heard you, who have entirely reversed my decision. " --
" I have said," returned Corinne, " that from this
facility and abundance must result a vast q uantity of in.
different poems; but I rej oice that such fruitfulness
should ex ist in I taly, as I do to see our plains covered
with a thousand superfluous productions. I pride in this
bounty of H eaven. A bove all, I love to find improvisatores
among the common people: it shows that imagination of
theirs which is hidden in all other circumstances, and
only developes itself amongst us. I t gives a poetic air to
the humblest rank s of society, and spares us from the dis-
gust we cannot help feeling, against what is vulgar in all
classes. W hen our S icilians, while rowing the traveller
in their bark s, lend their graceful dialect to an endearing
welcome, or sing him a k ind and long farewell, one might
dream that the pure sea breeze acted on man as on an
E olian harp; and that the one, lik e the other, echoed but
the voice of nature. A nother reason why I set this value
on our talent for improvisation is, that it appears one
which could not possibly survive among a community dis-
posed to ridicule. Poets who risk this perilous enterprise
req uire all the good humour of a country in which men
love to amuse themselves, without criticising what amuses
them. A single sneer would suffice to banish the pre-
sence of mind necessary for rapid and uninterrupted com-
position. Y our hearers must warm with you, and their
plaudits must be your inspiration. " -- " B ut, madame,"
said O swald, who, till now, had gazed in silence on Co-
rinne, " to which class of your poems do you give the
preference? those that are the work s of reflection, or such
as were instantaneously inspired ? " -- " My L ord," replied
Corinne, with a look of gentle deference, " I will mak e
you my j udge; but if you bid me ex amine my own heart,
I should say that improvisation is, to me, lik e animated
converse. I do not confine myself to such or such sub-
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
45
j eets, but yield to whatever produces that degree of interest
in my hearers which most infects myself; and it is to
my friends that I owe the greater portion of my talent in
this line. S ometimes, while they speak on the noble
q uestions that involve the moral condition of man,-- the aim
and end of his duties here, -- mine impassioned ex citement
carries me beyond myself; teaches me to find in nature,
and mine own heart, such daring truths, and forcible ex -
pressions, as solitary meditation could never have engen-
dered. Mine enthusiasm, then, seems supernatural: a
spirit speak s within me far greater than mine own; it
often happens that I abandon the measure of verse to ex -
plain my thoughts in prose.