Corinne, Volume 1 (of 2)

  Chapter iv.

  But Good Friday soon restored to Lord Nelville all those religiousemotions, the want of which he so much regretted on the preceding days.The seclusion of Corinne was about to terminate; he anticipated thehappiness of seeing her again: the sweet expectations of tenderaffection accord with piety; it is only a factious, worldly life, thatis entirely hostile to it. Oswald repaired to the Sixtine Chapel to hearthe celebrated _miserere_, so much talked of all over Europe. He arrivedthither whilst it was yet day, and beheld those celebrated paintings ofMichael Angelo, which represent the Last Judgment, with all the terriblepower of the subject and the talent which has handled it. Michael Angelowas penetrated with the study of Dante; and the painter, in imitation ofthe poet, represents mythological beings in the presence of JesusChrist; but he always makes Paganism the evil principle, and it is underthe form of demons that he characterises the heathen fables. On thevault of the chapel are represented the prophets, and the sybils calledin testimony by the Christians,

  Teste David cum Sibylla.

  A crowd of angels surround them; and this whole vault, painted thus,seems to bring us nearer to heaven, but with a gloomy and formidableaspect. Hardly does daylight penetrate the windows, which cast upon thepictures shadow rather than light. The obscurity enlarges those figures,already so imposing, which the pencil of Michael Angelo has traced; theincense, whose perfume has a somewhat funereal character, fills the airin this enclosure, and every sensation is prelusive to the most profoundof all--that which the music is to produce.

  Whilst Oswald was absorbed by the reflections which every object thatsurrounded him gave birth to, he saw Corinne, whose presence he had nothoped to behold so soon, enter the women's gallery, behind the gratingwhich separated it from that of the men. She was dressed in black, allpale with absence, and trembled so when she perceived Oswald, that shewas obliged to lean on the balustrade for support as she advanced; atthis moment the _miserere_ began.

  The voices, perfectly trained in this ancient song, proceeded from agallery at the commencement of the vault; the singers are not seen; themusic seems to hover in the air; and every instant the fall of dayrenders the chapel more gloomy. It was not that voluptuous andimpassioned music which Oswald and Corinne had heard eight days before;they were holy strains which counselled mortals to renounce everyearthly enjoyment. Corinne fell on her knees before the grating andremained plunged in the most profound meditation. Oswald himselfdisappeared from her sight. She thought that in such a moment one couldwish to die, if the separation of the soul from the body could takeplace without pain; if, on a sudden, an angel could carry away on hiswings our sentiments and our thoughts--sparks of ethereal fire,returning towards their source: death would then be, to use theexpression, only a spontaneous act of the heart, a more ardent and moreacceptable prayer.

  The _miserere_, that is to say, _have mercy on us_, is a psalm,composed of verses, which are sung alternately in a very differentmanner. A celestial music is heard by turns, and the verse following, inrecitative, is murmured in a dull and almost hoarse tone. One would say,that it is the reply of harsh and stern characters to sensitive hearts;that it is the reality of life which withers and repels the desires ofgenerous souls. When the sweet choristers resume their strain, hoperevives; but when the verse of recitative begins, a cold sensationseizes upon the hearer, not caused by terror, but by a repression ofenthusiasm. At length, the last piece, more noble and affecting than allthe others, leaves a pure and sweet impression upon the soul: may Godvouchsafe that same impression to us before we die.

  The torches are extinguished; night advances, and the figures of theprophets and the sybils appear like phantoms enveloped in twilight. Thesilence is profound; a word spoken would be insupportable in the thenstate of the soul, when all is intimate and internal; as soon as thelast sound expires, all depart slowly and without the least noise; eachone seems to dread the return to the vulgar interests of the world.

  Corinne followed the procession, which repaired to the temple of StPeter, then lighted only by an illuminated cross. This sign of grief,alone and shining in the august obscurity of this immense edifice, isthe most beautiful image of Christianity in the midst of the darkness oflife. A pale and distant light is cast on the statues which adorn thetombs. The living, who are perceived in crowds beneath these vaults,seem like pigmies, compared with the images of the dead. There is aroundthe cross, a space which it lights up, where the Pope clad in white isseen prostrate, with all the cardinals ranged behind him. They remainthere for half an hour in the most profound silence, and it isimpossible not to be moved at this spectacle. We know not the subjectof their prayers; we hear not their secret groanings; but they are old,they precede us in the journey to the tomb. When we in our turn passinto that terrible advance guard, may God by his grace so ennoble ourage, that the decline of life may be the first days of immortality!

  Corinne, also,--the young and beautiful Corinne,--was kneeling behindthe train of priests, and the soft light reflected on her countenance,gave it a pale hue, without diminishing the lustre of her eyes. Oswaldcontemplated her as a beautiful picture--a being that inspiredadoration. When her prayer was concluded she arose. Lord Nelville darednot yet approach her, respecting the religious meditation in which hethought her plunged; but she came to him first with a transport ofhappiness; and this sentiment pervading all her actions, she receivedwith a most lively gaiety, all those who accosted her in St Peter's,which had become, all at once, a great public promenade, and arendezvous to discuss topics of business or pleasure.

  Oswald was astonished at this mobility which caused such oppositeimpressions to succeed each other; and though the gaiety of Corinne gavehim pleasure, he was surprised to find in her no trace of the emotionsof the day. He did not conceive how, upon so solemn, a day, they couldpermit this fine church to be converted into a Roman _cafe_, wherepeople met for pleasure; and beholding Corinne in the midst of hercircle, talking with so much vivacity, and not thinking on the objectsthat surrounded her, he conceived a sentiment of mistrust as to thelevity of which she might be capable. She instantly perceived it, andquitting her company abruptly, she took the arm of Oswald to walk withhim in the church, saying, "I have never held any conversation with youupon my religious sentiments--permit me to speak a little upon thatsubject now; perhaps I shall be able to dissipate those clouds which Iperceive rising in your mind."