The Mysteries of Udolpho
by
Ann Radcliffe

Part 4 out of 16



would have said, 'I will not triumph over you too much; I will have
the goodness to bear my honours meekly; but look sharp, Signor, or I
shall certainly run away with your prize.'

The supper was served in different pavilions in the gardens, as well
as in one large saloon of the chateau, and with more of taste, than
either of splendour, or even of plenty. Madame Cheron and her party
supped with Madame Clairval in the saloon, and Emily, with
difficulty, disguised her emotion, when she saw Valancourt placed at
the same table with herself. There, Madame Cheron having surveyed
him with high displeasure, said to some person who sat next to her,
'Pray, who IS that young man?' 'It is the Chevalier Valancourt,' was
the answer. 'Yes, I am not ignorant of his name, but who is this
Chevalier Valancourt that thus intrudes himself at this table?' The
attention of the person, who whom she spoke, was called off before
she received a second reply. The table, at which they sat, was very
long, and, Valancourt being seated, with his partner, near the
bottom, and Emily near the top, the distance between them may account
for his not immediately perceiving her. She avoided looking to that
end of the table, but whenever her eyes happened to glance towards
it, she observed him conversing with his beautiful companion, and the
observation did not contribute to restore her peace, any more than
the accounts she heard of the fortune and accomplishments of this
same lady.

Madame Cheron, to whom these remarks were sometimes addressed,
because they supported topics for trivial conversation, seemed
indefatigable in her attempts to depreciate Valancourt, towards whom
she felt all the petty resentment of a narrow pride. 'I admire the
lady,' said she, 'but I must condemn her choice of a partner.' 'Oh,
the Chevalier Valancourt is one of the most accomplished young men we
have,' replied the lady, to whom this remark was addressed: 'it is
whispered, that Mademoiselle D'Emery, and her large fortune, are to
be his.'

'Impossible!' exclaimed Madame Cheron, reddening with vexation, 'it
is impossible that she can be so destitute of taste; he has so little
the air of a person of condition, that, if I did not see him at the
table of Madame Clairval, I should never have suspected him to be
one. I have besides particular reasons for believing the report to
be erroneous.'

'I cannot doubt the truth of it,' replied the lady gravely, disgusted
by the abrupt contradiction she had received, concerning her opinion
of Valancourt's merit. 'You will, perhaps, doubt it,' said Madame
Cheron, 'when I assure you, that it was only this morning that I
rejected his suit.' This was said without any intention of imposing
the meaning it conveyed, but simply from a habit of considering
herself to be the most important person in every affair that
concerned her niece, and because literally she had rejected
Valancourt. 'Your reasons are indeed such as cannot be doubted,'
replied the lady, with an ironical smile. 'Any more than the
discernment of the Chevalier Valancourt,' added Cavigni, who stood by
the chair of Madame Cheron, and had heard her arrogate to herself, as
he thought, a distinction which had been paid to her niece. 'His
discernment MAY be justly questioned, Signor,' said Madame Cheron,
who was not flattered by what she understood to be an encomium on
Emily.

'Alas!' exclaimed Cavigni, surveying Madame Cheron with affected
ecstasy, 'how vain is that assertion, while that face--that shape--
that air--combine to refute it! Unhappy Valancourt! his discernment
has been his destruction.'

Emily looked surprised and embarrassed; the lady, who had lately
spoke, astonished, and Madame Cheron, who, though she did not
perfectly understand this speech, was very ready to believe herself
complimented by it, said smilingly, 'O Signor! you are very gallant;
but those, who hear you vindicate the Chevalier's discernment, will
suppose that I am the object of it.'

'They cannot doubt it,' replied Cavigni, bowing low.

'And would not that be very mortifying, Signor?'

'Unquestionably it would,' said Cavigni.

'I cannot endure the thought,' said Madame Cheron.

'It is not to be endured,' replied Cavigni.

'What can be done to prevent so humiliating a mistake?' rejoined
Madame Cheron.

'Alas! I cannot assist you,' replied Cavigni, with a deliberating
air. 'Your only chance of refuting the calumny, and of making people
understand what you wish them to believe, is to persist in your first
assertion; for, when they are told of the Chevalier's want of
discernment, it is possible they may suppose he never presumed to
distress you with his admiration.--But then again--that diffidence,
which renders you so insensible to your own perfections--they will
consider this, and Valancourt's taste will not be doubted, though you
arraign it. In short, they will, in spite of your endeavours,
continue to believe, what might very naturally have occurred to them
without any hint of mine--that the Chevalier has taste enough to
admire a beautiful woman.'

'All this is very distressing!' said Madame Cheron, with a profound
sigh.

'May I be allowed to ask what is so distressing?' said Madame
Clairval, who was struck with the rueful countenance and doleful
accent, with which this was delivered.

'It is a delicate subject,' replied Madame Cheron, 'a very mortifying
one to me.' 'I am concerned to hear it,' said Madame Clairval, 'I
hope nothing has occurred, this evening, particularly to distress
you?' 'Alas, yes! within this half hour; and I know not where the
report may end;--my pride was never so shocked before, but I assure
you the report is totally void of foundation.' 'Good God!' exclaimed
Madame Clairval,' what can be done? Can you point out any way, by
which I can assist, or console you?'

'The only way, by which you can do either,' replied Madame Cheron,
'is to contradict the report wherever you go.'

'Well! but pray inform me what I am to contradict.'

'It is so very humiliating, that I know not how to mention it,'
continued Madame Cheron, 'but you shall judge. Do you observe that
young man seated near the bottom of the table, who is conversing with
Mademoiselle D'Emery?' 'Yes, I perceive whom you mean.' 'You
observe how little he has the air of a person of condition; I was
saying just now, that I should not have thought him a gentleman, if I
had not seen him at this table.' 'Well! but the report,' said Madame
Clairval, 'let me understand the subject of your distress.' 'Ah! the
subject of my distress,' replied Madame Cheron; 'this person, whom
nobody knows--(I beg pardon, madam, I did not consider what I said)--
this impertinent young man, having had the presumption to address my
niece, has, I fear, given rise to a report, that he had declared
himself my admirer. Now only consider how very mortifying such a
report must be! You, I know, will feel for my situation. A woman of
my condition!--think how degrading even the rumour of such an
alliance must be.'

'Degrading indeed, my poor friend!' said Madame Clairval. 'You may
rely upon it I will contradict the report wherever I go;' as she said
which, she turned her attention upon another part of the company; and
Cavigni, who had hitherto appeared a grave spectator of the scene,
now fearing he should be unable to smother the laugh, that convulsed
him, walked abruptly away.

'I perceive you do not know,' said the lady who sat near Madame
Cheron, 'that the gentleman you have been speaking of is Madame
Clairval's nephew!' 'Impossible!' exclaimed Madame Cheron, who now
began to perceive, that she had been totally mistaken in her judgment
of Valancourt, and to praise him aloud with as much servility, as she
had before censured him with frivolous malignity.

Emily, who, during the greater part of this conversation, had been so
absorbed in thought as to be spared the pain of hearing it, was now
extremely surprised by her aunt's praise of Valancourt, with whose
relationship to Madame Clairval she was unacquainted; but she was not
sorry when Madame Cheron, who, though she now tried to appear
unconcerned, was really much embarrassed, prepared to withdraw
immediately after supper. Montoni then came to hand Madame Cheron to
her carriage, and Cavigni, with an arch solemnity of countenance,
followed with Emily, who, as she wished them good night, and drew up
the glass, saw Valancourt among the crowd at the gates. Before the
carriage drove off, he disappeared. Madame Cheron forbore to mention
him to Emily, and, as soon as they reached the chateau, they
separated for the night.

On the following morning, as Emily sat at breakfast with her aunt, a
letter was brought to her, of which she knew the handwriting upon the
cover; and, as she received it with a trembling hand, Madame Cheron
hastily enquired from whom it came. Emily, with her leave, broke the
seal, and, observing the signature of Valancourt, gave it unread to
her aunt, who received it with impatience; and, as she looked it
over, Emily endeavoured to read on her countenance its contents.
Having returned the letter to her niece, whose eyes asked if she
might examine it, 'Yes, read it, child,' said Madame Cheron, in a
manner less severe than she had expected, and Emily had, perhaps,
never before so willingly obeyed her aunt. In this letter Valancourt
said little of the interview of the preceding day, but concluded with
declaring, that he would accept his dismission from Emily only, and
with entreating, that she would allow him to wait upon her, on the
approaching evening. When she read this, she was astonished at the
moderation of Madame Cheron, and looked at her with timid
expectation, as she said sorrowfully--'What am I to say, madam?'

'Why--we must see the young man, I believe,' replied her aunt, 'and
hear what he has further to say for himself. You may tell him he may
come.' Emily dared scarcely credit what she heard. 'Yet, stay,'
added Madame Cheron, 'I will tell him so myself.' She called for pen
and ink; Emily still not daring to trust the emotions she felt, and
almost sinking beneath them. Her surprise would have been less had
she overheard, on the preceding evening, what Madame Cheron had not
forgotten--that Valancourt was the nephew of Madame Clairval.

What were the particulars of her aunt's note Emily did not learn, but
the result was a visit from Valancourt in the evening, whom Madame
Cheron received alone, and they had a long conversation before Emily
was called down. When she entered the room, her aunt was conversing
with complacency, and she saw the eyes of Valancourt, as he
impatiently rose, animated with hope.

'We have been talking over this affair,' said Madame Cheron, 'the
chevalier has been telling me, that the late Monsieur Clairval was
the brother of the Countess de Duvarney, his mother. I only wish he
had mentioned his relationship to Madame Clairval before; I certainly
should have considered that circumstance as a sufficient introduction
to my house.' Valancourt bowed, and was going to address Emily, but
her aunt prevented him. 'I have, therefore, consented that you shall
receive his visits; and, though I will not bind myself by any
promise, or say, that I shall consider him as my nephew, yet I shall
permit the intercourse, and shall look forward to any further
connection as an event, which may possibly take place in a course of
years, provided the chevalier rises in his profession, or any
circumstance occurs, which may make it prudent for him to take a
wife. But Mons. Valancourt will observe, and you too, Emily, that,
till that happens, I positively forbid any thoughts of marrying.'

Emily's countenance, during this coarse speech, varied every instant,
and, towards its conclusion, her distress had so much increased, that
she was on the point of leaving the room. Valancourt, meanwhile,
scarcely less embarrassed, did not dare to look at her, for whom he
was thus distressed; but, when Madame Cheron was silent, he said,
'Flattering, madam, as your approbation is to me--highly as I am
honoured by it--I have yet so much to fear, that I scarcely dare to
hope.' 'Pray, sir, explain yourself,' said Madame Cheron; an
unexpected requisition, which embarrassed Valancourt again, and
almost overcame him with confusion, at circumstances, on which, had
he been only a spectator of the scene, he would have smiled.

'Till I receive Mademoiselle St. Aubert's permission to accept your
indulgence,' said he, falteringly--'till she allows me to hope--'

'O! is that all?' interrupted Madame Cheron. 'Well, I will take upon
me to answer for her. But at the same time, sir, give me leave to
observe to you, that I am her guardian, and that I expect, in every
instance, that my will is hers.'

As she said this, she rose and quitted the room, leaving Emily and
Valancourt in a state of mutual embarrassment; and, when Valancourt's
hopes enabled him to overcome his fears, and to address her with the
zeal and sincerity so natural to him, it was a considerable time
before she was sufficiently recovered to hear with distinctness his
solicitations and inquiries.

