Chapter i.
Oswald was proud of carrying off his conquest; he who felt himselfalmost always disturbed in his enjoyments by reflections and regrets,for once did not experience the pangs of uncertainty. It was not that hewas decided, but he did not think about it and followed the tide ofevents hoping it would lead him to the object of his wishes.
They traversed the district of Albano[32], where is still shown what isbelieved to be the tomb of the Horatii and the Curiatii. They passednear the lake of Nemi and the sacred woods that surround it. It is saidthat Hippolitus was resuscitated by Diana in these parts; she would notpermit horses to approach it, and by this prohibition perpetuated thememory of her young favourite's misfortune. Thus in Italy our memory isrefreshed by History and Poetry almost at every step, and the charmingsituations which recall them, soften all that is melancholy in the past,and seem to preserve an eternal youth.
Oswald and Corinne traversed the Pontine marshes--a country at oncefertile and pestilential,--where, with all the fecundity of nature, asingle habitation is not to be found. Some sickly men change yourhorses, recommending to you not to sleep in passing the marshes; forsleep there is really the harbinger of death. The plough which someimprudent cultivators will still sometimes guide over this fatal land,is drawn by buffaloes, in appearance at once mean and ferocious, whilstthe most brilliant sun sheds its lustre on this melancholy spectacle.The marshy and unwholesome parts in the north are announced by theirrepulsive aspect; but in the more fatal countries of the south, naturepreserves a serenity, the deceitful mildness of which is an illusion totravellers. If it be true that it is very dangerous to sleep in crossingthe Pontine marshes, their invincible soporific influence in the heat ofthe day is one of those perfidious impressions which we receive fromthis spot. Lord Nelville constantly watched over Corinne. Sometimes sheleant her head on Theresa who accompanied them; sometimes she closed hereyes, overcome by the languor of the air. Oswald awakened herimmediately, with inexpressible terror; and though he was naturallytaciturn, he was now inexhaustible in subjects of conversation, alwayswell supported and always new, to prevent her from yielding to thisfatal sleep. Ah! should we not pardon the heart of a woman the cruelregret which attaches to those days when she was beloved, when herexistence was so necessary to that of another, when at every moment shewas supported and protected? What isolation must succeed this season ofdelight! How happy are they whom the sacred hand of Hymen has conductedfrom love to friendship, without one painful moment having embitteredtheir course!
Oswald and Corinne, after the anxious passage of the marshes, at lengtharrived at Terracina, on the sea coast, near the confines of the kingdomof Naples. It is there that the south truly begins; it is there that itreceives travellers in all its magnificence. Naples, _that happycountry_, is, as it were, separated from the rest of Europe by the seawhich surrounds it and by that dangerous district which must be passedin order to arrive at it. One would say that nature, wishing to secureto herself this charming abode, has designedly made all access to itperilous. At Rome we are not yet in the south; we have there a foretasteof its sweets, but its enchantment only truly begins in the territory ofNaples. Not far from Terracina is the promontory fixed upon by the poetsas the abode of Circe: and behind Terracina rises Mount Anxur, whereTheodoric, king of the Goths, had placed one of those strong castleswith which the northern warriors have covered the earth. There are fewtraces of the invasion of Italy by the barbarians; or at least, wherethose traces consist in devastation, they are confounded with theeffects of time. The northern nations have not given to Italy thatwarlike aspect which Germany has preserved. It seems that the gentlesoil of Ausonia was unable to support the fortifications and citadelswhich bristle in northern countries. Rarely is a Gothic edifice or afeudal castle to be met with here; and the monuments of the ancientRomans reign alone triumphant over Time, and the nations by whom theyhave been conquered.
The whole mountain which dominates Terracina, is covered with orange andlemon trees, which embalm the air in a delicious manner. There isnothing in our climate that resembles the southern perfume of lemontrees in the open air; it produces on the imagination almost the sameeffect as melodious music; it gives a poetic disposition to the soul,stimulates genius, and intoxicates with the charms of nature. The aloeand the broad-leaved cactus, which are met here at every step, have apeculiar aspect, which brings to mind all that we know of the formidableproductions of Africa. These plants inspire a sort of terror: they seemto belong to a violent and despotic nature. The whole aspect of thecountry is foreign: we feel ourselves in another world, a world which isonly known by the descriptions of the ancient poets, who have at thesame time so much imagination and so much exactness in theirdescriptions. On entering Terracina, the children threw into thecarriage of Corinne an immense quantity of flowers which they gather bythe road-side or on the mountain, and which they carelessly scatterabout; such is their reliance on the prodigality of nature! The cartswhich bring home the harvest from the fields are every day ornamentedwith garlands of roses, and sometimes the children surround the cupsthey drink out of with flowers; for beneath such a sky the imaginationof the common people becomes poetical. By the side of these smilingpictures the sea, whose billows lashed the shore with fury, was seen andheard. It was not agitated by the storm; but by the rocks which stand inhabitual opposition to its waves, irritating its grandeur.
