No More Learning

O h, O swald! O s-
wald! " and she threw herself at his feet in supplication.
" W hat do I see," he ex claimed, raising her vehemently,
" would you dishonour me? W ell, be it so. My regiment
embark s in a month. I will remain, if you betray this all
commanding grief, but I shall not survive my shame. " --
" I ask you not to stay," she said; " but what harm can
I dobyfollowingyou? " -- " W egototheW estI ndies,
and no officer is allowed to tak e his wife. " -- " W ell, well,
at least let me go to E ngland with you. " -- " My letters
also tell me," answered he, "
are already in the papers there;
pected; and your family, ex
that reports concerning us
that your identity is sus-
cited by L ady E dgarmond,
refuse to meet or own you. Give me but time to reconcile
them, to enforce your rights with your stepmother; for if I
tak e you thither, and leave you, ere your name be cleared,
you will endure all the severe opinions which I shall not be
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? 288corinne; O ilI TA L Y .
by to answer. " -- " Then you refuse me every thing! "
she said, and sunk insensible to the earth, her forehead re-
ceiving a wound in the fall. O swald shriek ed at the sight.
Theresina entered in ex treme alarm, and restored her
mistress to animation; but when Corinne perceived, in an
opposite mirror, her own pale and disfigured face, -- " O s-
wald," she sighed, " it was not thus I look ed the day
you met me first. I wore the crown of hope and fame,
now blood and dust are on my brow; yet it is not for you
to despise the state to which you have reduced me. O thers
may, -- but you cannot, -- you ought to pity me for loving
thus,-- youmust! " -- " S tay," hecried," thisistoo
much; " and signing for Theresina to retire, he took Co-
rinne in his arms, saying, -- " Do what thou wilt with me.
I must submit to the decrees of H eaven. I cannot abandon
thee in this distress, nor lead thee to E ngland, before I
have secured against the insults of that haughty woman.
I will stay with thee. I cannot depart. " These words re-
called Corinne to herself, yet overwhelmed her with de-
spair. S he felt the necessity that weighed upon her, and,
with her head reclined, remained long silent. -- " Dearest! "
said O swald, " let me hear thy voice. I have no other
support -- no other guide now. " -- " N o," replied Corinne,
" you must leave me," and a flood of tears evinced her
comparative resignation. -- " My love," said N evil, " I
call to witness this portrait of my father, and you best
k now whether his name is sacred to me,-- I swear to it that
my life is in thy power, if needful to thy happiness. A t
my return from the islands I will see if I cannot restore
thee to thy due rank in thy father' s country. I f I
fail, I
will return to I taly, and live or die at thy feet. " -- " B ut
the dangers you are about to brave," she rej oined. -- "
not, I shall escape; or, if I perish, unk nown as I
F ear
am,
my memory will survive in thy heart; and when thou hearest
my name, thou mayest say, perhaps with tearful eyes, ' I
k newhimonce-- helovedme! ' " -- " A h,leaveme! "
she cried: " you are deceived by my apparent calm; to-
morrow, when the sun rises, and I tell myself, ' I shall
see him no more,' the thought may k ill me; happy if it
does. " -- " W hy, Corinne, do you fear? is my solemn
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? CO R I N N E J O B I TA L Y . 289
promise nothing? Can your heart doubt it ? " -- " N o, I
respect -- too much not to believe you: it would cost me
more to abj ure mine admiration than my love. I look on
you as an angelic being,-- the purest, noblest, that ever shone
on earth. I t is not alone your grace that captivates me,
but the idea that so many virtues never before united in
one obj ect, and that your heavenly look was only given to
ex press them all. F ar be it from me, then> to doubt your
word. I should fly from the human face for ever if L ord
N evil could deceive; but absence has so many perils, and
that dreaded word adieu " -- " H ave I not said, never
-- save from my death-bed? " demanded O swald, with such
emotion, that Corinne, terrified for his health strove to re-
strain her feelings, and became more pitiable than before.