The conduct of Madame Cheron in this affair had been entirely
governed by selfish vanity. Valancourt, in his first interview, had
with great candour laid open to her the true state of his present
circumstances, and his future expectancies, and she, with more
prudence than humanity, had absolutely and abruptly rejected his
suit. She wished her niece to marry ambitiously, not because she
desired to see her in possession of the happiness, which rank and
wealth are usually believed to bestow, but because she desired to
partake the importance, which such an alliance would give. When,
therefore, she discovered that Valancourt was the nephew of a person
of so much consequence as Madame Clairval, she became anxious for the
connection, since the prospect it afforded of future fortune and
distinction for Emily, promised the exaltation she coveted for
herself. Her calculations concerning fortune in this alliance were
guided rather by her wishes, than by any hint of Valancourt, or
strong appearance of probability; and, when she rested her
expectation on the wealth of Madame Clairval, she seemed totally to
have forgotten, that the latter had a daughter. Valancourt, however,
had not forgotten this circumstance, and the consideration of it had
made him so modest in his expectations from Madame Clairval, that he
had not even named the relationship in his first conversation with
Madame Cheron. But, whatever might be the future fortune of Emily,
the present distinction, which the connection would afford for
herself, was certain, since the splendour of Madame Clairval's
establishment was such as to excite the general envy and partial
imitation of the neighbourhood. Thus had she consented to involve
her niece in an engagement, to which she saw only a distant and
uncertain conclusion, with as little consideration of her happiness,
as when she had so precipitately forbade it: for though she herself
possessed the means of rendering this union not only certain, but
prudent, yet to do so was no part of her present intention.

From this period Valancourt made frequent visits to Madame Cheron,
and Emily passed in his society the happiest hours she had known
since the death of her father. They were both too much engaged by
the present moments to give serious consideration to the future.
They loved and were beloved, and saw not, that the very attachment,
which formed the delight of their present days, might possibly
occasion the sufferings of years. Meanwhile, Madame Cheron's
intercourse with Madame Clairval became more frequent than before,
and her vanity was already gratified by the opportunity of
proclaiming, wherever she went, the attachment that subsisted between
their nephew and niece.

Montoni was now also become a daily guest at the chateau, and Emily
was compelled to observe, that he really was a suitor, and a favoured
suitor, to her aunt.

Thus passed the winter months, not only in peace, but in happiness,
to Valancourt and Emily; the station of his regiment being so near
Tholouse, as to allow this frequent intercourse. The pavilion on the
terrace was the favourite scene of their interviews, and there Emily,
with Madame Cheron, would work, while Valancourt read aloud works of
genius and taste, listened to her enthusiasm, expressed his own, and
caught new opportunities of observing, that their minds were formed
to constitute the happiness of each other, the same taste, the same
noble and benevolent sentiments animating each.



CHAPTER XIII


As when a shepherd of the Hebrid-Isles,
Placed far amid the melancholy main,
(Whether it be lone fancy him beguiles,
Or that aerial beings sometimes deign
To stand embodied to our senses plain)
Sees on the naked hill, or valley low,
The whilst in ocean Phoebus dips his wain,
A vast assembly moving to and fro,
Then all at once in air dissolves the wondrous show.
CASTLE OF INDOLENCE

Madame Cheron's avarice at length yielded to her vanity. Some very
splendid entertainments, which Madame Clairval had given, and the
general adulation, which was paid her, made the former more anxious
than before to secure an alliance, that would so much exalt her in
her own opinion and in that of the world. She proposed terms for the
immediate marriage of her niece, and offered to give Emily a dower,
provided Madame Clairval observed equal terms, on the part of her
nephew. Madame Clairval listened to the proposal, and, considering
that Emily was the apparent heiress of her aunt's wealth, accepted
it. Meanwhile, Emily knew nothing of the transaction, till Madame
Cheron informed her, that she must make preparation for the nuptials,
which would be celebrated without further delay; then, astonished and
wholly unable to account for this sudden conclusion, which Valancourt
had not solicited (for he was ignorant of what had passed between the
elder ladies, and had not dared to hope such good fortune), she
decisively objected to it. Madame Cheron, however, quite as jealous
of contradiction now, as she had been formerly, contended for a
speedy marriage with as much vehemence as she had formerly opposed
whatever had the most remote possibility of leading to it; and
Emily's scruples disappeared, when she again saw Valancourt, who was
now informed of the happiness, designed for him, and came to claim a
promise of it from herself.

While preparations were making for these nuptials, Montoni became the
acknowledged lover of Madame Cheron; and, though Madame Clairval was
much displeased, when she heard of the approaching connection, and
was willing to prevent that of Valancourt with Emily, her conscience
told her, that she had no right thus to trifle with their peace, and
Madame Clairval, though a woman of fashion, was far less advanced
than her friend in the art of deriving satisfaction from distinction
and admiration, rather than from conscience.

Emily observed with concern the ascendancy, which Montoni had
acquired over Madame Cheron, as well as the increasing frequency of
his visits; and her own opinion of this Italian was confirmed by that
of Valancourt, who had always expressed a dislike of him. As she
was, one morning, sitting at work in the pavilion, enjoying the
pleasant freshness of spring, whose colours were now spread upon the
landscape, and listening to Valancourt, who was reading, but who
often laid aside the book to converse, she received a summons to
attend Madame Cheron immediately, and had scarcely entered the
dressing-room, when she observed with surprise the dejection of her
aunt's countenance, and the contrasted gaiety of her dress. 'So,
niece!'--said Madame, and she stopped under some degree of
embarrassment.--'I sent for you--I--I wished to see you; I have news
to tell you. From this hour you must consider the Signor Montoni as
your uncle--we were married this morning.'

Astonished--not so much at the marriage, as at the secrecy with which
it had been concluded, and the agitation with which it was announced,
Emily, at length, attributed the privacy to the wish of Montoni,
rather than of her aunt. His wife, however, intended, that the
contrary should be believed, and therefore added, 'you see I wished
to avoid a bustle; but now the ceremony is over I shall do so no
longer; and I wish to announce to my servants that they must receive
the Signor Montoni for their master.' Emily made a feeble attempt to
congratulate her on these apparently imprudent nuptials. 'I shall
now celebrate my marriage with some splendour,' continued Madame
Montoni, 'and to save time I shall avail myself of the preparation
that has been made for yours, which will, of course, be delayed a
little while. Such of your wedding clothes as are ready I shall
expect you will appear in, to do honour to this festival. I also
wish you to inform Monsieur Valancourt, that I have changed my name,
and he will acquaint Madame Clairval. In a few days I shall give a
grand entertainment, at which I shall request their presence.'

Emily was so lost in surprise and various thought, that she made
Madame Montoni scarcely any reply, but, at her desire, she returned
to inform Valancourt of what had passed. Surprise was not his
predominant emotion on hearing of these hasty nuptials; and, when he
learned, that they were to be the means of delaying his own, and that
the very ornaments of the chateau, which had been prepared to grace
the nuptial day of his Emily, were to be degraded to the celebration
of Madame Montoni's, grief and indignation agitated him alternately.
He could conceal neither from the observation of Emily, whose efforts
to abstract him from these serious emotions, and to laugh at the
apprehensive considerations, that assailed him, were ineffectual;
and, when, at length, he took leave, there was an earnest tenderness
in his manner, that extremely affected her; she even shed tears, when
he disappeared at the end of the terrace, yet knew not exactly why
she should do so.

Montoni now took possession of the chateau, and the command of its
inhabitants, with the ease of a man, who had long considered it to be
his own. His friend Cavigni, who had been extremely serviceable, in
having paid Madame Cheron the attention and flattery, which she
required, but from which Montoni too often revolted, had apartments
assigned to him, and received from the domestics an equal degree of
obedience with the master of the mansion.

Within a few days, Madame Montoni, as she had promised, gave a
magnificent entertainment to a very numerous company, among whom was
Valancourt; but at which Madame Clairval excused herself from
attending. There was a concert, ball and supper. Valancourt was, of
course, Emily's partner, and though, when he gave a look to the
decorations of the apartments, he could not but remember, that they
were designed for other festivities, than those they now contributed
to celebrate, he endeavoured to check his concern by considering,
that a little while only would elapse before they would be given to
their original destination. During this evening, Madame Montoni
danced, laughed and talked incessantly; while Montoni, silent,
reserved and somewhat haughty, seemed weary of the parade, and of the
frivolous company it had drawn together.

This was the first and the last entertainment, given in celebration
of their nuptials. Montoni, though the severity of his temper and
the gloominess of his pride prevented him from enjoying such
festivities, was extremely willing to promote them. It was seldom,
that he could meet in any company a man of more address, and still
seldomer one of more understanding, than himself; the balance of
advantage in such parties, or in the connections, which might arise
from them, must, therefore, be on his side; and, knowing, as he did,
the selfish purposes, for which they are generally frequented, he had
no objection to measure his talents of dissimulation with those of
any other competitor for distinction and plunder. But his wife, who,
when her own interest was immediately concerned, had sometimes more
discernment than vanity, acquired a consciousness of her inferiority
to other women, in personal attractions, which, uniting with the
jealousy natural to the discovery, counteracted his readiness for
mingling with all the parties Tholouse could afford. Till she had,
as she supposed, the affections of an husband to lose, she had no
motive for discovering the unwelcome truth, and it had never obtruded
itself upon her; but, now that it influenced her policy, she opposed
her husband's inclination for company, with the more eagerness,
because she believed him to be really as well received in the female
society of the place, as, during his addresses to her, he had
affected to be.

A few weeks only had elapsed, since the marriage, when Madame Montoni
informed Emily, that the Signor intended to return to Italy, as soon
as the necessary preparation could be made for so long a journey.
'We shall go to Venice,' said she, 'where the Signor has a fine
mansion, and from thence to his estate in Tuscany. Why do you look
so grave, child?--You, who are so fond of a romantic country and fine
views, will doubtless be delighted with this journey.'

'Am I then to be of the party, madam?' said Emily, with extreme
surprise and emotion. 'Most certainly,' replied her aunt, 'how could
you imagine we should leave you behind? But I see you are thinking
of the Chevalier; he is not yet, I believe, informed of the journey,
but he very soon will be so. Signor Montoni is gone to acquaint
Madame Clairval of our journey, and to say, that the proposed
connection between the families must from this time be thought of no
more.'

The unfeeling manner, in which Madame Montoni thus informed her
niece, that she must be separated, perhaps for ever, from the man,
with whom she was on the point of being united for life, added to the
dismay, which she must otherwise have suffered at such intelligence.
When she could speak, she asked the cause of the sudden change in
Madame's sentiments towards Valancourt, but the only reply she could
obtain was, that the Signor had forbade the connection, considering
it to be greatly inferior to what Emily might reasonably expect.

'I now leave the affair entirely to the Signor,' added Madame
Montoni, 'but I must say, that M. Valancourt never was a favourite
with me, and I was overpersuaded, or I should not have given my
consent to the connection. I was weak enough--I am so foolish
sometimes!--to suffer other people's uneasiness to affect me, and so
my better judgment yielded to your affliction. But the Signor has
very properly pointed out the folly of this, and he shall not have to
reprove me a second time. I am determined, that you shall submit to
those, who know how to guide you better than yourself--I am
determined, that you shall be conformable.'

Emily would have been astonished at the assertions of this eloquent
speech, had not her mind been so overwhelmed by the sudden shock it
had received, that she scarcely heard a word of what was latterly
addressed to her. Whatever were the weaknesses of Madame Montoni,
she might have avoided to accuse herself with those of compassion and
tenderness to the feelings of others, and especially to those of
Emily. It was the same ambition, that lately prevailed upon her to
solicit an alliance with Madame Clairval's family, which induced her
to withdraw from it, now that her marriage with Montoni had exalted
her self-consequence, and, with it, her views for her niece.

