felt the folly of all his anxiety. Corinne
entirely captivated Mr Edgermond--she not only captivated him by her
genius and her charms, but by inspiring him with that sentiment of
esteem which true characters always obtain of honest ones; and when he
presumed to express a wish to hear her upon a subject of his choice, he
aspired to this favour with as much respect as eagerness. She consented
without for a moment waiting to be pressed, and thus manifested that
this favour had a value independent of the difficulty of obtaining it.
But she felt so lively a desire to please a countryman of Oswald's, a
man who by the consideration which he merited might influence his
opinion in speaking of her, that this sentiment suddenly filled her with
a timidity which was quite new to her: she wished to begin, but her
tongue was suspended by the emotion she felt. Oswald was pained that she
did not dazzle his English friend with all her superiority; his eyes
were cast down, and his embarrassment was so visible, that Corinne,
solely engrossed by the effect that she produced upon him, lost more and
more the presence of mind necessary for improvisation. At length,
sensible of her hesitation, feeling that her words were the offspring of
memory and not of sentiment, and that thus she was neither able to paint
what she thought nor what she really felt, she suddenly stopped and said
to Mr Edgermond, "Pardon me Sir, if upon this occasion timidity has
deprived me of my usual facility; it is the first time, as my friends
can testify, that I have been below myself; but perhaps," added she,
sighing, "it will not be the last."

Oswald was deeply affected by the touching failure of Corinne. Till then
he had always been accustomed to see imagination and genius triumph over
her affections and reanimate her soul at the moment when she was most
cast down; but at this time her mind was entirely fettered by feeling,
yet Oswald had so identified himself with her fame on this occasion,
that he partook of the mortification of her failure, instead of
rejoicing at it. But as it appeared certain, that she would one day
shine with her natural lustre, he yielded to the tender reflections that
arose in his mind, and the image of his mistress was enthroned more than
ever in his heart.

Book vii.

ITALIAN LITERATURE.

[Illustration]

Chapter i.

Lord Nelville felt a lively desire that Mr Edgermond should enjoy the
conversation of Corinne, which wa