They then began to concert means of writing, and to
speak on the certainty of rej oining each other. A year
was the term fix ed. O swald securely believed that the
ex pedition would not be longer away. S ome time was left
them still, and Corinne trusted to regain her strength; but
when O swald told her that the gondola would come for
him at three in the morning, and she saw, by her dial,
that the hour was not far distant, she shivered as if she
were approaching the stak e: her lover had every instant
less resolution; and Corinne, who had never seen his
mastery over himself thus unmanned, was heart-brok en at
the sight of his great anguish. S he consoled him, though
she must have been a thousand times the most unhappy of
thetwo. -- " L isten! " shesaid:" whenyouareinL on-
don, fick le gallants will tell you that love-promises bind
not your honour; that every E nglishman has lik ed some
I talian on his travels, and forgotten her on his return; that
a few pleasant months ought to involve neither the giver
nor the receiver; that at your age the colour of your whole
life cannot depend upon the temporary fascinations of a
foreigner. N ow this will seem right in the way of the
world; but will you, who k now the heart of which you
made yourself the lord, find ex cuses in these sophisms for
inflicting a mortal wound? W ill barbarous j ests from
men of the day prevent your hand' s trembling as it drives
the poniard through this breast i" -- " H ush," said O s-
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? 290 corinne; or italy.
wald: " you k now it is not your grief alone restrains me;
but where could I A nd such bliss as I have owed to you?
W ho, in the universe, can understand me as you do?
Corinne, you are the only woman who can feel or inspire
true love, that harmonious intelligence of hearts and souls,
which I shall never enj oy ex cept with you. Y ou k now I am
not fick le: I
you only that I
look on all things seriously; is it then against
should belie my nature ? " -- " N o," an-
swered Corinne; " you would not treat my fond sincerity
with scorn: it is not you, O swald, who could remain in-
sensible to my despair; but to you my stepmother will say
all that can sully my past life. S pare me the task of
telling you beforehand her pitiless remark s. F ar from
what talents I may boast disarming her, they are my
greatest errors in her eyes. S he cannot feel their charm,
she only sees their danger: whatever is unlik e the destiny
she herself chose seems useless, if not culpable. The
poetry of the heart to her appears but an impertinence,
which usurps the right of depreciating common sense.
I t is in the name of virtues I respect as much as you do
that she will condemn my character and fate. O swald,
she will call me unworthy of you. " -- " A nd how should
I hear that? " interrupted he: "
rate above your generosity, your frank
what virtues dare she
ness? N o, heavenly
creature! be common minds j udged by common rules; but
shame befall the being you have loved who does not more
revere than even adore you. Peerless in love and truth,
Corinne!
never fly. I
pain you. "
my firmness fails;
t is from you I
-- " W ell,"
if you sustain me not I can
must receive the power to
said Corinne, " there are some
seconds yet ere I must recommend myself to God, and beg
he will enable me to hear the hour of your departure strik e.
O h, O swald, we love each other with deep tenderness.
I have intrusted you with all my secrets; the facts were
nothing -- but the most private feelings of my heart, you
k now them all. I have not a thought that is not wedded
to thee: if I write aught in which my soul ex pands, thou
art mine inspiration. I address myself to thee, as I shall
my latest sigh. W hat, then, is my asylum if thou leavest
me? The arts will retrace thine image, music tby voice;
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 291
Genius, which formerly entranced my spirit, is nothing
now but love, and unshared with thee must perish. O h,
God! " she added, raising her eyes to heaven, " deign but
to hear me! Thou art not merciless to our noblest sorrows:
tak e back my life when he has ceased to love: it will be
then but suffering. H e carries with him all my highest,
softest feelings: if he permits the fire shrined in his breast
to be ex tinguished, wherever I may be, my life, too, will be
q uenched. Great God! thou didst not frame me to out-
live my better self, and what should I become in ceasing
to esteem him? H e ought to love me ever --
ought -- my affection should command his. O
F ather! death or his love! "
A s she concluded this prayer she turned to O
I feel he
h! heavenly
swald, and
beheld him prostrated before her in strong convulsions:
he repelled her cares, as if his reason were entirely lost.
Corinne gently pressed his hand, repeating to him all he
had said to her, assuring him that she relied on his return.
H er words somewhat composed him; yet the nearer the
hour of separation drew the more impossible it seemed to
part " W hy," he said, " should we not go to the altar,
and at once tak e our eternal oaths? " A ll the firmness, all
the pride of Corinne revived at these words. O swald had
told her that a woman' s grief once before subdued him,
but his love had chilled with every sacrifice he made.
