ry. She wishes to enter into the service of
the Countess Olivia; but she is assured that this is impossible; "for
the lady having recently lost an only and beloved brother, has abjured
the sight of men, has shut herself up in her palace, and will admit no
kind of suit." In this perplexity Viola remembers to have heard her
father speak with praise and admiration of Orsino, the Duke of the
country; and having ascertained that he is not married, and that
therefore his court is not a proper asylum for her in her feminine
character, she attires herself in the disguise of a page, as the best
protection against uncivil comments, till she can gain some tidings of
her brother.

If we carry our thoughts back to a romantic and chivalrous age, there is
surely sufficient probability here for all the purposes of poetry. To
pursue the thread of Viola's destiny;--she is engaged in the service of
the Duke, whom she finds "fancy-sick" for the love of Olivia. We are
left to infer, (for so it is hinted in the first scene,) that this
Duke--who with his accomplishments, and his personal attractions, his
taste for music, his chivalrous tenderness, and his unrequited love, is
really a very fascinating and poetical personage, though a little
passionate and fantastic--had already made some impression on Viola's
imagination; and when she comes to play the confidante, and to be loaded
with favors and kindness in her assumed character, that she should be
touched by a passion made up of pity, admiration, gratitude, and
tenderness, does not, I think, in any way detract from the genuine
sweetness and delicacy of her character, for "_she never told her
love_."

Now all this, as the critic wisely observes, may not present a very just
picture of life; and it may also fail to impart any moral lesson for the
especial profit of well-bred young ladies; but is it not in truth and in
nature? Did it ever fail to charm or to interest, to seize on the
coldest fancy, to touch the most insensible heart?

Viola then is the chosen favorite of the enamoured Duke, and becomes his
messenger to Olivia, and the interpreter of his sufferings to that
inaccessible beauty. In her character of a youthful page, she attracts
the favor of Olivia, and excites the jealousy of her lord. The situation
is critical and delicate; but how exquisitely is the character of Viola
fitted to her part, carrying her through the ordeal with all the inward
and spiritual grace of modesty. What b