Emily was, at this time, too much affected to employ either
remonstrance, or entreaty on this topic; and when, at length, she
attempted the latter, her emotion overcame her speech, and she
retired to her apartment, to think, if in the present state of her
mind to think was possible, upon this sudden and overwhelming
subject. It was very long, before her spirits were sufficiently
composed to permit the reflection, which, when it came, was dark and
even terrible. She saw, that Montoni sought to aggrandise himself in
his disposal of her, and it occurred, that his friend Cavigni was the
person, for whom he was interested. The prospect of going to Italy
was still rendered darker, when she considered the tumultuous
situation of that country, then torn by civil commotion, where every
petty state was at war with its neighbour, and even every castle
liable to the attack of an invader. She considered the person, to
whose immediate guidance she would be committed, and the vast
distance, that was to separate her from Valancourt, and, at the
recollection of him, every other image vanished from her mind, and
every thought was again obscured by grief.

In this perturbed state she passed some hours, and, when she was
summoned to dinner, she entreated permission to remain in her own
apartment; but Madame Montoni was alone, and the request was refused.
Emily and her aunt said little during the repast; the one occupied by
her griefs, the other engrossed by the disappointment, which the
unexpected absence of Montoni occasioned; for not only was her vanity
piqued by the neglect, but her jealousy alarmed by what she
considered as a mysterious engagement. When the cloth was drawn and
they were alone, Emily renewed the mention of Valancourt; but her
aunt, neither softened to pity, or awakened to remorse, became
enraged, that her will should be opposed, and the authority of
Montoni questioned, though this was done by Emily with her usual
gentleness, who, after a long, and torturing conversation, retired in
tears.

As she crossed the hall, a person entered it by the great door, whom,
as her eyes hastily glanced that way, she imagined to be Montoni, and
she was passing on with quicker steps, when she heard the well-known
voice of Valancourt.

'Emily, O! my Emily!' cried he in a tone faltering with impatience,
while she turned, and, as he advanced, was alarmed at the expression
of his countenance and the eager desperation of his air. 'In tears,
Emily! I would speak with you,' said he, 'I have much to say;
conduct me to where we may converse. But you tremble--you are ill!
Let me lead you to a seat.'

He observed the open door of an apartment, and hastily took her hand
to lead her thither; but she attempted to withdraw it, and said, with
a languid smile, 'I am better already; if you wish to see my aunt she
is in the dining-parlour.' 'I must speak with YOU, my Emily,'
replied Valancourt, 'Good God! is it already come to this? Are you
indeed so willing to resign me?' But this is an improper place--I am
overheard. Let me entreat your attention, if only for a few
minutes.'--'When you have seen my aunt,' said Emily. 'I was wretched
enough when I came hither,' exclaimed Valancourt, 'do not increase my
misery by this coldness--this cruel refusal.'

The despondency, with which he spoke this, affected her almost to
tears, but she persisted in refusing to hear him, till he had
conversed with Madame Montoni. 'Where is her husband, where, then,
is Montoni?' said Valancourt, in an altered tone: 'it is he, to whom
I must speak.'

Emily, terrified for the consequence of the indignation, that flashed
in his eyes, tremblingly assured him, that Montoni was not at home,
and entreated he would endeavour to moderate his resentment. At the
tremulous accents of her voice, his eyes softened instantly from
wildness into tenderness. 'You are ill, Emily,' said he, 'they will
destroy us both! Forgive me, that I dared to doubt your affection.'

Emily no longer opposed him, as he led her into an adjoining parlour;
the manner, in which he had named Montoni, had so much alarmed her
for his own safety, that she was now only anxious to prevent the
consequences of his just resentment. He listened to her entreaties,
with attention, but replied to them only with looks of despondency
and tenderness, concealing, as much as possible, the sentiments he
felt towards Montoni, that he might soothe the apprehensions, which
distressed her. But she saw the veil he had spread over his
resentment, and, his assumed tranquillity only alarming her more, she
urged, at length, the impolicy of forcing an interview with Montoni,
and of taking any measure, which might render their separation
irremediable. Valancourt yielded to these remonstrances, and her
affecting entreaties drew from him a promise, that, however Montoni
might persist in his design of disuniting them, he would not seek to
redress his wrongs by violence. 'For my sake,' said Emily, 'let the
consideration of what I should suffer deter you from such a mode of
revenge!' 'For your sake, Emily,' replied Valancourt, his eyes
filling with tears of tenderness and grief, while he gazed upon her.
'Yes--yes--I shall subdue myself. But, though I have given you my
solemn promise to do this, do not expect, that I can tamely submit to
the authority of Montoni; if I could, I should be unworthy of you.
Yet, O Emily! how long may he condemn me to live without you,--how
long may it be before you return to France!'

Emily endeavoured to sooth him with assurances of her unalterable
affection, and by representing, that, in little more than a year, she
should be her own mistress, as far as related to her aunt, from whose
guardianship her age would then release her; assurances, which gave
little consolation to Valancourt, who considered, that she would then
be in Italy and in the power of those, whose dominion over her would
not cease with their rights; but he affected to be consoled by them.
Emily, comforted by the promise she had obtained, and by his apparent
composure, was about to leave him, when her aunt entered the room.
She threw a glance of sharp reproof upon her niece, who immediately
withdrew, and of haughty displeasure upon Valancourt.

'This is not the conduct I should have expected from you, sir;' said
she, 'I did not expect to see you in my house, after you had been
informed, that your visits were no longer agreeable, much less, that
you would seek a clandestine interview with my niece, and that she
would grant one.'

Valancourt, perceiving it necessary to vindicate Emily from such a
design, explained, that the purpose of his own visit had been to
request an interview with Montoni, and he then entered upon the
subject of it, with the tempered spirit which the sex, rather than
the respectability, of Madame Montoni, demanded.

His expostulations were answered with severe rebuke; she lamented
again, that her prudence had ever yielded to what she termed
compassion, and added, that she was so sensible of the folly of her
former consent, that, to prevent the possibility of a repetition, she
had committed the affair entirely to the conduct of Signor Montoni.

The feeling eloquence of Valancourt, however, at length, made her
sensible in some measure of her unworthy conduct, and she became
susceptible to shame, but not remorse: she hated Valancourt, who
awakened her to this painful sensation, and, in proportion as she
grew dissatisfied with herself, her abhorrence of him increased.
This was also the more inveterate, because his tempered words and
manner were such as, without accusing her, compelled her to accuse
herself, and neither left her a hope, that the odious portrait was
the caricature of his prejudice, or afforded her an excuse for
expressing the violent resentment, with which she contemplated it.
At length, her anger rose to such an height, that Valancourt was
compelled to leave the house abruptly, lest he should forfeit his own
esteem by an intemperate reply. He was then convinced, that from
Madame Montoni he had nothing to hope, for what of either pity, or
justice could be expected from a person, who could feel the pain of
guilt, without the humility of repentance?

To Montoni he looked with equal despondency, since it was nearly
evident, that this plan of separation originated with him, and it was
not probable, that he would relinquish his own views to entreaties,
or remonstrances, which he must have foreseen and have been prepared
to resist. Yet, remembering his promise to Emily, and more
solicitous, concerning his love, than jealous of his consequence,
Valancourt was careful to do nothing that might unnecessarily
irritate Montoni, he wrote to him, therefore, not to demand an
interview, but to solicit one, and, having done this, he endeavoured
to wait with calmness his reply.

Madame Clairval was passive in the affair. When she gave her
approbation to Valancourt's marriage, it was in the belief, that
Emily would be the heiress of Madame Montoni's fortune; and, though,
upon the nuptials of the latter, when she perceived the fallacy of
this expectation, her conscience had withheld her from adopting any
measure to prevent the union, her benevolence was not sufficiently
active to impel her towards any step, that might now promote it. She
was, on the contrary, secretly pleased, that Valancourt was released
from an engagement, which she considered to be as inferior, in point
of fortune, to his merit, as his alliance was thought by Montoni to
be humiliating to the beauty of Emily; and, though her pride was
wounded by this rejection of a member of her family, she disdained to
shew resentment otherwise, than by silence.

Montoni, in his reply to Valancourt, said, that as an interview could
neither remove the objections of the one, or overcome the wishes of
the other, it would serve only to produce useless altercation between
them. He, therefore, thought proper to refuse it.

In consideration of the policy, suggested by Emily, and of his
promise to her, Valancourt restrained the impulse, that urged him to
the house of Montoni, to demand what had been denied to his
entreaties. He only repeated his solicitations to see him; seconding
them with all the arguments his situation could suggest. Thus
several days passed, in remonstrance, on one side, and inflexible
denial, on the other; for, whether it was fear, or shame, or the
hatred, which results from both, that made Montoni shun the man he
had injured, he was peremptory in his refusal, and was neither
softened to pity by the agony, which Valancourt's letters pourtrayed,
or awakened to a repentance of his own injustice by the strong
remonstrances he employed. At length, Valancourt's letters were
returned unopened, and then, in the first moments of passionate
despair, he forgot every promise to Emily, except the solemn one,
which bound him to avoid violence, and hastened to Montoni's chateau,
determined to see him by whatever other means might be necessary.
Montoni was denied, and Valancourt, when he afterwards enquired for
Madame, and Ma'amselle St. Aubert, was absolutely refused admittance
by the servants. Not choosing to submit himself to a contest with
these, he, at length, departed, and, returning home in a state of
mind approaching to frenzy, wrote to Emily of what had passed,
expressed without restraint all the agony of his heart, and
entreated, that, since he must not otherwise hope to see her
immediately, she would allow him an interview unknown to Montoni.
Soon after he had dispatched this, his passions becoming more
temperate, he was sensible of the error he had committed in having
given Emily a new subject of distress in the strong mention of his
own suffering, and would have given half the world, had it been his,
to recover the letter. Emily, however, was spared the pain she must
have received from it by the suspicious policy of Madame Montoni, who
had ordered, that all letters, addressed to her niece, should be
delivered to herself, and who, after having perused this and indulged
the expressions of resentment, which Valancourt's mention of Montoni
provoked, had consigned it to the flames.

Montoni, meanwhile, every day more impatient to leave France, gave
repeated orders for dispatch to the servants employed in preparations
for the journey, and to the persons, with whom he was transacting
some particular business. He preserved a steady silence to the
letters in which Valancourt, despairing of greater good, and having
subdued the passion, that had transgressed against his policy,
solicited only the indulgence of being allowed to bid Emily farewell.
But, when the latter [Valancourt] learned, that she was really to set
out in a very few days, and that it was designed he should see her no
more, forgetting every consideration of prudence, he dared, in a
second letter to Emily, to propose a clandestine marriage. This also
was transmitted to Madame Montoni, and the last day of Emily's stay
at Tholouse arrived, without affording Valancourt even a line to
sooth his sufferings, or a hope, that he should be allowed a parting
interview.

During this period of torturing suspense to Valancourt, Emily was
sunk into that kind of stupor, with which sudden and irremediable
misfortune sometimes overwhelms the mind. Loving him with the
tenderest affection, and having long been accustomed to consider him
as the friend and companion of all her future days, she had no ideas
of happiness, that were not connected with him. What, then, must
have been her suffering, when thus suddenly they were to be
separated, perhaps, for ever, certainly to be thrown into distant
parts of the world, where they could scarcely hear of each other's
existence; and all this in obedience to the will of a stranger, for
such as Montoni, and of a person, who had but lately been anxious to
hasten their nuptials! It was in vain, that she endeavoured to
subdue her grief, and resign herself to an event, which she could not
avoid. The silence of Valancourt afflicted more than it surprised
her, since she attributed it to its just occasion; but, when the day,
preceding that, on which she was to quit Tholouse, arrived, and she
had heard no mention of his being permitted to take leave of her,
grief overcame every consideration, that had made her reluctant to
speak of him, and she enquired of Madame Montoni, whether this
consolation had been refused. Her aunt informed her that it had,
adding, that, after the provocation she had herself received from
Valancourt, in their last interview, and the persecution, which the
Signor had suffered from his letters, no entreaties should avail to
procure it.