A fter a moment' s silence, she replied, -- " N o, you must
see your country and your friends before you adopt this
resolution. I owe it now, my L ord, to the pangs of part-
ing,andI willnotacceptit. " H etook herhand. " A t
least," he said, " I swear again my faith is bound to this
ring; while you preserve it, never shall another attain a
right over my actions; if you at last rej ect me, and send it
back " -- " Cease," she interposed, " cease to talk of >>
fear you never felt; I cannot be the first to break om
sacred tie, and almost blush to assure you of what you but
too well k now already. " Meanwhile the time advanced,
Corinne turned pale at every sound. N evil remained in
speechless grief beside her; at last a light gleamed through
the window, and the black , hearse-lik e gondola stopped
before the door. Corinne uttered a scream of fright, and
u2
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? 292 corinne; or itaiy,
fell into O swald' s arms, crying, " They are here-- adieu
//-- leaveme-- allisover! " -- " O hGod,ohmyfather! "
heex claimed; " whatdoyeex actofme? " H eem-
braced and wept over his beloved, who continued,-- " Go!
it must be done-- go! " -- " L et me call Theresina," he
said; " I cannot leave you thus alone. " -- " A lone! " she
repeated: " shall I not be alone till you return? " -- " I
cannot q uit this room; it is impossible," he articulated, with
desperation. -- " W ell," said Corinne; " then it is I must
give the signal. I will open the door; but when I have
done so, spare me a few short instants. " -- " Y es, yes,"
he murmured, " let us be still together, though these cruel
combats are even worse than absence. " They now heard
the boatmen calling up L ord N evil' s servants; one of
whom soon tapped at the door, informing him that all
was ready. -- " A ll is ready," echoed Corinne, and k nelt
beside his father' s portrait. Doubtless her former life
then passed in review before her; she ex aggerated every
fault, and feared herself unworthy of Divine compassion,
though far too wretched to ex ist without it. W hen she
arose, she held forth her hand to N evil, saying, -- " N
can bid you farewell -- a moment more, and, perhaps, I
not. May God protect your steps, and mine,-- for I much
need his care! " O swald flung himself once more into
ow I
could
her arms, trembling and pale lik e one prepared for torture,
and left the room, where, perhaps, for the last time, he
had loved, and felt himself beloved, as few have ever been,
or ever can be.
W hen he disappeared, a horrid palpitation attack ed
Corinne; she could not breathe; every thing she beheld
look ed unreal; obj ects seemed vanishing from her sight;
the chamber tottering as from a shock of earthq uak e. F or
aq uarter of an hour she heard the servants completing
the preparations for this j ourney. H e was still near; she
might yet again behold him, speak to him once more;
but she would not trust herself. O swald lay almost sense-
loss in the gondola: at last it rowed away; and at that
moment Corinne fled forth to recall him; but Theresina
stopped her. A heavy rain was falling, and a high wind
arose: the house was now, indeed, shak en lik e a ship at
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? CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 293
sea, and O swald had to cross the L agune in such weather!
Corinne descended, purposing to follow him, at least till
he should land in safety; but it was so dark that not a
single gondola was plying: she walk ed, in dreadful agi-
tation, the narrow pavement that divides the houses from
the water. The storm increased: she called upon the
boatmen, who mistook her cries for those of some poor
creature drowning,-- yet no one dared approach, the waves
of the grand canal had swollen so formidably. Corinne
remained till daybreak in this state; meanwhile the tem-
pest ceased. O ne of the gondoliers brought word from
O swald that he had crossed securely. That moment was
almost a happy one; and it was some hours ere the un-
fortunate creature again felt the full weight of absence, or
calculated the long days which but anx iety and grief might
henceforth occupy.
CH A PTE R I V .
