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do not know that i can said you distrust me ah well never mind tell me now all about your english home i want to know what sort of place you come from what sort of people you have been accustomed to see have some mercy on me said consider that i am a poor weary traveller repose of body and mind nothing rests me so much as talking said nor does anything tire me more than silence that is one reason why i am glad you are come please yourself and me too then said by talking for both and that you may study my character i have guessed your motive no matter what is there to conceal in it my faults i m afraid are as soon seen as my virtues i am glad you know you have some faults pray what are they oh it will be too hard to tell you what you will so soon find out and i may not know them all perhaps perhaps that is a very malicious echo of yours however will you really candidly tell me all you find amiss in me most readily hum i should like to see your first letter to england not that i should advise you to put anything into it you would wish no one here to see especially about papa for it will certainly be read by whom said hastily well there are people in the house and people out of the house i say no more only this i tell you that papa reads as he thinks every note and letter of mine as far as he knows but mark you i have ways and means my dear i am perfectly astounded by the with which you tell me a stranger of actions and feelings i consider highly why if you were about in and the servants may call you miss may said she at length but i shall certainly call you papa led me to suppose you would be somebody quite old perhaps he meant to surprise me into liking you and yet no that is not his way of doing things no he was really surprised himself i believe unless he affected to be so for the sake of lowering your salary but it makes no difference to us i hope and believe we shall like each other but you look terribly tired are you would you like to retire to your room confessed that nothing would be so acceptable to her so let it be then i will accompany you to see that all is comfortable were you to remain up we could only play preference or chat while my father or read letters come then chapter vi s revelations on their way to s room drew her into her own which was with every comfort and many luxuries remain here a little while said she placing her in an easy chair and i will soon return to you saying which she ran off leaving to collect her thoughts in a scene so new and strange to her what a position is mine thought she here is a girl too old to fear me too young to be her own mistress too giddy and self willed to promise me anything short of continual trouble and for what success dare i hope nay that is not my affair duties are ours events are god s returned after an absence of some length come now cried she and you will find i have not been wasting my time when i thought some cross old was coming to look after me i appointed her a room as furnished as possible thinking anything would be good enough and for her a hard bed greasy chair and shabby change as you shall in fact scarcely recognised her old an down covered with new and pretty green silk pillow case and an elegant as well as comfortable easy chair writing table and with abundant for her wardrobe showed that had not been of her to morrow you shall have pictures and said but just now is engaged and cannot nail them up may i see you i should like it so much but no no you are too tired content yourself to night with your de and till tomorrow when you will have plenty of leisure for i shall be engaged with my religion master as papa calls him oh he has such a red nose i fear the good old soul loves brandy then why does he smell of it hey what is this book you are taking out so carefully you may look and see the holy bible containing the old and new translated out of the original tongues and with the former diligently compared and this is the book you are so and fond of i believe i shall like to read it though madame said it has done a world of harm may with a fond mother s prayers and blessing so then your mother gave it you made no answer and remained reading where she stood for some little time laying it down at length with the brief word curious i must teach her reverence thought at this moment and another young woman who was extremely pretty and well dressed entered carrying a small couch between them this is my french maid said familiarly patting the girl on the back hold up your head and show yourself to advantage the young person did not seem disposed to fulfil her mistress s commands and having to silently withdrew she seems to have been shedding tears and looks in distress said only because she has had a piece of bad news for said his old grandmother died and was buried in his absence was he much attached to her well she was his only relative and had him a good deal but young | 2 |
men don t care much for their do they she was a deaf dirty old woman one she could help the other she could not e and no but they made her very disagreeable i told to see she had all the attention that was proper and wanted to go to the funeral but all her fine linen was about neither nor so of course i could not spare her what are you thinking of me said suddenly you take me so by surprise that you chase my ideas out of my head said i am thinking that you are very young burst out laughing time will cure me of that said she what a good thing if it could cure me of every other fault as certainly i well good night good night i see you are dying to get rid of me and kissing her with her usual and she left at length to peace and solitude her head was dizzy with long travelling and with new impressions her thoughts were confused now darting ofi to her home then sadly returning to herself and she disturbed herself with the questions what shall i do how shall i get on as these were beyond her power to settle we shall not presume to settle them for her but leave her to the quiet enjoyment of a night s good sleep the next morning was summoned to rather a late breakfast which m discussed as as his dinner the previous evening and incessantly but of such trifles in such a trifling manner that they made no impression thus she spent ten minutes in the tie of her father s and on the subject of in general what their excellence lay in and how it was to be attained then on the comparative merits of tea coffee and then on the of servants and lastly on the impossibility of wearing any but french shoes when she entered on this subject m pushed away his cup his newspaper and walked off to his office we shall see no more of him till dinner said and now i must consider the bill of fare give my orders and prepare for my old priest so you can do what you like as had plenty to do in her own room this was by no means to her when she had finished she sat down to write to her mother with great eagerness but as soon as she had written dearest dearest mother she paused with tears in her eyes home feelings came over her so strongly there was so much to say so much that had better remain why should she give one fruitless pang to her so far away but yet there was plenty to be told that might and should be told and when once she began her pen ran quickly enough pausing at length she felt a soft i and breath on her cheek and turning round with a start found the smiling face of close to her is this what you call honour in russia said why need you bring in the country said the what is it to me what all the say then there s an end said coldly removing the caressing hand from her shoulder and her pen do i you said you do much more replied continuing to write i had supposed there was an innate sense of honour in every s breast what if it should not be in mine there can be no fellow feeling between us well said and in that case i shall take measures to procure another situation in st or you would not cried i certainly should and shall seemed for once struck dumb ah said she presently recovering my father would not let you your father would have no power to prevent me i am not a and but you would not go would you her arms about her and speaking you are only in play quite in earnest and whether in play or in earnest i never say one thing when i mean another oh that quite incredible cried no human being ever attained such a pitch of perfection as that i am sorry you think so but really i wish you would at present give me the opportunity of finishing my letter i want to understand a little more of this honour you think so much of said still hovering about her it prevents people from doing shabby things shabby with a little yes whether alone or not whether with the utmost secrecy and as they think without the power of detection or not the of s colour betrayed con that she had not always been bound by this nice restraint but her eye brightened too there sounds something grand in it said she grand repeated i am quite ashamed of you it is far too common to be grand go busy yourself till your priest comes in writing a uttle theme upon honour and try to dear up your and ideas about it they will not ill prepare you for your christian instructions and kissing her kindly but gravely she resumed her employment when had finished her letter she went in search of her charge whom she met up stairs to her i have done said have you yes how shall i send my letter without its being made use of in the way you have hinted at after a moment of serious thought you had better i believe said give it to you think him safe i believe him the soul of honour he refused once in spite of a considerable bribe to convey a letter of mine to who is ah i cannot talk of him out here on the landing cried with a sudden vivid as beautiful as it was uncommon she threw her arm round s waist and tried to her into her | 2 |
having dismissed to find she sat down on a low stool at s feet and proceeded thus vas by the bye you are aware is not a russian name he had a is one of the and most completely handsome young men you ever and saw noble of course but poor as an when he likes people he says to them the prettiest things you ever heard or can imagine he has frequently said things of this sort to me conceive how i like him he is s first cousin consequently we used continually to meet at her father s house and when we were riding as he with me sang with me flattered me how could i do else than but here s desires to know who can be trusted faithfully to post her letters without reading them in the first instance or taking them to any one else to read i have mentioned you i feel the compliment said need be under no fear for her letters between this room and the post office and receiving s packet he withdrew only a partial assurance said gravely though all that he can be responsible for but to resume and she turned her eyes on with a look full of affectionate anxiety ah do not look so sad said where was i as be with you sang with you and flattered you what could and aye what could be the result hut one of course i thought of him continually was happiest in his sight and and when out of it it would have been the same with you in my place i trust it would not nonsense that s because you ve never seen him we privately of course what makes you look so very very un happy i wish i could my letter to my mother why because my charge here is altogether a different one from what i had supposed one to which i feel quite unequal and one which i feel i must v oh no no dearest hush listen to me the warmest caresses have no effect i believed i was come to undertake the domestic education of a young simple pure hearted feeling girl even of the knowledge of the grown up world s bad ways innocent of as an english girl instead of which oh blushed till cheek neck and brow shared the she turned away from s eyes it s nothing said she at last in a tone of affected lightness but her voice was scarcely audible it s everything said oh mamma and mamma and she laid her head on her arms and wept are you crying for vm said with emotion but you won t go i must what and leave me to grow worse oh and flinging her arms round the neck of her new friend she burst into a passionate fit of weeping i would stay if you would grow better said weeping too i i will i will that is i u anything to keep you here for i like you so much and i m so lonely and sobbed anew what means have i had of being good whom have i had to teach me poor girl position example everything has been against me you must show me how to be good and i will try but indeed i know not whether i can oh yes dear if you will indeed try and indeed pray to succeed if the will is not wanting you cannot fail the will shall not be wanting said drying her eyes so now let us kiss and be friends and don t talk any more in that shocking way of leaving me for if do it often i shall only think you say so to frighten me and now what shall we do here is the best part of the day before us and it is and o late to go to church too early to visit of course i am not going to do a b c lessons like a little child in fact the best ay you can me will be to and improve me by your general conversation and example giving me a little hint now and then when you think i want it me in trouble and me in difficulty i believe some course of that sort will be the best to pursue said yes yes i know it quite well i am not so stupid as you may think however ignorant i may be i know my own wants and feel them what i have been at a loss for has been how to remedy them i believe my father without intending it in the least has supplied me with the very person to assist me before you say any more dear let me that habit of continually unworthy motives to your father it shows such a want of filial respect why how on earth can i respect him i must know a little more of him before i can answer that question but whatever may be a parent s faults a child should try to cover them looked about this but instead of discussing the subject said well we will lunch now and then drive out and you would like to see something of the city i suppose very much i was thinking of a walk if you did not mind the cold a walk oh women of fashion don t walk much said laughing we will drive about the principal streets and do a little but first lunch and while that is making ready we will sing if you please with all her regained lightness of heart she accompanied to the drawing room and sitting down to a grand over the keys with more facility than expression that will give you some idea of | 2 |
my style said she breaking off abruptly and then dashing into and do you like that do you like that she inquired at the end of each for s approval was becoming more desirable to her and she felt pretty secure of admiration of her musical abilities you have not heard me sing yet said she without attending to the footman s announcement of luncheon and she launched into di mi il with a young fresh voice that only required cultivation to win the applause she thought already its o and due now let me hear yoa said she starting up and drawing to the music stool after a moment s thought played part of s mass in c and then sang though i trace each and flower who was keenly sensitive to the power of music was subdued by it and when it ceased there was a pause that s not at all my style said she at length but it is much finer and now for luncheon and then for our drive v r y tr v ff i i chapter vii s forgot to tell you said to her new friend as they drove through the principal street that madame is expecting us this evening at one of her dull where people do nothing but eat talk scandal play et and look at each other s dresses are you then considered old enough to go out into society inquired with you for my steady replied laughing the fact is i make rules for myself people know i am a girl with plenty of money in prospect so they are not very hard upon me my father cares not where i am if i am with safe companions so why should i not take what little and meagre compensation for never going to st i find within my reach i know many prudent and look on me with great dislike and contempt but what matters it ah at this moment a gentleman dressed and driving a very shabby looked earnestly into the carriage and bowed profoundly to he was about eight and twenty and strikingly handsome thought he looked like count of s stranger or any hero of the sentimental romantic school turning to she caught a glimpse of a deep blush ere she averted her head the next moment she laid her hand on s arm who was it said now you have seen him was s reply is he not what a word you think him interesting not particularly so my dear i have never been accustomed to think persons interesting or merely from their and in such a moment too i i am all in a flutter perhaps we may meet him to night ah what shall i do i knew not he was here i supposed him at st if your father has forbidden your meeting him you must remain at home my father has not forbidden though i know he does not like him and he has consented to my accepting madame f s invitation therefore i shall go three horses abreast and what a pity it is you are the temptations and trials of a later age far happier and more would you be quietly improving your mind thank you i dare say ah we are driving past s i want gloves gold thread and half a dozen things how i am they alighted at a fashionable shop where would have been amused at the russian mode of goods had she not been full of painful anxieties the required so much beating down was so capricious and hovered over so many pretty things she did not want that daylight before they left the shop had yet other purchases to make at different shops though snow were beginning to through the air and she now seemed much more occupied in thinking how many per had her for the french ribbons than of the handsome besides she was continually nodding and bowing to female acquaintance of various degrees of intimacy therefore conversation for a more disengaged season amused herself with noticing the many new objects in the streets the bridges churches the tea shops with a white and painted on their with glimpses of boys in their shirt sleeves and waiting on long bearded the street little station houses at street corners of wearing apparel with their owners sleeping on of goods or awake and priests with long hair and flowing robes of various descriptions from the noble s driven by a long bearded coachman in a velvet cap with a red round his waist to the rude and cart drawn by oxen nothing struck her more than continually seeing men kissing and embracing their male acquaintance wherever they met them three kisses on one cheek three on the other six in all to each fresh party it was quite dusk when they drove into their own and they had to dr ss in haste not to keep m waiting he them with his accustomed what of your day we have been papa and in the morning i had my old priest and no studies no lessons we practised singing a little said carelessly i am rather too old papa for dates of t events and measures and those sorts of things i think some system of regular mental application might be devised and should be pursued said m looking at and i think so too sir said i hope to some plan of the kind to morrow i at the thought of it said ing fearfully and then laughing the sham as usual was soon followed by a real one what plan do you propose to adopt pursued m and other have broken into the day said i must look into s books before i arrange anything to see what progress she has made and what she has read my books cried merrily what do | 2 |
you suppose are the books that form nearly my whole library i cannot tell nor am i probably acquainted with their authors you know best about that they are paul de victor de the last is harmless enough at any rate said the others i only know by name to tell you the truth that is my case too only wanted to frighten you you will certainly frighten me if you do not speak the truth aye aye quite right said m you p and are taking up the right tone with her as for me i know none of the authors she has mentioned one may be as good or as bad as another but i look to you to confine her to the good i certainly shall if i can said looked mischievous but said nothing and helped herself to and where do come from where do come from where does come from said she suddenly those are the sort of questions my old used to ask me much good they could do to my mind morals and manners she was of the old school said m shortly but if you had treated her with respect and submission she could have taught you much i prefer the new school papa and am much obliged to you for giving me so nice a companion as to you papa but not to me i should not respect her a bit the more but all the less the question is not of what you like but of what you owe it s a debt i shall not pay muttered have some preserved no thank you and y j then let us retreat to our own and have a nap before we dress papa we are going to madame s this evening so you told me before i hope you will enjoy yourselves wm you go too no it would be no enjoyment to im i knew he would say so whispered to as they left the dining room but i wished to be secure of it you cannot think how it pains me said to hear you talk in this way are you going to side with papa indeed you yourself make me now and then think there is need for it put yourself in m s place the father of child who him and treats him of an only daughter scarcely sixteen who carries on surely if he knew captain captain repeated laughing violently poor fi is not in the army i wish he were i i thought he looked uke a military man said ah he would become a uniform that s certain no poor fellow father pinched himself to give him a good university education till he was f and three and twenty thinking he had interest enough to procure him good government employment after waiting more than a year got a place worth how much do you think four silver a month i from which one was for his rank leaving him three for board lodging clothes cigars and all tlie necessary expenses of a gentleman on that he he does not look much reduced said smiling well of course he does not absolutely want bread he boards with his father in st and with his uncle here between one and the other of them and his visits to country seats when he is not wanted in his office he seldom has to find himself in food but only think three a month i not enough for gloves doubtless he would think a rich wife no bad thing said this idea seemed a new one to for she changed colour and looked quickly at that won t do said she the next minute i am certain that is not his motive for seeking to please me i hate people and unjust people too and you are unjust in a person of whom you know nothing come let us sleep a little while to prepare us for the of the evening i feel dreadfully tired and she threw herself on a couch and the next instant was or seemed to be asleep on the opposite couch thought long and of home in about an hour started up saying it was time to dress doubtful what amount of would be suitable and a black satin dress and white swan s down hoped she was attired whether for few or many in white with of golden wheat ears and bright gold ornaments pronounced s costume old enough for a grandmother yet on deliberation decided that it was very appropriate for a and that she looked very pretty in spite of it but if you were not in mourning said she pink or delicate pale blue satin would suit you best and leave me about as poor as a government clerk with three a month said four said who did not like the allusion he receives four if he cannot spend them but with regard to your mourning why should you wear it in this country where no one knows you are aa orphan because i loved my father more than you love yours said was checked and led the way to the car in silence yo and the streets were powdered with fresh fallen snow and yery ill lighted at madame s however were plenty of aiid to light them into a region of warmth and brilliancy dressed ladies were sitting in a row all round the drawing room and talking in groups in the midst and now and then singly addressing themselves to their female acquaintance places were found for and in the circle by the obliging madame and they then had ample leisure to look at the company and talk to one another entertaining is it not said is this the way you have parties in england i am sure it cannot be the french plan here come the servants | 2 |
with i always make it a rule to eat as many as i can to pass away the time and i advise you to do the same the bon are delicious between the courses took care to keep her eye turned towards the door through which she expected or hoped to see enter but the prolonged disappointment of her wishes filled her with how tiresome this is said she aside to what a horribly stupid evening i wish i were in bed and asleep but is it possible can it indeed be she yes it is oh and y i look at my friend that young lady in next the old lady in black velvet and see how she meets my eye as if we had never before met some certainly said no not quite that but so so base i to think what we have exchanged what vows we have made what we have on one another what of eternal fidelity we have uttered and it should come to this are you enough of an english scholar said to be acquainted with our s night s dream no said s not s why because one of his felt very much as you do at the of her friend and expressed it very injurious most ungrateful maid is au the friendship that we two have shared when we have the hasty footed time for parting us oh and is au forgot that s exactly it said with a deep sigh what had the one from the other they were both attached to the same person or at least one of them was in a dreamy kind of state that it appear so that makes our cases appear more parallel and i really fear sometimes whispered rather excitedly that may be my rival about this time m a old gentleman addressed himself to and stood before her talking of trifles for some time he had a son a heavy dull young man for whom he thought would be a very good wife but did not think so and never gave him any encouragement if my son were here now said m with a very polite smile he would compliment you on your looks quite in elegant terms whereas i can only say in my plain way i am glad to see you looking so well i like the plain way best said the other way is very easily learnt indeed can you teach it me oh yes very easily it is only to exchange the really true right phrase for one much stronger for instance instead of telling me i look well to tell me i look quite divine indeed well you look quite divine ah m that won t do from you why not oh anybody can tell at once it is not one of your own expressions m laughed said he feared it might be and the and walked off to the next guest meanwhile s ears had done double duty for while listening to m she had been unable to help at the same time the remarks made by some ladies a little way off on her own and s dresses the want of style in the one the extravagance of the other followed by some strong on s appearing in society at an age when unmarried young ladies were commonly never seen then followed local which was too ignorant of the parties alluded to for her to be able to tell whether they were true or but the tone of the conversation was such as to give her a very low opinion of the and to make her think that the of young girls from frequent admission into such society was a very sensible arrangement meanwhile the rooms were becoming very full and very warm and secretly thought the evening was being spent in a very stupid manner there is quite a little crowd of gentlemen in the room said she to they appear to be doing something what playing et said ah there is among them i and the colour in her cheeks can he afford to out of three a month said and i am quite sorry i told you of that you make such an unkind and disagreeable use of it on every occasion i dare say ive wins doubtless he plays well as he does everything well no great merit said if he plays at all said i think he had better play well than ill he little thinks i am here i wonder if he will see me and she sighed ladies cannot go into that room except to go away certainly not said there is not one lady there here he comes whispered in a tremor of joy ah no he is stopping to speak to she will not tell him i am here and he never thinks of looking this way how perverse she watched them and grew pale cruel cruel she presently murmured she has given him her purse however said and he has returned with it to the you are really too sharp sighted however if that s the way him from me much good may it do her people are beginning to go away let us go was in hopes would see her as she passed through the room she was disappointed chapter an and its consequences as they drove out of the they met j another carriage coming in and as neither of the chose to back there was a violent between them and a for in the street some of whom called loudly for the police said laughing it is s empty carriage which certainly ought to have given place to ours so it will serve her coachman right if he is sent to the police station but what will your friend do repeated scornfully my foe rather she will stand shivering in her white satin shoes on | 2 |
the steps till she finds it wiser to return to the room but is that a christian way of speaking let us interfere we can t said we have no gentleman with us and we cannot put our heads out of cover and for the wind cuts like a knife hear what a is going on i enjoy it hark some one is speaking with authority and very angrily a policeman suggested no said with eagerness it is some one from the house it sounds like it is i declare ah goodness he is commanding our coachman to back in order that s may pass he knows not i am here we will not i forbid it but at the same moment the carriage awkwardly and then forward caught a post and screamed and could not repress a hasty exclamation the tumult in the was now violent s voice over all who was presently felt lifted oflf her and then herself awkwardly from the carriage it was cold and there was in her transparent white and gold shivering in the snow is it you cried a voice joyfully and the person who had and who had been one of the foot passengers detained by the carriages hastily took o f his cloak and threw it around her the police will set up the carriage directly said he but meanwhile you will catch your death i what a surprise exclaimed who would have thought of your being here and but at this moment interposed is it possible cried he in a low voice what have i done to me the accident is owing let me hasten to repair it i can take care of this young lady sir said you have done her harm enough already f what right have you sir said fiercely the right of a sir said putting him aside with very little ceremony the carriage is set up now make way that i may replace my cousin in it is he your cousin said again between him and yes yes said hastily do you doubt my word sir said putting him aside this time very roughly and rapidly assisting into the carriage was ready to foam with rage but without paying the least attention to something very much like a handed in and then springing lightly into the carriage after them closed the door himself and laughed gaily as they drove out of the do i you said he i had better see you safe home i was on my way thither why you surprise me beyond and sion cried when did you reach st just a week ago and after seeing all at home i came on here to see how you and my uncle were i arrived here just in time i think i who was that rascal with his voice that me about so you must not think badly of him said embarrassed i know him very well and as he did not know you he did all for t e best in inquiring whether you had a right to interfere i like that said contemptuously it was he who interfered not i i helped you out of the carriage did not i madame appealing to not madame interrupted allow me to present you to my dear english friend and may only think what a delightful successor to old madame bowed and then resumed but this who is he don t call him names please said he is hum i only know of one of that name and he does not do any credit to it of course he is not the same then said the i mean pursued is and the only son ol old of st who himself to give him an expensive education which he by turning out a complete ah then it is not the same said he holds a pitiful place under government persisted and runs dreadfully into debt which he can only get out of by his at play by the by he is related to the your old friends here then it must be the same the were friends once said biting her lip but they are no great friends now witness their carriage driving against mine just now was it theirs and you and and i have been in the same room together all this evening and she never once spoke to me there s a friend well but i don t know all the you may have her first was it so but h e we are i had better not come in to night had i said why not said my father never any one very warmly but i hope he is enough of a russian to be glad to see his sister s step son we have the character for hospitality at any rate said she appealing to o and i won t wait to be asked twice then said springing out and offering his hand to each in turn michael will run down to the inn for my i dare say smiled without speaking and as the large scarlet shawl carelessly wrapped round her dropped off observed start a little and hastily survey her from head to foot with extreme admiration without noticing it tripped into the drawing room where m was on a sofa drawn close to the stove papa here s cried she rousing him who said m rubbing his eyes and while he was kissing the young man three times on each cheek heard give orders for rather a substantial supper to be served immediately and for a room to be prepared for m they were soon seated round the supper table without any regard to the of the hour laughing talking helping others and herself abundantly to cold and ham and looking brilliantly pretty while m after a glass of became comparatively quite lively so picked | 2 |
you up at madame s said he pushing the case to who silently put it aside and i no papa it wasn t there interposed hastily in coming away an empty e was driven against ours we were and who happened to be passing very kindly us from our uncomfortable position saw everything put to rights and then saw us home i am sure you ought to be very much obliged to him said m coolly as if the obligation did not by any means extend to himself either with respect to his carriage or his daughter have you been long here only this evening arrived sir but how long have you returned from your travels barely a week sir you have been quite a traveller these two years yes sir i have made acquaintance with england france germany and italy as well as with the shores of the seen nothing like old mother russia hey nothing like her certainly sir no i thought not are we going to war with england think you well sir it like it but i hope it may blow over they had better not with us i think hey ha ha i he en and nor we with them sir do they seem much frightened can t say i saw any signs of it sir no i suppose not m john bull as he calls himself is very fond of running his head against a stone wall you forget papa said that this cannot be a very agreeable hearing to nor to any english ear of course said m with a little apology for a bow or a little bow for an apology however it s what everybody be talking of soon if it comes to anything which i hope it will not said well papa it is getting terribly late so we will wish you good night i hope you will find everything comfortable in your room if not michael shall get his hair well pulled ah we are too ready at that said do you know i have lived so long in foreign parts that i would rather with cold water than that michael s hair should fly about the hall what a you must have grown i said laughing and still standing near him though as if about to go where s is he in the house yes he was always a favourite of yours i remember you shall have him for your attendant and if you like instead of michael but he has grown quite a great gentleman since you were here quite a superior young man papa makes him a sort of i m afraid there must be no in that quarter luckily there will be no need of it well good night good night and waving her hand to him she off he looking after her as if be not so pretty and charming for a long while g chapter ix uncle and nephew you seem to have engaged a very young for my cousin sir said when had disappeared a said m helping himself to another glass of and then putting in the take another glass why now getting up as if had declined any more refreshment and putting his hands in his pockets how much do you suppose she costs me it is impossible for me to say sir but if she be capable of forming my cousin s mind and making it as lovely as her person i should hardly think her dear at any price two thousand a year i silver paper very cheap sir if she the conditions i am led to understand her to be completely and very young though but as steady as old time then sir i think your two thousand could not be better invested but what a salary for so young a person i i determined to spare nothing for s advantage thereby showing yourself my dear sir a very affectionate father affectionate i yes i but she makes pretty hard on my affection too that girl s are enormous i m sorry for it sir she won t do for a poor man s wife what does that signify sir hey you do not mean to marry her to a poor man i suppose certainly not but there s many a man would like to snap her up doubtless sir and it was lest any adventurer should take advantage of her that i should have thought an older lady than may however virtuous and accomplished she might be would have been a well i may have been penny wise and pound foolish in this affair after all said m somewhat uneasily and how so sir said with surprise two ladies proposed to by my english correspondent one of them equally well spoken of for integrity and had the additional advantage of being a widow lady of mature age experienced in who had educated and introduced to the world three girls of high rank what could induce you sir to give her up for miss may she wanted two thousand silver and miss may was content with paper she was unaware of the difference raised his eyebrows the trait was so characteristic of m that he said nothing you are surprised said m the source of his expression you well may be do these english women receive such in their own country so sir you see it is a long way to come russia is considered a semi barbarous country by those who don t know anything about it i believe they think the bears and wolves come up to our very doors ha i miss may if she be what she has been represented to you would very likely command a salary of a hundred to a hundred and twenty guineas in her and own country and something extra is expected for being banished i believe she supposed this little | 2 |
to you about then i shall certainly get up said don t hinder me i will ring for perhaps he will go out before i am dressed no he is writing music ah so much the better he has a very nice voice you shall hear it by and by i shall get up now directly h chapter x interference was still writing music when and late in the entered the drawing room he had been out in the had with some acquaintance arid on his return had drawn a little table close to one of the windows to avail himself of the remaining daylight dear i hope you are better this afternoon said he going to meet her and affectionately taking her hand oh yes much better thank you said you look flushed and heavy eyed however you had better have remained in bed what when told me you had a thousand things to talk to me about unreasonable the thousand things were of no importance i could waited does papa seem glad to see you this time oh yes he is quite cordial that s right i was so afraid he would send off before i came down and on the contrary he has asked me to stay a little while long enough said laughing to find out whether miss may is real english or only scotch or irish laughed that would be a pretty joke said neither he nor i could find it out are you really english really english said a maid of and pray how are you going to form my cousin s mind inquired i must it a little to begin with said i find she has very cloudy ideas of the thirty years war and knows nothing of the sanction is there any need of my knowing all these things said great need i am sure mamma never heard of them times are altered now well if you say so i suppose i must submit i really was going to rebel think how nicely the time will slip away in the summer while you are going through a well chosen course of reading aye let us put it off to the summer was talking of beginning directly h and the summer is a long way off said before it comes you may be able to little english books like princess let them be pretty ones and then i shall not mind it you and i will take our books and work out of doors when we go to and spend the mornings in the open air that will be pleasant yes only we shall want some nice person like to hold our fetch us things from the house and lie on the grass at our feet smiled at this addition to their studies could not bring us things from the house said she ah how i cried men always impart instruction best and s conversation is very improving is it not not just now i fear you will come to us won t you unfortunately i shall probably be tossing about on the for it is likely the emperor may give me a private mission ah horrible but what are your thousand things well to begin with the first that occurs to me when i was here last you and were sworn friends always flying into each other s and i o i arms or walking about with your arms round each other s what has put an end to all that the reason is said a little to cover her embarrassment and as sometimes happens the feigned cough provoked a real one which could not easily be stopped there i shall go on in this way till i am quite exhausted unless i am quiet for a little while said i will go back to my music writing for ten minutes by my watch said and then talk to you instead of letting you talk to me there is a little air i want to finish before it is quite dark he returned to his writing table while took her to the other window and each of them was nearly hidden by the ample crimson curtains at this moment michael looking rather bewildered threw open the door and in a manner announced some name that sounded like hastily retreating the moment he could close the door upon the visitor it was who approaching caught her hand exclaiming loveliest how can i ever i don t think you ever can sir said a cold distinct voice from the nearest window while blushing scarlet hastily said i and m you do not perceive my cousin and withdrew her hand darted a glance round the room that comprehended the other inmates and as soon as he saw turned his chair almost with its back towards him and addressed again in a tone of intimacy that seemed to refuse to be she overwhelmed with confusion never raised her eyes but with burning almost answered his inquiries which were in reality of the most common place kind he made exaggerated expressions of regret at not knowing she was present at madame s the preceding evening and at having caused her such an unpleasant accident and repeated his tender inquiries with so little except in the of his voice that conscious of s attention to all that passed said with a little annoyance you asked me that before did not disguise a smile but though saw it did not it cut one way however meanwhile had left the window and seated herself beside found the sentimental h he therefore began to talk in a gay and lively way with a good deal of satire of madame s entertainment and the appearance characters and histories of several of her guests it was just the amusing non and sense that an empty young man often addresses to his partner of the preceding night and having overcome | 2 |
her first fit of embarrassment was fast yielding to his powers of entertainment laughing at his and now and then answering in the same vein when suddenly pushing aside his writing table rang the so violently that looked round as soon as michael re appeared pray inform m cried to him that is here he will be so delighted to see him the tone was so cheery but its irony so well understood by every one present that had to struggle with an almost disposition to laugh but she fortunately was able to look stony cold though not daring to raise her eyes from her work as for he glared for a moment at as if he would him and the next instant as if resolved to do all he could with the present moment he renewed his remarks to in a manner that them from by melting tones studied changes of attitude and looks of admiration he was listening however for an approaching step and as soon as he could retreat without being driven from the field he rose bowed gracefully over s hand more to and then looking at and full in tke face without the least attempt at courtesy stalked out of the room burst into a fit of laughter before could have been out of ear shot looked exceedingly angry thank me dear as you ought cried triumphantly for helping you out of your difficulty thank you for what pray cried for with no no nothing of the sort for but decidedly getting rid of an impertinent fellow disagreeable to you and to my uncle who had no business to intrude he is not at all disagreeable to me said and i think it was quite due to me that he should call to inquire how i was even if my father does not like him much like him much why my dear uncle says he shall never if he can help it cross his threshold so you have been talking it over with papa i cried with flashing eyes really you have lost no time is it not too bad if you ask me said gently i must say that though i wondered at m coolness i think he well himself of a disagreeable office and thanks miss may said laughing i see nothing to laugh about said still highly what right have you pray to interfere with my visiting acquaintance only the right of an affectionate cousin who knows a little more of the world than you do ha ha ho ho how the fellow looked when i said my uncle would be so glad to see him and roared with laughter burst into a passionate fit of tears was checked directly he drew near and would have taken her hand but she him with indignation how could i tell said he in an tone that you cared seriously for him wait till i say i do replied she struggling with her sobs but you are unreasonable interposed first you are angry with your cousin for treating m as a person in whom you have no interest and next for supposing you have any just so continued for knowing you so well i took it for granted you felt nothing but dislike and contempt for a man of his notorious character you are envious of him said drying her eyes io and envious ho ho you may laugh as scornfully as you like but i know it is so i must want somebody to be envious about michael here re appeared and announced that m had gone out no matter said quietly the occasion for him is past in the evening went to the and played and but she would not ask to sing nor would she play over the airs he had written out to see if they were correct herself on the plea that her cold made her eyes weak was or seemed very little annoyed by her he knew they were for his against and while she wrapped in her shawl and sitting nearly in the dark continued to play for her own selfish amusement he made and sat beside at her work how miserable that poor dog is said he at length in a low voice is he said with surprise i have scarcely seen him since my journey for he is generally at the office has used him and with which has almost driven mad and to turn the tables on her he has paid attentions and to for whom he does not care a straw which has the breach almost past repair wiu be glad of it repeated oh yes continued quietly but wants to keep s services to herself and therefore is resolved that she shall not marry there s a soft hearted young lady for you i i fear there is something of this feeling fear it i know it i she would own it directly if we her with it and burst into a fit of laughter at the idea of its being wrong nor should i have thought so much of it two years ago but do put a softer nature into her if you can yes if i can repeated sighing but the task is so difficult early habits national customs and above all are so hard to make successful war with as for i have told him he may rely on it that is true to him in her heart and only to draw him on to make an offer he where s the good when he dares not marry i have told him at any rate not to trifle with or he will make three miserable instead of two he has promised to what are you two about cried suddenly starting up and joining them your good of course said io and comparing notes of my faults i suppose much good may you derive from it it will do | 2 |
through the interminable and and the city itself looks deserted we have fifty thousand inhabitants though said m i understand that is your population but no one would think it our public buildings are fine well you have a good many blue and green and some fa and flights of steps one or two large and a good many that is all the arms you manufacture here are very inferior to ours i am disappointed what more would you have said m palaces perhaps and a better theatre but yet for a provincial city we do very well what would you have better lighting and well there might be an improvement but it would cost money sir it would cost money i would have a better fire hardly a night passes without a destructive fire yes because our houses are of wood then they would be better of brick or stone of course of course said his host just as and a would be better if he were a but the does very well as he is nevertheless does he said mr with an amused look at who did not think it safe to return it ah you come from a country of said m pardon me ours is a limited very limited indeed ha ha ha but with plenty of in it for all that i call yours a vulgar sort of government you know called you a nation of a stale joke now said mr coolly it will not excuse your system if our system is all you have to say against us said m we who reap the advantage of it can smile and let your objection pass mr does not look as if it were all said laughing oh no returned he in the same light tone though taking advantage of it to pursue the subject higher up things are as bad or worse the universal system of the of justice no open courts no testimony no testimony without a stamp to the enormous profit of government why now to day you may believe me i give you my word m when i say that this owes me fifteen and hundred which i placed in his hands before i went to i have stated the fact in a writing duly stamped and presented it to the proper division of the civil court after waiting a month to my great inconvenience i am told that my document is not worthy of attention being written on the wrong sort of paper i appeal on another kind which is sold to me for the right sort i do this three times and each time my appeal is rejected on the same pretext and on applying to you for information how to act you advise me as a friend to offer a considerable bribe a a interposed m you may call it a but it is nothing short of a bribe which in a word i never will give m burst into a fit of laughter and then replied you will wait long enough then for your fifteen hundred we shall see said mr yes my dear sir we shall see we shall see but you had better look on the thing as a little per a per for what for having been cheated a fee that time has made it habitual to expect this is a dull subject to discuss before ladies your pf us are sweeping said and the war into her own quarter is there nothing then in russia that you will praise oh yes said he bowing and smiling the beauty of the russian ladies i thought said looking towards that the english ladies bore away the palm if such compliments are passing from one to the other said it is time for us to run out of hearing smiled and rose from table during the evening mr conversed agreeably enough for both his female to hope they might see him again it was very pleasant to to talk to some one who knew many persons and places familiar to her and forgot her desire to shine in the pleasure of listening to their animated conversation the nine months winter was now nearly half got through during the remainder of it mr called on them frequently for much to his he found himself unable to carry his point of getting his appeal attended to without recourse to and corruption at sorely against his will he gave the required in consequence of it was informed that he was charged by john with keeping back from him fifteen hundred denied the fact mr had then to p his witnesses whose were taken and down on stamped paper subject to the same objections as the first he now became curious as an observer of national character and customs to see how far this would go at m s recommendation he be it observed being connected with the same office he again which were again accepted the case then went before the president and of the court but the decision was still deferred and m hinted to mr that this was because the president was being by mr determined to carry the matter through just at the last moment and the decision was made in his favour but now came the actually could not pay the debt and there was no alternative for him but mr s heart for him what i doom a to exile for a paltry sum of money equivalent to about three hundred pounds english he could not he must the fellow in the strongest terms let him go and pocket the loss as indeed he would have to do either way so he had lost his time and temper in addition to the original sum and went his ways with a light heart and was soon well to do in the world again with | 2 |
a poor wretch or two under him to beat as much as he liked and threaten with i i and while this affair was still became seriously annoyed at the loss of several small articles which she was convinced were by as she had been extremely kind to this girl she was the more hurt at it yet hardly knew how to proceed not having made sufficient progress in russian to make her as effective as she could and knowing that if she called in the aid of the case would be much more severely dealt with than she while she was in the loss of a pair of hair which had given her and to which only have had access disturbed her so much that she to apply to taking the precaution of a promise from her beforehand that she should no more than deemed y necessary she had just come to this determination when looking pleased and a little fluttered came up to her with a letter in her hand and sitting down beside her put her arm round s waist only see said she here is a note from to me enclosed in a letter to papa who has given it to me at once without even breaking the seal he has never written to me before and i don t know why he should now but at all events there can be no secrets in it and if there were and i have none from you so you shall hear what he says and breaking the seal she just glanced down the page and then read as follows in english off dear it was very to leave you in the way i did without stopping to say farewell but the emperor s summons admitted of no delay and i was glad to be sped on my way by even such a stupid companion as once in st there was plenty to keep me there till i received my ins and now here we are frozen up off island which our great peter chose as the site for the nursery of a young and the of a navy but i am not going to to you upon and i want to write about yourself you know very well dear i have always felt a brother s interest in you which has perhaps made me rather than blind to your little and you could get nothing but outward polish from that old madame but miss may will if you will let her make you all that is amiable and in woman dear be good be such as you are you are already secure of being loved but you will be loved and and esteemed too by a higher class of minds than you now to if you will but be ruled by just principle right feeling and good sense miss may being so attractive and will make this the easier to you i hope to come to my uncle s for a little shooting in the course of the summer and then to find you pursuing a steady course of self improvement but it is not only the conduct of your u i am thinking of you have already many human beings dependent on you and hereafter will probably have many more think how you shall answer to god for your care of them i don t mean by knitting for the little and giving brandy and tea to their fathers ai d mothers this is all very well as far as it goes but it only costs a little money and trouble do not leave hearts to ache or break when it depends on yourself nor by impatience and passion cause unnecessary personal to be inflicted which only the mind and the disposition miss may will tell you who has said these ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone farewell dear i am sure you have had enough of my preaching i shall tell my uncle i have sent you a little sermon and then he will respect the seal your affectionate cousin and it w a sermon but yet a very kind one said when she had finished and i am very much obliged to him for sending it but higher minds ah dear he must know as well as i do that there are none such here and that if i aim at all these good things it must be for their own sake and nothing lower but i will and you will be rewarded said kissing her their looks and tones were so full of emotion that they hardly heard mr announced young ladies kissing in a morning said he why not in the morning as well as at any other time of the day cried gaily why not truly he replied but i never knew such kissing people as you from the emperor to the you never see a couple of shaggy fellows meeting in the street without their on each other three kisses on the right cheek and three on the left what of that said amused well it looks stupid i think i can t bear the custom myself and always say stand oflf i shall get a challenge or two for it some of these days i know but i can t help it how goes your said the decision is to be made this morning and i i and have a in my pocket to slip into the president s hand at the very last moment oh aye you may well say oh but it s actually the only way i shall show it all up in my book are you writing a book said to be sure i am that s my only compensation i have a gloomy joy in making the worst of things take care of what you say the police will have their eye upon you do you | 2 |
think me unaware of that i believe they every word i write between my going to bed and my getting up i make it perfectly easy to them leave my key in the lock or on the top of my desk are you not afraid said why you don t suppose i keep my journal in a way they can comprehend do you no no when i mean black i write white and for i put and laughed at this novel expedient he said he would make the london pay for his revelations so handsomely that even if he failed to recover his debt he would be into pocket for the worse case he was able to make out the more he should expect for it especially said he now that a and standing between the two countries seems we shall say of one another the bitterest things we can no foes like old friends that is true enough said thinking of and herself i must be oflf cried mr starting up or will get ahead of me after au and laughing he hurried away when to s letter she said that she believed he had written it chiefly for the sake of and and that she would think the subject over though she meant to take no step in a hurry then since you are so reasonable said i will mention to you a difficulty of my own and she told her of the suspected of would have resorted to extreme measures but knowing that would not like them she simply proposed finding a substitute for who should be sent back to her village though would have preferred some system she knew it to be out of her reach and therefore to s proposal with thanks for so easy a remedy accordingly before dark to her no small surprise and dismay found herself in a old k he en and on her way back whence she came with a small deal box beside the contents of which had been duly searched before her departure and a smelling bottle her last q withdrawn and restored to its owner the hair however which cared for much more were not found was convinced probably with reason that a good beating or hair pulling would have obtained a confession of the fate of the stolen goods if not their restoration but was too much of an to seek to regain them on such terms so the question was dropped the s place was supplied by return of by a young girl called chapter xii spring came at last the ice broke up the snow gradually disappeared the roads and streets became masses of black mud and the of the winter made the air almost water b an now to through that had heretofore been everything felt damp and and the heat of the was nearly heard of loaded sticking fast in the street mire of others being dug oat and of ladies bent on pleasure at any price being draped to theatres and by oxen to their es the amused her she had been surprised at the length and of the previous fast of eight weeks but every one seemed resolved on compensation for it afterwards as a matter of curiosity or rather of interest she accompanied once or twice as a to the greek church though it held been an understood thing k and before she left england that she should be allowed the free exercise of her own religion and that on sundays and days should have another the are between four and five in the morning the or communion service between nine and ten no seats are provided for all the congregation stand except during the greater part of the service consists of and hymns occasionally sung but most frequently read and the extreme length of the service the priests to read so fast that it is scarcely possible to follow them only music is but this is often most exquisitely performed when entered the cathedral which though is one of the most massive in russia the gorgeous effects of colour of light and shade the dresses of the priests composed of richly embroidered and glittering with gems the glare of some hundred wax lights and lamps of various sizes the of incense the strains of exquisite music and the sight of crowds of standing or themselves till their touched the pavement was almost overpowering to her little addressed itself to the soul but everything to the senses on the first of may though it happened to be a cold day every one threw off their winter and appeared in the spring fashions the and wives especially in the brightest and richest silk loaded with real or mock jewels and painted red and white in the most manner were to be seen driving about with their looking husbands in the old national costume who leaving their wives to with each other in dress only sought to rival one another in the beauty and of their horses longed for the country and for the first recognition of the violet and in their native woods but business delayed m in town rather longer than was expected at length preparations began to be made for the flitting to and every one about the house with an air of gaiety nor were the preparations hastened without reason for the russian summer comes in so suddenly and lasts so short a time that are neat travelling boxes were produced out of store fitted up with cups plates knives and forks for the road as such luxuries would not be by the the distance indeed to m s country house was only eighty one long day s journey but they must eat though they need not sleep upon the road many of the servants seemed to rejoice in going to the country where they would see their parents brothers and sisters but wore a face | 2 |