'If the Chevalier expected this favour from us,' said she, 'he should
have conducted himself in a very different manner; he should have
waited patiently, till he knew whether we were disposed to grant it,
and not have come and reproved me, because I did not think proper to
bestow my niece upon him,--and then have persisted in troubling the
Signor, because he did not think proper to enter into any dispute
about so childish an affair. His behaviour throughout has been
extremely presumptuous and impertinent, and I desire, that I may
never hear his name repeated, and that you will get the better of
those foolish sorrows and whims, and look like other people, and not
appear with that dismal countenance, as if you were ready to cry.
For, though you say nothing, you cannot conceal your grief from my
penetration. I can see you are ready to cry at this moment, though I
am reproving you for it; aye, even now, in spite of my commands.'

Emily, having turned away to hide her tears, quitted the room to
indulge them, and the day was passed in an intensity of anguish, such
as she had, perhaps, never known before. When she withdrew to her
chamber for the night, she remained in the chair where she had placed
herself, on entering the room, absorbed in her grief, till long after
every member of the family, except herself, was retired to rest. She
could not divest herself of a belief, that she had parted with
Valancourt to meet no more; a belief, which did not arise merely from
foreseen circumstances, for, though the length of the journey she was
about to commence, the uncertainty as to the period of her return,
together with the prohibitions she had received, seemed to justify
it, she yielded also to an impression, which she mistook for a pre-
sentiment, that she was going from Valancourt for ever. How dreadful
to her imagination, too, was the distance that would separate them--
the Alps, those tremendous barriers! would rise, and whole countries
extend between the regions where each must exist! To live in
adjoining provinces, to live even in the same country, though without
seeing him, was comparative happiness to the conviction of this
dreadful length of distance.

Her mind was, at length, so much agitated by the consideration of her
state, and the belief, that she had seen Valancourt for the last
time, that she suddenly became very faint, and, looking round the
chamber for something, that might revive her, she observed the
casements, and had just strength to throw one open, near which she
seated herself. The air recalled her spirits, and the still moon-
light, that fell upon the elms of a long avenue, fronting the window,
somewhat soothed them, and determined her to try whether exercise and
the open air would not relieve the intense pain that bound her
temples. In the chateau all was still; and, passing down the great
stair-case into the hall, from whence a passage led immediately to
the garden, she softly and unheard, as she thought, unlocked the
door, and entered the avenue. Emily passed on with steps now
hurried, and now faltering, as, deceived by the shadows among the
trees, she fancied she saw some person move in the distant
perspective, and feared, that it was a spy of Madame Montoni. Her
desire, however, to re-visit the pavilion, where she had passed so
many happy hours with Valancourt, and had admired with him the
extensive prospect over Languedoc and her native Gascony, overcame
her apprehension of being observed, and she moved on towards the
terrace, which, running along the upper garden, commanded the whole
of the lower one, and communicated with it by a flight of marble
steps, that terminated the avenue.

Having reached these steps, she paused a moment to look round, for
her distance from the chateau now increased the fear, which the
stillness and obscurity of the hour had awakened. But, perceiving
nothing that could justify it, she ascended to the terrace, where the
moon-light shewed the long broad walk, with the pavilion at its
extremity, while the rays silvered the foliage of the high trees and
shrubs, that bordered it on the right, and the tufted summits of
those, that rose to a level with the balustrade on the left, from the
garden below. Her distance from the chateau again alarming her, she
paused to listen; the night was so calm, that no sound could have
escaped her, but she heard only the plaintive sweetness of the
nightingale, with the light shiver of the leaves, and she pursued her
way towards the pavilion, having reached which, its obscurity did not
prevent the emotion, that a fuller view of its well-known scene would
have excited. The lattices were thrown back, and shewed beyond their
embowered arch the moon-light landscape, shadowy and soft; its
groves, and plains extending gradually and indistinctly to the eye,
its distant mountains catching a stronger gleam, and the nearer river
reflecting the moon, and trembling to her rays.

Emily, as she approached the lattice, was sensible of the features of
this scene only as they served to bring Valancourt more immediately
to her fancy. 'Ah!' said she, with a heavy sigh, as she threw
herself into a chair by the window, 'how often have we sat together
in this spot--often have looked upon that landscape! Never, never
more shall we view it together--never--never more, perhaps, shall we
look upon each other!'

Her tears were suddenly stopped by terror--a voice spoke near her in
the pavilion; she shrieked--it spoke again, and she distinguished the
well-known tones of Valancourt. It was indeed Valancourt who
supported her in his arms! For some moments their emotion would not
suffer either to speak. 'Emily,' said Valancourt at length, as he
pressed her hand in his. 'Emily!' and he was again silent, but the
accent, in which he had pronounced her name, expressed all his
tenderness and sorrow.

'O my Emily!' he resumed, after a long pause, 'I do then see you once
again, and hear again the sound of that voice! I have haunted this
place--these gardens, for many--many nights, with a faint, very faint
hope of seeing you. This was the only chance that remained to me,
and thank heaven! it has at length succeeded--I am not condemned to
absolute despair!'

Emily said something, she scarcely knew what, expressive of her
unalterable affection, and endeavoured to calm the agitation of his
mind; but Valancourt could for some time only utter incoherent
expressions of his emotions; and, when he was somewhat more composed,
he said, 'I came hither, soon after sun-set, and have been watching
in the gardens, and in this pavilion ever since; for, though I had
now given up all hope of seeing you, I could not resolve to tear
myself from a place so near to you, and should probably have lingered
about the chateau till morning dawned. O how heavily the moments
have passed, yet with what various emotion have they been marked, as
I sometimes thought I heard footsteps, and fancied you were
approaching, and then again--perceived only a dead and dreary
silence! But, when you opened the door of the pavilion, and the
darkness prevented my distinguishing with certainty, whether it was
my love--my heart beat so strongly with hopes and fears, that I could
not speak. The instant I heard the plaintive accents of your voice,
my doubts vanished, but not my fears, till you spoke of me; then,
losing the apprehension of alarming you in the excess of my emotion,
I could no longer be silent. O Emily! these are moments, in which
joy and grief struggle so powerfully for pre-eminence, that the heart
can scarcely support the contest!'

Emily's heart acknowledged the truth of this assertion, but the joy
she felt on thus meeting Valancourt, at the very moment when she was
lamenting, that they must probably meet no more, soon melted into
grief, as reflection stole over her thoughts, and imagination
prompted visions of the future. She struggled to recover the calm
dignity of mind, which was necessary to support her through this last
interview, and which Valancourt found it utterly impossible to
attain, for the transports of his joy changed abruptly into those of
suffering, and he expressed in the most impassioned language his
horror of this separation, and his despair of their ever meeting
again. Emily wept silently as she listened to him, and then, trying
to command her own distress, and to sooth his, she suggested every
circumstance that could lead to hope. But the energy of his fears
led him instantly to detect the friendly fallacies, which she
endeavoured to impose on herself and him, and also to conjure up
illusions too powerful for his reason.

'You are going from me,' said he, 'to a distant country, O how
distant!--to new society, new friends, new admirers, with people too,
who will try to make you forget me, and to promote new connections!
How can I know this, and not know, that you will never return for me-
-never can be mine.' His voice was stifled by sighs.

'You believe, then,' said Emily, 'that the pangs I suffer proceed
from a trivial and temporary interest; you believe--'

'Suffer!' interrupted Valancourt, 'suffer for me! O Emily--how
sweet--how bitter are those words; what comfort, what anguish do they
give! I ought not to doubt the steadiness of your affection, yet
such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to
suspicion, however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from
the object of its interest, and thus it is, that I always feel
revived, as by a new conviction, when your words tell me I am dear to
you; and, wanting these, I relapse into doubt, and too often into
despondency.' Then seeming to recollect himself, he exclaimed, 'But
what a wretch am I, thus to torture you, and in these moments, too!
I, who ought to support and comfort you!'

This reflection overcame Valancourt with tenderness, but, relapsing
into despondency, he again felt only for himself, and lamented again
this cruel separation, in a voice and words so impassioned, that
Emily could no longer struggle to repress her own grief, or to sooth
his. Valancourt, between these emotions of love and pity, lost the
power, and almost the wish, of repressing his agitation; and, in the
intervals of convulsive sobs, he, at one moment, kissed away her
tears, then told her cruelly, that possibly she might never again
weep for him, and then tried to speak more calmly, but only
exclaimed, 'O Emily--my heart will break!--I cannot--cannot leave
you! Now--I gaze upon that countenance, now I hold you in my arms! a
little while, and all this will appear a dream. I shall look, and
cannot see you; shall try to recollect your features--and the
impression will be fled from my imagination;--to hear the tones of
your voice, and even memory will be silent!--I cannot, cannot leave
you! why should we confide the happiness of our whole lives to the
will of people, who have no right to interrupt, and, except in giving
you to me, have no power to promote it? O Emily! venture to trust
your own heart, venture to be mine for ever!' His voice trembled,
and he was silent; Emily continued to weep, and was silent also, when
Valancourt proceeded to propose an immediate marriage, and that at an
early hour on the following morning, she should quit Madame Montoni's
house, and be conducted by him to the church of the Augustines, where
a friar should await to unite them.

The silence, with which she listened to a proposal, dictated by love
and despair, and enforced at a moment, when it seemed scarcely
possible for her to oppose it;--when her heart was softened by the
sorrows of a separation, that might be eternal, and her reason
obscured by the illusions of love and terror, encouraged him to hope,
that it would not be rejected. 'Speak, my Emily!' said Valancourt
eagerly, 'let me hear your voice, let me hear you confirm my fate.'
she spoke not; her cheek was cold, and her senses seemed to fail her,
but she did not faint. To Valancourt's terrified imagination she
appeared to be dying; he called upon her name, rose to go to the
chateau for assistance, and then, recollecting her situation, feared
to go, or to leave her for a moment.

After a few minutes, she drew a deep sigh, and began to revive. The
conflict she had suffered, between love and the duty she at present
owed to her father's sister; her repugnance to a clandestine
marriage, her fear of emerging on the world with embarrassments, such
as might ultimately involve the object of her affection in misery and
repentance;--all this various interest was too powerful for a mind,
already enervated by sorrow, and her reason had suffered a transient
suspension. But duty, and good sense, however hard the conflict, at
length, triumphed over affection and mournful presentiment; above
all, she dreaded to involve Valancourt in obscurity and vain regret,
which she saw, or thought she saw, must be the too certain
consequence of a marriage in their present circumstances; and she
acted, perhaps, with somewhat more than female fortitude, when she
resolved to endure a present, rather than provoke a distant
misfortune.

With a candour, that proved how truly she esteemed and loved him, and
which endeared her to him, if possible, more than ever, she told
Valancourt all her reasons for rejecting his proposals. Those, which
influenced her concerning his future welfare, he instantly refuted,
or rather contradicted; but they awakened tender considerations for
her, which the frenzy of passion and despair had concealed before,
and love, which had but lately prompted him to propose a clandestine
and immediate marriage, now induced him to renounce it. The triumph
was almost too much for his heart; for Emily's sake, he endeavoured
to stifle his grief, but the swelling anguish would not be
restrained. 'O Emily!' said he, 'I must leave you--I MUST leave you,
and I know it is for ever!'

Convulsive sobs again interrupted his words, and they wept together
in silence, till Emily, recollecting the danger of being discovered,
and the impropriety of prolonging an interview, which might subject
her to censure, summoned all her fortitude to utter a last farewell.

'Stay!' said Valancourt, 'I conjure you stay, for I have much to tell
you. The agitation of my mind has hitherto suffered me to speak only
on the subject that occupied it;--I have forborne to mention a doubt
of much importance, partly, lest it should appear as if I told it
with an ungenerous view of alarming you into a compliance with my
late proposal.'

Emily, much agitated, did not leave Valancourt, but she led him from
the pavilion, and, as they walked upon the terrace, he proceeded as
follows:

'This Montoni: I have heard some strange hints concerning him. Are
you certain he is of Madame Quesnel's family, and that his fortune is
what it appears to be?'

