"Ah! but tell me, said I, in the name of that fidelity which you formerly knew, and which you now know more certainly in the presence of that Being from whom nothing is hidden, tell me was the pity which you felt for me inspired by love?” “I had hardly uttered these words, when I perceived her countenance illumined by that heavenly smile which had ever shed serenity over my sorrows, and she sighed. Thou hast always possessed my affection, said she, and thou always wilt possess it Mai diviso Da te non fu il mio cor, nè giammai fia: but I have deemed it right to temper thy passion, by the sternness of my looks. A mother never loves her child more dearly than when she seems to chide it. How often have I said to myself, he is consumed by a raging fire, and I must not therefore let him know what is passing in my heart. Alas! we are little capa ble of such efforts when we ourselves love and yet fear. But it was by these means only, that we could preserve our honour and save our souls. How often have I feigned anger while love was struggling in my heart. When I saw thee sinking beneath despondency, I gave thee a look of consolation, I spoke to thee. The grief and the dread which I felt must have altered the tone of my voice, and thou must have perceived it. At other times thou wert carried away by rage, and I could controul thee by severity only. These are the expedients, these are the arts I have practised. It was by this alternation of kindness and of rigour that I have conducted thee sometimes happy, sometimes unhappy, wearied in truth, but still I have conducted thee till there is no more any danger: I have saved us both, and my happiness is the greater that I have." "My tears flowed fast while she spoke, and I answered her, trembling, that I should be rewarded if I might dare to believe her-she interrupted me, and her face reddened as she said: O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt? My tongue shall NEVER REVEAL whether thou hast been as dear to my eyes as to my heart Se al mondo tu piacesti agli occhi miei, But in nothing have I delighted more than in thy love, and in the immortality which thou hast given to my name. All that I required of thee was to moderate thy excess. In endea vouring to tell me the secret of thy soul, thou openedst it to all the world. Thence arose my coldness. The more thou calledst aloud for pity, the more was I constrained by modesty and fear to be silent. There has been little difference in our sympathy, except that the one proclaimed, and the other concealed it. But complaint does not embitter sufferings, nor does silence soften them” Non è minore il duol, perch' altri il prema ; Per finzion non cresce il ver, nè scema. They continue this conversation, and Petrarch dwells with some complacency on the merit of his poetry, whilst Laura is unable to conceal that jealousy, which, although it springs immediately out of selfishness and envy, is always mistaken for the inseparable effect of the deepest attachment-"I would have desired, she said, to have been born near thy beautiful country; however, that land in which I have been fortunate enough to please thee, ought to seem fair in my eyes. Haply that heart, whose devotion TO ME ALONE is my unfailing delight, would have felt for others." Che potea il cor, del qual SOLA 10 mi fido, Questo no, rispos'io, perchè la rota Or che si sia, diss' ella, io n'ebbi onore "O no!" I cried, " the rolling spheres above That kindled first the nascent spark to love, Whatever clime your heavenly presence own'd, Had led me there by sacred instinct bound." "Whate'er you think, the honour all was mine," The vision answer'd with a smile divine; "But heedless how the blissful moments fly, You see not how Aurora climbs the sky!" BOYD's Transl. Her lover then asked her, if it would be long before he should rejoin her. Laura departed, saying: “As far as it is permitted me to know, thou wilt remain long upon earth without me". Ella già mossa, disse: Al creder mio, Tu starai in terra senza me gran tempo. Petrarch survived Laura twenty-six years. E |