of settled and for was to be left behind had become very useful to m in his office and was to sleep in it and take care of it during his master s absence hence s but told with great glee that she had thought the matter well over and was preparing for a pleasant surprise she had resolved to tell her that she would no longer withhold her consent to her marriage but did not mean to do so till the day before their journey and then she added i shall have her services all the summer but she and will have something to look forward to so all parties will be satisfied was very glad of this but every time she saw s drooping head and mien she wondered how could forbear to end her painful state of mind however was quite satisfied with her own good intentions and would have been very much surprised had she been told she was doing less than the utmost that could be expected of her on the evening but one before their departure came in to receive some directions from his manner was respectful but dry and cold there was not the slightest appearance of personal attachment to his young mistress there was no frown on his brow but there was no smile on his lip as he went out he sighed and i could not forbear that another in your place said a was s cheerful reply we may all be burnt in our beds to night observed they were not however and the next morning she met in the corridor with eyes wet with happy tears on descending the stairs she met the usually quiet looking de bu pardon i cried he her in an agitated manner into the is going to make us happy and i know yes i could swear it is through your and wept her hand and kneeling he kissed it many times and hurried away next appeared all smiles and when m entered she danced up to him and kissed him you are quite thb morning said he coolly yes papa because i feel very happy i have i believe performed a good action i have told papa that i will consent to her marrying ho and has s master told him he may marry you will i hope papa will you not and child even is no property of but of mine you are not even of age your haste is somewhat premature not another word would he speak all felt quite dismayed and seemed a little thrown out but not much he can t bear any one to take a liberty whispered she not even me i know it to be a matter of perfect indifference to him whether or not he has told me that it entirely depended on me presently while m was still reading the newspaper went to the window and smiling beckoned to to join her looking into the court yard saw and standing together in the secure privacy as they thought it of an he with his arm passed round her waist and talking to her with great animation to which she was listening with an attentive ear till happening to look up she caught a glimpse of s blue muslin and blushing like a rose darted into the house m at the same moment rose and went away and began to pack up her music suddenly white as marble looked into the room and clasping his hands threw himself before oh i if you love your mother s e ic ic i mr c s just dow bee d be at the of borne j i ah no co v i i v ii you h t good remember m ow prospect of your lived on hope now i and for you with my father in some moment mind i do not for i cannot promise to be successful nor will you be it is my belief ejaculated struggling for self mastery but what i can do i will dear excellent and he gratefully kissed her hand yes said with emotion i shall hope to succeed and if i do not you know we are but where we were no that we can never be interrupted and i must henceforth regard ourselves as married in the sight of heaven we can never never be as we were never with regard to yourself for we thought you henceforth we shall you never as we ere towards for till i made suit to him he never fully showed his black heart well well i not hear all this go now for we are busy go and live on hope if i can and with a sigh and a smile he withdrew this incident threw a gloom over the day there was much to be done and till had not leisure to read a second time and with full enjoyment a letter from england she had received at breakfast the pleasure was a sorrowful one too it brought all whom she loved so vividly before her and and yet they were so far off nor were their prospects so as to make her at ease concerning them she mused long and sadly then and just before she went to her bed looked out of the window the sky as usual was lurid in one or two quarters with distant fires nearer at hand all was in dark shade though she fancied she could dimly discern the moving to and fro and hear him up the with which he occasionally kept himself awake by on it very feeble and harmless airs she had sought repose and was just dropping asleep when she was roused by a voice at no great distance beneath her at first low and subdued but gradually venturing | 2 |
on more strength so mellow sweet and sorrowful that its pathetic music rent the heart evidently it was not the though on his beat a friend then of his or he would not have permitted the to take place the air was slow and plaintive and the voice so excellent the style so cultivated that though she had heard much of the national genius for music could not suppose the to be of the lower orders but felt convinced the must be intended for whose departure it anxious to know whether were awake and listening she softly passed through the door which opened into her bed chamber and there lay in rosy sleep but she started from her light slumber as bent over her and hastily asked if it were time to arise no said hush i hark i there is the most lovely singing beneath the window sprang out of bed went towards the window and listened intently after a short pause the singer had resumed with still more and passion the words were distinctly how can i live on hope tis ejaculated he does sing i know they would have engaged him of my father for the italian opera if they could but papa tried to make too hard a bargain for him i wonder if hears him she sleeps in the adjoining closet and he is under her window not mine shall i go in and see no don t her privacy it is the last time she will hear him i must have one little peep yes she is out of bed and kneeling at the window whispered eagerly sobbing as if her heart would break poor i just hear him there s a dying fall what a charming it really is but i am very sleepy so good night good night and returned to her own room to listen yet longer to the that subdued the very soul chapter xiii summer time in the country the bedroom of m lay on the opposite side of the house or it is probable the would not have been attempted in the morning all were early and were in good spirits but m looked black as night could he have heard the singing thought not and she was growing accustomed now to these fits of impenetrable gloom as for he looked so unlikely to strike the light in the grave business of the morning that almost doubted if he could have been the after all he came and went answering m s repeated with a dogged mien and returning replies to his dry commands the dog is dangerous muttered m at length as left the room he is ready to fly at his master s throat oh no papa interposed he is only sorry we are all going away and a kind cheerful word from you would make him smile and a frown was her only answer and she darted away to the house door to cry i be sure you water those flowers while we are away he smiled but sadly and said yes and be sure you read all the books i have left out for you for they are very amusing and interesting he smiled more gladly this time and said yes well thought of and well spoken said for he feels you have kindly endeavoured to cheer his loneliness a kiss was s answer everything was now ready ven to the and m s writing desk under the carriage seat soon they were rattling along the ill paved streets between rows of wooden houses with yellow painted upper stories then through the long mean till they reached the high road which was still than the streets the bearded coachman now began to talk to his of horses and make long speeches to them as if they were reasonable creatures at first the unexpected repeatedly threw and against one another while their rattling over the stones prevented their speaking except in raised voices but was not to be she was in a mood and what do you expect our country house to be like said she just then they were passing a forlorn looking two house about a from the road without hedge wall or tree near it the sun shining full on its windows something like that said looked and gave a little nod was rather dismayed well we must make the best of it said she aye nothing like philosophy said is there papa i was not attending to what you were saying said m i said there is nothing like philosophy such a as that hardly requires an answer i think said m to his newspaper his did not prevent and from enjoying their journey to especially to whom everything was new everything was interesting whether the and in their early green at long and remote intervals the rows of long straggling log huts with their to the road and with straw dignified by the name of villages the lone houses of landed set on the or against the sides of and low hills the staring white post houses with the double headed eagle over the doors or the poor with and heavily carved window frames at one of these in a miserable town they found a broken down belonging to m that had been sent forward with servants and luggage being repaired for the rest of the journey and here m who for some time had laid aside his newspaper and sat in gloomy silence suddenly declared he must return at once to his office as something of importance bad been forgotten an old was at hand but some time was occupied in getting it ready and in the meantime they all alighted and entered the best parlour the house afforded reminded her father that unless he dined here he would probably go as nothing was prepared for him at | 2 |
home but he said soup or a s head were likely to be the best dishes the house afforded and that he would rather trust to old to provide him something there was nothing to do therefore but to look at the gathered round the and or examine the painted eggs and china in the little comer cupboard till the was ready and thought even the glare of the sun to the close and air of the inn parlour and at length the was ready and m having replaced and in his own carriage promised to be with them at night or at latest the morning it was unfortunate said as they pursued their way that m should be obliged to return and travel in that uncomfortable oh said i believe it is nothing in the world but a pretence to see what is about papa is so dreadfully suspicious i i have known him to do so before he first people and then expects them to which they often do if they can as for the inn dinner it was only because he thought the expense might be saved and that you and i might a well be content with the cold chicken for he neither soup nor and will not care a straw if serves him her own dish of smoked meat with i believe he would keep us all on such if he could with perhaps the of a great joint of large red half cooked pork on saints days but now is not the country becoming rather just a little pretty yes spring makes everything hark i there is a lark is it yes i see that it is one but its song is less gay than ours it is like the music of your country look at that dirty woman driving the pigs l and out of her cottage they run straight across the sleeping in the sun and he never surely he might leave off his coat in this warm weather how short all the are oh the tall ones are picked off for the army indeed then i think russian mothers must pray for short sons in the afternoon the bow to which the outside horses are attached gave way and they were obliged to stop to have it repaired one or two came lazily out of some road side cottages to look on rather than help and as was desirous to see the inside of a peasant s dwelling she thought this a good opportunity to enter one it was neither worse nor better than the rest but a miserable place the stove took up the greater part of it and on this lay an old woman muttering to herself and apparently half a boy sat on the ground in a corner himself bark shoes intently watched by two young children with bare feet the walls were hung with wretched little images of saints which seemed excellent fly for they were covered with hundreds of a middle aged woman thin and was clearing away the remains of the mid day meal from the top of an old chest that served for a table the food consisted but of black bread and with a can of and but the are hospitable to a proverb of their little a they ll give and the peasant looked wistfully t her food and then at the ladies as if wishing yet feeling ashamed to invite them to partake of it but a second look at seemed to decide her on her line of conduct and she put the loaf away without even making them welcome to her dwelling bread and salt said but the customary you are welcome to them was we are interrupting your meal i fear said we have fed was the dry answer are these all your children all these are my children but they are not all i have had two are buried not lost but gone before said the mother made no answer you are an ingenious little fellow said the little will they last you long oh no i shall wear them out in a day or two but i can make plenty more they don t take me long we have a family pair of boots for the mud and snow but father generally has them and they are too large for you perhaps yes whose are you said l and not yours said the mother rudely not yours thank heaven looked surprised why are you glad of it inquired she have i ever done you any harm hurts the goose hurts the said the peasant and again the pot cannot contend with the brass pan and again the lamb feels the knife even though he not is it not so good mother aye aye cried the old woman taking up the string of and a poor wife is better than a cruel love is better than riches not a in the sun lest in the dark the thee the cow has a long tongue but she dares not speak i cannot imagine how i have you said i do not think i ever saw you before i have seen you though more than once said the woman and moreover my father is the perhaps you don t know him ah cried with a quick vivid blush what has become of the good old man i can remember him ever since i was a little child and you had him beaten almost to death i no was he beaten was he beaten ah surely you must have known you might have laid your fingers in the an it was owing to you and owing to me but not done by my order or with my knowledge said i simply knew he had disappeared and have often wondered what had become of him he won t cross your path again said the | 2 |
woman it was owing to his carrying letters or messages for you without your father s knowledge and your father had him beaten almost to death i am sorry very sorry said accept this though it will not his beating it is over now and cannot be helped the woman softened and said i believe you are sorry and this will buy bread for my children then let us say no more kind words go farther than who knows how oft the carpet was beaten cried the old woman he is a fool that refuses a for his wound though a broken head be a curse an empty stomach makes it worse michael here came to announce that the harness bow was replaced and as they left the cottage the mother of the family said with a little the single word forgive i do and forgive me also said if in aught i have may god be your help said the woman salvation to thee said and and the last farewell word was go with god i well said laughing a little as they drove off see what your desire for a visit has cost me it has been a good lesson to you said and i think you must be glad to have had the opportunity of making some acknowledgment i will not say of your injury oh but you may say we are not so fastidious as you english and a of a higher class than these would think a handful of blows well paid for by a handful of as these two never seemed to tire of one another s company the rest of the journey was very pleasant about an hour before sunset they turned off the high road towards what looked like a forest with here and there a gleam of water flights of birds flew overhead disturbed by the noise of wheels along the road gay wild flowers grew among the long tangled grass and the air was fresh and pleasant they drove up a lime tree avenue and michael alighted to open a rusty gate which gave them the opportunity of hearing the barking of a number of fierce dogs that s our welcome said we shall get no better so we may as well welcome ourselves and and at least may welcome you to the home of my forefathers they were now at the door of a old stone mansion which facing the north and surrounded by neglected looked gloomy enough but yet more than respectable dignified had already arrived and awaited them among a group of servants in the hall led the way through a and room to the drawing room it was more stately but more shabby than had expected an old yellow flock paper with gold covered the damp walls some large misty and portraits by different and indifferent artists hung round the room the heavily carved chairs and not of the school were covered with faded and dirty satin there were no books flowers or musical instruments to give any air of elegance my is in my own dressing room said i will have it brought down to morrow but hitherto i have had no one in the house whom i cared to play to or please except indeed when he came to shoot wild ducks well what is your impression i have hardly had time to form one said give me till to morrow and of course said laughing well it cannot be helped to me it never looked so cheerful as your presence makes it already tomorrow we will set things in order meanwhile i will show you your room which is close to mine so you need have no fears even in this old rambling house wherein the ghost of my great grandfather is said to walk in a long on windy wintry nights there is no need for us to dress for one another we will have coffee stroll up the lime tree alley to the river come home to eat ice chat a little read a little and go to bed found the premises included a long concert room and theatre but neither chapel nor library her own room was hung with a common striped paper decorated with some poor prints and small pictures of saints with an old fashioned glass in a dark wooden frame carved in like curled leaves it looked out on an orchard full of crooked apple cherry and overgrown with moss and well apparently by and a wooden wall divided the orchard from a kitchen garden full of and common pot beyond which were corn fields and the roofs of a few cottages s room which was only divided from s by a dressing room had a different aspect and a and prettier look out though there was something desolate in the of a broken fountain an stone urn a statue lying among the long grass and a this seems a place that has seen better days said how should it be otherwise said my great grandfather had i have been told four hundred household servants including a complete band of a company of actors and besides scene painters house painters cabinet makers and every trade you can think of all of them born on his own land besides these there were without end and coach makers and forty female servants whose sole business was and at his death each of his four sons took equal shares of his of course my grandfather had only a hundred of the household ten of whom were but though a man greatly beloved he became poor every one him my father i am afraid ruined him and brought sorrow on the old man s grey hairs that was before i was bom as soon as my father found himself the sole representative of the house he became and going from one extreme to | 2 |
the other grew excessively you what he is now and when people say he has made much money he has not the heart to spend it so we live in the comer of our great old house like sand in an empty shell but come let ns go down to the river before the sun sets throw your veil over your head you will find it enough they strolled down the wood path to the enjoying the refreshing coolness various small animals alarmed at their light tread ran among the and birds and fluttered over their heads they reached the brink of a small but deep river which told contained and other good fish it seemed the spot for a to dream out his days flocks of wild ducks were gliding on the surface of the waters and a couple of themselves on a little of the opposite bank a young man seated under some trees was engaged in fishing close to the spot on which and stood a little boy stretched all along on the ground was intently reading suddenly laid her hand on his shoulder and made him give a great start he turned round his open honest face and looked up to her with great blue wondering eyes ah exclaimed he gladly i did not know you were here and is grand enough for me said why who taught you to read the widow ah the widow the dear good woman we must go and see her to morrow and what book has she given you he silently held it towards her a translation from the english into modem said examining it look i one of s tracts the young exclaimed how very singular to meet with it here i chapter xiv a lord of the soil the young man who had been fishing now approached with an air his dress though not below that of many a russian country gentleman was so ill chosen and that guessed him to be many degrees beneath the rank that really was his he wore an frock coat far from new with brass buttons leather and a violet satin a good deal his mien was and his countenance not bad but totally destitute of intelligence as he slowly drew near he seemed deeply occupied in pulling a pair of coarse gloves over a pair of coarse hands as if for the sole purpose of immediately pulling one of them oflf again to present his hand all glorious with gaudy rings to the want of between his sentences which he rarely finished had the appearance of proceeding from embarrassment but was in reality a habit that had become natural to him from the confusion of his ideas had yet to and i j learn how and a landed proprietor can become who dwells wholly and solely among his i did not know said he awkwardly that you were here that is i supposed to be sure told me only i thought it was not to be till next week that is a day or two as had very little to do with our arrangements said whose contrasted with his embarrassment it did not signify if he were not quite clear about them you need make no apology paul for fishing in our grounds you know you have my father s free permission to do so and i ve just caught a beautiful continued paul at every other word which i shall do myself the honour the pleasure i mean of carrying up to the house thank you pray do not trouble yourself here is little will run up with it ah that will be still that is of course i should be most happy and paul hid his blushing face among the long grass in which he affected to be seeking for the though it was close at hand all the while here boy cried he with a decision and command that showed how he could speak to a even though not belonging to himself readily i and took the fish tucked his little book under his arm gave another bright look and trotted off to the house it s easy to see how good you are said paul gazing on with a in his round blue eyes that was almost silly that boy now quite you and so must every one i should think every one that is that who thank you don t it said i believe little is fond of me seeing he owes to me many toys cakes and games of play and now let me present you in form m paul to my friend may ah french i suppose said paul raising his hat half a yard above his head and holding it there for a minute while his good white teeth were displayed in a smile that extended nearly ear to ear no english said better and better said that every one thinks oh no every one does not think said quietly as if he had made a general observation and how is m dear me i ought to have asked that before only that is i may a well walk up to the house and ask him myself your attention is needless as my father has yet joined us and oh then i ll walk up to the house for the pleasure of seeing looked as if she were inclined to remind him he was doing that already but as she afterwards told she thought he deserved to be rewarded for finishing one of his sentences really coming from him it was quite and where are you in this neighbourhood said as they slowly returned up the alley oh at my aunt s as usual said paul that is ah yes by the by i recollect i did once stay at m s | 2 |
oh yes ah to be sure and another time you know with only that time was before the well i in an altered key and very abruptly to little as he came running back from the house take my basket and rod boy you know where i left them up to s and mind you don t hurt any of the tackle at do you hear or i ll set you to rights arrived at the door steps m seemed quite inclined to go in and spend the evening but with an that did not seem exerted for the first time told him so that her journey ad tired her and she required repose that he was to understand her and content himself with ing that he would give his aunt the honour and l o and pleasure of knowing of her arrival and would wait on her to inquire after her health the next day if i have my usual good luck said after he was gone i shall so time our visit to his aunt as that he shall call here when we are out and we shall call there when he is did have her usual good luck for the following morning just as she and were driving out of the gate they caught a glimpse of him in the far distance approaching by another road enveloped in a cloud of dust now said as they drew near their destination we shall be sure to find our good widow engaged with all her heart and soul on some of the moment killing the on her garden wall fruit collecting rose leaves for a pot measuring english for her maids to or preserving but the best of it is that she never minds setting aside her own to her whole interest in that of her neighbour and don t mind if she attacks me about something or other for she always means it kindly and to tell you the truth she never hurts me much the loud barking of dogs now proclaimed their arrival at the gate of a white wooden house of moderate dimensions and quaint but comfortable aspect with green painted shutters and backed by a few trees an old man presently hurried and through the little court yard with an of into the house through a side door where they could see him slipping on an old livery coat and down his grey locks with his hands in another minute he was at the front door and opening the gate with a smile of welcome spoke to him kindly which seemed much to gratify him and after showing her into the little low drawing room he could not help lingering to chat with her a few minutes and tell her how badly he and his had had the during the winter before he summoned the latter from the garden some flies for fishing in the process of making on a small table beside a chair with a yellow and white striped cotton cover the nephew s whereabouts when he was at home and an easier chair in an old fashioned covering of white with a half finished net near it indicated the seat of his aunt there were a great many little about the room ranged with considerable neatness though without any fruitless attempts at their of which it might be said they were of a kind likely to be chiefly valuable to their owner who had probably some pleasant or associations with every one of them and these gave an air of habitation and comfort to the room that made it ar more attractive to than the great saloon of m and m shells dried flowers wax fruit stuffed birds a live and golden fish gleaming in the sun as they darted round their crystal globe books and pieces of china stuck up on various little corner shelves very handsome and comparatively new writing old prints framed glazed or pinned or against the wall all these though smiled at by had a kind of interest for who fancied something affectionate and amiable about the owner the peculiar look of a book on the table near her induced her to take it up to her great surprise it was the indian journal of dr translated into modem she had just laid it down with an expression of wonder to when the widow entered and running briskly up to her young neighbour embraced her and kissed her on each cheek three times she might be a little turned of fifty but her skin was as smooth and soft as satin and tinted like a it was no to kiss her smiling cherry lips small pearl white teeth she bore a strong resemblance to her nephew but her blue eyes were mild without being stupid and her nose was less of a her dress was a small fresh white satin bonnet made on a foundation probably by herself a gown rather washed out and pinned round her so and as to reveal a white muslin snowy thread stockings and shoes not slippers with substantial and coming up well over the a green china shawl over her shoulders i am so glad to see you cried she with animation taking one step backwards to survey with attention and completeness and then rapidly giving her six more kisses paul brought me word you had arrived in the country but little him the rogue for which he got a box on the ear poor boy said oh but paul was so disappointed said his aunt though i him for it too but i could not do so severely because i know that everything relating to you concerns him so much well and you too turning to you are the english lady yes yes paul told me so the of the humane and of who wrote the pretty | 2 |
little books yes and of the good dr who came among us to the holy among our poor people lives he still oh i hope he does i you see i know all about you yes and about your good little queen i hope we are not going to war with her we have had our female sovereigns too famous ones they were but not good no no r m and great but not good my dear do you ever read a little history now i know you were not fond of it but you should my child not for show but to be a resource against the evening of life then when beauty is fled you will feel the advantage of a well informed mind if it be but five pages a day that is what i say to paul set yourself a regular task if it be but five pages i make him do it too that is when i can but sometimes he says oh aunt i must finish this fly or oh aunt i must go fishing and now and then i hear him at dinner i ask him to give an account of what he has read i go back as far as and i say what can you tell me about i cannot say he can tell much he says oh aunt i have passed long ago i can t remember so far back i am now in the false ha ha ha never mind he ll be the better for it in time because mark you he now knows there was once a which at first he did not yes yes we shall get on in time he will become interested when he reaches peter the great i generally set him to read in the evening because i found his mornings were always taken up and then i gave him his book after dinner while i took a little nap but whenever i awoke i saw him just closing his book and putting his pocket handkerchief over his head with the dish empty and a great and heap of on his plate he would then say i am going to think over what i have read and gently draw his handkerchief down over his face ah i knew what would come of that you may both guess that presently i heard him but i am thankful and proud to tell you said that i neither over my book nor run away from it do i no said you have become rather fond of reading provided the book be not too dry such as this for example said the good taking up dr this is not dry no not at all and it would do you good it was translated when i was a girl by our good princess ah she was indeed one in a thousand she aided your good dr turning to in forming a bible society in she visited the st and the to the poor prisoners like your good mrs she visited also the and poor houses she translated various works by your more your your what say i she four hundred thousand copies of different useful productions composed or translated by herself among the poor mind you being in modem and at her own expense for with the assistance of the good dr and she printed bound and published them herself at an expense of ten thousand oh she was a good woman a self denying woman much that alexander our good emperor privately joined her in the work and contributed to it twelve thousand because he said it was for the benefit of his poor ignorant subjects what think you was it not a noble deed certainly i think so said i should like to hear you say so more heartily however rejoined because mind you you yourself will some of these days be the mistress of great wealth and it is only the of great wealth who can do good on this large scale and too often they want the heart to do it but ask yourself how much pleasure in comparison would the princess have had think you had she spent her ten thousand not on the souls of the poor but at et or in a diamond as large as a my dear she would have made no provision whatever for the evening of life whereas a woman who her wealth in and her time in her talents may grow as old and ugly as she pleases with for who asks what the author of a pretty book is like or who cares whether an old or young plays behind the green curtain at this point paul entered looking ex and warm with his ride and dressed with great attention to appearances even if with little success how unfortunate i was said he approaching with his broad smile not to find you at home that is i am fortunate in finding you here so that there s no i think except the annoyance of your ride on a hot day said that makes a i am afraid no not to see you r that is to be sure i might have seen you here and more of you too if i had not gone out and if you had just mentioned yesterday that you meant to call this morning on my aunt at this moment old the man servant entered with a large old fashioned silver on which were little glasses a case and a very elegant silver chased basket filled to overflowing with a tempting variety of cakes bon and of rich cake handed the basket to her young friends herself and desired her nephew to help them to for though it went against her conscience to induce young people to take she could not refrain | 2 |
from making them welcome to the best of whatever she had so it was of no use to say no because the more they declined the more she pressed and paul to with his aunt ii n he en and liberality though the was none of his filled the glasses so full that it was impossible to raise them without letting the contents run over and then bade old with his shaking hands to present them to the ladies and not to the or he would his head for him this nearly s gravity and was obliged to inform her that though m did not seriously mean to do anything so shocking a threat of the head was to one of sending a man to serve in the army old went off shaking the venerable in question in a very marked manner and contented herself with hoping that as she and had merely touched the with their lips old would privately have the of it which might be some compensation for the to his respectable meanwhile paul considering himself at once as host and guest continued to offer the to and again and again in spite of their having already declined taking any more and each time himself of the opportunity of helping himself to the largest piece left so that the elegant cakes which had certainly not been provided for him instead of being heaped in rich profusion nearly to the glittering handle shrunk down below he brim of the basket and once when and him his mouth so full of and sugar that he nearly choked in attempting to answer her concluded her visit by inviting him to come and partake of his beautiful with m and themselves at six o clock an invitation which he immediately accepted and which appeared no less gratifying to his aunt chapter xv country n dr what do you think of my old friend said to as they drove off i like her said she is homely but kindly i think she gave you little reason to accuse her of severity that shows how much i must be improved said laughing indeed i know i am you think me ar enough off still from what i ought to be but i know i am more at any rate than i was they had yet several country neighbours to visit the next was a widow lady in narrow circumstances with two grown up daughters who were neither intelligent nor well informed they lived all the year round in the country and envied those who could spend the winter in st or even a second class provincial town they were discontented with their lot and seemed incapable of mending it was not surprised that and did not like these people she pitied them but did not think their companionship could be or improving next they paid a state visit to a grand who was said to in politics and who was surrounded by a cluster of admirers and she was too self important a personage to have much attention to bestow on a young person like who was chilled by her reception and soon took leave next they called on some very french ladies fresh from who were dressed in the height of the fashion and could only talk of the fashionable world other visitors were present and a young lady dressed in mourning who appeared to be staying in the house after one or two gestures of surprise and emotion in the background came for ward and taking by the hand exclaimed dear how long is this to last v it makes me profoundly miserable i declare to you since this coolness arose i have never known peace cast all the blame of it on me if you will only say you forgive me i have no blame to cast on you that i know of said looking much embarrassed for whom are you in mourning is it possible you did not know that had lost his father as a near relative and of course we put on complimentary mourning but between ourselves dearest the old man s death is not much to be regretted for is now in a position free from all pecuniary difficulties she looked as she spoke at who changed colour as soon as she heard his name but she did not seem to have a word to say when ceased after an awkward pause she with some effort replied then i hope he will pay his debts his debts of course that is if he have any said who seemed to think it a very odd question to raise are you not concerned for the poor fellow i am sorry he has lost his father certainly said with that is if he be sorry himself and if he is not he is the more to be pitied and for i believe his father was a very good old man how changed you are said reproachfully da come to the window and winding her arm round the reluctant s waist she drew her out of s hearing and talked to her at the window with much display of earnestness seemed in great perplexity and discomfort at length she broke up the conference by saying well i must go now or papa will be kept waiting and will you not let me come to you then said i must not you know papa has insisted on our intimacy being broken oflf ah you are so cold and applied the corner of her handkerchief to her eyes but was firm and hastened to take leave of the lady of the house and of all the friends round her whom she knew afterwards counted up forty eight kisses that had been exchanged on the occasion you surprised me by your firmness said she to when they were once more together i rather surprised myself | 2 |
said between laughing and crying i had no idea till we met how my sentiments towards her had changed you have to answer for it i hope i may never have anything heavier to answer for said to me she so clearly seems not only artificial but that i think her an companion for you what designs can she have said in the first place she designs to make you think her very attached to you which i really believe is not the case well i have my doubts about it too said though once you could not have hurt me more than by saying so what can have made me and so sharp sighted i suppose living with so truthful and honest a person as yourself knowing what the real thing is i have learnt to detect the it may be so said but very young persons are apt to be deceived by any who think it worth their while or worth their said there i have made an english especially if they flatter pursued which she certainly did sometimes said and i am afraid i liked it i had nothing better to like then what do you like better now inquired common sense plain dealing and sincere affection you dear said kissing her number forty nine said laughing why you cross cold creature would you have one live without kissing at all ah there is the old driving away from the door and there is mr standing on the steps well papa has soon picked up a visitor tell me how old do you think he is m no no mr oh perhaps thirty two or thirty three he cannot be less than thirty three i think that s rather old for what said and for whom you mean said what i cried is he to be the successor to no you stupid of course i was thinking of thank you said laughing but i have no views of the kind you seem to allude to nor i think has he he is certainly not very handsome said and yet he has a pleasant cheerful face a good countenance as people say a sensible head good forehead quick eye and pleasant smile is he above or below the average of your countrymen you may take him as a pretty fair average specimen pray is m an average specimen of yours well there you have the advantage of me certainly at our table to day the english will bear the palm you and mr against paul and papa why not against paul and you said that would be more polite and more dutiful i think certainly said but here is mr waiting to receive us well mr welcome cordially welcome to the surprise is equal to the pleasure and i concluded you would be surprised said he laughing and offering his hand to assist her from the carriage but m was so pressing there was no refusing him and i thought it would be so nice to come down here and get on with my book oh if that is all it is paying us a very poor compliment said well but the town was so dull without you there was no bearing it even for twenty four hours and he what s the dull town to me robin s not here for robin read or whichever you like certainly said but this is very perverse of you mr did i not press you as much as a lady could to come here the very evening before we started but m did hem that is true you remind me what a very young lady i am and what has now made papa more gracious why i took his part yesterday in rather an awkward affair going to the public office i heard high words proceeding from your father s surprised to hear his voice i looked in and found a young fellow in a furious rage ready to collar him and of course that would not do i came to the rescue and took the by the of the neck rascal proved to be one of your precious who had taken advantage of your father s absence to open his desk with a false key exclaimed and in dismay the very fellow so of course there was nothing for it but the police station oh papa did not have him cried you both seem very much moved ladies the young villain is i believe not worth your pity no he was not actually though within an inch of it because i who wanted to see how matters of this sort are conducted for my book you know went along with him and made out by the way that it was not a case of but only of evidence this of course made all the difference so i took the responsibility on myself of staying the policeman s hand while i returned to m to find if it were the case and if so to for a of sentence your father had it seemed to me been a little too hasty he suspected that the impression of his private key had been taken in wax and that during his short absence the lock of his desk had been with and papers within it examined though not removed it had very likely been done it is just n and like you saving the ladies but there was no proof of it whatever therefore i as an englishman and a lover of fair play begged off and he came in for only a i half repented of doing so too the next minute for the young rascal would by no means beg pardon and promise never to do so any but turned dead sulky as i think can do more to the purpose than any others and | 2 |
the piano mr said no more than the truth the sound of music made the gloomy old house more cheerful and he could set down the chain of his ideas quite while were being played in the room below sometimes he back in his chair for a few minutes of luxurious rest after by no means too laborious occupation and thought with great satisfaction how comfortable it was to be studying the natives under the roof of a silent host with a lively daughter and her sensible friend often he would proceed to dwell on their respective characters and give himself a little credit for keeping well with so a person as m an matter occasionally certainly but well worth undertaking and for the sake of dependent advantages he found the best way was to see as little of his host as he could which was easily managed as m wrote in his study and took solitary walks of inspection about his estate mr contrived to write at least as much in his own room as m in his study and to keep in it either till he could join and call on paul or take a solitary stroll by himself his personal observations on the and their dwellings were by no means favourable some of the younger as had said were cheerful and honest looking but the greater number were and grown old before their time without industry or energy and dwelling in huts with doors hanging loose on their hinges open to every pig that chose to walk in his proper dwelling now and then mr fell in with an or a of old rags and with him on country matters getting a good deal of curious miscellaneous information as long as it did not affect the man s own interest many of the in poor person s mouth struck him as having a good deal of fidelity and submission in them such as a good slave is willing to die for his master pride for the common sense for the the has but one thing to mind how to get and his work done but still they were only employed as never sincerely used with respect to m indeed when mr saw how he sold them their spare time at the highest possible price how he suffered their to fall to ruin how severely he punished even the of a stick and how seldom he responded even by a nod to the timid of his people there seemed nothing surprising in their giving him among themselves the of the that is the silent man on the contrary was popular everywhere and more so this summer than she had ever been before for had her to a sort of house and as these visits were kindly and pleasantly made and generally followed by the remedy of some domestic want nuisance the women became ready to kiss the hem of her garment was sorry to find that her former maid had not returned to her father s cottage any the better for her abode in an ill managed establishment and had finally disappeared from the neighbourhood in company with a travelling merchant sometimes after the intense heat of the day mr would stroll out with and to the river side or through the wood paths to the village here they often found a couple of villagers and dancing while a man with his back against a tree played the and a few on sat on logs or stood around sometimes a merry fellow seated in the middle of a plank balanced on a tub afforded a see saw to a couple of light hearted girls whose pretty laughter and little screams of sham fright were enjoyed by him in perfect quiet at other times a prettier domestic scene might be witnessed at the door of a favourite of s favourite because he was always and his cottage always clean it stood in a little thicket apart from the rest and though only built of logs they were with the and a sort of staircase led to a little gallery running round the outside of the upper floor and shaded by the projecting f oi and the and in the yard were drawn up out of the way indoors the table and benches were as white as could make them the walls were decorated with gaily coloured little pictures of saints and a lamp burned before an image in the corner in front of this neat little dwelling the honest might be found on summer evenings sitting on an tub in the shade giving his little boy a ride on his toe while a few years older pursued his study of the young with jack and under a tree or hunted in the wood for wild of which he often brought a little offering meanwhile the comely wife of was usually looking on not far off with er youngest child in her arms with her on the affairs of the day and often making him laugh at some piece of homely wit or family joke that never grew stale had had a fourth child that was carried off while in infancy she thought by the or wood fairy her wiser neighbours by a wolf this humble family if with superstition were devout was punctual at church on sundays and saints days and never started on his morning s work without crossing himself and imploring the divine protection had formerly been slave to the widow who had taught her many good things and who on finding her warmly attached to the good and steady had out of the tenderness of her heart prevailed on m to buy her in exchange for a le ff valuable and permit the marriage to take place therefore paul in knocking occasionally on the head might think he was only keeping a boy in order who ought to have belonged | 2 |
to his aunt when visited she would freely partake of her bread and delicious honey made by the and thousands of bees that among the flowers sometimes she would read to her a little at other times or borrow one of his pretty baskets and go with him to hunt for would sit or under the or perhaps mr would tempt them both into the boat with at the and after a great deal of and get them into the middle of the river and there rest upon his oars telling them droll stories without end to which with wide open eyes would listen as attentively as any of the rest though he could not understand a word mr was a very careless but what did it signify often he ran them or got among the long leaves and of the water lilies rousing flocks of noisy wild ducks justly at this intrusion into their sometimes they would remain on the water till quite dark as dark at least as a russian summer night ever is when the still air was full of sweet the shadows fell broad and dark and no sound was audible save now and then the plunge of a large fish or some mysterious cry that shuddering said was made by the wood spirit at other times would tempt mr to swing her in one of the large that still stood in the pleasure grounds and make the air ring with her and girlish laughter as she cried higher higher mr evidently liked the amusement as well as often herself whether his growing attachment to any affection for its young mistress or whether s openly expressed partiality could into any deeper feeling and the question began to make grave but the russian summer was growing and hot there was no night to be c led night and m took advantage of it to exact field labour by night of the poor who slept through the heat of the day the quickly followed the hay making but it was impossible to carry on either beneath the burning rays of the sun and even when the awoke and languidly resumed their or their it was soon to lay them aside while they their thirst at the nearest brook and now spent little time in the house but sat under the trees listening while mr read or walter scott frequently he and had long to which silently listened with deep attention and as was certain was thus a world of good she encouraged and led to these conversations as much as mr would let her and he was a willing for instead of writing he had and become of lying all along in the shade attired in grey with a straw hat over his eyes his arms under his head and his tongue ready to discourse on any theme grave or gay religious moral artistic or literary that his companions chose to start are you a philosopher he said to one day when was chasing a butterfly why do you ask said you are s are you not but all your teaching is by the i see no school routine no parade of you scatter your seed hither and thither leaving time to prove whether it takes root and brings forth fruit or is dried up and withered is not that the best way with a pupil like yours undoubtedly i give you infinite credit for it the fact is i did not know what kind of charge i was undertaking nor did m seem to find me the kind of he had intended to engage and as it suited all parties better that i should remain here than that i should return home and as there was too little of age between and me for her to be disposed to submit to any formal exercise of authority i made the best of things and taught her what i could and when she would i hardly know what i shall make of her and make her like yourself sweet miss may looked grave i am quite in earnest persisted mr she is so by you that you may make her what you please she is very fond of me certainly and i feel it gives me a great deal of power over her indeed i think she is growing a little like me already do you ho ho ho it may sound conceited perhaps conceited ho ho ho ho ho ho well mr you know often learn their nurses peculiar looks and way and is but a child of larger growth but the resemblance i spoke of is that of tastes feelings habits and yes i will say principles more than any other she has learnt to find a retired life may be full of pleasant resources she has acquired a real relish for many good english authors not only and and johnson but more s best prose works and the bible itself how you get along with her religion is the most curious of all she has read my d with because the way had been paved for it by s charles the fifth i found her profoundly ignorant of the history of the and told her so and i wonder how you got some of your books into russia on the principle of the old i some may steal a horse c well but the bible a little love of forbidden fruit helped you there i fancy at any rate i did not force it on her she asked me to let her read it i made a great favour of it and proposed our reading it together beginning with the new testament of course certainly not i how is that to be understood without reading the old testament first we began reading through one subject one character or portion at a time the creation for instance for one reading | 2 |
the flood another another jacob another joseph another i see she found this excessively interesting so did i we used to be quite glad sometimes when m came home later than usual then you know we got to and egypt which was very interesting ground i wanted her first to get a comprehensive view of history and its bearing on christianity she became profoundly interested in david we went through the at the same time of course noticing the types when we got to solomon we read the and go on miss may and all this while you know she was going to church every saint s day with madame crossing herself herself before different so she does now but in a different spirit her religion when i began with her was so completely that it left the door open for me now i am sometimes ready to tremble at the possible effect of the light breaking in upon her yet how can i hold back what can i do go on telling me about your then you know we came to the when we began it was necessary to read the at the same time the new testament became our chief reading and we only read the in it we are now in st john s remarks are often excessively original and interesting sometimes she says another window is opened on me i what would her old religion master say luckily we have left him behind us what will m say i doubt if he will say anything he never gave me the smallest direction on the subject laid no on me asked no promises it was who before i left england that i should not be expected to attend the greek church and mr fell into profound thought his eyes glowed with some internal interest but its nature did not appear here comes our charming butterfly said he suddenly well since you have crushed the poor thing i will sing its and he began poor bom to flutter and to die falling into the second directly took the first till he got down to such unreasonable bass that he suddenly gave a shriek in that made stop her ears all at once the sky became darkened by clouds a sudden summer storm was impending the wind rose large drops of rain fell and increased to a torrent they could reach the house the thunder broke with a sound their heads and the lightning seemed to tear up the ground immediately their feet wet and panting burst into gay laughter as she reached the house and hook the rain drops from her hair but who was rather overcome sought her own room and felt awed and subdued by the sudden the jews call thunder the voice of the lord thought she how grand how terrible it is and she repeated to herself the voice of the and lord is mighty in operation the voice of the lord is a glorious voice it the even the mighty of the voice of the lord the flames of fire the voice of the lord the wilderness yea even the of from a child she had had an instinctive dread of thunder and lightning which might have acquired an unreasonable had not her mother talked quietly to her about it and taught her a hymn which even now to her how the tempest t the rain in rattling torrents my trembling soul that power who bade this tempest rise the wind and fulfil his word in them his glorious is heard by him the electric fires are stirred of earth and skies oh tis a glorious blessed thing for which to praise thee my that i a helpless worm can cling with confidence to thee that i by faith amidst the storm can hear thy voice can view thy form nay feel thy warm extended over me amid the clapping to of doors and outer shutters along the numerous galleries and passages fancied she heard the peculiar tones of s voice in some of the distant offices o and afterwards meeting in the corridor the bright but suppressed smile on her lips and the light in her eye made conclude must really have unexpectedly arrived and she asked her oh dear no said immediately growing very a from has indeed arrived with for m but a very different looking person i assure you quite a common man j and with a uttle jerk of the chin that spoke of offended dignity passed on on the family she found the s had occasioned no small disturbance m had been summoned to on official business of no pleasant complexion it would seem from the cloud on his brow dinner had been hastened and mr who was glad to improve his acquaintance with readily agreed to accompany his host when that gentleman in an kind of way said i suppose you don t want to go m seemed quite brightened by the idea of having him for his companion this will be very pleasant very pleasant repeated he as he down his fish soup i don t expect to be there more than a day or two but it is lonely to be shut up by one s self at an inn and soon they were oflf and observed to how strange it was that mr should seem to have so won upon her father whom she had never seen to like any person so much before without knowing why felt melancholy in her sadness influenced by an uncomfortable as to the nature of her father s summons to though his habitual excluded her from any knowledge of his affairs suppose he should have displeased government said she and that whether or not there should be some charge for him to answer such things occur every day and as false witnesses are easily | 2 |