'I have no reason to doubt either,' replied Emily, in a voice of
alarm. 'Of the first, indeed, I cannot doubt, but I have no certain
means of judging of the latter, and I entreat you will tell me all
you have heard.'

'That I certainly will, but it is very imperfect, and unsatisfactory
information. I gathered it by accident from an Italian, who was
speaking to another person of this Montoni. They were talking of his
marriage; the Italian said, that if he was the person he meant, he
was not likely to make Madame Cheron happy. He proceeded to speak of
him in general terms of dislike, and then gave some particular hints,
concerning his character, that excited my curiosity, and I ventured
to ask him a few questions. He was reserved in his replies, but,
after hesitating for some time, he owned, that he had understood
abroad, that Montoni was a man of desperate fortune and character.
He said something of a castle of Montoni's, situated among the
Apennines, and of some strange circumstances, that might be
mentioned, as to his former mode of life. I pressed him to inform me
further, but I believe the strong interest I felt was visible in my
manner, and alarmed him; for no entreaties could prevail with him to
give any explanation of the circumstances he had alluded to, or to
mention any thing further concerning Montoni. I observed to him,
that, if Montoni was possessed of a castle in the Apennines, it
appeared from such a circumstance, that he was of some family, and
also seemed to contradict the report, that he was a man of entirely
broken fortunes. He shook his head, and looked as if he could have
said a great deal, but made no reply.

'A hope of learning something more satisfactory, or more positive,
detained me in his company a considerable time, and I renewed the
subject repeatedly, but the Italian wrapped himself up in reserve,
said--that what he had mentioned he had caught only from a floating
report, and that reports frequently arose from personal malice, and
were very little to be depended upon. I forbore to press the subject
farther, since it was obvious that he was alarmed for the consequence
of what he had already said, and I was compelled to remain in
uncertainty on a point where suspense is almost intolerable. Think,
Emily, what I must suffer to see you depart for a foreign country,
committed to the power of a man of such doubtful character as is this
Montoni! But I will not alarm you unnecessarily;--it is possible, as
the Italian said, at first, that this is not the Montoni he alluded
to. Yet, Emily, consider well before you resolve to commit yourself
to him. O! I must not trust myself to speak--or I shall renounce all
the motives, which so lately influenced me to resign the hope of your
becoming mine immediately.'

Valancourt walked upon the terrace with hurried steps, while Emily
remained leaning on the balustrade in deep thought. The information
she had just received excited, perhaps, more alarm than it could
justify, and raised once more the conflict of contrasted interests.
She had never liked Montoni. The fire and keenness of his eye, its
proud exultation, its bold fierceness, its sullen watchfulness, as
occasion, and even slight occasion, had called forth the latent soul,
she had often observed with emotion; while from the usual expression
of his countenance she had always shrunk. From such observations she
was the more inclined to believe, that it was this Montoni, of whom
the Italian had uttered his suspicious hints. The thought of being
solely in his power, in a foreign land, was terrifying to her, but it
was not by terror alone that she was urged to an immediate marriage
with Valancourt. The tenderest love had already pleaded his cause,
but had been unable to overcome her opinion, as to her duty, her
disinterested considerations for Valancourt, and the delicacy, which
made her revolt from a clandestine union. It was not to be expected,
that a vague terror would be more powerful, than the united influence
of love and grief. But it recalled all their energy, and rendered a
second conquest necessary.

With Valancourt, whose imagination was now awake to the suggestion of
every passion; whose apprehensions for Emily had acquired strength by
the mere mention of them, and became every instant more powerful, as
his mind brooded over them--with Valancourt no second conquest was
attainable. He thought he saw in the clearest light, and love
assisted the fear, that this journey to Italy would involve Emily in
misery; he determined, therefore, to persevere in opposing it, and in
conjuring her to bestow upon him the title of her lawful protector.

'Emily!' said he, with solemn earnestness, 'this is no time for
scrupulous distinctions, for weighing the dubious and comparatively
trifling circumstances, that may affect our future comfort. I now
see, much more clearly than before, the train of serious dangers you
are going to encounter with a man of Montoni's character. Those dark
hints of the Italian spoke much, but not more than the idea I have of
Montoni's disposition, as exhibited even in his countenance. I think
I see at this moment all that could have been hinted, written there.
He is the Italian, whom I fear, and I conjure you for your own sake,
as well as for mine, to prevent the evils I shudder to foresee. O
Emily! let my tenderness, my arms withhold you from them--give me the
right to defend you!'

Emily only sighed, while Valancourt proceeded to remonstrate and to
entreat with all the energy that love and apprehension could inspire.
But, as his imagination magnified to her the possible evils she was
going to meet, the mists of her own fancy began to dissipate, and
allowed her to distinguish the exaggerated images, which imposed on
his reason. She considered, that there was no proof of Montoni being
the person, whom the stranger had meant; that, even if he was so, the
Italian had noticed his character and broken fortunes merely from
report; and that, though the countenance of Montoni seemed to give
probability to a part of the rumour, it was not by such circumstances
that an implicit belief of it could be justified. These
considerations would probably not have arisen so distinctly to her
mind, at this time, had not the terrors of Valancourt presented to
her such obvious exaggerations of her danger, as incited her to
distrust the fallacies of passion. But, while she endeavoured in the
gentlest manner to convince him of his error, she plunged him into a
new one. His voice and countenance changed to an expression of dark
despair. 'Emily!' said he, 'this, this moment is the bitterest that
is yet come to me. You do not--cannot love me!--It would be
impossible for you to reason thus coolly, thus deliberately, if you
did. I, _I_ am torn with anguish at the prospect of our separation,
and of the evils that may await you in consequence of it; I would
encounter any hazards to prevent it--to save you. No! Emily, no!--
you cannot love me.'

'We have now little time to waste in exclamation, or assertion,' said
Emily, endeavouring to conceal her emotion: 'if you are yet to learn
how dear you are, and ever must be, to my heart, no assurances of
mine can give you conviction.'

The last words faltered on her lips, and her tears flowed fast.
These words and tears brought, once more, and with instantaneous
force, conviction of her love to Valancourt. He could only exclaim,
'Emily! Emily!' and weep over the hand he pressed to his lips; but
she, after some moments, again roused herself from the indulgence of
sorrow, and said, 'I must leave you; it is late, and my absence from
the chateau may be discovered. Think of me--love me--when I am far
away; the belief of this will be my comfort!'

'Think of you!--love you!' exclaimed Valancourt.

'Try to moderate these transports,' said Emily, 'for my sake, try.'

'For your sake!'

'Yes, for my sake,' replied Emily, in a tremulous voice, 'I cannot
leave you thus!'

'Then do not leave me!' said Valancourt, with quickness. 'Why should
we part, or part for longer than till to-morrow?'

'I am, indeed I am, unequal to these moments,' replied Emily, 'you
tear my heart, but I never can consent to this hasty, imprudent
proposal!'

'If we could command our time, my Emily, it should not be thus hasty;
we must submit to circumstances.'

'We must indeed! I have already told you all my heart--my spirits
are gone. You allowed the force of my objections, till your
tenderness called up vague terrors, which have given us both
unnecessary anguish. Spare me! do not oblige me to repeat the
reasons I have already urged.'

'Spare you!' cried Valancourt, 'I am a wretch--a very wretch, that
have felt only for myself!--I! who ought to have shewn the fortitude
of a man, who ought to have supported you, I! have increased your
sufferings by the conduct of a child! Forgive me, Emily! think of
the distraction of my mind now that I am about to part with all that
is dear to me--and forgive me! When you are gone, I shall recollect
with bitter remorse what I have made you suffer, and shall wish in
vain that I could see you, if only for a moment, that I might sooth
your grief.'

Tears again interrupted his voice, and Emily wept with him. 'I will
shew myself more worthy of your love,' said Valancourt, at length; 'I
will not prolong these moments. My Emily--my own Emily! never forget
me! God knows when we shall meet again! I resign you to his care.--
O God!--O God!--protect and bless her!'

He pressed her hand to his heart. Emily sunk almost lifeless on his
bosom, and neither wept, nor spoke. Valancourt, now commanding his
own distress, tried to comfort and re-assure her, but she appeared
totally unaffected by what he said, and a sigh, which she uttered,
now and then, was all that proved she had not fainted.

He supported her slowly towards the chateau, weeping and speaking to
her; but she answered only in sighs, till, having reached the gate,
that terminated the avenue, she seemed to have recovered her
consciousness, and, looking round, perceived how near they were to
the chateau. 'We must part here,' said she, stopping, 'Why prolong
these moments? Teach me the fortitude I have forgot.'

Valancourt struggled to assume a composed air. 'Farewell, my love!'
said he, in a voice of solemn tenderness--'trust me we shall meet
again--meet for each other--meet to part no more!' His voice
faltered, but, recovering it, he proceeded in a firmer tone. 'You
know not what I shall suffer, till I hear from you; I shall omit no
opportunity of conveying to you my letters, yet I tremble to think
how few may occur. And trust me, love, for your dear sake, I will
try to bear this absence with fortitude. O how little I have shewn
to-night!'

'Farewell!' said Emily faintly. 'When you are gone, I shall think of
many things I would have said to you.' 'And I of many--many!' said
Valancourt; 'I never left you yet, that I did not immediately
remember some question, or some entreaty, or some circumstance,
concerning my love, that I earnestly wished to mention, and feel
wretched because I could not. O Emily! this countenance, on which I
now gaze--will, in a moment, be gone from my eyes, and not all the
efforts of fancy will be able to recall it with exactness. O! what
an infinite difference between this moment and the next! NOW, I am
in your presence, can behold you! THEN, all will be a dreary blank--
and I shall be a wanderer, exiled from my only home!'

Valancourt again pressed her to his heart, and held her there in
silence, weeping. Tears once again calmed her oppressed mind. They
again bade each other farewell, lingered a moment, and then parted.
Valancourt seemed to force himself from the spot; he passed hastily
up the avenue, and Emily, as she moved slowly towards the chateau,
heard his distant steps. she listened to the sounds, as they sunk
fainter and fainter, till the melancholy stillness of night alone
remained; and then hurried to her chamber, to seek repose, which,
alas! was fled from her wretchedness.




VOLUME 2



CHAPTER I


Where'er I roam, whatever realms I see,
My heart untravell'd still shall turn to thee.
GOLDSMITH

The carriages were at the gates at an early hour; the bustle of the
domestics, passing to and fro in the galleries, awakened Emily from
harassing slumbers: her unquiet mind had, during the night,
presented her with terrific images and obscure circumstances,
concerning her affection and her future life. She now endeavoured to
chase away the impressions they had left on her fancy; but from
imaginary evils she awoke to the consciousness of real ones.
Recollecting that she had parted with Valancourt, perhaps for ever,
her heart sickened as memory revived. But she tried to dismiss the
dismal forebodings that crowded on her mind, and to restrain the
sorrow which she could not subdue; efforts which diffused over the
settled melancholy of her countenance an expression of tempered
resignation, as a thin veil, thrown over the features of beauty,
renders them more interesting by a partial concealment. But Madame
Montoni observed nothing in this countenance except its usual
paleness, which attracted her censure. She told her niece, that she
had been indulging in fanciful sorrows, and begged she would have
more regard for decorum, than to let the world see that she could not
renounce an improper attachment; at which Emily's pale cheek became
flushed with crimson, but it was the blush of pride, and she made no
answer. Soon after, Montoni entered the breakfast room, spoke
little, and seemed impatient to be gone.

The windows of this room opened upon the garden. As Emily passed
them, she saw the spot where she had parted with Valancourt on the
preceding night: the remembrance pressed heavily on her heart, and
she turned hastily away from the object that had awakened it.