During the first part of his j
on the point of returning;
vanq uished this desire. W
ourney, O swald was freq uently
but the motives for perseverance
e mak e a solemn step towards the
limits of L ove' s empire, after we have once disobeyed him --
the dream of his resistlessness is over. O n approaching E ng-
land, all O swald' s homefelt recollections returned. The
year he had passed abroad had no connection with any
other era of his life. A glorious apparition had charmed
his fancy, but could not change the tastes, the opinions, of
which his ex istence had been, till then, composed. H e
regained himself; and though regret prevented his yet
feeling any delight, his thoughts began to steady from
the I talian intox ication which had unsettled them. N
o
the
sooner had he landed than his mind was struck
ease, the order, the wealth, and industry he look
habits and inclinations to which he was born wak
more force than ever.
with the
ed on;
ed with
I n a land where men have so much dignity, and women
v3
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? 294 corinne; or italy.
so much virtue, where domestic peace is the basis of public
welfare, O swald could but remember I taly to pity her.
H e saw the stamp of human reason upon all things; he
had lately found, in social life as in state institutions,
nothing but confusion, weak ness, and ignorance. Painting
and poetry gave place in his heart to freedom and to
morals; and, much as he loved Corinne, he gently blamed
her for wearying of a race so wise, so noble.
H ad he left
her imaginative land for one of bare frivolity, he would
have pined for it still; but now he ex changed the vague
yearnings after romantic rapture, for pride in the truest
blessings-- security and independence. H e returned to a
career that suits man' s mind -- action that has an aim!
R everie may be the heritage of women, weak and resigned
from their birth; but man would win what he desires:
his courage irritates him against his fate, unless he can
direct it by his will. I n L ondon, O swald met his early
friends: he heard that language so condensed in power,
that it seems to imply more thoughts than it ex plains.
A gain he saw those serious countenances that k indle or
that melt so suddenly, when deep affections triumph over
their habit of reserve. H e once more tasted the pleasure
of mak ing discoveries in the human heart, there by de-
grees revealed to the observant eye. H e felt himself in
his own land, and those who never left it k now not by
how many link s it is endeared to them. The image of
Corinne mingled with all these impressions; and the more
reluctant he felt to leave his country, the more he wished
to marry, and fix in S cotland with her. H e was even
impatient to embark that he might return the sooner; but
the ex pedition was suspended, though still liable to be
ordered abroad immediately. N o officer, therefore, could
dispose of his time even for a fortnight. L ord N evil
doubly felt his separation from Corinne, having neither
leisure nor liberty to form or follow any decided plan.
H e passed six week s in L ondon, fretted by every moment
thus lost to her. F inally, he resolved to beguile his im-
patience by a short visit to N orthumberland, and, by in-
fluencing L ady E dgarmond to recognise the daughter of
her late lord, contradict the report of her death, and the
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? corinne; or italv. 295
unfavourable insinuations of the papers; for he longed to
tender her the rank and respect so thoroughly her due.
CHAPTER V.
O swald reflected with emotion that he was about to behold
the scene in which Corinne had passed so many years. H e
felt embarrassed by the necessity of informing L ady E dgar-
mond that he could not mak e L ucy his wife. The north
of E ngland, too, reminded him of S cotland, and the memory
of his father was never absent from his mind.
W hen he reached L ady E dgarmond' s estate, he was
struck by the good taste which pervaded its grounds; and,
as the mistress of the mansion was not ready to receive
him, he walk ed awhile in the park : through its foliage he
beheld a youthful and elegant figure reading with much
attention. A beautiful fair curl, escaping from her bonnet,
told him that this was L ucy, whom three years had im-
proved from child to woman. H e approached her, bowed,
and forgetting where he was, would have imprinted a re-
spectful k iss upon her hand, after the I talian mode; but
the young lady drew back , and, blushing as she courtesied,
replied, " I will inform my mother, sir, that you desire to
see her. " S he withdrew, and N evil remained awed by the
modest air of that angelic face. L ucy had j ust entered her
six teenth year; her features were ex tremely delicate; she
had a little outgrown her strength, as might be j udged by
her gait and mutable complex ion. H er blue eyes were so
downcast that her countenance owed its chief attraction to
these rapid changes of colour, which alone betrayed her
feelings. O swald, since he had dwelt in the south, had
never beheld this species of ex pression. H e reproached him-
self for having accosted her with such familiarity ; and, as he
followed her to the Castle, mused on the perfect innocence
of a girl who had never left her mother, nor felt one emo-
tion stronger than filial tenderness. L ady E dgarmond was
alone when she received him. H e had seen her twice,
u4
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? 296 corinne; or italt.