especially if the accused is rich he may be sent to at a moment s notice and we may never see him more as believed such instances not uncommon the idea did not make her more cheerful and looked very grave said she at length if jou were me what should you do in such a case what case if my father were sent to really i do not know i think i should send for well i think that would be as good a plan as any unless your uncle s father is not my real uncle you know and only my aunt s second husband he does not know nearly so much of our as does then i should think would be the proper person yes after another long pause i am so glad mr is with him he will do what he can out of good nature and for my sake and the very name of an englishman is some sort of protection as yet only if he found my father had done anything very bad he would not stand by him and how could we expect it oh dear i don t like the idea of and suddenly bursting into tears she flung her arms round and wept on her bosom and wept bitterly too chapter xvii the storm seemed to have made the air closer of clearing it the great gloomy old seemed more dismal than ever and at night felt so lonely and dejected that she b ed to let her sleep with her instead of sleeping she lay awake a long time telling dismal stories the servants she said firmly believed that when the house was left locked up for the winter it was taken possession of by her great grandfather s ghost they also believed in a domestic spirit a kind of lie by the fire called the whom poor over tired servants sometimes heard moving about them and doing their work they also believed that the ghost of s mother walked and o had many mournful stories to relate of this lady at length they both slept at dead of night was roused from an uneasy dream she could hear the run water not only through the leaden pipes but up between the window and window sill and and thence dropping down on the floor the storm however had now passed the air was cooler and the moon was shining out between masses of clouds could not sleep being very sensitive to influences the in the air powerfully excited her nerves and made them thrill at the most trifling sound while the stillness of night undisturbed at length even by the drops became almost more in a highly atmosphere the faintest is heard in this highly atmosphere then fancied she heard the remote sounds of s voice singing in the open air and as she had just been dreaming of him sending m to with a look of malicious satisfaction the supposition of his being at hand did not seem so absurd as it would have done in broad daylight especially as she had fancied she heard his voice in the afternoon as his being about the house if he really were so was certainly without sanction sat up in bed to listen more attentively all was silent she lay down again she heard the distant voice this time she continued to hear it when she sat up and being exceedingly feverish and nervous she resolved to the mystery if she could and without disturbing she softly rose slipped on her and dressing gown and slippers and stole along the corridor to a spare bedroom at the farthest end of it which communicated with the wing occupied by the or maid servants entered this bedroom the ghostly light was streaming in through the tall narrow window the waving branch of a tree across which made her step backwards in for at first she thought some one was trying to get through the window she approached it and listened all was still she looked out all was shadow she was going away when she thought she heard voices softly talking and a little laugh she strained her face against the window but could see nothing she softly opened it but not so softly as not to be heard and just as she looked out she saw a shadow steal round the angle of the house there was nothing more to be done so she returned to her room none the wiser or more comfortable for having left it started up in wild dismay mamma who s there have they taken him cried she taken whom dear oh is it you with a deep sigh papa to oh no nothing of the sort lie down dear there is no alarm then why are you out of bed looking round and as if she still expected to see a spirit not quite melted into air i fancied i heard about the house i he is in town we think him to be so but i fancied i heard his voice yesterday and just now when i woke i seemed to hear him singing oh dear you must have been dreaming do come to bed and again slept in the morning the in sunshine by streamed through the green window blinds the flowers seemed laughing in their beds the were singing the grass looked and even the moss grow and and the old see and looked less ghostly and forlorn than usual light drawn up by the beams reminded of passages in milton and the sound of the fell pleasantly on the ear flocks of white wheeled rapidly overhead and still higher the lark was singing a of rejoicing beneath a sky of blue now are your fancies about said gaily as she threw open the window where now are your fancies about retorted they came with the storm and with | 2 |
the storm they have departed are we late and no very early don t let us ring for our maids but do without them for once i shall enjoy it for a and as soon as i am dressed i will run over to the bath house s movements were quick as light her was soon made and gaily over for her more leisurely proceedings she left the room and tripped down one of the many flights of at the foot in the doorway equally to her surprise and his she ran against they both turned white as death and then red he stood exclaimed she as soon as she could gain her breath what do you here i have but just arrived he stammered no said with spirit you have not just arrived for your voice was heard yesterday and also in the night he turned deadly pale pardon you have done very wrong i came with letters where then are they he had none he fell at her feet had stepped into a little waiting room at the foot of the stairs she now sat down shut the door said she he obeyed and stood like a penitent i promised to speak for you to my and but you have not said he reproachfully that is more than you know i told you i should await a good time you should have been satisfied i had not forgotten you doubtless murmured in the your conduct has made you very of such kindness you took advantage of my father s absence from the office i didn t cried fiercely hush you have not heard what i was going to say at any rate you are taking advantage of his absence now and has not he driven me to it cried still more violently he treated me like a hound he sent me to the police station he threatened to my head was i going to stand this i who had done him no wrong i who was his right hand and who had received the education of a gentleman from whom from him for his own selfish purposes and to make me feel more keenly you know you know you are wrong you must go back directly i was going back said he very passionately you had no business to come i do not know what my father will say you must go back directly and oh yes he will he will said who had for some time been listening at the door and who now stole in bathed in tears but do not tell of him indeed indeed he is very sorry and will never do so again keep his secret and we will ever bless you and she threw herself at s feet stood his neck well if you will really promise faithfully said the i will said at her feet in a moment then i will not of my own accord mention this to papa nor unless he speaks of it first for you know how very angry he would be i think i do he would be almost ready to he me thank you thank you kindest i go hence this moment in ten minutes i shall be ofi the estate and kissing her hand he was gone after him returned much fluttered to you look as if your bath had not agreed with you said closing her little bible i have not bathed nor shall i now oh i have been so worried and she told her all and now said sighing i shall go to my own room and make a better at my o and leisure and if gives my hair an extra pull or two i shall know it is for my having got up an hour too early and perhaps i should do the same to her if we were in each other s case towards evening a drove briskly to the door and m and mr threw themselves from it in towering one for himself the other for his companion m had been sent on a fool s errand he was not expected or wanted at the government office and as the handwriting of the was unknown to all and the had disappeared the author of the mischief could not be traced and exchanged uneasy looks but said nothing and who had been seriously alarmed about embraced her father with affection and said really papa i am very glad to have you safe home again he was touched and put his arm round her and rested his head against her shoulder for a few minutes then he began to talk about and inquiries upon my honour sir said mr i should recommend you to take no more trouble about the matter we have had a very hot and unpleasant journey as it is and if you get yourself about it much you may throw yourself into a fever than which nothing would be more agreeable to your enemy whoever he is and oh i ve plenty of enemies said m in rather a satisfied tone than otherwise and as mr was glad to see him disposed to yield the point and and were thankful that no suspicion seemed to turn towards they were all satisfied together and sat down to a good dinner which the gentlemen seemed to think some compensation for their was astonished that a nature so suspicious as that of m should not at once have made him attribute the to she forgot that she was behind the scenes that the had not actually been fixed on him and that the unknown and his bore every appearance of having really come from m was very liberal this day of his champagne which he did not often drink himself nor offer very freely to others he told ie thought she must have taken | 2 |
the pledge and that she was a good girl and should keep up her spirits as they were in glee and in merry king it cannot be said that a cat and her came tumbling in but another drove up to the house containing and as he seemed to have brought a and some luggage it was clear he came to stay ordered some of the dishes to be brought and back and a dinner spread for him on a was in the room the next moment kissing all round even miss may though he knew that she knew that he knew it was not the custom of her country she took it with composure while he looked as grave as a judge having reached mr whom he did not kiss had never seen him before and looked at him rather sharply mr stood the scrutiny with perfect indifference and m named them to one another bowed gracefully but rather and turning to cleared his brow directly and began to give her his step mother s love and sundry kind messages this went on till he sat down to his dinner and as he seemed inclined to talk rather than eat him to silence for ten minutes while he paid due respect to ham and chicken and diverted attention from him with the object of his dining in peace they were soon all as cheerfully as before and as the champagne had certainly warmed m s heart and loosened his tongue in a remarkable manner he became so very lively with mr that who had never heard his uncle make a joke before and was up his ears to catch every word that passed was quite astonished he knew not that m had and just been relieved from a state of intense anxiety throughout which he had found mr the greatest support and that he consequently felt towards him a degree of gratitude which his rugged nature was seldom capable of or expressing before dinner was over was actually jealous of this new comer this jolly englishman who seemed equally at home with with miss may and with the hitherto m saying the easiest things with the greatest ease treated by the servants as if he were the son of the house finding fault with or national customs and personal characteristics cutting up the neighbours by name and in short doing everything with the most perfect did not know whether to feel quite at him or to consider him a capital fellow he would judgment but at any rate he would not let him everybody as he was doing just now for everybody read mr was paying her some most extravagant compliments looking as if he were in deep earnest and the next moment laughing at her to her face for believing them said she had not believed them and then there was and a great deal of the light sort of touch and go that passes very well for wit in general society looked at he thought p and she looked pained but no the next minute she was joining them as heartily as either only never went too far her wit was always by truth and and s was within bounds too girlish innocent it was only that englishman well but really he seemed a clever fellow too that was a clever remark of his on the wealth of nations would book it calling england at the time of the first french revolution the of the universe was good so good that the man must have honour and honesty to say it was borrowed he might have appropriated it without any chance of detection for who in russia ever heard of robert hall miss may to be sure ah of course but yet would do him the justice to think he was honest englishmen generally were so rough bluff but sincere and candid this was evidently a veritable john bull so decided to consider him a specimen of a class and make the best of him accordingly soon they were all in the drawing room coffee and mr to sing we be merry of fairy land his singing in s opinion was and he gladly gave up attending to it to listen to his uncle s account of the summons to which appeared to him a very mysterious and unpleasant affair and when it was sufficiently discussed looked about him and found drawn into the toils of the illustrious stranger and talking with mr and of s and asking questions about national comparing them with those of her own country its its its c their comparative beauty or terror wondering why russia had not produced a mr s assertion that he could only have been what he was in a land of the free appealing to whether must not have been anywhere and finally with a sigh a graceful tribute to liberty can this be thought in amazement how changed how improved ah if she were charming before with all her follies all her faults what must she be now he was sinking into a reverie when over the keys said come come and give mr a little better singing than his own if i can certainly said instantly rising the is a mischievous wood fairy with hair as green as grass who people to harm calling them by their names the is dumb gigantic with like the bark of a tree and keeps at you thi the trees its hands together p and if you can indeed now mr you are going to hear a little really good music so pray attend with a view to self improvement what shall we begin with you have made me quite i don t know that i can sing at all oh nonsense come tu and in another instant his penetrating voice was the admiring ears of mr and the tender heart of | 2 |
till the former told the latter he felt quite subdued though i can t do anything like that added he in an i can appreciate it in another it comes natural i believe to these young i doubt if all that and would be suitable to a plain englishman however go on m don t leave off don t leave off i could hear you all night h v vi i ir ft e chapter xviii jealousy r how do you like country life in russia said to the next morning oh quite as much as i expected what an unsatisfactory uncomfortable sort of answer who is to know how much or how little you expected do you miss anything yes i miss the the blue bell the scented violet the and the i we have however the lily of the valley dog rose flower and pretty blue won t those do as well abundance of and all wild whereas you must cultivate them see how our summer bursts on us all at once but i prefer its gradual advance and our country life is more cheerful than yours what with our dances and songs all the evenings our out of door life your dances on the grass we have not but our and songs are less plaintive our are not obliged to sleep for hours during the intolerable heat of the day and make up for it by working far into the night but our summer nights are almost like day only a sort of twilight a day without a sun i must confess i prefer a night that has a little darkness total no sun no moon returned smiling repeat him our beautiful mysterious night miss may said mr impatiently faltering a little repeated night when our first parent knew thee from report divine and heard thy name did he not tremble for this goodly frame this glorious of light and blue a curtain of dew bathed in the rays of the great setting flame with the host of heaven came and all creation in man s view t who could have thought such darkness lay concealed within thy beams sun or who could find whilst fly and leaf and insect stood revealed that to such countless thou mad st us blind why do we then with anxious strife if light can thus deceive why may not life your poets can t come up to that said mr rather was silent then said let me hear it again please and complied then said very beautiful certainly our general however had not long to know night only by report and you will remember miss may he knew it in these you were speaking of our summer nights as if they lasted all the year round instead of only three months i forgot that said what a thing to forget cried mr then as if he had deserted the cause of his he attacked again with you have no poets like ours no nor milton we can appreciate your however said with temper no one but an englishman can persisted mr it is something however to reverence him which i admit you do we can reverence what we can t understand much obliged said bowing with mock politeness painting again pursued mr you ve no good painters none to come up to ours the arts require a free soil they fade and in a land of slavery well i cannot say i much admire your english school said and in music we beat you hollow i r st iu i and and mr walked off with his tin case and umbrella unconsciously he was helping forward s education he had already made her not only very fond of collecting wild flowers but had given her a very tolerable insight into so that she could pretty correctly make out the orders and classes of most of the specimens within her reach whatever she did voluntarily she did was struck at first when with girlish she ran her female exercises o er then became a little jealous of her in collecting for mr specimens into his and her own and writing the name order and class under each in her most careful and distinct hand s writing like her mind had run wild before undertook its training now she not only wrote much more neatly but in her general habits and appearance cultivated neatness saw the improvement but saw it with a little bitterness he attributed it too much to a desire to appear to advantage in the eyes of mr knew to be an ancient and noble english name he doubted not mr s being quite s equal in point of descent he appeared to be in circumstances his person thought was decidedly his eyes teeth and voice in speaking good his dress and bearing and thoroughly and even aristocratic still however jealous of his power over a young girl would not have dreamed of his obtaining the slightest footing in the good graces of his uncle but strange to say he had made his way even with m i he could say things do things with that would never have ventured on this was too bad began to feel very savage and his holiday at if more interesting was less agreeable than he had expected sometimes he thought the gentle of s open enjoyment of mr s society though she did not interfere at other times he thought was too began to feel isolated he reckoned up his grievance the first mr who wrote a fine free though not always hand took up one day the russian airs henry had written out for and bursting into a fit of laughter said who wrote this miserable little grievance the second mr who could sketch well and boldly in pencil had a weakness | 2 |
for colouring he wished to his journal with a series of coloured and after making dreadful work with lake and indian red would call miss may or to his aid pop the paint brush into their hands make them take his seat and then stand behind it eagerly watching their and with his face so very very near theirs that would have felt it a privilege to take him by the collar and lead him to the door grievance the third to do her justice was very kind and to himself but just like a cousin and nothing more if he looked at her she looked at him again like the poor cat i th no downcast looks no blush nothing sentimental in short affairs were brought to a crisis by paul one morning m put into s hands a letter he had received from paul and desired her to read it the letter was a proposal of marriage so extremely well expressed that was it must have been drawn up by his good aunt the was miserable m watched her with attention but without anxiety well said he well papa said returning him the letter what answer shall i give i am much obliged to you papa for asking me such a question i hope there need be no hesitation on your part any more than on mine to answer it in the negative no said m after a pause you see the amount of his tax he has not nearly so many as i had supposed if it had been and felt thankful it was not but as it is only paul i think you may do better thank you papa i think so too said and kissing his hand she hastened away to tell and congratulate herself on her escape m s dry brief answer was written and sent off the next morning received a note from the widow her in the most earnest manner to call upon her without delay this is rather awkward said she wishes me to go to her without you and as p ul will probably take care to be at home he will be falling on his knees to me or some such absurdity i think i must decline at breakfast however mr casually said he should call on young who had proposed shooting with him and make some arrangement therefore afterwards told that if she would go with her she would call on who would be sure to attack her the first time she saw her and meanwhile her with notes to the good widow s therefore they went as soon as mr had been allowed a fair start soon came running in to them and the usual number of kisses ah i knew you would come said she taking s hand and making her sit close beside her i knew that kind heart and tapping her on the cheek oh we have been in such a state here you have no idea paul ringing for hot water well and so that stem father of yours won t let you two young people be happy but he must but he must but my dear kind interrupted you do papa injustice for i can assure you he very kindly showed me paul s letter ah poor p ul your father had better not have done that you are clever and instructed and no doubt were disgusted at the poor fellow s style say was it a very pretty letter very prettily composed though not very prettily ah foolish fellow he should have shown it to me i let me see it before it goes paul said i why so aunt said he is it the custom to show letters of this sort to one s before they are sent so as i could not say it was let me alone says he and it will be done well enough if i can but get a good pen and a piece of sugar in my mouth so he locked himself up and copied the letter out quite to his mind but you see that went for nothing because of course he did not know his was not good so that it is a pity your father showed his letter which he had better have read aloud to you since you say it was well pressed dear me i dear me what could he and have omitted the amount of his tax the number of his all that was put in perhaps then it was too business like but surely he said your charming daughter your lovely daughter no he said nothing of the sort he said your daughter and that was all oh oh shocking shameful no wonder you were hurt no indeed i liked the sentence much better as it was ah you say so to save appearances but i m confident you haven t the letter about you no indeed said laughing but my dear i can for its being in the rough stay i have it by me and in her anxiety to show that paul knew something about manners his aunt plunging into her pockets pulled out a paper put on her spectacles and began very eagerly to read saying this is the first rough oh this is really going too far cried with irrepressible mirth my dearest if paul had written me twenty thousand letters in the finest text hand full of lovely and charming it would be to no good well resumed i grant you that it and is always best to plead one s own cause by word of mouth and so i told him paper said i is cold and dry and only appeals to the reason what is written on paper may be over by the | 2 |
reader and twisted into a thousand the writer never intended whereas the human voice full of pathos and passion is a fine instrument equal to any tune you can want to play upon it whether or convincing and besides you can back it up by a melting look posture clasped hands and many other gestures oh aunt says he you can talk like a book and if you had to do all that you could accomplish it i dare say but somehow when i go into the presence of any nice young lady i never can finish my sentences well we must grant that he cannot but after all is that an objection oh yes said shaking her head an objection could not it be got over said it could not be got over said why will not said appealing to speak a word for my poor boy i dare say it would be of some good oh no said still shaking her head it will not be of any good you persisted and with smiles assured her she thought it would be of no use well it s a great pity said heaving a deep sigh which seemed to roll off a good deal of her trouble you see i had made it out so nicely that they would do very well together for if she has the most sense he has the most love which helps to equal things i had me how they would my evening of life with their mutual affections and here went into an agony of laughter but i see it is not to be pursued good so i may as well give it up without letting it make any difference between us for there is no reason why we should not continue good friends oh no none whatever said you would have him so nicely and made him so fond of home said why he is very steady already is not he said opening her eyes oh yes only as to being fond of home he s of your house than of mine or his own and though it is not very for him to stay with an old aunt i m always afraid of his going home for long together for fear of his marrying one of the maids and smiled but said nothing come said the good lady to rather abruptly i have a curious picture to show you done with a red hot it is only in the next room which is my bedroom not you putting aside for you ve seen it already there s a magazine for you on the table who saw that was to have a made no difficulty directly was with the widow she found something getting into her throat her nose and eyes and began to cough never mind i can tell you what it is said her hostess though i had forgotten it at the time i have been setting my maids to put the feathers of my feather bed into a new case consequently the air is full of i don t suppose it will settle for hours i did not see that this was any reason for its settling in her lungs and was going to propose a retreat at the first pause but had to wait for it do you now in england said sitting down by her bedside in a leisurely manner bee s wax your or not some think it a good plan and others don t i really cannot answer your question said my mother was an excellent con q and her companion but why should you stand while i sit i cannot bear to see it i fear i must go said we have paid a long visit and i hear some one speaking to said with a very significant look it s only paul i heard him come in just before we quitted the room and that s why left oh then indeed i must go said opening the door don t interrupt the young folks cried trying to detain her but was not to be stayed and there on the drawing room carpet knelt paul about a yard from almost sitting on his heels at the same time and clasping his hands in a attitude was smelling a rose and looking embarrassed and very much amused paul seeing with his aunt peering over her shoulders thought his duty work done and rose on the whole pleased that his aunt had had a glimpse of how well he had done it and were now preparing to leave the house immediately but the silver basket and must again make their appearance and again paul pressed them to eat failing which he did not hesitate to do so himself i thought you were to have been shooting with mr to day said re and her easy every day tone with him yes no said paul with his mouth full that is we were to have gone and he asked me but i told him i had an engagement and so i had or at any rate hoped to have you know looking an engagement with you oh said and are you going with him to morrow no said he speaking briefly and to the point directly he was on a subject he knew himself master of there will be a change in the weather the ducks fly rapidly from the open ground and the scent of the grass is strongly perceptible how goes on the history of russia said have you got to peter the great yet ah said he into his old manner you re too hard upon me you know i ve been thinking of you when they reached home the first person they saw to their surprise was standing openly on the house steps i really have brought this time said he in a low voice | 2 |
i expect you to show how well and gracefully you can do the honours of my house to entertain a couple of young men like mr and is one thing to entertain elderly married people wealthy and well born is another you will now have an opportunity of showing what miss may has done for you of proving to me whether i have done wrong in giving you so young a and and in placing you at so early an age at the head of my house certainly papa i hope to give you satisfaction let everything be done and without then i must have money papa well you may draw upon me but the estate supplies our table of course in butter eggs fish poultry and so forth but the house is in horrible condition and quite unfit for the inspection of the keen sighted madame she will see directly papa how things are well said he reluctantly after an uneasy pause do what is absolutely wanting but i am sure it cannot be in the way of substantial and yellow wash if you wiu even a little i have no objection to oh papa that will look for the inferior rooms i was about to say if you had not interrupted the best rooms are and only require bee s wax and you are speaking papa as if we had as many as my great grandfather consider how short of hands we are take on more then if you want them to the end of the season it is a well known fact however and that the more servants you keep the worse the work is done i am sure i have not the least objection said to go on with our present household if you are willing to madame s visit till the house is ready to receive her which you would take care should not be in a hurry said m quickly no no the first expense will be in the end set the house in order then under miss may s direction and if it be well done at a reasonable cost i shall not complain i fear we may have some of opinion hereafter said respecting reasonable and unreasonable however papa i accept your and will immediately begin your commands and now papa about what of him said m as if in surprise you promised that if i complied with your wishes which i have done you would grant me a request what wishes have you complied with writing the note and undertaking to set the house in order ho ho ho you can t suppose those were the wishes i was alluding to can you a very different thing indeed however let me hear what you want and dear papa and tried her most tone you know poor wants to marry well and his brow grew black as night and wants to marry well still you know papa it will require some in me to give up s services whereas s being married will make no difference at all to you i don t require you to make a self sacrifice but i am willing to make it if you will just consent in order that they may be happy i ll not consent and his clenched hand came down on the table with the force of a it make a difference to me and i don t care about their being happy i is a vile malicious wretch a villain deserving no better reward than the a treacherous rascal that will get his deserts some day in once for all they shall never marry i you mean dropping dog what are you standing there in the doorway for listening to every word i say i obey orders said calmly there are your sir take them and be gone directly you have left those two letters at m s return to your post i shall look in on you at a moment you expect not and took up the letters i a word and retired with perfect self command what does he mean by being so deadly quiet said m ready to grind his teeth it s not natural to him he s sulky and sulky dogs are let me never hear a word from you again in his behalf and speechless left him without a word in the corridor she met humming a tune dearest what is the matter cried he in alarm you are as white as death nothing of consequence thank you said she with tears starting the moment she spoke nothing but you are weeping and he took her hand my father has been so severe to i would rather not say any more about it now i would rather go to with a look he let her go in the she met said he looking very white but speaking very quietly and steadily do not for me any more i can see and you can that it will be of no use you will ac me of for michael brought me m s orders to repair to him directly and i was only acting in obedience to them but i am glad i heard what and i did there can now be no mistake thank you for your kind and i have taken leave of each other we await better times he kissed her hand and departed hastened to who was still engaged with her english letter what is the matter said oh you have a letter from your home i will not intrude on you now do not go away said something has vexed you and my letter has had the bloom taken oflf the seal said ah all alike and throwing herself on the ground she rested her head on s lap what is the matter papa has been so unkind so | 2 |
cruel to poor has behaved very very well well i am extremely sorry for him but i fear we can do him no good he must hope for better times that is what he says have you seen him oh no his composure is unnatural i am rather afraid of what it may well but we are going to have visitors papa began with a long of so ominous a kind that i thought he had and something to communicate which he knew i should not like instead of which it all ended in his desiring me to invite the to spend a few weeks with us you were agreeably surprised it might have been worse but i cannot say i like it for i think it will lead to no good however i must make the best of it and papa is so very desirous madame should spy no defects in our old house that he has given me for all reasonable under your direction is not that delightful the visit is an uncertain evil but the is a certain good never very anxious concerning the future immediately began to consider what wanted doing what she wanted to do and what would be the probable cost her first estimate was so unreasonable that was obliged to reduce it to nearly half then came a scale of and balanced by and after considerable time and trouble made out a pretty good scheme and then began to consider the of the who would best execute her orders it is a good thing is so friendly to me said she for i must get him to send me many things i shall want and if they were for papa s and pleasure rather than mine he would be purposely dull and but he knows well enough that and fancy articles are the last things my father would willingly spend money upon and therefore i must even desire him not to exceed my soon the sounds of and began to grate very on the ears of mr and while clouds of dust from walls that were being stripped of old and filled the air what is all this grand commotion about said coming to rather uneasily nothing less than an impending visit from the said what is he coming i have every reason to think he is now don t look so dreadfully dismal not dismal at all said stoutly only that he is a very tiresome fellow and will quite spoil our little party completely come if you think so too it s some compensation i do think so i assure you why did you invite them then papa insisted on it he is not usually fond of guests and by no means this is evidently a special case ah i m afraid some harm will come of iti what sort of harm i have a of evil i think the old people are a match between you and there s no knowing said can you think of such a thing patiently where s the use of being impatient you alarm me could you enter into an engagement of this sort without making an a struggle i don t think i could said but i have never been tried and till we are put to the proof we never really know our own strength or weakness this makes me wretched i cried starting up and walking about the room but after all it may come to nothing said you are yourself perhaps i am very much obliged to you however for so much with me perhaps if things come to the worst i may call upon you to take my part you may rely upon me but dear why talk of being obliged to me we are obliged to people for performing voluntary acts of kindness towards us which cost them some pain or trouble r and now so far from its being any trouble or pain to me to do anything whatever for you it is the greatest pleasure in my existence i am very much obliged to you repeated looking down no it is i who am obliged obliged to tell you that i would do anything for you in former times i used to think you had many faults and i told you of them without scruple sometimes too roughly perhaps oh no i but now you have conquered them that s quite a mistake i am sorry to say well we all have faults of course but you in short you are altogether no i won t use that ridiculous word charming i won t make you vain looking at her with tender affection i will only say you are all that the heart and mind of a good and sensible man could wish if i am in the way of becoming such it is something said but good and sensible men are not very among us i m afraid and if they were it would make no difference to papa unless they had plenty of money how fond he is of mr cried suddenly can you account for it in some degree mr took my father s part one day when he was quarrelling violently with papa first drives to and then is afraid of the consequences he was in bodily fear then and considered mr a protector another time some malicious person played a upon papa and induced him to set ofi for on what he expected to be some very unpleasant business i think he was afraid of mr went with him and again his presence inspired papa with confidence you see there are not many people who take papa s part and so he feels rather grateful for it no doubt said with an smile i do not think my uncle s gratitude will ever exceed discreet bounds is this englishman rich i do not know my | 2 |
for so young a person you are remarkably and discreet i have watched you closely i assure you j i have no doubt of it thought you may now be of the greatest use to me and to she is naturally heedless and perverse but your influence and over her is that you may easily direct her line of conduct she will take her tone from you and if she thinks you impressed by our guests if you take every way of them i can do nothing interrupted m paused gave her one of his hard cold looks and resumed i need not use the word what i mean is that you should take every opportunity to place them in a right and favourable light in a right light as far as in me lies said and i always make favourable when i can well said m after another pause that is all i suppose i am to expect from you there is a sort of about you occasionally miss may which i can only to bowed in short continued he more quickly make her like them as much as you can and make them like her as much as you can and get on all of you as well as you can together and it will be the better for all parties in the end for the young people must come together eventually happen what will and here they are i immediately retired right glad that the interview was over while m hastened to welcome his guests and the next fortnight passed very much as usually pass in country houses full of company late prolonged newspapers to look over lounging on letters to write dogs to caress the news of the day to talk over morning visits to pay long drives to take long to make before dinner fishing and shooting for the gentlemen for the ladies music for the young cards for the old s last letter from england had brought her information concerning mr it annoyed her that it should have been shared with m her mother wrote the mr h you speak of is not the mr h your friend used to talk of but a first cousin of his an only son and a man of good fortune who has been very kind and generous to his mother and sisters one of the latter has married a cousin of s a poor who through mr h has been presented to a good living mr h has a nice little estate in out at nurse at present while he travels as his to his family have rather him but he means to return in a few months and gives out that he shall be a jolly bachelor take his mother and unmarried sister to live with him and repair the church and old mansion house and was reading this letter for the twentieth time when came in sat down beside her and put her arm round her waist laid aside her letter said rather reproachfully i let you see all my letters but you never show me any of yours this is from my mother said it must be very delightful to have a mother a mother whom we can entirely trust and love said only it is so hard to be apart from her said and a tear started into her eye kissed it away i wonder what she thinks of me said she for of course you tell her everything about me does she consider me a very naughty girl oh no she is beginning to like you very much that must be owing to you you dear but i came to consult with you don t you think we get on very with madame she can do nothing but praise and her son she continually and that sets me yawning too just now she is taking a little nap would it not be more think you to invite some more people how would m like it he is so bent on pleasing the and he and finds it such hard work that i don t think he would mind the question is whom to ask you have not a great many to choose from what say you to madame oh the good creature never from her home and if she did it would be with paul at her elbow there are the two miss my dear what can you be thinking of those stupid girls i well you say you think their stupidity is chiefly owing to their want of society and you frequently pity them for so for a little change and never having it that is true said wistfully do you think it would be a good action what should you think about it in their place i certainly should i i should be delighted and i dare say they will not be much in the way well then i will invite them that is if papa too it is worth a trial she is really a favourite of mine and paul and may bestow their stupidity upon one another thought the scheme so desirable that the instant she had secured her father s consent she sent off her invitations her note occasioned a tremendous commotion in the small household of madame who was always the and pleasures of society to her incredulous daughters because she could not afford to let them enter it on the present occasion they took her by storm and she was more easily overcome because she herself was included in the invitation and the prospect of spending a week under the same roof with two or three unmarried gentlemen made her not altogether despair of some good result to her daughters so every needle in the house was instantly set to work on book muslin pink blue while madame undertook to for herself one or two surprising head dresses and the | 2 |
yes i am confident paul will be a very good husband only under one condition said mr solemnly so solemnly that he the attention of both his listeners only under one condition repeated he shaking his head what can that be cried that he said mr laughing and he rose and walked away he soon returned however and keeping clear of paul talked so nicely that and were both entertained and interested on the whole the evening went off very pleasantly in the course of a few days however became desperately tired of the miss they could neither play sing talk nor listen well but their self confidence being great their thin high pitched voices were continually drowning the better tones of those who were conversing sensibly while small shallow and sentiment formed the of their talk the swing and merry go round had little rest in fine weather and the clear air rang with and their shrill screams and thin laughter but indoors they lay on turning over the leaves of novels without reading them and interrupting the occupations of others by their or yawning if they thought themselves neglected how brightly our shines by force of contrast observed mr to as they set out with their pieces one morning surely it is not the custom of your country to call young ladies by their christian names unless you are related or going to be related to them said surely you have been long enough in england to know it is not the custom of our country to salute young ladies as you saluted miss may on your arrival here unless you are related or going to be related to them retorted mr bit his lip two wrongs don t make a right observed he however perhaps you becoming related to one of them in which case of course my objection falls to the ground perhaps i do said mr may i ask to which inquired quickly that hardly sounds to me like a very sensible question said mr certainly i ve no claim to your confidence said growing hot there are many things to be considered said mr o and doubtless said perhaps i might not get consent very said however i m not quite hopeless said mr oh nor i cried more and more you are such a favourite nobody could say no to you gently my friend your tone sounds anything but i have by no means so strong a conviction that nobody could say no you are such a favourite with my uncle burst forth that he could refuse you nothing nothing repeated mr well i fancy he could refuse me a good many things however in this his is not the first consent that is likely to be asked do you mean to win and her without it exclaimed with flashing eyes what if i do said mr coolly if he s your uncle he is not mine one thing at a time win her first and tell him afterwards i doubt if he will let you take her out of the empire ho ho ho we ll see about that mr cried in a rage i doubt if it is not duty to him immediately with your intentions make your mind up what your duty is and and then act upon it that s my advice and it s what i do myself only you seem to me rather putting your finger into another man s pie my relationship began oh aye aye your relationship of course interrupted mr himself beginning to feel considerably irritated that s the way people excuse themselves to themselves and try to excuse themselves to others only they never do your relationship you would like i believe to be still nearer related who says that cried clear as the sun no good denying it to me a fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind or if it does not it makes us wondrous quick in one another you deal in said impatiently well we shall not have leisure to deal with them much longer for here come a of young ladies to the water side with emphatically and young coming down another alley looking at one another it really the case for looked extremely with and he looked not only but very angry the miss and paul came up at the same time while the two elder ladies were in the distance and at the head of the alley down which and had just passed all seemed making for the boat a pleasure party had been so much on by and elizabeth that it had been hastily got up observing that if they were quick they should reach mr and soon enough to ask them to give up their shooting began the boat in a very hurried manner and hastily and raising one of the oars in nearly a perpendicular direction he hit mr s piece with it there was a report a scream and fell wretch o my these words were unconsciously uttered by mr as he caught her up in his arms and tenderly bore her towards the house all was confusion and bathed in tears was close beside him following them as fast as she could madame on a bank madame offering her a smelling bottle and elizabeth after shrieking a little were asking a thousand ant questions of paul shifted from one foot to another looking very uneasy young after swearing once or twice hastily made off was the only one who thought of a doctor he darted towards the house repeating to himself my chapter xxi explanations we were at cross purposes all the time said to mr n the evening of the day on which was shot yes said mr for in spite of his english manhood he had been crying very heartily and was now sitting shut up in his own room to which | 2 |
had obtained only by dint of repeated and what a bear you must have thought me said what a goose you were begging your pardon what in the world should i want with a russian wife when there were plenty and too many of good english ones to be had for proper asking not at the first asking though some of em why now here have i made three offers to miss may in this very house is it possible fact the first time was when you were giving and a spin in the merry go round that time she laughed at me the next time i wrote to her she took no notice of it the third time just two days ago she was called it persecution said i made her position very trying to her she must leave it she must tell m she must go home she would have done so before but for love of well i would not leave it so i would not be put down i put her to the question did she hate me no did she know any ill of me no did she think it would her friends no had she taken a vow to die single no by this time she began to smile so i took advantage of that and kept on at it you see sir i just mention it to you as a young man by way of example till she at last she would write to her mother so here we are resumed he after a short but not pause here we are but here we are not long likely to be for she says i must go away till she gets her answer and i actually meant to have gone to morrow however here we are as i said before and here i shall remain that s flat till she gets better for nobody could expect me to turn out under present circumstances here i shall remain till she gets better unless poor dies oh dear oh and his silk pocket handkerchief was again cast over his face and head what a mess the whole house is in resumed and he presently withdrawing the handkerchief and the widow like a p r of angels hovering round my come you need not class them together said you may a angel if you please but the old lady is a wonderful creature an old angel we ve an inn in london called the old angel says nobody could have the wounds and extracted the shot as she did why she quite cut out the red little doctor left him nothing to do but to a draught people s real characters come out on these occasions see what a poor useless selfish creature madame is and madame nearly as bad as for the girls they are seizing the opportunity to lay close siege to paul and i think it very likely will carry him off m is raging because has refused young and is shut up with the father while the son has turned sulky is lucky in having a pretext for shutting herself up in s room she won t escape the tempest though when she comes out if these people had any delicacy they would all go off to their homes and leave the house quiet they are going soon said madame is very angry with and was for leaving immediately i heard her telling her husband she and should have one serious conference with her and if it were depart at once she says such independence in a young girl is intolerable and all owing to her bad training her shall not suffer i i shall give a hint of this the first time i see her she will then soon afford madame the opportunity she desires and the separation will speedily follow the only came for a limited time which has almost expired s presence here is extremely valuable and she i kind hearted to go away while miss may is ip danger while paul is such a that he is perfectly well groaned mr i pray for s speedy r though it will be the signal for my departure you could not go once more could you to ome fresh tidings i ll go directly said rising he left the room and proceeded to a little at the end of the corridor where squeezed wine glasses c for and where he had once or twice seen her already and procured news how all was going on in the at present however only was there she was leaning her head against the window with her handkerchief at her eyes dear said he may i come in how sorry i am for you and oh how sorry i am for her replied weeping what shall i do if i lose her i hope and think that you will not dr p assured me he did not apprehend a fatal result i hope he will prove in the right but i fear i fear oh she is in such a heavenly state of mind if i were in her place should i be so i hope you would i fear i should not she has given me all her directions what to do in the event of her death with such they were very few and simple some tears fell when she dictated a letter to her mother they were the only ones she shed she desired kind little tokens might be given to the servants little to you and to mr everything of value to be sent to her mother of course she ve me some excellent advice i think i can never forget it wept anew then resumed she she bade me get her little prayer book and read the prayers for the | 2 |
sick beautiful prayers they were and then she desired me to take her little bible and read several of the concluding chapters of the gospel of st john i began with the death of and read quite on to the end of st john s gospel oh what a heavenly book why is it not in the hands of all and why are we not always reading it when and i reached the concluding verses which i read very low i found she had dropped asleep i then left her in charge of and stole in here at this moment entered m is inquiring for you tell him i really cannot come stay do you go and make my excuses to him he will take them better from you how are they all getting on down stairs the young ladies are playing with m that is well and the old ladies are playing preference that is very well tell them i will come down by and by and she returned to s room sat up all night long for the first time in her life it was good discipline for her madame had insisted and had entreated she would resign her charge to them but strong affection made her keep her post slept in the adjoining dressing room and often stole in at intervals read s little bible then mused on what she had read towards midnight who by great had hitherto been able to lie quite quiet and still became feverish and rather light headed i know i am talking nonsense said she pre and but i cannot help it i seem to be going home very fast in an old with and somebody riding behind me very hard but never able to come up do you think you can cut lock of my hair oh yes said she was afraid however of taking it down for fear of being unable to put it up again and yet was reluctant to her by cutting it where it would be missed i think i had better call said no no said don t be afraid and she drew out the gold pin that confined the beautiful chestnut cut out a good piece said she there that will do nicely lay it aside somewhere and if i die let mr carry it to mamma and tell him he may keep a lock of it himself this seemed all very simple to and now said if you will read me one or two of the i think it may keep me from wandering i have heard of their producing that on persons inclined to be light headed did as she was desired in her soft soothing voice and found become perfectly still and quiet soon after she heard a hushed outside the door and softly opened it to see who was and there mr in his slippers stood a little way off quiet whispered he nodded put her finger on her lips and softly closed the door heard it however who was it cried she only mr said kissing her lie quiet dear my mr smiled quietly as she repeated the words mentally and soon she was repeating them aloud without knowing it to the great surprise of the alarmed mamma cried suddenly starting up in her bed hush hush dear it is only your own dear lie down dearest you will the she s there cried no darling it is only ah dropped on her pillow put her cheek next to s one so cool the other so burning and tried to remember some of the magic words of the little hook not being like instructed in the from her childhood though had daily to supply the deficiency the only words that just now came to her aid were let not your heart be troubled ye believe in god believe also in me and they were enough let not your heart be troubled let not your heart be troubled s troubled heart stayed itself on these healing words and she murmured them instead of mr somehow the word on y still seemed to haunt her with a sudden inspiration way it simply the inspiration of affection whispered only oh happy whisper i s lips were soon muttering in a sort of only only au my trust shall be in towards day she became perfectly still worn out was presently sleeping for sorrow a light kiss awoke her the good in a surprising cap of quite a different from madame s and in a gown had noiselessly entered examined her sleeping patient and was now bending over the sleepy young nurse you must go to bed now dear child whispered she it is five o clock you will have five hours good sleep before any one is and shall arouse you in due time not a word lest you disturb her you need not fear leaving her in my hands you have done your duty this night affectionately and well tears started into the young girl s eyes it sounded so like a mother s praise she returned s and yes i have seen in private and he me that it was entirely owing to the into which you had thrown him by the exceedingly offensive method of your of him that he lost his self government and struck mr s piece he may say so said but there was nothing offensive in what i said though i certainly made it plain enough it is all to no purpose for his wife you will be the will take place either before he leaves this house or immediately on our return to town therefore you must reconcile yourself to it as well as you can it never take place though said passionately it shall cried m the stove so hard with his fist that it drew blood he confirmed | 2 |
it with an oath and would wait to hear no more she reached the corridor panting and ready to drop what is the matter said meeting her my father has sworn said she almost that i shall be to before he leaves the house or at farthest immediately on our return to town you shall not i said so but oh he was in such a rage t and as to strike the stove so violently that the blood from his hand and i think if i provoke him yet more he will some of these days strike me turned white and then red he shall not repeated he after a s pause trust in me dear and fear nothing he shall not i has taught me to put trust in god said however in a secondary sense i do put trust in you i pray that you may be god s instrument to protect me oh what a it makes in our prayers when we ask for some thing we feel we really want doubtless said but go and lie down dear has told me you have been up all night they will not want you down stairs yet for they sat up late playing cart and if they come down before you do i will make your excuses go now dear and rest don t go first to for is with her and quite in her element i must go and convey her report to mr who as you may suppose is anxious enough i is he said why don t you know said with surprise then in an expressive whisper they are in love no cried and engaged pursued at least something very akin to it that explains ejaculated only think of my knowing it before you strange indeed yes there go now and think it over on your bed at leisure and in quiet i think i must you must and pressing her hand he quitted her and passed on towards mr s room reappeared among her guests at the usual hour simply but not dressed calmer and graver than was her wont but courteous and attentive all this was in obedience to the expressed wish of by yes yes said that good lady s cheek fondly all this will be good discipline for you we must rejoice with those that rejoice as well as weep with those that weep and there s no need this morning for weeping our dear invalid is going on quite nicely and it is such a privilege to me to take charge of her that i shall not think of coming down stairs where nobody wants me but drink a cup of in the snug little dressing room between your two rooms what a pretty idea together though apart and such a pretty little room as you have made it too with its large t and of flowers its book shelves easy chairs little tables and beautiful i oh tm quite glad i came here i assure you to be so pleasantly useful is a treat after my own heart go pretty one go they will be like beads without you but i shall not be missed i smiled and after one long kiss obeyed the were all very much out of humour they scarcely inquired after and seemed to think more than she was paul s continued to find acceptance with the miss their mother observed his attentions with pleasure and gave broad hints how much they should like to their visit which would not understand so as this was to be their last day a great deal was to be crowded into it and rejoicing in the approaching breaking up made arrangements of her time and comfort for their amusement to do the thing handsomely to the last now and then when her eyes met mr s she gave him an uncommonly bright look so bright that had not become possessed of his secret he would have died of jealousy mr repaid these bright looks by equally bright ones in return though not being of the extent of her information he was rather doubtful what they meant as madame inter and several of these beaming glances she became fully convinced of mischief somewhere and as soon as breakfast was over she in a stately manner requested a private interview with in her own dressing room said oh certainly lightly but remained making final arrangements with the for their morning call on the which it was necessary to prepare for early as m left the room he whispered to her mind what you say with a warning look lingered to give her a private hint also and thus paused for a moment in the to collect her thoughts before she entered the formidable presence as the disagreeable interview which followed was strictly between themselves it need only be said that immediately it was over madame rang the bell violently and desired to see m after speaking with whom for a few minutes she again rang the bell violently and desired to see m that gentleman was not immediately to be found and in the meanwhile a little fluttered by her own boldness had time to hasten to the of her friend and who like the white all around her was lying very in a bed with flowers fresh air her bible on the and the kind seated beside her here comes our darling said cheer and fully dear child we have been talking of you all the morning but what is the matter you look as scared as a uttle bird at a random shot oh i have had such a tiresome with madame said but it is over now and it must have come sooner or later said madame i guess what it was all about be firm be firm that young man is wholly unworthy of you he is dreadfully fond of cart | 2 |