The baggage being at length adjusted, the travellers entered their
carriages, and Emily would have left the chateau without one sigh of
regret, had it not been situated in the neighbourhood of Valancourt's
residence.

From a little eminence she looked back upon Tholouse, and the far-
seen plains of Gascony, beyond which the broken summits of the
Pyrenees appeared on the distant horizon, lighted up by a morning
sun. 'Dear pleasant mountains!' said she to herself, 'how long may
it be ere I see ye again, and how much may happen to make me
miserable in the interval! Oh, could I now be certain, that I should
ever return to ye, and find that Valancourt still lived for me, I
should go in peace! He will still gaze on ye, gaze when I am far
away!'

The trees, that impended over the high banks of the road and formed a
line of perspective with the distant country, now threatened to
exclude the view of them; but the blueish mountains still appeared
beyond the dark foliage, and Emily continued to lean from the coach
window, till at length the closing branches shut them from her sight.

Another object soon caught her attention. She had scarcely looked at
a person who walked along the bank, with his hat, in which was the
military feather, drawn over his eyes, before, at the sound of
wheels, he suddenly turned, and she perceived that it was Valancourt
himself, who waved his hand, sprung into the road, and through the
window of the carriage put a letter into her hand. He endeavoured to
smile through the despair that overspread his countenance as she
passed on. The remembrance of that smile seemed impressed on Emily's
mind for ever. She leaned from the window, and saw him on a knoll of
the broken bank, leaning against the high trees that waved over him,
and pursuing the carriage with his eyes. He waved his hand, and she
continued to gaze till distance confused his figure, and at length
another turn of the road entirely separated him from her sight.

Having stopped to take up Signor Cavigni at a chateau on the road,
the travellers, of whom Emily was disrespectfully seated with Madame
Montoni's woman in a second carriage, pursued their way over the
plains of Languedoc. The presence of this servant restrained Emily
from reading Valancourt's letter, for she did not choose to expose
the emotions it might occasion to the observation of any person. Yet
such was her wish to read this his last communication, that her
trembling hand was every moment on the point of breaking the seal.

At length they reached the village, where they staid only to change
horses, without alighting, and it was not till they stopped to dine,
that Emily had an opportunity of reading the letter. Though she had
never doubted the sincerity of Valancourt's affection, the fresh
assurances she now received of it revived her spirits; she wept over
his letter in tenderness, laid it by to be referred to when they
should be particularly depressed, and then thought of him with much
less anguish than she had done since they parted. Among some other
requests, which were interesting to her, because expressive of his
tenderness, and because a compliance with them seemed to annihilate
for a while the pain of absence, he entreated she would always think
of him at sunset. 'You will then meet me in thought,' said he; 'I
shall constantly watch the sun-set, and I shall be happy in the
belief, that your eyes are fixed upon the same object with mine, and
that our minds are conversing. You know not, Emily, the comfort I
promise myself from these moments; but I trust you will experience
it.'

It is unnecessary to say with what emotion Emily, on this evening,
watched the declining sun, over a long extent of plains, on which she
saw it set without interruption, and sink towards the province which
Valancourt inhabited. After this hour her mind became far more
tranquil and resigned, than it had been since the marriage of Montoni
and her aunt.

During several days the travellers journeyed over the plains of
Languedoc; and then entering Dauphiny, and winding for some time
among the mountains of that romantic province, they quitted their
carriages and began to ascend the Alps. And here such scenes of
sublimity opened upon them as no colours of language must dare to
paint! Emily's mind was even so much engaged with new and wonderful
images, that they sometimes banished the idea of Valancourt, though
they more frequently revived it. These brought to her recollection
the prospects among the Pyrenees, which they had admired together,
and had believed nothing could excel in grandeur. How often did she
wish to express to him the new emotions which this astonishing
scenery awakened, and that he could partake of them! Sometimes too
she endeavoured to anticipate his remarks, and almost imagined him
present. she seemed to have arisen into another world, and to have
left every trifling thought, every trifling sentiment, in that below;
those only of grandeur and sublimity now dilated her mind, and
elevated the affections of her heart.

With what emotions of sublimity, softened by tenderness, did she meet
Valancourt in thought, at the customary hour of sun-set, when,
wandering among the Alps, she watched the glorious orb sink amid
their summits, his last tints die away on their snowy points, and a
solemn obscurity steal over the scene! And when the last gleam had
faded, she turned her eyes from the west with somewhat of the
melancholy regret that is experienced after the departure of a
beloved friend; while these lonely feelings were heightened by the
spreading gloom, and by the low sounds, heard only when darkness
confines attention, which make the general stillness more impressive-
-leaves shook by the air, the last sigh of the breeze that lingers
after sun-set, or the murmur of distant streams.

During the first days of this journey among the Alps, the scenery
exhibited a wonderful mixture of solitude and inhabitation, of
cultivation and barrenness. On the edge of tremendous precipices,
and within the hollow of the cliffs, below which the clouds often
floated, were seen villages, spires, and convent towers; while green
pastures and vineyards spread their hues at the feet of perpendicular
rocks of marble, or of granite, whose points, tufted with alpine
shrubs, or exhibiting only massy crags, rose above each other, till
they terminated in the snow-topt mountain, whence the torrent fell,
that thundered along the valley.

The snow was not yet melted on the summit of Mount Cenis, over which
the travellers passed; but Emily, as she looked upon its clear lake
and extended plain, surrounded by broken cliffs, saw, in imagination,
the verdant beauty it would exhibit when the snows should be gone,
and the shepherds, leading up the midsummer flocks from Piedmont, to
pasture on its flowery summit, should add Arcadian figures to
Arcadian landscape.

As she descended on the Italian side, the precipices became still
more tremendous, and the prospects still more wild and majestic, over
which the shifting lights threw all the pomp of colouring. Emily
delighted to observe the snowy tops of the mountains under the
passing influence of the day, blushing with morning, glowing with the
brightness of noon, or just tinted with the purple evening. The
haunt of man could now only be discovered by the simple hut of the
shepherd and the hunter, or by the rough pine bridge thrown across
the torrent, to assist the latter in his chase of the chamois over
crags where, but for this vestige of man, it would have been believed
only the chamois or the wolf dared to venture. As Emily gazed upon
one of these perilous bridges, with the cataract foaming beneath it,
some images came to her mind, which she afterwards combined in the
following

STORIED SONNET

The weary traveller, who, all night long,
Has climb'd among the Alps' tremendous steeps,
Skirting the pathless precipice, where throng
Wild forms of danger; as he onward creeps
If, chance, his anxious eye at distance sees
The mountain-shepherd's solitary home,
Peeping from forth the moon-illumin'd trees,
What sudden transports to his bosom come!
But, if between some hideous chasm yawn,
Where the cleft pine a doubtful bridge displays,
In dreadful silence, on the brink, forlorn
He stands, and views in the faint rays
Far, far below, the torrent's rising surge,
And listens to the wild impetuous roar;
Still eyes the depth, still shudders on the verge,
Fears to return, nor dares to venture o'er.
Desperate, at length the tottering plank he tries,
His weak steps slide, he shrieks, he sinks--he dies!

Emily, often as she travelled among the clouds, watched in silent awe
their billowy surges rolling below; sometimes, wholly closing upon
the scene, they appeared like a world of chaos, and, at others,
spreading thinly, they opened and admitted partial catches of the
landscape--the torrent, whose astounding roar had never failed,
tumbling down the rocky chasm, huge cliffs white with snow, or the
dark summits of the pine forests, that stretched mid-way down the
mountains. But who may describe her rapture, when, having passed
through a sea of vapour, she caught a first view of Italy; when, from
the ridge of one of those tremendous precipices that hang upon Mount
Cenis and guard the entrance of that enchanting country, she looked
down through the lower clouds, and, as they floated away, saw the
grassy vales of Piedmont at her feet, and, beyond, the plains of
Lombardy extending to the farthest distance, at which appeared, on
the faint horizon, the doubtful towers of Turin?

The solitary grandeur of the objects that immediately surrounded her,
the mountain-region towering above, the deep precipices that fell
beneath, the waving blackness of the forests of pine and oak, which
skirted their feet, or hung within their recesses, the headlong
torrents that, dashing among their cliffs, sometimes appeared like a
cloud of mist, at others like a sheet of ice--these were features
which received a higher character of sublimity from the reposing
beauty of the Italian landscape below, stretching to the wide
horizon, where the same melting blue tint seemed to unite earth and
sky.

Madame Montoni only shuddered as she looked down precipices near
whose edge the chairmen trotted lightly and swiftly, almost, as the
chamois bounded, and from which Emily too recoiled; but with her
fears were mingled such various emotions of delight, such admiration,
astonishment, and awe, as she had never experienced before.

Meanwhile the carriers, having come to a landing-place, stopped to
rest, and the travellers being seated on the point of a cliff,
Montoni and Cavigni renewed a dispute concerning Hannibal's passage
over the Alps, Montoni contending that he entered Italy by way of
Mount Cenis, and Cavigni, that he passed over Mount St. Bernard. The
subject brought to Emily's imagination the disasters he had suffered
in this bold and perilous adventure. She saw his vast armies winding
among the defiles, and over the tremendous cliffs of the mountains,
which at night were lighted up by his fires, or by the torches which
he caused to be carried when he pursued his indefatigable march. In
the eye of fancy, she perceived the gleam of arms through the
duskiness of night, the glitter of spears and helmets, and the
banners floating dimly on the twilight; while now and then the blast
of a distant trumpet echoed along the defile, and the signal was
answered by a momentary clash of arms. She looked with horror upon
the mountaineers, perched on the higher cliffs, assailing the troops
below with broken fragments of the mountain; on soldiers and
elephants tumbling headlong down the lower precipices; and, as she
listened to the rebounding rocks, that followed their fall, the
terrors of fancy yielded to those of reality, and she shuddered to
behold herself on the dizzy height, whence she had pictured the
descent of others.

Madame Montoni, meantime, as she looked upon Italy, was contemplating
in imagination the splendour of palaces and the grandeur of castles,
such as she believed she was going to be mistress of at Venice and in
the Apennine, and she became, in idea, little less than a princess.
Being no longer under the alarms which had deterred her from giving
entertainments to the beauties of Tholouse, whom Montoni had
mentioned with more eclat to his own vanity than credit to their
discretion, or regard to truth, she determined to give concerts,
though she had neither ear nor taste for music; conversazioni, though
she had no talents for conversation; and to outvie, if possible, in
the gaieties of her parties and the magnificence of her liveries, all
the noblesse of Venice. This blissful reverie was somewhat obscured,
when she recollected the Signor, her husband, who, though he was not
averse to the profit which sometimes results from such parties, had
always shewn a contempt of the frivolous parade that sometimes
attends them; till she considered that his pride might be gratified
by displaying, among his own friends, in his native city, the wealth
which he had neglected in France; and she courted again the splendid
illusions that had charmed her before.

The travellers, as they descended, gradually, exchanged the region of
winter for the genial warmth and beauty of spring. The sky began to
assume that serene and beautiful tint peculiar to the climate of
Italy; patches of young verdure, fragrant shrubs and flowers looked
gaily among the rocks, often fringing their rugged brows, or hanging
in tufts from their broken sides; and the buds of the oak and
mountain ash were expanding into foliage. Descending lower, the
orange and the myrtle, every now and then, appeared in some sunny
nook, with their yellow blossoms peeping from among the dark green of
their leaves, and mingling with the scarlet flowers of the
pomegranate and the paler ones of the arbutus, that ran mantling to
the crags above; while, lower still, spread the pastures of Piedmont,
where early flocks were cropping the luxuriant herbage of spring.

