e four for which he had agreed; and that there
consequently remained two others for him to commit before he could be
claimed. The Devil in rejoinder informs him that his wife was with child at
the time he killed her, which constituted the third crime, and that the
very act of making a contract with the Devil for his soul forms the fourth.
Faust, overwhelmed with confusion, has not a word to say; and Satan seizing
him by the hair of his head, carries him off in triumph. This piece is
written in iambics of ten syllables and the versification appeared to me
correct and harmonious, and the sentiments forcible and poetical; this
fully compensated for the bizarrerie of the story itself, which, by the
bye, with all the reproach thrown by the adherents of the classic taste on
those of the romantic, is scarcely more _outre_ than the introduction of
Death ([Greek: _thanatos_]) as a dramatic personage in the _Alcestis_ of
Euripides.
There is at Aix-la-Chapelle at one of the hotels a Faro Bank; it is open
like the gates of Hell _noctes atque dies_ and gaming goes forward without
intermission; this seems, indeed, to be the only occupation of the
strangers who visit these baths. There is near this hotel a sort of Place
or Quadrangle with arcades under which are shops and stalls. At one of
these shops I met with the most beautiful girl I ever beheld, a Tyrolese by
birth and the daughter of a print-seller. She was from the Italian Tyrol;
Roveredo, I think she said, was her birthplace. She united much grace and
manner with her beauty, on account of which I could not avoid complimenting
her in her native tongue, which she seemed pleased to hear. Her eyes and
eyebrows brought to my recollection the description of those of Alcina:
Sotto due negri e sottilissimi archi,
Son due neri occhi, anzi, due chiari soli,
Pietosi a riguardare, a mover parchi,
Intorno a cui par che Amor scherzi e voli.[19]
Two black and slender arches rise above
Two clear black eyes, say suns of radiant light;
Which ever softly beam and slowly move;
Round these appears to sport in frolic flight,
Hence scattering all his shafts, the little Love.
--_Trans_. W.S. ROSE.
We then proceeded to look at the suburb of this city called Bortscheid, by
far the finest part of the city and at some elevation above it. It commands
an extensive view. We also visited the various bath establishments; the
taste of the water had some resemblance to that of
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