it is very easy to say be firm said smiling a little but rather hard for so young a girl as i am to fight the battle all by myself against papa and the three oh i will take your part and so i am sure will your good cousin and i need hardly say if it would be of the least use so would paul unfortunately it would not said though i thank you all the same suggested our voices would go for nothing but they might public opinion is a powerful engine and if the public opinion made itself known that you would be thrown away upon public opinion might have some weight opinion has very little weight i m aid said against private obstinacy and interest m desires to see you immediately made and in madame s dressing room said at the door say i am coming directly returned and bending over to kiss her she whispered you naughty i have found you out i know all blushed like a rose and smiling gaily withdrew in about a quarter of an hour she returned looking and harassed s pitying look overcame her she turned her head aside and burst into tears poor child poor child cried laying aside her knitting and taking her hand never mind them dear never mind them i be firm be firm could not help laughing there was no want of firmness they would tell you said she my father politely said i was as obstinate as a pig however the is at least put oflf till we return to town and madame and i have made ourselves so thoroughly unpleasant to each other that she is going to pack up immediately and depart before dinner meanwhile i must go with the to the and since i must not remain up here it will be rather a relief to me to be out of the house dear good what a treasure you are what should we do just now without you and giving the old lady one of her impulsive embraces departed o and the four ladies filled the mr and paul were their the drive was pleasant enough they found the as usual surrounded by her political friends and whether or in some other capacity was among them and half in a picturesque posture at the s feet rather took by surprise but his power over her was gone to her improved taste he appeared vulgar and her improved judgment pronounced him superficial while his admiration of a new object showed neither good feeling nor good manners as s emotions were very easily in her honest countenance had the satisfaction of seeing that he annoyed her a little while he had the disappointment of likewise perceiving that annoyance was the utmost amount of the pain he could now inflict upon her and that she was feeling less and less of it every moment would not her visit the whole party were invited by the to luncheon after which they strolled round the pleasure grounds now gay with tints of every from the darkest green and colour to the yellow and scarlet they then returned home just in time to receive the cold of the chapter xxii the nest forsaken was very soon summoned to m s study which was becoming quite a terror to the family said he abruptly when is this englishman going mr sir upon my word air you ought to know best i know nothing at all he keeps staying on and on without having the manners to go and no russian can be so ill bred as to give a guest notice to quit yet his presence begins to be as tiresome to me as i am aware it has long been to you on the contrary sir i think him a very capital fellow appearances have you then why last week you could hardly speak to bim and once or twice you were so rude that i wondered bow his good humour could enable bim to put up with it appearances have deceived us both it seems and said why now to me you appeared so fond of him that i was ready to be jealous did i you did indeed sir well you see he s writing a book about us and i did not want him to receive any impressions add to which he s a pleasant companion enough and when you ve said that you ve said all he s a mere swallow a bird of passage just so sir then why does not he fly away could not help laughing upon my word sir i don t know but could not you give him a little hint you are not his host you know that you yourself will soon be on the move and you suppose he will be or something of that sort so thought that s my hint well sir i can sound him aye do that s just what i want he is as you say a capital fellow but you see he s not quite safe is not he said looking not quite safe here just at present repeated m madame gave me a hint of it is becoming too partial to him i d stake my life sir madame is quite mistaken i she is only afraid of any one with her son f and there may be just reason for her fear though and i do not choose there should be any for be things how they may her son and will be directly we get back to town uncle will you bear with me for a moment i am very sorry to tell you what don t hesitate that young man is very fond of play oh nonsense he is indeed sir he s deeply in debt to i can assure you of it and | 2 |
what if you can i m resolved the marriage shall take place surely dear sir you have some regard for the interests and happiness of your only child in consulting one i consult both she is too young to know what her real happiness is but you won t consult her interest if you marry her to a man to high play your fine fortune will go to pay his debts of honour how do you know anything about my fine fortune mr certainly sir i know nothing no nor are likely to do for anything you know about it i may be as poor as a beggar i may be as fond of play as i may be as deep in his debt as he is to ana i may have or or away every penny i have and every one of my you may sir certainly said looking confounded see then how little you know what you are talking about go go i leave me to settle my own a and settle yours as you like i have seen a little of life and of the world and of human nature and am not quite a fool afford me your advice when i ask it i bowed and withdrew only mr was in the drawing room the ladies were hurrying their s better said he laying down a i have seen your doctor or whatever his name is and he me she is completely out of danger and will soon be quite well that s a comfort said for well or ill you will not be very welcome if you remain here much longer to watch her my uncle has just been asking me how long you mean to stay and i promised to sound you and this is the way i set about it they both laughed what an old he is said mr however i really have paid him an visit and important purposes have been answered b therefore as it and is pleasanter to take one s leave than be told to go ril drop him a hint in the course of the evening that i mean to go to the day after tomorrow that will be a good move said and if i can leave with any comfort i ll go too and we can travel so far together in my the entrance of madame and her daughters more being said paul quickly followed and prevailed on to leave to the care of and resume her customary place at table though the party was there was a subdued in it paul between and elizabeth cheerfully submitted to be made much of by them m receiving an early intimation dropped casually that and mr would leave him on the next day but one was as cordial to both of them as it was in his nature to be to any one they were both cheerful and succeeded in communicating their cheerfulness to and madame without much difficulty though as has already been said it was of a subdued complexion in the evening while m and madame were having a game at preference and the miss were trying to teach paul to sing was sitting up wrapped in and having what she called a gossip with and and madame and as the good had completely won her heart by her ways and girl like sympathy did not know why she should not win her confidence too and when after many shallow mysterious allusions said i may tell her may not i with a soft blush and gentle flutter said oh yes if you will listened eagerly to the news and congratulated her most warmly upon it only it is not at all fixed said oh but it soon will be cried the sanguine madame your good mother is sure to consent you have given me a complete idea of her and of your english home with its and by the aid of that famous sketch book of yours the only person i am sorry for is paul ejaculated while looked ready to laugh before she heard the joke yes my dear young friend for so much have i seen of you during my short visit here that i am convinced you could make paul happy however events are otherwise ordained all for the best i doubt not and as for it is easy to see where her preference lies where cried in ah you may well blush like scarlet never mind he s quite worthy of you a very nice young man though he has cut out paul i why did i not and se him making his court to you this morning in the window of s little glass closet no replied bursting into a fit of laughter though her cheeks were burning for pity s sake keep your to yourself and don t reveal them to papa or i shall be worse off than ever rely upon my discretion said very gravely and now do tell me like a dear discreet woman as you are do you not think when the are gone to morrow if she tries to be very well indeed may without harm be moved into our little adjoining that you are so fond of indeed i think so said madame though i am the last person who would advise anything and do not you think that as mr will go away the following morning he might without any breach of the come up there and have a little chat with in the course of the afternoon you or i playing of course with plenty of cotton wool stuffed into our ears a faint colour on s cheeks showed how much she would like it though she laughed at the idea of s playing and said she thought madame would do much better madame thought so too therefore and having carried her point left them to | 2 |
dwell on the agreeable future while she went as she said to tempt to let the miss hear what good singing really was slept all the better for her pleasant prospect of the morrow and in the morning was pronounced by madame to have made so much progress as to be quite equal to sitting up for a few hours in the dressing room arranged cushions for effect as well as comfort on the little couch and made the most arrangement of books flowers and fancy works with a girlish pleasure in setting out to the greatest advantage for her lover was such a pretty invalid that she needed none of these attractions but still they were finishing touches of a picture every detail of which mr might carry away in his heart whether he did so or whether it had only room for he himself could best tell after he had spoken his last word and looked his last look his heart sunk a little as he left her at the thought how many things might go wrong before he saw her again meanwhile had sped her parting guests the who very sincerely expressed themselves very sorry to go and she had done the kindest thing she could by persuading paul to attend them home on his return he seemed much pleased the old lady as he called her had in and on his going in and her and had invited him to dine there quite in an way the following week that evening the party was very small and rather quiet was very feverish all the more so perhaps for three or four little notes from mr brought to her at intervals by the who while any demand for vigilance in the invalid room remained took of madame played preference with m mr came and went collecting his books and drawings and persuading and to give him a good many drawings of their own besides helping himself to as many as he liked with permission from s he had also managed to obtain from the soft hearted the beautiful of hair and sat over a board moving the pieces but conversing very earnestly in low tones less audible than whispers they were both very anxious about her future prospects the next day the party was yet smaller without much regard for her health managed to be dressed and carried into the time enough to receive mr s last talked earnestly and sorrowfully to instead of eating his breakfast and soon too soon the was at the door were spoken again and again and soon the travellers were seen fast driving down u and the lime tree avenue watched them till they disappeared and then turned away with a heavy heart paul observed they should be very dull now and wished he could do anything for her for that he felt quite to her this sounded like quite a sensible observation from him and told him that if he would make a collection of birds feathers for miss may them on cards and write the names under them she was sure would like it very much this set paul to work for hours she was glad to have found an s employment for him for the weather was breaking up very much and winter coming on fast consented to her visit for a week for the sake of cheering up her young friends and virtue was its own reward for they cheered her too and she returned home with her mind stored with agreeable and self memories no bad provision for the evening of life as for paul she declared his visit had quite brightened him up and indeed a great deal of the mould and had really been rubbed off and he too had his agreeable memories to fall back on throughout the whole of the winter frequently alluding to them when warmly shut in for the evening with the preface i say aunt do you remember when we were making that pleasant visit at with those pretty girls the mr and would have written had and it not been for a fear of m s their confidential letters m now began to talk of returning to his warm house in the old cathedral town for the winter every allusion to which filled with pain and fear for she knew her was intended closely to follow she procured from time to time on the plea that was not yet strong enough to travel and though m considered the objection of no moment and in s absence spoke of her as little more than a superior servant full paid and for her services he yielded oftener than might have been expected perhaps from a natural preference for the present lull to the commotion he was aware would take place when was commanded to submit to the thus time wore away and heavily till m definitely fixed the day for the journey there was a agreement to say nothing of the hateful ceremony as long as it could be avoided but felt its dreary shadow surrounding her farewell visits were paid to and the in spite of the horses being scarcely able to through the mud and once or twice they literally stuck fast these excursions were good preparations said for her longer journey the good took leave of them with tears and her young friends could not forbear weeping a uttle from sympathy even paul began to doubt whether he j and to find a use for his handkerchief and blew his nose by way of exciting his emotions you have been very kind to me always said he gazing tenderly on after putting her in the carriage that is good bye paul be very kind to your said that is my parting and see if you can t get through peter the great this winter for i shall ask you next spring | 2 |
above all be sure you look in pretty often on the for you will quite them you know they don t see a nice young man every day your will shall be my law said he and his blue eyes were fixed upon her to the last was not strong enough to pay two visits in one day and as it yet wanted a week to the day fixed on for their journey they deferred calling on the till the morrow the next morning however put her cheerful face through s half opened door exclaiming jack frost as you call him has come at last and the ground is like glass no chance of our stirring out again till the horses are rough shod the piercing cold had indeed set in and the winter closed upon them in earnest although was very cold had grown so fond of it that she said she would sooner the snow in a than start a day before the time it was not left to he choice however on the and third day of the frost while they were at breakfast m received a letter which he had no sooner read hastily than he let it drop from his hand and fell back in his chair uttered a cry and hastened to his collar but he roused himself directly by a strong effort apparently impelled by the fear of her taking up the letter and reading it seized it himself thrust it into his pocket and gasped out that rascal he has been too sharp for me at last prepare for an instant journey home i if i do not reach it in twelve hours i am ruined his distress was so terrible that trembled and longed to speak but dared not obedience and she saw would be the greatest she could show him in an short time every necessary preparation was made everything that could be left behind was left wrapped to their in and with boiling hot foot under their feet they commenced their and perilous journey papa said after a long silence could help you no i am afraid not there is no knowing some spy has betrayed me to the police betrayed is the wrong word you interrupt me my dear i must think over what must be done i am accused of course to the government the tone was kinder usual i and would have taken his hand if it had not been buried in a mass of fur but he was out of reach impenetrable morally and bodily his own soul alone knew its burden afraid of on him again remained silent or addressed now and then a whispered remark to all was cheerless without and within they travelled slowly on account of the frost they observed that water was everywhere frozen as long as they could observe anything but it soon became impossible to see through the carriage windows before they started m had given orders for fresh horses to be taken on at every post house and had sent forward a to them they were fortunate in not being detained anywhere towards the middle of the day the basket there was a brandy which as a russian m did not fail to make use of he even pressed his companions to share some of its contents he ate his with and then ventured to say perhaps papa as m is in the same office he may be of some assistance to you no my love no on the contrary as he is a step below me and would gain a higher position by my removal i fear he may rejoice at it my love i how a kind word always went to s heart the hand was now she bent down and kissed it he appeared not to notice and the caress and having finished his slight meal his head back and shut his eyes as if to sleep but the wistful saw a tear shining on his though a tear of self pity how often she thought with tenderness of it afterwards the cold became more extreme as they proceeded what must it be in thought m s suspicions of m had brought to her mind a the of the world are oft of vice or of pleasure what has become now thought she of the bond of union that lately existed between these two men it has dissolved at the first touch of self interest m s impatience towards the end of the day became he urged the drivers forward by large rewards and once when there appeared a chance of their being delayed for some hours he was almost by dint of and he pushed forward as rapidly as there was any possibility of doing and the end was that they drove into his own just at nine o clock where s was his first hurried inquiry of the good natured looking who came up touching his cap to his master the replied he did not know go and ask said m it is past and hurrying into the house he snatched up a lamp and locked xxi and and nearly frozen with cold crept to the stove their arrival was unexpected and premature nothing was ready and the house felt fearfully cold while their and supper were being hastily prepared michael came in and told his young mistress that could not find tell my father stay i will tell him said she ran to his study door and tapped saying papa papa what is the matter said he opening the door and looking very white nothing to alarm you only that cannot be found the thing of all others to alarm me cried he the villain has i must go at once to the he turned round and hastily completed what he was about he was thrusting | 2 |
a great many papers into the stove and waiting to see them consumed oh papa it is so bitterly cold you will catch your death if you go out i can t help it shall the fetch you a no i shall make myself warmer walking and save time save time how can that be it is some uttle distance to the stand and no little distance to the nearest bridge is the river frozen and oh yes quite across oh yes men and boys have got across it all day papa it cannot be safe trust me my dear to look after my own safety he finished his fur coat pulled his fur cap over his eyebrows and set forth wistfully looking after him he passed across the court through the deep into the open street the streets were ill paved but tolerably lighted the hot tea shops and shops were full of customers little oil lamps were before miserable pictures of st and st men and boys were running about the streets on their various errands speaking cheerfully to each other horses in and were slipping on the ice the river side was dark and ill lighted but m knew every step he spoke to somebody standing on the brink is it safe quite safe he took one step on the river then drew back what if it be not this is no time for the emergency is dangerous papers must be destroyed he proceeds he gains the middle oh wretched man the ice gives way beneath him chapter the birds scattered and awaited m s return in great anxiety at length decided that his business would detain him at the office all night and that they had better not sit up for him the would let him in early in the morning awoke with looks of alarm m had not come in all night and could nowhere be found there are strange reports about said checking a sob but i m sure has done no harm was dismayed and perplexed since neither nor mr were at hand and the could not be consulted she knew not what to do at length with s approval she wrote a little note to her father and sent it to the office by the some time elapsed b i s x and when he and came it was to say m had not been seen at the office his room was locked up at this moment burst in looking white as ashes cried he do not believe me to be a villain some spy has certainly been papers of my master s but it was not i on the contrary directly i found the police were about to apprehend him i sent him notice through a friend and it was only on his service that i have made a hurried journey they tell me he is neither to be found at home nor in the office surely they cannot yet have seized him can he have i will hasten to make every inquiry thank heaven is innocent exclaimed as soon as he was gone clasped her hands and looked upwards some hours after returned looking haggard and awe stricken his papers are seized said he and the police are hunting for him high and low but they will never find him for what oh speak quickly cried alas he attempted to cross the river the ice gave way uttered a faint cry and hid her face in her hands has everything been done cried everything that could be done said sadly but what was there to do the river cannot be dragged the under current has d ss and away by this time and the ice will not break up before the spring he will never be found lives are lost in this way every winter by this time was weeping passionately her sobs at length became sobbing bitterly vainly brought her strong while supported her in her arms and spoke to her in the most soothing tones when she became composed enough to speak her first words were send for every one felt it the best thing wrote a few lines which undertook to despatch immediately by a safe hand by the time came all the town knew the story more or less distorted m was understood to have government to an enormous extent his property was and his daughter was a beggar the who at first had sent now thought it best to give up altogether while other acquaintances less self interested made kind inquiries and offered temporary assistance but declined it and was inaccessible to everybody found his uncle s will a large fortune to which now no longer existed and leaving her and it to the of s father that father a kind and honourable man was assured would not give up his trust though was he y to him instantly her directly and the answer arrived to let him escort her and to his parents who were now in st and of whose kind reception he made no doubt the answer could not reach them in less than a fortnight but they did not wait for it for the house they occupied was no longer their own everything in it was and and under the protection of found themselves the town in little more than a week after their entering it their minds rendered them less sensible to the horrors of a winter journey through russia than they would otherwise have been and s kindness softened the trials he could not remove they had long and fruitless on the future fruitless because they were utterly ignorant how far m s had extended or were known to himself he had lived and to himself he had died the ice had not more completely closed over his remains than mystery had sealed his intentions arrived at st the travellers received the | 2 |
and of the and of the cause of its of the first of of the war of xxiv of the affairs of xxv of of the of sir john and of the of the of the fall of of of of the rise of high art xxx of the count of of and di of the of the two of the of of louis the of the fall of and of the league against of francis the first of of da and michael of the fall of xl of and his woes of and of peter martyr of and of the war of s conspiracy of the story of of the war of of of the fall of italy of the of the from l of napoleon s first italian campaign ll of napoleon s second italian campaign ul of the french in italy the old collar restored how the old collar wore and wore out how the time seemed come but was not italy a expression italy a political substance daybreak advancing day the story of italy chapter l brief sketch of the origin of italy s loss of liberty the birth of italy the garden of europe had once say the poets its golden age it was peopled by a race of and who supported themselves on the fruits of the earth and lived in harmony and content if they did live in harmony and content these and must have been very different from those of whom we read the earliest records in scripture and italy a very different country from what it has been ever since it had a history in plain fact it has always been the battle c the of italy field of warlike tribes and warlike the broken sword has been ever from the trampled grass round the fountain and the fountain s waters stained with blood an and race may have peopled italy in those remote times of which we have no account afterwards warlike tribes who their native countries to this fertile and romantic land introduced the use of arms if they did not find them there already but even gain could find a stone to kill his brother a variety of little states arose each possessing its own laws and interests and perpetually at with its neighbours thus the teeth of discord were very early sown in italian soil about years before a young shepherd of royal birth laid the foundations of the city whose laws were to govern the world seven kings reigned over rome in succession the then established their liberty and chose yearly two who acted as their und under their republican government the ie people on the the of earth they not only conquered the whole of italy bat great part of asia and africa at length made themselves sovereigns of the world the death blow was given to their liberty by c who became actual monarch while he professed no aim but the support of the republic and though he was slain by and a few bold friends of liberty his death only led to a succession of equally absolute and more the had become too to be capable of properly the advantages of liberty and what is liberty not freedom from all laws for such would be the worst slavery in the world not of the wicked poor from punishment but an exercise of the same control over the wicked rich as over the poor liberty such laws as secure the multitude from the absolute dominion of one man whether good or wicked it is possessed by the republic whose hold their offices of the people and who may be disgraced if they abuse the public trust by the limited where the parliament the power of the sovereign and him the t bt of italy supplies only while he the interests of his people it is not possessed in an absolute where the lives and happiness of multitudes depend on an emperor s ambition and caprice nor by a in which a blood thirsty while shouting the of liberty the property of peaceful citizens and drag them to the gallows or the from the time that rome ceased to be a republic she gradually lost her virtue and grandeur the people became luxurious and indolent the soldiers more powerful than their masters often raised to the throne their of the moment whom in the heat of passion they as frequently the instead of making new had great trouble in the large armies of from germany and who entered italy with fire and sword and laid all waste around them the unable to them by force had recourse to and their of course only encouraged the to renew their in the fifth century king of the the of italy invaded italy but was driven back by the invincible bravery and energy of law and prime minister to the eight years afterwards repeated his attack and made his way to the gates of rome into which he obtained entrance at dead of nights a ensued and after remaining six days in rome proceeded with his victorious army he met with no resistance but an illness of a few days ended his life and he was buried in the bed of a river fifty years after italy was invaded by king of the the of mankind s person was as savage as his mind he is described like the of a fairy tale with a large head eyes a flat nose thin beard and broad shoulders he and burnt the principal towns in the north of italy and left the threatening it with a re terrible the following year thia was ted by hi death we perceive the like a flock of the of sheep again and again the prey of every | 2 |
of wolves disposed to attack them and rescued from their foes not by their own but by the natural of death it was not thus the poor naked the the cruel of many cities was involuntarily the cause of the most singular one ever built when he descended from the and made known his approach by the flames of burning villages the inhabitants of ye a small district of and a few citizens of sought refuge among the small islands of the gulf here they found only a few poor and their families dwelling in mean huts on one of the islands known as the this island the made the of their new settlement they erected substantial dwellings and built bridges from island to island beautiful as the morning rose from the sea no society can long exist without laws and government of some sort and the were the of glad to yearly from three or four but at length they shook these off and elected yearly of their own becoming dissatisfied with these they resolved to elect a duke or who should make war and peace elect and be a king in all but in name in after times the s power became greatly so that he became merely servant of the state but the power fell into the hands of and returned no more to the p n of the miserable state op the country the s revenge thb roman empire had already split into the and western and in the year the western empire which had long been declining was finally extinguished a commander in the pay of rome was made king of italy ruled with firmness and moderation respected the laws and defended the country from the leaving italy no just reason to the of its long line of who with few exceptions had deserved only hatred or contempt meanwhile the state of the country was very miserable plains once covered with waving com and villages had become blackened showed where towns had the t bt op italy been burnt large on the land poisoned the air and bands of wolves through the forests and howled round dwellings but from this time a nobler spirit was into italy the soldiers of had compelled him to divide among them a third part of his territory thus a race of hardy and industrious men became whose descendants with roman luxury distinguished themselves as brave free spirited was driven from his throne king of the is said to have reigned wisely and well after his death italy again became the scene of the em of the east placed called over it but the were driven out by the a people from after whom the north of italy has been named ever since the or owed their name to their long they are thus described by their heads were shaven behind but the t by of italy the shaggy locks hung over their eyes and mouth and a long beard represented the name and character of the nation their dress consisted of loose linen garments after the fashion of the which were decorated in their opinion with broad of various colours the legs and feet were clothed in long and open and even in the security of peace a sword was to their side yet this strange apparel and horrid aspect often concealed a gentle and generous disposition and as soon as the rage of battle had subsided the and subjects were sometimes surprised by the humanity of the victor the first king of established the system in italy and divided the lands which he conquered between his officers on condition of their serving him in the field when summoned they drew lots for these lands which were thence called and divided them again into smaller portions which they let to tenants whom they called or ch these or ch received their lands on the same condition of appearing in the field when summoned the story of italy and they were served by who their ground and followed them to battle of course the king reserved crown lands for himself the military of his provinces thirty in number were called after the death of they assumed independence and each became the monarch of his little had scarcely secured his possessions when he fell a victim to the revenge of his beautiful wife having cruelly been forced by him to drink from her father s skull she resolved to be freed from so odious a tyrant and persuaded two of his attendants to murder him fearful of the consequences of her guilt fled from and one of s chiefs reigned in his stead chapter m french selfish policy of the third of the twenty one kings mounted the throne king of to make himself king of all italy but was unsuccessful certain against his authority having been threatened with punishment fled to and threw themselves on the protection of pope the third he refused to give them up to who glad of the excuse for a quarrel collected his forces the and rome reader mark what did he sent for assistance to the king of france his letters messages and presents of relics including some of the chain of st peter would the t bt of italy n yery little with the french had not offered him the of borne and to in his his to the western empire au all reluctance disappeared before this powerful bribe the king of hastily troops for the pope s defence of which no sooner heard than he raised the siege and returned to thus the third obtained present safety at a price that has cost italy dear by affording a precedent for french in her affairs the held possession of their kingdom till the year when their sent their king prisoner to paris and himself with the iron crown of this crown has been regarded with superstitious by the as | 2 |
been presented to the by his mother the and to be made of the nails which had fastened our to the cross it consisted of an iron ring within a of gold and was kept in the cathedral of oyer the altar and guarded with great the of italy placed this crown on his head with his own hands uttering the memorable words god has given it me beware who touches it i a man does not acquire a divine right to a thing by that god has given it him our s name has been too often taken in vain by those who have claimed as his gift what he has simply from was afterwards crowned king of rome by the pope and ever after this title was claimed by the princes of the german empire till napoleon the crown to himself and the title of king of rome to his infant son we find him asserting in one of his famous that only bestowed certain on the pope as and that he consequently held them as of france the of rome had gradually risen in power from the establishment of christianity in italy to the reign of the emperor when in the year bishop of rome obtained of the emperor a law dictated probably by himself the story of italy that as the merit of st peter who was the prince of and the dignity of the city of had established the of the see nothing should be attempted against its authority that neither the of nor of any other provinces should do anything without the authority of the pope of the eternal city and that whatever he should order should be a law to all others but at the time this law was made the eastern empire had a pope of its own the bishop of who claimed equal privileges with the roman and it was only at the close of the century that the seventh creed that the title of pope should solely belong to the bishop of rome as father of the whole christian this concerned their spiritual with regard to their dominion the second had to the emperor of the west and stirred up the roman citizens to resist his government in the days of the next pope the threw off all to the emperor the story of italy formed into a kind of republic chose their own and yielded submission only to the pope the of claimed all the rights of the roman an imperial was placed by them in rome to administer justice an oath of was of the people and the occasionally interfered in the election of the at in the year an energetic ambitious named became pope the to free himself from the yoke of any monarch he forbade on pain of to bestow such a decree was like a declaration war against all the princes of who had long considered if their right to bestow on their no monarch however presumed to take up the quarrel except the emperor the who in defiance of the pope continued to name to vacant sees the of italy it aad those to them by the pope immediately the emperor and open war ensued between them of the the and the pope in those days lived a widow lady op she possessed and what has gone by the name of the of st peter no children she thought she should do a righteous act in her estates to the church otherwise they would have to the empire her making a will to this effect and the purport of the will coming to be publicly reported caused her to be held little short of a saint by the church party while the emperor and his loudly against it the pope having the emperor none of the dared hold to him any longer also a strong party was formed against him by the of italy princes of hia empire wherefore sorely deprived of the support of his subjects and in peril of losing his empire was forced to humble himself before the pope and promise submission to his will in the depth of a bitter cold winter when snow was quivering through the air he crossed the with his wife and infant son and entered here the counts and principal men of the cities came forth to meet him saying ah sir resent the insolent conduct of the pope and we will assist you with men and money but the emperor much broken in spirit had not the heart to follow their counsel instead of it he repaired to the s castle of where the pope with pride was waiting to receive him as soon as the emperor reached the outer gate of the castle the s guards told him he must dismiss all his attendants before they could admit him the emperor did this and entered the castle all alone when he reached ihe second gate he was ordered c do ef to lay his royal robes and pat on mean garment as an outward and visible sign of his and this also be did and with bare feet the emperor left by hai ty pope io three at the from morning night for the mercy of hot the y of the nor did the her piteous that he have the pope at made a ef when the men of of and how the emperor had stood and in the at the gate for pardon and the p his heart him and a deaf ear to his cry their spirit and they vowed they the emperor s quarrel yet therefore when the emperor returned throng they said ah let us now you and that proud pope repent his haughty conduct t and they in him to hie bad said and take up arms against him then ike anew the of italy and then henry by setting up a new pope and after his | 2 |
rival emperor he marched against the came ont with her to oppose his progress but he her troops and took the holy city then the pope took refuge in the castle of st and thence escaped to i a short time died new p es sprang up to the emperor for years aod he too then it was ag should power om the their from the emperor chapter v of duke s escape meanwhile three had sprung up in the south and s day was bright but short it fell into the hands of the duke of the heir to the of was who was shut up in prison at by his brother and when died his took advantage of the of and seized on the for himself the men of would not endure this and they resolved to set the captive duke free the task was they must resort to and thus they accomplish it some merchants of and on board a trading vessel bound for arriving at that town they spread themselves through the of the streets and according to the simple of those times demand of the inhabitants a night s shelter and entertainment some of them agreeably to their expectation and doubtless having put themselves in the way of obtaining it are offered a lodging by the of the imprisoned duke who tell them they have a spare room homely indeed yet at their service the merchants after some trifling not to excite suspicion too readily embrace the proposal and promise the a moderate on the morrow meanwhile they put a few pieces of money into their hands and bid them procure them a tolerable supper of bread meat and a jar or two of good wine adding they shall be well pleased for their to partake of it the liking the invitation weu enough and suspecting no harm hasten off to their favourite and shops return loaded with cups and dishes spread the table with alacrity accept their seats readily eat talk cheerfully and pledge their guests heartily by degrees they find the wine mounting into their heads ihey grow fu t b t br of drowsy they attend no more to songs and merry tales their eyes close their limbs fall dead asleep this was the moment so the merchants starting from their seats gate other an intelligent look gently yet swiftly dis engaged the heavy of keys from the then seizing a lamp stole out of the room probably turning the key on the and hastened in of the duke s cell the duke had wasted his best days in prison hie had no hope of release and was in perpetual of a death from the hands of his and suspicious brother he knew not that was dead and when he heard the key of his cell rattle iu the lock at an unusual perhaps thought his own death was at hand all at once he is told he is free his brother is dead he is duke of he is hurried off to the vessel by his and can hardly believe himself awake till he feels the night air his brow as he stands on the little deck the of italy the people of who had been banished to broke forth into when they heard of the duke s death and returned in a body to their city but they could not it from its possessor without a long and bloody struggle and each party resorted to foreign they summoned to their assistance the of spain and africa who after affording temporary aid the south of and it the day they had chapter vl of of the soon after the death of of the having landed m the advanced into the very heart of italy and at the same time of cavalry poured in from the north and the country meeting with ineffectual opposition from the but good arose from this the chief cities demanded the emperor s permission for ever since they had acknowledged to him to defend themselves which it would have been cruel indeed to refuse the effect produced was startling every town was quickly fortified every town a the and citizens learned to depend on themselves and thus were laid the foundations of the story of the italian now was the dawn of italian glory was the first to provoke the anger of the empire well says that italy has many of her miseries by her sins the had behaved with shameful cruelty to the citizens of whom they four years and drove out of their city which they to the ground forty two years afterwards two citizens of threw themselves at the feet of the ob and him to the injuries of their republic foreign again why could not they fight it out among themselves or put up with it the emperor very glad of an excuse for beginning a war with italy sent the imperative orders to restore to the men of their ancient possessions the treated the message with contempt and the emperor having already assembled his army entered italy complaints of the of the poured in to him from various quarters the pre thb of however on which he took up a them was that they denied his army of he the men of to their i they replied that they were not to their friends in and took their town but spared their and they took refuge with their friends the who received them with open arms then entered and assumed the crown then instead of attacking he proceeded to to be crowned there so much time was thus that he was obliged to hia army and return to germany of the over and they for their faithful altar two during which they had not n the returned with a the express purpose o taking their he found th y bad surrounded il by a deep and | 2 |
broad moat so that his and towers were of no use they must be oat to this end he them so closely that the of provisions being at length exhausted they were obliged to surrender then they tasted of the bitterness they had formerly inflicted on the men of they were deprived of their privileges and forced to submit to an imperial magistrate they not endure it they they were a second time they were again forced to surrender they were driven from their city and in seven days was reduced to a heap of ruins from this time set no bounds to his tyranny and oppression a general feeling of disgust and hatred rose against him throughout the of a powerful league was him the citizens of and promised each other mutual ci for twenty years and ihe first act of the famous league was to to the fame of their and to erect a needful defence against the emperor s the t bt of italy of and they founded a new town on the of those the ground was carefully surveyed by the stood by with his the pope blessed the spot and the first stone of was laid the liberal sums of money to its but the building was chiefly to the and who worked with a will though the looked on and like the and the who said even a fox may knock down your wall the city of straw was the name found for by its enemies straw being mixed with earth in its formation but the city arose and in spite of them the inhabitants of the surrounding towns and villages into it and from came three thousand including some noble families also furnished a large and the siege laid to by the emperor in ended in an retreat the city the t bt of six years elapsed before was able to resume the war in he then for the third and last time against the no longer animated by personal but by patriotism were prepared to conquer or die in defence of their city their nobility and citizens formed two bodies of one consisting of nine hundred men solemnly pledged to maintain the to the last the other of three hundred youths who had sworn to defend the this waa a heavy car drawn by oxen and supporting the banner of the republic it afforded a common centre to the round which they rallied and they were accustomed to regard it with veneration the lower orders of citizens formed six bodies of foot soldiers thus prepared the no sooner heard of s approach than they advanced to meet him on the plain of fifteen miles from city the were a little handful of men compared with the and when they saw the ths of imperial cavalry charging them at foil gallop headed by the emperor the heart of many an honest within him a general thrill of fear ran through their ranks but they did not torn about and run no fell on their knees and cried to god to defend them and their cause and be did he gave them courage to start to their feet and their and stand the of the german cavalry like men a a breathing wood yet the pressure was so fierce that they nearly gave way under it they could scarce keep their ground again they lifted up their voices with an e great and bitter cry god help us again he did they threw themselves on the enemy utterly fearless of danger and gained a complete a wonderful victory it was a day to be much remembered unto the lord it reminds us of our own victory in the days of good bishop which we read of in the old saxon after the battle nowhere be found he had fought it was the of italy he must be dead but his body could not be found among the slain a few days afterwards he appeared before the of alone disguised and a proud hopes of conquering italy were at an end he had led seven armies to their destruction had the country and was now returning home and t p the of the of the ain when invaded italy the pope fled to the received him very and sailed out against the fleet which the emperor had sent in pursuit of him he obtained a complete victory and on his return the grateful alexander went forth to meet him attended it y a great of people he embraced the with many thanks and blessings then drawing a ring from his finger said to him in a clear impressive voice that was distinctly heard by the attentive listeners take this ring use it oh i to retain the sea henceforth in to this city yea the with this ring and let the marriage be celebrated to the end of time that the world may ever know that the of rules and that the is subject to it as a wife unto her husband fancy the loud applause that must hate rent the air that time forth the on in a richly and gilded tiie and proceeded in great state to a little a few miles from accompanied by the nobility and in their pleasure boats and there after offering up some prayers he dr a ring into the sea saying i thee sea i in token of perpetual dominion on the defeat of d might again be called free th e treaty of ti him and the states their ent of tjie ul of the german which implied no ence with their private rights and e supply of the emperor s visits well had it be for th m had they have thrown off these two conditions perhaps they could n t at did not still the immediate pressure of the the story of italy chain was | 2 |
assembled the the charles of attended by a hundred knights rode into the lists he was a man of sixty the king of only forty the latter therefore had the better chance of victory hour passed after hour and the king never came at length just at sunset he rode into ihe lists with a hundred knights but the declared the day now too far spent for the combat to take place and charles of quitted the lists highly dissatisfied so the story of italy he determined to renew the war with french assistance but in the mean time his son whom he had left at risked an engagement and lost it his being taken prisoner so afflicted charles of that he put an end to his own life chapter x of the and customs of the in the a s power of is required to some picture of italian and customs in the century yet somewhat we know we know that all the old roman remains existing now existed then that crops poorly were by ruins of grand old that huts of the construction were reared against the walls of fine old temples and that shattered columns and broken lay among the tangled grass in those times says a writer about the year speaking of the days of the manners of the were rude a man and his wife ate off the same plate there were no wooden handled knives nor more than one or two drinking cups in a house candles of wax ed the t by of italy or were unknown a servant held a torch during supper the clothes of men were of leather scarcely gold or silver was seen on their dress the common people ate flesh but three times a week and kept their cold meat for supper many did not drink wine in summer a small stock of com seemed riches the portions of women were small their dress even after marriage was simple the pride of the men was to be well provided with arms and horses that of the nobility to have lofty towers of which all the cities in italy were full but has been exchanged for everything exquisite is sought after in dress gold silver pearls and rich foreign and rich are required hence fraud and tyranny the conquest of says by charles of in seems to have been the epoch of increasing luxury in italy knights with their and golden the chariot of his queen covered th t bt of with velvet and sprinkled with lilies of gold a the citizens of some years later we find of on his marriage with three rich dresses on the c while on the same occasion receives from count of a handsome a sort of dress common to men and women with twenty of gold this was in and seven years afterwards was the marriage of the of with no of which the has left ns the following description on sunday the th of june the bride and bridegroom entered amid a great of citizens arranged in six divisions the lady was escorted by many clothed in and other th ir horses in of the same all marching in military with and music in this manner they gained the great square where they wheeled off to middle ages the of italy the right and left while the lady advanced upon a white arrayed in scarlet under a lined with six gentlemen led her and she was followed by the great doctors of the university in white robes with great so that never did lady appear with greater magnificence she alighted at the stairs of the great hall of the and followed by the most distinguished of her train ascended and took her seat within they then tore off their upper dresses of silk and threw them with the and among the crowd below they then appeared in dresses of scarlet and and leaving the hall came in procession down the street dances and were kept up for several days glimpses of national character and manners are from various incidents in the which distracted italy as soon as it was freed from foreign with expired the house of grey skin the of and its the lost ground before the and many cities became the scenes of fearful popular a few instances may be given xl of and of the widow de a girl of noble birth loved and was bj as their houses had long been at enmity s brothers discovering s attachment a deadly revenge lying in wait for him on his return from a stolen interview they him with poisoned and flung his body into a deserted court some to her lover followed in his footsteps till she came to the of blood and then traced them to the spot where lay his remains with a faint hope that life might not be quite extinct she sucked his poisoned wounds and in thus doing found her own death this dreadful tragedy was the signal for declared the ot italy war between the and a o of forty days took place in the streets of ia and ended in the being driven ont of tbe city next an told s enough by among many other v ry powerful families in says he were the and the next to these came the and now there was a certain widow lady of good fortune of the house of who had a daughter of beauty she had settled it in her own mind that it would be well to bestow this fair young girl on who was in the bloom of and the head of his house this her design either from or from thinking that it was hardly yet time to disclose it she had as yet imparted to no one when chance brought it to her ears that a lady of the house of | 2 |
was in just to mess the news of which highly the widow hoping still to prevent the marriage from being the of italy by means of her daughter she happened one day to from her window walking alone in the street below taking her daughter by the she hurried with her down stairs and left the young girl standing at the door then going forth she met as if by the merest chance and stopping to chat with him presently said in a casual way so you are going to be married i hear truly i am glad you have found yourself a wife though if the truth be owned i meant to have bestowed on you my daughter she glanced as she spoke towards the door at which stood the young lady the looked that way too and beholding the charming beauty of the girl and considering her noble birth and large fortune neither of which were inferior to those of the lady to whom he was engaged he had such a mind to marry her that setting at his word and the shame of breaking it not to mention the dangerous consequences that might thence he cried nay then since you have destined her for me i should be ungrateful not to accept her seeing there is yet the of italy tune and in their marriage was concluded forthwith no sooner came this to be known than the and their near relations the flaming with rage met together with many of their and came to the conclusion that so gross an could not be endured without great shame and that the blood of must for his offence and while some of the party were suggesting the evils that might thence cut the matter short by saying that they who at such trifles would never achieve anything worth doing adding this notable ha a done has a head the bloody deed was therefore to and three others these on sunday lay in wait in the palace which stands between the and till they riding over the bridge on a fine white horse doubtless in the belief that it was as easy a matter to forgive an injury as to break off a match they rushed from the t bt of italy th fell on him as he was aad him at the base of statue this filled the whole city with confusion for some sided with the and some with the and was distracted with these till the time of the the second y who the of the this party had now assumed the name of and the who were were at length driven out of but after the emperor s death proceeds the men of substance in thought it better tp make up their old quarrels than to ruin the city wherefore the recalled the and the forgave the and all went merry as a marriage bell the city was then divided into six parts and put under the of twelve citizens two to division two men of from some distant town were set over these the one as the other as captain of the people a also the t bt of italy and called out every when the draw by oxen in scarlet ap i in the midst also an alarm bell called was loudly rung before they took the to give the due warning such generosity then marked their proceedings there is no describing what grandeur and strength then not only the head of all but with the chief cities of italy and it would have risen yet higher and higher had it not been for its unhappy famous painters poets st were already richly their powers in the air of ty but the were getting the upper hand whereon the called in the oe of oe by the aid of whose troops defeated the on the river so that instead of returning to the city they took refuge in thia was lo e il in the t bt of described by the power of the seemed for the time completely their and women and children were all miserably cast forth from their native city meanwhile the general carried things with a high hand in the city that his name became in it and it was among the in solemn at whether they should not the city altogether and another elsewhere no one opposed this proposition except who says was a man of great soul excellent in war and the head of the never said he will i consent that the dear ity which even our enemies spared shall be destroyed by our own hands were i the last of the i would die a thousand deaths to defend her walls saying which he quitted the assembly his voice prevailed and the city was spared who was born five years after the battle of the represents craving news of him the story of of bis beloved city and referring to his memorable speech then sighing his head he shook not singly mixed i in that said he nor without cause such part with others took but when assembled numbers had to sweep fair from the earth away my voice alone was raised against the deed of and lore op the black and white of and meanwhile a tragedy occurred in the neighbouring city of the consequences of which again the had a son named a son named lore these two young men one day had a few words a and lore in the heat of passion drew his sword and slightly wounded his cousin went home and told his father lore did the same s father determined he would have blood for blood lore s father thought no great harm done but him go and beg his uncle s pardon say he had not meant to hurt his cousin and would not do so again lore went on | 2 |