The river Doria, which, rising on the summit of Mount Cenis, had
dashed for many leagues over the precipices that bordered the road,
now began to assume a less impetuous, though scarcely less romantic
character, as it approached the green vallies of Piedmont, into which
the travellers descended with the evening sun; and Emily found
herself once more amid the tranquil beauty of pastoral scenery; among
flocks and herds, and slopes tufted with woods of lively verdure and
with beautiful shrubs, such as she had often seen waving luxuriantly
over the alps above. The verdure of the pasturage, now varied with
the hues of early flowers, among which were yellow ranunculuses and
pansey violets of delicious fragrance, she had never seen excelled.--
Emily almost wished to become a peasant of Piedmont, to inhabit one
of the pleasant embowered cottages which she saw peeping beneath the
cliffs, and to pass her careless hours among these romantic
landscapes. To the hours, the months, she was to pass under the
dominion of Montoni, she looked with apprehension; while those which
were departed she remembered with regret and sorrow.

In the present scenes her fancy often gave her the figure of
Valancourt, whom she saw on a point of the cliffs, gazing with awe
and admiration on the imagery around him; or wandering pensively
along the vale below, frequently pausing to look back upon the
scenery, and then, his countenance glowing with the poet's fire,
pursuing his way to some overhanging heights. When she again
considered the time and the distance that were to separate them, that
every step she now took lengthened this distance, her heart sunk, and
the surrounding landscape charmed her no more.

The travellers, passing Novalesa, reached, after the evening had
closed, the small and antient town of Susa, which had formerly
guarded this pass of the Alps into Piedmont. The heights which
command it had, since the invention of artillery, rendered its
fortifications useless; but these romantic heights, seen by moon-
light, with the town below, surrounded by its walls and watchtowers,
and partially illumined, exhibited an interesting picture to Emily.
Here they rested for the night at an inn, which had little
accommodation to boast of; but the travellers brought with them the
hunger that gives delicious flavour to the coarsest viands, and the
weariness that ensures repose; and here Emily first caught a strain
of Italian music, on Italian ground. As she sat after supper at a
little window, that opened upon the country, observing an effect of
the moon-light on the broken surface of the mountains, and
remembering that on such a night as this she once had sat with her
father and Valancourt, resting upon a cliff of the Pyrenees, she
heard from below the long-drawn notes of a violin, of such tone and
delicacy of expression, as harmonized exactly with the tender
emotions she was indulging, and both charmed and surprised her.
Cavigni, who approached the window, smiled at her surprise. 'This is
nothing extraordinary,' said he, 'you will hear the same, perhaps, at
every inn on our way. It is one of our landlord's family who plays,
I doubt not,' Emily, as she listened, thought he could be scarcely
less than a professor of music whom she heard; and the sweet and
plaintive strains soon lulled her into a reverie, from which she was
very unwillingly roused by the raillery of Cavigni, and by the voice
of Montoni, who gave orders to a servant to have the carriages ready
at an early hour on the following morning; and added, that he meant
to dine at Turin.

Madame Montoni was exceedingly rejoiced to be once more on level
ground; and, after giving a long detail of the various terrors she
had suffered, which she forgot that she was describing to the
companions of her dangers, she added a hope, that she should soon be
beyond the view of these horrid mountains, 'which all the world,'
said she, 'should not tempt me to cross again.' Complaining of
fatigue she soon retired to rest, and Emily withdrew to her own room,
when she understood from Annette, her aunt's woman, that Cavigni was
nearly right in his conjecture concerning the musician, who had
awakened the violin with so much taste, for that he was the son of a
peasant inhabiting the neighbouring valley. 'He is going to the
Carnival at Venice,' added Annette, 'for they say he has a fine hand
at playing, and will get a world of money; and the Carnival is just
going to begin: but for my part, I should like to live among these
pleasant woods and hills, better than in a town; and they say
Ma'moiselle, we shall see no woods, or hills, or fields, at Venice,
for that it is built in the very middle of the sea.'

Emily agreed with the talkative Annette, that this young man was
making a change for the worse, and could not forbear silently
lamenting, that he should be drawn from the innocence and beauty of
these scenes, to the corrupt ones of that voluptuous city.

When she was alone, unable to sleep, the landscapes of her native
home, with Valancourt, and the circumstances of her departure,
haunted her fancy; she drew pictures of social happiness amidst the
grand simplicity of nature, such as she feared she had bade farewel
to for ever; and then, the idea of this young Piedmontese, thus
ignorantly sporting with his happiness, returned to her thoughts,
and, glad to escape awhile from the pressure of nearer interests, she
indulged her fancy in composing the following lines.

THE PIEDMONTESE

Ah, merry swain, who laugh'd along the vales,
And with your gay pipe made the mountains ring,
Why leave your cot, your woods, and thymy gales,
And friends belov'd, for aught that wealth can bring?
He goes to wake o'er moon-light seas the string,
Venetian gold his untaught fancy hails!
Yet oft of home his simple carols sing,
And his steps pause, as the last Alp he scales.
Once more he turns to view his native scene--
Far, far below, as roll the clouds away,
He spies his cabin 'mid the pine-tops green,
The well-known woods, clear brook, and pastures gay;
And thinks of friends and parents left behind,
Of sylvan revels, dance, and festive song;
And hears the faint reed swelling in the wind;
And his sad sighs the distant notes prolong!
Thus went the swain, till mountain-shadows fell,
And dimm'd the landscape to his aching sight;
And must he leave the vales he loves so well!
Can foreign wealth, and shows, his heart delight?
No, happy vales! your wild rocks still shall hear
His pipe, light sounding on the morning breeze;
Still shall he lead the flocks to streamlet clear,
And watch at eve beneath the western trees.
Away, Venetian gold--your charm is o'er!
And now his swift step seeks the lowland bow'rs,
Where, through the leaves, his cottage light ONCE MORE
Guides him to happy friends, and jocund hours.
Ah, merry swain! that laugh along the vales,
And with your gay pipe make the mountains ring,
Your cot, your woods, your thymy-scented gales--
And friends belov'd--more joy than wealth can bring!



CHAPTER II


TITANIA. If you will patiently dance in our round,
And see our moon-light revels, go with us.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Early on the following morning, the travellers set out for Turin.
The luxuriant plain, that extends from the feet of the Alps to that
magnificent city, was not then, as now, shaded by an avenue of trees
nine miles in length; but plantations of olives, mulberry and palms,
festooned with vines, mingled with the pastoral scenery, through with
the rapid Po, after its descent from the mountains, wandered to meet
the humble Doria at Turin. As they advanced towards this city, the
Alps, seen at some distance, began to appear in all their awful
sublimity; chain rising over chain in long succession, their higher
points darkened by the hovering clouds, sometimes hid, and at others
seen shooting up far above them; while their lower steeps, broken
into fantastic forms, were touched with blue and purplish tints,
which, as they changed in light and shade, seemed to open new scenes
to the eye. To the east stretched the plains of Lombardy, with the
towers of Turin rising at a distance; and beyond, the Apennines,
bounding the horizon.

The general magnificence of that city, with its vistas of churches
and palaces, branching from the grand square, each opening to a
landscape of the distant Alps or Apennines, was not only such as
Emily had never seen in France, but such as she had never imagined.

Montoni, who had been often at Turin, and cared little about views of
any kind, did not comply with his wife's request, that they might
survey some of the palaces; but staying only till the necessary
refreshments could be obtained, they set forward for Venice with all
possible rapidity. Montoni's manner, during this journey, was grave,
and even haughty; and towards Madame Montoni he was more especially
reserved; but it was not the reserve of respect so much as of pride
and discontent. Of Emily he took little notice. With Cavigni his
conversations were commonly on political or military topics, such as
the convulsed state of their country rendered at this time
particularly interesting, Emily observed, that, at the mention of any
daring exploit, Montoni's eyes lost their sullenness, and seemed
instantaneously to gleam with fire; yet they still retained somewhat
of a lurking cunning, and she sometimes thought that their fire
partook more of the glare of malice than the brightness of valour,
though the latter would well have harmonized with the high chivalric
air of his figure, in which Cavigni, with all his gay and gallant
manners, was his inferior.

On entering the Milanese, the gentlemen exchanged their French hats
for the Italian cap of scarlet cloth, embroidered; and Emily was
somewhat surprised to observe, that Montoni added to his the military
plume, while Cavigni retained only the feather: which was usually
worn with such caps: but she at length concluded, that Montoni
assumed this ensign of a soldier for convenience, as a means of
passing with more safety through a country over-run with parties of
the military.

Over the beautiful plains of this country the devastations of war
were frequently visible. Where the lands had not been suffered to
lie uncultivated, they were often tracked with the steps of the
spoiler; the vines were torn down from the branches that had
supported them, the olives trampled upon the ground, and even the
groves of mulberry trees had been hewn by the enemy to light fires
that destroyed the hamlets and villages of their owners. Emily
turned her eyes with a sigh from these painful vestiges of
contention, to the Alps of the Grison, that overlooked them to the
north, whose awful solitudes seemed to offer to persecuted man a
secure asylum.

The travellers frequently distinguished troops of soldiers moving at
a distance; and they experienced, at the little inns on the road, the
scarcity of provision and other inconveniences, which are a part of
the consequence of intestine war; but they had never reason to be
much alarmed for their immediate safety, and they passed on to Milan
with little interruption of any kind, where they staid not to survey
the grandeur of the city, or even to view its vast cathedral, which
was then building.

Beyond Milan, the country wore the aspect of a ruder devastation; and
though every thing seemed now quiet, the repose was like that of
death, spread over features, which retain the impression of the last
convulsions.

It was not till they had passed the eastern limits of the Milanese,
that the travellers saw any troops since they had left Milan, when,
as the evening was drawing to a close, they descried what appeared to
be an army winding onward along the distant plains, whose spears and
other arms caught the last rays of the sun. As the column advanced
through a part of the road, contracted between two hillocks, some of
the commanders, on horseback, were distinguished on a small eminence,
pointing and making signals for the march; while several of the
officers were riding along the line directing its progress, according
to the signs communicated by those above; and others, separating from
the vanguard, which had emerged from the pass, were riding carelessly
along the plains at some distance to the right of the army.

As they drew nearer, Montoni, distinguishing the feathers that waved
in their caps, and the banners and liveries of the bands that
followed them, thought he knew this to be the small army commanded by
the famous captain Utaldo, with whom, as well as with some of the
other chiefs, he was personally acquainted. He, therefore, gave
orders that the carriages should draw up by the side of the road, to
await their arrival, and give them the pass. A faint strain of
martial music now stole by, and, gradually strengthening as the
troops approached, Emily distinguished the drums and trumpets, with
the clash of cymbals and of arms, that were struck by a small party,
in time to the march.

Montoni being now certain that these were the bands of the victorious
Utaldo, leaned from the carriage window, and hailed their general by
waving his cap in the air; which compliment the chief returned by
raising his spear, and then letting it down again suddenly, while
some of his officers, who were riding at a distance from the troops,
came up to the carriage, and saluted Montoni as an old acquaintance.
The captain himself soon after arriving, his bands halted while he
conversed with Montoni, whom he appeared much rejoiced to see; and
from what he said, Emily understood that this was a victorious army,
returning into their own principality; while the numerous waggons,
that accompanied them, contained the rich spoils of the enemy, their
own wounded soldiers, and the prisoners they had taken in battle, who
were to be ransomed when the peace, then negociating between the
neighbouring states, should be ratified. The chiefs on the following
day were to separate, and each, taking his share of the spoil, was to
return with his own band to his castle. This was therefore to be an
evening of uncommon and general festivity, in commemoration of the
victory they had accomplished together, and of the farewell which the
commanders were about to take of each other.

Emily, as these officers conversed with Montoni, observed with
admiration, tinctured with awe, their high martial air, mingled with
the haughtiness of the nobless of those days, and heightened by the
gallantry of their dress, by the plumes towering on their caps, the
armorial coat, Persian sash, and ancient Spanish cloak. Utaldo,
telling Montoni that his army were going to encamp for the night near
a village at only a few miles distance, invited him to turn back and
partake of their festivity, assuring the ladies also, that they
should be pleasantly accommodated; but Montoni excused himself,
adding, that it was his design to reach Verona that evening; and,
after some conversation concerning the state of the country towards
that city, they parted.