some years before, without any particular notice; but now
he observed her carefully, comparing her with the descrip-
tions of Corinne. H e found them correct in many respects ?
yet he thought that he detected more sensibility than she
had done, not being accustomed, lik e himself, to guess what
such self-regulated physiognomies conceal. H is first anx iety
was on Corinne' s account, and he began the conversation
by praising I taly. " I t is an amusing residence for men,"
returned L ady E dgarmond; " but I should be very sorry
if any woman, in whom I
pleased with it. " -- "
hurt by this insinuation, "
felt an interest, could long be
A nd yet," continued O swald, already
I found there the most dis-
tinguished woman I ever met. " -- " Probably, as to mental
attainments; but an honourable man seek s other q ualities
in the companion of his life. " -- " A nd he would find
them ! " he said warmly: he might have made his meaning
clear at once, but that L ucy entered, and said a few words
apart to her mother, who replied aloud, " N o, my dear,
you cannot go to your cousin' s to-day. L ord N evil dines
here. " L ucy blushed, seated herself beside her mother,
and took up her embroidery, from which she never raised
her eyes, nor did she utter a syllable. N evil was almost
angry: it was most probable that L ucy k new there had been
some idea of their union: he remembered all Corinne had
said on the probable effects of the severe education L ady
E dgarmond would give her daughter. I n E ngland young
girls are usually more at liberty than married women: rea-
son and morality alik e favour their privileges; but L ady
E dgarmond would have had all females thus rigorously
secluded. O swald could not, before L ucy, ex plain his in-
tentions relative to Corinne; and L ady E dgarmond k ept
up a discourse on other subj ects, with a firm and simple
good sense, that ex torted his deference. H e would have
combated her strict opinions, but he felt that if he used
one word in a different acceptation from her own, she
would form an opinion which nothing could efface; and he
hesitated at this first step, so irreparable with a person
who will mak e no individual ex ceptions, but j udges every
thing by fix ed and general rules. Dinner was announced/,
and L ucy offered her arm to L ady E dgarmond. O swald
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? corinne; or I taly. 297
then first discovered that his hostess walk ed with great
difficulty. " I am suffering," she said, " from a painful,
perhaps a fatal ailment. " L ucy turned pale; and her
mother resumed, with a more gentle cheerfulness, " My
daughter' s attention has once saved my life, and may pre-
serve it long. " L ucy bent her head, and when she raised
it, her lashes were still wet with tears; yet she dared not
even tak e her mother' s hand: all had passed at the bottom
of her heart; and she was only conscious of a stranger' s pre-
sence, from the necessity of concealing her agitation. O swald
deeplyfelt this restraintof hers, and his mind, so lately thrilled
by passionate eloq uence, refreshed itself by contemplating
so chastely simple a picture. L ucy seemed enveloped in
some immaculate veil, that sweetly baffled his speculations.
During dinner she spared her mother from all fatigue --
serving every thing herself; and N evil only heard her
voice when she offered to help him; but these common-
place courtesies were performed with such enchanting
grace, that he ask ed himself how it was possible for such
slight actions to betray so much soul. " O ne must have,"
he said to himself, " either the genius of Corinne, that
surpasses all one could imagine, or this pure unconscious
mystery, which leaves every man free to suppose whatever
virtues he prefers. "
The mother and daughter rose from table: he would
have followed them; but her L adyship adhered so scru-
pulously to old customs, that she begged he would wait
till they sent to let him k now the tea was ready. H e
j oined them in a q uarter of an hour. Most part of the
evening passed without his having one opportunity of
speak ing to L ady E dgarmond as he designed. H e was
about to depart for the town, purposing to return on the
morrow, when his hostess offered him a room in the castle.