his errand as soon as his uncle saw him he with the op italy rage and without hearing a word he had to say made his servants drag him off to a and there with his own sword he struck off his nephew s hand now said he you may go home and tell your father that wounds are healed by steel but not by words lore sick and fainting staggered home to his father whose wrath far exceeded that even of he made a public quarrel of it and all sided with one or the other s party called themselves or the s or the and as both were they became known as the black and white a nobleman named took up the cause of the who were his personal friends of course therefore the house of which opposed that of took up the and thus the black and white quarrel spread from to the citizens of whom we really are to suppose there were a few found all this a dreadful thb t by of italy to and sent word of it to the pope who summoned to him and insisted on his being on good with pretended the utmost surprise and said how could he be otherwise than on good terms when he had never been on bad ones it all a mistake he could assure his so de returned home laughing in his sleeve and very soon after a street quarrel took place between the and the which put their dispositions quite out of doubt chapter of in those days might have been seen in the streets of an almost looking with something in hi aspect who as he passed along now nodded to the learned now paused to chat for a few moments with the noble now painter or laid his hand on his shoulder and asked with int est what progress he was making in his famous of the or described to him a vision of his own th marriage of st with poverty in vivid burning words that the artist fastened home and made a rough sketch of it for future that man was ri he was bom in in he was of good birth and education of a thoughtful ment had already fought two battles had the story of italy married unhappily and had plunged into public life he is said to have been with fourteen he was also one of the or chief of in and with the he opposed a project of sending for charles of to silence the of the city in which we must esteem him a true he was however over ruled charles of was invited to and speedily drove the white out of it never to return under penalty of being burnt alive among these was who however did not immediately quit but assisted the in various fruitless attempts to re enter the city at length with a bitter heart he shook o f the dust on his feet against it and proceeded depressed and destitute to the court of can lord of here he says he found how salt is the taste of another man s bread and how hard it is to climb another man s stairs his rough sarcastic nature was little appreciated by the luxurious patron who sheltered him he the of under his home and terrible and asked him one day in a marked manner how it was that the court was much more popular there is nothing to surprise one in it replied gravely of tastes is the chief bond of friendship he wandered forth to other courts to to to meanwhile his wondrous poem was itself forth and taking the gloom hue of his ideas its subject was dark and horrible its treatment was severe yet it boasted flowers of exquisite poetry that sprang up like the vegetation in the neighbourhood of a he it with the philosophy and of the age he introduced living friends and foes into his drama with questionable taste and bestowed on them imaginary woes according to his own judgment of their merits and yet his pages were with truths and in lofty morality pointing was not as yet invented but no sooner was his completed than it was copied re copied commented upon with eager in the story of from one end of italy to the other and so soon as copies to a hitherto of extent it became l over the land thick tu leaves on the next italian book printed to the bible five hundred years have passed and its spell as of some old still lies on us here is a not badly rendered beloved in the original by every true of about that season of the year when with his rays and now the nights to the days draw near when the frost upon the ground the perfect semblance of her sister white but of her not long the fashion stays the poor and garment lacking peasant arising looks abroad and sees the ground all his flank he to comes home and round and round abject like one who knows not what to do then out with of hope new found perceiving that the world has changed its hue in that short while and takes his staff in hand and his flock to in field anew chapter of the and bad end of loss of italian by the tyranny of these things affairs went on quietly h in only that was troubled in his mind at not having that weight and importance he considered his to literally we must ay that he tried to by an honest plea the of his heart in many good citizens who had the management of public money and setting it about that they had not been faithful to their trust this led to and the called in the to put down these latter quiet was restored and public | 2 |
affairs remained just where they were before bat the conduct of was the of italy the cause of incessant mischief and in that at last it became he was to appear before the j to answer for his conduct and failing to do so was pronounced and a rebel to the government accusation and sentence only occupied two hours thereupon barred and bolted himself up in his own house which was strong enough to resist the of the people from without however they took possession of the adjoining houses and breaking through the party walls came upon him when they were least expected or wished on this he and his men made a rush and actually fought their way through the people and out of the city however was captured at and his enemies should not look him in the face in the streets of he dropped oflf his horse as they were carrying him back and there lay on the ground making believe to be dead till some one him the of san buried him without any honours and this was the end of the t bt of italy says his who if he had had a mind might have had an end more blessed but an important change was now taking place in many towns of by force or free consent each became under the dominion of some powerful lord submitted to martin to and to the house of to the and to thus the lives of these little were as short as they were brilliant and entirely owing to the conduct of their own members if we ask what advantages they had derived from their republican government to the bitterness and that had continually disturbed their peace tell us that they had for the time been freed from the tyranny of lords and that industry had been promoted trade encouraged literature and the fine arts cultivated and a spirit of self dependence and energy awakened in the minds of the citizens and were not these worth preserving at the expense of personal resentment a wise republic says ought the of italy not to run any which may expose it to or ill the only happiness its several members should to is to e to their state but the moving object of the italian i as the of over the rather than fail in which they made no scruple calling ins foreign which as we hav the beginning and perhaps shall see te the d s to the very life of freedom sixty years after death italy was by the presence of german emperor the then entered and assumed the iron crown he declared he powers of the to be and re them to surrender them all submitted but his resistance ended in his fall and other refused submission to the emperor and he was poisoned at by a while the to him old and then burst out anew the who had reigned sixty years in were by the the of italy as bad a race as we read of in history the chief of the house was imprisoned for life for his own crimes by louis the fourth and during his enjoyed a shadow of its former liberty but the death of the prisoner appeased the king who allowed his heir to regain the or of by paying a heavy fine s character for made him a true he was succeeded by and who were even worse than who was of succeeded to the on his brother s death and by bis arts to it the of and not content with this he desired to make himself master of a yet more dangerous enemy of the republic had sprung up in the person of thus pleasantly his story r xv op you must know says he that the family of the is numbered among the noblest in though in our days it has fallen like so many others into of this house was bom one who himself to religion was made a of st michael of and was commonly known as his only sister had been given in marriage to but being dead the worthy lady returned to her brother s roof resolved not to marry again behind s house lay a into which being surrounded by several kitchen gardens it was not difficult to enter now it happened one morning that having risen with the sun and gone forth into the story of italy the garden to gather certain while the dew yet lay upon them now now that simple for their various and several virtues she heard a rustling among the leaves and turning her head to the spot whence the sound proceeded was aware of a low and wailing hastening to the place and looking among the vine leaves what should she find but a lovely little infant who with outstretched hands and tear face seemed her compassion she wondering pitying and a little shocked took up the tender babe in her arms and carried him indoors where having washed him and wrapped him in white she presented him to her good brother as soon as he returned home the worthy was as much surprised as his sister had been but the lovely child and having talked over with her what they had better do with him they presently determined that he being a priest and she without children they should adopt the little thus placed as it were by providence in their hands a nurse therefore the of was procured for the child who was the grew up a promising lad and thinking to him for the church designed at some future time to his in his favour but nothing was further from the inclination of who coming to be a tall bright haired of fourteen no little over the good and threw aside his books and declared himself all for war that there was no peace | 2 |
unless he was let handle arms or practise running jumping or with boys of his own age and sort and if he could be persuaded to look into a book at all it would be all about fighting which gave vexation to and one day he was playing at rough games with other boys at the upper end of st michael s place when a gentleman stood to observe him who was no other than who had long fought under the and esteemed the bead of the in the t bt of up something of the lad s which ed him in him all the more he spoke to him and asked if he were content to in the house of an old priest with whom he could hear of nothing but church and masses and would not rather live in the house of a gentleman who would teach him to ride and to fence knew well enough how the s heart would leap at the yery mention of riding and nevertheless stood blushing and ashamed and being pressed for an answer said he could do nothing without f otherwise there was nothing he should so dearly lore oi this managed matters so well with that the worthy at length yielded to his proposals the more readily that he foresaw it would be impossible to keep the lad in leading strings therefore having quitted the house of the for that of the it is extraordinary in the op italy how short a space he became an in all masculine exercises he became an excellent and could the most fiery with grace and elegance while at and notwithstanding his youth his strength and were with all this he excessively modest and remarked for his respect to his elders he had just attained his year when the were driven out of and their cause sent to their assistance who took with him the young soldier however was little more than twenty when we find him fighting for the of who had taken refuge in was lord of and his son was lord of of sent to his son him to him at supper invited him to supper but did not him determined on the thing being done off to with four hundred horse to see it done himself directly he was the story of italy gone the drove out his family and chose themselves a new when he reached he found the equally disposed to be their favourite was under arrest and they demanded his liberty was obliged to set him free and placing himself at the head of the people with very little ceremony drove out the who fled to the court of where he miserably died from a soldier of fortune now found himself master of a city for the made him general of their army and hid brilliant career led them to confer on him the of to which was soon added the of as the laughed at his pretensions he made war on them with his usual success but he was summoned home by a dangerous conspiracy the family had helped to raise to the and themselves they his destruction having slain his lieutenant they were proceeding to rouse the of italy the people when st da the only man of t fi ly advised them to lay down their arms promising to for them with this he did as soon the returned to and pleaded hard for his ho saying forgive them in tion of th youth as well as of the old ship between you and me be of good ch r replies g my grief at hearing of the rebellion was mi ch less than is my joy at finding it m longer in existence bid your family com tp without ar for thank god i can find pleasure in liberality but be lied unto him he put every one of th n to death and all and he or imprisoned au whom he looked as enemies and their houses to the ground and built himself a strong hold out of the thereof after this himself of by which the to that degree that took the field against him with forty thousand men lay in wait the t bt of italy for them near at a pass called which is narrow rather than steep and overlooked by a grim old castle belonging to a german named who was friendly to the contrived his and got possession of his castle the night before the attempted the pass next the latter were surprised to find the passage disputed by the enemy those who first advanced in front a on each side and their own men pressing from behind they fell into not knowing that to advance would be their safety nor the small number of the and pursued them to the gates of and before it many days the then applied to king of of whom they hired four thousand horse two hundred thousand a year the ten thousand horse and thirty thousand foot they took the field in may and determined to assault awaited them on the about g the t bt of italy half way between and with twenty thousand foot aiid four thousand horse here were upwards of sixty thousand in battle array against each other on the th of june the attempted to pass the river in the face of who fell upon them before they were out of the water and many whose horses reared and fell back upon them were smothered in the mud the remainder of the endeavoured to ford the river higher up but were everywhere harassed by s troops who flung light at them from the opposite bank the tumult was immense at length brought up a close behind his wearied men whom he bade give place to the fresh comers this afforded many of the time to land but exhausted and weary they were unfit to cope | 2 |
with the fresh troops and the result was the total defeat both of their and cavalry not a third of their fine army escaping but providence most adverse to s glory at the time it seemed to have reached its the story of italy height cut short all those designs he so fondly had cherished which nothing but death could have prevented his attempting exposed to a cold cutting wind while heated with the exertions of the day that he might praise and thank his victorious troops in person was chilled and afterwards attacked by a terrible fever which no medical skill could remedy feeling that his end was approaching he seems to have had a glimpse afforded him of his past career and its results in proportions than during his life of ceaseless activity and his adopted son to his bedside he uttered a few words of counsel and farewell observing with some earnestness that had he known how short was to be his career he never would have commenced these which had only procured him a great many enemies but would have remained content with the of how many of us fail to make a just estimate of life till at its close i chapter of of thb contest between of and peter of for the crown of the two was renewed between their sons at length it to charles the second of who left the crown to his sou though of still the possession of robert was an amiable more esteemed for hia literary and his patronage of science aud wit than for his military or political skill like s his books were dearer to him than his kingdom he invited the moat eminent scholars to and was proud to call his friend this good prince had the to his only son who left two infant daughters the eldest of whom became to the tbe of throne b gifted and a lady of but among them the ornament of a meek find quiet spirit nor of a pure and mind early to prince of hun who indeed was brought to while yet the care of his nurse the young princess a ha red of the awkward boy as he the brutal man king robert too regretted selected so a husband for his daughter and shortly before his death made a will settling the of oa and from any share in the ty sixteen years old when she became queen and husband was only two years older freed from control at too tender an age she plunged into from to vice om to crime till she trembled not to hear her maid hint the of deaths her listening to the proposal of guilt was naturally followed by guilt itself the story of italy a hunting party waa devised at and were both to be present after the day s the royal company found refreshment and rest in a beyond the city walls in this abode sacred to purposes of religion the unfortunate was at dead of night his piercing cries reached the ears of his old nurse who had accompanied him from and who it would seem still hovered about him with dutiful and devoted she entered his bedroom in the greatest terror and there found only the queen sitting by the bedside with her face hidden in her hands her broken answers confirmed the worst suspicions of who seized a lamp and hurrying with it to the looked forth and beheld the dead body of the unfortunate prince in the garden below s at the discovery roused the sleeping inmates of the and the dreadful catastrophe immediately became known though the had escaped penetrated with shame and remorse returned to where she the of italy had hitherto been the popular darling but the of her crime had preceded her and she was received with stem looks and ominous silence the princes of the blood royal fortified their palaces and their as if they considered their o u lives and her brother in law the duke of the people to take up arms against her pope the sixth considering himself called ob to interfere desired the chief justice of to inquire into the murder without respect of persons the queen s was arrested and being put to the torture confessed the names of the on this the chief justice followed by multitudes of the citizens carrying among them a flag on which the murder of was painted appeared before the queen s palace to demand that the should be given up in vain would have them from their just fate those miserable and guilty persons including the maid were put to painful and disgraceful deaths louis king of however did not the italy that brother s death was while the principal remained he towards with purpose of on herself at his approach she fled to pro from whence she proceeded to where the then resided ae an humble for protection there is a curious print the old of the copies of representing presenting herself to and for his hit tion i have it before me as i write here is th pope a good humoured full faced elderly man a goodly double chin triple crowned with bi hand and in a richly decorated mantle clasped at the throat with descending from his throne sit each side of which a and holding out hie hand to who and pretty with a en her head in wide mantle lined w h before him and eagerly takes his hand priests behind her look ei m j the of italy while two and a warrior in complete the group the audience hall a decorated window but artist has not distracted attention by a article of was tried be re a public fear her husband s and pleaded own cause with great eloquence she was by her judges but not in the minds of most of her countrymen a ter many | 2 |
years in and she her kingdom in but was again attacked by the king of who insisted on her being tried a second time who had meanwhile contracted a marriage the prince or this second trials and was so hard r a her conduct that she pleaded her having been under the this as w should think it was admitted aa and was on the king of again withdrew his troops she and of were crowned at within a year of s death she married a the of italy third time and the death of this third husband was to have been brought about by her means after this she married yet a fourth time at length came severe though justice she was and by the sixth and the duke of seized her imprisoned her and finally put her to death by man her blood was shed but in what manner records do not relate we only know that her body lay seven days in state and that she perished in may at the age of fifty six some have thought fit to trace a likeness between her and mary queen of as beautiful accomplished intellectual pitiless perhaps there may be some she was a great friend of men of learning say the and men of learning were her friends in return but they could not make much of her say what they would the worst passages in are said to have been written in with her taste and even command xvii of and of yes those were the of and of it was on the th of that first saw in the church of at and it was some twenty years after that he met in this was a memorable meeting for the of idle stories s life had been neither useful nor pure neither good at law nor commerce his for classic learning and his vivid fancy had contributed much to the pleasures but to the morals of his country let us eat and drink for to morrow we die he loved and loved amiss and was made no better by it but made others worse on the other hand loved amiss for he loved a married woman but he might almost as well have loved some bright particular star for he the op italy wanted little else than a to hang his sentimental verses on beautiful they were too grave serious profound verses full of melancholy and learning and subtle thought very different from the thoughts of the in gay the lover of dangerous too scarcely dangerous to or to any woman though very disagreeable to her husband but dangerous to his own mind still quite a flight above to his emotions to lament the swiftness with which time stole away his youth and to upon the vanity of the splendid reputation he was daily afforded him an opportunity of the best powers of his eloquence of pouring forth those majestic torrents of against the vices of his age in which he delighted to employ his pen and so it came to pass that when this grave and masculine writer was in mature life passing through on his way to borne on occasion of the he there fell in who having acquired some degree of fame to the acquaintance of italy with him only ended with s life mark the of intercourse with a better and higher mind than hia own soon after this meeting with says one of his y the mind of seems to haye undergone a considerable change it is not improbable that the counsels of his friend who is known to have warned him against the vain pursuits of his former years was one of the main causes of this reform the death of his father and the responsibility with which he found himself invested was no doubt another moved by all these considerations began to regard the of the republic of with a different feeling and appears to have formed some intention of taking a part with his fellow citizens in the conduct of the state at first however he shrank from the toil and hazard in which he feared such a course would involve him but at length his dislike of politics vanished before the growing energy of his mind li fact he became a public man and was dr the of italy sent on several honourable and about the same time appeared his noted much of which had been written daring his residence in the corrupt court of queen and which as i have not read i ought not to condemn but as would say one who has read it has given his opinion which i believe to be so certain and true that i might protest it to be my own and it is that on the darkest and most terrific that ever painter employed he drew an infinite variety of the and most graceful forms but that the general impression of the work on the reader is of anger and pain that such genius should have been so abused hence when an old old man of venerable aspect sought out one day and told him with much mystery and awful gravity that he brought him a death bed message from one father who had never seen him but who was endowed with a spirit of prophecy and charged him as he valued his own soul to change his life and his style of writing s heart like that of the roman smote him at the sound of the of italy judgment and the life to come and with one brave manly his former pursuits he wrote to his dear to tell him of his and the cause of it did not believe in sudden nor jet altogether in the of the warning he discouraged from any too sudden change while respecting the purity of his intentions and assured him that he need neither sell his | 2 |
books nor his studies to be in favour with god and man however assumed the habit and began to read divinity he continued his search for greek and rescued many valuable from destruction in doing thus he expended more than he could afford and warmly pressed him to share his purse and his home i live so simply said he that what is enough for one will be enough for two it was kindly spoken with equal noble refused to accept the generous offer but though he refused to make his house his home he availed himself of every opportunity t bt of of seeing his dear they t three m together in so pleasant profitable a manner that they remembered it satisfaction during of their the of to show their due appreciation of invited him to fill the honourable post of on the j of with a salary of s his remaining days were and honoured and the death of loosened the last tie that bound him to the world and inclined him yet more earnestly to prepare himself for with we take leave of these three great names of the plague of next for the great which broke out in in the lifetime of and in the of so much rain fell that grain in the ground and the following did not yield a sixth part of the usual produce when bread falls short the poor are forced upon and diet which produces sickness low fever and at length some dangerous no fewer than thousand persons in alone were compelled by the famine to depend on the state for their daily food though the rich were nobly generous many poor creatures wandered through the fields and woods to their craving hunger with roots and the occasioned by this improper diet t on a dreadful which spread from country to country the story op italy swift as the wind till three of europe had fallen its in many instances whole families were swept off in others the sick were cruelly deserted by those who hoped to escape parents and children husbands and wives forgot natural affection in their eagerness for self pre it is to be hoped that these were balanced by cases of sublime self devotion but unhappily these have escaped the historian the dead were hurried into hastily dug and it is supposed that many were thrown into graves in whom life was not quite extinct has given an ideal picture of the plague at which doubtless its real features mingled with softening touches of pity and love at length the plague was stayed by slow degrees families returned from the country to their deserted homes shops were re opened trade restored and italy was again the scene of health and industry chapter xix of rome like other cities had adopted the of a foreign magistrate only calling him instead of a vigorous mind and hand were demanded of such an officer in the year the possessed such a in in those days the members of each noble family had a street to themselves and their palaces strongly fortified and supporting each other were alike fitted to withstand the rage of the people and the hand of civil authority at the head of the citizens a hundred and forty of these to the ground and some of their occupants whose crimes had long deserved punishment were hung from their own the made common cause against him and imprisoned him but he was rein thb of italy stated in office and to hold it till his death the removal of the residence first to and then to the ambition and oppression of the who committed the most daring crimes with in their private wars they destroyed many of the finest monuments of antiquity and whoever won the day the poor equally the times called forth a man to bridle them was an inn keeper s son in an obscure quarter of somehow he had a good classical education from his youth says an old writer he was nourished with the milk of eloquence he was a good a better and an excellent writer ah how much and how rapidly he read he made great use of and great delight he took in relating the magnificence of caesar every day he meditated among the marble which be around rome none like him could the ancient he could turn all ancient writings into modem language and interpret the of tiie of different where be now he would exclaim those virtuous where dow their justice f had i but been bom in those happy times v s talent and t him into notice he accompanied an to the pope at he himself in such a manner as to obtain the post of public at he made an acquaintance with that into on returning to rome discharged the duties of his new office with a that won general meanwhile he much on the possibility of the people from the oppression of and frequently them on the of rome their by pictures of its remarkable events or of political the people his apt scholars at length loudly called on him to assume the name of their the witnessed his proceedings with ia or contempt the family invited him to their palaces to amuse the story of italy themselves with what they considered his wild dreams at length a summons to the door of the church of san bidding a hundred citizens meet him at midnight on mount having imposed on them an oath of secrecy he on the crimes of the and dwelt on the wrongs and formidable power of the people he then caused a to be made by sound of trumpet throughout the city calling on all good citizens to next day before the church of st for the re establishment of the good estate the night was passed by him in fervent prayer and in the morning he | 2 |
went forth but in complete attended by a hundred sworn followers the pope s accompanied him and thus gave his proceedings the sanction of the church he was welcomed at the appointed spot by multitudes of people who rent the air with their shouts on reaching the ascended a lofty balcony from which he addressed the assemblage the story of italy meanwhile news of his proceedings had reached one of the most powerful who immediately hastened to rome from his seat saying contemptuously he would throw the madman out of window this speech being repeated from one to another and s return reported the people rang the alarm bell of the city as against their common enemy and the rapid of the armed citizens caused the house of to fly to their country seats immediately commanded all the other to quit rome and was obeyed the new then lost no time in establishing such laws as seemed called for having restored the forces and of the public he permitted those to return to rome who would take the oath of to the new government never was a complete change more speedily effected a den of robbers was converted into the discipline of a camp or the was patient to hear swift to inexorable to punish he was accessible to the poor man and the stranger nor could birth and dignity protect the the the t bt w italy woods began to rejoice that were no longer tested with the oxen began to plough proceeded in safety to th the and were crowded trade and good faith were restored in the and a purse of gold might haye been exposed on ti e highway danger hoping to extend happy condition things italy addressed letters to the states he nd the king of appealed te as im his dispute with of wrote letters of and applause dazzled unhappily by success he began to as some the style of an actual monarch and the pope outraged the nobility and wounded and disgusted the people they resisted us authority and he his too late offered to his port th y accepted his and he quitted the which soon into its former and wretchedness after from place to place poor and despised was at length betrayed into the the story of italy of the pope who threw him into prison after many years he was released and sent to rome as the people welcomed with joy the man they had with disgrace but was no longer the same had his noble fire the bold and vehement republican had become the feeble minister of authority the people soon discovered the difference and he fell a victim to their rage in a popular tumult chapter xx of the ea and of the republic and of the cause of its it is possible to conceive in how short a time the acquired astonishing authority and grandeur not only did their city become the first in but one of the most considerable in italy and it would have risen to an incredible height had it not been for the of that wicked little demon who since the beginning of the world has crept from house to house from man to from woman to woman from city to city from country to country making the most odious mischief and whose name in one word is i am aware that this is a very homely and mean title for what is more under the various heads of internal divisions national hereditary and the story op the like but bad temper is the very thing and the reading of history will be more improving than it commonly is if we keep this clearly in sight nay i am sorry i did not perceive this at the very beginning and keep it in view all along because it would have brought many rather dry intimately into our own hearts and homes however as i have plainly stated facts without any there is the less reason though there was none before to suspect me of straining a moral out of nothing to adorn a tale and if any one will but just be at the trouble of looking back through the foregoing pages they will see how many a riddle is solved by this simple application passions indeed are far less prominent than nor is it surely a wise thing to give dignified names to emotions why should a man be called or a a bon or a woman who certainly does not consider by whom the world was made nor why she was put in it a woman of the world to if had been a sort of man would he have made of drink oat of her s if the had been of would he hare kept the emperor r in had the people of met been even and polite would they needed to call in fore had a frenchman good would there have been the had remembered that a done be undone aj lied just as much to s marriage as to his death needed ha to take up the by a fool being part bo is hurt would have been a r i as for and lore dearly mi t hav e their hands off other if th y had first r ed their tongues whereby many useful have continued to mind their business instead os joining in street and so od to the end o the chapter oh friends had the kept their what a different story might have written of them instead of i d to relate those constant among than t bt of ill at brought ih n under the joke i have already said a good way back thai of the of that city by the death of his brother turned his es on the of that favoured republic attentively ing his proceedings with some anxiety beheld him flattering the other cities of | 2 |
into his alliance and who should au have been friends with became of and the r could only count among its the two small states of and the treacherous so often told the he meant them well that they had very good reason for it and y fair morning his troops appeared before the though taken by surprise threw a small body of into the town to assist the inhabitants in its defence meanwhile however the fast and thick to the of his device a and with seven thousand horse and six t ot this thb of italy ornament of the church swept the country to the very gates of the fall of seemed certain troops had now come into their leaders or fought for whoever paid them highest without caring whether the cause were right or wrong they put out their strength very little against one another a battle was little more than a mockery between them and the slain as on an opera stage were up and fighting again tomorrow at the slightest disgust they were ready to go over to the other side and when they had no regular engagement they made a prey of the country places and villages hence italy has never boasted our english farm houses and for why they are too the country people took refuge in walled villages and even those were enough the only in the widely extended and desolate fields were the or huts where agricultural implements are kept and where at most a farm servant sleeps to guard the grain and other stores but the homes were chiefly in the towns and this of t bt of the is supposed to be one of the the seem to have been for they had no to to the and scarcely any in pay where were their and why did not they ring the great bell perhaps they did for no leader of any would engage himself to them and they were thrown on their own meanwhile the in villages were holding out so stoutly that the could make no bead against them irritated at this delay he raised the siege of and little town of it was shut up as tightly as an cavalry was useless against it its were proof against and was not yet much in use famine however might reduce the garrison in time but the five hundred who formed that garrison were as yet well and laughed their to scorn the of meanwhile the enemy s supplies and did the all the mischief they could thb t by of italy at length the in were nearly worn out a company of brave young men headed by a then resolved to relieve them they undertook their dangerous enterprise by and boldly but cautiously stole right through the s camp and were admitted into the town the five hundred men welcomed them with tears of joy and regained confidence from the unexpected relief the s were all in vain he caused engines and wooden towers to be constructed immense stones and fragments of rock were hurled over the walls but his engines were burnt his soldiers not as hired would have driven them ofi but with dismal slaughter and after two months spent before this petty town he was obliged to raise the siege in mortification and disgrace the had by this time a considerable force which completed his discomfiture and obliged him to sue for peace thus the republic yet flourished so insignificant in itself but by such gallant reminds one of the der the of italy in the fairy tale who transported himself into the body of a little bird so great was the contrast between its frame and the spirit it ts chapter of the after these things i say not that quarrelled with but very provoked by seizing one of her castles the were sufficiently masters of themselves to take no notice of this petty insult whereon the increasing in malice imposed a duty on all vessels entering their harbour whereby they an ancient and respected treaty this was too bad of the but the with great good temper merely sent their ships to another harbour this served the right for the commerce of had been so productive to them that their business was now brought to a stand the and thereupon became so that the were obliged to take off the unjust duty but the did not condescend to take advantage of the of italy it on which the wrong from first to last fitted out some armed and tried to force the vessels to in their harbour rather than this the brought their from and they also hired vessels of war to attack the on their own element salt water now in old almost forgotten times the had generously defended the from enemies when nearly all their citizens were absent on another expedition leaving the city in gratitude for this friendship the had erected some exquisitely beautiful pillars iq as monuments of the event but now when all the friendship that these two had shared was the carried off the chains which defended the entrance of the port and hung them up on the columns as if in reproach of the ingratitude just then an english soldier of fortune named sir john arrived in italy with a company of english men at arms to seek service as a free lance or and was hired by the the of to fight the the of his men put to shame the inferior fighting of the the going from bad to worse the territory and annoyed their enemies by such petty as flinging dead dogs and cats over their walls and hanging three before the city gates with the names of three respectable this was not very witty neither was it very wise while i write the air is heavy and the small birds are keeping up an astonishing soon the storm | 2 |
will come and the birds will be quite quiet so in italy the rage of against and against was awfully by the plague it killed them faster than they killed one another they were by it and made peace the were pay a hundred thousand for the expenses of the war and engaged never more to enforce the unjust duty freed foreign hostility fell a prey to domestic tyranny and sank under the of one of her meanest citizens chapter xxii of is the early times of the possessed supreme power by but defects being perceived in this form of government a council was established bj consent of the people consisting of four hundred and eighty men of high birth the grand council soon limited the s pre and appointed a council of forty to administer criminal justice a council of sixty assisted the in domestic and foreign affairs and the famous council of held authority over the other and privately and ed all state crimes the was bound to have no private correspondence with foreign states to acquire no property beyond the to interfere in no process and to permit no citizen to use the t bt op italy tokens of in thus stripped of power it might truly be said had bat their titles for their glories an outward honour for an toil a noble was of he was of temper and once he was to receive the on a public occasion he was so much with the bishop for keeping him waiting that he gave him a smart blow he was a personal friend of s who considered him to have more spirit than prudence in being then an old man was elected of the same year an annual hunt took after which the as was usual gave a banquet to this banquet came a certain a gentleman of poor estate and very young but and daring and who loved one of the of the s conduct was offensive to the who with his usual d him to be thrust off the or raised platform which was done by the s accordingly in great rage the of italy went off to the then deserted hail of audience and there wrote words on the s wooden chair in the morning the writing was seen and pronounced scandalous and being discovered to be the the council of forty him to two months imprisonment and then a year s surely this was severity enough but the said they should have hanged him by the neck or at the least banished him for life just at this time the first day of lent a gentleman of the house of went to the to require something of the masters of the the admiral of the happening to what he wanted cried no it cannot be done on this high words ensued between them and struck the admiral just above the eye with his fist so that a ring on his finger cut the admiral s face and drew blood the admiral face all ran in great heat to the and for justice what can i do for thee replied the think upon the shameful which has been the story op italy written concerning me and how slightly is that will show you the mind of the council of forty my lord said the admiral if you wish to he a prince indeed and not only in name i have the heart if you will but support me ta make you absolute prince of all this state and you may then punish them all how so cried the so then they the sent for his nephew who lived in his palace and acquainted him with the plot they then sent for a seaman named philip and for who was exceeding and cunning then taking counsel among themselves they agreed to call in some others and these met secretly in the s palace night by night it was that sixteen or seventeen leaders should be stationed in various parts of the city each being at the head of forty armed men who were not to know their destination at the set time they were to make among themselves the t by of italy that the mi t have an excuse for ringing the great bell and when the and leading citizens were drawn together in the principal square by the sound of the bell the were to cut them to pieces which done the was to be proclaimed sovereign lord of the day fixed on was april th this dangerous conspiracy was by one a of s who hearing some words fall from some of the parties concerned went to his master and begged him by no means to leave the house on the th of april he was then going away but being full of alarm had him locked up and then hurried off to who afterwards became and told him of the warning he had received these two then went to a third after which they all three examined ana then leaving him still in confinement they summoned the council when all were assembled the whole story was told them they were as it were with after re examining they the of italy assembled men whom they sent to secure the towards nightfall they assembled in the palace and caused the gates of the court yard to be shut they then sent to the keeper of the bell tower and him strict orders that the bell was not on any pretext to be rung meanwhile the being secured were brought before them as the of ten soon ascertained that the ought to be numbered among them they desired that twenty men of the state ould take part in their though without permission to late at night they summoned the who was entertaining his friends any suspicion of mischief the minor were first tried condemned and executed and were | 2 |
hanged on the red pillars the p ace balcony with in their mouths a few who had been ignorant of the object of the conspiracy were on the th of april was to have his head struck off on the landing place of the stone staircase where the the of italy took their oath on first entering the palace on the following day the doors of the palace being shut the cap of the state was removed from the s head and he was on the appointed spot one of the council of ten then took the bloody sword and went to the columns over the palace of st mark where he ex the sword to the with a loud voice that the terrible doom hath fallen on the traitor it was a serious matter to be of before the days of who unquestionably deserved to die five of the first fifty five were banished with their eyes put oat nine were five were and two fell in battle chapter of the war of or all the cities of the south none but and exceed of shape and backed by a mountain wooded with oaks and the sloping sides of which are gay with and garden brilliant with the red it rises above a beautiful bay the waters of which seem to brim to overflowing the streets are narrow but it is for the sake of the refreshing shade they afford they are full of palaces with their marble court yards high arched and lions rushing down the as if to defend the approach from danger nature seems to have destined the city for a sea port the near neighbourhood and interests however of and occasioned almost constant warfare between them the story of italy and a more distant but equally dangerous enemy was found in the attacked the in the sea and again at acre and the warfare of these ill was attended with a vast amount of meanwhile was distracted by the of her four principal families the and at length the disease wrought its own cure a nobleman of character was by the republic to repress the insolence of the and his impartial and temperate use of power procured him the reward of being elected the first of in a war broke out between and which is known as the war of a furious battle took place n them at sea in which the were victorious victor the admiral drew off the shattered remains of his to where he was thrown into prison as though the defeat had been owing to the of the elated by their sailed in triumph within sight of the of six passages the small islands behind which the city is built the had caused these to be hastily closed by chains to prevent the entrance of the enemy and each passage was guarded by vessels plants ith in spite of these the admiral resolved to force one of the passages and attack the city just within the opening he selected on a cluster of small islands stands the city of twenty five miles from entered this passage and took by storm four thousand into his hands and elated by his success rejected for peace saying ye shall obtain no peace from us i promise you nor from our ally he lord of till we have put a in the mouth of your wild horses in the place of st the on hearing these words prepared to defend their city with heroism on looking round for the man to execute their the of italy measures they find none to equal the injured victor they summoned him from his prison and with the mild and dignity natural to hun resumed his command under his direction the were fortified or defended by armed vessels and new were equipped the citizens in the spirit of self defence melted down their family plate for the service of the state the remained perhaps hoping to reduce the city by famine ere they were aware they found themselves attacked by a fleet under a brave old past his year he had sailed from during the night and at daybreak he pushed a large round vessel into the narrow channel of and her so as to block it up the little aware of his purpose set this vessel on fire it burnt to the water s edge and then sank so that the passage which was shallow became this was precisely what the had wished the of italy he closed the other by sinking loads of stones and lay in wait with his fleet so that the instead of were at this critical juncture a distant was which proved to be that of a admiral who had been in the ignorant of the danger at home he now approached with eighteen abundantly stored with provisions at this shouts rang through the s fleet and the confidence of the increased after several months resistance the were compelled to surrender at discretion chapter xxiv of the of amid the perpetual of rose a man of noble birth but attached to the cause of the people who seized the opportunity of being made prior to the authority of the nobility the most remarkable of his measures was the creation of a with a guard of a thousand citizens this officer was appointed to put in execution the of the to whom at first he was subordinate he was however raised to an equality with them and finally placed at their head new and were chosen every two months and they resided in the public palace the were excluded firom ail public offices which made so that in ho was banished firom ed the of the old nobility having been thus depressed a new aristocracy sprang up in the families of the citizen among these were the the and the a foreign magistrate named captain of defence exercised almost unlimited power | 2 |
have and his nephew without delay as they were said to be against him who was of a temper and on friendly terms with the read this letter with grief but feared to disregard it giving orders therefore to his guards to the as soon as they should enter his he sent a messenger to and to say he wanted to see them immediately the messenger found the uncle and nephew enjoying the cool evening air in the garden of their country house having laid aside their warm garments for white caps and on account of the heat on hearing the message said merrily the of what can want of us he its but now and ordering out a horse he mounted it took his nephew up behind him and thus two on horse they rode off to ihe di just as thej were meanwhile full of trouble was for them from a balcony and could at the same time see his guards lying in wait for them the gate as soon as th were speaking distance out cheerfully what do you want of us now we were just going to bed on this s feelings impelled him to save them and he eagerly cried about then and ride back again it was a mistake return home i no longer want you they obeyed in no little surprise nest morning showed the letter on reading which said with m i such tales to gate him ik much an egg whereas i have given him the story of however here i am you can do with me as you like embraced hun saying was seeking to the number of his friends and so the matter dropped when however that the two still lived he wrote to his brother him yet more vehemently to put them to death and sent the letter by a confidential servant who on arriving at found playing with a friend while the two looked on said carelessly to pray take the letter and read it for me my lord interrupted the servant i had strict orders to give it only to yourself on this smiling out his hand for it and passing it on to continued the game on glancing over the letter was filled with dismay what is it about says nothing my lord said save that your brother wants a german and wishes you to procure him one any come this way the of but drawing his nephew aside he showed him the letter which appeared to both of them of too dangerous import to be overlooked retiring therefore from the palace as soon as they could they sent a messenger to the camp begging that de the would instantly come to their support next day met the two in the fruit market and was with them when a messenger came hastily up to him and said my lord save yourself de with the troops of is at the san gate in alarm asked what he should do he advised him to retire to the two then went to meet the commander da was proclaimed lord of and the kind hearted in da succeeded to the of he joined the league against during die war of for which that republic afterwards took revenge on him and his descendants the count di became lord of he the of a between the lords of and which broke out into a furious war this gave an opportunity of distinction to da son of says was of middle stature well knit of a dark complexion and somewhat stem aspect but considerate gracious humane and brave the count di with his usual the strife between the two seized both their cities for himself more than that he made a league with and against the were at their wit s end and faith s end too hoping that if would his son might reign without being to the they proposed it at the council board in the presence of both the old looked dismayed his son indignant after a moment s silence no no i won t listen to it said the young man and hastened away his father however was brought to to their views and the of italy sent for his son to add his own wish to theirs that he should accept the held out long but the extremity of their affairs offered no other alternative and with regret he accepted the his virtues and bravery having made him very popular the city was filled with the old retired next morning to his still faithful city of however could not save his from the count di who having seized on it sent the old to be imprisoned at and with his wife and children to a old castle at here possessing apparent liberty pursued the of a private gentleman the wood cutting and other works about the castle and forming acquaintance with the neighbouring gentry his mild pleasing manners procured hint esteem and the governor of who was son in law to the count di took occasion one day when he was with to bid him beware of the thb of count s designs as he had hired to him between the castle and town warmly thanking him for the warning returned as soon as he could to his wife and brothers and considered with them what to do they decided that he and with his two youngest brothers and three or four servants should immediately leave privately on pretence of a pilgrimage leaving the children with the remaining brother this they did and rapidly and safely got out of italy which they performed their at the shrine of st and then embarked on the they descended the river to and then along to mar the count hearing of their escape was sending men in all directions to trace them some of these arriving at heard of them and hastily put off with his companions from | 2 |
the drove them back they were greeted with no smiles of welcome by their fellow citizens on their return for they could but their nearly exhausted stores now might be seen wretched beings gaunt and haggard crawling through the streets and along the the of at and the rank weeds and that sprang from the walls and between the stones such sufferings might have subdued their constancy but there is no word said of their desiring to surrender they were betrayed by the treachery of a during the he admitted the into the city to their credit they did all they could to soften the blow to the food was abundantly distributed among them and the behaved with moderation but nothing could reconcile them to their fate from that time their commerce declined enterprise and industry were a deadly crept over the fallen republic liberty may be a name but it is a name that acts as a chapter of of of the rise of high art being had left the throne of to louis of uncle to the king of france he died before he could make good his claims and his rival the duke of dying also the competition was carried on by their sons the young louis of was indolent frivolous devoted to pleasure of on the contrary was an energetic ambitious early with principles of e and no wonder therefore that he obtained the throne there were as well as rival kings and having the to drive pope the seventh out of their city hoped to be admitted into it himself g indignantly him but he afterwards obtained the story of italy by fraud what was denied to force and took possession not only of rome but of most of the he then to make himself king of ail italy and commanded the to acknowledge him their sovereign they treated the with disdain what cried he to their you count but four hundred what arms do you propose to direct against me tour own answered the in fact both knew that the were at the command of the highest and the without delay the services of di one of the most distinguished leaders of the free companies the also invited louis of to re enter the field and his temporary success against led to one of those curious which could only take place in a country where men are paid for fighting by the job thus it was louis s hired soldiers had no sooner won a victory than they began to plunder finding he was not pursued sent large sums of gold to his the story of captured troops thus he got all his men back a n to start with a it is folly to call this war it was one cares nothing which got the better to day which to morrow died his place was taken by his sister whose vices disgrace history in the great council of both the rival and elected martin the fifth in their stead you see was still free and very glorious the house of was getting more and more into but had as yet done nothing of the interests of the republic that good old man great grandfather of the famous was never ambitious of public offices yet was honoured with them all wise generous and just he won and deserved universal esteem on his death bed he said to his two sons with respect to the honours of the state if you would live with security accept only such as are bestowed on you by the laws and favour of your fellow citizens for it is the exercise of that power which is obtained by violence and m the of not of that which is given that occasions hatred those were the days when the fine arts were hastening to their height of glory daring the century italy had been filled with admirers and of but in the there was a manifest striving after originality of style and the schools of and rose into eminence at the head of them all was the school of and the by undertaking to a second bronze gate to st john s surpassing the first which was with exquisite designs of afforded an object of competition worthy of the greatest artists and open to all the successful was ti an italian an would say can breathe air that life whether bond or free the arts cannot they can no more live out of air than a in an exhausted xxx of the count of the patronage of third duke of a brilliant who from a simple rose to be of his extended the of from to st from to the duke having by s means so greatly heightened the grandeur of his house experienced the jealousy that had tormented most of his ancestors at the freedom and prosperity of the had now enjoyed eighteen happy years their literature art were in the of glory the temptation was too strong he broke the treaty between them the prepared for the war with firmness and secured the alliance of the of then being the union of these two powerful states was sufficient to make the duke of repent his his only reliance waa on the of yet such was his that he injured and offended the only man on whom he could depend jealous of s popularity with the of his extraordinary talents and of the lofty station thej had obtained him maria gradually withdrew from him his confidence and treated him with that measured coldness which is most grating to a warm and impetuous character at length he denied him admission to his presence and next deprived him of his command on this s indignation broke forth he flew to and offered his services to the they immediately bade him lead their troops against his late master and he reduced the city and territory | 2 |