The travellers proceeded without any interruption; but it was some
hours after sun-set before they arrived at Verona, whose beautiful
environs were therefore not seen by Emily till the following morning;
when, leaving that pleasant town at an early hour, they set off for
Padua, where they embarked on the Brenta for Venice. Here the scene
was entirely changed; no vestiges of war, such as had deformed the
plains of the Milanese, appeared; on the contrary, all was peace and
elegance. The verdant banks of the Brenta exhibited a continued
landscape of beauty, gaiety, and splendour. Emily gazed with
admiration on the villas of the Venetian noblesse, with their cool
porticos and colonnades, overhung with poplars and cypresses of
majestic height and lively verdure; on their rich orangeries, whose
blossoms perfumed the air, and on the luxuriant willows, that dipped
their light leaves in the wave, and sheltered from the sun the gay
parties whose music came at intervals on the breeze. The Carnival
did, indeed, appear to extend from Venice along the whole line of
these enchanting shores; the river was gay with boats passing to that
city, exhibiting the fantastic diversity of a masquerade in the
dresses of the people within them; and, towards evening, groups of
dancers frequently were seen beneath the trees.

Cavigni, meanwhile, informed her of the names of the noblemen to whom
the several villas they passed belonged, adding light sketches of
their characters, such as served to amuse rather than to inform,
exhibiting his own wit instead of the delineation of truth. Emily
was sometimes diverted by his conversation; but his gaiety did not
entertain Madame Montoni, as it had formerly done; she was frequently
grave, and Montoni retained his usual reserve.

Nothing could exceed Emily's admiration on her first view of Venice,
with its islets, palaces, and towers rising out of the sea, whose
clear surface reflected the tremulous picture in all its colours.
The sun, sinking in the west, tinted the waves and the lofty
mountains of Friuli, which skirt the northern shores of the Adriatic,
with a saffron glow, while on the marble porticos and colonnades of
St. Mark were thrown the rich lights and shades of evening. As they
glided on, the grander features of this city appeared more
distinctly: its terraces, crowned with airy yet majestic fabrics,
touched, as they now were, with the splendour of the setting sun,
appeared as if they had been called up from the ocean by the wand of
an enchanter, rather than reared by mortal hands.

The sun, soon after, sinking to the lower world, the shadow of the
earth stole gradually over the waves, and then up the towering sides
of the mountains of Friuli, till it extinguished even the last upward
beams that had lingered on their summits, and the melancholy purple
of evening drew over them, like a thin veil. How deep, how beautiful
was the tranquillity that wrapped the scene! All nature seemed to
repose; the finest emotions of the soul were alone awake. Emily's
eyes filled with tears of admiration and sublime devotion, as she
raised them over the sleeping world to the vast heavens, and heard
the notes of solemn music, that stole over the waters from a
distance. She listened in still rapture, and no person of the party
broke the charm by an enquiry. The sounds seemed to grow on the air;
for so smoothly did the barge glide along, that its motion was not
perceivable, and the fairy city appeared approaching to welcome the
strangers. They now distinguished a female voice, accompanied by a
few instruments, singing a soft and mournful air; and its fine
expression, as sometimes it seemed pleading with the impassioned
tenderness of love, and then languishing into the cadence of hopeless
grief, declared, that it flowed from no feigned sensibility. Ah!
thought Emily, as she sighed and remembered Valancourt, those strains
come from the heart!

She looked round, with anxious enquiry; the deep twilight, that had
fallen over the scene, admitted only imperfect images to the eye,
but, at some distance on the sea, she thought she perceived a
gondola: a chorus of voices and instruments now swelled on the air--
so sweet, so solemn! it seemed like the hymn of angels descending
through the silence of night! Now it died away, and fancy almost
beheld the holy choir reascending towards heaven; then again it
swelled with the breeze, trembled awhile, and again died into
silence. It brought to Emily's recollection some lines of her late
father, and she repeated in a low voice,

Oft I hear,
Upon the silence of the midnight air,
Celestial voices swell in holy chorus
That bears the soul to heaven!

The deep stillness, that succeeded, was as expressive as the strain
that had just ceased. It was uninterrupted for several minutes, till
a general sigh seemed to release the company from their enchantment.
Emily, however, long indulged the pleasing sadness, that had stolen
upon her spirits; but the gay and busy scene that appeared, as the
barge approached St. Mark's Place, at length roused her attention.
The rising moon, which threw a shadowy light upon the terraces, and
illumined the porticos and magnificent arcades that crowned them,
discovered the various company, whose light steps, soft guitars, and
softer voices, echoed through the colonnades.

The music they heard before now passed Montoni's barge, in one of the
gondolas, of which several were seen skimming along the moon-light
sea, full of gay parties, catching the cool breeze. Most of these
had music, made sweeter by the waves over which it floated, and by
the measured sound of oars, as they dashed the sparkling tide. Emily
gazed, and listened, and thought herself in a fairy scene; even
Madame Montoni was pleased; Montoni congratulated himself on his
return to Venice, which he called the first city in the world, and
Cavigni was more gay and animated than ever.

The barge passed on to the grand canal, where Montoni's mansion was
situated. And here, other forms of beauty and of grandeur, such as
her imagination had never painted, were unfolded to Emily in the
palaces of Sansovino and Palladio, as she glided along the waves.
The air bore no sounds, but those of sweetness, echoing along each
margin of the canal, and from gondolas on its surface, while groups
of masks were seen dancing on the moon-light terraces, and seemed
almost to realize the romance of fairyland.

The barge stopped before the portico of a large house, from whence a
servant of Montoni crossed the terrace, and immediately the party
disembarked. From the portico they passed a noble hall to a stair-
case of marble, which led to a saloon, fitted up in a style of
magnificence that surprised Emily. The walls and ceilings were
adorned with historical and allegorical paintings, in fresco; silver
tripods, depending from chains of the same metal, illumined the
apartment, the floor of which was covered with Indian mats painted in
a variety of colours and devices; the couches and drapery of the
lattices were of pale green silk, embroidered and fringed with green
and gold. Balcony lattices opened upon the grand canal, whence rose
a confusion of voices and of musical instruments, and the breeze that
gave freshness to the apartment. Emily, considering the gloomy
temper of Montoni, looked upon the splendid furniture of this house
with surprise, and remembered the report of his being a man of broken
fortune, with astonishment. 'Ah!' said she to herself, 'if
Valancourt could but see this mansion, what peace would it give him!
He would then be convinced that the report was groundless.'

Madame Montoni seemed to assume the air of a princess; but Montoni
was restless and discontented, and did not even observe the civility
of bidding her welcome to her home.

Soon after his arrival, he ordered his gondola, and, with Cavigni,
went out to mingle in the scenes of the evening. Madame then became
serious and thoughtful. Emily, who was charmed with every thing she
saw, endeavoured to enliven her; but reflection had not, with Madame
Montoni, subdued caprice and ill-humour, and her answers discovered
so much of both, that Emily gave up the attempt of diverting her, and
withdrew to a lattice, to amuse herself with the scene without, so
new and so enchanting.

The first object that attracted her notice was a group of dancers on
the terrace below, led by a guitar and some other instruments. The
girl, who struck the guitar, and another, who flourished a
tambourine, passed on in a dancing step, and with a light grace and
gaiety of heart, that would have subdued the goddess of spleen in her
worst humour. After these came a group of fantastic figures, some
dressed as gondolieri, others as minstrels, while others seemed to
defy all description. They sung in parts, their voices accompanied
by a few soft instruments. At a little distance from the portico
they stopped, and Emily distinguished the verses of Ariosto. They
sung of the wars of the Moors against Charlemagne, and then of the
woes of Orlando: afterwards the measure changed, and the melancholy
sweetness of Petrarch succeeded. The magic of his grief was assisted
by all that Italian music and Italian expression, heightened by the
enchantments of Venetian moonlight, could give.

Emily, as she listened, caught the pensive enthusiasm; her tears
flowed silently, while her fancy bore her far away to France and to
Valancourt. Each succeeding sonnet, more full of charming sadness
than the last, seemed to bind the spell of melancholy: with extreme
regret she saw the musicians move on, and her attention followed the
strain till the last faint warble died in air. She then remained
sunk in that pensive tranquillity which soft music leaves on the
mind--a state like that produced by the view of a beautiful landscape
by moon-light, or by the recollection of scenes marked with the
tenderness of friends lost for ever, and with sorrows, which time has
mellowed into mild regret. Such scenes are indeed, to the mind, like
'those faint traces which the memory bears of music that is past'.

Other sounds soon awakened her attention: it was the solemn harmony
of horns, that swelled from a distance; and, observing the gondolas
arrange themselves along the margin of the terraces, she threw on her
veil, and, stepping into the balcony, discerned, in the distant
perspective of the canal, something like a procession, floating on
the light surface of the water: as it approached, the horns and
other instruments mingled sweetly, and soon after the fabled deities
of the city seemed to have arisen from the ocean; for Neptune, with
Venice personified as his queen, came on the undulating waves,
surrounded by tritons and sea-nymphs. The fantastic splendour of
this spectacle, together with the grandeur of the surrounding
palaces, appeared like the vision of a poet suddenly embodied, and
the fanciful images, which it awakened in Emily's mind, lingered
there long after the procession had passed away. She indulged
herself in imagining what might be the manners and delights of a sea-
nymph, till she almost wished to throw off the habit of mortality,
and plunge into the green wave to participate them.

'How delightful,' said she, 'to live amidst the coral bowers and
crystal caverns of the ocean, with my sister nymphs, and listen to
the sounding waters above, and to the soft shells of the tritons! and
then, after sun-set, to skim on the surface of the waves round wild
rocks and along sequestered shores, where, perhaps, some pensive
wanderer comes to weep! Then would I soothe his sorrows with my
sweet music, and offer him from a shell some of the delicious fruit
that hangs round Neptune's palace.'

She was recalled from her reverie to a mere mortal supper, and could
not forbear smiling at the fancies she had been indulging, and at her
conviction of the serious displeasure, which Madame Montoni would
have expressed, could she have been made acquainted with them.

After supper, her aunt sat late, but Montoni did not return, and she
at length retired to rest. If Emily had admired the magnificence of
the saloon, she was not less surprised, on observing the half-
furnished and forlorn appearance of the apartments she passed in the
way to her chamber, whither she went through long suites of noble
rooms, that seemed, from their desolate aspect, to have been
unoccupied for many years. On the walls of some were the faded
remains of tapestry; from others, painted in fresco, the damps had
almost withdrawn both colours and design. At length she reached her
own chamber, spacious, desolate, and lofty, like the rest, with high
lattices that opened towards the Adriatic. It brought gloomy images
to her mind, but the view of the Adriatic soon gave her others more
airy, among which was that of the sea-nymph, whose delights she had
before amused herself with picturing; and, anxious to escape from
serious reflections, she now endeavoured to throw her fanciful ideas
into a train, and concluded the hour with composing the following
lines:

THE SEA-NYMPH

Down, down a thousand fathom deep,
Among the sounding seas I go;
Play round the foot of ev'ry steep
Whose cliffs above the ocean grow.

There, within their secret cares,
I hear the mighty rivers roar;
And guide their streams through Neptune's waves
To bless the green earth's inmost shore:

And bid the freshen'd waters glide,
For fern-crown'd nymphs of lake, or brook,
Through winding woods and pastures wide,
And many a wild, romantic nook.

For this the nymphs, at fall of eave,
Oft dance upon the flow'ry banks,
And sing my name, and garlands weave
To bear beneath the wave their thanks.

In coral bow'rs I love to lie,


 


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