H e accepted it without deliberation; but repented his
readiness, on perceiving that it seemed to be tak en as a
proof of his inclination towards L ucy. This was but an
additional motive for his renewing the conversation re-
specting Corinne. L ady E dgarmond proposed a turn in
the garden. O swald offered her his arm: she look ed at
him steadfastly, and then said, " That is right: I thank
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? 298 corinne; or I taly.
you. " L ucy resigned her parent to N evil, but timidly-
whispered, " Pray, my L ord, walk slowly! " H e started at
this first private intelligence with her: those pitying tones
were j ust such as he might have ex pected from a being
above all earthly passions. H e did not think his sense of
such a moment any treason to Corinne. They returned
for evening prayer, at which her L adyship always as-
sembled her household in the great hall. Most of them
were very infirm, having served the fathers of L ord and
L ady E dgarmond. O swald was thus reminded of his
paternal home. E very one k nelt, ex cept the matron, who,
prevented by her lameness, listened with folded Tiands and
downcast eyes in reverent silence. L ucy was on her
k nees beside her parent: it was her duty to read the ser-
vice; a chapter of the Gospel, followed by a prayer adapted
to domestic country life, composed by the mistress of the
house: its somewhat austere ex pressions were contrasted
by the soft voice that breathed them.
A fter blessing the k ing and country, the servants and
the k indred of this family, L ucy tremblingly added,
" Grant also, O God! that the young daughter of this
house may live and die with soul unsullied by a single
thought or feeling that conforms not with her duty; and
that her mother, who must soon return to thee for j udg-
ment, may have some claim on pardon for her faults, in
the virtues of her only child! "
L ucy said this prayer daily;
but now O swald' s presence
so affected her, that tears, which she strove to conceal,
flowed down her cheek s. H e was touched with respectful
tenderness, as he gazed on the almost infantine face, that
look ed as if it still remembered having dwelt in heaven.
I ts beauty, thus surrounded by age and decrepitude, was an
image of divine commiseration. H e reflected on her lonely
life, deprived of all the pleasures, all the flatteries, due to
her youth and charms: his soul melted towards her. The
mother of L ucy, too, he found a person more severe to
herself than to others. The limits of her mind might
rather be attributed to the strength of her principles than
to any natural deficiencies: the asperity of her character was
acq uired from repressed impulses; and, as Corinne had said.
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? << orinne; O R I TA L Y . 299
her affection for her child gained force from this ex treme
control of all others.
B y ten in the evening all was silent throughout the
castle, and O swald left to muse over his few last hours:
he owned not to himself that L ucy had made an impression
on his heart; perhaps, as yet, this was not the case; hut
in spite of the thousand attractions Corinne offered to his
fancy, there was one class of ideas, that L ucy might have
reigned more supremely than her sister. The image of
domestic felicity suited better with a retreat in N orthum-
berland than with a coronation at the Capitol; besides, he
remembered which of these sisters his father had selected
for him: but he loved Corinne, was beloved by her, had
given her his faith, and therefore persisted in his intention
of confiding this to L ady E dgarmond on the morrow. H e
fell asleep think ing of I
flitted lightly before him. H
the same dream returned;
taly, but still the form of L ucy
e awok e: when he slept again,
at last this ethereal shape
seemed flying from him, he strove to detain her, and
started up, as she disappeared, fearing her lost to him.
The day had brok en, and he left his room to enj oy a
morning walk .
CH A PTE R V I .
The sun was j ust risen. O swald supposed that no one
was yet stirring, till he perceived L ucy already drawing
in a balcony. H er hair, not yet fastened, was waving in
the gale: she look ed so lik e his dream, that for a moment
he started, as if he had beheld a spirit; and though soon
ashamed at having been so affected by such a natural cir-
cumstance, he remained for some time beneath her station,
but she did not perceive him. A s he pursued his walk , he
wished more than ever for the presence that would have
dissipated these half-formed impressions. L ucy was an
enigma, which Corinne' s genius could have solved; without
her aid, it took a thousand changeful forms in his mind' s
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? 300 corinne; or italy.
eye. H e re-entered the drawing-room, and found L ucy
placing her morning' s work in a little brown frame, facing
her mother' s tea-table. I t was a white rose, on its leafy
stalk , finished to perfection. " Y ou draw, then ? " he said.