of in a single campaign the duke was forced to sue for peace which he was the first to break the following year and the war was renewed against him with equal success on one occasion the duke s the op italy cavalry to charge him in the midst of a marsh where lie knew his own ground they no sooner entered it than the heavily armed sunk into the and while thus helpless were assailed by s foot soldiers who every one of their horses and did not kill a single man to who like harry fought each for his own hand was to blood the however loved blood better than money and from that time forth regarded with an evil eye unfortunately for him his third campaign was unsuccessful he was invited to under pretence of with the and was greeted both on the road and on entering the city with he proceeded to the palace with his attendants but these were dismissed under the pretext that the would require his presence longer than it would be agreeable to them to wait ominous words however entered the palace alone the gates were immediately closed behind him and he was then informed the was in disposed and could not see him till next the t bt of italy he about to withdraw but was and dragged towards a private door in a piercing he cried i am lost but while wildly struggling to free himself he was thrust into a a few days afterwards he was put to the torture though the wounds he had in the service of were yet for he had shed his own blood he had spared that of others it is said he confessed treachery to but made in pain are violent and the rack strange no proof of his guilt was produced either then or ever after that did not hinder his publicly executed with a in his mouth at the end of the war and restored what they had taken to each other alone was richer for the war who the of his prisoners and their blood all the worse for possessions in the main land did her little good and only excited the jealousy of states that would willingly have let her boast the empire of the seas chapter of di of the an young peasant named was digging one day in the fields it was somewhere about the year when he was by a party of soldiers belonging s famous free company of st george who invited him to the life of a free companion had many for the youth and aa he ed at the and shining of the he felt inclined to take service with them half in jest he exclaimed i will throw my into that old if it fall to the ground so shall your if it lodge in the branches i will you it caught in branches on which he the story of this was he who rapidly became as one of the they gave him the of because he carried things pretty much by force and his descendants bore the name as an honourable distinction had not long been in s company before he formed a friendship with di who had been bom in a far sphere than himself he was the son of a nobleman who with many of his had been driven into and after acquiring some experience under he returned at the head of his brother and of a strong body of and took possession of his native city the had little reason to repent of it for he had many of the qualities which win popular regard his old master died and his comrade was the leader of a free company but jealousy and distrust had sprung up between the early friends and the knowledge that one was engaged in the service of any particular prince or state was only an to the other to engage with the opposite party they only agreed the op italy in selling their services as dearly as possible and considering war a trade to be kept up for their benefit had now risen from the command of a men to that of six thousand he was of the church and had received the title of count op from the pope during s temporary seized his estates which so exasperated him that for twenty years he and his rival made deadly war with one another having then attached himself to the losing party and being reduced to poverty and distress took the romantic resolution of throwing himself on the generosity of his old enemy and older friend with a few he rode to s camp requested an audience which was immediately granted related his misfortunes and his advice and aid greatly surprised at once forgot all his former bitterness he spoke to his friend with delightful cordiality and their ancient friendship was in a moment restored to end only with their lives ths of italy nor wanting in proofs of friendship he took such measures for s assistance that he was soon in his possessions and engaged by the of was soon afterwards drowned in to ford a river heard of his death with and felt a gloomy that he should not long him in fact he was soon afterwards defeated in an engagement wounded and taken prisoner and these so on his proud spirit that he would not eat nor speak and died three days after liis defeat on the death of his son a young man of three and twenty was elected captain of his troop for three his services were hired by maria duke ci the duke had a beautiful and amiable whose name was as of the of the there were of course many for her hand among these son of the peasant held the foremost place but if he could forget the | 2 |
obscurity of his this was by no means the case the of the duke of who dared not openly reject him but whose promises to bestow on him his daughter s hand were continually broken at length in disgust entered the service of and then at war with his able compelled the duke to sue for peace with the renewed promise of s hand this time the marriage was celebrated and received as his bride s portion the duke however soon made a powerful league against his son in law who in four years found himself stripped of all his wealth except which he hoped would spare for his daughter s sake but the duke prepared to it from him on which and prepared to support was compelled to sue his son in law humbly for protection just at the time when was hesitating between his obedience to and his relationship to his wife s ther a proof of distrust on the part of the decided him he took up the cause of and was on the road to him when he received news of his death the t bt of italy the male heir of being thus extinct the had no desire to have for their master he took up arms however to make good his cause and they were forced to receive him into their city with joy his was celebrated with magnificence and his rule gave the no reason to regret during his lifetime that they had exchanged the line of for that of unfortunately the vices of his proved to them that they had only changed one line of for another chapter of the two the severity displayed by the towards and found new objects for its exercise in a father and son to whom from the dignity of their position as chief citizens of the state it might have been thought some mercy would be extended we sometimes believe ourselves influenced by abstract principles of justice when in feet we are the instruments of headlong passions and the council of ten while imagining themselves the impartial judges of the two were in reality but the tools of a this nobleman whose name was attributed the death of his two nearest relatives to the elder and with bitter irony had the following entry in his books the of italy for the deaths of my father and leaving a blank for the of the payment of distinguished himself in youth as an able general and in extreme old age was living in the enjoyment of public esteem and domestic tranquillity to his extreme sorrow his son was accused of having received presents from foreign princes especially from the duke of and was brought to trial before the council of ten the in spite of his paternal anguish was not allowed to quit the his son was cross tortured on the rack and pronounced guilty the father had to pronounce his sentence of his place of exile was to be di but he fell ill at on his way there and was permitted to remain at instead but not to quit it on pain of death about five years after a named was returning home late one evening when he was murdered at his own door suspicion having the of no nearer object fell on young a of his having been observed in the city on the night of the murder since which he had disappeared he was sought out and tortured but confessed nothing having most likely nothing to confess the council next sent for yoimg from and again put him on the rack the unfortunate young man never ceasing to his innocence as there was nothing to colour a sentence of death evidence if such it could be called was considered sufficient to justify his being banished for life to from this hated spot the forlorn prisoner continual entreaties to his friends to get his sentence reversed and most wrote one of these letters to duke of a treacherous messenger carried the letter to the council of ten to foreign aid was considered in a citizen of a vessel was immediately despatched to bring the before his judges the story of italy on his arrival their first act was to sentence him to receive thirty it was a singular destiny says for the citizen of a republic and the son of a prince to be thrice put to the question and the torture was this time the more odious as having no end to gain the act with which he was charged being when the unhappy prisoner was asked between the intervals of the what had induced him to write to the duke of he replied for the very reason that he thought if his letter he should be brought to where he would gladly undergo the torture for the sake of once more breathing the same air with his beloved parents wife and children this touching confession only caused his judges to his former sentence of exile with the addition that as he had formerly been at large in the town of his exile he should now be in close for a they permitted him a farewell interview with his family but it was to be under their own eyes and lore the story of italy had thus the pleasure of witnessing their the aged supporting his tottering frame on a staff his venerable s wife and his four children were brought into the council room no sooner did see them than with eyes overflowing with tears he fell at his father s feet and stretching towards him his hands by the rack cried ah my lord my father plead for me that i may remain at home returned his heart broken but father obey what thy country commands and seek nothing else after mingling their tears together for a few minutes he was torn from their arms and hurried | 2 |
into the vessel which was to convey him back to the ship had scarcely sailed when a nobleman fell sick and being at l e point of death confessed that he had committed the murder for which had been banished the confession came too late the unhappy young man had died almost immediately on reaching hid prison n the t bt of italy his father who in happier times had twice sought to his dignity and twice be i told by the th t his services were too to be spared was now on the point of the last effort of s malice his the council hall to give way to his grief after his farewell to his son afforded his an opportunity of on his increasing and suggesting his the council of ten of which was a member thought fit in a matter of such high importance to summon twenty fi e other s to take part in their and as object was kept secret the grand council from whom the twenty five were to be chosen suspecting the purpose of the meeting bent co the s brother as one of the number as his presence would effectually have disconcerted them in their object they instead of sending him back shut him up and made him swear be would never reveal his having been excluded in spite of s the deliberation lasted eight days a then waited the of italy on the to inform him that the considering him no longer capable of the duties of his requested him to it twice cried i have offered to my charge but instead of my wish an oath was of me not to my demand i to have prolonged my days for the sake of me it ill becomes you however to reproach with his long life a man who has eighty years served the republic i am still ready to hj down my life but for my dignity i have sworn to keep it till it is taken from me by the this placed the council in a position they by no means wished however they at once proceeded to pronounce a formal sentence of and then assigned him a and commanded him to quit the palace in eight days on pain of having all his property had the cruel joy of carrying this decree to the he heard it attentively and then remarked i never foresaw that my old age the t bt of italy would be to the state however the decree is passed and i yield to it he then took off his state robes and gave up the ring which was broken in his presence next in the dress of a private citizen accompanied by his brother and all his relations he quitted the palace which had been his home thirty five years and having descended the giants staircase he proceeded to his private house amidst a crowd of his subjects struck with deep pity at his venerable appearance having reached his home he charged his friends to forget the injuries of his enemies and attempted to do so himself but the sound of the great of st mark to announce the election of his successor struck on his ear like a death his agitation caused the of a blood vessel which occasioned his immediate death the violence of popular feeling on the occasion was such that the council of ten forbade the affair of to be spoken of on pain of death chapter of the one by one the free of italy had submitted or been betrayed to and at length the noblest of them all submitted to a distinguished family whose rule over it was not the less real that at first it was almost for many years the house of had been illustrious though from its device and name it was supposed that the ancient family profession had been that of medicine de who succeeded his father in both in his and capacity was a prudent moderate man yet had a bitter enemy in de who pronounced his ambition dangerous to the state two hundred citizens were called on to direct public affairs some of whom for s others for his death he was banished the t bt of italy for ten years but the readiness with which he gave way to the temporary against him had such an effect that in less than a the drove and his from the city and de was recalled and hailed as the father of his country for many following years enjoyed prosperity and reputation he the library and divided his time between public business and the pursuits of literature as he advanced in life state affairs became too much for him he was deeply affected by the death of his second son a young man of great promise and had great fears that his remaining son was not of a character to maintain the dignity of his he him however on his death bed to pay that strict attention to concerns which had been the source of their immense wealth and he expired in the seventy sixth year of his age lamented by his friends and by most of his fellow citizens the modest of the style in which had lived had been as remarkable as the magnificence of the public works with which he had adorned the the t bt ot italy city and science had been by his patronage he had maintained with most of the in europe while among his countrymen he conducted himself like a private citizen such men as de are the noblest pride of a republic and yet sometimes involuntarily it the attending on the father was transferred to the son but s feeble character soon revealed itself and he is chiefly as the of the celebrated after his deaths in the principal waited on and requested he would that authority which his ther and grandfather had exercised | 2 |
before him was twenty one years of age more remarkable for the appearance of strength than elegance his person could not be called handsome though his countenance was intelligent his education had been first rate and so were his talents thai whether in affairs of business or amusement he in whatever he the of his younger brother was only sixteen against these two brothers at the very opening of s public life a conspiracy was formed of the darkest character the house of jealous of the and considering itself wronged by it pope the fourth a deep revenge at the lives of both brothers after much deliberation it was agreed that the should take place on sunday in the church of maria and that the signal for its execution should be the elevation of the host what an idea this gives us of the piety of the times to this scheme an obstacle arose a who was hired to deal b death blow was shocked at the of doing so before the altar of od and refused to add to murder two priests therefore less scrupulous were with his office accordingly on the fatal day they were at their posts when of danger entered the church but to their disappointment they perceived that he was not accompanied by his brother the t ey of italy two of the therefore left the church and hurried to the house of where they found him lying on a couch too much to it willingly they told him his absence from church would be taken and putting their arms round him as if in playful but in reality to ascertain whether he wore his they compelled him with which he knew not how to resist to accompany them to the church at the fatal moment the bell rang the priest raised the consecrated the people fell on their knees and at the same instant was to the heart meanwhile one of the priests aimed a savage blow at s throat but it merely him and roused him to instant resistance twisting his cloak rapidly round his left arm as a shield he drew his sword and defended himself till his friends rallied round him the two priests perceiving their failure disappeared among the crowd meanwhile s friends dragged him into the and closed its brazen doors all this passed so rapidly that the t rt of half the congregation unable to see what happened and hearing the fearful tumult believed the roof was falling in and a general rush towards the doors but no sooner did they learn the truth than they formed a round and safely him home the news of s murder and the attempt on flew through the city all was tumult and confusion of the were secured and immediately put to death for many days the cry of perish the through the streets as the the in spite of s them to and leave the punishment of the guilty to the pope instead of endeavouring to conceal his having had any concern in this conspiracy was so enraged at its failure that he and made with the king of for the purpose of war on as was the sole object of the pope s hatred he earnestly the of italy to him from for the sake of the city s peace his was met by that of the citizens who declared they would defend him at cost two years the war re was carried on to the loss of the therefore resolved to withdraw himself privately from the city which he did and proceeded without delay to the head quarters of his king of was not distinguished by many noble or generous characteristics nevertheless he could not behold a brave and honest man thus trusting to honour and throwing himself on his protection without affording him a friendly reception remained his guest three months by the end of time he had made the king his warm and was able to return to his beloved city with the glad tidings of peace a invasion soon afterwards spread consternation through italy a considerable army had landed in the south and seized the city of d ty five were preparing to the story of italy them when the sudden death of the put an end to the invasion no sooner was the pope relieved from his fear of the than he himself with to the house of of its possessions after a tedious war of little interest suddenly made terms for himself with the duke of leaving the to do the best they could his death soon afterwards relieved italy of a pope who to himself and his family set at defiance every moral principle war broke out between his successor and the king of of s reception of him in his distress never rested till he had reconciled him with the pope and his subjects was much touched by it and wrote it was proved to that i and my subjects truly loved him and now he has proved to me that he loves me and my children which i hope we shall never forget while thus the duties of a friend did not neglect those of a citizen he sought not to extend the territory of but to improve the op italy and strengthen what it possessed so that observed has converted into iron what he found of glass the supreme government had hitherto been exercised by the and ten who were changed every two months but it found that the short duration of their power sometimes prevented their engaging with sufficient alacrity in such decisive measures as were necessary on important occasions recommended and obtained the appointment of a body of seventy citizens who were to deliberate and decide as in matters of peace and war so effectually did he reform the police that a contemporary writes from here we have no no no by night as by day | 2 |
sent it to be distributed by the among the poor his power as a preacher increased and his tone grew bolder on being warned that he might offend he replied go and tell him of his sins i am a stranger here and he the first citizen in the place yet he shall depart before i do this was afterwards looked on as prophetic the of before many months had passed he was to s death bed he him to hold fast his faith replied it was he bade him resign himself with composure to death should such be the will of god with joy replied if such be his decree some say he then blessed him and left him others that he said if you would have peace with god you must restore her liberties and that turned his face to the wall without speaking but this is uncertain died at the age of forty four on the th of april his son succeeded without a struggle to what has well been termed the acknowledged but of his father his character soon betrayed itself on the approach of charles the eighth of france to claim the throne of the king sent a friendly to which answered being in fact the ally of the king of charles at once prepared to attack now burst forth behold the sword of the lord is upon the land instantly and rapidly the op italy terrified at th threatened assault of the city hastened to the french king and for peace charles made such hard terms vith hun that the citizens when they heard of the surrender of their the occupation of their ports and a loan of became furious and the fled from charles the eighth entered the city as and demanded that the should be the firmly refused what if i sound my trumpets said the bang will ring her alarm bell replied one of them boldly he knew it would be the signal of a general muster to arms and to press the point him as a powerful weapon for good in the hand of god the bang made peace with the city and departed it at once of himself and of the after their sway had lasted seventy years was then the master mind in the city he to a general reform the government was placed in the hands of a controlled by a great council the city was to be pre eminently the of italy a christian city for purity and s pulpit was his throne from it he luxury gambling and the of the clergy if they travel fix m one place to another said he they must fain take everything with them on it i would rather eat bread and like a day with a good appetite than re as they do on and oh this is no time for dancing and folly put down balls whether in town or country close all at six o clock shut all shops even on holy days if indeed your tooth ache why have it out even on a festival there can be no harm in that but stand about buying boxes and toys and they minded him they loved him they came from afar to hear this good earnest man till not a of was left in the cathedral by eager listeners women dressed plainly nursed their children from and were dutiful to their husbands men were temperate sober and their own the t bt of italy business were empty churches were full food was cheap aud everything at its fair price were not mere but solemn and awful ceremonies men of the highest among his not content with this organized a sacred of boys and youths who went from house to house and in the name of christ and the virgin mary that people should from proceeding beyond the bounds of discretion these young seized and carried cards boards e as to sin they were cast into a great heap and burnt nay people came of their own accord and added for the flame and if some threw in old finery they did not much value artists cast in pictures poets that we may be sure were dear to them as are all the works of one s own hands more or less the enthusiasm for goodness was fervent ad the flame and alas almost as the pope though he heard of all this the of italy looked on it but as the passing influence of a that would soon wear itself out the best way said one of his to such busy gentlemen is with so was offered a cardinal s hat no other hat will i accept answered he than the red hat of at length the pope him the and wrote to foreign princes claiming their interference to a pope who was no pope what meant was that alexander had obtained the triple crown by and corruption and that he could not be god s because he was undoubtedly an no wonder that a furious bull was against the of such bold truths commanding the to put the former in execution the was alarmed and entreated for the peace of to from preaching the bitter enemies of his order provoked him to refer the question to the immediate decision of god by the fiery ordeal the t bt of italy declined the test but it was accepted for him by one of his warmest admirers who was willing to pass through the flames for the sake of his beloved prior everything was prepared for the ordeal to take place on the eve of palm sunday a pile was erected in the principal square forty yards long with a narrow path through the centre along which was to pass the pile was suspected to contain as well as other soldiers priests people the rival orders himself all assembled to take part in | 2 |
the event they reached the fatal spot then commenced a strange was about to enter the fiery path in his robes the insisted on his laying them aside they might be enchanted he was willing to change them for a s gown but he must lay aside his cross then he would bear the host what carry his s body into the fire a tumult ensued s enemies were ready to strike him dead suddenly a violent rain storm d the t bt of descended soaked them to the skin and speedily cleared the ground pronounced it a special interference of god the ordeal was given up next morning the assembled early and agreed that for the peace of the city must leave it a sentence of was passed meanwhile his was by his enemies was on his knees before the altar the burst in seized and two of his bound their hands behind their backs and dragged them forth to the mob who received them with and as passed along he was his wrists were twisted and he narrowly escaped being torn to pieces the news flew to rome and was received with joy the prisoners examination lasted ten days the first day was put to the exquisite torture called a cord is passed under the arm the body suddenly hauled up and let down with a violence that every joint was of tender and delicate frame the anguish made him say what they would that he might be freed from it but as soon as the pain the op italy ceased the re asserted her dominion the and he his false confession however was made the ground of his condemnation though even then there was a difficulty in finding a colour for capital punishment a new and less scrupulous took office the pope sent two to the proceedings one of whom is reported to have said we shall see a fine blaze i have the condemnation in my pocket a fresh and still more trying took place pain wrung from the tortured man whatever they would which he as constantly as soon as the agony god thou hast caught me exclaimed he in his unutterable anguish i have told i have denied thee of bear witness that i have denied him purely for fear of were better to torture for the truth next day examination and torture again on the evening of the nd his sentence was communicated to him he prayed long and fervently then laid his weary head on the lap of his friend the t bt of and fell in the morning he and his fellow received the lord s supper and were then taken to the stake crowds assembled to see the pitiless end of the man whom lately they had worshipped the details of the are painfully minute was the last to be burnt his courage did not fail him as it had done under the torture he died firmly calmly with no word of remonstrance or of self accusation his ashes were cast into the for what is but the blaze of fame the people s praise if all be praise and what the people but a herd confused a miscellaneous who things vulgar and well weighed scarce worth the praise they praise and they they know not what and know not whom but as one leads the other and what delight to be by such to live upon their breath and be their talk of whom to be were no small praise his cell remains nearly in its original condition and contains his portrait painted during his life the door is inscribed has f in chapter of louis the twelfth of the fall of and of the league against louis the twelfth the successor of charles the eighth immediately assumed the titles of duke of and king of the two and soon led an army into italy to his claims duke of trembled at his approach he had his s and was suspected of hastened his death he had been assailed by private affliction in the loss of his wife and child which had so deeply affected him that for a after the fatal loss he never took his meals at table but received them from the hands of a servant in a chamber hung with black which he constantly occupied from his stupor by the news that the king of france had assumed his title and was rapidly approaching fled from his the of italy into from whence he vainly the emperor s assistance in the mean time louis entered as sovereign on the th of october his first care was to seize the infant son of the duke and send him captive to france having hired eight thousand advanced to contest possession of the and fortune at first favoured him but his troops were bought over by the french king so that he found himself suddenly and utterly deserted he implored them at least to protect his retreat this they refused but him to try to escape disguised aa one of themselves he preferred assuming the garb of a which however he afterwards changed for that of a soldier but in spite of all his precautions he was taken and transferred from to till at last he perished in the castle of had louis been content with pushing his thus far he might have retained them might easily have been united to his by means of and but he could not the of italy ye satisfied till he had acquired the more brilliant prize of with the powerful support of pope alexander the sixth and the king of spain he was enabled to approach as conqueror and it was betrayed into his hands by its general da the king of for a and louis was glad to be quit of him as a rival by allowing him an income of thirty thousand | 2 |
a furious contest between france and spain concerning their respective spoils again occasioned a warfare in which whatever party became victorious would be equally during this contest a singular proof was given of italian courage de a french commander having spoken of it the spanish general asserted he had an italian company under his command equal if not superior to the french it was put to the trial thirteen met thirteen in combat and the obtained a complete victory over their louis the twelfth fearful of losing made a three years with the king of spain the t by of italy daring which da was to hold possession of as after this italy enjoyed a temporary calm war had been going on for fourteen years between and which at length was ended by the of france and spain the to win the day as before they used their success very but the their yoke and in great numbers throughout this war had given no assistance to her sister states but had even favoured their the time now me when she was to reap the consequences of her selfish policy a attack on was between the pope the emperor the king of spain and the of and almost every european power had some temptation given them to countenance this attack of the republic and even england was invited to join the league to such a powerful what resistance could solitary oppose there is a fable of an indian who saw a lion coming towards him on one hand while on the the story of italy other was a precipice he waited till the lion was in the act of springing on him and then threw himself flat on the ground so that the lion flew over the precipice in like manner hy suddenly and robbed her enemies of their prey and destroyed the at first they had laughed the league to scorn but no sooner did the lion appear in sight no sooner did the french army enter their than they were seized with a panic their forces were defeated their possessions occupied and they found themselves in their watery their fine was accidentally burnt their fortress at struck by lightning which a powder magazine one of their treasure ships sank and their most valuable papers were destroyed by the fall of the building in which they were kept on one side was the king of france with thousand on the other the forces of the pope the emperor arid the of and p did the of italy now was the fatal moment the com fled leaving everything behind him open to the the in dismay recalled all their troops and thought only of defending the city the finding everything thus unexpectedly yielded to them concluded the war was over the king of spain having seized the of saw no reason for keeping his soldiers in the field the king of france his army and quitted italy the pope condescended to make peace with the the german troops were from and the emperor led home his forces scarcely any one was better or se off than they had been at the beginning except the duke of chapter of francis the first it is surprising how soon the of fire and sword are outwardly repaired by the gracious hand of nature though their moral effects remain for ages nothing says a recent traveller can exceed the beauty of the country round the vines hang in from rows of trees in fields of and the hills are clothed with and gardens to their with here and there a walled town or old castle on a distant height groups of children were playing in the fields by the road side and a little girl was swinging on a of vine between the there was nothing in the scene to remind us that this country had been the t et of italy a battle field over and over again and little more than two years ago had been the theatre of war in like manner during her earlier times so elastic was italy that the foreign pressure was no sooner removed than she rose to her level yet countries as well as individuals grow old and are depressed by the load their youthful strength enabled them to bear louis the twelfth was succeeded by the francis thb first whose cherished design was to the of the french arms and assert his title to the was then in the hands of son of who fought a desperate battle with the french and lost it on the plains of after obtaining possession of francis returned to france the charles the fifth then to ally himself with the pope who on condition that and should be to the holy see consented to aid him in the french and the t by of francis was leading a second army across the when he was summoned back by the treachery of and obliged to leave the to admiral the campaign ended for france but the king led new forces across the in the depth of winter he was taken prisoner in the famous battle of and the emperor s was established in italy his troops under held military possession of and oppressed that beautiful country with every species of tyranny while his spanish army kept the whole in awe the consternation of the at their was extreme and the oppression of their became so that a general league was formed for common defence the promise of assistance from france the ventured to communicate their project to the of who betrayed them to the emperor died and was succeeded in his by de who forced the duke of to surrender then thb t bt of italy marched on borne and abandoned the holy to the of his the fearful scenes that roused the indignation of europe francis the first sent troops and henry the eighth sent to the pope | 2 |
the and made common cause in driving the from italy the remains of the german army fled before most of the towns declared for the french and he would doubtless have won the day but for the disgust which the french court gave to a citizen of gen chapter of the had always been distinguished for their naval exploits next to the immortal the citizen of whom they had most reason to be proud was both were oppressed by foreign courts one discovered a new world the other secured the happiness of the little state in which he had been bom was bom in and early evinced a for the sea he at length became admiral of the fleet and fought for some years under the flag of the french who were then masters of at length he was summoned to unite with the french and in the army in while them by land had hitherto served the french with fidelity a d but his honest the t bt of italy had provoked the ministers of francis the first to treat him with coldness and severity his pay was withheld his advice rejected and his character represented to the king as ambitious and obstinate bore these injuries in silence but when his enemies em by his forbearance proceeded to withdraw the french trade from and erect na into its rival his indignation could no longer be suppressed he sent a warm remonstrance to the king demanding justice for his country and himself francis replied by sending an officer to hun in command to arrest him and seize his declared his readiness to give up his command and those which belonged to france but his own he said were his private property and he would give them up to no one he immediately the french not daring to and offered his services to charles the on condition that his native city should be freed the emperor joyfully accepted his terms and no longer the enemy but the ally of the the of brought them relief and protection the siege was raised was left in the hands of charles the fifth and returning triumphantly to assisted his fellow citizens in driving the french out of it the city was now in his power but instead of making it his own he assembled the citizens and begged them to establish what form of government they thought most desirable twelve citizens were chosen to direct the administration of the republic the would willingly have bestowed on the title of prince but he steadily it saying his greatest happiness was to promote that of his they then erected a statue to him in their public square inscribed to the best of citizens and most successful of years of tranquil happiness ensued and as s hair became with age he daily found the esteem and respect of his friends increase to his sorrow however he was and he therefore designed for his heir his grand nephew the young man was frivolous and conceited and the t by of italy talked with so little discretion of what he should do when he succeeded his uncle that the citizens were offended and alarmed among those who were most suspicious of s designs was count of this nobleman possessed of engaging and manners concealed beneath i careless and cheerful all the dispositions that incline men to take the lead in dangerous his pride was deeply wounded by the airs of and he or affected to believe that to make his nephew of having sounded many of his friends and ascertained who among them were jealous of the he entered into correspondence with the duke of and the french at and introduced many of his into the city on pretence of to arm some vessels against the a man of desperate fortunes named was his chosen and he to pro pose openly among s friends what the count had hardly dared to whisper to his own heart that the of should be offered that pre eminence to which was supposed to this project increased the count s and it was agreed that the day for the execution of their purpose would be the second of january when the of the preceding year would go out of office a short interval would before his successor was elected on the important mornings called on the by whom he was received with their usual which gave him reason to believe they were quite ignorant of the impending catastrophe towards dusk he returned to his palace the gates of which had been set open in the i and guards placed before them who allowed ev ry one to enter but no one to return the court yard was therefore crowded with persons who knew not what to suspect from their the of the count had been admitted into the palace and were distributed among the various apartments during the day and one or two had invited the most influential citizens to an entertainment the same evening in the count of the t by of italy s palace at the appointed time the began to and were somewhat dismayed to see the courts and halls filled with suspicions looking men some of them heavily armed as soon as they were all assembled at once the matter in hand by them on the power and ambition of the family and assuring them that if they were ready to shake them off everything was prepared for action the voices of his friends overpowered those of the timid and hastened to his wife whom he hastily and with emotion bade farewell and then leaving her in the utmost consternation at his mysterious words and conduct he joined his companions aud forth at their head one party attacked the harbour others seized the gates and of the city cries of and liberty rang through the streets the tumult soon reached the ears of the with a few attendants hastened | 2 |
to the harbour but was slain at one of the gates the news of his death was carried to his venerable uncle the t bt of s d who not doubting that all was lost mounted his horse and escaped from the city s triumph now seemed complete but there literally was but a step between him and death in crossing a plank to enter one of the his foot slipped and he fell into the sea to rise no more was the first to discover the fatal accident and endeavoured to conceal it but it came to the knowledge of s brother who when the of the came to with the count of replied i am he to whom that title now belongs the news of s death rapidly spreading the conspiracy fell asunder like a rope of sand some of the hastened home hoping they had not been recognized others escaped from the city the morning soon rose on silent and deserted streets with no signs of the midnight save here and there perhaps a pool of blood or a broken sword towards evening returned to the city and was welcomed with grave respect his cheek perhaps looked paler and his brow more than usual for the death of his nephew was a painful loss to the old d the of italy man and he might have thought his had ill what he had done and for them but he made no complaints and the remainder of his days passed and chapter of da and michael though it may be and has been said that da and michael li e and shakespeare belonged to no particular age or country but to all time and to the whole world yet it is nevertheless the glory of england and of the era that it produced shakespeare and it is the glory of in the century that it produced and michael was bom at near in e is father was an advocate and small landed proprietor not rich but in what we may call genteel circumstances the boy early evinced talents for and music poetry and painting some think that to have a genius for everything is to doing several things the t by of italy tolerably and nothing but this is by no means the fact many if not most men who have in one thing have shown their superiority in several others being sent by his father to study under an artist named enraged his master by soon him yet all his thoughts were not of painting sometimes he was absorbed in sometimes eagerly studying and natural history a parallel case occurs in the more recent of i often admired said de the love he had for his art old as he was i saw him among the ruins of ancient rome out in the or along the banks of the a scene that pleased him and i often met him with his handkerchief full of stones moss or flowers which he was carrying home that he might copy them bom nature one day i asked him how he had attained such a degree of perfection as to have gained so high a rank among the great painters of italy he replied i ha neglected nothing the of italy q in like manner neglected nothing one day a poor peasant brought him a circular of wood cut from an old fig tree he had been and asked him if he would be good enough to paint something on it that would his cottage prompted by his wild fancy collected together from and river mud a most assemblage of and and out of them all a sort of monster which he painted as if issuing from the strangely wood it was so horribly natural that when his father saw it he started back in terror this however was not high art made several other studies of a far description and designed some very beautiful sacred and when he was about thirty years of age he was invited to to execute a colossal statue of his handsome person wit and elegance recommended him to the duke who retained him at his court about seventeen years he was at during the of charles the eighth q the t by of italy and of louis the twelfth his model of the statue was destroyed by the french soldiers who used it as a his patron the duke fell a victim to the french king the painting at by which we best know is the famous last supper little italian boys hawk plaster casts of it at our cottage doors at forty eight years of age returned to pursue his art at here he found a young and dangerous in michael twenty two years younger than himself they were rivals for the honour of painting in one side of the great council hall in the subject was to illustrate the history now even this little book must have shown that italian history is full of subjects for the historical artist selected for his subject the defeat of the general by the army in it was so wonderfully executed says his that the horses themselves seemed animated by the same as their nor is it possible to describe the variety of attitudes the splendour of the dresses and the of s of the warriors nor the incredible skill displayed in the forms and actions of the horses michael chose for his subject the moment before the same battle when a party of soldiers were surprised while bathing by the them to arms s design was preferred neither of the paintings now exist from went to rome and thence to where francis the first was then holding his court the french king received him with distinction and settled on him a of seven hundred gold crowns for life he accompanied him back to france and finding age and infirmity warn him of the approach of | 2 |
request that might be sent to them a second time he preached to them with great acceptance but in consequence of making what was into a dangerous allusion to some passing events he was suspended from preaching and to appear at rome to answer certain charges against hearing that his death was certainly resolved on he escaped to where the amiable and pious b afterwards imprisoned for her own to the doctrines kindly assisted him to escape to this was looked upon as a great by the t by f who could not bear to lose him what has befallen thee cried thej what evil spirit has possessed thee like the king of ah how great thou in the eyes of all men oh how beautiful and fair thy coarse but sacred cap the cardinal s hat and the pope s thy gown the most glorious apparel thy bed of the couch why why hast thou forsaken us s flight was the signal for the apprehension of some of his dearest friends and a severe inquiry into the principles of the some of whom escaped and others and so the in italy died out and was no more heard of chapter of and what stirring the streets of must we in the days of her university as the students poured forth from some popular lecture there were to be seen among the crowd scholars from turkey and as well as from every land in and about the middle of the sixteenth century there might have been recognized among them to whoever met the merry glance of his bright blue eye the tall graceful form of th admired of all observe rs and promising to rival his father in poetic fame it was then thought he could hardly him soon we find him in the early bloom of life first under the patronage of cardinal d then to that of duke of f and the two beautiful his they the t by of italy were beauties and singularly youthful in appearance the youngest was said to have the sweetest mouth in italy they were daughters of the unfortunate queen but did not inherit her principles they were learned gifted and accomplished dined at their and wrote charming verses on them both but his heart belonged to the youngest he was in continual attendance on her in that beautiful palace and its enchanted gardens where we are told that banks of flowers were watered by fountains that broke with their the stillness of the sleepy air where breezes sighed for very happiness amid leafy and shaded woods with statues and marble where broad flights of steps descended from to the river and where temples to and repose were decorated by the most admirable painters whether returned the love of the poet has never been known she had a tender feeling heart liked his flattering devotion doubtless spoke gently other became the of madly jealous and envious of him he was sen ted to the duke his papers were seized examined and kept from him he was attacked by the duke turned his back on him the took their tone from their master he was weary of his court life and fled from it he had a dear sister living at alone and on foot he made his way to her sleeping in or lonely eating and with the and often paying them with a song or a story he traversed the country once he fell in with a band of robbers when they found who he was what cried they the writer of those charming verses and gave him a good supper and set him on his way he assumed a shepherd s garb and presented himself to his sister in this curious to know whether she would recognize him she did not and when he told her a long about himself his dangers and misfortunes her warm tears flowed fast could bear it no longer he caught her in his arms the duke and could not let thb of him alone in this peaceful they him back with letters he was the ornament of the court came came reluctantly felt if he returned within s influence he love her as the event proved him in the right the other sister had married the duke of who was younger than herself they had differences and she returned to live with her brother and sister she liked to have her share of s perhaps that had made the duke jealous not care for her she found it out and resolved he should repent it one night when he was with her something occurred which made him believe his wine was poisoned such things were common enough in those days he started up the page who h ing him the s screamed a scene ensued was put under arrest he resisted but to no good the duke had him kept in ward all night next meaning he was visited by the they found him feverish with indignation shook their heads went to thb t by of italy the duke and said they feared he was not quite himself after thi the lunatic asylum of was quite simple he was confined there and thus he wrote from it casting the the window i who loved renown sympathy companionship with my kind am shut up in i who the dear face of nature and panted for fresh air am in a close cell i who was delicate in my apparel fastidious in my cleanliness nice in my food fare like a have not water enough to my thirst much less for washing i who like many imaginative persons am unable to support solitude am now lonely day and and day after day without seeing even a physician or a and only hearing the dismal sounds of ii and lashes oh tell me you who love me instead | 2 |
of seeking to cure me of being mad are they not trying to make me so writing implements indeed i am allowed but alas fancy and imagination are stifled in this dark cell my mind refuses to form images and i know not that my letters full of sad will ever reach their destination s the t et op italy earth earth earth cover not this injustice testify against it time to all duration meanwhile the lovely of an complaint and died he wrote ne on her his heart was too sore his immortal poem was being published and so as to rob him of both fame and profit if this were not enough to turn a poet s brain what was his mind now could form images and as it supplied his only amusement he let it run to waste in a thousand wild and beautiful fancies sometimes he was talking in imagination with mighty men of old sometimes with angels a great and effort was made for his by the princes of europe but without effect after a while it was stirred up anew by the pope the duke of and the duke of at length at the instance of the latter the duke of let go free he found italy ringing with praises of his poem he was thankful but it could never the past his health was ruined by his confinement thb of italy he went from place to place honoured and welcomed sometimes in a sometimes in a hospital sometimes the guest of his friend till after some yet not altogether unhappy years he closed his career by a pious and pathetic death regretted and honoured chapter of the war the island of was one of the most valuable possessions of the who had obtained possession of it in in the thb second insisted on the the island which he called a nest of who his subjects the had already stripped of nearly all her islands but and which were too valuable to yield without a struggle consequently a furious war broke out old has published a chronicle of this war in small printed in wherein they who are curious may read all the speeches made on both sides for and against it i have my girlish translation of a good deal of it now on my knee and how the resident at the of italy d sent word home of all that passed in the learnt it au from a of the grand and how the thereupon made ready their ships of war hired troops and other states to attack the but all this ia told in so many words that even an would be more than this little r enough to say that there were only two of any strength on the island and the of which consisting originally of but men been by sickness but that little force defended with a bravery and constancy rarely if ever an immense army of it and commenced a fierce assault on these two before the s were ready they were fitting out a hundred which formed a fleet not unworthy of the best days of the republic but the were in much stronger force and obtained complete possession of the the sought foreign aid in vain and were cast on their own resources they s the t by of italy in a few to but were unable to obtain any decisive advantage over the enemy while the of were exposed to all the horrors of a close siege the rival encountered in the gulf of their vessels covered an extent of four miles and one of the most sea fights ensued that the world has ever known thirty thousand were slain two hundred of their vessels captured or destroyed but the victory was purchased by the death of five thousand of the and they were so exhausted by the battle as to be unable to further opposition to the who swept the the succeeding year with a second as formidable as the first was already theirs yielded after incredible sufferings and a peace was concluded leaving the in possession of the hardly prize chapter of s from this period italy in death like repose reduced beneath the yoke of spain and she was no longer distinguished in arts or arms the poor shadow of her ancient energy could only be seen in the contest of the with the whom they dispersed in spite of their being protected by in a conspiracy was discovered on which has founded his tragedy of preserved though with little regard to the real incidents and spain were not at war at the time but there was the greatest jealousy between them and the council of ten kept a close watch on the spanish the of one morning the were dismayed on entering the square of st mark at beholding d the of italy to the pillars the bodies of several strangers who had been executed during the night next morning several others were found hanging in like manner and news soon of the summary execution of while on foreign service he was a sea captain a little given to who had deserted the of and engaged himself to the republic the s proceedings were always conducted with such mystery that they could only be but it was that hundreds of had been c to the and afterwards secretly some dangerous seemed to have been discovered and the feeling against was so strong that though he thought it safest to meanwhile the grove and preserved usual silence nor was it five months aft that they public to be offered up in the ii for the of the state from danger it since appeared that the duke op of had of the the of italy crown of in which he was secretly encouraged by the council of ten but they became jealous of him and | 2 |
sought to him in s plot the duke was removed from his vice and died in prison had betrayed the duke to the twelve months before they took any steps to seize the and instead of the expected reward of his treachery he was executed with the rest among whom was a french captain of whom it is only known that he betrayed a plot origin and object uncertain chapter of the story op if the proceedings of the council of ten with respect to s conspiracy are in mystery the and penetration of henry threw more light on their hasty and unjust treatment of a noble who fell a victim to their dark and jealous policy as many had done before him sir henry having acquired an intimate acquaintance with the italian language and customs during a five years residence on the and being also distinguished for his virtue learning and talents was appointed our to in and resided in that state nearly twenty years during the whole of that time he enjoyed the esteem of the and which was due to the and moderation of his conduct while the the of italy variety and point of his made it accounted a privilege to be admitted to his table in one of his letters he gives a full account of s case which so forcibly the proceedings of the council of ten that i think it worth and slightly there is says he among the of this government a very awful under the title of of state to which are commonly three gentlemen of the and natures to these about the of april last came two fellows of mean condition bom about the di but inhabitants of by name and as some say uncle and nephew certainly of near kindred which in this report is a circumstance for thereby they were to and consequently their united were of the less these persons with the of that time whose names may be spared about a reward which is usual for the discovery of certain gentlemen who at times and in disguised the op italy forms did haunt the houses of foreign ministers and in particular of the spanish agent at the this secret list they then an actual and thereby upon pain of death restrained from all conference in this state with public instruments by special permission to their discovery they one who served the same spanish agent and had as they said acquainted them with the of and such gentlemen to him but first they wished or so the thought fit to proceed against upon this double without examining the because that would stir some noise and then perhaps those others whom they meant to might take fear and escape thereupon coming from the next at night down the palace was by order of the suddenly muffled and do put in close prison and after usual his own denial not being against two agreeing he was by sentence of the council to accuse the of of ten some fifteen days after his in prison and cm the twenty first of the said april was hanged by one leg on a gallows in the public from break of day till with all imaginable circumstances of his very face having been bruised by dragging on the ground after this the two pursue their occupation now animated with success and next they name but one of the whether by nature more advised than the rest or with that which was already done would by no means proceed any farther without a pre of the bat which might now the more conveniently and silently be taken because he had left the house of the spanish ag t and was married in the town to a s to make short they draw this man to a secret account where he doth not only having ever any gentleman in the agent s house but likewise all such interest as the pretend to have in his ce having never spoken with any the of italy of them but only three words by chance with the elder upon the di san thereupon the confronted him the they confess without any torture their malicious plot and had sentence to be hanged as was afterwards done but now the voice running of this detection the of the executed and make haste to present a petition to the that the of the be re examined about their uncle the council of ten upon this petition did very early in the morning and put to voices whether the should be satisfied in the first the balls were equal in the second there was one more they say in the negative box the petition therefore being denied no possible way remained for the to clear the of their uncle which likewise in the region of that government had been a stop to their own fortunes but by means of the to whom their the of souls before death and by him at of the said the matter was revealed whereupon ensued a solemn declaration of the council of ten touching the of the said just eight months and twenty days after his death whether in this case there were any mixture of private passion or that perhaps some light to which was subject might the of the judges i dare not dispute but surely in three hundred and twelve years that the hath stood there was never cast on it a greater s life and correspondence of sir h of the of thb success of the war encouraged the to project the capture of aad on pretence of attacking the sent thither a fleet containing fifty thousand men whose was as alarming as unexpected the defended themselves with bravery and the struggle was prolonged for five and twenty years during the whole of which time general of distinguished himself by his courage and genius from all | 2 |