E non udite ancor come risuona Il roco ed alto fremito marino?
_And do you not hear still the hoarse and deep roar of the sea?_
This motion without aim, this strength without object which is renewedthroughout eternity without our being able to discover either its causeor its end, attracts us to the shore, where this grand spectacle offersitself to our sight; and we experience, as it were, a desire mingledwith terror, to approach the waves and to deaden our thoughts by theirtumult.
Towards the evening all was calm. Corinne and Lord Nelville walked intothe country; they proceeded with a slow pace silently enjoying the scenebefore them. Each step they took crushed the flowers and extorted fromthem their delicious perfumes; the nightingales, resting on therose-bushes, willingly lent their song, so that the purest melodies wereunited to the most delicious odours; all the charms of nature mutuallyattracted each other, while the softness of the air was beyondexpression. When we contemplate a fine view in the north, the climate insome degree disturbs the pleasure which it inspires: those slightsensations of cold and humidity are like a false note in a concert, andmore or less distract your attention from what you behold; but inapproaching Naples you experience the friendly smiles of nature, soperfectly and without alloy, that nothing abates the agreeablesensations which they cause you. All the relations of man in our climateare with society. Nature, in hot countries, puts us in relation withexternal objects, and our sentiments sweetly expand. Not but that thesouth has also its melancholy. In what part of the earth does not humandestiny produce this impression? But in this melancholy there is neitherdiscontent, anxiety, nor regret. In other countries it is life, which,such as it is, does not suffice for the faculties of the soul; here thefaculties of the soul do not suffice for life, and the superabundance ofsensation inspires a dreamy indolence, which we can hardly account forwhen oppressed with it.
During the night, flies of a shining hue fill the air; one would saythat the mountain emitted sparks of fire, and that the burning earth hadlet loose some of its flames. These insects fly through the trees,sometimes repose on the leaves, and the wind blows these minute starsabout, varying in a thousand ways their uncertain light. The sand alsocontained a great number of metallic stones, which sparkled on everyside: it was the land of fire, still preserving in its bosom the tracesof the sun, whose last rays had just warmed it. There is a life, and atthe same time, a repose, in this nature, which entirely satisfies thevarious desires of human existence.
Corinne abandoned herself to the charms of this evening, and waspenetrated with joy; nor could Oswald conceal the emotion theyinspired--many ti
mes he pressed Corinne to his heart, many times he drewback from her, then returned, then drew back again out of respect to herwho was to be the companion of his life. Corinne felt no alarm, for suchwas her esteem for Oswald, that if he had demanded the entire surrenderof her being she would have considered that request as a solemn vow toespouse her; but she saw him triumph over himself, and this conquest wasan honour paid her; whilst her heart felt that plenitude of happiness,and of love, which does not permit us to form another desire. Oswald wasfar from being so calm: he was fired with the charms of Corinne. Once hethrew himself at her feet with violence, and seemed to have lost allempire over his passion; but Corinne regarded him with such anexpression of sweetness and fear, she made him so sensible of his powerwhile beseeching him not to abuse it, that this humble entreaty inspiredhim with more respect than any other could possibly have done.
They then perceived in the sea, the reflection of a torch carried by theunknown hand of one who traversed the shore, repairing secretly to aneighbouring house. "He is going to see the object of his love;" saidOswald.--"Yes," answered Corinne. "And my happiness, for to-day, isabout to end,"--resumed Oswald. At this moment the looks of Corinne werelifted towards heaven, and her eyes suffused with tears. Oswald, fearingthat he had offended her, fell on his knees to entreat her forgivenessfor that love which had overpowered him. "No," said Corinne, stretchingforth her hand to him, and inviting him to return with her. "No,Oswald, I feel no alarm: you will respect her who loves you: you knowthat a simple request from you would be all-powerful with me; it istherefore you who must be my security--you who would for ever reject meas your bride, if you had rendered me unworthy of being so." "Well,"answered Oswald, "since you believe in this cruel empire of your willupon my heart, Corinne, whence arises your sadness?"--"Alas!" repliedshe, "I was saying to myself, that the moments which I have just passedwith you were the happiest of my life, and as I turned my eyes ingratitude to heaven, I know not by what chance, a superstition of mychildhood revived in my heart. The moon which I contemplated was coveredwith a cloud, and the aspect of that cloud was fatal. I have alwaysfound in the sky a countenance sometimes paternal and sometimes angry;and I tell you, Oswald, heaven has to-night condemned our love."--"Mydear," answered Lord Nelville, "the only omens of the life of man, arehis good or evil actions; and have I not this very evening, immolated mymost ardent desires on the altar of virtue?"--"Well, so much the betterif you are not included in this presage," replied Corinne; "it may bethat this angry sky has only threatened me."
FOOTNOTE:
[32] There is a charming description of the Lake of Albano, in acollection of poems by Madame Brunn, _nee_ Muenter, whose talent andimagination give her a first rank among the women of her country.