Corinne, Volume 1 (of 2)
Page 11
Chapter i.
The Count d'Erfeuil was present at the ceremony of the Capitol: He camethe next day to Lord Nelville, and said to him, "My dear Oswald, shall Itake you this evening to see Corinne?" "How!" interrupted Oswald; "areyou acquainted with her, then?" "No," replied the Count d'Erfeuil; "butso celebrated a lady is always flattered when people express a desire tosee her; and I have written to her this morning to request permission tovisit her in the evening accompanied by you." "I could have wished,"replied Oswald blushing, "that you had not named me in this mannerwithout my consent." "Do not be angry with me," replied the Countd'Erfeuil, "for having spared you some tiresome formalities: Instead ofgoing to an ambassador, who would have taken you to a cardinal, whowould have conducted you to a lady, who would have introduced you toCorinne, I present you--you present me, and we shall both of us be verywell received I have no doubt."
"I am less confident on that subject than you," replied Lord Nelville,"and certainly not without reason. I am afraid that this forward requestmay have displeased Corinne." "Not at all, I assure you," said the Countd'Erfeuil; "she has too much good sense for that; and her answer isextremely polite." "How! she has answered you," replied Lord Nelville;"and what has she said to you, my dear Count?" "Ah, my dear Count?"said M. d'Erfeuil, laughing, "you change your note then, since you knowthat Corinne has answered me; however, _I love you, and all ispardoned_. I will confess to you then, modestly, that in my note I hadspoken of myself more than of you, and that, in her answer she seems tohave named you first, but I am never jealous of my friends." "Indeed,"replied Lord Nelville, "I do not think that either you or I have anyreason to flatter ourselves with being agreeable to Corinne; and as tome, all that I desire is sometimes to enjoy the society of soextraordinary a lady: so adieu till this evening, since you havearranged it so." "You will accompany me then?" said the Count d'Erfeuil."Well, yes, I will," answered Lord Nelville with visible embarrassment."Why then," continued the Count, "find fault with what I have done? Youfinish as I have begun, but however, I must allow you the honour ofbeing more reserved than I, provided you lose nothing by it. Corinne iscertainly a charming lady, she is graceful and witty; I could notcomprehend what she said very well, because she spoke Italian; but Iwould venture to lay a wager, from only seeing her, that she knowsFrench very well: however, we shall judge of that in the evening. Sheleads a very singular life; she is rich, young, and independent; yet noone can tell, to a certainty, whether she has lovers or not. It appearscertain, notwithstanding, that, at present she gives a preference to noone; indeed," added he, "it may be the case that she has not been ableto find in this country a man worthy of her: that would not astonish meat all."
The Count held this kind of discourse some time longer without beinginterrupted by Lord Nelville. He said nothing that was discourteous; buthe always wounded the delicate feelings of Oswald by speaking with toomuch boldness or too much levity upon what interested him. There is acertain tact that even wit and knowledge of the world will not teach; sothat, without being wanting in the most perfect politeness, we may oftenwound the heart.
Lord Nelville was very much agitated the whole day in thinking of thevisit he was to make in the evening; but he drove away from him as muchas he could the reflections which disturbed him, and endeavoured topersuade himself that he might find pleasure in a sentiment, withoutpermitting it to decide the fate of his life. False security! for thesoul receives no pleasure from anything which it deems transient.
Oswald and the Count arrived at Corinne's house, which was situated inthe _Quartiere di Trastevere_, a little beyond the castle of St Angelo.
The view of the Tiber gave an additional embellishment to this house,which was ornamented, internally, with the most perfect elegance. Thesaloon was decorated with copies, in plaster, of the best statues inItaly--Niobe, Laocoon, Venus de Medicis, and the Dying Gladiator. In theapartment where Corinne received company were instruments of music,books, and furniture not more remarkable for its simplicity than for itsconvenience, being merely arranged so as to render the conversationeasy, and to draw the circle more closely together. Corinne had not yetmade her appearance when Oswald arrived; while waiting for her he walkedabout the apartment with much eager curiosity, remarking in everyparticular a happy medley of all that is most agreeable in the English,French and Italian nations; the love of literature, the taste forsociety, and a passion for the fine arts.
Corinne at length appeared; her costume was still picturesque withoutbeing over-studied. Her hair was ornamented with antique cameos and shewore a necklace of coral: her politeness was noble and easy: inbeholding her in the familiar circle of her friends, you might discoverin her the goddess of the Capitol, notwithstanding she was perfectlysimple and natural in everything. She first saluted the Count d'Erfeuil,her eyes fixed upon Oswald; and then, as if she repented this piece offalsehood, she advanced towards the latter--and it might be remarkedthat in addressing him by the title of Lord Nelville, that name seemedto produce a singular effect upon her, and twice she repeated it with afaltering voice, as if it recalled some affecting remembrances.
At length, in the most graceful manner, she thanked Lord Nelville, inItalian, for his obliging behaviour on the preceding day in picking upher crown. Oswald answered by expressing the admiration with which sheinspired him, and gently complained of her not speaking to him upon thisoccasion in English: "Am I more an alien to you to-day," added he, "thanI was yesterday?" "No certainly," replied Corinne; "but when peoplehave, like me, for several years, been in the habit of speaking two orthree different languages, they are apt to employ that which will bestconvey the sentiments they wish to express." "Surely," said Oswald,"English is your natural language, that which you speak to your friends,that--" "I am an Italian," interrupted Corinne--"pardon me, my lord, butI think I discover in you that national pride which often characterisesyour countrymen. In this country we are more modest; we are neitherpleased with ourselves like the French, nor proud of ourselves like theEnglish: we only ask a little indulgence of foreigners, and as we havelong ceased to be considered a nation, we are guilty of sometimes beingwanting, as individuals, in that dignity which is not allowed us as apeople. But when you are acquainted with the Italians, you will seethat they possess in their character, some traces of ancient greatness,some rare traces which, though now effaced, may appear again in happiertimes. I will speak English to you sometimes, but not always: Italian isdear to me; for I have endured much," added she, "to reside in Italy."