-- " N o, my L ord," she answered; " I merely copy the
easiest flowers I can find: there is no master near us: the
little I ever learnt I owe to a sister who used to give me
lessons. "
ask ed O
her. " --
S he sighed. -- " A nd what is become of her? "
swald. -- " S he is dead; but I shall always regret
H e found that she, too, had been deceived* ; but
her confession of regret evinced so amiable a disposition,
that he felt more pleased, more affected, than before.
L ucy was about to retire, remembering that she was alone
with L ord N evil, when L ady E dgarmond j oined them.
S he look ed on her daughter with surprise and displeasure,
and motioned her to withdraw. This first informed O s-
wald, that L ucy had done something very ex traordinary, in
remaining a few minutes with a man out of her mother' s
presence; and he was as much gratified as he would have
been by a decided mark of preference under other auspices.
L ady E dgarmond took her seat, and dismissed the servant
who had supported her to the sofa. S he was pale, and her
lips trembled as she offered a cup of tea to L ord N eviL
These symptoms increased his own embarrassment, yet,
animated by zeal for her he loved, he began, " L ady E d-
garmond, I have often in I taly seen a female particularly
interesting to you. " -- " I cannot believe it," she answered
dryly: " no one there interests me. " -- " I should think
that the daughter of your husband had some claim on your
affection. " -- " I f the daughter of my husband be indiffer-
ent to her duties and reputation, though I surely cannot
wish her any ill, I shall be very glad to hear no more of
her. " -- " B ut," saidO swaldq uick ly," ifthewomanyour
L adyship deserts is celebrated by the world for her great
and varied talents, will you for ever thus disdain her? "
-- " N ot the less, sir, for the abilities that wean her from
her rightful occupations. There are plenty of actresses,
* A religious, moral, E nglish gentlewoman propose a romantic falsehood,
so lik ely to wreck its theme on the dangers against which L ady E dgarmond
warned Corinne! This anti-national inconsistency neutralises all the rest of
Madame de S teel' s intended satire. -- Tr.
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? corinne; or italy. 301
artists, and musicians, to amuse society: in our rank , a
woman' s only becoming station is that which devotes her
to her husband and children. " -- " Madam," returned
O swald, " such talents cannot ex ist without an elevated
character and a generous heart: do you censure them for
ex tending the mind, and giving a more vast, more general
influence to virtue itself? " -- " V irtue! " she repeated, with
a bitter smile; " 1 k now not what you mean by the word,
so applied. The virtue of a young woman, who flies from
her father' s home, establishes herself in I taly, leads the
freest life, receives all k inds of homage, to say no worse,
sets an ex ample pernicious to others as to herself, abandon-
ing her rank , her family, her name " -- " Madam,"
interrupted O swald, " she sacrificed her name to you, and to
your daughter, whom she feared to inj ure. " -- " S he k new
that she dishonoured it, then," replied the stepmother. --
" This is too much," said O swald, violently: " Corinne
E dgarmond will soon be L ady N evil, and we shall then
see if you blush to ack nowledge the daughter of your lord.
Y ou confound with the vulgar herd a being gifted lik e no
other woman-- an angel of goodness, tender and diffident
at heart, as she is sublime of soul. S he may have had her
faults, if that innate superiority that could not conform
with common rules be one, but a single deed or word of
hers might well efface them all. S he will more honour the
man she chooses to protect her than could the empress of a
world. " -- " B ethatman,then,myL ord! " saidL ady
E dgarmond, mak ing an effort to restrain her feelings:
" satirise me as narrow minded; nothing you say can
change me. I understand by morality, an ex act observ-
ance of established rules; beyond which, fine q ualities
misapplied deserve at best but pity. " -- " The world would
have been very sterile, my L ady," said O swald, " had it
always thought as you do of genius and enthusiasm : human
nature would have become a thing of mere formalities. B ut,
not to continue this fruitless discussion, I will only ask , if
you mean to ack
nowledge your daughter-in-law, when she
-- " S till less on that account," answered her
owe your father' s memory my ex ertions to
is my wife? "
L adyship: "
I
prevent so fatal an union if I can. " -- " My father ! " re-
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? 302 corinne; or italy.
peated N evil, always agitated by that name. -- " A re you
ignorant," she continuedj " that he refused her, ere she
had committed any actual fault? foreseeing, with the per-
fect sagacity that so characterised him, what she would one
daybecome?