parts of europe to assist the and towards the conclusion of the war six thousand french arrived burning to be led to immediate action was aware of its but he was the french were defeated and so discouraged by their ill fortune that no entreaties could induce them to remain on the t bt of italy the they were pro of than good for the were the elated ai d shelter of the french example were glad to abandon a struggle of which they were weary left with the remnant of an exhausted army to defend a heap of ruins was forced to surrender and returned to to reap injustice and ingratitude as the reward of his labours he was accused before the council of ten first of cowardice but that was too evidently false to be supported then of treachery and fraud on which charges he was imprisoned for an indefinite period fifteen years of repose and prosperity repaired the of war still in at length the republic found itself again engaged in a perilous war the sought in vain for some one of sufficient merit to take the command of the fleet none was found who could with and the injured commander was summoned from prison to resume his authority by a decree which afforded the most d the t bt of italy effectual proof of the false and nature of the charges against admirable in and prosperity did not disdain the high mission imposed upon him since he could benefit his country and by all his former bravery and ability in its behalf he took the noblest revenge chapter of the time of the fifth the kingdom of had been ruled by spanish to meet the constant demands of their masters and themselves they im r the country by heavy taxes on almost every necessary of life fish was flesh was oil was even flour and bread were so that the poor had scarcely any food except fruit that four millions of gold might be sent to spain the country groaned and no wonder the of being appointed of found there was nothing in fact left to tax but fruit so he that the peasant s water and bunch of grapes must pay its d the t bt of italy toll i this was just too much the people would not it in one of the little villages on the gulf of was the vine covered cottage of a and his wife who maintained themselves by honest labour for such was the of his name put to sea at daybreak and cast his while his wife carried the produce of their little garden to the nothing could be or more innocent than their life one day s wife having filled her donkey s and driven it to the city was passing through the gates when a tax stopped her and demanded the new toll she thought he must be joking and became indignant when he persisted said she could not and would not and was carried to prison when returned home at night he was stunned at the news that awaited him he hastened to to sue f his wife s and was told he could only obtain it on payment of a the of italy what could he do boat and fishing tackle would not half the he must sell his cottage if a could he found while brooding on this melancholy state of affairs and cursing the tax that had been his ruin he cheerfully by a young comrade who came to claim his assistance at a holiday game on the day of our lady of said he there is to be a mock fight in the market place and you and i are to be the leaders what say you will you head the christians or the sorrowfully told him he had graver things m his mind and related his story the young man listened with surprise and sympathy and after a pause said well we must see what can be done i by no means advise you to refuse being the captain of the mock fight for something may turn up to procure your wife s release was struck by this and began busily to consider how he might turn the occasion to his advantage a sham fortress was erected in die t the t rt of italy market place which three or four hundred men were to attack and as many to defend was to lead the and pity for his misfortunes was mingled in many of breasts with the desire to them on the appointed day he joined his companions early his feet were bare his head covered by the common red cap worn by the of his coarse linen were fastened round the waist by a striped cotton and he carried a long cane to the end of which was tied a pitched which in the course of the fight was to be set on fire and hurled into the fortress at the head of his little army be entered the market place where and his garrison were already stationed in all the glory of and tin that day was destined to behold a struggle though not of the christians and but was without any determined plan and the course of events was shaped by an accident the and were as usual the t bt of italy s setting out their and the s officers were going their rounds and collecting the ensued some threw their vegetables into the air declaring they would rather give them away than pay the tax and the strife was becoming alarming when suddenly springing up the church steps cried aloud people from this moment let there be no taxes in he was answered by a shout the crowd ever j minute increased and placing himself at its head proceeded towards the s palace news of the tumult flew to the d i | 2 |
among the nations it seemed as some one has lately said that they must be in blood do something at the expense of their own lives that should their moral worth they thought themselves more fortunate in having forty years of tranquillity spent in the most trivial amusements exchanged its for kings of the younger branches of the spanish royal family the first of these charles thb of d the seventh quiet reign of twenty one years was called from the throne of to that of on the death of his eldest brother and was succeeded by his son the fourth this young prince devoted himself to field sports and left state affairs entirely in the hands of an named who had come to in a low capacity and had gradually obtained the confidence of its king and queen such was the position of the court at the beginning of the first french revolution as for its grand of the house of were to their once honoured name and on the of their line the passed to francis of afterwards emperor of s beloved he left the to his second son this prince was only eighteen years of age when he became duke of and he attached to himself the affections of his people by protecting the poor encouraging industry his and his safety to the fidelity of his subjects d the of italy he did not indeed possess the ring of king by he baffled and the of his enemies bat he sometimes which enabled him by an means to ascertain for the dispositions and wants of his people he limited the of and and and the was afterwards summoned from the to the empire and left his crown to his son joseph chapter f of ex n of the from and now comes a little gleam of light but not the glorious dawn of day during a war concerning the succession the had been active of the french and who afterwards them nd made a separate peace for themselves the seized the of themselves on the republic and sent the a strong force to take possession of it the were compelled to surrender to admit the troops within their walls to deliver up their military stores and to send six of their principal citizens to to the of the maria very this but the cruelty and of the on obtaining possession of the city made things still worse d the t by of italy twenty four millions of from the citizens in three months and continued to demand fresh supplies at length a trifling accident gave vent to popular feeling in removing some the carriage of a mortar broke down people collected to look on furious words were uttered by an officer to a to whom he the fault and growing instead of cooler he at length struck the italian with his cane the man instantly returned the blow it was a spark to never did popular rage spread more rapidly the streets were showers of stones flung at the hurled from the house tops every house and palace poured forth its men and in twenty four hours not an remained in the hearing of the guarded the passes of the hills and in a few days the freedom of seemed re established l of napoleon s t italian campaign the house of is one of the most ancient in europe its possessions early included and itself which was a little independent spot that owed to none probably to germany and certainly to france the counts of were very fond of territory and though they had no with italy except that of neighbourhood it was not long before they to their this was in the twelfth century in the the counts became and three centuries later the became kings when the french revolution in the last century broke out and declared war against europe victor king of sided with the the of against and in with king of sent a to where the english were holding out against and young napoleon tf jet little known was taken owing to the skill of who for his reward appointed general of an army destined to attack italy the objects of this attack were first to the king of give up the second to the emperor s army on the by obliging him to send troops into to the pope having entered italy e the b ai the at the h d men found himself opposed by two of die u and the under he obtained his first over the at a he ht west of and then dispersed the rf all fell into his hands the king of died of then crossed the po to the great of the who were t of italy rapidity of bis movements after the field of and making the terrible passage of the bridge of i he marched straight to hitherto napoleon had proved him a brilliant soldier he was now found to be also a cruel and conqueror the were forced to pay him eight hundred thousand pounds and tp send to paris twenty of their pictures to a people so proud of their in the arts appeared little short of aad they felt less the loss of their money than of the r which they as the glories of their country though the princes of aud had taken no share in the war yet they must pay toll and their picture mi statues w e from them thirty thousand disgusted with their flew to ann and burned their towns and put the inhabitants to death the continually defeated were driven from town to town till tbey reached the and the king of a ed for u d the of the pope thus left proceeded to execute article the third of his instructions seized and lie was probably about to march upon rome | 2 |
when trembling for his capital sent hasty offers of peace was only to be bought off by a of money a hundred of the pope s finest pictures and statues a large supply of military stores and the towns of and the grand duke of had always been friendly to the french republic notwithstanding which napoleon seized his sea port of afterwards with him he said with glee i have just received letters from which tell me your brother has no longer a foot of territory in a new army took the field under general but he was no match for this brilliant young general and experienced repeated he threw himself into while it was and a new force under arriving from germany obliged napoleon to divide his troops two fiercely battles at the bridge of the story of italy terminated as usual in the victor j of and for two months he held possession of with the exception of four armies had been a fifth had no better success napoleon perceiving his error in having suffered himself and his men to become in italy now altered his course the and founded two so called in and after being reduced to the utmost extremity surrendered on honourable terms and then entered the of the pope whom he did not think he had sufficiently he was only met by raw whom he easily dispersed and the trembled at the prospect of a sack terrible as in former times the sixth hastened to make terms with the approaching victor and napoleon after him of a good part of his was content to leave him in possession of the rest the had remained till their boundaries they then awaited of x t an opportunity of revenge which when the french were drawn oflf from italy to germany by tlie charles they then declared war with france four hundred wounded in the at w re by the and the crew of a fr ch slain at under the eyes of the they had thrown off the mask rather loo soon the retreated before who a treaty with the and then set himself to punish the lion of t mark said he sh u the dust the on learning this amid discord and confusion in the midst of the french appeared on the coast and w e landing when the hastily sent w to b that it resigned itself entirely into his hands he demanded that it should give up the who had proposed e of the j prison s resign the po of on the and furnish france with five ships of war three millions of gold the amount laid ont in stores of their best the story of italy pictures and five hundred on these conditions he promised them tranquillity but insisted that his troops should occupy the capital on pretence of seeing that tranquillity established on this the proud its authority napoleon returned to where held a court that might not have disgraced an and a treaty was settled with which established the freedom of and under the names of the and while to to for these was handed over to her a ee gift to so low a point of degradation had that haughty republic napoleon returned to france the to him for restoring a semblance of their republican freedom ll of napoleon s second italian campaign during napoleon s expedition to egypt the of assisted by the emperor of russia regained possession of alliance was soon dissolved and on his return from egypt prepared to revenge himself on having received the title of first of france he led his troops across the notwithstanding the of the season that he might take the by surprise old and soldiers yet remember that journey when they saw heavy guns dismounted from their carriages dragged over the rocks by the violent exertions of the men a hundred of whom were sometimes to a single cannon others carried the wheels and carriages on their shoulders the of when they came to any difficulty cheered them on when they he made the drums beat and the trumpet sound a charge he knew the way to carry his point that s certain might we not apply the same way to many other things not the trumpet the drum but the thus his army crossed those giant to the no small dismay of the and yielded to the french who then advanced to where they were joyfully hailed as the of liberty at this time the french garrison under in was closely by the on one hand and the english fleet on the other their distress for food was terrible was sold at half a crown a pound and when that was not to be had the soldiers devoured then shoes and fifteen thousand men perished of hunger and sickness and was compelled to surrender the english admiral said no terms could be too good for him and the french were allowed to march from the city with their d b thb t bt of halt arms and baggage and proceed to the head quarters of the principal members of the republic were allowed a passage to france in english ships and among them was the noted as much as poet the decisive battle of caused the general to offer the surrender of and on condition of aa un retreat to napoleon agreed to it returned triumphantly to and formally restored to its republican government then leaving the care of italy to returned to paris had he but then died or been true i ah should we have were we cut off is the midst of our days great was the joy of the at being restored to liberty mind you they had not restored and were unworthy of it what we earn we don t or at any rate we den t des ve ow characters but that for which we | 2 |
have i and us most for which we strive blood the of italy and tears and prayers they did not deserve liberty neither did they have it f heir was of short duration soon after s return to paris he summoned four hundred and fifty italian to to consult on of importance the of men met them and proposed the establishment of a new form of government in italy in which the authority should rest in a president vice president and council the not seeing his drift made no objection he then proposed that napoleon should be that this showed his aim pretty clearly they dared not they were not king john s nor there a di among them so hastened from paris to them very much promised they should not find him and away went the weak silly not quite knowing what a weak thing they had done has been numbered among them but some say he was at it is certain however that he the t bt of italy considered and called the greatest of mortals from that time indeed napoleon was anxious to promote the progress and prosperity of especially of and have the french always been better masters than the from the days of charles of and his and glittering knights they ride light as in their the heavily as the old man of the sea on s back have a master at all and let him be english or french having assumed the authority of king was not long in seeking the name in he became emperor of the french and persuaded his council to accord him the additional title of of italy he crowned himself at with the iron crown of uttering the old god has given it me beware who touches it and returned to paris leaving to act as his chapter of the french rule in italy napoleon gilded the chain and it with flowers public roads were made streets cleared churches finished palaces built schools and public institutions established cleanliness and general security promoted with such rapidity that more was done in a few years to change the outward of italy than had been previously effected in centuries all good excellent as far as it went the beautiful of begun by and left unfinished for ages was completed the a palace of the arts and was fitted up for public schools of painting architecture and a royal and imperial school for the orphan daughters of italian officers was founded by napoleon who was aware of the neglected education of the i ladies it was d the t bt of italy placed under the of an accomplished and amiable the de lor all this was good as far as it went true these things were all paid for by taxes on the themselves lazy as thej were they grumbled no little yet several rousing from their and applying themselves to business nearly doubled their fortunes all this was good as far as it went what was wanting the sixth had been hurried to the grave by the french whose prisoner he died the seventh an amiable old man was compelled by napoleon to sign a treaty called the which he did with extreme reluctance of the time he said laying its even upon m napoleon next insisted on his travelling to paris to take part in his a condescension to which no pope had stooped before was indignant at all thb and at the of his subsequent treatment on returning to rome he resolved to prove himself a thb of italy free agent and with no great reason to love us to be a party to the war with england which so napoleon that he him of his few remaining caused one of his to take military of borne declared the pope s dominion ended appointed a committee to govern the city to these and replied by the emperor but napoleon was not king john these were the days of fact not fable of knights but not of the round table of not rob what did napoleon care for being his general arrested the pope at midnight and sent him under a strong escort to many efforts were then made to the poor old man into a of his rights but remained firm and in consequence was kept prisoner three years at all italy was now napoleon s was governed by his step son prince the of italy no longer had a resident pope and as for the kingdom of it had heen declared no longer to exist and was therefore re created and presented to tb and afterwards to the republic which being interpreted means was formed into a new department of the french empire one of the emperor s sisters was queen of on the other two he bestowed the of and ah to pass away like the fabric of a vision that leaves not a wreck behind chapter the old restored in napoleon s power expired the were restored the of replaced italy in the hands of her former masters was seized tried and executed king the king of returned from his long exile and began to restore everything to the place in which he had left it five and twenty professors of the academy were dismissed for having received their of napoleon were restored erected the government everywhere re established was to the of the king of his kingdom thus became an italian state destined in less than half a century to take the of italy a prominent part ia italian affairs and were ruled by princes was subject to was connected by a royal marriage with italian soldiers were sent abroad italy was by the girls schools were with the of books a relieved from the vigilance of the french police rendered the roads thirteen kept in awe a town containing twelve hundred inhabitants a magistrate remarked to | 2 |
and flight of louis three hundred including the venerable returned to their native land on hearing of the what news awaited them on landing at they heard with transport that had been in and that the had thrown off their yoke and though almost had driven out and that was free it seemed like a dream this was in march on the th news of the at had reached it was like a spark to crowds assembled in the squares shouting arms and a guard and demanding a leader the put himself at their head and led them to the governor s palace sad to relate th re were wretches among the who fell on s and them to death it was a bad omen the story of italy the governor saved himself by flight leaving to supply his place count o who cried i will do what yon wish i will do what yon wish down with the police a guard cried the mob yes yes the police shall be set aside for a guard ton must give it us in writing he did so trembling and in a little time the decree was published at the then they the streets crying long live thb ninth long live independence and italy but the day was not won the under yet possessed the castle the gates and many strong positions in the city it remained to be proved therefore who should be masters of delicate women and tender children were seen tearing up the stones and carrying them into their houses to cast on the heads of their some prepared oil some boiling water some their knives brought forth their thb t bt of italy pieces or a stick with an iron point hun of were in the streets meanwhile the cannon heavily from the castle and were answered by the bells from thirty church suddenly a strong body of dispersed the crowd and carried off many prisoners two days the strife continued and the obtained and kept possession of the the great square and the palace they attacked the police the contest continued a day and a night on the th the formed themselves into a government and passed several the city was a complete battle field where balls shells and various fell on all sides the felt the want of assistance from other cities and threw urgent appeals to them over the walls they even sent them up in some of which fell in the others reached and in consequence thousands of to and from the tops of church the story of italy they might be seen winding their way among the rice and now and then falling on a body of within the city every one did what he observed the motions of the enemy through their from prepared and others melted lead for balls or prepared ladies fired guns and boys from surprised soldiers a citizen whose right hand was fired his gun with his left a dying man wrote on the wall courage brothers with his blood the charity shown during these five days among the was universal in many houses the wounded were collected and carefully tended ladies prepared and the rich gave wine and food s palace was taken his soldiers but not hurt his plate and furniture handed over to the government towards dusk on the fifth day the drew off his forces from the city and to conceal his departure had all his consisting of sixty thb of continually shifted from place to place and fired from different points to conceal his whereabouts a ball however discharged from one of these set fire to a great mass of straw and and a glare of light aa brilliant aa it was transient illuminated the retreat of the general these five days had cost five thousand men he retreated towards meantime the government of took suitable measures for public safety and order the were free chapter how the time seemed charles felt the time was come and gave his subjects their desired constitution not in a panic or with mental but in real good faith soon he was leading a gallant army into italy to support the cause of freedom and of was so constrained by the of the time as to feel compelled to send him of his best troops as a was now beginning to tremble at the fire he had himself kindled and to feel that he had his church and himself his people for a constitution he hesitated at length reluctantly and it was under the direction of his minister cardinal who was then as much the advocate for reform as he has since been its opponent s the t bt of the bravery of the king of and his two sons the of and by the of their troops met the they deserved the of two months were crowned by the battle of and the surrender of instead of at the extension of his own kingdom charles proclaimed to the that his sole aim was to complete the work so leaving them at the conclusion of the war to determine on their own form of government the did not reply to this generous announcement in the proper spirit and the arrival of among them completed their from charles a house divided against itself cannot stand and the elements of failure were already to be perceived the pope withdrew his sanction from the war and the king of withdrew his troops hitherto had not thrown off the mask but on the approach of the th of may when the chambers were to be opened it began to be that he was only going to grant the story op italy a modified different from that to which he had pledged himself as this proved to be the case the their resignation which the king refused the day was spent in fruitless consultation at length | 2 |
and he moved that it should be restrained from attacking foreign sovereigns thought he was more than was safe or than perhaps he was aware of and became the leader of a powerful opposition at length the of these once friends led to s offering to resign but the king would not accept it and preferred forming a new from which was excluded came over to england and brushed up his english and scotch and acquaintances afterwards paris saw louis napoleon and what they said who shall say he returned home full of acceptance and the noble made way before him that he might form a new cabinet as there were church questions in agitation declined mixing up in them but at the t bt of i the king s wish he consented on of being on the subjects and in the new cabinet which most of the old members he became president of the board of as dignified and graceful in as in public life retired and resumed his poetry and painting he knew not jealousy or malice a country deserves to be great and happy that produces such good and great men then ensued a lull of two years a lull marked by progress a hundred and forty two projects of law passed for the benefit of the army and public works were made the electric telegraph was laid down was now civil and military of and the old general though he did not wear the iron crown ruled with a rod of iron a special piece of oppression towards the in in their estates was bj the government in consequence of which england and france remonstrated and as they were not attended to the minister was recalled from the of italy as the continual shooting for major and for minor ones did not improve the public spirits took it into his head that from play going and was sulky and not to be allowed consequently the italian under his were to to the theatres whether merry or not and in like manner the citizens were to and adorn their houses with c on occasions and make as though they were enjoying themselves indeed it was hard to be merry under and dangerous to be the reverse he beat italian women and girls as well as men in the public square thirty to forty blows then made them pay for the sticks that were broken on them and for the ice used to prevent their wounds from some were kept on bread and water from terms of a few days to three months in solitary confinement for what for being supposed to have at an flag the two years lull ended when the the of found an exact estimate was being made of all their worldly then the russian war broke oat and offered its of men to the brave and good soldiers they were england advanced a million sterling for them as a loan and undertook their transport to the where they fought by day and read the new testament in their tents at night within ten days of that epoch victor lost his mother his wife and his beloved brother the duke of his voice failed him when he would have his troops go forth and do nobly he was obliged to the office to another while he stood sorrowfully by the took advantage of his sorrow to press him to the of the rural clergy and he would have but for who though not in office and denied access to the council wrote to the king and defeated the he might then have easily resumed his public functions but he retreated to his privacy many trying events in the king s popularity but he was victorious over them the story of italy all and in the close of the year he visited paris and and met with the most cordial reception in for the first time was admitted into the of the great european powers she was represented at paris by who took the opportunity of temporarily but describing the unhappy condition of his country and the advantages that would to it from the of french and troops though no immediate good resulted from this the of his conduct was such as on his return to italy to draw upon him the proofs of public appreciation and gratitude and though an insane attempt of s at nearly brought ruin on the popular cause the general feeling began to prevail that hope must look towards that minor must be in great principles and that in the certainly coming struggle soon or late with strength must be found in the union of and the justice of their cause z daybreak on new year s day a cloud no bi er than a man s hand appeared on the political horizon the emperor napoleon on receiving the congratulations of the foreign ministers uttered some words of sinister import to the as ominous as unexpected yet for some time warlike preparations had been made without any apparent purpose and it was felt that and france were seeking a pretext for war the king of gave his daughter the princess in marriage to prince louis napoleon and the alliance was regarded as one of deep import and that the champion of italian liberty would be supported by the immense forces of france lord was hastily despatched to the story of italy by our government to his stay was prolonged beyond the term impatiently expected and meantime russia proposed a to settle the points that could alone justify a war insisted as a preliminary that france and should refused to before and france with men ready for action said she not for she had never armed the crisis became exciting poured into fervent with patriotic the french were awaiting the signal to cross the and groaned under the expense of an host while the despatch written at | 2 |
nd of june they drove to the hotel in a pouring obtained beds with and heard alarming of whose head quarters at nothing they proceeded thither tiie next morning and a fine road and over a bridge till thej were all at stopped by s a couple of good looking men in brown shooting coats with small ao the uniform s men could muster came forward and demanded the the travellers then proceeded to and on at the inn found that making it his head the gentlemen sent in their cards the general politely replied that he would presently wait on them and the ladies when he did so his appearance was highly and his manner no less so is of middle height powerfully formed without being heavy he has a healthy english complexion nut brown hair and beard and a finely formed head his face is good though not remarkable to a casual but when he spoke the of of the and sufferings of his country the lip and told the deep feeling long suppressed and the daring character of the man he has the manner and appearance of the english gentleman and it was only when he spoke of the generous sympathy of the english with the sufferings of italy that his calmness gave way and as he said again and again how grateful they were for it he showed that the warm blood of italy burned in his veins d instead of awaiting on tiie table land above where his guns might have swept down his stationed himself and his men in the church and houses at the foot of the hill where his could be no manner of use to him and his men poured down the hill like an totally without fear and began what they liked a desperate hand to hand le success the of within two hours of s leaving the hotel to face he was there again in retreat a told the s that the seemed to hate no spirit for ihe the t bt of on the other hand s crew were neither nor but respectable men wonderfully tidy considering how often they slept in their clothes not a ragged fellow among them and all quiet and orderly many of th n gentlemen others farmers small and some were at prayers in the church and a little chapel some some writing letters home with abstracted faces none drinking i saw a lady yesterday fresh from italy who had met the french troops crossing mount and seen them for the night merry as no quarrelling no confusion three men to a little tent with their coffee pot and pan and flourishing their flannel over their for the night king of died on the nd of may his life had been marked by cruelty and deceit he was succeeded son the of as francis the and though he early his intention of pursuing his father s policy the courts of the t bt of italy england and france hoping for better things resumed friendly relations with on the th prince napoleon arrived at and addressed a to the stating that the emperor s sole ambition was to italy on the th of may victor led his troops across the in the face of the who were fortified at and after an obstinate resistance on their part them at the point of the the king himself the passage of the river which runs in a broad bed by little islands and and with banks thickly planted with trees the country east of the river is a mass of rice grounds and corn fields divided by raised and shaded with trees and the villages are placed on and reached by a road like a railway cutting nothing could be more advantageous for the yet they early took refuge in a high walled church yard behind the village and pointed their cannon along the road in face of which the brought some of their own of italy which soon those of the the drove off the enemy and to up their position in the for the night the game evening they were joined by a regiment of who had the emperor s orders to attend on the king next morning the were seen close upon intending to it and off the from the river they were immediately attacked and the threw themselves with a magnificent dash on the in the midst or rather in advance of them was victor himself than whom the army has no more brilliant soldier they had four hundred yards to advance under a fire but their pace was so n id that the in advance of the guns had no time to retire but rushed back mixed with the the were strong the took prisoners it was in consequence of victor s daring conduct in this engagement which won r the t bt t liim from the the pet name of their little that the addressed to him the affecting remonstrance in never surely ardent unspeakable admiration be better veiled under the garb of rebuke the tidings of the victory of had already moved every heart when other information was added which threw a cloud over countenances f u radiant with the recent success i urged on by th sacred enthusiasm which too long bad been in your breast you rode in front of our standard as if desirous that your alone should cut a path for it through the enemy s ranks it was doubtless the hand of which brought you safely back after putting enemy to t but a cry rises from one end to the other of the you know the voice of your you heard it when it cried out in bitter grief and tb high minded answer you returned to it a new hope in every heart now that same voice a cry of loving anxiety for you awaiting all that the | 2 |
of the fortunes of thb t bt of war may bring yet on the justice of its good cause italy must not at instant tremble for the its king it is your to live it is our rigid to bid you live your life is the life of italy you must no longer risk it in extreme perils on saturday the th of may a solemn for the dead was celebrated in at the church of in memory of the brave who fell in in the disastrous fight of when a little band of or kept an overwhelming force at bay for many hours and caused grim old to say these boys wiu make me lose a whole day two bronze bearing the names of the slain were erected shortly after the event by the on either side of the high altar of and a service was celebrated for their souls repose both in and in when the oppression was in full force the citizens were forbidden to have this service celebrated but on the day they to church the of italy bearing mourning they were pushed back by disguised d and on their resisting a body of the same corps issued from the and fired on the crowd the scene which ensued was of horror and dismay the were pulled down the same night by order of government and concealed in the da the king of however kindly allowed of them to be erected at one of the first acts of the government this last april was to replace the original in their old position and on the day before the which fell on a sunday a solemn service for the dead was celebrated at five in the morning a dense crowd assembled before the church though the service did not begin till nine over each church door was an affecting inscription calculated to thrill the hearts of the readers down the grand old was raised a huge built up of of arms c with flowers and innumerable and draped with behind the and facing the high altar was seen a of halt of italy with arms imploring the assistance of heaven and bearing the inscription great god who me a queen among nations and that i fi r my should be trampled and i who now at length me abundant pity for my long sufferings to accept the memories of these for their country restore me to myself link me in with the nations and lay the foundation of a holy universal peace as if in answer to this prayer breathed by the upward gazing figure with noble a great black banner over her bore these words at last thou hast understood my ways thy hope was in me only with much love hast thou covered thy sins thy faith hath saved thee one was completely filled by an immense a mass and was performed and the and attended the service to which nothing was wanting that could give it re ion and dignity nor did the story of italy this cost the public one penny from the excellent ma ro w o composed the music expressly for the occasion to the poorest workman who nailed the and piled the cannon balls and not one would accept a the was a spontaneous heart offering from every class and as such was invested with a higher beauty and a truer than that which clothed it bodily june chapter the whole progress of the with the exception of the battle of had thus far been what the times correspondent called a strewn with flowers for wherever they went women flung flowers in their path and them from their windows one could not he proceeds help admiring the genius which conceived nor the energy which executed the grand plan by which the were forced to retreat beyond the without a battle the utmost confidence in their leader was inspired in the allied troops by this steady advance the had not been shut up in his head quarters for nothing no one but himself knew beforehand what he meant to do at the right moment the suitable order came unexpectedly and had only to be executed the story of italy swiftly and steadily as the were retreating from the with equal and swiftness were following their steps now past old ch that might well have been defended by the retiring foe now along com fields they had spared and rich woods of oak and chestnut they had left these woods a deep valley a wide table land at the bottom winding and round a hundred flowed the by the stone bridge of under the opposite heights might be the of the villages of and the french poured over the bridge which the had only partially destroyed soon their arms were glancing amid the green foliage on the other side and advancing up the ascent to the table land some had been thrown up but were easily taken by a few troops at a run at the same time the at was completed and the crossed the river in two columns the had strongly them the of italy selves behind the heights that nm straight on to the intended for the railway against urn m the rd and a section of the guards and the while the nd were sent round to attack in fix nt and m to torn their right flank in all they numbered or the posted at were reckoned at but seemed unwilling to attack as soon however as m s fire was heard to their right which was about noon on this memorable th of june the other ad steadily in spite of a hail of and the difficulties of soft ground by their losses only quickened their advance and when at a little distance from the height the threw away their up the t and the next minute were on it | 2 |
the first who reached the top waved his and shouted v v which was the of italy echoed by his comrades the were flying across the iron bridge oyer the canal the so close after them that the who was to have put the match to a mine beneath them was while some of the french poured water on the powder that was to haye blown them up others rushed forward to secure the railway they continued to till they were in almost as secure a position as the had left but no support and the began to close them in it was almost one o clock yet the gallant little band no for the kept m hotly engaged at meantime the we are speaking of thought to regain their lost position and fresh of were brought up again and again by the railway die shrill whistle of which was perpetually heard amid the din of war to yield was not to be thought therefore induced the two surrounding each to men to hold out as long as life lasted they did so the t bt of italy till two o clock their nearly spent their losses of men terrific surely the emperor need never again hear an voice ask if he were a mere sister of mercy come to walk the at this critical a cloud of dust all along the road behind them showed that the long looked for help was at hand the and the division dashed up to their assistance nearly at the same time m began the attack of while after came up and threatened to the in fact the seeing themselves pressed on their right and left had retreated from to they defended this village with obstinacy on both sides it was felt to be the key of the position many of the poor fellows had not tasted food for twenty four hours and had been dreadfully in the and were both on the field though they did not take the command the french took the story op italy the village house hy house the were forced into retreat and prisoners including officers remained in the hands of the more than and french were put de combat that very saturday evening the were surprised to see war worn exhausted soldiers suddenly pouring into the streets in the greatest disorder the impression instantly prevailed that the could not be far oflf the entire population into the streets and eagerly asked one another what has happened but none could answer at daybreak the troops were seen quietly retiring from the the then became assured that they were free what a moment they had awaited it with eagerness but without demonstration and now in the fulness of their delight they no insult to the troops who were departing nor uttered any many of the soldiers with the people the of as soon as they were gone the issued a the citizens to give the an enthusiastic reception the news of the victory reached the following evening we were sitting quietly round our news room table says a writer when the report of cannon was suddenly heard from the of the fortress we into the streets and soon learnt that louis napoleon thus emphatically published the news of a great victory such a storm of wild joy burst over as i never thought would take possession of a whole population it was past eight o clock and several thousand persons in their holiday dresses were on their way back from their visit to the jolly at the both sexes and all ages were in less time than i can write it burning links and waving came forth as if by magic the multitude fell under the orders of leaders from the and the d the vast mass of men horses the of carriages priests beggars nurses and babies in arms moved down the to the great square of the where a cry was raised to the and to prince napoleon i i never thought so vast a crowd could be animated with such perfect unity of feeling had the victorious army at that moment marched through the streets its movements could hardly have been more compact and orderly the names of italy and victor went up to the seventh heaven the principal streets gave the signal for a general illumination and the example was followed all over the town till the glare the young new moon they shouted themselves hoarse beneath the windows of and prince napoleon then went back to the and the were folded and the links struck to the ground that was the signal for good night for it was within an hour of midnight but no here comes a military band no one asks from whence playing a kind of national and music works its spell on italian hearts old and young set up a shout the huge mass d the of starts forward keeping time once more the now dark streets once more treats and the prince to a song all at once the breaks down in the middle a window flies up a word is spoken prince napoleon has had enough noise the mob goes home it has been taught a lesson hence home idle i your country wants men horses and money let france and give you stem lessons of duty and sacrifice think as you lie safe and comfortable in your beds how many brave men from germany foreigners to whom the cause of your country is only a word lie and stiff on the green turf beneath which to morrow they will be laid the day after the battle was sunday but no of rest though the would have devoted it to repose and to burying their dead and caring for the wounded the fighting was renewed but without any decisive results on monday the of waited the of italy | 2 |
was by five years my elder now it came to about a week after her coming into this naughty world that my mother had a dream concerning her after the of the to the that by ic chronicle of the child newly eventually be up on high and that her father mother and kindred do homage to her which in due time came to and this gives me to think that dreams are not always mere of the brain but that on for the of a intelligence of events are to the inward and fight by of the frequent of the who laid hands alike on live flock arms of plate and noble my father was fain to commit my and me to the care of an aunt who was superior of one of the very few religious left in for the refuge of holy and high born this was about the time of the good king s death his brother then reigned over in his that was in the days of our king it mattered very little to my and me who reigned as long as mother let us fee her hive the bees and take the honey was fairer and more than i therefore the greater favourite and being by many years my by ic chronicle of had many and which i had not but on the other hand i had many too all to for certain flowers to talk to one another and to me and to tell of their how and about certain trees and patches of chalk on the hill into images of and until i was fore and yet feeling a mixture of and in going up to the s mouth with a handful of and will you bite me and then running away there were certain peep holes through the oak and dark corners among the tree roots that i have been if any had of except once lying under a hollow oak i to feel the pulling at my hair that they might get of the trunk one of my peep holes looked into our burial i knew lay there their faces all turned upward and my aunt the told me their went to heaven i thought if i kept a look out i fee of them going there on a night if any of the would but die there was a who i think was as by ic chronicle of learned as the of she was ah making and over of her i acquired my facility of writing which the king is remarkable but in regard of its i am always at the mercy of my pen however i now always have a good one about the year my and i were home my father mother and were much at court but by of my tender years i went not after one of their it was reported among us that alfred prince of the had married our king would come to fee our the was and many were cooked he came not the fewer the better cheer and i was than was this time told me fo many fine things about the court that when they all returned to it which they did i felt for the time lonely they had made a pretty clear before they went and i was left of the both and freed but with very little to do except to fee a now and then put his head by ic chronicle of out of the they might have been gone three hours and i was eating bread and honey when there winds me a horn at the gate and lo you prince alfred come by and nobody to receive him took his and his and his feet but what could we do the in the no meat in the nor had i even the key of the cellar there were in the and a hung by die wall if he would have waited to have it boiled he made light of all bread and honey was fit for a king when the bread was warm and the honey from the comb and adam s wine was better than or for a water like who wine and like john the i was glad to find him fo to indeed had never lighted on fo cheerful and a young gentleman and having but few gentlemen before whether young or by of our retired living i all fear forgot he was a prince and made him welcome to what we had as freely as if i had known him twelve years that is to my whole life he me how i came to be fo by ic chronicle of for my age but i could not tell he me if i could read if i my prayers if i loved bread and honey and if i were afraid of him to the three i yes to the no he that was right and the and bade me good and bear in mind king solomon s to eat much honey is not good and fo departed but when he had mounted his reared at our white owl that flew out of its hole and threw the prince whom we picked up with his bright hair all with blood and brought into the he did not to regard it much but gave his orders to one and the other with wonderful and being laid on a double and i and bound up his wound as we could and two of our rode off to the king and bring back my father and mother i relate that s fear of approaching the blood royal had at been fo and that had me forward into office more cowardly than a woman of her years needed to have been but as as found the prince would have made my tender by ic chronicle of age a for me and into my place | 2 |
virgin s has never been embroidered from that day to this next morning i was to my mother who was fitting by her maids child tells me there was a bare which i partly apprehended though enough went down from the hall i have thought to have kept you for a week however twice warmed are not for a royal table and yet his grace informed me over night you had him like a king what am i to believe my heart me when i me of the we two had made and i cried in mother twas he emptied the rather than i he laid it on fo thickly and i dared not him nay my mother could not forbear as tapped me by ic chronicle of on the cheek well you to have the credit of the before noon that day there was a dinner prepared that might have been on king arthur s round table i peeped through a and the and my father the and my mother the cup the prince only touched it with his lips fo demand was made for which amid fo many and had never been provided and every hand being gave me a and bade me run down to the which i gladly did by the fate an old man a harp i bade him make way i was in for water for alfred the prince he is prince alfred here then i will into of him for he loves the found of a harp and following me up to the he commenced playing at the gate and was let in in truth the afternoon proving rainy and the prince drinking no wine nor playing at nor any game of hazard this old s arrival was very for he went on from one ballad to another as if his head were lined with them and alfred the prince by ic chronicle of was in with one that told how got into king arthur s camp as a glee man and while he was learned all he wanted to know without ever being found out he called it a good at length the prince the if he had ever heard of the of that have i my prince returned the and can it too how that of the angels kept not their but fell into they would have glory with the and how he made for an home sweet as honey is that their they were very happy sin they knew no nor co frame crimes but they in peace lived how the earth and came to be created out of nothing and how the man and woman beautiful as angels dwelt in tis a o sunday sing me as much as you can of it the prince and i will give you this gold by ic chronicle of i dare your glory knows the who was a his name was how holy availed of this our to the lower fort and took his on the public bridge like a common to win the ears of the by gay and grave matters aye believe ye the prince i have heard all about him a hundred times but now begin your or you will not conclude till midnight the following year there a grievous among all cattle and after the a famine throughout the land and after the famine a fo that the hand of the lord was heavy upon man and it was lamentable to fee the dead bodies left by the way with none to cover them out of the reach of birds and dogs the poor people might be on half and eagerly devouring the and that grew in the which diet was enough of my mother thought to account for the but the failure of by ic chronicle of the crops was a of god and as he that the of whole diet needs drive the people to eat that which was and the to my mind was an from him too we much to our knees in prayer and who was very prayed my mother to let her have all the bones and broken food from our table to into for the poor and at our own gate which my mother willingly did and thereby drew down on our many a poor foul s and it that one and i having provided a larger than and carrying it forth to the folk at the gate and very there appears alfred the prince landing among the looking upon who at marked him not and without more he up and her before all an unfair thing for even a king s to do could not defend by of the full and the people with one accord up a as if it were the fight eyes ever to the great of by ic chronicle of the prince dined and with us and told us of many things he had in rome when he was a and talked and and and did more to entertain us than we could do to entertain him in as was quite dull all the afternoon but i was full and at he fell to talking with me more than any only it that while we were and eating nuts he of a and i looked up and his lips quite white or rather blue and a cold grey on his brow i cried oh mother and in what you prince and commenced rubbing his hands but he and this at the heart is off it is all for my good there was no more that afternoon but we fate and and looked more at one another and talked of prayers and and and heavenly and earthly and and i think the latter end of that day was better than the beginning he two days with us and on the evening of the day he a little boy a | 2 |
lad c by ic chronicle of took my father and had long of him we concluded concerning the who drawing together in upon it may or may not have been fo my father came forth from the conference with a mixture of care and on his brow and the prince was much and on his that had long been the ground at the gate as he rode off he cried laughing i am now one of your family by the law of the land for i have two nights under your roof and if i do any wrong on the king s highway you will be for it that be my care prince returns my father cheerily may i never have a more dangerous under my roof return when you will whether in company or he was out of fight before one could ave to bed we went but not to as for i lay awake thinking over all the brave things i had heard and inwardly happy they who hold thy and water thy happier they that before thee at table and hear thy come one by ic chronicle of b voice as for though we were in the dark and lay long quite i had an that was weeping fo to make i her and found her face quite wet i her why wept could not tell me did not know so there was an end only i took care not to worry her by my own and lay a of prince alfred in the of rome till or ever i was ware i fell on i now mix public affairs with private of the whom the having with great received and on with anxiety for the general welfare than for their own particular they had in the news now came that the not content with having the city of york were advancing upon us and indeed they followed fo on the heels of the news that before we well they were on the move they had taken of which the well called the of for the town is by a huge rock with numerous by ic chronicle of and of which pierce it even to the in it by the people of age whom in modem times we have altogether fight of and there is a of water above as well as below which makes this rock a notable hold in time of war and will continue to do fo while the world now it fell that fo bon as the had we were all in a fore and king to my father to wit what he do and my father s was that he of and king no one was fo fit to or fo likely to obtain it as my father fo he my father to the saxon court and king gave ear unto him and to come with alfred the prince and the earl of and a great army to the now the kept quarters all the winter but fo as ever the rivers and the roads were practicable or ere there was a bud on the or a bird on the tree we all to arms i we i only looked on with other women and children for we all had a pretty in the and there were troops of men by ic chronicle of our gates daily and glad of water and tread and anything they could get it was an to my father and mother or king prince alfred the earl of and his brother came and went to and from us all die time of the but it was to all and i am we never them our which as there was always going on they made the very the had in that there was no them so peace was made with them our wills and the drew off their forces with king s he could not get them to any longer at this time every tongue in of alfred the prince now in his twentieth year who was the darling of all hearts and certainly of mine this i was going to was all in an innocent way but i may rather that it was more than that and did me much good for it is of infinite value to young to be of living excellence and as to any vain imagination of being brought into nearer to him than i was already i by ic chronicle of no more thought of it than of being married to the north chiefly applying my mind to the of whatever fell from his lips which young as he was had and in it i was well able to while my hands were at the loom and and their was to me very much from things and make me thoughtful and my appearance was that of what in truth i was a mere child how amazed was i to hear that there was a treaty of marriage on foot between alfred the prince and of things i was from a child very and much on them of others not at all hence it came that had i not been told of this alliance a long time might have before any of its had warned me of its coming as it was the and joy me fo that i believe i not fo as in truth i was as the thought of when it dawned upon me me in a of tears but me all could by on the of continually with a companion as by ic chronicle of prince alfred and to have me much with her in the royal city of reading on my mother s as is well known we are of royal therefore was no ill match for a king s younger brother and as there was no for delay the took place the earl of was one of the prince s and the to my mind | 2 |
was very and the lean was and the gift agreed on which was to of large of land for three lives with men and belonging and fo much more land for to on her and of her own free choice for the term of her life and after it always providing that if ihe were he for a keep in the peace of god and of the king before married again my father not to be to give with her two which was thought a good deal of by whom alfred the prince called the i e the female part of the since as every one fee this was adding gift unto gift and that which was already of infinite by ic chronicle of fled v and our saxon laws provide that come from the other that is the s where there is anything to if it be but a hen a man think a wife little worth the having if he will not pay pretty for her and think her a good bargain too however alfred the prince was not to be in even by my father and to the gift he added over and above the men and land worth the two once and again to wit rings one of them like a a golden like a fly of and fine linen and a mirror a a golden a fringed for and worked with the siege of a bed curtain the landing of king brute a woven with golden flowers another for of wondrous light and gold and and cups curling irons s and ribbons by ic chronicle of in fine everything a royal lady could need or now though the gift was not due till the day after the wedding many of arrived beforehand in large to the great of the f and i among the had the and the handling of them which to a girl of tender years was no privilege when the prince came a the earl of was in attendance on him but oftener he came by when that we were always in our own hearts and he would find and me walking together in the and would come towards us as as any in the but though he would come up to us as as lark it always that before we had been long together he would become as as an and talk of graver matters than one would have from fo yoimg a man but whatever fell from his lips was to and to me the wedding day now drew nigh and people were drawing together from various parts to be by ic chronicle of at die and there was great of men both and freed to beat the woods for and wild deer and were laid for game and fowls and were dug to the u that were not nor and of and apples were brought from the and from the and from the and rivers and of fine flour and of honey for there was much people to be filled in due came the royal to fee if there were for all and the head unto my mother you have enough and to of everything if fo be that your run not but my mother we have enough of and now by of the report of the wedding far and wide of all or as we glee men began to with bears with dancing dogs and other with balls and of began beforehand to up their and round the green under by ic chronicle of the of the by of whom our that was of late fo retired became rather walking my mother would not have me go forth under the care of the who was brave faithful and good natured i remember one day taking the air with him in the woods we came upon a cruelly a of our who by of his could not him as he de more took and bound the hand and foot with his and laid him at length on the ground having thus made him feel his he flood over him and with a look which he knew very well how to put on there thou lies now then what be my will of thee if i blind thy eyes i fine forty if i lame thy feet i fine thirty if i thee twenty five if i break thy thumb twenty if i crop thine ears twelve if i take thy little finger eleven if thy great ten if a of thy s nine if thy forefinger eight if i break thy fix if one of thy ribs three if i knock out one of thy teeth a go to thou s not worth by ic chronicle of a unto me the whole bundle of thee the s beyond thy reach now fo go thy ways and ne er deal the like with a poor fellow again so he the and let him go free when the bounding out of length his at hun and grinning horribly cried thou s bound a and by the law of the land fine not one but ten an i could catch an keep and fo went off leaving laughing at his impotent anger alfred the prince was at the when i told him of it and the next time he gave him a to proceed however to the wedding which if i were to out chapter to the length of s i come to at by ic book ii i hem i the enormous between the and prolonged of this life and the glory that hereafter be revealed to us it to me that were this little one entire or we might gratefully fo the whereas we very well that this thorn path is with many flowers and watered with many and with many fruits and that its lies through many a deep and cheerful meadow alternately in the cool | 2 |