The Count d'Erfeuil politely reproached Corinne with having entirelyforgotten him, by expressing herself in languages he did not understand."Lovely Corinne," said he to her, "pray talk French; indeed you areworthy of such an accomplishment." Corinne smiled at this compliment,and began to speak French, with great purity and much facility, but withan English accent. Lord Nelville and the Count d'Erfeuil were equallyastonished, but the Count, who believed he might say anything, providedit was done with grace, and who imagined that impoliteness consisted inthe form, and not the substance, asked directly of Corinne, the reasonof this singularity. She was at first a little discomposed at thissudden interrogation; but recovering her presence of mind, she said tothe Count--"Apparently, Sir, I have learnt French of an Englishman?" Herenewed his questions smilingly, but with much earnestness. Corinne moreand more embarrassed, said to him at last, "For these four years past,Sir, since I have settled at Rome, none of my friends, none of thosewho, I am sure, are most interested on my account have questioned meconcerning my destiny; they easily perceived that it was painful to meto speak on the subject."
Those words put an end to the questions of the Count; but Corinne wasafraid she had offended him, and as he appeared to be very intimatelyconnected with Lord Nelville, she feared still more, without askingherself the reason of such fear, that he might speak disadvantageouslyof her to his friend; and therefore she set about taking much pains toplease him.
The Prince Castel-Forte arrived at this moment, with several Romans,friends of his and o
f Corinne. They were men of an amiable mind andlively disposition, very prepossessing in their appearance, and soeasily animated by the conversation of others that it was a greatpleasure to converse with them, so exquisitely did they appear to feelevery thing that was worthy of being felt. The indolence of the Italiansprevents them from displaying in company, or often in any way whatever,all the wit they possess. The greater part of them do not even cultivatein retirement, the intellectual faculties that nature has given them;but they enjoy with transport, that which comes to them without trouble.
Corinne possessed a very gay turn of wit; she perceived the ridiculouswith the keen sense of a French woman, and coloured it with theimagination of an Italian; but in every instance it was mingled withgoodness of heart; nothing was ever seen in her, either premeditated orhostile; for, in every thing, it is coldness that offends--andimagination on the contrary, is always accompanied with good-nature.
Oswald discovered a grace in Corinne which was entirely new to him. Onegreat and terrible circumstance of his life was connected with theremembrance of a very amiable and intelligent French woman; but Corinneresembled her in nothing--her conversation was a mixture of every kindof intellectual endowment, enthusiasm for the fine arts, and knowledgeof the world; refinement of ideas, and depth of sentiment; in short, allthe charms of a vivacious and rapid mind were observable in her, withouther thoughts ever being on that account incomplete, or her reflectionssuperficial. Oswald was at once surprised and charmed, uneasy andtransported; he was unable to comprehend how one person alone couldcombine all the qualifications of Corinne. He asked himself whether theunion of all these qualities was the effect of an inconsistent or asuperior character; whether it was by the force of universal feeling, orbecause she forgot every thing successively, that she passed thus,almost in the same instant, from melancholy to gaiety, from profundityto grace--from conversation the most astonishing, by the knowledge andthe ideas it displayed, to the coquetry of a woman who seeks to please,and desires to captivate; but there was, even in that coquetry, suchperfect nobleness that it imposed as much respect as the most severereserve.
The Prince Castel-Forte was very much taken up with Corinne, and thesentiments of all his party were manifested towards her by attention andthe most delicate and assiduous respect; and the habitual worship withwhich they surrounded her, made every day of her life a sort offestival. Corinne felt herself happy in being thus beloved; but it wasthat sort of happiness which we feel in living in a mild climate,hearing nothing but harmonious sounds, and receiving, in short, nothingbut agreeable impressions. The serious and profound passion of love wasnot painted on her countenance, where every emotion of her soul wasexpressed by a most bright and mobile physiognomy. Oswald beheld her insilence; his presence animated Corinne, and inspired her with the desireof pleasing. However, she sometimes checked herself in those momentswhen her conversation was the most brilliant, astonished at the calmexterior of Oswald, not knowing whether he approved her or blamed hersecretly, or whether his English ideas would permit him to applaud thisdisplay of talents in a woman.
Oswald was too much captivated by the charms of Corinne, to call tomind his old opinions upon that obscurity which became women; but he wasinquiring of himself, whether it were possible to be beloved by her;whether any man could expect to concentrate in himself so many rays oflight. In fact, he was at the same time dazzled and disturbed; andalthough, at his departure, she invited him, very politely, to come andsee her again, he suffered a whole day to pass without availing himselfof the invitation, experiencing a sort of terror from the sentiment bywhich he felt himself impelled.
Sometimes he compared this sentiment with the fatal error of the firstmoments of his youth, but immediately banished such a comparison fromhis mind--for then it was a perfidious art that had overcome him; butwho could doubt the truth of Corinne? Was that peculiar charm shepossessed the effect of magic, or of poetical inspiration? Was she anArmida, or a Sappho? Was there any hope of captivating so lofty andbrilliant a genius! It was impossible to decide; but at least it waseasily seen, that not society, but heaven itself, could have formed thisextraordinary being, and that her mind could no more be imitated, thanher character feigned. "Oh, my father!" said Oswald, "if you had knownCorinne what would you have thought of her?"