and without in the gallery were the lights burning dim and men dropped after all of but among them here and there beings in orderly array and at each door and each bed head as on we were other on guard and fo we on from the chief chambers to the low narrow and rooms and offices round about the beyond and even here too the tired were other in i marked two in the women s quarter leaning over a poor by name of fearful and mood and one to the other by ic chronicle of how troubled is above measure and the other made yea but not for long then the faith tis a vain terror a mere has at and the other faith yea but it tis no mere to her and fo made a on her forehead and its but the of them all in appearance like to a king by a poor that was driven from pillar to from morning to night this angel had a pale blue on his brow and was fo deep in thought that he noted us not as we by then we came into the outer court into the dark and cool flight air and my guide go forward and fee the wonders of the night so i went forward alone and a little but not much afraid into the which became a with but here and everywhere i encountered beings in companies or alone in walking landing or lying among the leaves and flowers and it unto me that every tree and had its gardener though fo fo fo like it in colour slave by ic chronicle of as to be only with pain made out none looked on me but many looked up and i not whether there were more of gravity or in their faces after a while they all to look round with reverence at one preceding me and then quietly return to their labours but i could fee none before me however i came at length to a high wall in the of midnight and in the wall a door and in the door a key and i heard one between it and me turn that key and that door opened and i went in i could rather than fee there was a fair garden for i could and as are by our and the of flowers and once and again my foot caught in the of creeping plants that to grow too with weeds a kind of overcame me in this garden and i went on through a tangled foot track that pretty to the brink of a little lone pool or well lying in the of it looked fo cool and pure that i took of the water in my hand to drink but it bitter and i over it to look in its clear by ic chronicle of led depths to fee in it but thereof lo another face not mine own and i trembled and awoke there was over me looking haggard in the grey light of dawn and poor child hath made you heavy to me my women and go you and on your bed so i did as bade me and into for indeed i was new to night watching the throng and the prince making out from his that they knew not what him and could give no of recovery up from his couch then bear it as i may and calling me to him he took from his a little note book full of and laws of scripture whereon he loved to look though he was not at reading and he bade me write therein a of s which had much him hurts but to heal having fulfilled his i returned it unto him when regarding it he thou rt the little in or i will give you my pen by ic chronicle of it came to after days that our country had no without were within were fears we were tried and put to the proof every way in in in in the burning of our in the of our crops in the peril of our lives what did the yea what of living yea what difficulty to live i have known rulers in high places as hard put to it in days for a dinner as were the princes of during the when an s head fold for pieces of and though a man were liable to the heels or neck catch if he gave his on a day meat of all was fo hard to come by that i fancy the rule was never except upon for all ate a hearty meal when they could as for the lower fort they were fain to of and as in common only the would eat and would hardly i think have drink though a or had died in it in of the penalty for what the troops of the companies of licked up of that is and his brother the of the it would they by ic chronicle of had come up from their place in the north as and in the prophecy of with all their bands into the land of villages and to them that were at and dwelling to take a and to take a prey and to carry away and gold and goods and much cattle in days was it to be experienced in the words of the holy shepherd king that it is better to fall into the hands of god than of man for the famine and had been hard to bear the war was much wretches the very between our teeth the country like troops of wolves violently taking away our flocks and feeding thereof driving away the of the and taking the ox of the widow turning the out of doors and the naked to lodge without covering that they were wet with the from | 2 |
the mountains and to in and holes of the earth or to in the for as for to day there would not be a man on the every foul of them fluttered like from corn anon like the to by ic chronicle of their meat they come back again every man with his or or maybe a handful of them with a wild and fo we cat and are till a cry comes or later of the i am running on too into the middle and latter part of the year and return for a little to the beginning of the after my s marriage when the of the valley began to their tender blades and the and to peer forth on the banks and jack i the hedge to his face along the and the and to chatter and the to pipe and the to utter their notes i had up very of late into a mere and had i think a little my add to which i had applied too to a wall hanging i was working for fo that i my health a little and was dull and of cheer but my mother thought i clear up in the i did not the of my hanging which was lovely i will here it was the flight into egypt which has always had about it very and to my mind and mary would no by ic chronicle of the walled towns and villages and trace their way through the and paths how to camp out in that warm climate under date trees and palm trees out of reach of the enemy on banks in cool valleys and dining under hedges i them to the of my ability halting at one of places the turned to dipping water from the mary out their and the holy child looking with grave at two pieces of wood fallen over one another in the form of the it was a only that i not how to make the look as if it wound away into the it would go up into the i thought about it and dreamed about it and i think over application to it made me ill of cheer but my mother thought i had taken the ail and me on and honey but this doing me no good made out that i was and in the following manner one morning in the cow by ic chronicle of hunting for the there comes me a pretty white flitting among the bare trees and from the up to my i hold out my hand which it and to my i note a bottle tied about its neck with a on handling the fame i find drops of four milk hardened about its mouth and hath tied it about the s neck depend on it for a remembering and the i tempt the towards the feed it with and fill the bottle with milk whereon it away as though its were fulfilled day after day it returns with the empty which i as and at length i am to track the pretty creature into the woods having now become friendly with me it on a little in advance oft for me and then trotting on again till it had led me much further than i reckoned on quite beyond my knowledge and far away from home at length i became feared doubting how i find my way back and of out upon me as for the more fort we herds of by ic of right and left all at once we reach a with dead men s bones among the as though death had occurred there long ago and in the a prodigious huge oak of unaccountable age and with in the hollow of which or an old woman a of her arm as it to me and muttering in a what ho what ho bring back my little lad did he then who d mind a child what have here s an honey indeed s wanting oh oh and the trot up to her he her arms about its neck the bottle with trembling hands drained it as though were and then fell to and the as though were crazy which indeed was her face was more like that of a man s than a woman s more like a s than either her like old brown leather eyes red as with hair falling over them nor bad i a doubt hearing her name the names of the gods but that was a or witch and in my by ic chronicle of making a little which caught her ears up caught fight of me and was about to fall on me when a growl from behind followed by the of a huge hairy dark body over my head towards her throat fo me as that i fell to the ground when i recovered there was s great black and my face and with eyes as red as his hair coming up all panting his greeting was tell ee what thou s led me a pretty dance and may i be hung for a if e er i let thee out o fight of us all fo long together again he d been crying i think and i was fo him quietly without as i did when he where s the harm or where s the wrong some whom we met by the way reported old as they called her to be a whom the had of her wits by her my mother apprehended her to have of power about her and me much fluttered by the encounter would have it i was by ic chronicle of an bough was therefore placed over my pillow and the wife woman was called in as for the i regret to relate that the poor creature was away by the who held it to be little better than its i | 2 |
had a fear of one who like was reported to have into bodily and mental which left me however the moment i her for was the yet and looking old woman i ever eyes on she took me readily in hand and made much of certain which to be of any good to me i gather at to wit white and of each twenty in a of old ale till half boiled away of which i was to drink a cold every morning failing and in the evening as much warm to the roots and leaves and i footed it together over the early dew many a may morning and whether owing to the air or to her medicine i became quite and well many a wife did teach me of the and glory of god as by ic chronicle of j j forth in the properties of this and that and flower and many a lovely tale did tell me that carried me quite out of on my putting it to her one day why the to do me any good be gathered by my own hands made there are many things which to be of any good to you be done by you pray for you for you eat for can my having a full meal any to you wit ye we all walk along the path if we would through the gate at the further end of it i have often thought how to be old how happy to be old there was everything about the one to make old age there was nothing about the other to make old age than now ever my encounter with old my walks had been more guarded and for time with or of our own women i not as habit of danger and over charge is i gradually became watchful and watched and made by ic chronicle of long in and about the woods on foot attended only by the one day we met a prodigious large wolf who had glared on me with his red hungry eyes when him and laid him dead at my feet i was fo with for being no more feared than i was that it was the to me to refrain from of it on my return home i that is for three days left my walks be forbidden at the end of that time my natural made the concealment extremely me and as the it my heart was hot within me it fo and then to reveal a matter i had already made a of that i could not bear to tell it except to my to whom i mentioned it in but fo lightly and as it were in that i much think the old man never heard it at all i got which me at the time though in the end neither that nor my old where s the wrong proved of avail and i refrain not from that i have come to mature years i have done penance for that little fault by ic chronicle of however the i pray thee reader bear awhile with my the i was not to be fo kept whether i would or no previous to the appearance of the wolf i had been knitting about s neck with an and the very next time we three went that way together and i pulled by the of his hunting frock to the place where the dead wolf lay and looked up in his face as much as to whether he had not done a clever thing the moment it he cries hey here s been death work this is thine i marked it week in thine hand did the wolf then fly at thee i cried dear it did but don t tell it did me no harm you fee he and looking on me awhile the blue in his hand and then delivered thus don t tell thou and it has done thee no harm has it done thee no harm if it comes to tell why thou s putting a rope round own neck and giving me the other end of it i ve only to wolf or to growl a little or to i i had a piece of make e by ic chronicle of thee ready to kill me i cares for thee as thou mine own daughter let it be as thou wilt an thou bids me til not tell so of i to make no of the matter any longer and all the better i think for my own heart and foul trifle as it was i have often remembered the wolf i know not whether i were at this time what is ordinarily thought comely was always fo much more than that i thought as little of as the did and never much troubled the mirror in i was apt to take too little rather than too much thought of what i put on and left the charge of my hair which was now very long entirely to my women who to me to a good deal more time than they needed to have done in and trifling with it but the was and and left me to my own thoughts fo i never hurried them my father called me his apple and one day i heard one to another one without thinking i noted him about by ic chronicle of sweet as the breath of morning tis how we remember things about this time for as young as i was my marriage with the earl of became the common report not that i had much of him he was a brave man with a face like an owl and i i have preferred his younger brother however it was of quite out of the to think of the latter though noble he had not forty hides of land | 2 |
the heels of another it came to that king thereafter fell took to his bed and died to the great regret of the in of their they buried him in within the walls which indeed was once a common privilege enough though now from a regard to common and care for the general health it hath become money paid to the clergy when a death occurred by ic chronicle of to the clergy and to of notable lives much people to accompany his and many tears were for him by the if i add by the people it would found well but would not be the truth which a woman of my notorious is bound to at all times holds her peace nor can i that his death was more regretted by than the of any crowned head needs be by every loyal which is very little our not being under our own control but depending greatly on the l and of others this event was indeed one of which much more than both from the kingdom in general and my own family in particular for alfred the prince became alfred the king and my mother s dream the exaltation of was which i mentioned at the beginning of this chronicle and which no one reading with the attention can have forgotten but if they have they had better look back for it that the honour and glory of this to the throne might not us up with dangerous by ic chronicle of tion it was ordained that the honour and glory for a time be extremely little and that no other advantage whatever come of it but on the contrary cares deadly danger and for the like that have been but not killed were now round us with horrid fury and with the idea that alfred the king could no head them now that his brother was did the fame by giving him a beating at hill i have heard men who had at rome tell of heathen prince or deity i forget which who every time he was thrown to the ground gathered and thus it to fare with alfred the king who in the words of the prophet might exclaim rejoice not over me o mine enemy when i fall i however the wicked and which the would to make in their hearts was and if you do you fall again fo the only to be was who hold out the or as we in playing at which get the move by ic o chronicle of this warfare might have been as well by one trial of as by fifty to the great of life trouble time temper arms and wearing apparel continued throughout the and great part of the autumn when accorded to alfred the king who by this time had learnt enough that came not by his own arm that he never i enabled him to get the upper hand of the for a while and to make his own terms with them which were that they immediately depart out of his and though they with that for all good faith and of for which wretches are above all people only drew off to london to there comfortably through the winter till the fighting returned yet this this breathing time was very to our as faith good we had fro and fro the of men that us and we had time to look about us and recover and lay our plans and our corn and a little wheat during by ic chronicle of i the open weather and even to make merry a little but above all to look up to heaven and pray it as though heaven were to us now that the earth was and that the voice of devout had all the greater means of being heard about this time brought forth the of her many children who was called after which i always held to be a very compliment alfred the king now began to feel a king in right and the court being more like a court than it had to be for time and my long to it being remembered i was by my good to hold my at the and the remainder of the winter in which i right readily obeyed having lived a removed life the greater number of my days which were none of the i had indulged in many a dream by day and by night of the of a court life the which i now looked to fee but it turned out quite from what i had as regarded s and in the place alfred the king was king after a very different fort from king by ic chronicle of of whom we are told that he gave a unto his people that a hundred and days after which he and his did nothing but drink the and eat the fat for days more under of blue fine linen and purple alfred the king ruled after a very different would he have been was the of his heart and his for the poor to have had the to his from the unto the for a hundred and eighty days or even for one day to have the wine and ale running and had an ox whole in every town and no days for expenditure had he more the pity every man was thankful for a meal when he got it without inquiring too when he have another holy indeed who was then much at court and for ever preaching to and at the king did much on his of heart in not every of that came in his way and he had an ache or pain that it was a judgment upon him but i the good man who could be both and bitter rather exceeded in this matter though with good by ic chronicle of intention and had he been | 2 |
in the young king s place would have found it hard to do more than he did in truth who ever did as much one way and another he was ever ever careful ever ever crowding into his little breathing time he could for the benefit of his kingdom the more he men s confidence and the he to think of his own merits he never appeared to by this and that or to think of how much more worth am i than king or king any other but to have to which he never could come up as to his he not only attended all the daily of the church and received the holy communion every morning but he often by night to pray alone and now this of life fo full of care and had in the of a few months already made king alfred a very man from what he was when he at the gate and the on his mind made him look many years older than he was fo that i was altogether of the merry by ic chronicle of companion who had helped me to empty the and to tell of and in place of this was one graver yet far dearer to who knew him of whom it might literally be that happy were his men happy were his which flood continually before him and heard the words of his mouth as to his for knowledge it was i that in all this time he had not yet found to learn to read with anything like from a little he had carried in his from boyhood the words in which from continual application to them he knew at fight he others to read to him continually among the whom he thought fit to commend for a voice and hence it that there is no word even the that i cannot with the certainty read oflf this is an that would gladly have with me however never gave the fame time and mind to it having fo many other ways of and the king and fo many other duties he was good an yet as me he was mo than ten years old ere he his a b c by ic chronicle of to attend to nor is there need for a queen to read at fight or have craft like a or however who to be then or afterwards the in this office not only on account of their but of their natural and acquired beyond what a woman has any opportunity of whether has in her or not were of a man killed in holy writ whom the king has employed to pope s into saxon of a devout and man and the king s both of them and pious and of great to in many things in acquiring the of latin they were too if an may fo all men of sl s john the and not the king s holy who was frequently about the court feed as he by the way and trying to make the dry bones live i remember in one evening when the king was the art of letters f by ic chronicle of b and lying on his couch after having been by advice of his we heard a without and on at the king s what it meant were told that had arrived he had come not with any pomp or but like the holy after preaching by the way in towns villages and in the open country as it is written a mule for the a mare for the and his own feet for the faint there was never any of about him but the good man had a kind of natural dignity of carriage and a mien which carried with it the beauty of whether he would or no add to which he had a penetrating yet gentle look a clear a good eye and in his general that was very engaging though he took no more heed to his looks than a man of his age and was likely to do yet nature kept her own and the of his which living improved rather than was the true of the that dwelt within he was wont by of his wherever he fate we have no means of comparing this account with the life of in the by ic chronicle of to hold his hands turned up on his knees as indeed i have read was the of another good man to wit king who died praying for his enemies whence the common and well known proverb lord have mercy on their as falling to the ground holy being brought at the king s into the royal chamber cried my i am grieved to find you ill at they have to ufe the on the fourth day of the new moon which we have s word for it is highly dangerous however our prayers may the evil as did of good john in the of the i had hoped to find you at to take in hearing me read portion of the of the venerable which you charged me to procure for you have you brought it cries the king half on his couch begin at once then if it you for if it doth not find me it may leave me fo let me look at it and handle it a little though i cannot read it vein knife i e which they very by ic chronicle of thereupon took the book which was a thick one from his and with it to the king who turned it over and over and then gazed on it awhile with much and i the of his brow gradually as he did fo nor did it return all the while was with us so precious is the love of letters even though it be a love without | 2 |
knowledge in its power of taking us out of the good after a little commenced reading with great the king on his fitting upon a at his the i did not much note there was i remember about the pains the venerable man had been at to information and in writing and much about the and of this our its being with game and fowls grain vines and all manner of trees and its being with containing and all manner of after this came about the landing of and this and that battle and this and that and at length the writer to tell how the fore by by ic chronicle of their enemies the and that s to to aid of good what followed was very and it that it was about lent when th good came over and he took advantage of that holy to the people much with and that they pricked at heart for their and departure from the faith in crowds to him to be a little church was of and green boughs in the of the camp the were among the newly converted and whereas they were of late the and they now were to a man animated with faith and courage the announcing the immediate approach of the enemy declared to the that he would be their leader he viewed the country round about and drew up his inexperienced troops in a field known as the field of a multitude of fierce enemies appeared whom as as making for the field in orderly array he his men to by ic yo chronicle of repeat his war cry whatever it might be in a loud voice he give the word and the enemy advancing like as thinking to take them by the thrice cried out the hills immediately back the echo of his men s voices on all which from rock to rock and made it as though every and held its of warriors nay as though the very took up the cry and the enemy with dread and believing hemmed in by an innumerable multitude fled in calling away their arms as they went that they might run the lighter many were up by the river which lay their path into which they madly in their and flight were gathered up by the who remained ers of the field without the of a man i think my his book that not to here is one of the related in went forth with his people the army that was like the on the by ic chronicle of for multitude and yet how little we hear it talked of now the beat us and we were beaten may many a as this undertaken i mean in the fame faith and be written in our annals and did the make head them afterwards inquired the king by no means returned the man of god having thus won the day by faith without force the affairs of the and general tranquillity he then left the country followed by the of a and grateful people is it not in i i could beat the as the king i believe i might cry to them throughout the day without making any on them did not cry to returned it was in a very different quarter my that he looked to make an we read in of the fun s ruddy on pools of water being made the of to a people that called on their god another time a great by ic chronicle of was by the found of a going in the tops of trees what was that other you were of interrupted the king that was obtained by a man with a long name king of returned a man of god obtained to him and bade him have no fear of the multitude that was coming up him for he the quarrel is not yours but the lord s tomorrow morning go down them as they come up by the cliff you will find them at the end of the brook hard by the and ye hall have no need to fight your own battle you have kept unto god and he will keep unto you stand when you have in array and ye fee what is the manner of his when he takes a matter in hand so the king did as he was in the grey of the morning he by the way overlooking his as it filed him twelve hundred in orderly array every man hearty faithful and full of cheer and he hear me now o and ye inhabitants of believe in the lord your god and fo ye be by ic chronicle of believe in his and fo ye and fo then he placed in advance of them the fingers unto the lord who went forward the beauty of and when the enemy came in fight the fingers forth in a chorus that was re echoed by twelve hundred men for his mercy for ever with one accord fled their enemies happy the land that has a king and happy the king jew or king alfred that has the lord for his god if i ever obtain any advantage over poor for as evil as they be i will every head of them and for them i would they were converted than confounded another time i remember the king he like his people to hear the read in their own tongue at every market nay to be able to read them for their own and he thought the time might come though not in his days yet or later holy and he argued this point at length if i went into their various at large i by ic chronicle of never have done many of his and more familiar with are all in my heart but need not to be down here and there | 2 |
by the way for example i remember unto him one day my that he was up and doing fo many hours in the twenty four and how is it my brother that you need fo little after a moment s thought he replied perhaps because i eat so little but how is it you need to eat fo little perhaps i drink fo little but how is it you need to drink fo little perhaps i think fo little but i laughed and ah my king that will not then he you have my they who would have much thought much much knowledge much little eat little drink little and moreover talk little of matters to talk with men as and is nearly or quite as good as reading books hold it for that we commonly feed too heavily women as well as by ic chronicle of men and if you would neither heavily nor pray heavily nor have heavy eye heavy tongue heavy thought heavy heart nor heavy foot continue to fare as lightly as you do now and this i added he laughing not out of regard to my bread and it is not to be thought of me that i dwell at large on the of this winter which for and was the of my whole life i read and much under the king s and learned by many long saxon and latin poems both and to wit of s hymns and s in to the certain portions of his poem wherein he and forty four female characters who led lives a few to by an saxon lady named and chiefly remarkable i think for being written by a woman by which rhyme in the middle of each line an ingenious trick and no more much prettier and to by a pupil who loved him much running thus by ic i j chronicle of j in that religious of s beginning qui and another on death beginning o which i admire as much now as i did then but of all his to his cell on leaving it for the world i think his of his to leave that peaceful retreat in lilies and of his own planting with apple trees in full of birds and with meadows gently to the water with s and in by a little wood had to do with my falling in love with the idea of a religious life i read the song of the life of and of pious women a little but not much of the bible which i have deeply regretted i was not then put in the way of reading more of but i read whatever my for me at chiefly to the king and afterwards to relieve my mind of by ic chronicle of certain dull thoughts and for which indeed there is no remedy like if i were to mention all the good offers of marriage i had during this winter at court you whoever you may be who are now reading this chronicle would certainly be in truth i never had a grain of vanity in my or when i have heard other women among of their in this particular women religion too i give you my word for it i have told them oftener than i have done that an if i were fo minded i could them all i make it a matter of never to believe details be they fo and therefore certainly never to the humiliation of having my own word doubted as it is there is a kind of i among a great many women in this they quite forgetful that the whole of the matter is they have done the they could for or what they thought the at the time every not every maiden mates not and the king gave me credit for being much more attached to the memory of by ic chronicle of the late earl of than in i was i him far more dead than i ever had done living by the of him with all my other what his uncommon merit have been and as i had not thought him good or enough to care much about it was probable i might look about me from to without finding one who me better it may be why i did not earl now that he had to his brother s and dignity if an inquiry indeed by any i may make that earl had turned out quite differently from what many people had of him this youth like many another was one of nuts that have a very indifferent he could tell his yet by of his goodly and carriage he had by the late king been made miles and with a purple garment and gold i think the of david could not have been more conceited upon it nor made a more pitiful ufe of his outward like a friend by ic chronicle of he took the lead among the youths who up for poor of alfred the while they the and making many a poor maiden as true an in her heart as any of our old forefathers who it was not by the trick of his nor the of his gait nor yet by parting their hair down the middle and letting it gracefully over their nor yet by wearing two that they had any chance of being for king alfred they had better have under fewer and have left them in the morning and have eaten and drunken and more and prayed more if they had meant to be like him however i am my time by writing about earl who in has little or nothing to do with my short few comments it to that the lady he took to wife this winter was of merit with his own which people even then thought very little had i been of the | 2 |
on which they this opinion at the time it by ic o chronicle of might have me but too late we cry out had i there was a wolf pit young people always have the truth told them quite when permit it which is oftener than many old folks think to a woman of my it appears quite evident i not whether or no it is the fruit of that a young girl is extremely likely to get rid of an unfortunate than would do if her good mother talk it over with her and without her heart or if he be not of a turn the comfort of friend who is perhaps or it may be of her maid if it be where was my mother at this time i reply that he had been home about tide to my father in the foot ail and that during her previous at the court he had been much more occupied about s infant than about her own daughter and i the of a religious and will what will be highly a maker of lies by ic chronicle of i to every married woman who comes to hear of it and this for the of the younger of my own who may it is benefit by it while i reap nothing but i declare and that babies are all very well in their place which is the cradle but that innumerable mothers do in with them and them their duty to their older daughters their growing and grown up girls to whom no one can their place whereas their place in the may be very well filled by the mother and maids of the chamber had my wife and good mother been at hand and at to fee whither the i was taking would end l might have been the of tears as it i took my own path my way very little before me this good match and the other till one day i was a little by hearing my in reply to the of the noble lady that the lady did not marry quite make that i preferred going into a it had never me before that i do either the by ic chronicle of one or the other and it took me fo by that i had not a word to but i could think of nothing all the following night i had of late taken much in reading of the good people recorded in their pious lives and and their being from time to time carried up to heaven in a trail of glory with like holy or like that maid who heard the angels one to another we have come to fetch the little gold piece i had how niece of the of lay a dying when who were her heard the found as it were of a great multitude entering the and after as her heard into the air and gradually dying away and how on looking out they perceived or thought they perceived the night to be lighter than common with of a path fading away of that called in the of barking that was fo beloved by a little boy who by of his tender age was bred up among the he dying of the plague eagerly called out thrice when in the article of death i by ic chronicle of which convinced all who heard it that her time would be and in truth out of hand and dying the fame day followed the little innocent who had called her into the heavenly country how another of the fame community called to about her to put out the light and on their to do fo unto them well i you think me but i can tell you that i fee this filled with fo glorious and heavenly a beam that your candle in with it is but and how another named who for nine years had been fore had a of a woman wrapped in a fair linen cloth drawn gently upwards by golden which was explained after by the good dying and like tales i i had over and delighted in and believed with a faith than perhaps i can now and when vexed or by this or that i had me how good and a thing it be to be hut in and hidden away from a naughty world and to be in peace and for ever but this had been all in a vague and general way and by ic chronicle of more impatience of my yoke than or for one far heavier therefore when the alternative was like to me in all its it is little wonder that i lay awake as i have already all the night what me was that appear to think the matter fo and have fo quietly it in her mind to be contented i wondered whether it were the fame with alfred the king or whether he would be very much and grieved to hear a thing mentioned it occurred to me whether i not at once i had a mind of my own by quietly to one of my many but on them in my mind one after another it appeared to me that no retirement could be fo as to the remainder of my days with any one of them which i had with the of an honourable woman made each of them perceive to be fo to me as that i could not now with any of call them back my pillow to be with hot tears and i ended when day by to a little longer to what chance by ic chronicle of might bring forth in the hope that foreign prince or other equal to all i thought a ought to be might yet appear at court to fee however how alfred the king would take it i contrived in a day or | 2 |
two as if by accident to let fall the words when i go into a to my no mortification he gravely and calmly if be indeed your final i can have nothing certainly to it but on the contrary recommend your withdrawing a little more from the which needs be as well as to you and to take all the means in your power which at are very great to and duties which will hereafter make the of your tell me however are you quite young as you are of having well and of knowing your own mind our laws are very gentle towards women and very careful of them they may inherit and their lands at their own free will they may in courts of they may fit in the and they may marry at their own choice after fourteen and they can only be devoted to lives at by ic chronicle of led their own free will but if our laws render them independent of their friends control our give them the benefit of their friends advice and judgment do nothing my are you quite of your own mind in this matter but i wiped away a tear and would not by ic book iv j t came to after that there in a grievous before the there was a heavy fall of under which many men women and huts is it not written in the annals of alfred the king thereupon came forth the wolves fo in each other s that on die could be but the track of one they trotted along the of the bounded the narrow roads without leaving a and made for lone and then they and the air the watching their flocks by night could only keep them off by great fires if they were heavy to and their fires to decay the wolves fell on them and some hard about this time are recorded by ic chronicle of them with their flocks what to them were pens they would leap over walls eight feet high if they found within their they would attack them on the if oxen in their yards they flew at their throats they on many men women and children they dug up the dead in many they made no if one of their young ones a cry they bit him they dragged him by the tail till he learned to hold his peace when they had and were filled they retreated as they came with one ear thrown backward one in advance their low their eyes burning like fire their tails their traces as they the ground when they got to the wood they would face about and howl like the i am now under cover sometimes one wolf would come in advance and give a cry the fl to tempt one of the to come forth oft they the at other times a dog would be unable to from over the then there would a hounds by ic chronicle of dreadful yell and he would be rent in pieces of all the pack alfred the king hunted much both in autumn and winter he paid a penny for every wolf s he was glad to put money in poor men s the times were fo bad he hunted and now and then a bear who were like in deer in he rewarded with a or a every man on sundays might hunt in the woods if fo be he interfered not with the king s hunting thus many of the poor were fed when the ground became hard and the did not lie much game was taken by the hand with the cold the king many of grain many of many wagon loads of and twigs that the people might be both warmed and fed as will always be the were and of certain complained unto that they were in the daily then came and before the king and his righteous face was red and faith why do you wrap in your why are you powerful but in you by ic chronicle of have been exalted but you not continue you hall be like the ears of wheat where will then be your pride if that is not then brought low enough it be you be deprived of that very dignity powers you fo much the king my father what words are which proceed out of your mouth ox have i taken what widow have i or what poor man have i ground to powder my is not i it were fuller in this matter you i have not been there are certain o king that have been in the daily you lie and you eat as much as it you and you delight in being a king and hear not the cry of them that have no therefore look to it or believe in my word that you be deprived of that kingdom in which you are hunted from one covert to another like a fox or a hare if you repent in time you find mercy the king made no and withdrew from him warm in his wrath by ic chronicle of as the cold trees were by it bread be and ere it could be eaten water in the and flood on end like an in the rivers the warm blood in our veins we of the kept at night there was much the harp went round and every man his lay or told his tale some told of bear and of wolves and that talked and of that could to be human and in and out of their of gold hunters in land that journey on to a place where gold is dug by as big as dogs with feet like unto the feet of the men leave the for the to and while they are at their the men take the gold of the who find the guarded by | 2 |
that be feared from it by fire and thus the becomes black is it not written in a book therefore it needs be true the a which became very popular at court and even in the he had it of the of of of whom we in the by ic chronicle of proverb as as one of the of the of it was this in the days of old judge came king brute unto our he was of only then our land was full of bears of and of then men multiplied among us till the was o they had need of many things i we cannot bear to lack but poor ne er them fo hardly were they bred they had but no money they were their corn to i the ear and only out for their in of time came to rob them of their land what had he not already lands he come and plant his upon our yellow but the poor boldly on the foe yea right into the water they with one accord and gave their naked bodies to the arrow and the one mind there was among them they drove him to the main and what then did may we not do again up and with one heart definition to the lads by ic chronicle of no man told his tale and his lay better than alfred the king his and are they not in everybody s mouth there is no need i to write them in a book many of them will be in ufe when it hall be forgotten who made them the prince of came to court he too for my hand but he was like and had no craft i heard him tell the king that i off at the word like a young deer from a fly when it came to be reported that i was minded to the came about me like bees while my lovers and fell off from me as though i were too holy to come nigh the two my call to and nailed me down to it or ever i well whether i had one or not for this and for none other i have never even unto this day felt unto them quite like whereas i had made a of light by the world perhaps to give a little pain which he never felt unto one who lived in it i was now fore to find me taken at my vulgar by ic chronicle of word and i many tears the my enemy his time was was having a with me and that god loved a if fo i he loved mine they made me think it true and put it to me even weeping whether i were prepared for all that lay before me and told me tales of lives i did not then believe i held on but i was fore then began i to in mine heart why one woman be a queen and another a thoughts had reached their and i was nigh minded to forego the arrived with and with to carry me home that my mother lay and as it a dying there is no need for me to in detail the graces of this my mother being renowned throughout the length of and the breadth of it for her and of heart when the eye her the heart her on the tongues of the poor was her when i heard how lay i was pricked at the heart to think how i had of late been trifling chronicle of with heaven and i into the chapel a little before and vowed a vow that if it would the lord to heal my mother i would wholly a willing to the rd now my mother s need was urgent i little in forth rode my bridle full till we had cleared the long for a bear had been we thought it be a tame one from a bear they were fo known in parts when we reached the down he ere i unto him which was but w ll meant and faith of a my will be fain to weep at what is held for in the great city i heard it for as a time as i oh lady lady every of the muffled bell that toll for thee will in our hearts how little thou of what lies on the hither and thither of that wall of ye fee me but half the gate but i bade him hold his peace fo he fell back like a hound then i and fought news of my mother and held with familiar word for wife by ic chronicle of him of long time then we rode till nightfall in and at a s and we all the next two days now when i my mother s face i repented not my vow but renewed it full fervently and thereafter began to but before i could fee of this of my foul i had a more immediate favour and of peace than i had known of long time my mother at point to die made her will i her in mine arms all the time and her were that i at and loved her for her great heart therein made for not alone her gift unto my father and this and that and to this and that church and and and to and fo many and to the king tokens of remembrance to this and that friend as horns cups of bone and brazen but took heed to the of her as on this wife let be freed on condition abide with my daughter and let be freed and go hall and feat covers drinking cups by ic chronicle of and his wife and and let the of be freed had none to my mother after this and to be clad in long white funeral | 2 |
garments then and received the holy communion fo that nothing remained but for us to place her after her as was in her coffin then with fatigue overwhelmed fell back upon her and we with tan and a covering warmly covered her o er and her grew deep and far between as the of people commonly do but in place of their growing yet fewer and more faint began anon to breathe more peaceful like and fell into a deep now i all her women one a great wax candle in a heavy burned at the foot of the bed i lay down my mother fed the fire with turf and i kept at the candle and thinking my mother s inward life was brighter and i of the dying at barking that bade them the and or ever i i fell on with the tears i believe yet on my sheets h by ic chronicle of cheek now in this my or trance a dream was me not like that which the to fall a trembling but that came unto my weary foul with i know not what to of peaceful and like unto the cool night air after a hot day or the of that yet hath no found to take up mine old dream in my s in the and of that locked up garden with its tangled weeds and growing all about me and to be landing on the brink of that deep little pool and i heard the key turn in the gate and one come in and lock it again and and by the pool but mine eyes him not then a of awe overcame me and a dread me yet i drew unto him in place of falling back for i felt i was and here was one that help ful and here was one pitied weary and here was one could give me and leaning over the pool i therein what i could not fee in its own the face of thereupon my mother woke me with a dreams among the had their regular and by ic chronicle of and you are weeping in your are you in trouble love but i oh no and lay quiet and again but did not anon faith in a voice i have and am i think my life is given unto your prayers for i thou prayed for me my daughter i oh yes my mother then began ever and anon to me of and of her were very loving but and or ere i was aware i felt mine heart drawn out unto her and her of every that lay in it her dear arm lay me i to feel it now after long child you have been hardly entreated and the more fo that there is nothing whereon for us to take the were t thy father or thy brother i might make a quarrel of it but perhaps it is better as it is for to what good could we in the matter words and looks are oft but the fruit of a heart we may value a man s life at his were but there is neither were nor for mind s peace the owner of a dog may be but they that bite and their deadly the pecuniary fine for by ic chronicle of own kind go then i oh my mother let us keep the grief hidden between you and me in my i vowed a vow unto the lord and now keep it i then faith oh child what thou done to peak with thy lips the vow of a young maid in her father s vowed in mere of heart need not then i oh my mother i renewed it or ever i left the royal city i went into the chapel before and upon my knees and vowed that if your life be lent unto us yet a longer i would wholly give unto the lord then i a vow as that and we both wept fore all this time and but now awoke and renewed the bright beaming flame and we two held our peace thereafter my mother who was very weak again and i lay long awake but at and when i it was heavily and with no dream i awoke i felt weary and the cold grey morning light was in and the air of the chamber was at once and chill but by ic chronicle of lot my mother was peaceful like and the two had that were on her brow and the words came into my mind she hall fee of the of her foul and be was full to revive the embers and i lay quite awake but feeling as though great had torn the quick bleeding from the bone and as if a hand had turned my foul round about from all the things wherein it had greatly delighted towards a new with a path running on to a thick cloud beyond there was in it all but my mother s was enough about high noon one of her women came in and the holy had arrived with a token for her from the queen having ridden all the way to make the more he was admitted for my mother delighted greatly in his and at this her foul was as as a child he with her long time prayed for her how and vain was life how was heaven what exceeding love our had in dying by ic i chronicle of for us and every word he my mother s foul and mine drank up as dry and land up water that indeed from the but only to down into it and make it fruitful my mother being at length heavy to the good withdrew into another chamber with the hand that i follow him then fought he more particular news of my mother to | 2 |
me at the heart and when of later time i of it to put it lightly with oh we married women which made the matter not better but rather tm for if married women have more and than that nigh the hearth the long they ought of their lonely to be the more soon i found that my thoughts went in this my heavenly comforts faded for that after one or two fore whereof none others i much unto prayer and unto reading and grinding colours and of and though much of my labour was in one yet the demon was out about this time my father returned from his to one s i by ic chronicle of attendance on king who was to go beyond leaving behind him his queen king alfred s my father was by advancing money unto him and to king alfred much and when my mother told him i was minded to he cried what my apple i was to give her unto the prince of he with another hath provided fo that it may be all is as it is for that or ere my wed much beneath my i would fee her a blot he was to that he had found it fo a to be to two kings that he thought a third would have ruined him i my father take it thus and was thankful he not i had the prince of his indifference and the neglect of made me which my good mother noting would have it that twas from of her to her at i told her my heart s grief and comforted me and told me had been grieved too told me how many had been able to make in her a by ic chronicle of own mind for wherefore after a few tears i was able to go on my way peaceful like with love for my mother the bearer of the having returned to the royal city there three weeks afterwards it being then the of the year of our lord a company of guarding a load of good things for my mother and bearing an in s name by the and the that if my mother were now able to me the queen was of my immediate company and whereas i being was minded to mine own by to go my loved mother urged my ready compliance and with my mind fo as that i the next morning attended now whereas my winter journey had been rough and dangerous and performed with a troubled heart the weather was now warm and the air and the rivers and the at work in the fields and the wild in their until nightfall therefore my by ic ii chronicle of was glad and my heart rejoiced the more by token that i thought my prayer and my vow had gone way to win me the grace of the life of my mother and i had the fancy of good in for me i will not what therefore the road and the journey it three days when we reached the royal city it wanted about two hours of high noon and alfred the king returned from trying new german was at his gate in his green hunting frock by his and his hair had partly from its and as he flood talking and laughing with his train he looked like what he was a king and the of a king he lifted me from off my you look as as a and led me in all to the queen with her was bald the who in of retiring as he might better have done from the greeting of us two dear only flood and anon me how the earl my father i he had recovered from his foot ail fo wholly as to have been on his duty to king thereupon he would by ic chronicle of know what had healed my father fo to him i replied that had him low kept him cool and given him water from a of rare virtue he repeated after me low diet kept him cool drinks i am driven oh lady to hear of proceedings do not we hate cold water is it to our this old woman might have been the death of your noble father by driving the ail from his ye have loaded him with have fed him high and have given him my tried to wit a penny weight and a half of the dried heads of which in the vulgar tongue we call half a penny weight of tree bark roman bark and a fourth part of laurel and fix all you have ground to a powder and added two egg full of good wine and given him to drink thereof until he got well my father had tried this remedy without though i declared it not unto bald and might as the have been his death yet certain it is by ic chronicle of that under her care he became well as the common people no more rare than with prayer fo it had proved in this a gilded is flour of wheat boiled in milk hath healed the knee of a faint about an hour before of the fame day my women having my i took the i had illuminated at my loved mother s and placed it not without a little in the hands of the king he and greatly content called unto him that they its contents might behold now i with looked another way but anon venturing to mine eyes to the king i his eyebrows which were very quickly and decline again and his mouth betray that he was making merry at my then my face became as if with the red colour of and i you have me my king he thy be upon me my of a truth to laugh at thee was more for thy failing | 2 |
of an earthly it would be fin she that was nothing i had taken no vows and was as yet but i knew i had taken a vow in my heart as as if before the at the altar i told her not in general that i could not nor would not wherefore was on no wife to be blamed for that bade the king to talk to me a band oi thieves by ic chronicle of but it fell that ere he returned from the i had the grace of a few hours to and the end of my was that my be all or nothing to me that my word would not be worth an egg if i kept it not to him none had it to be pledged that there was much peace and much profit to be hoped for if my life were hidden with in god that he could help me and that he would help me through all trials if fo be i gave wholly to him and that i could and that i would therefore the king when he had of me found me firm as a rock and after all that could be on the matter as well as any one could it he came to a then the king i never knew fo a mind go on thy way rejoicing heavenly angels be thy noted thou be among our holy women and for all thou in thy too great of the of an unmarried woman s life be it needs not in thy to be fo but may be quite for you may help me in my greatly i have of high and holy work that none but one fo pure fo gentle fo by ic chronicle of led as can do and i wit thou wilt do it well for me my what could i do but his hand and then away to the chapel and kneel down before the altar happy happy to wit that in giving wholly unto god i might yet be to and find favour with the king by ic book v the king a company of into the north to demand of the of who had found refuge in the of the loan of the book and in pledge thereof he his holy ring and golden with gems for the to have and hold until that he the book were the time and place convenient i would now relate the dangers met with by the way and the number of days their journey they back at length unto the royal and with them brought the book which the humbly prayed that the king of his mercy would neither dog s ear nor now the king being that the book was at we uke this on s authority if at all by ic chronicle of hand did and the matters he was then engaged in and for the queen and for me that we his might partake he the of that afternoon and much of following in contemplating with us the and devices which had taken the good of twenty and two years to execute now when i what good might in very deed amount to i my own attempts as as the king could do he had never made merry with them again and with much zeal and application i to copy as many of the and letters in the book as time would allow in colours of and green and violet and yellow and and gold for the had learned the art of preparing gold for the illumination of and the way he did it was this he filed the gold very finely it in a mortar with the he could get which proved to be some wine my loved mother had made of her i e by ic chronicle of own grapes and to the king but we never did her to wit what it came to and it turned black he poured it forth then he added unto it or which it and made it fit for ufe for he was clever in little things he how to prepare much better than i had done and his method with the was this he let it lie by the of three days under lime then it it well on either then dried it and fl it of what colour it liked him it me to wit how all things be done things it me not to do about this time my father brought to our royal lady queen of and then returned after a while to his duty on king who was he accompany him to rome his royal was meantime to remain in the of her brother king alfred thus we had two queens at court which people thought one too many alfred the king was always very kind unto his own and and thus it fell that his er lived upon him k by ic chronicle of many a day and when the troubles of the country became no unto him for this queen was one of who while for ever giving out that they are nobody are yet always to be treated like the king at length her to go into a and i am thankful to it was not mine that is to my had no need to fear the that could not fail to be made between her and the queen of there being as much difference between them as between and cord for whereas my had always been of excellent beauty there was now no woman e unto her for in or about the court and whereas the queen of hair was of yellow and rather s was of the brown and a marvel for length and for the greater let it down to its full length confined only by a of pearls but more commonly put it up in like of in the | 2 |
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